japanese woodblock prints Archives

Japanese Woodblock Prints

My mother bought old Japanese woodblock prints while visiting the country. They were framed in the United States and given to friends and family members. About 20 years later, most of the gifts were being damaged by a bug that must have finally hatched and started eating the paper in curved trails. We opened the frames, sprayed with an insecticide, and stopped most of the damage. Repairs to the old damage were very expensive, more than the value of the print. A frame store should be able to disinfect before framing.

Popularity of Japanese Woodblocks Continues

Japanese woodblock printing dates to the 8th century B.C., but in 1765, a new type of woodblock printing allowed the use of multiple colors by using multiple blocks, one for each color. Traditional Japanese woodblock prints became available in the West and are still made today. Prints from the shin hanga (new prints) movement of […]

Kovels On Antiques & Collectibles Vol. 47 No. 7 – March 2021

Advertising Signs … Japanese Woodblock Prints … Roycroft Furniture … Scandinavian Ceramics & Marks … Tin Windup Toys … Collectors’ Gallery … Prices

Kovels On Antiques & Collectibles March 2021 Newsletter Available

Kovels On Antiques & Collectibles newsletter is available as a print subscription, or as a digital version that is included in the Kovels Knowledge and Kovels All Access memberships. Start your Kovels Knowledge Free Trial now or login.

Kovels’ March 2021 newsletter features tin windup toys, Japanese woodblock prints, Roycroft furnishings, Scandinavian ceramics, and vintage advertising signs, all with photos and prices.

Collectors on the hunt for antique and vintage mechanical tin toys made all the right moves at a Pennsylvania auction featured in a sale report in Kovels On Antiques & Collectibles March 2021 newsletter. Whimsical windups depicting animals, people and vehicles charmed bidders who paid hundreds of dollars each for toys such as the Superman Turnover Tank, a Sparkling Rocket Fighter Ship, a Charles Lindbergh New York to Paris Airplane, and more.

Japanese woodblock prints are labor intensive to make and beautiful to look at whether they are antique, vintage or contemporary. Kovels’ newsletter features 20th-century woodblock prints auctioned by a Georgia gallery that specializes in the subject, where winning bids started at just under $100 and soared to more than $27,000. Priced examples are in the March newsletter along with tips on their care.

Collectors always love old advertising, especially signs that publicize favorite brands and trademark characters. At a recent New York auction with more than 130 advertising lots, prices peaked at $14,000 for a 1926 Chiclets Gum counter display complete with unopened 5-cent boxes of the gum. See the cheerful Reddy Kilowatt, the Jell-O Girl, and other advertising that captured attention and high prices in Kovels’ March issue.

Furniture made by the Roycroft community of crafters in Western New York was known for its high-quality materials and workmanship, and the simplicity of its design. Learn more about the Roycrofters in Kovels’ March newsletter, and see priced examples of Roycroft tables, cabinets and other furnishings.

Scandinavian design enthusiasts will enjoy viewing the mid-20th-century ceramic creations of artists Wilhelm Kåge, Bjorn Winnblad, Arne Bang, Axel Salto, Birger Kaipiainen and others that sold at auction recently in Chicago. The sleek shapes and soothing colors brought prices in the thousands. Don’t miss the examples in Kovels’ March newsletter, along with a listing of marks to help identify pieces that you may find!

Don’t miss the March newsletter report about online marketplaces with some of Kovels’ finds, their prices, and shopping tips. The illustrated Collector’s Gallery answers readers’ questions about a pair of English figurines, an Oil Patch Kid doll, a Nippon “moriage” vase, and a German metalwork “communion set.” And more than 70 antiques and collectibles are listed in the March Buyer’s Price Guide.

Kovels On Antiques & Collectibles Vol. 47 No.7 – March 2021

Kovels On Antiques & Collectibles March 2021 Newsletter