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It all started when one of our library patrons came in seeking a very specific Charles Bukowski poem. As an untrained and ridiculously underpaid researcher, it took a bit of hunting to even figure out which Bukowski compilations the missing poem was published in. Unfortunately, all three collections in which the poem was known to appear were out of print, and absent from our library’s collective network of resources.

Eventually, I found a copy of the poem that someone had transcribed into their personal blog because they happened to enjoy it, but in terms of poetry, ‘Side of the Sun’ was exceptionally difficult to hunt down. However, during my expedition into the uncharted depths of the internet, I happened to stumble across the existence (or nonexistence, as the case may be) of a lost Bukowsi work.

Nothing intrigues me more than ‘lost’ works. In fact, the last time I wrote about hunting down a lost work was during my hunt for a lost Elysian Fields album codenamed ‘Clinical Trial’ which the studio refused to release because of its experimental nature. Much to my complete surprise, after almost a decade of searching, I found the album yesterday on an obscure (but completely legal, to the best of my knowledge) Russian MP3 website, ending a very long period of intermittent hunting and failure.

This untitled, lost Bukowski work is referenced once by Bukowski in his early correspondences, and once in a brief autobiographical sketch in a magazine in which he appeared. Apparently, this mysterious piece was published in an amateur monthly magazine called ‘Write’, sometime in the early 1940s, and somewhere in Atlanta. If it were discovered and verified, it would be Bukowski’s earliest known writings in either poetry or prose, and the value of the discovery would be worth in the tens of thousands of dollars, at least.

Internet detectives have been searching for years, contacting Atlanta’s local used bookstores, libraries, and even hunting down the great grandchildren of authors that might have been published alongside Bukowski, just in case a stray issue of Write might be stuck in an attic somewhere, but to no avail – though history has revealed much stranger literary finds. In most cases, however, these finds are things that the audience didn’t even know existed.

So, was Bukowski, a fledgling writer, just artificially padding his resume in that one publication? Might someone find a tattered old copy of ‘Write’ in the basement of the old publishing house? Collectors, and Atlantans especially, sift through your old Magazines for ‘Write’ – and if you see ‘Bukowski’ in the index, you might have found the holy grail.

Boy, like many people, our investments have really taken a hit in the stock market! Our nest egg has flown the coop! When entering an antique mall a week back, I saw a quote from a well-known newspaper. I don’t recall the exact wording but it recommended buying antiques as investments since they have held up well, even when the economy has not. The article suggested that you buy top-quality items and that you hold onto them for a reasonable amount of time. When you are ready to offer them for sale, you can watch your profits roll in.

It reminded me of a time when I was a human resources manager for a manufacturing company. I was interviewing an older man who responded to an ad for a mechanic. He had been a ‘handy-man’ and had some valuable experience, but none with our type of machinery and because of that, was not a good fit. However, he was very interesting and we did have a good conversation. It turns out he never believed in the stock market and was even leery of banks. Whenever he made some extra income, he would buy metal – gold and silver specifically. Whether it was coin or in the form of jewelry, he said he always knew it would have value. He also felt it was rather liquid, and even in the toughest of times, it held its own. He had learned this from his father who was born at the turn of the century and when he died, he’d left him pocket watches and chains and other pieces of jewelry. I had not thought much about this discussion until I saw that posting at the antique store, but this caused me to wonder. What if I had purchased gold and silver back in the early part of the 1900s? (This was not possible because I am not THAT old. But it was an interesting concept.)

I went to the ‘home library’ and found a reproduction of the 1902 Sears, Roebuck Catalogue. I thought I’d do a “What If?” scenario on some of their products.

The book has a Watch and Jewelry Department near the front and I picked a few treasures to ‘purchase.’ I started with a gold filled hunting case pocket watch. These were quite fancy, some with scenery, or railroads, even one with a stag! The price for any style of case was $8.75. That sure seemed reasonable. Oh, wait, we see that adding the watch itself was an additional fee, depending on the brand and movement. These ranged from $10.00 for a 207 Grade Elgin to a 21 jewel Vanguard Waltham for $31.50.

Wondering how these compared with today’s prices, I went to an internet site and entered the basics – Elgin Gold Filled pocket watch, completed sales only. I found a wide variety of prices and styles. Some had not sold, most of those were the very high-priced watches. Those that did sell ranged from $15 (non-working) to $300 for a nice quality example. When doing the same for the Vanguard Waltham, I found considerably less of them were offered. And many of those had sold. Probably a lot rarer. The selling prices were from $110 to $400. Not being an economist, I cannot equate the actual profit-margin, but it appears from this that the rarer, more expensive models fared better.

Saying in the ‘gold category’, I went to thimbles, a hot item back in the day when every women worth her salt would sew for the family. The one that was ’solid 14-karat gold’ cost you $3.75. A scan of my internet sales site showed a number of the antique ones, offered at various prices. Many had sold from prices ranging at a low of $65 to a high of $105. Considering how little space these take, and how sturdy these are, this would seem to be a good investment!

After more paging through the catalogue, I came across musical instruments. What if I had purchased a “genuine Maggini” violin for $4.75? My return to the internet site offered quite a few completed listings and the majority had been sold. Prices ranged from $105 to $600 and many sold over $300. Now, this sounds like it would have been profitable.

But wait, I could have bought their top of the line Lowendall Violin for $19.95. I found just one had been listed and sold, going for $470. Because there was only one example, it is hard to compare to the number and variety of Maggini’s offered for sale.

Even back then, collectors would have had a hard time finding the ‘trends’ for antique sales many years down the road. But I definitely agree that purchasing top of the line items, paying as much as you can for the best examples of an antique or collectible, will be rewarded in the end. Patience is a virtue…as my dear mom used to say, so I am doing my best to wait for my stocks to bounce back and I continue to buy quality antiques whenever I find them.

We don’t talk much about the conditions of items here at Collectors’ Quest; we figure any collector worthy of his salt & pepper shakers knows that if the tail on the squirrel shaker has been glued back on, it’s not worth as much as a squirrel shaker with a non-damaged tail. But conditions are a major part of collecting — especially as it pertains to repairs.

I think we’ve all seen at least one episode of Roadshow where an antique table lost half its value because dad had stripped it bare, removing it’s collector-preferred patina, and gave it a good shellacking — something the current table owner wanted to go home and do to dad for his restoration efforts. So rule number one, leave that patina alone.

PBS photo of an inkwell with marred patina

Then again, we’ve also seen how a properly cleaned painting can double in value. And sometimes, funky patina is to be repatinated…

So what’s a collector to do: repair it or leave it alone?

Other than to say that you should do everything you can to protect your collectibles, the answer of just how to care for your collection isn’t a simple one. As a rule of thumb, my personal (and I mean that — this is all my personal opinion — not professional advice, as you shall see) thoughts are that if the item is valuable enough to you, either for sentimental or financial reasons, you should seek the advice of a true professional.

Only you can be the judge of an item’s sentimental or personal value; but when it comes to monetary value of your collectible, the only way you can accurately receive an estimate is to see a professional appraiser. And that’s going to come with a fee. That’s what “professional” means; being paid for services — well, that and experience, accreditation/certification/license. So if you aren’t ready & willing to drop some cash to find out how much cash your item is worth, or stand in line at appraisal events (note: at those events you will not receive official documentation to use for selling, insuring etc.), then you’ve likely accepted that fact that your broken squirrel s&p shakers are probably not worth much more than the seasonings they were designed to hold.

But let’s say that you’ve got a pretty good ballpark idea of what your item is worth, &/or you know what damages or conditions are affecting the price of your collectible. Should you repair it?

My immediate thought is, “No, you should never ever repair something; you consult a professional.” And by that I mean you should ask a professional conservator who specializes in the kind of object you have. You’ve got a book with a bad binding, you go to a professional book binder or book conservator; you’ve got a painting with a tear in it, you go to an art conservator. At this level of repair, you do not trust someone who professes to be a generalist; he’s like dad refinishing that antique table, capiche?

Now the conservator is not an appraiser and vice versa, but he or she should have a general idea of what the market is like in their area of expertise and either should at least be able to tell you if that layer of green on your collectible is a desirable patina or horrible thing to rectify asap. This means that if the appraiser (paid for or at a free appraisal event) recommends a conservator, you trust it. And if the conservator requests (or even requires) an appraisal prior to beginning work, do it. Frankly, unless you seek repair/restoration for purely sentimental reasons, knowing the item’s monetary worth is probably key in your decision to repair/restore or not; you’ll want to at least recoup what you invest.

Now as for how you find a real conservator in your area, you can start with your local professional appraiser. He or she may have a list of recommended conservators. If not, I highly recommend starting with your local museum. (I do not, however, recommend asking the local historical societies; no offense, but they work on virtually non-existent budgets which generally limits prevents their own use of such professionals. This also serves as a public service reminder to support your local historical societies.) If you cannot find a professional conservator in your area, you can use this form to get a list of professional conservators from the The American Institute for Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works.

Once you’ve got a list of possible professionals, interview them. To make sure they know what they are doing ask them about the following:

You may even want to ask to see examples — like any recent graphic design student, many have a portfolio of their projects to show you.

When you do hire your professional conservator, the conservator should:

The conservator should also agree to document, in photographs and words, exactly what was done and when. This is the proof of authenticity of professional repair, assists if any future repairs/restoration is needed, and becomes part of the item’s provenance.

If there’s one great thing about collecting Playmobil over collecting other figural toys, it’s that any given wave of Playmobil figures is usually easy to find, and they’re usually a delightful surprise, just hangin’ out on the shelf near the Lego and a cheaper (but still satisfying) alternative.

In the world of collecting action figures, it’s always talk about series of figures being impossible to find, having quality control issues, the cost of the secondary market, the rising costs, testing for toxins… but with Playmobil, none of that is a concern. And it’s a breath of fresh, plasticy air to have a toy collection that isn’t in some way a ‘concern’.

At a cost of roughly $3 for a pack of two figures, and $5 for a small pack with accessories, new Playmobil sets appeared this week, and I was happy to snatch a few up for my collection. Their broad historical, social and fictional references are generic enough to appeal to mostly anyone who has an interest in…. anything. So this month, I snagged some vaguely Lord of the Rings elven Knights, some evil Dragon Knights, and some awesome Vikings. You know, out of respect for my heritage – though if I were truly going to respect my viking heritage, I would have stolen them, kicked over the display and walked out with an attractive shopgirl and a hearty shank of roasted meat.

For the moment, I passed on the Asian pirates, an evil knight on horseback, and the traditional pirates (if only to have something to look forward to next time), though I DID pick up the $3 Fireman and Policeman 2-pack for my mom. She was eyeing it so admiringly, and knowing how small toys pick me up emotionally, I couldn’t resist. I think that the motivation to share is at the core of the best collections.

For the low cost of $15, I assembled these six warriors, four swords, four different shields, four different helmets, and a whole bunch of bows and quivers of arrows. As a side note, the unadorned, beardfaced vikings can easily double for any number of unkempt indie rockers. The Dragon Knights, of course, would fit well into an elaborate heavy metal performance.

The online Playmobil shop reveals such a vast array of warriors and characters, as well as accessory packs at wonderfully inexpensive prices, that I can barely restrain myself from adding onto my collection exponentially with mushroom hat faeries, cowboys, and magicians. Many of the items there are made exclusively for online distribution, and will never see a traditional store shelf, and come polybagged instead of boxed.

If you’re interested in building up castles and scenery, elven Knights and the Dragon Knights also come in larger packs with dragons and rockfaces for about $15 – $20. Playmobil creates a lot of cheap acreage with their large, exciting playsets, even if you’re just looking for scenery for other displays.

With the prices that Lego minifigures often resell for, especially figures that come exclusively in large sets, the easy availability of Playmobil figures is an excellent surrogate – and Playmobil has still avoided selling out to any licensed properties, keeping their brand completely pure. Spongebob Lego are neat, but I can’t help but wonder if it dilutes the brand.

This upcoming April promises a whole line of ‘Nautical Expeditions‘, which includes all manner of sea creatures, a deep sea diver, and some submarine equipment. I still cherish my retro Deep Sea Diver in his aqualung and shark-fightin’ knife, so I’d love to have a modern counterpart. And the ghosts? Works of genius. And did I mention that they were inexpensive?

So, this month’s Playmobil releases are true winners, and during financially pressing times and pay cuts at work, it’s nice to walk out of a store with a little bit of something guiltless.

My last post started a review of our trip through Northern Indiana to Ohio and back home visiting antique malls along the way. I discussed some malls to add to my “A” list of stores we will revisit in the future. The question I always get after every antique hunting trip is “What did you buy?” Followed by “Why?”

I can’t exactly answer the why, but maybe if I show you some of the unusual items, you’ll better understand how deeply flawed my thinking is and how seriously I have slipped off the reality train.

The amount of items purchased this trip for resale or to add to our collections was extensive. We went to about nine establishments including four huge malls, where we spend many hours exploring each locked case and prowling through scores of bountiful booths. It’s always the oddest items that draw our attention. It was in Indiana that I found this unusual lawn sprinkler clown made in Defiance, Ohio. Its tin body is held on a cast iron base, and one arm is articulated, holding the hose. We’ll probably add this beauty to our other yard oddities – two fire hydrants, a well pump, and an artist made sewer pipe garden table that was purchased here in Wisconsin about ten years ago, but was made in Findlay, Ohio.

Wifey spotted this one. A single skid sled with wooden bench seat made by Foster Boat Company in Michigan and called a Snow Scoot . We were told the initials are from the park system that owned it. Can you imagine sliding down a snow-covered hill while balancing on this creation?

Next we came upon a candy mold used to form two large chocolate cigars. This heavy mold will probably join other candy molds, a bunny and chocolate egg mold, for an Easter display.

We both decided this F. A. Hardy Co. (Chicago) Optician’s Instrument was one beautiful example of early medical technology and a ‘must have item’ for our antique mall booth. This fabulous instrument also included a near-full set of eye glass lenses in a large leather case.

When I found this old sad iron, my first impression was delight, but I was concerned with the bright red handle. The evidence was that the handle had been repainted over old paint that had mostly peeled off. I believe the chicken in the front still has its original paint. Opening the hinged top, I found a grate inside fitted perfectly to the contour. Dirt and cobwebs rested where the hot coals had heated the cast iron bottom. These conditions proved its age and completeness.

Other items purchased included antique door knobs, playing cards, pictures and advertising items, so our trip was most successful. We’re looking forward to our re-visiting our A-list places and finding new venues in Indiana and Ohio. If you have a favorite antique store in either state, I’d love to hear from you.