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Spectacular deals can be found at vintage market

by | Oct 27, 2021 | Mid-American, Vintage

November 2021

The Antique Spectacular Vintage Market Quad Cities returns to the QCCA Expo Center in Rock Island, Nov. 5-7.

More than 70 vendors will descend on the venue to sell fine antiques and vintage collectibles. Items for sale include furniture, art, American Indian items, china, postcards, primitives, silverware, glassware, coins, rugs and textiles.

“With the Antique Spectacular, there is always something to interest every collector, whether they have a new interest in vintage and repurposed for decorating their home or have been collecting antiques for years,” according to the state’s tourism website, enjoyillinois.com. “The list of amazing vintage items is endless and all under one roof for the convenience to shop all weekend, for a timeless vintage treasure, that is new to you.”

For more information, visit www.antiquespectacular.com.

Antique Spectacular

Antique perfume bottles and glassware are among the items that await shoppers at the Antique Spectacular Vintage Market, Nov. 5-7 at the QCCA Expo Center in Rock Island, IL. (photo courtesy of enjoyillinois.com)

Omaha Antiques Show returns to Council Bluffs

Omaha Antiques Show returns to Council Bluffs

by | Oct 1, 2021 | Mid-American, Vintage

October 2021

Collectors of antiques and vintage items will flock to Council Bluffs in late October for the annual Omaha Antique Show, Oct. 29-30 at The Grass Wagon.

Dealers from five states will be on site selling primitives, maps, Asian artifacts, holiday collectibles, posters, jewelry, postcards, toys and Western items; no crafts will be sold at the event.
“The dealers are most enthusiastic about the opportunity to sell to their loyal customers and collectors new to antiques,” organizer Sally Thompson says.

The show will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Oct. 29, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the 30th. Admission is $6 for adults and $2 for students. Parking is available behind The Grass Wagon.
For more information, call 913-488-3306 or e-mail granitemom@aol.com.

Stop by the Omaha Antique Show in Council Bluffs, IA, on Oct. 29-30 for a variety of high-quality antiques. (Photo courtesy of Omaha Antique Show)

Stop by the Omaha Antique Show in Council Bluffs, IA, on Oct. 29-30 for a variety of high-quality antiques. (Photo courtesy of Omaha Antique Show)

All Hallows’ event sure to serve up spooky good time

All Hallows’ event sure to serve up spooky good time

by | Oct 1, 2021 | Mid-American, Vintage

October 2021

History will come alive – along with a few ghouls and zombies – at Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer’s All Hallows’ event, Oct. 8-9 in Grand Island.

Visitors will start their evening with frightful scenes in the museum’s family arbor, where kids will receive a bag full of candy and coupons from local businesses. Then, it’s off to Railroad Town, an historic town on the museum’s grounds, which recreates the lives of everyday citizens in 1891, including farmers, blacksmiths and tinsmiths. Catch a ghost story or two in front of the Lesher House, and then participate in a costume parade as it winds its way through Railroad Town.
The museum is promoting the event as suitable for younger children.

Stuhr Musuem is located at 3133 W. U.S. Highway 34. For more information, call 308-385-5316 or visit www.stuhrmuseum.org.

Items similar to this Pickard cider pitcher will be up for bids at an online auction Oct. 9. (Photo courtesy of eBay)

You never know what manner of costumed character you’ll find at the annual Stuhr Museum All Hallows celebration in Grand Island. (Photo courtesy of Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer)

Auction will offer hand-painted porcelain pieces

Auction will offer hand-painted porcelain pieces

by | Oct 1, 2021 | Mid-American, Vintage

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u003cp class=u0022calendar-cal-bodyu0022u003eu003cspan class=u0022calendar-cal-monthu0022u003eWu003c/spanu003eu003cspan class=u0022calendar-cal-boldu0022u003eoody Auction LLC, based out of Douglass, will once again meet bidders in cyberspace when it hosts its Pickard and Hand-Painted Porcelain online auction on Oct. 9.u003c/spanu003eu003c/pu003enu003cp class=u0022calendar-cal-bodyu0022u003eThe pieces up for bids have been chosen from the collection of Hosea and the late Lily Harkness and include vases, bowls, platters, and pitchers.u003c/pu003enu003cp class=u0022calendar-cal-bodyu0022u003ePickard China was founded in 1894 in Wisconsin by businessman Wilder Austin Pickard; the business moved to Chicago in 1897 and specialized in hand-decorated tea sets. Today, Pickard Inc. continues to operate as a family-owned business, with many older pieces up for auction being valued at several hundred dollars apiece.u003c/pu003enu003cp class=u0022calendar-cal-bodyu0022u003eTo register for the auction, visitu003cspanu003e u003c/spanu003eu003ca href=u0022http://www.liveauctioneers.com/woody-auction-llcu0022u003ewww.liveauctioneers.com/woody-auction-llcu003c/au003e. Absentee bids are due by noon on Oct. 7, while early bidding begins on Oct. 8. For more information, call 316-470-2694 or emailu003cspanu003e u003c/spanu003eu003ca href=u0022mailto:info@woodyauction.comu0022u003einfo@woodyauction.comu003c/au003e.u003c/pu003e

Items similar to this Pickard cider pitcher will be up for bids at an online auction Oct. 9. (Photo courtesy of eBay)

u003cpu003eItems similar to this Pickard cider pitcher will be up for bids at an online auction Oct. 9. (Photo courtesy of eBay)u003c/pu003e

Let’s make a deal: Haggling part of antique culture

Let’s make a deal: Haggling part of antique culture

by | Sep 1, 2021 | Everything Old

September 2021

Everything
Old

Let’s make a deal: Haggling part of antique culture

by Corbin Crable

You know the feeling – while browsing in your favorite antique store, you stumble across a vintage treasure you absolutely must have. You glance at the price tag – “I don’t want it that badly,” you tell yourself as you see a number that’s just a tad out of your budget. Picking it up, you silently wonder if the seller would take offers on the item.

Well, don’t just stand there – take your treasure to the cash register and ask!
It’s a lesson many of us have learned the hard way. By nature, I’m a passive person – someone who doesn’t like making waves where sales are concerned.
And then, eight years ago, I traveled to India.

On the subcontinent, as it is in many other places across the globe, haggling is a way of life. It’s an art that at first seemed intimidating but, after much practice, became second nature. I would approach a shopkeeper and inquire about the price of a small Taj Mahal statuette. The shopkeeper would name his price, and I’d wince, lightly shake my head, and respond, “That’s. a bit too much.” I’d continue browsing his wares and find a piece of jewelry. Holding it up to admire it, the shopkeeper would pounce, blurting out the price.
“I’ll take the statuette for your original price if you include this bracelet,” I’d learned to quickly respond.

Begrudgingly, the shopkeeper would agree. That’s all. Simple as that.
Here in the states, of course, you’ll be laughed out of any big-box department store if you attempted to execute such a tactic. But it’s worth keeping in mind that when it comes to flea markets, antique stores, and the like, a lower offer might be the only thing keeping you from the special piece you found that you simply cannot live without.

Who knows? Many stores have those items that have been collecting dust for years. To you, however, it’s the find of a lifetime. I’m sure the seller has just been waiting for a shopper like you to come along and snatch up the piece and would be more than happy to accept your offer.

 

Be aware, however, that sellers have done their proverbial homework on the items they sell, and as a buyer, you should do your own research, too. Just as a seller would know how much their items are worth, so too should you have an educated guess as to how much you might be able to request and still be taken seriously (this is, of course, where arming yourself with price guides will benefit you greatly). Don’t lowball the seller – give him or her an offer that is fair, something you would consider to be a good starting point.

To veteran shoppers, this is all just basic knowledge you learn in Antiquing 101. But often, it’s sound advice to advocate for a deal you believe will strike the ideal balance between fair to the seller and getting a good bargain for yourself. Consider this your annual reminder, then.
Happy haggling!

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Supplies remind us of back-to-school days – Part I

Supplies remind us of back-to-school days – Part I

by | Sep 1, 2021 | Michelle Knows Antiques

A box of Binney & Smith crayons. (Images courtesy of the author)

September 2021

Michelle Knows Antiques

Supplies remind us of back-to-school days - Part I

by Michelle Staley

In the majority of states, the kids are back in school. This year feels like it has passed in warp speed.

My “kids” are adults now but I began thinking about some of the supplies I used in school and even those that go back decades and how desirable they are today. The same applies to vintage office items. Several years ago I purchased a portable manual typewriter with the full intention of giving it to my grandchild until I began researching it and found out what I could sell it for. I currently have another one that is for sale.

I always enjoyed shopping for school supplies even when I was shopping for supplies for my daughters. Before technology became the norm in schools my daughters and I could spend more than an hour at the office supply store browsing all of the ink pens, markers, cool spiral notebooks, binders, and tape. Yes, tape. Have you recently looked at the variety of colors of adhesive and duct tape? I can still spend an hour at the office supply store looking for unique items. I primarily write with an ink pen, the style that takes a cartridge and I adore my quill “pen” which requires a bottle of ink to dip the pen tip in.

In the 1800s children wrote on slates with chalk. The slates typically measure 4x6 and may have a wood frame around the exterior. It can be difficult to determine the age as they are still being made and people will “age” the frame on a new slate. If you happen upon an old one, it will sell in the $10 to $15 range.

An early 1900s box of crayons made by Binney & Smith containing only eight crayons will sell for $300 to $400 depending upon condition and wear to the crayons. Beware, the boxes are being reproduced so you need to look at the wrapper around each crayon for age appropriate signs of wear. Another crayon name to keep an eye out for is “Rubens.” This brand is getting very hard to find and I could not find any that had been sold publicly in the past 12 years to even come up with a resell price.

 

Most of us learned to write with a pencil, ye olde #2. Nicolas-Jacques Conté is considered to be the grandfather of the pencil. During the French Revolution there was a shortage of graphite, Conté was tasked with coming up with a substitute. He eventually created a rectangular shaped writing tool by roasting a mixture of water, clay, and graphite in a kiln. He then shaped the mixture dependent on where they would be used, for example carpenters needed a pencil that would not roll. His innovation became known as Crayons Conté. The style is still being made and the composition has not deviated much from the original recipe. Finding an original square Crayons Conté would not be an easy task. If you happen to come across one in an old desk it would need to be carbon dated and if proven to date from Conté’s time I suspect that interest in it would be great and the auction price would top six digits.

The inventors of the #2 pencil were the author Henry David Thoreau and his dad. In the 1820s they erected a pencil factory in New Hampshire. It was in this factory that they created a graphite pencil that was less brittle and did not smear when used on parchment. They laid new groundwork by offering several pencils from #1 being the softest to #4 which is the hardest. Despite all of the technology available to us today the #2 pencil is the gold standard in classrooms all over the country.

Stay tuned for part II of this column next month, in which we will explore more antique school supplies.

Faber steno pencils.

Michelle Staley is a Lenexa, KS-based dealer and researcher with 35 years of experience in the antique trade. Send questions with photos to Michelle to michelle@discoverypub.com. Please keep queries to one question; questions without photos of the item may not be answered. Michelle is also available for consulting and extensive research work beyond this column. If you would like an appraisal on an antique or collectible please go to www.michellesantiqueappraisals.com for a one-on-one appraisal.

* PLEASE NOTE NEW WEB ADDRESS

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