A Look Inside of the June Issue of Kovels Antique Trader

From the scenic tranquility of Bob Ross paintings to collectible beer serving trays, the June issue has it covered.

We all make mistakes in life, but it was TV’s most famous—and mellow—painter, Bob Ross, who taught us to turn our mistakes into birds. Yes, birds.

Somehow, when Ross, who is profiled in our cover story for the June issue of Kovels Antique Trader, explains turning mistakes into birds while painting, it all makes sense. With his friendly demeanor and soothing voice, Ross had an incredibly calming effect on millions with “The Joy of Painting,” his instructional painting show on PBS. Although the show ended 30 years ago this year, the late artist remains as popular as ever. His art is also a hit at auction. Contributing editor Kris Manty explains the Bob Ross phenomenon.

If paintings of trees and mountains and scenic vistas aren’t your thing, perhaps beer is. Or, to be more specific, the trays that helped serve beer. Memories of a waterfront dive in Brooklyn named Curry’s Tavern rekindle contributing editor Dr. Anthony Cavo’s long-lost appreciation for beer trays. Cavo’s piece is both a beautiful tribute to times past and the wonderful tin lithograph artworks that helped to serve suds. Cheers!

Growing up in the 1960s, costume jewelry expert Pamela Wiggins Siegel remembers women wearing jewelry decorated with attention-grabbing plastic components. Her grandmother had a super chunky bracelet embellished with simulated turquoise, and her mother had lipstick red button earrings glammed up with clear rhinestones. You can read all about the “Fantastic Plastic” as Wiggins Siegel salutes those grand memories—and today’s very collectible costume jewelry—in the June issue of Kovels Antique Trader.

Among many auction highlights found throughout the issue, this month’s Sales Reports looks at R.S. Prussia porcelain, architectural salvage, and the science-fiction collection of Academy Award-nominated artist and model maker Greg Jein. In our Collector’s Gallery feature, a reader discovers an incredibly rare and valuable Superman #1 comic book while another reader wrestles with two large, heavy, and gaudy lamps once purchased by her mother in the early 1960s. Are the lamps worth anything other than a sore back from moving them? Find out the surprising answer from our expert appraiser.

Finally, we spotlight Danish architect and designer Verner Panton and his remarkable Heart Cone chairs designed in 1958. The chairs are both futuristic and novel, as well as bright red. “One sits more comfortably on a colour that one likes,” Panton once said. And who are we to argue? So, our advice is to find a chair that is just the right color and enjoy the June issue of Kovels Antique Trader.