ANSWER: ONLINE ANTIQUE RESOURCES

QUESTION: Hey, I have just started collecting antiques and am very new to this. I am facing a beginners problem :-) . I have the item with me but have no clue how to go about finding the catalogues for the items. Please Suggest some good links and forums like this which would make my job more easy. PS: I am already using google for it but no help :-(
Waiting for a quick reply. -Antiques Collector

ANSWER: Hi Antique Collector! It would help if I knew what you had to research … We have a book full of online resources we use for various items! A small list of our online resources and links are listed in our Resources & Links section of www.maryantiques.com
http://stores.maryantiques.com/-strse-template/faq/Page.bok
We also list a few of our favorite forums on this page. There are more great resource forums at:
http://antiques2.iantiquesguide.com/forum/ http://www.antiquesandthearts.com/%5C/forumresponse.asp?var=859&var2=14
http://www.antique-shop.com/forums/index.php?www
You can browse through a hallmark database and antique items sold through Heritage Auction Galleries http://fineart.ha.com/antiques/hallmarks.php
You can join collectors clubs here:
http://www.collectors.org/ or here: http://www.collectorcafe.com/
A list of glass collectors clubs here: http://www.glassshow.com/Clubs/aclubs.html

There are so many resources out there. If you provide a list of exactly what type of antique, collectible or vintage items you wish to research, I can provide many more specific resources. You may also register at maryantiques.com and submit photographs to maryanswers@maryantiques.com for help identifying a few items.
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ANSWER: ITEM LIQUIDATION - CALIFORNIA

QUESTION: Hi. I saw your reply to the person who wanted to auction things from their storage unit on Yahoo. My family has several storage units of high-end designer things (but not antiques) that we'd like to sell, but we're unsure how. We've called around to some auction places and they offer a ridiculously small amount for the quantity and the quality of the furniture and the items we want to sell. We've tried one of those ebay selling places but we really have too much to sell everything individually online (and some of the items are large furniture pieces). We'd love to do an estate sale but don't have the space in our currrent house to display all these items in storage. Do you have any suggestions for selling things like this easily? Oh, and we live in Los Angeles. Thanks so much for any help you can offer! -Victoria

ANSWER: Hi Victoria! We have estate sale services at maryantiques. The service we offer is for estate liquidation and for private sales / collections. We value items, tag them and advertise the sale … For those services we usually take a percentage of the final sale price. Unfortunately, we only handle sales in NY! There must be a company with a similar service to ours in Los Angeles. Besides other advertising, we leave our cards with local funeral homes. You might try calling a local funeral home and ask if they know of a company that handles estate sales. Most companies which handle estates will also liquidate private collections. This would be the easiest way to sell all of your items at once.
There is a list of estate sale companies in Los Angeles here:
http://www.estatesales.net/estate-sale-companies/city.aspx?CityID=78&CityName=Los%20Angeles

Have you tried the larger auction houses? If you have high end designer items they may be interested.
Bonham & Butterfields has a monthly California auction with some contemporary (20th c) items and furniture (usually valued at under $3000). Call to see if they are interested. They will also sometimes handle an entire collection in a separate sale. They will take a commission based on the final sale price.

Auction houses should only take a commission of final sale price. Some will take a small insurance fee, and sometimes a photo fee. A dealer will usually offer a percentage of value.

LA Modern is an auction house which handles contemporary sales
http://www.lamodern.com/html/buying_selling.html
These Ca based auction houses handle estate sales, liquidations and more… http://www.siliconvalleyauctions.com/home.asp
http://www.abell.com/ has weekly estate auctions, they also pack your items to bring to their showroom.
http://www.johnmoran.com/

There are listings of many LA auction houses here
http://www.auctionzip.com/ca.html
http://www.auctionguide.com/cgi-bin/search/search.cgi?query=california&type=keyword&bool=or

As a buyer, I have also been to many private sales at storage units. If this is the option you are considering, I suggest you make a list of everything you have; what, maker, year from, size, condition, details. If it is possible to take some photographs of the items, do that as well. Then post the list and a sale date on craiglist.com, advertise your sale in local papers, hand out flyers, etc. There is always a market for high end designer items, I am sure you will get calls and visitors to your sale.

You can place free classifieds in this California free classifieds paper http://www.recycler.com/antiques/results.classified?class=5900&sortfields=sort_key_num%20descending%2C%20start_date%20descending%2Ctitle%2Cprice_num
free classifieds online from LA weekly: http://losangeles.backpage.com/buyselltrade/classifieds/Results?adLanguage=All&section=4378

Your storage company probably holds auctions to liquidate units which are unpaid or in collections. You might try asking them which company they use, then call to find out that companies commission policy. If it is acceptable, ask if they would also handle your items.

Another option is to sell to prop houses, I know Los Angeles has many of them!! Here in NY, a prop house will ask for photos and descriptions of your items and they let you know which items they are interested in and the price they are willing to pay. You can find a listing of local prop houses in the phone book or in a film production guide / book (try your local library). In NY, it is the NY Production Guide. I am sure there is also a Los Angeles or California Production Guide. Or you can try looking in the MPE guide, Motion Picture Enterprises. We sometimes rent to prop houses. It’s always nice to then offer the item for sale with the tag that it appeared in such and such commercial or movie.

Hope I've given you some viable options!
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ANSWER: SELLING ANTIQUE GRANDFATHER CLOCKS

QUESTION: I have 2 long case antique grandfather clocks that I want to sell as I am moving and do not have room for them. I do not know how to sell them other than sending them to Lawson's actions and I want another alternative please. Thank you. 1 is a painted face and 1 is a brass face. -Catherine

ANSWER: Hi Catherine!
With the makers, serial numbers and other identification factors, I would have a better understanding of their value and therefore could provide the best options to sell them…For now, I'll give you a variety of options!
Antique grandfather clocks range from about $3500-$15,000 and up, depending on maker, workings, wood, era, rarity and desirability….
There is a free identification guide, and pay per price guide here:
http://www.antiqueclockspriceguide.com/indexlinks.php?clocktype=longcase

A great resource to date your painted face clock is here:
http://www.dialrestorer.co.uk/7.html

And another site for help with valuing grandfather clocks here
http://www.antiquegrandfatherclocks.com/search.php

As far as selling:
There is Clock Magazine based in UK for worldwide collectors which has inexpensive classified advertising rates and reaches your target / clock collector buyers.
There are several clock collector sites which have free classifieds. If they are desirable by collectors this type of direct sale to a private collector is your best option.
http://www.clockpost.com/
Join forums meet collectors find out where to sell or if they are interested….
There is an antiques / clock forum here; they also have a directory of dealers /auctions and specialty fairs:
http://antiques2.iantiquesguide.com/forum/viewtopic.php?forum=2&showtopic=205
This has a complete listing of clock collectors discussion forums in every language
http://www.horologysource.com/DiscussionForums.htm

Check for local Antiquarian Horological Societies and try to get a classified ad to their members/ clock collectors.
There is one in Melbourne, the Australian Antiquarian Horological Society
http://www.clockandwatchclub.com/ForSale.htm
And another in Sydney…
http://www.aussieclocks.com/
You may also be able to contact these societies to find out who in your area consigns clocks.
A local antique shop or clock shop may be willing to consign the item for you. Keep in mind consignment means the dealer will get a percentage of the final value, while if you sell to a dealer you will get a percentage (usually 30%) of value.
There is a list of Australian Antique clock dealers and many other resources here:
http://www.antique-horology.org/Entries/SearchAll.asp

I have had some luck selling certain items on google base, craiglist and yahoo classifieds.
Both are free…stick to your asking price!
More free classified sites: http://antiques2000.com/?
Antiques forum and a classified section
http://www.icollectorbazaar.com/qa/

They consign / sell your antique clock for you, worldwide and commission based.
http://www.clockguy.com/index.html
Also buys and sells antique grandfather clocks:
http://members.aol.com/jtrt009/index3.html

I am unclear as to whether you are opposed to selling at auctions, or just at Lawson's… Christies has an office in Sydney, and Victoria; they also have a high value minimum consignment ( i.e. they may not consign an item if it is not worth over $10,000)
http://www.christies.com/locations/regionview.asp?GlobalRegionId=2
There is an auction directory for other Australian auction houses at http://www.auctiondirectory.com.au/
http://antiquefineartauctions.com/id5.html

If I can be of further assistance please include details about your clocks and photographs.
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ANSWER: AVON, ROCKWELL & COCKTAIL SHAKER

QUESTION: I have a small red goblet by Avon is it worth anything? Also, a Norman Rockwell Stein "Brave the Storm", and an old martini glass shaker by SKOL with a Rooster an other pictures around it.
Jody
ANSWER: Hi Jody. Without photographs, it is very hard to say. Please take some pictures and upload them to putfile.com or another free photo hosting site. Then send us the link so we may be certain of our answers…
Re: Red Goblet: I believe you have the Avon 1876 Cape Cod Goblet which were originally candleholders / came with a candle in the original box. It is part of the Avon Ruby /1876 Cape Cod line which is embellished with a raised grape type pattern. This goblet was only made from 1977-1990.
Avon collectibles are becoming more popular as the years go on. Their ruby Cape Cod series is discontinued and desirable by collectors. However, the prices for Avon collectibles is currently from $5.-$40. If I am correct in identifying your goblet without a photograph, your goblet is currently selling for $10-12.

RE: Norman Rockwell Mug: Norman Rockwell collectibles were also mass produced, and though most were limited editions, their value reflects that. I believe your mug is from the 1985 Norman Rockwell Museum Collection, offered as part of the Norman Rockwell Seafarer's Collection. They were created especially for Long John Silver's seafood shops, this was the third in the series. As it is a limited edition and there are many collectors of Norman Rockwell items, I expect it will increase in value as time goes on. Currently these mugs garner from $7-15.

RE: Martini shaker: I believe you are describing the International Toast Vintage Cocktail Shaker. It reads, A Votre Sante', Salud, To Your Health, on the top. It has red, green, black, and white graphics with recipes for Martini, Daquiri, Bronx, Whiskey Sour, Manhattan, Bacardi Alexander, Sidecar; and a rooster on two sides of the glass, a chrome lid with a spout top. If I am correct in identifying the item without a photograph, these were made in the late 1940s/50s and retail from $65-125. Depending on condition, original top, etc….

P.S. Bar collectibles are becoming increasingly popular amongst collectors. Glasses and Cocktail shakers which were once standards in everyone’s home, are now rarer and sought after. Stricter alcohol laws and the growing number of modern day teetotalers are sure to help these collectibles increase in value. For shakers, my notes indicate an increase of $5 since last year …regardless of maker.

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ANSWER: WAVY ARTWORK & POSTERS

QUESTION: How do my vintage and antique art prints and posters get wavy and what can I do about it? Lori V.

ANSWER: Provided by Ryan Dowler http://www.rareposters.com/
A poster can get wavy by one of two ways: water damage or high humidity.
There is also a couple of solutions: one is to take the poster to a framer where the poster can be Pressed (like a giant iron) or the poster can be mounted to linen or Japon (spelling?) paper. Mounting it also helps to reduce the waviness and iron the paper out.
The first option is the best, as it doesn’t require any mounting and is very cheap. Pressing at a framer should be less than $30.00. There is no set price, and all depends on the framer and the relationship the client may already have with the framer. It should only take 10 minutes of the framers time.

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Special thanks to Ryan Dowler of http://www.rareposters.com/ for the informative answer!

ANSWER - BOXING STUFF

QUESTION: I am looking for any boxing collectables -I dont care what... have any?
Bill
ANSWER: We have small Jack Dempsey signed boxing gloves at maryantiques.com - I will email you a photograph! We also have several more items which we will be adding to our online catalogue soon. maryantiques.com also offers a wish list service, let us know what you are looking for and we'll find it for you. Just email wishlist@maryantiques.com
You may also want to check out boxingstuff.com and http://www.gasolinealleyantiques.com/sports/boxing.htm

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