The Value of Fine Antique Furniture in America
Imagine me driving through a beautiful wrought iron gate in Montecito. I enter a grand house filled with fine antique furniture, loved for 40 years. Get ready, I think, because …
Vintage Clothing and What to Do With It
RB, a loyal reader from Santa Barbara, sent me a photo of a wonderful silk blouse she made in the 1950’s. It won her a prize in Home Ec. A …
WOW – A World War I Patriotic French Poster in Good Shape
CS sends me an image of a French advertising poster originally drawn by the under-appreciated Symbolist artist Lucien Levy-Dhurmer. CS’s family apocrypha claims this dates to the early 1900’s. He …
Capodimonte Porcelain Urns Reminiscent Liberace’s Taste
LH inherited two porcelain urns she displays in her home in Paso Robles. She asked me if they are ‘good’ Capodimonte. I answered, that they’re not the top of their …
Weird Book Related Objects: The “End”
D from up-state sends me a pair of American bookends in frosted glass with a turquoise blue bust of a woman, her hair as a bouquet of flowers. I put …
Van Briggle Pottery Tells Many Tales
I confess that I LOVE this pottery piece. My partner John’s father collected this maker, Van Briggle Studios, founded by the husband and wife team, Aratus and Anne Van Briggle. …
Don’t Fear the Ghost in Your Piano
People often ask me to appraise their piano. Since with great pleasure I do this for the Music Academy of the West, I’ll discuss the value of a reader’s piano. …
The Most Horrible Collectible
SG from Rancho Cucamonga sent me two doll photographs. I thought this a joke from my best friend Eli, who trained as a psychiatrist and knows about my rare phobia …
Simoncini’s Arte Etrusca and the Tradition of Knocking off Etruscan Art
In Tuscany, in the Province of Pisa in Etruria, lies the ancient city of Volterra. In the 8th century BCE the city operated as an important Etruscan center. Many today …
Why you should know about the theory of cross collectibility
What do I mean by cross collectible? And why should you know about this if you want to sell an object? Because online platforms usually ask you to list an …