The Antique Register

More documents

Recommendations

Info

48 Nov-Dec 07 � Feature Story � Taking a Chance on ‘Striking It Rich’ Doesn’t Always Pay Off The media loves stories about individuals who went to a flea market or garage sale and purchased an object for a few dollars only to sell it later for thousands, tens of thousands, and even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Discovery of the “great bargain,” also known as the “hidden treasure,” is the dream of everyone who hunts collectibles. The September 5, 2007, issue of Antique Trader contained an article about an Austrian woman who was seeking old crockery in a trash container and found instead a cross from Limoges, France, dating to about 1200. Relatives of a deceased owner were cleaning out his home and tossed the piece. The woman who discovered the cross even showed it to the niece of the deceased man who promptly told her to take it. The cross is estimated to be worth $500,000. The smile on my face turned sour as I continued reading. When a friend of the woman took the cross to a nearby museum, the curator alerted police. As luck would have it, the cross was part of a Polish art collection belonging to Izabella Elzbieta of Czartoryski Dzialinkska that was confiscated by the Nazis. How the cross wound up in the possession of the deceased owner is unknown. The cross currently is housed at the museum. Heirs of the former owner have asked the London-based Commission for Looted Art in Europe to assist them in securing the return of the cross. It is not clear at this point whether or not the woman who saved the cross from the trash will receive any reward other than “thanks.” Sometimes when you take a chance, things do not turn out as you expect. In the case of collectibles, the expected turns out to be negative far more often than it turns out to be positive. I see basically three types of objects during the appraisal clinics that I conduct. The first are family heirlooms. Most have a strong family provenance and are fun to handle. Occasionally the family stories that accompany them are false, more often than not, dating the object far older than it is. The second group is objects about which the owner is fully knowledgeable and simply wants to show them off and/or share them with the appraiser. Once again, these are fun. It is the third group of objects, those that individuals purchased believing they were one thing and now have serious doubts, that relates to this column’s theme. Ninety percent or more of the time, I confirm their suspicions. They did not buy what they thought they did. During a recent appraisal clinic I did at the Saucon Valley Farmers’ Market in Hellertown, Pennsylvania, a Whatcha Got? listener who hears my nationally syndicated antiques and collectibles call-in radio show on Sunday mornings on WAEB-AM in Allentown, Pennsylvania, brought a group of four Barnum and Bailey circus posters she had recently purchased for me to inspect. She had called in to the radio show to ask about the posters. Playing “guess the goodies” on the radio is a challenge. Based upon the information the listener gave me over the telephone, I strongly suspected the posters were mass-produced reproductions designed to By Harry Rinker hang on the wall. However, I told her that if she brought the posters to the appraisal clinic, I could most likely take one look and tell her if they were period or reproduction. One of the things you learn after being around antiques and collectibles is that reproductions (exact copies) and copycats (stylistic copies) are not necessarily poorly made. The quality of printing on these posters was extremely high. They had the brilliance and clarity normally associated with early twentieth century lithographs. Earlier in the appraisal clinic, a person came with one of the reproduction Bull Durham Black-themed posters that had been put into a frame and sold at auction. The color registration was terrible. The image was fuzzy. There was no need to use a loupe to see if the colors were the result of the modern four color dot printing technique. They most definitely were. The person took a chance it might be period. Fortunately, he paid under fifty dollars, a clear sign to anyone in the trade that it was definitely wrong. “Beware of bargains” is a good basic rule in the collectibles business. In the case of the Whatcha Got? listener’s circus posters, they were the wrong size and printed on the wrong paper to date from the early part of the twentieth century. When I did put a loupe on the colors, I saw dots. I did consider the possibility that they may have been modern posters used to promote a present day appearance. However, they had no blank area for the insertion of the location where the circus was playing. Clearly, they were simply well made reproductions, albeit not true to size. I never did ask the listener what she paid, hopefully less than fifteen dollars each. Individuals in search of hidden treasure cannot resist taking the occasional chance in hopes of striking it rich. Time to lay down a few ground rules that will help them avoid mistakes and possibly find that treasure they are seeking. Very few hidden bargains are found at auctions. Novice collectors and dealers often find themselves watching a piece being sold at auction and think, “that piece is selling for too little. I should buy it.” No, it is not, and you should not buy it. It is naîve to think for one moment that advanced collectors and dealers have missed a piece. If they are not bidding, there is something wrong with the item, i.e., it is damaged, incomplete, or a reproduction/copycat. “Do not buy what you do not know” is a good rule for those wishing to avoid getting stung. Never pay more than you are prepared to lose when buying an object on the chance that it is a hidden treasure. I refer to buying mistakes made by collectors and dealers as tuition, one of the prices they pay to learn the trade. Your goal is to keep you tuition payments low. Of course, the fun in finding a hidden treasure is to find it at a bargain price. Yet, discovering an object priced significantly below its standard secondary market retail value should set off a series of alarm bells transmitting a very Continued on next page...
Nov-Dec 07 Taking a Chance, continued from previous page... simple message to your brain SLOW DOWN. Inspect the object closely. Inspect it several times. Be highly suspicious that the object is a reproduction, copycat, or fake. Buy it only after your careful examination has assured you that it is period, i.e., what it purports to be. The more established the venue, the greater the risk, is the rule. Professional dealers and advanced collectors haunt established venues such as antiques shows, auctions, and flea markets. There is little, if anything, they miss. When attending an auction, keep your eyes open for pickers, individuals buying on behalf of non-present dealers. Having stated this, I have found more than my fair share of great buys at antiques shows, auctions, and flea markets. The key is my knowledge base. Also, remember I keep what I buy. I do not resell. As a result, my bargain price is not necessarily the same as that of a person who is planning to resell an object. If you are going to take a chance, do it at a garage sale Continued on page 51... Connie’s ANTIQUES and Quilters Hide-A-Way Serving Arizona & Route 66 since 1992 Antiques • Collectibles Glassware • Giftware • Furniture Fabrics • Notions • Classes Janome Sewing Machines 308 E. Beale St. • Kingman, AZ • 928-753-9095 M-F 10-5 • Sat 10-4 Antiques and Collectibles Auntie’s Attic We Buy Tuesday through Saturday • 11am-4pm 424 E. Beale St. • Kingman, AZ 928-753-1921 Tracy & Dana Matteson, Proprietors � Kingman • Williams � All Types of AnTique And Modern CloCks experTly repAired, BoughT And sold willis l. lynEs MeMBer nAwCC And AwCi “The Clock Man” Since 1974 Phone: (928)-753-6858 Ho Ho Ho... Santa knows where to shop this Holiday Season! Antique Mall 427 E. Beale St. Kingman, AZ 86401 928-753-4570 Mon-Fri 9:30-5 • Sat 10-4 49 e-Mail: clockman@uneedspeed.net • www.theclockman-az.com nEw lARgER loCAtion 226 EAst bEAlE st. in histoRiC Downtown kingMAn, AZ 86401
Page 2 and 3: 2 Nov-Dec 07 Arizona’s Barbara Fl
Page 4 and 5: 4 Nov-Dec 07 � Special Events & S
Page 6 and 7: 6 Nov-Dec 07 China restoration serv
Page 8 and 9: 8 Nov-Dec 07 � Mesa � Superstit
Page 10 and 11: 10 Nov-Dec 07 LITTLE BARREL Antique
Page 12 and 13: 12 Nov-Dec 07 � Mesa � TREASURE
Page 14 and 15: 14 Nov-Dec 07 � Chandler • Mesa
Page 16 and 17: 16 Nov-Dec 07 � Scottsdale �
Page 18 and 19: 18 Nov-Dec 07 � Scottsdale � Th
Page 20 and 21: 20 Nov-Dec 07 � Feature Story �
Page 22 and 23: 22 Nov-Dec 07 � Phoenix �
Page 24 and 25: 24 Nov-Dec 07 � Phoenix � More
Page 26 and 27: 26 Nov-Dec 07 � Phoenix � since
Page 28 and 29: 28 Nov-Dec 07 � Phoenix � Antiq
Page 30 and 31: 30 Nov-Dec 07 In business since 196
Page 32 and 33: 32 Nov-Dec 07 � Dealing with the
Page 34 and 35: 34 Nov-Dec 07 � Phoenix �
Page 36 and 37: 36 Nov-Dec 07 � Tucson � New in
Page 38 and 39: 38 Nov-Dec 07 � Oracle • Tombst
Page 40 and 41: 40 Nov-Dec 07 � The Country Regis
Page 42 and 43: 42 Nov-Dec 07 � Prescott � 1. P
Page 44 and 45: 44 Nov-Dec 07 � Cottonwood �
Page 46 and 47: 46 Nov-Dec 07 � Feature Story �
Page 50 and 51: 50 Nov-Dec 07 � Needles, CA • F
Page 52 and 53: 52 Nov-Dec 07 � Payson • Pine
Page 54 and 55: 54 Nov-Dec 07 � Springerville •
Page 56: 56 Nov-Dec 07 � Scottsdale �

The Antique Register

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?