This past weekend proved to be a successful one for the famous Julien's Auctions, which recently hosted a sale of Bob and Dolores Hope's property.

As the Los Angeles Times points out, someone showed great interest in Hope's antique cabinet, which was sold for $168,000. It was expected to sell between $75,000 - $85,000. According to the description by the auction house, the piece has mirrored doors and a slant top desk.

Other items sold include a Pablo Picasso painting, Hope's 2003 sedan and his golf cart. And, let's not forget the person who paid $6,080 for four Richard Nixon
books.

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Wondering how much your inherited collection of great-grandmother’s china is worth?

Bought a pocket watch or piece of stained glass at an estate sale and curious about its history?

Take it to Merchants Bank in downtown Winona on Saturday morning, where the bank will be hosting an antique appraisal fair. There will be a half-dozen
experts on hand, many of whom have worked for the popular TV program “Antiques Roadshow,” to look at everything from paintings and lamps to coins and
jewelry.

Merchants held its first appraisal fair in 2010 and figured because of the popularity — more than a hundred people brought more than 300 items through the doors — the event deserved an encore, said Merchants communications officer Mark Metzler.

“I’m looking forward to it, to see what kinds of treasures people bring out,” he said.

The idea, of course, is to see if any of the stuff collecting dust in a home has value, but also to give attendees an opportunity to learn a bit of the histories of antiques they’ve bought or have been passed down in their
family.

Merchants only asks that a few kinds of items don’t come through the doors: guns and large pieces of furniture.

No guns, because banks have been understandably nervous about them for as long as banks have existed. And no armoires or sofas because, well, they probably won’t fit through the door.

Metzler said, though, that attendees can take pictures of those items and bring the photos in for appraisers to look at.

The event isn’t a moneymaker for Merchants; any proceeds will be donated to the Winona County Historical Society. Instead, Metzler said, it’s a chance for
people to visit the downtown bank — a piece of history itself — and to create something of a temporary exhibit, a one-day display of historical artifacts produced from homes across the Winona area.

He cautioned attendees to not think of the event as a moneymaker for themselves.

He would know.

At the last appraisal fair, Metzler said, he brought in a collection of plates his grandmother once owned, which featured a Dutch boy and girl—his family’s heritage—and were in pristine condition.

“I thought, my goodness, they have to be valuable,” he said.

Not so much.

About $20 each.

Still, he said, he loves them better now that he knows a bit more about them — even if they’re not going to make him a millionaire.

Source: www.winonadailynews.com

LOVELAND, Colo. — A Loveland business owner said Monday it may be some time before she decides where or whether she’ll rebuild.

Kay Dykes’ store, Canyon Collectables, sustained major damage during the recent floods. Now, with much of the cleanup done, Dykes said it’s time to grieve and begin thinking about the future.

“Closing the door today and locking it and turning the lights off for the last time, it was pretty tough,” she said. “I cried all the way home from the shop because it’s been a fun, fun business. We had a great time here.”

Dykes, who ran the antique flea market on Highway 34 for 21 years, said she’ll miss the 110 dealers who rented booths from her.

“They’re pretty much in the same position I am,” she said. “We’ve got to step back now that we’ve taken care of the cleanup and kind of process this whole
mess and then we’ll decide what the next step is.”

Dykes said the floodwaters washed away not just merchandise and income but relationships and a shared passion.

“We’ve all cried and we’ve all hugged each other and we’ve all said oh there’s something better waiting,” she said. “But the truth is we might not see each other again and that’s very painful.”

Dykes suffered an added insult on her last day of work. She returned to her Loveland home to discover store furniture she’d salvaged and left in her driveway overnight had been stolen.

“I was going to resell it and I thought who would in their right mind steal from somebody that just suffered this kind of tragedy? I just don’t get it.”

Source: www.kdvr.com

The moment he saw the $7,000 dog made of black walnut, Lonny Piche knew he could sell it for a profit.

The animal was nearly waist-high, a Black Forest carving from 1890s Germany. It was midstride on an exquisite pedestal of rocks and plants, carried a barrel on a rope around its neck and pointed its nose forward.

Piche shot a picture with his phone. He texted it to a customer in Wisconsin and sold the dog within 20 minutes — for $7,500.

It's been a tough slog for most antique dealers over the past decade, as shifting tastes, eBay, thrift stores and the deep recession have cut into profits and emptied shops of customers. But upscale dealers are doing fine.

Find the right buyer, and you can trade a wooden dog for a 2004 Toyota Camry.

"The high end's always been good, and it's still good," said Lincoln Sander, executive director of the Antique Dealers Association of America and an antiques consultant in Newtown, Conn. "The middle market is hurting."

Dealers who are thriving, like Piche, the owner of J&E Antiques in St. Paul, Minn., are gravitating toward furniture and other antiques that cost thousands of dollars, selling them to wealthy customers and other dealers.

For other antique shops — those full of collectibles, midmarket furniture and the occasional $1,000 piece — the outlook is cloudy.

The Minnesota Antique Dealers Association doesn't track the number of shops in the state, but "lots of them have closed," said director Carol Eppel.

Eppel, whose Stillwater, Minn., shop specializes in American Arts and Crafts furniture, said business is improving but the market still punishes all but the
best antiques.

"The really, really, really good stuff is selling," she said.

The latest casualty is This Love of Mine, an antique and vintage shop in Stillwater, whose last day will be Wednesday, according to owner Steve Reeser.

A long winter, rainy weekends in the early part of the summer, and construction in town all contributed to what he calls a "perfect storm" that has forced him out of the trade. He and his wife will sell the shop they've been
running for about two years and move to his hometown, Seattle.

"Everybody in antiques, we're all really confused now," Reeser said. "What is it people want?"

Items under $100 can be sold, and so can items over $1,000, he said, but everything in between sits in the store.

It's no secret that businesses that serve the well-off tend to do better in a slow economy — high-end credit cards, brand-name jewelry, resorts and golf courses. Fine antiques fit the bill.

"The higher-end stuff is more desirable," Reeser said.

Deb Falk, who has owned Antiques on Main in Hastings, Minn., for 15 years, has a shop with several vendor booths and only the occasional item that costs more than $1,000. She's selling about a quarter of what she sold 10 years ago. She and other store owners point to Sept. 11, 2001, as the beginning of the decline. No one's sure exactly why.

"I was just in Georgia a few weeks ago, and they said the same thing," Falk said. "I think we're all having trouble."

Recently at Antiques on Main, an older gentleman shuffled through the door, carrying two washboards and a box of Beanie Babies.

"My wife told me I have to get rid of these, or she's going to get rid of me," the man told Falk's husband, Bill, who helps at the shop.

Falk smiled vaguely and gave the man $10 for the washboards and $2 for the Beanie Babies, then set them on the ground behind the counter as the man walked
out.

Thrift stores are taking business away from antique shops, Deb Falk said, and she doesn't deal in the $5,000 to $10,000 items that Piche can sell with a text
message.

"The rich people, I don't think they'd even come to Hastings," she said. "I don't think we have anything that would interest them."

Reliable antique buyers from the 1990s are getting older and trying to clean house, while young professionals have become notorious in the business for their
indifference to antiques. Meanwhile, eBay has cut the value of countless antiques that were thought rare before the Internet came along and proved they aren't.

Young buyers might want an accent piece or two, but they're certainly not buying many figurines, sets of fine china or decorative plates. "Glassware is gone," Falk said, and most silver is priced at the melt value.

There are exceptions. Pyrex is hot right now, according to Paul Post, publisher of The Old Times, an antique trade newspaper.

There's some feeling in the industry that people in their 20s are starting to spend more time antiquing. But the smart money is on catering to the rich. "The
people who buy at the real high end are that top 1% crowd that you read about in the financial press," said Sander, the consultant in Connecticut. "They're
buying the good stuff."

This has been a transition for Piche, the second-generation antique dealer in St. Paul. He has learned to place more emphasis on upscale customers and the
Internet, and to do most of his business over the phone.

He still has a pile of solid, unremarkable tables that go for less than $1,000. But they're not selling, and he has to keep cutting prices.

"The market collapsed for that kind of stuff," Piche said.

So most of the time, Piche is on the road, looking for furniture that he can sell to specific customers for several thousand dollars, like the Black Forest dog he picked up at an outdoor flea market in Massachusetts.

He snaps up R.J. Horner oak buffets and tables, sets of chairs that go for $600 apiece, benches and tables with intricate carving from the 19th century. He's found new customers in Illinois, Texas and California.

It used to be that when he brought a truckload of furniture back from an out-of-state road trip, dealers from around the Upper Midwest would meet the
truck and buy antiques on the spot.

Now he sells most of it over the phone before he rolls back into St. Paul.

"When the economy gets bad, you've got to attack it somehow," Piche said. "You can't just keep doing what you're doing."

Source: www.jsonline.com

Railroads help build America and long before electricity and computers, railroad workers had to use signal lanterns to coordinate an intricate system of keeping 
things moving smoothly along the routes and in the train yards.

We recently had a nice collection of railroad lanterns in our last estate sale as well as the different colored globes and lenses.  During the era of steam and diesel engines, it was very noisy and speaking or shouting among the rails was useless.  During the day, flags were used but during the night, railroad lanterns had to be used to communicate.

Swinging the lanterns in different ways or using different colored globes or lenses in the lanterns were the understood forms of communication.   Kerosene was the choice of fuel for the lanterns which was not only the most efficient way of signaling, but also provided a little heat on cold dark nights.  Flashlights were not efficient 
because they were too directional and constantly needed new batteries.

Collectors now use these old lanterns in home décor or for outdoor lighting for entertainment.  Most lanterns consisted of a black metal cage with a glass globe insert.  These globes were fixed, tall or short. Presentation or conductor lanterns tended to be fancier and made out of better metals.

The railroad lanterns we are most familiar with came along after the Civil War.  Fixed globe lanterns are generally the oldest of the genre and different lanterns with different colored globes had to be used.  The next 
evolution of the railroad lantern was the “tall” globe lanterns that had removable globes of several colors that could be interchanged.  These globes came in green, red, amber and blue.  These were mostly used during World War I.  

The lanterns continued to evolve as the globes became shorter.  Most globes after World War I are 4 inches tall.  These lanterns burned less fuel and were more portable.  Imagine what it was like to ride across the country on a 
steam locomotive: the sights, the sounds, the colorful lanterns, it really was quite an adventure!  Happy Collecting!

Jillinda Falen has been buying and selling antiques for over 27 years and is a licensed REALTOR and
  estate liquidation specialist.  You can contact her through the Warner Robins Patriot or via email at falen@windstream.net

Source: www.warnerrobinspatriot.com

The U.S. Postal Service has opened a store on eBay featuring an initial auction of more than 100 items, from rare stamps to original artwork commissioned by the government.

Postal officials said the eBay partnership will help them expand their reach to new markets interested in rare stamp collectibles. Calling eBay “the
premier collectible marketplace,” U.S. Postal Service’s chief marketing executive Nagisa Manabe said the online auction company based in San Jose, California, is “a natural fit to launch one of the world’s largest online Postal Stores." 

“International stamp collectors will now have a new convenient way to purchase U.S. stamps and philatelic products,” Manabe said. 

Among the items currently available for bidding are a First Space Achievement and Exploration Hologram Stamp Press Sheet (currently bidding is $76), a 
22-cent 100th Anniversary of the Statue of Liberty stamp proof (stamp issued in 1986) and a 1971 Antarctic Treaty 8-cent stamp proof that includes the approval
of then Postmaster General Winton Blount. It is one of only two proofs in the Postmaster General’s collection.  

The postal service will maintain the  Postmaster General’s Collection by auctioning only duplicate items, Manabe said. 

The current auction ends Sept. 23 at 3 p.m. EDT. More philatelic items from the Postmaster General’s collection will be available at a later date. 

The government has some 30,000 items that fit into two collecting categories: stamps and original stamp artwork, includes many pre-production items, proofs,
black and white models and uncut press sheets . There are also rare items, including early high denomination stamps, experimental paper issues, and mail
postmarked on the moon. Very few of these items have been seen by the public, postal officials said. 

The stamp art collection, which originated in 1942,  features original artwork by Norman Rockwell and hundreds of other artists who volunteered to make
art that would be used in miniature form on U.S. stamps. The collection includes thousands of concept designs as well as many preliminary sketches. For the Elvis
Presley stamp, for example, more than 50 original designs were submitted by various artists to the Postal Service for consideration.

Source: www.nj.com

TAMPA — Many people have followed the “Antiques Road Show” on television, hoping to spot a familiar family heirloom worth enough money to change our
lives. If people in the Tampa area think they have a treasure, they can bring it to the Antiques Evaluations Saturdays at the Henry B. Plant Museum. Seven
Saturdays a year, skilled appraisers donate their time to evaluate the community’s possessions. 
 
Bring those possible hidden treasures to the Music Room in Plant Hall at The University of Tampa for a verbal evaluation. At 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 28,
local appraisers will be available to answer your questions. Evaluations cost $5 per item, which goes to the restoration and renovation of the museum. There is a
limit of four items per family. Tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis, and will be sold between 10 and 11:45 a.m. If furniture is too large, bring a good photograph and a drawer or door from the piece, if
possible. 
 
The first evaluations Saturday of the season will also feature three jewelry appraisers: Kevin Burns, president of Associated Watch & Jewelry Buyers; Barbara Smith, owner of Barbara Smith Estate & Fine Jewelry; and Tim Schuler of Schuler Gemological Services. They will examine jewelry and provide a verbal assessment. Those interested will have the opportunity to bring up to five
pieces of jewelry.
 
How to Care for Your Precious Metals and Gems is a free panel presentation following the evaluations on Sept. 28 from noon to 1 p.m. in the Music Room
(adjacent to the museum). Winnie Magnon Marvel, president of Magnon Jewelers; Ron McCarty, curator and keeper of Ca d’Zan, The John and Mable Ringling Museum
of Art; and Claudia Deschu, owner of Gulf Coast Art Conservation will discuss how to properly care for your family heirlooms. 
 
Learn how you can unwittingly damage what you have and which hints from Heloise simply aren’t that helpful. Using real-life examples and visual aids,each panelist will explore their topic for 15 minutes. The audience will be
invited to ask questions after the presentations. Seating is limited. 
 
This season’s evaluations will be on these Saturdays:
 
* 2013: Sept. 28, Oct. 12, Nov. 9 

* 2014: Jan. 4, Feb. 15, April 5, May 3. 
 
All proceeds benefit the Henry B. Plant Museum. Parking is available in the faculty and staff parking lot on the west side of Plant Hall.

Source: www.tbo.com

The first cane probably was just a strong stick, but
by the 19th century, a cane was a fashion accessory and sometimes hid a tool.

The heads of canes were made of wood, ivory, gold or
silver, leather, pewter or porcelain, sometimes with inlay and precious gems. Canes with a carving of a political candidate’s head were used until Franklin Roosevelt objected — because he was disabled.

At recent antiques sales, there have been some very
unusual canes. Some hid weapons. Sword canes are familiar because of movies.

But few know there are canes that held parts of a
gun, including ammunition — a hidden arsenal. Another was a blow gun that could “shoot” bullets. A woman’s cane had a short knife blade to use for protection. A
“flicker” cane was made so a short blade could pop out of the handle. Most deadly was the “Diabolique,” a cane outlawed in France. If someone tried to pull
the cane, a set of spikes popped out of the shaft wounding the attacker’s hand. Tap the cane on the ground, and the spikes disappeared.

Most canes are less threatening. There is a cane
handle covered in carved grapes that unscrews to reveal a corkscrew. Another, a bamboo cane, has a horse-measuring ruler inside. One held supplies for a writer
— pens, paper, inkwell, penknife, eraser, pencil, sealing wax, a candle and matches. Another held a woman’s accessories, including tweezers, nail picks, buttonhook, crochet needle, bottles and fan.

But that is not all. Imagine a cane that held a long,
thin working violin and bow. An artist could get a cane that held an easel, palette and paints. Some canes are amusing. A peephole let the owner look at a picture of a bathing beauty, while another held a whiskey bottle. Strangest is a Chinese “spitter” cane with a silver handle shaped like a man’s head. Press his pigtail, point, and the head spits water at a victim. Any of these canes sell
for thousands of dollars today.

Q: Going through piles of my stuff, I found my
teen collection of 24 silly arcade cards called “Licenses to Do Anything.” I remember buying them from coin-operated machines in the late 1930s or early
’40s. Each one is postcard size, 3¼ by 5½ inches, and is printed on heavy stock with green lettering and a fancy green border. Mine include a Back Seat Driver’s
License, a Bachelor’s Permit and a Spendthrift Permit. What are they worth?

A: Your cards were issued by the Exhibit
Supply Co. of Chicago. The copyright date on the ones we have seen is 1941. A set of 30 mint examples is being offered online for $30. So your smaller set
would sell for less than that.

Current prices
•  Wooden recipe box, two roosters, hinged, Japan,
1950s, 5½ by 4½ inches, $5.

•  Riviera Pottery creamer, ivory, $20.

•  Candle snuffer, silver plate, baroque, Wallace, c.
1941, 8 inches, $25.

•  Pressed-glass cake stand, Roman rosette, 10¼
inches, $55.

•  Hawaiian hula girl nodder, grass skirt, c. 1940,
5½ inches, $80.

Source: www.courier-journal.com

"That's Meeks, isn't it?" asked 19-year-old Tyler Roe authoritatively, as he approached the Stanton Hall Pattern rosewood recamier in Madewood's music room
on a recent visit. "I thought so."

Most folks automatically would have assumed that the chair, part of an eight-piece parlor suite, was the creation of American ebeniste John Henry
Belter -- the default craftsman for the sort of
elaborately-carved-and-encrusted Victorian furniture that makes me queasy. A piece by the New York firm of John and Joseph Meeks, on the other hand, is a
always a welcome breath of fresh air in a typically-overwrought 19th-century parlor.
Tyler, a business major at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, has a keen eye for antiques, which comes in handy in his role as a knowledgeable assistant
at Dave and Paula Kane's antique-and-anything-else-you-can-think-of emporium, The Old Green Store, on La. Hwy. 311 in Schriever, near Houma.

Dave, a Marine awarded three Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star for his service, and Paula found themselves retired and looking for something to do. She had
worked at a coffeehouse/antiques shop in Thibodaux, where she gained experience in the trade. When lightning struck, and the building burned to the ground, it
was time to move on.

Lightning struck again, fortunately in a good way this time, in the form of a chance to work at The Old Green Store in nearby Schriever, which had just
reopened as an antiques store in 2011. Dating from 1882, when the building served as the commissary of Ardoyne Plantation, a Neo-Gothic fantasy just down
the road, the local landmark had been closed for years until reopening in its present form that year.

When the chance to take over the operation appeared in 2012, the Kanes leapt at the chance to develop the concept of a friendly, old-fashioned country store
that just happens to purvey everything from delicate heritage baby clothes to furniture and nine-foot-tall faux-bois parlor pocket doors that once graced an historic convent in St. Louis, Missouri.

Tyler, antique-browsing with a friend one day, was intrigued with the history, contents and potential of The Old Green Store -- and decided to stay  and help. If plans for a second store materialize one day, his knowledge of
antiques and business studies will come in handy.

Till then, you can have a glance at Ardoyne, a dream fantasy when viewed through a screen of oaks from Highway 311, then mosey on down the road for
complimentary coffee and pastries on Friday or Saturday with Dave, Paula and Tyler under the gentle hum of ceiling fans.

You won't want to leave. At least not without more unexpected treasures than you'd bargained for.
_________________
The Old Green Store, 2933 La. Hwy.
311, Schriever, LA 70395, approximately 90 minutes from New Orleans via Hwy. 90. (Take the Hwy. 311 exit -- past the three Houma exits -- and turn right, toward
Houma. You'll pass Ardoyne after about two miles, on your right. Continue another mile to the store, on your left.)

Tuesday through Saturday, 10 - 5. Closed Sunday and Monday. Tel: 985-879-4736; email: theoldgreenstore@charter.net. Visit The Old Green
Store's Facebook page for pictures and additional
information.

Source: www.nola.com

Die-hard Pokémon fans are grappling to bid  thousands of pounds to land the world's most expensive card, dubbed 'the holy  grail'.

Seller Scott Pratte is demanding a staggering  $100,000 (£64,000) for the Pikachu Illustrator Card - one of just
six in  circulation.

As of today, 2200 buyers are 'watching' the  bid, which ends on 18 September.

The savvy owner from Edwardsville, Illinois,  is also accepting bids of more than $50,000 - and has rejected all 427 offers so  far.

According to eBay statistics, the item is viewed at a rate of 230 people per hour.

The international Pokémon phenomenon is one  of the most lucrative animation franchises in history.

Despite diminishing in popularity, the franchise  is still
running and releasing products, such as the 3D video game, Pokémon X  and Pokémon Y, to be released in October this year.

Despite diminishing in popularity, the franchise  is still
running and releasing products, such as the 3D video game, Pokémon X  and Pokémon Y, to be released in October this year.

Schools worldwide were forced to bring in  strict gambling rules in the late 1990s as children incessantly fought
over the  collectible trading cards sold in shops, magazines, and fast food meals.

The series, part of the cartoon genre  'animé', launched in Japan in 1995. 

It follows Ash and his friends Misty and  Brock as they fight evil with monsters, 'Pokémons', they can store in a
small  ball.
 
Each Pokémon has its own special powers and  different strengths.

In the show, owners pit their pocket monsters  against each other - the winner keeps both.

As the slogan 'Gotta catch em all'  suggests,  the aim is to collect all 649 existing pocket monsters - a battle
schoolchildren  worldwide simulated using the collectible playing cards.

Among the mass-produced cards, the
most  expensive, the Charizard, is £100 - although first-edition holographic versions  can fetch up to £3,000.

Even Team GB's judo star Ashley McKenzie  admitted he took up the sport after a fight over his prized Charizard 
card.

He said: 'This Charizard was the best card.  It was my life back then.

'I've gone to grab his shirt and next thing I  knew I was over his shoulder.'

After researching judo moves on the internet,  McKenzie returned to reclaim his pricey commodity.

He added: 'We spoke, we're friends, I started  judo. Obviously I got my Pokemon card back.'

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk