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COLLECTING PRIMER
What do Barbra Streisand, Yehudi Minuhin,
Woopi Goldberg, Donna Karan, Oprah Winfrey and Elton John have in
common? Well, it's easy, really. All of them are collectors; each
is passionate about their own particular vision of the Golden Age
or their own ultimate golden collectible. Hey, even Freud was hooked.
When he died in 1939 he had accumulated during a forty-year span,
more than 3,000 artifacts which he squeezed into two small chambers--his
study and consulting room. " I have sacrificed a great deal
for my collection of Greek, Roman and Egyptian antiquities,"
he once wrote and I "have actually read more archaeology than
psychology."
Decades later, another passionate collector
made an equally surprising statement. "I'd rather go to a porcelain
exhibit than a rock concert"......©
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KEROSENE
OIL LAMPS
Not
only can antique kerosene oil lamps be the dazzling focal point
of a room but they are even more spectacular when lit and used.
As Mary Phillips, a Toronto collector says, "sometimes when
I have one of 'those' days, I pour a glass of wine and plop myself
in front of a couple of lamps. Watching the tiny flames dance somehow
drains all the stress away. To me, these beautiful lamps are instant,
non-medicinal tranquilizers."
Besides providing a calming effect, they
lend a certain aura to the environment that candles don't ever manage
to attain. Dinner parties and private summer soirees, for example,
display a certain sophistication, elegance and romantic ambiance
when lit by oil lamps. Others, like Phillips, enjoy the fact that
they are functional and don't have to be stored away because of
their fragile natures.
Whatever the reasons for collecting, pickings
are still good in North America. The best part; however, is that
these lamps are still almost affordable. Jerry Bloxam, Canada's
leading dealer in early lighting says prices in Canada have fallen
in the last seven or eight years, making this the prime time to
buy..............©
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VICTORIAN
LOVE TOKENS
Even
sweeter than a ribbon-wrapped box of candy or a fistful of roses
is a handmade gift. Just a simple note with a few appropriate sentiments
or a fragment of antique lace would do beautifully . Sadly; however,
most of us never seem to have the time to create a lasting, personal
tribute to the people we love. But it wasn't always this way. When
our ancestors wanted to say 'I love you," they made something
special. It is these love tokens, as they are known, that are sought
the world over. Some collectors specialize in items carved from
wood, whalebone or ivory that were made into busk stays (to be inserted
into corsets to hold the body stiff and straight), knitting needle
sheaths, or even boxes intended to hold love letters.
Easier to find is love-token jewelry, made
of regular-issue coins that were defaced, then engraved with a message,
a name, initials, a scene or just a significant date. These small
Victorian treasures......©
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PERFUME
BOTTLES: BOTTLES OF BEAUTY
When Toronto dental hygienist Shirley Harnick
purchased her first commercial perfume bottle in the late 1980s,
she could not have imagined that she would soon amass more than
1000 choice examples and be considered the foremost Canadian authority
on the subject. As with most passionate collectors, it started by
accident. Drawn to the magnificent but expensive Art Deco glass
objects of Rene Lalique, Hanick was overjoyed when she discovered
a Lalique perfume bottle, tucked away in a local antique shop, bargain-priced
at $65......©
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COLLECTING
PAPER
While
ecologists rejoice each time the slogan "reduce, recycle, reuse"
is chanted, paper collectors shudder and groan. They fear that the
blue boxes are encouraging many to destroy important material, especially
the printed and hand-written treasures documenting our time. So
worried are those involved with the study of paper artifacts that
they have devised their own slogan urging us to "reserve, preserve,
conserve" the bits and pieces of our everyday lives for future
generations.
Although the words 'paper collectibles',
'paper Canadiana' or 'paper Americana' have been used to describe
this collecting category, the proper term is 'ephemera,' which refers
to the minor.........©
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ANTIQUE
BUTTONS
"Plain
pearls, fancy pearls, jet buttons, brass and silver buttons, linen
buttons, cashmere buttons, silk-covered buttons, black mohair buttons,
crochet buttons, bone buttons--in truth 'Buttons to the right of
you, Buttons to the left of you.' Anything you want in Buttons,"
boasted Eaton's in its spring/summer 1889 catalogue.
Not much has changed over the decades. We
are just as crazy about buttons today. Even more so, in fact, as
antique buttons--perhaps the very ones offered in that old catalogue--
are on their way to becoming a hot collectible. Prices for these
little nuggets are rising dramatically. Currently they range from
a few dollars to ....©
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ANTIQUE
HATPINS
Hatpins, once every-day fashion accessories
are now hot collectibles. Hatpinology, as it is known to enthusiasts,
refers to the study of the decorative knob attached to a pin. Believe
it or not, they once decorated an office in the television drama,
L.A. LAW.
When C.J. Lamb, played by Amanda Donohoe, made her first appearance,
discerning North American collectors took immediate notice. For
there on the window ledge in her office, poking out of a packing
carton, stood a-to-die-for hatpin collection. A few weeks later,
a gentleman playing her father, started fiddling, in an absent-minded
manner, with one choice example.
For more than a year-and-a-half, collectors
waited for these hatpins to be shown again. Finally, Rick Wallace,
the show's executive producer, was queried. "Were the hatpins
C.J.'s secret passion in life?" I asked, and "Were they
part of Donohoe's personal collection, since both her parents are
antique dealers in England?" Alas, Wallace said "there
is no significance to the hatpins. It was a touch added by the set
decorators." While disappointing, his reply shouldn't be a
surprise, since hatpins are, when arranged in a group, visually
stunning, with striking sculptural qualities.
Until 1832, all pins were handmade. They
were so expensive and valuable that in some countries stealing hatpins
was a capital offense..........©
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BAKELITE
JEWELRY
  What
passion do Diane Keaton, Liza Minelli and Whoopie Goldberg share?
The answer is that all three wear and collect bakelite jewellery
and each woman has been seen, over the years, acquiring choice examples
in Toronto.
Goldberg seems to go for colourful bangle
bracelets while Keaton selects hers by size, choosing pieces that
are tiny. Minelli, on the other hand, recently purchased all the
black bakelite jewelry that was offered by Bill Brethour, in his
Harbourfront Antique Market shop. Says Brethour about Bakelite,
" the stuff is hot. As soon as I get a truly rare piece, no
matter the price, it just walks out the door."
But it isn't just movie stars who are the
heavy buyers in the competitive collecting field. Die-hard enthusiasts
include schoolteachers, secretaries and homemakers, who are as 'infected'
with the collecting bug as those who could easily afford gold, platinum
and diamonds. It just doesn't matter to collectors that these treasures
are Depression era plastic.......©
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FINDING
FREDDIE'S FAMILY: THE MAGICAL STORY OF AN ANONYMOUS PHOTO ALBUM
Tami Jacobs Kligman has always loved antiques,
especially more intimate and small-scale treasures like photographs,
autographs, Victorian valentine cards and diaries. They intrigue
her, particularly when specific individuals are identified.
 That
was why, thirty years ago, she was drawn to a brittle old photograph
album she found in a downtown Toronto antique shop: there was something
genuine and nostalgic about it. The binding was a warm burgundy
velvet. On the thick cardboard cover was a faded likeness of a young
girl wearing flowers in her curly hair. A remnant of the original
brass lock still clung to its side.
The album contained many original circa-1880
family photographs, accompanied by penciled inscriptions. But Kligman
found one shot particularly haunting: a grainy, black and white
photo of a man and a woman wearing their finest Sunday clothes.
Seated in front of them was a dignified-looking boy, four or five
years old, with a round face, woolen hat, a lace collared coat and
some sort of military weapon across his chest. The subjects were
identified as being "Mr. and Mrs. J.W. McDonald and Freddie."
It only took Kligman a few seconds to decide that she had to own
it. "I sensed the book as lost," says Kligman, "and
that it was my duty to help find its way back home."..........©
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CLARICE
CLIFF
Ten years ago, Clarice Cliff pottery was
a well-kept secret. Only a handful of people--with an eye for design
and an understanding of the British ceramic industry--recognized
the potential of these vibrantly coloured Art Deco wares. Today,
those collectors must be shaking their heads at their good fortune.
Prices are flying now. A few years ago, for instance, Christie's,
the English auction house that holds specialized Clarice Cliff auctions,
sold a simple 5 1/2 inch sugar sifter in a conical form, in the
popular May Avenue pattern, for the equivalent of $9,775 (U.S.)
setting a world record. A tea set for two fetched $11,730. and a
coffee service for six, with a tall, ovoid pot in the Bon Jour shape,
doubled its presale estimate, selling for $6,657.........©
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AUCTIONS
 "One
toilet set, six pieces, as good as new, cost three dollars and a
half. Sir? No, Sir, they are not broke but the man selling them
is: fifty cents-half a dollar-fifty-five, fifty-five, fifty-five-thank
you. Madam, seventy-five, going eighty-five, that's right. One dollar-cheap,
one dollar, one-dollar and a quarter? Thank you, one and a quarter,
make it half; thirty-five-yes, Madam, worth three and a half-fifty--one
and a half and fifty-five, in time; fifty-five, fifty-five, fifty-five,
sixty: one dollar and sixty cents, not half price. All done? Sold!"
Change the prices and this quote could easily come from a recent
sale, not one that happened more than a century ago.
That staccato, repetitive chant of the auctioneer
is familiar to everyone, and although the words and style may differ
from auction house to auction house and from country to country,
everything else is the same--the drama, the suspense and the atmosphere.
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COOKIE JARS
In 1988, Andy Warhol's collection of 175
cookie jars was auctioned by Sotheby's, New York, for $247,830 (U.S.)--35
times the expected price and probably 95 times more than Warhol's
original flea-market investment. Since then, cookie jars have moved
from obscurity to popularity. Indeed, stocking up on this funky
collectible is an excellent way to use your 'dough'. .......©
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A
BUSMAN'S HOLIDAY IN LONDON
With my cameras and backpack thrown over
my shoulder, a ticket and passport in one hand and a book in the
other, I climbed aboard a plane bound for London. The excuse was
to do some research for a project that had been dancing in my head
for years, but the bottom line was that I just needed to run away
from home. Was there ever a better idea for a busman's holiday that
spending two weeks in England?
As
soon as the aircraft was flying in a horizontal line and the butterflies
banished from my stomach, I opened ANTIQUE & FLEA MARKETS OF
LONDON AND PARIS, grabbed a pen, found a wad of Post-It notes and
got to work reading, sorting and planning my antique excursions.
First, I read the entire section that applied
to London so that I could get a general feel for the markets and
the book. Then on those yellow, sticky papers--carefully placed
to jut outside the book so that I could find each day of the week
quickly--I wrote cryptic notes in my own punctuation-less shorthand,
such as "Mon Covt Gards; Wed & Sat Port; Fri Berm; Wed
Cam Pa"....and so on. That done, I re-read the book, circling
the addresses, Tube directions and maps that went along with each.
My last step was to mark the booths I particularly wanted to see,
as described in short blurbs. By the time I was finished, we were
approaching Gatwick and I was beside myself with excitement..........
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SUSIE
COOPER: POTENT POTTERY
"Good News! Susie Cooper Patterns,
Sale Priced, Friday!' screamed the T. Eaton Co., ad in the August,
1938, Montreal Star. Customers were offered coffee sets, which consisted
of an open sugar and creamer, coffee pot and six after-dinner coffee
cups and saucers in the Tyrol pattern, in 11 different colour combinations,
such as sepia and jade, azure blue and chestnut, citron yellow and
black, amber and mahogany, for $3.59, down from $4.75.
Those who needed dinnerware might have dashed
back to Eaton's a month later, when Susie Cooper's semi-porcelain
dishes that were 'hand decorated--green or pink, motif shoulders,
and floral with harmonizing centres, were available in the chinaware
department for 12 cents to $1.75 each.
If your parents or grandparents attended
these sales, they might be surprised at their value. Today, that
coffee set would cost more than $800. And what about those plates
that fetched 12 cents? Well, they would probably cost from $100
to $250 each. Some of Cooper's early earthenware pieces are worth
in excess of $2500.
So, who was Susie Cooper anyway? To begin
with, she was one of the few women in England to create, run and
design ..........©
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CONSERVATION,
PRESERVATION & RESTORATION
Art and antique collectors are the custodians
of the artifacts in their possession and as such responsible for
researching and recording their histories as well as preserving
them for future generations. Many historically important pieces
were lost in the past because of neglect, ignorance and shortsightedness.
Collectors, like museum curators, have the responsibility of preserving
the things in their care.
............(note: topics covered are proper framing, paper conservation,
art restoration, silver, brass, copper , furniture......etc.)©
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FOLK
ART
Some
time ago, Marshall Stone, a retired newspaperman and part-time antique
dealer, was reading a glossy American antique magazine when he spotted
an advertisement for an exhibition of folk art at a prestigious
New York city gallery. Featured in the half-page colour spread was
a wooden weather vane carved in the shape of a snake. When he called
the gallery, he learned that it had been sold for $7,500. Stone
was furious.
He knew the weather vane was not an antique
as implied in the ad. He was certain about the age of the piece
because he himself had made it in 1976 to replace a vintage weather
vane stolen the year before.
Although the situation was straightened
out, the incident raised serious questions for collectors of folk
art. Was the snake weather vane considered a piece of folk art because
people thought it dated from the early 1900s? Did it cease to be
folk art when its age was ascertained?
Which leads us to the most important question:
What is folk art anyway? Experts can't agree on a definition, although
almost everyone has taken a stab at it..........©
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ANTIQUES
OF THE FUTURE
What if you could climb into a time machine
and return to the 1950s or even the '20s and fill a huge container
with objects of your choosing? What would you pick? Elvis memorabilia?
Baseball cards? A Tiffany lamp?
With hindsight, you could choose items that
would make you wealthy. But since this fantasy is unlikely, let's
twist the scenario slightly and say instead that your goal is to
fill that same container with items from today that will become
the collectibles of the future. What would you pick? ........©
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