Don’t know what to get that special person? One thing you can never go wrong with is an antique or collectible. This is a great way to start a tradition or carry one on this holiday season. Here are some great gift ideas for the Holiday season.
Read MoreGlassware
Wedgwood is just over 250 years old. This makes any piece of Wedgwood made from the first year to 150 years into production an antique. For an item to be an antique it has to be at least 100 years old. Read the differences between antique, vintage, and collectible item for more information. The Wedgwood [...]
Read MoreWe have all heard the stories about someone finding a painting at an estate sale or flee market for 10 dollars then selling it at an auction for thousands. While I was working at an auction house in the Chicago area I would see this happen regularly. For example a lady bought a stein for [...]
Read MoreIn this article I have explained a few techniques on how to date and test for authenticity of antiques using a black light. Black lights produce Ultra Violet (UV). Many materials fluoresce under ultraviolet lighting producing colors or light that our eyes can see, and making things that might go undetected visible to us. Some [...]
Read MoreFacts about Roseville. In this article I will talk about some interesting facts about Roseville Pottery Company. I will also cover the value and how to tell the difference between a fake and a reproduction. Roseville used many different marks throughout the years. These marks can be used to help determine the age. Most all [...]
Read MoreCookie jars like cookbooks offer endless variety. The plain 1930s era stoneware jars were ultimately replaced by figures of every type like fruits including a pineapple, hippos, lions, cartoon characters, bears, windmills, houses, clowns, angels, leprechauns, barns, shapes and just about anything else you could picture. The initial figural cookie jars were decorated over their [...]
Read MoreHomer Laughlin introduced Fiestaware in January 1936 at the Pottery and Glass Show in Pittsburgh. By the 1940s, 2,500 workers were cranking out 30 million pieces a year. The streamlined, modernistic dinnerware initially came in five colors: red, dark blue, yellow, light green and ivory. Colors changed like the leaves in fall. Turquoise was added [...]
Read MoreSome of the most desirable bottles were made between 1810 and 1910. Before 1810, few bottles were produced in this country. After 1910, most were machine made. The bottle-making world experienced a revolution in 1903 when the automatic bottle-machine appeared. Within 10-years, the glassblower’s touch became a thing of the past in glass houses. The [...]
Read MoreSome artists identify with the mediums in which they work so well with; they take them to the next level. That’s precisely what Rene Lalique did in France with pressed glass in the early-20th century. He turned simple pressed-glass into an art form. Lalique used some of the most influential Art Deco images like the [...]
Read More