Sunday, 14 November 2010

Decorative Collectibles at Art Auctions

I have found many decorative collectibles at art auctions over the years. I have a display cabinet filled with all of my finds. My favorite of all of the decorative collectibles are Pendelfin rabbits.

Pendelfin rabbits captivated my interest when I was a young girl. My dad was stationed in England and my mother bought me my first of many decorative collectibles at an art auction. The bookends that she bought for me are extremely rare and I recently had them appraised at more than fifteen hundred dollars.

I’ve been searching at art auctions in my area every time that decorative collectibles are advertised as being up for sale. My greatest hope is that I can find a Pendelfin item named The Shoe. I’ve been looking for this particular piece for about five years.

The larger pieces of decorative collectibles seem to get really expensive really fast at an art auction. I’ve seen three people at once bidding up the Pendelfin rabbits to a point where the price is just out of my reach. I love these rabbits, but I have to stay on budget when I attend an art auction.

There is one Pendelfin item that I found at an art auction early in my collection that I spend a lot more money than I wanted to. I just had no idea how much a love of decorative collectibles could end up costing. The item I bought was a three inch by four inch little plaque with Robert the rabbit depicted.

I sell decorative collectibles with online art auctions. I find the items at art auctions and sales that I attend in person. I have never resold a piece of Pendelfin. I keep them in my own private collection. My husband bought me a Pendelfin figurine named Auctioneer. I love it.

Almost all of the rabbits produced by Pendelfin are small. These decorative collectibles have retained their value for a long time. Art auctions are a great place to hunt for really cool pieces that are larger and rare. I’ve been looking for one named Aunt Ruby for a couple of years, now.

Aunt Ruby is one of the large size rabbits. I already have Uncle Soames and Mother. These were actually some of the first pieces of decorative collectibles. I found them at an art auction I attended with my husband before we married.

There was an anniversary piece put out by Pendelfin. I don’t think that it is worth what I keep seeing it for new and in stores that sell decorative collectibles. I’ll just keep looking for it at a reasonable price at the art auctions I attend.

I was so excited when I found two big pieces of Pendelfin decorative collectibles at the last art auction I attended. I bought both the one named Toy Shop and the one named The Castle Tavern. They look great with all of the others that I’ve bought and won at auctions over the years.

My sister called me from an art auction last year to tell me that she had found a treasure trove of decorative collectibles. She said that there was one lot that contained nine Pendelfin pieces. I authorized her to pay up to four hundred dollars for the lot because some of the pieces were chipped. I was shocked when the lot went for eighty dollars, the opening bid.

Art Auctions: Vintage Photography

Vintage photography gives us a glimpse into the past, and helps to allow people to gain some understanding of the world before us. Unlike many of the collections that are considered the staples of art collection, vintage photographs are truly a unique exploration of the recent past, and many eras of the current civilization have come to contribute their share of what makes up vintage photography. Though not the largest grouping of auctioned materials of artistic value, they are still valued for their recollections of past events, and even items relating to vintage modes of photography are included in the auctioning of these things.

Cameras and equipment, photographic books and photo postcards before 1940, and even Viewmaster reels are acceptable pieces of auctioning material. All these things have contributed to the overall history on film, and even as the motion picture took on a predominant role in culture, the photograph has still been a staple of this system forming the basis for it all. Much of what seems to have the most value are those photographs that come from eras predating this revolution in film, and even further back to those images captured years just after the invention of the camera. Some are standards to which we have become accustomed to considering is merely part of our past, and we have to know that these things also have worth.

It is with this in mind that one can better grasp the innate worth of the photographs that might have caught their eye, and to be most prepared for an art auction with vintage photographs as the focus a bit of research is in order, especially if you wish to get the most out of your money for a proposed purchase. Much as any other auction, the buying and selling of vintage photographs can done in a variety of places, and that even includes through the Internet. Today, the markets are wide open with many different examples from previous eras, and finding that photograph that can really capture your attention can be a difficult process well worth the effort.

There are many organized auction houses that conduct business every day, which could perhaps be of service for you and your needs for the art you choose to become more aware of, and you can learn much by consulting experts on such matters. For the most part, buying and selling art through auctions can be an easy process with the right amount of time and money spent in the right places, and you can always go back to your research when you happen to feel overwhelmed by how complex the bidding can get with these types of experience in life.

It is when you are considering the value of a piece that you already own, that consultation with an appraiser can be of much help, and the more professional ones will go out of their way to get you the best total for your items. When concentrating on just what you want, you be better adapted to finding those needs met more adequately, and you will have no need for fearing the system of rules when it comes to the art auction. The more research that you commit yourself to, the more worth your time it becomes, and the more you can have your money work for you.

Breweriana at Art Auctions

My father-in-law is very interest in beer art. Breweriana is the special name for beer related artifacts. I’ve been watching for special pieces to add to his collection at art auctions I’ve been attending.

The first breweriana piece that I acquired for my father-in-law was a 1940s Lone Star Beer sign. He was so happy with this find at the art auction that he asked me to keep finding him interesting pieces of beer history. I think that finding breweriana at art auctions is definitely a commentary on today’s society.

I found another really old piece of breweriana at the very next art auction I attended. It was another sign and it was from the 1930s for Ziegler Beer. I was at an art auction in Wisconsin and had to ship that sign to my father-in-law by freight.

My quest for breweriana has taken me to some art auctions that I would not have ordinarily attended and I’ve met people that I don’t ordinarily meet. I got into a bidding war with a Cajun man over a Jax Beer sign from the 1930s. The auctioneer said that it was a piece of New Orleans history.

The Cajun outbid me at every opportunity. I had a limit that had been set by my father-in-law and we were closing in on it when he finally stopped bidding. I won that piece of breweriana at the art auction for eight hundred dollars.

The porcelain breweriana signs are showing up at art auctions all over the country. I found another one from the 1930s for Supreme Beer that was double sided and oval. I was really pleased when I was able to present that one to my father-in-law.

The tin breweriana signs are actually not showing up as often at art auctions. I felt fortunate when I found one from the 1930s for Washington Beer. The ceramic breweriana signs are much more commonplace.

After my first few purchases of breweriana for my father-in-law he decided that his taste really did run to items from the 1930s and 1940s. I’ve tried to keep this in mind when I find new acquisitions.

I usually stay away from neon or illuminating breweriana. I just don’t think it fits in with the feeling of my father-in-law’s collection. The antique feel of everything is nice. He has taken up beer making as a hobby since his wife passed away, so it is not a far leap to beer art collecting.

The Goetz Country Club Beer sign that I won at an art auction in Indiana was a little more chipped than the other pieces I’ve gotten. I was intent on winning this sign because Goetz was my father-in-law’s mother’s maiden name. He was so happy with this old piece of breweriana because of the name on it that it instantly became the centerpiece of his collection.

I found two pieces of cardboard breweriana at an art auction in Ohio. I decided that they were going to sell so cheaply that I could buy them and frame them for the collection. I’m glad I went to that art auction.

I won a sign for Velvet Beer and another one for Stratford Beer. They both were from the 1930s and they were more colorful than tin breweriana signs that I’d purchased at other art auctions. The framer that I used framed both pieces for fifty dollars.

The art auction that I attended in Rochester, New York turned out to be very fruitful for my father-in-law’s breweriana collection. There was a Standard Dry Ale reverse painted glass sign up for auction. The sign had hung in a bar until the 1960s when the bar closed down.

The most recent piece of breweriana that I bought at an art auction was an original prohibition era Miller High Life Brew sign. The red and black sign looked great on the wall with the other signs in the collection. My father-in-law plans to build an old-fashioned bar in his home, at least the decorating is complete!

Christie’s in Amsterdam

There are so many good lots up for auction this summer at Christie’s in Amsterdam. There is a lot by Petrus Paulus Schiedges called Sailing on open water that is oil on panel. This is supposed to sell for more than two thousand euros.

There is another lot up for auction at Christie’s that is of a busy canal near a Dutch town. It was painted by Joseph Bles. Joseph Bles was Dutch and he signed his painting “J Bles”. This painting should go for about fifteen hundred euros.

Albertus Verhoesen was Dutch and he painted a lovely painting called Cattle in a Sunny Meadow. The painting was created in 1845. It is up for auction in Amsterdam at Christie’s this summer. This painting will sell for more than twelve hundred euros.

Louis Smets was a 19th century Belgian. His painting of a horse-drawn-sled on a frozen waterway is up for auction this summer at Christie’s in Amsterdam. It is possible that this painting could fetch six thousand euros.

There is a nice painting by German Johann Erdmann Gottlieb called The Runaway Carriage that is dated 1844. It is one of the lots up for sale at Christie’s in Amsterdam. This is a rather large painting at 59.5 x 89 cm. The auction house thinks that it could sell for as much as five thousand euros.

The most expensive painting up for auction at Christie’s in Amsterdam this summer is called Setting Out. Setting Out was painted in the nineteenth century by Abraham Hulk. The painting is oil on canvas and it is estimated to sell for up to twenty thousand euros.

All of the top five paintings at the summer auction at Christie’s in Amsterdam were painted by Dutch painters. I think that I like the Jan Cossaar painting depicting playing in the snow after school better than I like the painting entitled Bollenveld by Anton Dircks. They look like they will sell for similar prices.

The oil painting of a lake in a panoramic Alpine landscape by Swiss artist Jacob Joseph Zelger is very large and very beautiful. I liked the style that he used for his creation. Christie’s estimates that this painting will sell for five to seven thousand euros.

There were less than twenty lots that Christie’s estimates will auction for less than a thousand euros. I found one of the most inexpensive paintings listed in the catalogue to be that of a clown with two yellow balls. It really did not speak to me at all and I’m not surprised that it will sell for one of the smallest amounts.

I actually liked the Dutch artist Simon Maris’ oil painting of pumpkins, grapes and elderberries. The painting is signed and may go for as little as seven hundred euros. Simon Maris lived from 1873-1935.

Another piece of art up for auction at the Christie’s in Amsterdam is a lithograph printed in colors from 1978. The artist is Bram van Velde and he signed his piece in pencil. Bidding for this piece may go as high as sixteen hundred euros. This artist was very poor as a child. He first entered into an apprenticeship as a painter in 1907 in The Hague.

Another painting that is going to be auctioned off at Christie’s in Amsterdam this summer is a flower still life with chrysanthemums. This oil painting was painted by Willem Elisa Roelofs. He was from The Hague and his painting should go for about seventeen hundred euros.

Looking for Collectible Postcards

I’ve found that the best place to find collectible postcards is at art auctions. I was at an art auction in Eastlake, Ohio looking for stained glass and found them auctioning a lot of vintage collectible postcards. I bought the lot at the art auction and it contained almost three thousand beautiful collectible postcards.

About thirty percent of the collectible postcards were pre-linen. These are postcards that were all made before 1930. The linen collectible postcards were made from 1930 to 1945 and the lot I won at the art auction had thirty percent linen cards as well.

Forty percent of the lot I won at the art auction was for early chrome collectible postcards. Most of them were from the fifties and sixties. There were also collectible postcards from the British museum series from the seventies.

The collectible postcards that are my favorite are all turn of the century and were sent for holidays. Valentine’s Day collectible postcards from the early 1900s are very romantic. The Christmas postcards have some really nice artwork. I was really fortunate with the purchase at the art auction because the assortment was so varied.

My collection of collectible postcards contains many different themes. I like the non-US card. I found an art auction that had a shoebox full of these postcards and they were from places like Bermuda, Zurich, Rio de Janeiro, Dresden, Germany, Ireland and even Istanbul. I had never owned a collectible postcard from Niger before that art auction.

People who do not collect vintage collectible postcards just don’t understand their value. They are usually not even mentioned as being part of an art auction. I go to art auctions every other weekend on the off chance that there will be collectible postcards on the auction block.

I am always so pleased when I find linen ere collectible postcards at an art auction. The auctioneer at most art auctions does not even announce the lot as linen postcards; he usually just announces it as vintage or old collectible postcards. His lack of knowledge of the subject almost always works to my advantage.

I have various collections of collectible postcards within the main collection. I tried for awhile to complete a set of state views in all linen era postcards. I can’t even count how many art auctions I attended before I even had thirty of the forty eight states. I know that I finally tired of the pursuit and have just put it on the back burner.

The holiday collectible postcards go to collectors of more than just postcards. I’ve seen people buy holiday collectible postcards at an art auction just to frame and decorate with them during certain holidays. I actually found five really nice vintage Christmas collectible postcards at an art auction and had them framed for my mother as a Christmas gift.

I went to an art auction and estate sale of a man whose grandfather had been a colonel army officer. The collectible postcards that I found there were fantastic. The officer had amassed 353 different postcards from India. It was amazing. They had been tucked into an album and never used and were in perfect condition.

For awhile, I thought that I wanted to collect postcards from soldiers in WWI. I found a two hundred piece lot of this type of collectible postcards at an art auction in New Haven. The mix of cards was British, French and German. It was interesting because some of the collectible postcards were censored. I’ve never seen censored collectible postcards before.

The most I’ve ever spent on collectible postcards at an art auction was $530 for four postcards. They were all from 1904 and they depicted automobile racing. They were in pristine condition. I doubt that I will ever find any more even remotely like this the rest of my life. They were exceptional.

The lot of collectible postcards I found last weekend was really fun to look through. The art auction had a lot of things from a family that had emigrated here from Serbia. The postcards were all from either Serbia or Belgrade. This was a good lot and it went for the opening bid.

Special Hummel Figurines

I find old Hummel figurines at art auctions all the time. I’ve been collecting them for my mother and her sister for a long time. They don’t have the time to go to art auctions, but they have the money to buy nice figurines.

The Apple Tree Boy Hummel figurine I found for my aunt last year was so cute. I attended an art auction about an hour away from my house and they had lots of decorative collectibles. I was able to find several items for my mother and also for my father.

My mother and her sister both want to have an Umbrella Boy Hummel figurine. I have only been able to find one at all of the art auctions I’ve attended. They share the piece equally while I’m looking for a second piece.

The whimsical Hummel figurine called Pleasant Journey is so cute. It was the first Hummel that mother and my aunt ever received. The scene is of two children pulling a third child in a wagon. My grandmother found it at an art auction and it reminded her of her children. She gave it to her two daughters on their shared birthday.

My dad sings in a barbershop quartet. My mother asked me to find an appropriate Hummel figurine at one of the art auctions I attend to give to him for his birthday. I actually was unable to find just the right item for over a year.

My mother was thrilled when I found the Harmony in Four Parts Hummel figurine at an art auction in our hometown. She presented it to him on his birthday and he really liked it. I think she may have liked it more, but that is okay with him. He has always been very supportive of my mother’s collecting.

My mother gave my son a Hummel figurine when he graduated from high school. I thought it was an odd gift to give a kid that had never expressed any interest in collecting them. She did choose a nice piece from her collection that I had purchased for her several years ago at an art auction. She gave him the Hummel figurine Little Fiddler because he plays the violin.

When my aunt went on a cruise, I decided to find her a nautical Hummel figurine. I had to attend four art auctions before I found one. I ended up purchasing the Hummel figurine called Land in Sight. She loved it.

Hummel figurine Let’s Tell The World was a special piece. It is really pretty and it depicts three children ringing a bell. My cousin has been going with me to art auctions looking for it. She thinks that we need to give it to our mothers to share like they do the Umbrella Boy.

I don’t usually collect Hummel figurines. I leave that to my mother and my aunt. The only exception to this is the “Can I Play?” Hummel figurine. I found it at an art auction and it reminded me of playing at my grandmother’s house when I was a child with my brother and my cousin.

The most expensive Hummel figurine that I’ve found at an art auction in the last couple of years was a vintage piece called School Girls. I got into a bidding frenzy with another collector and ended up spending a thousand dollars. The piece was celebrated with a party at my aunt’s house.

Unique Faberge Eggs

Faberge Eggs have always been special to me. I’ve been searching them out at art auctions since I was in my early twenties. I did a term paper on the Faberge Company and their history of making eggs for the Russian Tsars between 1885 and 1917.

The first Faberge Egg that I ever found at an art auction was actually quite by chance. The Faberge Egg was not one of the advertised items and was actually a bottle topper. I instantly fell in love with it and took it home from the art auction for one hundred dollars.

I saw an advertisement for a tropical Faberge Egg from a collection St. Petersburg. It was set to be up for sale at an art auction in New York City. I knew that I was going to be unable to purchase it, but I wanted to see it in person and at least put in one of the lower bids.

The tropical Faberge Egg at that art auction in New York City ended up selling for over six thousand dollars. That is out of my price range, but I was happy just to have been in the same room with this masterpiece. The eggs themselves are just exciting to be near.

The first Faberge Egg was made in 1885. I know that it will never turn up in an art auction, but hopefully I will see it someday in an exhibit. The first one was commissioned by Tsar Alexander III and was given to his wife as an Easter present. The surprise inside the egg was a golden hen in a golden yolk. The hen was wearing a tiny crown with a ruby hanging inside.

The antique Russian Faberge Egg that I found at an art auction recently was so detailed. The silver enamel egg has rubies and eagles and is marked with Faberge hallmarks. I was able to win this egg because I was bidding with someone else’s money. The best eggs always end up with the richest people.

The piece that I want in my collection is a genuine Lillies of the Valley Faberge Egg. I found one at an art auction I went to ten years ago. I was unable to buy the one I saw, because I didn’t have the money at the time. I’ve been saving for the time that I see another one.

The Lillies of the Valley Faberge Egg is covered with pearls and pale pink enamel. The egg is on a stand that has legs of matte green-gold leaves with rose dewdrops. The gold-stemmed lilies of the valley have green enamelled leaves and pearl flowers. I will look for this egg at every art auction I ever attend.

This Faberge Egg is delightful. It is surmounted by an Imperial crown of rose crystals. There is a pearl knob that reveals the surprise of this egg. The surprise is portrait miniatures of Czar Nicholas II and his two oldest daughters. The portraits are framed in rose crystals and backed with gold panels. I have heard a rumor that one will be at an art auction next year in Miami.

The last art auction I attended I purchased a Faberge Egg called the Imperial Clover Egg. It was for my personal collection and I won it for under a thousand dollars. I felt like it was quite a steal at that price.

The Imperial Clover Faberge Egg was originally made with a four leaf clover inside of it that had portraits of the four daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra. The portraits went missing during the Russian Revolution. The egg that I bought at the art auction had a stem of clovers standing upright. Two clovers in green enamel and the third, a four leaf clover, was done in diamonds. The diamond four leaf clover is a pin that can be worn.