Author: wisdomlaneantiques

I've been going to auctions, antique malls, flea markets, etc. since I could walk. My lifelong love of anything vintage, old, or shabby (everything really is better with age) is now my full-time job.

Fun facts for the year 1937

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn HistoryLeave a comment

When I look for some information on an item that I am going to sell, there are times that I run across some fun facts that happened during a certain year.  Here are some fun facts I ran across for 1937:

Walt Disney premieres “Snow White And The Seven Dwarves” on December 21st.  The movie premiered in Los Angeles, California at the Carthay Circle Theater.

The popular Looney Tunes character Daffy Duck appears in the animated short called “Porky’s Duck Hunt.”

The German airship called The Hindenburg burst into flames.  The accident happened while the airship was attempting to moor at Lakehurst, New Jersey.

The “Waterman Aerobile” flying car has its first flight.  The Areobile came with a transmission drive system that drove the propeller in the air and the rear wheels while on the ground. This is only a small portion of what happened in 1937.  What historical items have you run across?

What exactly is the Hobby Protection Act?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Beginning to collect, Tips for the beginnerLeave a comment

The dime in the picture is from the website of Anti-Counterfeiting Educational Foundation

One of the areas that I love to collect is coins.  Not too long after diving into coins, I heard of something called the Hobby Protection Act.  This had me baffled—what exactly is the Hobby Protection Act and how does it apply to coins?

The Hobby Protection Act was passed in 1973 by the United States Congress.  This act covers imitation political items (like buttons and posters) and even imitation Numismatic items (like coins, tokens and even paper money).

The Hobby Protection Act states that any imitation (or reproduction) political or numismatic item is made, it must be marked a certain way.  When it comes to political items, it must have the year it was made on it with all 4 digits on it.  With coins, it must have the word COPY somewhere on the design.

What is the reason for this act to get created?  The main reason is that it’s to help protect collectors from deceptive reproductions.

So, it pays to look at the design so you don’t over pay for an item.  Have you ever run across a political or numismatic item marked like this?

What are some fun facts for the year of 1827?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn HistoryLeave a comment

When I look for some information on an item that I am going to sell, there are times that I run across some fun facts that happened during a certain year.  Here are some of the fun facts that I ran across for 1827:

March 16—The Freedom’s Journal (the first African American owned newspaper in the U.S.) is founded by John Russwurm.

J. J. Audubon’s book titled THE BIRDS OF AMERICA is published in the United Kingdom.

The Original Delmonico’s restaurant opens in Manhattan.

The first English translation of Christopher Columbus’ Journal by Samuel Kettell is published.

This is only a small portion of what happened ion 1827.  What historical items have you run across?

What are some of the terms for pottery that you will run across?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Uncategorized, Vocabulary WordsLeave a comment

When you start to collect pottery, you will run across quite a few terms that will make your head spin.  Transferware, majolica, stoneware and even salt glaze are a few of the terms that you will hear.  Here are some more that you will run across:

Crackle Glaze—this is a glaze that intentionally contains small cracks in the glaze.

Hollowware—this is also known as hollow ware and is describes vessels of any shape (like jugs or pitchers).  This does not include items known as flatware (such as plates).

Yellowware—also known as yellow ware and it is a type of earthenware that is named after its yellow appearance.  The color comes from the clay that is used when the item is made.  It came about in the United Kingdom in the late 18th century and started in the eastern United States in the 1920’s.

Delftware—This is a light-colored pottery that has a tin glaze and has an overglaze décor that is cobalt in color.  This was developed in Holland to copy the blue and white pottery that was made in China.

This is a tiny amount of what you will run across.  What terms have you heard?

What happened in 1876?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn HistoryLeave a comment

Whenever I look up information on the items that I have bought, there are times that I run across some fun facts that happened at the same time the item was made.  Here’s some of the facts that I have found:

February 2 – The National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs is formed at a meeting in Chicago, Illinois.  This league replaced the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players.

May 18—Wyatt Earp started work in Dodge City, Kansas and he served under Marshal Larry Deger.

July 4 – The United States celebrates its centennial.

August 2—Wild Bill Hickok was killed in a poker game.  This happened in Deadwood, South Dakota and the cards that he was holding were reportedly the Dead Man’s Hand (it consists of 2 black aces, 2 black eights and an unknown hole card).

This is a small slice of what happened during the year.  What fun facts have you run across?

How do I find inventory to sell?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Shopping tipsLeave a comment

One of the questions that I get asked quite a bit is “How do you find inventory to sell?”.  I literally cannot count how many times that I have been asked this, and here’s a list of some of the ways that I find items to sell:

Auctions, garage sales and even estate sales are three of the easiest ways that I find inventory.  One trick that I do is to look in my local paper and online for sales that are in my area.  Another thing that I do is to look for signs that lead to a sale that may not be advertised as well.  I have found some good deals at sales that are not well advertised.

Here are some other ways that I have found some inventory:

I have also found items to sell that were thrown away.  There have even been a few items that I have gone into a dumpster after.  When you do this, you need to be careful because that could be something in the trash that could hurt you!

I also picked up items that have been put out with a FREE sign by them.  This could be someplace like the curb or in a garage sale—you never know where you might find a free bin!

There have also been a few times that people want to get rid of something and they let me have it if I haul it away for them. It always pays to look when you are out and about—you never know what you will find.  Where have you found items to sell?

What are some different types Of Sports Cards?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Beginning to collect, Tips for the beginnerLeave a comment

Think a sports card is a sports card?  Far from it.  There are a ton of different types of cards that you could find.  Here’s a few:

Retail Card—these are cards that are sold to major retailers like Kmart.  The cards will often have the name of the store printed on the card as well.  You might even find a card from a now-defunct retailer.

Insert Card—these are cards that are inserted into packs at a staggered rate (like one card being inserted into every 24th pack).  There is also a number on the back of every sports card.  The number on the back of the insert card will be different than the normal set numbers.  The normal set numbers will appear as 1-400 (or however many cards are in the set), the insert cards will have a number like ST1, or PL1.  When you buy a pack, you never know what kind of insert card could be in there.  There even could be a player who became much more famous later on.

Sell Sheets—these are not cards at all.  They are ads that are sent to distributors for cards that are for sale to the public.  This would show what cards you could get in the set and would show the players that are featured in the set.  You could get these ads from a sports cards dealer for pretty cheap, or even free if the retailer is going to throw them away (it never hurts to ask them if it’s possible for you to have it).  They’re also great to display along with a complete team collection!

So, what’s the rarest card that you’ve ever found?

What happened in in the year 1900?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn HistoryLeave a comment

Not too long ago, I was looking up some information about an item that I was going to put up for sale on Etsy.  While looking around, I found some fun tidbits about the year 1900.  Here’s some of the things that I found:

On March 15th, the Gold Standard Act is ratified, placing the United States currency on the gold standard.  The United States printed the words “Gold Certificate” on them, and these notes are highly collected today.

On June 25th, The Daoist monk Wang Yuanlu discovers the Dunhuang manuscripts, a cache of ancient texts that are of great historical and religious significance, in the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, China.  These manuscripts include works ranging from the Buddhist religion to history and mathematics to folk songs and dance.

On November 3rd, The first Auto show in the United States opens at New York City’s Madison Square Garden.

What kind of fun facts have you run across when you are looking for more information on an item?

Whimsies for every type of collector

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Beginning to collect, Functional items, Tips for the beginnerLeave a comment

Glass workers spent their “off” hours after completing their regular work schedule creating unusual glass objects known as whimsies.  This includes candy-striped canes, paperweights, pipes, hats…the list goes on and on.
 

A whimsy can also be an item that is made of a product that you usually don’t see it made out of.  This can be something like a Fenton plate made out of hobnail pattern slag glass.

Whimsies were often taken home and given as gifts to family and friends.  They can rarely be attributed to a specific glasshouse or glass worker.  Some say that color or style indicates region or factory, but no one has come up with a perfect identification key other than to talk to the person that actually made the piece.

Highly collectible and usually pricey, whimsies can be a fun collectible.  What examples have you found?

A lesson learned on reproductions

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Beginning to collect, Item highlight, Pottery, Reproductions, Shopping tips, Tips for the beginnerLeave a comment

While shopping at one of the local antique malls in my area, I happened onto something that could be a very good thing. It happened to be an R S Suhl shaker, or even possibly hat pin holder.

With the price being right, and some wear being present on the bottom of the shaker, I went ahead and bought it.  When I went to find out what I could about the mark (so I could list it online), there was a little voice in the back of my head that was saying that something was not right.

And then I found a shaker just like the one that I have.  I was thrilled!  I started to read what was posted online about it, and sure enough, that little voice I was hearing was right.  The thing was a reproduction and possibly even an outright fake.

The lesson I learned?  A little research and knowledge can go a long way in the long run.