Boots Possibly Owned by Napoleon Sell for $128,000

Provenance (a record of ownership) is key when selling items purportedly owned by historic or famous people. Although the ownership of a pair of 19th-century black leather boots couldn’t be tied with certainty to Napoleon Bonaparte, there was strong enough circumstantial evidence to push their recent sale to more than twice the auction estimate. The […]

Paul Evans Armchairs

Paul Evans (1931-1987) is one of the famous mid-century designers in America. He made unique furniture that fit into the buildings and houses being introduced after World War II. His studio was in New Hope, Pennsylvania and in the 1960s he was making furniture from steel and other metals. He had to learn to weld, […]

Movie Clock

When an unfamiliar, puzzling item comes up at auction there is often no previous sale to give a hint of the value. So, when this Warner Brothers Pictures clock was offered at a William Morford sale the catalog just said, “minimum bid $100”. The cast iron was shaped like an ark 8 x 8 ½ […]

English Registry Marks

The diamond-shaped English Registry mark, was used by the English patent office since 1842 to identify pieces of English pottery, porcelain, and other products. It is easy to tell when the ceramic was made. The mark has the Roman numerals “IV” at the top of the mark if it is for a ceramic. Between 1842 […]

How to Settle an Estate

“What do I do now? I have to settle an estate and have a collector’s house full of furnishings, paintings, collectibles, old computers, phones, and the everyday dishes. Plus, I have questions about insurance and taxes. Do I have to get a legal appraisal? What records do I need? Can I do it alone or […]

Label Under Glass

Most glass bottles identified the contents with embossed letters on the side of the container or a paper label. But a special group, usually apothecary bottles or special gifts, were made with “labels under glass”. The medical bottles usually had a label with a black name written in a fancy type style, gold leaf trim, […]

Belsnickle Figure

Belsnickel is part of the Christmas lore of Germany, other German-speaking countries, and the Pennsylvania -German celebration in the United States from the 1830s.He is a companion of Saint Nicholas but while Santa carries a bag of gifts for good children, Belsnickel spreads candy for good children then beats the bad children with his whip. […]

Peter Hunt Doll House

Artists sometimes only make one kind of art, perhaps painting, sculpture or jewelry. But many try all kinds of art before they find the one that is best. Self-taught Peter Hunt (1896-1967) started painting thrift shop furniture with peasant designs in 1929. His colorful pieces sold quickly in Cape Cod and became so fashionable they […]

Watch Holders

There has always been a need to tell time and early methods, sundials, hourglasses, water clocks or even large arrangements of stones and shadows were not accurate. The first mechanical clocks were invented in the 14th century, the pendulum clock in 1656 and by the 1700s there were many clocks in church towers that rang […]

Cracker Jack Collectibles

Companies that have been in business for a long time often have often updated and changed the logo or slogan used in advertising. Collectors can usually find the age of the ad from the words and pictures that were used. Cracker Jack was first sold in 1896 from a cart in Chicago. The mixture of […]