An X-Wing Model from the Original ‘Star Wars’ Sells for $3.1 Million

This was the auction science-fiction fans were looking for. Heritage’s Greg Jein Collection Hollywood Platinum Signature Auction, which featured more than 550 iconic models, props, costumes, and art from the fabled collection of Oscar- and Emmy-nominated visual effects artist Greg Jein, realized $13,611,406 last weekend, Oct. 14-15. The two-day event had become the second-highest-grossing Hollywood […]

From the business of vintage to the excitement of Halloween, the October issue of Kovels Antique Trader offers plenty of tricks and treats this month.

Born out of frustration of not being able to easily find what he was trying to collect online, Tom Johnson started Ruby Lane. Twenty-five years later, Ruby Lane is the world’s largest curated online marketplace for quality vintage collectibles and antiques. We caught up with Johnson, the co-founder, CEO, and president of Ruby Lane, at his […]

Inherited Sofa is Grand, but Should it Stay, or Should it Go?

Q: My grandmother recently passed away, leaving behind a house full of antiques and collectibles, including this sofa which she inherited from an elderly aunt who lived in New Orleans. My grandmother said her aunt was wealthy and that the sofa was a prized possession. We like it and are left wondering what to do […]

The Enduring Appeal of Gustav Stickley

Fans of Craftsman furniture have Gustav Stickley to thank. The son of first-generation German immigrants, he opened the Gustav Stickley Co. just outside of Syracuse, N.Y., in 1898. His furniture was quite different from the elaborate, lavish Victorian style, preferring an ascetic look with qualities like exposed wood grain and precise metal hardware. Although Stickley’s […]

What is Art? Apparently Not Two Empty Frames.

Are two empty frames art? Artist Jens Haaning thought so. The courts disagreed. When is art not really art, even if an artist says it is? That philosophical question became a legal question in Denmark, and it did not go well for the artist. A Copenhagen court ordered a Danish artist to repay the Kunsten […]

Introduced in the ’80s, the Swatch Watch has a good time at Auction

“Swatches: The Collection of Esther Montagner,” which had more than 600 pieces, sold on July 19 was a celebration of her dedication and zeal and the Swatch universe’s history and lore. The strong results brought in a total of $139,645. A lot of 29 watches from The Originals: Gents and Ladies 1993 Collection, $4,788. Photo: […]

Original “Towering Inferno” Artwork a Burning Success at Auction

The classic disaster movie, The Towering Inferno, was the highest-grossing film of 1974 and won three Academy Awards. It was a brawny blockbuster of a film, by far the best of the mid-1970s wave of disaster movies. The star-studded vehicle featured Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, William Holden, Fred Astaire, Richard Chamberlain, Robert Wagner and Faye […]

Disneyland

The Joel Magee Disneyland Collection, the largest privately owned collection of Disney parks memorabilia in the world, was offered in a three-day sale that began on July 17, Disneyland’s 68th birthday. Some of the highlights of the 1,500 pieces out of the 6,000 Magee has amassed over 30 years, including the single largest collection of […]

Collectors Enjoy a Fowl Day at Copley Event

The first decoys can be dated to the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North America, but it was during the post-Civil War era in the United States when demand for waterfowl decoys greatly expanded. These pieces are now a treasured form of folk art collected by modern hunters for their utilitarian use, enthusiasts of folk art, and […]

Royal Hickman Pottery

Q: I’m not a collector, but have a pottery piece I’ve had for several years bought at an estate auction. I’ve been trying to find a value for the piece. A:  Your piece is labeled with a sticker reading “California Designed by Royal Hickman.” Hickman was a designer for Haeger Potteries in Dundee, Illinois, from […]