Auctions and Antiques Examiner

What's it Worth? Auctionwally's appraisal for 6 Gothic Revival Tiger Oak chairs

POSTED July 5, 11:09 AM

Doran asks:

These six chairs are in excellent condition and have never been refinished. What are they worth?

AW says: Here's what I like about your chairs:

They're a full set of 6 dining room chairs. (Dining room chair sets of less than 6 have little value)
They are unusual, I'd call them a type of Gothic, Jacobean influence.
They have the original finish, lots of points for that.
The Tiger Oak backs are beautiful

Because they're a revival set and not period chairs, we're not talking telephone #s here, but let's evaluate.

Date range: 1890s-1910s

Retail value: $450-$600, for the set.
(top price)

Wholesale value: $350
(The mid range price you could expect to achieve at a well advertised live auction. The price that is most often realized)

Quick sale value:$250-$300
The price your likely to get if you have to sell your item immediately and your prospective customer is aware of this.

Common trade terminology: Turn of the Century Chairs, Tiger Oak, Gothic Revival Chairs, Jacobean Style Chairs.

For more info on antiques values go to: Auctionwally.com

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Uncle Sam the world's most famous uncle, but where did he come from?

POSTED July 4, 10:23 AM

You don't mess with Uncle Sam! July 1917 Milestones Mag
value: $125-$150 in nice condition

Everyone has seen that familiar face on all the US recruiting posters which declared, "Uncle Sam wants you!" We all know what he wanted but where did he come from and who is he?
He is part reality, part fiction, and goes back to 1812. During the War of 1812 and long after, Sam Wilson a meat distributor contracted by the U.S. Army supplied much of the meat and dry goods to the U.S army. All crates packed by Sam Wilson were required to be stamped U.S. as well as having the Sam Wilson stamp. Soldiers who received the crates from the distributor began to call Sam Wilson, "Uncle Sam", and thus a legend began.
As for the fiction part, political cartooning was an important part of early newspapers and the character evolved through changes to become our Uncle Sam, the icon of the U.S. Govt.
It's widely believed by historians that the model for Uncle Sam is a fellow that went by the name of Brother Johnson, one of the original Yankee Doodles. A "Yankee" was the a name the Massachusetts Indians called the early British soldiers. A Doodler was a jack of all trades who would peddle his services as he traveled.
Like any classic, there are passionate collectors for it, and the iconic Uncle Sam is no different.
Today Uncles Sam collectors have a span of almost 200 years from which to amass their collections. From tin toys to pocket knives, from banks to post cards, a huge variety is available. As you can imagine some of the rare pieces go for quite a bit, here are some examples:

1886 Cast Iron Bank, $6000-$7000

For an Uncle Sam Suit worn by James Montgomery Flagg as he modeled for the original "I Want You" painting you could expect to pay about $40,000-$65,000.

Thanks for reading. Happy 4th of July!
AW

For more info: If you've got a classic collection you'd like to know more about contact me at
Auctionwally.com

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Appraisal for Antique Parlour Set

POSTED June 21, 3:20 PM

Susan asks:
This set was bought it in Tampa in the late 1940s or early 1950s. It arrived in Port Tampa on a ship from Cuba.

AW says: That's a lovely Parlor set, I believe it's been reupholstered although it's been tastefully done. It looks to have the original finish, so points for that. Since it's such a grand set it will not be the easiest thing to sell, but when you find a buyer that appreciates it, it should bring a nice price. My prices are for the set. I'm sure it's European, most likely English and made of Mahogany. It's kind of a transitional style set coming of of the Empire era and into the Victorian era.

Date range: 1850s

Retail value: $1800-$3500 ( I have an unusually large gap in this price range due to the unusualness of this set) The range really reflects how long a seller is willing to wait to find just the right buyer for this wonderful set.
(top price)

Wholesale value:$1200-$1500
(The midrange price you could expect to achieve at a well advertised live auction. The price that is most often realized)

Quick sale value: $800
The price your likely to get if you have to sell your item immediately and your prospective customer is aware of this.

Common trade terminology: English Empire, Pawfoot Mahogany Furniture,

Nicknames or slang terms: Pawfoot Furniture, Empire Pawfoot, Empire Rocker, Empire Style.

In most cases, I believe it would be beneficial for your to give the prospective buyer a link to this page, and to bookmark it via your favorite bookmarking service.

Care and storage tips: Do not over polish. Parts of the front of the pieces are likely veneer. Veneer has seams, when the polish gets in the seams the Veneer could lift.

To find out how to have AuctionWally appraise your antiques, click here.

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Antique Tools, Collectibles You Can Use

POSTED June 17, 5:32 PM

There is nothing more satisfying than knowing you'll get the maximum benefit out of an antique purchase and when you invest in a good antique tool, that's what you can expect. A great quality old tool will almost always go up in value as it ages as they are classics, plus you get to use and display them as well. Most often an antique hand plane or set of old wood clamps are much better at performing their task than today's counterparts, and if you take care of them they will last forever.

As with many antiques they can be retro-adapted for another use. For example, those wonderful Oak Machinist's chests are a fantastic way to store and display coins, jewelry, buttons or any other similar small item. They have many drawers which always glide with ease and are aesthetically beautiful.

Recently I purchased the estate contents of one Eino Lukula of Ashburnham MA. Mr. Lukula was a machinist and a carpenter, so his estate was jam packed with antique tools. As with every large estate purchase or consignment, as I go through it, I come to know quite a bit about the former owner through the the inspection of the contents. Eino obviously took great pride in his craftsmanship and owning the right tool for the right job. The lot of tools consisted of about 50% of new/old stock tools! New/Old stock is a term used by antique dealers for a an item that is old, but has never been used still in it's original packaging, there is no better, it's a dealers dream. Not only were there many new/old tools, but the ones that were used by him were very well cared for.
Mr. Lukula also custom built many of the cases for each of his vintage power tools and I later found out he built the home which the contents were housed in, as well as the house next door and several others in Ashburnham MA. This estate was a pleasure to work on, every drawer, nook and crevice held a treasure. The Holy Grail of the lot was a custom built, solid 3.5 inches thick, butcher block top tool bench. It was truly the best quality antique tool bench I've ever seen with a wheel vice on one end and a standard vice on the other.

Other antique tools also found in the estate were Stanley planes, wooden handle chisels, thousands of dyes, taps, bits, end mills, Starrett's gauges and micrometers, early wooden clamps, specialty saws, hundreds of other items, many which I've never seen before or have seen rarely. Most of the better quality small tools will be auctioned on eBay in my usual format which always consists of a low starting bid, without reserve.

A rare Stanley #92 Shoulder Plane in the original box.
a stanley #92 shoulder plane

Some tips for those thinking of investing in antique & vintage tools.

Hand tools made in the U.S.A. are usually of the highest quality and thus value.
Any antique tool with a good looking wooden handle on it is worth something if it's in good condition.
While many antiques such as glassware and Silver Services lose value if they are monogrammed, old tools with the former owner's initials engraved on them are perfectly acceptable.
Because they are useful as well as valuable, old tools can be hard to find on the secondary market. The last things a craftsman will part with are his tools. Look to find them in estate sales, someone selling off due to a divorce or from the children of an elderly person who does not have an affinity for them.
A badly broken tool is worthless in most cases. If a wooden handle is broken, this may not be the end of the world if it can be replaced, but if it's structurally unsound forget it unless you want it as a display piece. Note that even a replaced handle will result in decreased value.
A new/old stock tool is worth 3-10 time more to a collector than it's counterpart in good condition.
The more unusual a tool is, the better. The more specific it's purpose, generally the more valuable.
Tools with a documented provenance will command a premium.

Also found in the Ashburnham estate, a Stanley no.48
a rare stanley no. 40 antique plane

Many antiques come down in value after they cycle out. Old canning jars, sewing machines, and lots of glassware are just a few of the things that can go out of style as quickly as they came in, dropping in value even though they are old and getting older. These fad or trend antiques will undoubtedly come back in later on, but the classics, like antique tools, never go out of favor and investing in the classics is one of the soundest things you can do in the antiques world.

Click here if your curious to see what some of these old tools actually sell for.

If you have a question or comment about antiques contact me at wkolenda@gmail.com or leave a comment here.

Thanks for reading,

AW

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10 Tips For Investing in Antiques and Collectibles

POSTED June 5, 9:48 AM

These days many people are taking a closer look at antiques & collectibles as investments. As the stock market becomes more volatile, it just makes great sense to add tangible assets to your investment portfolio. Unlike any other investment, when you invest in a collectible, it's virtually impossible to lose 100% of your money due to devaluation.
By investing in things you like you have the pleasure of owning them no matter what their monetary value, but we want you to make money with your purchases, so here are 10 tips to help you do that. Since collectibles come in and out of favor, I'm going to cite principles, rather than specific items to invest in. Future articles will cover specific antiques & collectibles information.

Remember the first rule in investing in anything, "well bought is half sold". It's easy to make a profit if you've purchase the item at the right price.
Avoid trendy items that are "made to be collectible". Items such as Beanie Babies, Franklin Mint collectibles and such, generally have no staying power. They are hot for a short time, but when they cool down you can't get more than $10.00 for a box full of them.
Buy out of market. Seek out furniture dealers that buy house lots, ask them if they have any jewelry for sale. Find out if the local heavy equipment auction has any furniture included in the sale, they usually do. There are many ways to shop out of market, to use an old Yogi Berra quote, "hit em where they ain't". By shopping out market, you eliminate much of the competition and can often buy at fire sale prices.
If your considering laying out serious money for an item and you have doubts about it's authenticity, get it authenticated or appraised. With the Internet there is no excuse for getting duped. There are many online appraisal services that are very good, fast and inexpensive. I offer an authentication in 24 hours and an appraisal in 3 days. There are several other good ones available.
Learn and practice a few of the basic negotiation tactics. I can think of no other business where the art of negotiation is used as much as the antiques/collectibles trade. Without a good foundation in haggling skills, you WILL overpay.
Study the people in the business at least twice as much as you study the merchandise.
When learning about the merchandise, learn rules of thumb and generalities, the detailed knowledge will follow. As an auctioneer and appraiser I can valuate millions of items because I'm well versed with styles, colors, quality and trends of items. If you know that Aqua Marine and Tomato Red are very popular colors for almost any collectible from the 1950s-60s, you have good information on thousands of items just with that one rule of thumb.
If it looks too good to be true, it may actually be that good. I realize this counters common wisdom, but in the antiques world, specialized knowledge can give you incredible leverage. IE: To the untrained eye, Grueby Faience co. pottery may look ugly, but most pieces will bring thousands at auction. This is a business you have to be willing to take risks in. Be careful, but not timid.
Buy in large lots. This is my favorite safety net. When you buy in volume from a seller that wants you to "take it all", you can rarely lose money. Of course you want to make sure you have the time and space to deal with the volume. As well as being a financially safe move, buying estate lots, collections etc. is the best way to learn the business quickly and it's a blast!
Learn the terminology, nicknames and slang of the trade, it will help immensely when buying and selling. Then learn how to use this knowledge discreetly. Sometimes it pays to show off your education, sometime is pays to keep it vested.

Thanks for reading if you have any questions, feel free to email me at auctionwally@auctionwally.com
Now get out there and start buying low and selling high! There has never been so much merchandise on the collectibles market as there is right now!

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Appraisal for C-Roll Top Desk

POSTED May 30, 10:14 PM

Cindi asks: What is my Cutler Roll Top desk worth?

AW says: The style of roll top desk you have is called a C-Roll as opposed to an s-roll. The s-rolls are more popular as they're more aesthetically pleasing. The first American patent for a roll top was issued to Abner Cutler, of Cutler Desk of Buffalo, NY in 1850. Your desk is later than that. Your desk is Oak Veneer and a bit large for the average collector. Many times over sized items will take a while to sell, on the other hand, when you find a buyer that wants such an item, they are apt to pay a fair price. Date range: 1910s

Retail value:$500 -$600 (A solid Oak desk all the way around would bring more than a veneer desk.) (top price)

Wholesale value: $300-$350 (The midrange price you could expect to achieve at a well advertised live auction. The price that is most often realized)

Quick sale value: $250 The price your likely to get if you have to sell your item immediately and your prospective customer is aware of this.

Common trade terminology: Cutler Roll Top Desk, Oak Roll Top Desk

Nicknames or slang terms: C-Roll Top Desk In most cases.

Care and Storage Tips: I would take care to carefully glue any loose ends of peeling veneer to stop them from lifting further.

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Opening Day Report of the Brimfield Antiques Show With Prices

POSTED May 14, 5:55 PM

There is nothing in the antiques world like the opening of the largest show in the US in Brimfield MA.
It's an overload of sensory perception, a carnival of the unusual, a mind boggling plethora diversity, and that's just the people!

Seriously, there are over 5000 dealers that set up over the course of a week. The show runs on Tuesday through Saturday May 13th - 18th this year. The show comes to Brimfield 3 times a year, May, July, & Sept. and always starts on the 2nd Tuesday of the Month and runs until Saturday. Tents and displays are set up at more than 20 massive farm fields along RT 20 in Brimfield. There are 19 on the official roster, but there are a few renegades as well.

I'm lucky enough to live just 45 minutes from the town of Brimfield, so being an antiques auctioneer, I naturally get to it at least once per season. I usually go as a buyer, not to sell. This year it was fun to cover the event as a blogger, allowing me to view it from another perspective. It was refreshing to cover the event without the concerns of purchasing items and promoting an upcoming auction, which are my usual motives for attending.

I covered 2 fields for this trip and will be going back later on in the week, here are the results of my first visit.

One of the strangest things I've ever seen at Brimfield or anywhere else for that matter, was a Corona.
Upon hitting the first field, (Brimfield Acres North) I saw several hundred people looking straight up in the air at a rainbow around the Sun. I'd never seen one before and it was breathtaking, I'm still rubbing my eyes however. If you think a rainbow around the Sun is strange, the site of a field full of people looking up in the air all at once is even slightly more so!

See kids, antiques are MAGIC!

The state of the antiques market seems to exist in it's own world that operates outside of the normal economy, and here's what I found to be the buzz topics of this show.

Most agreed that there was an exceptional amount of very good quality items this year. The reasons given were that, "high end" is selling, and selling well.
Furniture overall is still soft.
The opinions on why high quality items were selling well mostly came in two categories. The first is that those with money in this tough economic season are looking to invest in antiques and art. I also heard many old school dealers pronouncing the "death of eBay" at least the antiques part of it and have opined that this is the main reason for the increase in quality items at this year's show. Many believe that with eBay's new policies confusing and alienating so many, that antiquers are looking once again to market there better items at big shows. Some I talked to said they've seen an increase in quality items at other shows earlier in the year, and the same reasons were given.
This year there seemed to be an above average amount of European and Canadian shoppers at the show, no doubt due to the value of those country's currencies versus the US dollar. One woman from London, filled 2 suitcases with $25,000 worth of Sterling Silver from one dealer. Suffice it to say that most of the foreign shoppers are not buying furniture, another kick in the head to the struggling antique furniture market at this show.
Art, art, art. People were buying paintings, great US Art Pottery and other Object d'Art in what seemed like record number.
The market for good antique musical instruments appeared to be very strong.
Early toy and games dealers were doing well.
Anyone with good, unusual smaller items priced right, probably did well at this show.

Items and asking prices.

Here are a few things I found interesting and their asking prices. The dealers contact info appear next to the item if I was given permission to print that.

Wendy & Chuck LaVigna of Stone Cottage Antiques did well and had the following items for sale.
stonecottageantiques.net

A wonderful faded yellow painted primitive foot stool $165

Super pair of Torino mfg Chrome Retro Lamps $375

A large Petit Point of a Biblical? scene. $375
stunning petit point

A dealer from Maine offered one of the nicest spool cabinets I've seen.
Belding Bros. 3 foot tall spool cabinet, $1500
belding bros spool cabinet

George Clark spool cabinet $1495

The Great American Game an early tin Baseball Game by the Hustler Toy co. of Sterling Illinois. $295

There was a companion Football game priced at $295 as well

Antique Slot Machine $1500

Dennis Carlson Antiques of Moodus CT had a very interesting display which included the following

A circa 1920s Mr Wood boat model $850

A fully working 3 foot long Railroad Steam Engine circa 1920s - $4250
fully working steam engine circa 1920s

From dealers who did not wish to have contact info published I found.

A Hurdy Gurdy cart fully working at $950

An antique motorcycle, (the dealer was not at the booth, and this item did not have a price tag

A miniature hand-made cupboard $475

A White's 4 gallon crock with cobalt blue floral decoration $485

Clark Jr Crock of NY also cobalt blue decorated $475

An Oak bow-front curio cabinet with applied lions, $1295

What I took away from the show was this.

Big Antique Shows are back.
High end is selling.
Art is selling.
Smalls are selling if they are unusual.
The foreign antiques investment market is aggressive and looking to buy good quality.
Sterling and gold, name your price.
Coins are selling.
Don't talk about gas prices and don't talk about eBay.

Thanks for reading.
AW

For a complete 2008 Brimfield Shows Schedule click here.

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Online Appraisal for Antique Eastlake Bed

POSTED May 1, 7:15 PM

Cindy asks:

This is in Excellent condition - original finish - solid oak. Full size extra long.
Wood side rails. Taken extremely good care of the bed throughout the years.

Headboard is 70inches high (from floor to crown), 57 1/2 inches wide.
Footboard is 33 1/2 inches high and 57 1/2 inches wide.
Side rails are approximately 1 foot high

Headboard top comes off.

Over 90 – 100 years old I was told but can't get the exact year. It has been in my family
from the beginning. I have been told it is worth quite a bit.

Can you help me?

I have another old bedroom set that I plan to send to you soon.

Thanks – you came highly recommended by Terri H.

AW says: That's a very nice Eastlake style Victorian era, spoon carved Oak bed. Points for height and original finish. These old beds are coming back in favor. Usually beds are kind of tough to sell, but of antique beds, these large Eastlake high headboard beds are better sellers.

You can find these listed at much higher prices on the internet and elsewhere, but trust me, they're not selling in those price ranges yet.

Date range: 1880s

Retail value: $1000-$1200
(top price)

Wholesale value: $400-$600
(The midrange price you could expect to achieve at a well advertised live auction. The price that is most often realized)

Quick sale value: $250-$300
The price your likely to get if you have to sell your item immediately and your prospective customer is aware of this.

Common trade terminology: Eastlake Bed, Victorian Bed, Spoon carved Headboard, Spoon Carved, Spoon carved Oak

Care and storage tips: Nothing special, I'd be careful about what kind of treatment if any that you give it. I'd give this points for original finish which is important, I'd just dust it at the most.

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Is My Item an Antique, is it Valuable?

POSTED April 28, 10:29 AM

Hello, and welcome to what I hope is the first of many articles here at the Examiner. For the last 25 years, I've made my living in the Antiques/Auction business and my articles here will reflect my ongoing studies and observation. This blog will include information on the current state of the market, actual online appraisals I conduct, how to articles and more.

I hate long introductions, so I'll end this one by letting you know that I hope this will be an active 2 way conversation, I welcome comments and questions. If your an auction junkie and would like more content, you can find me at Auctionwally.com where I have hundreds of Antiques appraisals and articles archived which are all free to view.
I also have an online radio show called The Auctionwally Show, click here to check it out.
Email to: walt@auctionwally.com

I'll begin this dialog by addressing the query I most often hear:

Is my item an antique and is it valuable?

Well the first part of this is actually easy to answer if you know how old your item is. You see the technical definition of an antique is an item that is 100 or more years old. Like everything else in life though, this definition gets muddied by common misuse, and all is not cut and dry. For example, so many people refer to anything "old" as an antique that you can either be a purist and insist that the conversation stays on strict terms by pointing out any errors in terminology, or throw up your hands in surrender to common usage. I find it's easier to do the latter and for the sake of this blog, I'll refer to "old" items as antiques most of the time. Why fight try a wave?

In general, I'll refer to "collectibles" as anything from the last 50 years that people collect and is perceived to have some value.

Value

Let's face it, when it comes to antiques & collectibles, most people want to know how much money their item is worth. It's such a popular question, that I've titled my blog at Auctionwally.com What's it Worth?
As an appraiser and an auctioneer I feel I have a very good sense of monetary values on all kinds of items. This includes of course antiques & collectibles, but because you have to have an eye for quality in my business, a good dealer can approximate value on almost any type of item, and pinpoint value on those they have much experience with. So before we going into specifics, let's look at the factors that determine market value to give you a foundation to work with when trying to figure out if your item is worth very much.

Value Factors: Here are some rules of thumb to determine value, like all rules of thumb, they do not apply all the time, but are a great place to start. Take my first example of quality, I start off by indicating that quality is a key factor in determining value. If quality was important 100% of the time, that would mean that Topps Wacky Packages, an absurd sticker collectible from the 1970s, would never be worth the outrageous money they are today. Go check out how much an unopened box will bring on eBay! That said...

Quality: Is your antique or collectible well made? Will it stand the test of time and still be in good condition years to come? Generally speaking the higher the quality, the higher the value. On furniture, look for things like dovetailed joints, nice smooth seams and well fitted construction. On glassware, again check for nice seams if it's a molded piece, defined and concise lines, balance and eye appeal.

Scarcity: How many of the items were made? It's just about impossible for anything to have a high value if it was overproduced. Remember Beanie Babies? I can recall dealers betting on when these once popular collectibles would tank. There's just no way a collectible can be continually cranked out in large numbers and retain it's value. Here's a quote that I'd heard from an old timer in the business, "If it's manufactured to specifically be a collectible, it probably won't be", good advice.

Demand: No matter how rare your item is, there still has to be a market demand for it to have any value. Who is going to pay for your floor model Singer sewing machine in the Oak cabinet casing? Not many. I use the Singer sewing machine here as an example because it's one something I get an inquiry about at least once a week. The majority of these are worth less than $100 at auction. They are very heavy, take up valuable floor space and are difficult to move, therefore, have very little market demand. (For most models, there are exceptions)
Folks are astonished when I give them a low value appraisal on these old beauties. After all, they're over 100 years old, they're of an attractive oak and iron construction, and most likely still working. Sorry, the market says "take the case and make it a sewing cabinet, take the base and make it a plant stand".

Marketing: Some companies are just better at marketing certain items than others, that's why you can get $6500.00 for a Gustav Stickley chair at Sotheby's Auction House, but maybe only $500 for the same chair at a country auction. Now take a $150 Bennington Pottery jug and it wouldn't even make it to Sotheby's Auction Block.

Condition: One of the most often overlooked factors in value is condition. Suffice it to say that for every 100 items of a kind, perhaps only 1 or 2 are in top condition. When it comes to laying out top dollar, collectors & dealers want the best for the best money, that's only fair. A $500 piece of Roseville Pottery may only be worth $50 if it has a crack, there are tons of examples out there with cracks or chips, but how many are perfect? The same applies for things like original finish on furniture, old bottles that still have the original label or box, vintage toys with all original parts etc.
Can you see how condition directly ties into all 4 previous quality factors mentioned above?

Age: I purposely put age last on this list because people often wrongly assume this is the most important factor in determining the value of collectibles when often it does not. Rocks are old, so is dirt.
Now age is very important, but usually only after consideration of all other factors. To go into all the details on age and antiquity could take many more blog posts, and I intend to address the subject in future ones for sure but now is not the time.
To satisfy some demand for knowledge on antiques and age, let me offer this little bit to whet your appetite and ask you to check back here soon or visit me at Auctionwally.com for more.

All period antique pieces are antiques, but not all antiques are period pieces. A "period" antique denotes an item that was crafted or manufactured originally. As you my know, antique styles are revived throughout history so you may have a Gothic Style armchair that is a 125 year old antique made in the Victorian era, but an original Period Gothic chair would be from the 1500-1600s. Both pieces are antiques, but the period one is worth thousands, while the other is worth a couple of hundred at most.

Below is a Gothic Style but Victorian era chair
Victorian Era Gothic Style Chair

This is why there is such confusion among new collectors and some dealers with certain antiques. They'll see a Chippendale Highboy on the Antiques Roadshow which is appraised at $50,000 and think that the one they have is worth the same. After all, there's is an antique, it's been in the family for a long time and is very old. What these folks don't realizes is what I've just mentioned above, yes, it's old, but it's not a Period piece. While no quality Highboy is anything to sneeze at, revival pieces are not going to bring anywhere near what an authentic Chippendale would bring.

Well that's it for this post, I hope I've cleared a few things up as far as value and age goes. Again feel free to ask questions or leave comments and stop by Auctionwally.com to say hello.

AW

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