Category: My Background

Two simple steps to help spot a real piece of Depression glass from a fake

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Glassware, My Background, Reproductions, Vintage, Vintage, Vintage!1 Comment

So you are out at an antique mall, estate sale or even an auction.  While there, you happen to run across a piece of Depression glass.  The piece that you’re looking at doesn’t have any damage on it, but how do you know that it’s the real deal?

When I’m in this situation, I usually use two simple steps to help me determine if the piece is real or fake.  The first thing that I do is to look at the color on it.  There are slight color variations on a real piece, these variations are just going to be a little darker or lighter on the piece.

On a piece of pink Depression glass, a reproduction will more likely have an orange pink hue to it (it’s really obvious).  With a piece that’s green, the reproductions that I have seen tend to go real dark.  I have seen forest green on a piece of ADAM Depression glass.  So if it’s off (especially for the pattern that’s on the piece), it’s a good idea to question it.

The second step that I use is to look at the pattern.  Even though Depression glass was given away quite a bit when it was first made, the glassware still had high quality to it.  What this means is that the pattern is easily recognizable, and there are no missing details to it.  A reproduction may be missing the veins in the leaves of a flower, or the beak on a bird is not as pointed.

A reproduction will sometimes be rushed through, and the pattern will show the crudeness.

So be aware—the fine details will help you determine if the piece of Depression glass will be real or fake.

What kinds of tricks do you use to help determine if you have a real piece of glassware?

A variety of graniteware pieces

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Enamelware, My Background, Vintage, Vintage, Vintage!Leave a comment

Wither at an estate sale, a garage sale, or even at an auction, I run across quite a few pieces of graniteware in my neck of the woods.  There’s a pretty wide variety of pieces that I find when I’m out shopping.  It could be anything from a tea kettle to a creamer–you never know what you will run across.

When I was young, people in my area collected graniteware like crazy.  They still do, but not as much as they did when I was young.  Here lately, the prices have cooled off mainly because there is so much of it here.

Because of the fact that the prices have come down and people have lost a little interest in graniteware, some of the pieces in collections have even come up for sale.  Some of the pieces that I have run across lately really have surprised me when I ran across them.  One piece that did was this graniteware fireplace salesman’s sample.

Enamelware Graniteware Fireplace Salesmans Sample Ashtray Advertising The Cleveland Foundry Company

This even has a plaque on the front that reads, “The Cleveland Foundry Company.”  You can see it in my Etsy shop here.

Pie pans are pretty plentiful, but they are usually a solid color.  So when I ran across this brown swirl pie pan, I snatched it up pretty fast.

Brown And White Swirl Enamelware Graniteware Pie Pan Unmarked Made 1930s To 1940s

What struck me was that it’s in great condition, usually pie pans around here get knocked around pretty good.  You can see it in my Etsy shop here, and more graniteware examples here.

What’s great about graniteware is the fact that it gives a more urban area a splash of country.

What kinds of graniteware pieces have you run across?

What do you do when you attend an auction?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Auctions, My Background, Tips for the beginner1 Comment

So you have decided to go and see what goes on at an auction.  You scouted out the perfect one, and have even showed up about 30 minutes before it started.  Now what do you do?

The first thing that you need to do is to register to get a bidders number.  More often than not, the auction company will have a special area set up for just this purpose.  All that you need to is to show the auction company a valid ID and supply a phone number, and you have a biding number.  What this is for is to let the auction company know who you are and even able to contact you if something arises (like if something that you bought gets left behind).

Whenever I have attended an auction, this will only take a few minutes at most, and it doesn’t cost me anything to do so.

The next thing that you will want to do is to look at the merchandise that’s in the sale.  Getting to the auction a few minutes before it starts will help you look over the items to see what’s there and to see what kind of condition that it’s in.

Make sure that you listen to what the auctioneers say at the very beginning of the auction when they make their announcements.  This will let you know what will happen during the course of the auction and what will be sold first.

So have some fun when you go to auctions and see what’s out there!

ED HARDY Belt Buckles

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Fashion, Jewelry, My Background2 Comments

I love to latch onto all things that are vintage or collectible, especially when the item has a lot of pizzazz.  Belt buckles usually go unnoticed with me—but lately I have snagged some standouts.  My favorite is one that is designed by Ed Hardy.

ed hardy

This one has an enameled bird among flowers scene with a rhinestone border, and is a knockout.

Ed Hardy is best known as a tattoo artist and his fashion accessories like this belt buckle.  Christian Audigier licensed the worldwide rights to the Ed Hardy brand in 2005, and that’s about when this belt buckle dates to.

ed hardy back

You can find this terrific find in my eBay store here.  What kinds of belt buckles have you run across?

Some vocabulary words that a collector would run across

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Furniture, My Background, Vocabulary WordsLeave a comment

When you dive into the world of collecting, it doesn’t take you long before you run across a word or two that you never heard before. Before you know it, you’ll have a broad vocabulary at your disposal.

I dove head first into collecting at the age of eight, and after almost 30 years in the business—I’ve heard some interesting ones. Here’s a few of them:

Abattant—this is a French term for a “drop lid” or a “fall front” piece of furniture. More often than not, you’ll see this on a secretary desk.

Burl—this is a curly-grained wood surface (or even a veneer) that is cut from an irregular growth of a tree. This could come from a portion of the roots of the tree, and it is very common in walnut wood.

Partner’s desk—this is a desk that’s large enough to seat two people facing each other. A lawyer’s office could have used one of these, and this desk has working drawers on both sides.

There are plenty of words like these, which ones have you run across?

Welcome to my new website!

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn My Background, Wisdom Lane1 Comment

Welcome to my new website for Wisdom Lane Antiques!  I have recently moved here from my old blog, which can be seen here.

I will still talk about all of the great things that I have for sale, plus I will also talk about the history of an item.

My old blog will still be active so that you can see all of the great posts that I have there.  I hope that you enjoy my new site!