Kovels On Antiques & Collectibles Vol. 49 No. 7 – March 2023

Doorstops … Magician’s Tools … Scandinavian Design … Vintage Fashions … Ohio Bottles … Market Report on Vinyl Records … Dating Marks by Country Name … Collector’s Gallery … Prices  

From Scandinavia With Love 

In search of both land and religious freedom, Scandinavians came to America as part of a mass migration in the 19th century. These immigrants were mainly rural families who settled in the Midwest. They often brought along cherished and useful handmade items from home. Today these traditionally painted Scandinavian antiques are collected for their history, […]

Kovels On Antiques & Collectibles March 2023 Newsletter Now 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 2023 newsletter features doorstops, magicians’ props, Scandinavian design, vintage fashions, and Ohio bottles, all with photos and prices.

More than 50 vintage cast iron doorstops from a single owner’s collection were offered in a New Jersey auction and examples are featured in Kovels On Antiques & Collectibles March 2023 newsletter. They ranged from the whimsical and expensive—a sassy spotted dog that sold for $900—to the large and expensive—a 12-inch sleeping black cat that brought $1,080—to the rare and very expensive—a King Kong doorstop that went for more than $5,000. See these and other priced doorstops in Kovels’ March issue.

Bidders at a Chicago auction had no illusions that magic trick props are desirable collectibles. More than 500 lots of memorabilia from the world of magic were offered, and Kovels’ March newsletter focuses on some props that make the tricks happen. Imagine pulling feather flowers from a thin stand table, or tugging silk scarves from a water-filled copper vase. Find a pair of handcuffs owned by Harry Houdini himself, and learn what the high bidders paid for all of these items.

A Pennsylvania auction company hosted an online only auction of a collection of antique household wares made by Scandinavian settlers. Included were wooden tools, kitchen utensils, dough boards, cupboards, bowls, boxes and toys painted in their distinctive folk art style. Many pieces were dated and bore the initials of those who owned them. Collectors appreciated the unusual items and responded with hefty prices as you will see in the latest Kovels’ newsletter.

Collectors love all kinds of bottles and a recent Pennsylvania auction offered more than 300. Kovels’ latest issue pictures bottles related to their home state of Ohio. Pictured are bottles that were made by Ohio glassmakers or contained products made in Ohio—early bitters, medicines, mineral waters and an interesting historical flask, along with a desirable free-blown Zanesville covered sugar bowl that auctioned for a sweet $14,000.

And last, but not least, more than 200 lots of vintage fashions were sold at auction in Vermont and Kovels’ March issue pictures some pretty snazzy examples. From a slinky black sequined evening dress by Pierre Cardin to a loud plaid (and pricey!) 1930s zoot suit to a memorable 1960s paper dress with a psychedelic pattern, the offerings gave collectors a chance to buy pieces of history that were also pieces of art.

Kovels’ March newsletter includes a market update on vintage vinyl records. Read about a music poster that set a record price and a 1950 toy “atomic energy lab” that auctioned for thousands. The Dictionary of Marks lists marks with country names that can help date Asian pottery and porcelain. The Collector’s Gallery answers reader questions about an ornate silver-plated pitcher, a Jacobean style chair, a German porcelain powder box and bronze statue of a boy and his dog. And more than 70 antiques and collectibles are listed in the March Buyer’s Price Guide.

scandinavian design, magicians props, ohio bottles, doorstops, vintage fashions

Kovels On Antiques & Collectibles March 2023 Newsletter

Hans Wegner: Top Midcentury Modern Furniture Designer 

“A chair is only finished when someone sits in it.”   ~Hans Wegner  Danish midcentury modern furniture is noted for simple, functional forms and high standards of quality. It continues to get high prices from collectors, perhaps because Scandinavian designs, commonly made with teak, fit well into modern homes with wooden floors and wide-open rooms. A […]

Colorful, Distinctive Scandinavian Ceramics

The Scandinavian Design movement emerged in the 1950s in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden and Norway. Pottery from Scandinavian artists Wilhelm Kåge, Arne Bang, Axel Salto, Birger Kaipiainen and others were included in a recent Wright sale in Chicago. The simple designs have become popular in American homes. A gold-colored, cylindrical Farsta vase made in 1960 […]

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

Colorful and Minimalist Scandinavian Lighting

Scandinavian lighting devices are functional and have minimalist, clean designs. A recent Wright auction in Chicago featured Scandinavian designed furniture and furnishings, including nearly 40 lots of lamps and other lighting. Top price was a set of six brass-plated aluminum and plastic ceiling lamps designed by Hans-Agne Jakobsson of Sweden in 1965 that sold for […]

Skip to toolbar