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As a long-time buyer and seller of both antiques and collectibles, I am often asked “What is selling today? What are the trends and hot items?” I hate to say it, but I honestly do not know. Oh, I have some success stories; some surprises of things that sold higher than anticipated. Also a lot that have not ‘moved’ in over a year that were thought to be the ‘next absolute sure thing’ in the business.

I’ll give you some ideas of things that have recently sold. We set up our booth at the fantastic Elkhorn Antique Market, held 4 times a year at the Walworth Fair Grounds. It is definitely one of the best and you can always count on a large, top-notch crowd, come rain or shine (and we’ve sat through both.) The weather was picture perfect, high 70s, low humidity and sunny. (An occasional high wind made us treat glassware with caution, but that goes with the territory.)

We are very eclectic in our offerings and basically have no specific area. That’s because we hunt for things we like; unique items, not anything that limits us. We usually have 6 long ‘banquet’ tables, a card-table to check-out and we use turned over plastic containers to rest miscellaneous items on. We have locked glass cases with our ‘better offerings inside.’ The front of our booth usually has heavy metal and cast iron pieces, just because we don’t expect folks to want to carry them very far. (It makes sense except many times the buyer wants to leave their purchase with us until they are ready to head out, being reluctant to carry it around the fair. So we have to drag it to the back of the booth and into the van. Oh, well.)

In any case, I’ll give you an idea of some of the ‘mix’ that we sold. You be the judge as to what you’d buy to sell if you were a dealer.

Our first sale was a large metal Sealtest Ice Cream Sign. Definitely very old, with rust around the hanging holes to prove it. The second was a 1930s lady’s robe. Black with vibrant pink flowers, it was most likely silk. Sold to a young girl, perhaps in her early 20s, who was about 5′ 9” tall and weighing maybe 120 pounds, it fit her like a dream and she modeled for us, twirling around to show off the flouncy skirt. She was a fashion major at an Illinois college and was just thrilled. We next sold three watch fobs. Advertising pieces from local industrial giants that had long-ago changed hands or had left the industry. We then sold a cookie jar of a school house, probably from the 1960s. This went to a school teacher (but of course.)

An older gent sauntered into our booth. We both looked at him and recognized a repeat customer from the last show. He was a pig-collector and in fact had purchased a pig ‘oiler’ from us a while back. We were able to satisfy him with a carved wooden pig. He was so glad, paid promptly and carried it right out to his cart. We told him we’d keep an eye out for others and he vowed to return in August!

It got very crowded and neither hubby nor I had time to analyze what was selling. Not until we got home. Then we sat down to have a beverage and count the ‘loot.’ We tried to recall everything that we had sold. He remembered another ice cream sign, this one lit up, and also a cast iron stove door, an antique for sure. How about the advertising crates? Yup, sold two of those, in spite of being next to a real pro who specialized in all sorts of them. We had several pieces of carnival glass, lots of lookers, no takers. I remembered the canvas golf bag that sold. We had Sam Snead golf clubs inside but they were not of interest. The same gent bought a few wooden shafted clubs as well. The buyer shared with us that he was a heavy-duty collector and had over 2,000 clubs!

I had recently purchased a ‘lot’ of contemporary sterling silver pins and rings. We sold about 15 of those, nothing over $20. Hubby put a rack up with $2 necklaces, not too fancy, but we sold 10 of those too. My ‘best jewelry’, some signed rhinestone pins, a few cameos and even a pocket watch did not sell.

Another item that sold late in the day was a Milwaukee Brewers lunch box with the famous ‘racing sausages’ on the outside. We also sold 6 beer steins, some with the name of a brewery, others with just a German scene. Some linens sold too – a baby quilt and 10-12 doilies.

While in Ohio this winter, we purchased a very unusual item; a Snow Scoot. It is a type of sled with one runner over the seat. Folks would actually rent these from the park (still had a number ‘8′ on the side) and hurl themselves downhill. Boy, consider the potential litigation on that item! It was purchased by a collector of sleds who often lent his items to a small museum near his home in northern Wisconsin. He was just beaming as he carried it out!

We sold two paperweights, a few books, some wooden print blocks, several beer bottles and a pair of leather saddlebags for a motorcycle.

This should give you an idea of the mix that we offer and items that were purchased. If you can see a ‘trend’ from this assortment, you are a far better antiquer than I am. (But, that’s what makes it so darn interesting.)

As a self-described obsessive, one who readily admits she spends way too much time researching every little thing & scrap of paper for both its own history and its context, I naturally was intrigued by Louis P. Masur’s most recent book which delves into the history & context of just one photograph. Yes, an entire book dedicated to just one photograph.

Frankly, I was heady at the mere idea of such a thing. I wasn’t sure if I should be as delighted as I was — or simply green with envy that one man would have the luxury of time (and obviously the additional luxury of such committed focus) to one photograph — let alone convince a publisher of the merits of such work. But love of history won out and I grabbed the book to my chest.

The Soiling of Old Glory: The Story of a Photograph That Shocked America By Louis P, Masur

As I said, the book, The Soiling of Old Glory: The Story of a Photograph That Shocked America, focuses on just one photograph — but it’s not just any photograph.

The photograph, The Soiling of Old Glory, is, despite my previous ignorance to it, quite a well-known, controversial, and award-winning photo:

On April 5, 1976, at an anti-busing rally at City Hall Plaza, Stanley Forman, a Boston Herald-American photographer, took a picture that stands as an icon of racial hatred in America. A teenager has transformed the flag into a weapon directed at the body of a black man. It is the ultimate act of desecration, performed in the year of the bicentennial in the shadows of Boston’s Old State House. Titled The Soiling of Old Glory, the photograph appeared in newspapers around the country and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1977. It haunts us still.

If that paragraph seems to imply all there is to the story, I assure you it’s not.

Masur takes us through the incident. He interviews the key players (including the white teenager who “transformed the flag into a weapon,” Joseph Rakes; the victimized young black man, Theodore “Ted” Landsmark; and the photographer, Stanley J. Forman — none of whom have remained frozen in time like the photo). And Massur sets the context in terms of the socio-economic conditions, politics and history of Boston as well as the personal histories of the individuals involved. It is, as promised on the book jacket’s front flap, a “biography of a photograph.”

Beyond “all that history,” we are also given much more.

We are to consider photography itself. Is that moment in time, in this case an image captured in 1/250th of a second, The Truth? If the camera cannot lie (only the photographer — and in this case, the photo is neither doctored nor posed), does this “snapshot” give us all we need to see The Truth? In fact, how do we see or read photographs? In some ways, we view them as Art — and in the case of The Soiling Of Old Glory, there are many comparisons to famous artworks and iconic photographs to be made. Masur makes them.

The author gives us history & context, examples & comparisons, for these issues, to further, well, complicate the issues. It’s not that Masur himself is unclear; rather it is the issues themselves which are complicated. They are not easy things to consider — nor easily dismissed.

After reading this book, one can no longer passively view a photograph.

But still we are not done. For central to this photograph, to the controversy, is a symbol: The American Flag. Without the flag itself, we do not have the same visceral reaction to this photograph (Bicentennial or not). So Masur gives a concise history lesson regarding the flag, including the cult of the flag and the related controversial issues of patriotism, free speech, and flag desecration.

Each one of these contextual pieces would be fascinating reads; but combined as the context to just one photograph, it’s nearly mind-blowing.

If you love history, you’ll love this book and want to add it to your book collection. But other collectors will love this book too.

If you collect Black Americana, you’ll see there are (unfortunately) much more modern works connected to more recent events & racism to be searching for.

If you collect photographs, as I do, you’ll never look at them so simply again — nor should you. But don’t worry; reading The Soiling of Old Glory: The Story of a Photograph That Shocked America will not detract from your obsession. On the contrary, you will find more value in your photographs, old & new.

If you collect flags — or just display them for holidays such as The Fourth of July — you’ll find in Masur’s book validation of your pursuit and the questions you might be posing with your collection. (In fact, I now contemplate collecting them, at least in photographs, folk art & outsider art works, as well as in ephemera.)

The Soiling Of Old Glory may indeed be a remarkable photograph (and I take nothing away from it’s standing), but more remarkable to me is Masur’s book. Not just for ending my 45 years of ignorance to the photo (and therefore the forced busing issue in Boston and the related American history); not just for validating my own obsessive needs to research the snot out of everything (and that should not be underestimated!); but for telling a story of an object with it’s full context & in such interesting, page-turning precision.

It’s time to check in with the bi-annual Batman watch. I mean, it’s a pretty hourly thing for me on a personal level, but I choose to make it public twice a year – for your benefit.

We’ve finally seen a healthy ebb in the Batman Returns merchandise that Mattel had clogged the local toy shelves with. Wal-Mart can only carry so many slightly different variations of Christian Bale’s Cookie Monster Batman and not-even-close-to-Heath Ledger 4” Jokers, which have pretty much dominated more shelf space than they ever had the right to. Unless you stumble upon a super-rare Movie Masters ‘Unmasked Batman’ or ‘Fear Batman’ with the all-black ghoul mask, these aren’t worth squat. Even the Movie Masters Jokers, which exploded in secondary market value shortly after Heath Ledger’s death, are now commonplace as they’re no longer serving as creepy personal memorials.

New from Mattel, however, is the super adorable ‘Action League’ Batman, based on the ‘Brave & the Bold’ cartoon. While Hasbro pioneered the chunky ‘Superhero Squad’ style of simplified figure, which was quickly emulated by every other toy company, Mattel enters the fray with the most animated, clean bunch of figures.

Collectors and completists, please note that there are three different Batmen in this line at this time. Two Batmen, both in classic blue and grey, come in two different fightin’ poses – one holding a Batarang. They’re available in single packs for around $5, but also come in two-packs with villians. A third Batman, decked out in his grey and blacks, comes with the Batmobile set, which also includes the Clock King and retails for around $20. For my money, the Action League blows away the sloppy paint and occasionally goofy sculpting that Hasbro launched the aesthetic with.

UK’s Eaglemoss Publications, responsible for the popular Marvel Classic Figurine Collection, has recently started releasing DC Comics characters into the US – starting with a 4” lead statue of Batman, which I couldn’t resist. They’ll run you about $10 a piece, are planned to span a huge amount of characters., and all come with a pretty impressive glossy magazine that details the minutae of each character’s developments, statistics, enemies, and a ton of pictures. Most of these pieces are great – heroic poses, clean paint and excellently sculpted – but there’s also the occasional piece that doesn’t exactly fill the mold and will come out warped, completely broken, or will get painted blindly. As a result, it’s best to know what you’re looking at before you bring it home. Also, don’t eat it.

The next two Batmen of significance both come from DC Direct’s statue lines.

The ‘Batman Black & White’ line has been an excellent way for DC Direct to show off the art of dozens of different illustrators and how they interpret Batman. Bruce Timm’s May 2009 entry into the series is only the third Batman in the series that has never appeared in a canonical comic, and might just be the Batman with the widest audience, because that audience includes my mom. I admit to a distinct love of Bruce Timm’s squared-off Batman, since it was through the 1990s cartoons that I really found my inner Batman. Only 4000 of these were made, but don’t expect these later pieces to increase in value. Early pieces from the series, like Mike Mignola’s statue, now sell for around $200, while Brian Bolland and Eduardo Risso’s statues have peaked at around $100. Considering the original price of around $50, that’s not too shabby – but those are the only three that have truly taken off.

Finally, there’s one more Batman statue from DC Direct that was released last month, as the second release from the new (but ongoing) Heroes of the DC Universe line. Based on the art of Carlos Pacheco and sculpted by superstar Jean St. Jean, it’s more if an ‘iconic’ Batman than a ‘dynamic’ Batman – a good piece to anchor the display, and in full color.

It’s a bevy of Batmen, and despite this flagging economy, I’m still all in for Batman. Sorry, Iron Man – you’ll just have to be on hold for now.

By now, you know that the King of Pop has passed on. One’s fame is directly proportional to how fast people will learn the intimate details of your life, or death, as the case may be, so the news traveled quickly. The folder of Michael Jackson songs on my hard drive is once again seeing use, and people have been coming into the library looking for something, anything, about MJ. It’s strange how a person who, in life, was reduced to little more than a punch line is suddenly revered in death.

Where celebrity meets mortality, there is eBay.

When Steve Irwin died, the gulf between his collectability before and after death was cavernous. A doll that didn’t sell for $18 on Monday was selling for over $350 on Wednesday. Sellers immediately pulled their Irwin auctions so that they could relist them at inflated prices.

While Irwin’s fame was perhaps C-level at best, MJ’s ascent towards collectability has always existed, and has been on a fairly constant climb since his self-imposed isolation began years ago, soon after his unconventional relationships with children were explored. When you offer less of yourself to your adoring public, the demand increases. You become a modern deity. Your signature becomes evidence of the hand of god.

Why people grieve with money is another issue entirely, but it happens. We all express ourselves differently, and I’m not here to question that. It’s the vultures, those resellers whose businesses are predicated on death and injury, who make their appearance now. Yes, we’re in a bad economy and people need to make a living, but it’s endlessly profitable to pinpoint which celebrities are in failing health, scoop up as much of them as you can on eBay, and wait for the inevitable. After losing two different sources of income over the past 2 months, don’t be surprised if you see me stalking Hollywood with a pen and a baseball bat soon.

Of course, there are also those people who buy stuff immediately after a celebrity’s death in the hopes that the value will Increase – much like the people who went out and bought comics when they read that Captain America died. Too late, fellas. Things tend to peak in the few days immediately following a tragedy. By the time your signed 8 x 10 arrives in the mail, it’ll be worth less than what you paid for it. Mourning does not age like wine.

Most telling is this MJ coin. Manufactured by a no-name company in China, and not even licensed, it failed to sell for a mere $7 on June 23rd, and multiple times before that. On June 26th, the closing bid hit over $117. This seller definitely doesn’t fall under the ‘vulture’ category, as it’s an item that was already listed on eBay before MJ’s death, they certainly lucked into a killer sale.

While general memorabilia are selling strong, it’s signed items that remain the truly powerful sellers after a death strikes. People can always print up another poster, but the quantity of celebrity X’s signatures has just become finite.

Amazon’s top 16 albums, as of this writing, are all Michael Jackson albums, pushing Regina Spektor and Wilco into the high teens, with more MJ albums peppering the rest of the countdown also. I’d presume that illegal downloads also skyrocketed during these past 24 hours.

Interestingly, this spells interesting things for Beatles collectors also. Upon MJ’s death, the rights to every Beatles song that he owned reverted back to Paul McCartney. As a Rock Band fanatic, I have to wonder if this sudden change in song rights will affect the release date of Rock Band : Beatles, currently scheduled for September. Death doesn’t need to be more complicated.

An strange man with a stranger life – but what artist isn’t? Thanks for everything.

Hubby and I went to numerous rummage sales today. It had rained a lot overnight and we were concerned that they would not be open, but as luck would have it, every one was set up and ready. One of the sales we got to was actually an Estate Sale and the lady had a large grouping of collector’s plates such as Norman Rockwell, various movie stars, and Parisian ladies. Aunty also had a substantial collection of Precious Moments figurines. We picked up a few of them, but quite frankly, they were priced way too high. We learned that the gent running it was her nephew and he shared with us a ‘thought’ we’ve often had – he was very surprised at what had NOT sold.

He mentioned the plates that he knew she had paid over $50 each for ‘these years back’ and thought they would have escalated greatly. They had $45-70 price tags. I never feel that it is my place to lecture or make people feel badly, but I gently hinted that the Franklin Mint items, for example, were made in the 100’s of thousands, perhaps millions, and there was just too much volume to increase the value by a great deal. He seemed surprised by that, but agreed that it made some sense.

He then moved to a table of glassware and said he thought that the ‘cut glass’ bowls and crystal trays would surely bring a pretty penny. But this was the second day of the sale and not one had been purchased. Once again, I passed on speaking out but when I checked them over found a lot of chipping and also determined it was mostly pressed glass, which is a mega-difference from cut glass or crystal.

The next piece he showed off was a large green glass bowl which he identified as “depression glass.” It was not. It was newer and of poor quality. The whopper of a price tag was $75. Sorry, I don’t think so.

We bought a book, a little figurine, small bowl, then headed to the van. I looked back and thought to myself that these poor folks would be sitting there until Sunday evening, without a clue, and would probably continue to sell very little. People often possess a unique sense of value on ‘antiques’ and collectibles. If the item was of poor quality to begin with, it probably has not gone up in value, no matter how old it is (of course there are exceptions.)

I have often heard complaints about ‘those darn dealers’ coming early and buying up everything, or the folks who run estate sales taking a ‘huge chunk’ of the family’s profits. But, gee, they are a necessary evil. The line at the door before the sale starts makes or breaks a sale because the late-arrivals looking for pots, pans, clothing and utilitarian items will not make the sale profitable. It is the dealers who do that. And it just makes sense to hire someone who is a ‘pro’ to at least eyeball your treasures and point you in the right direction. We’ve run several estate sales and were amazed at what was going to be discarded. One item was a large wooden shipping box that once held an Evinrude boat motor. The gent asked for help to drag it to the curb but we declined and it netted about $150! Some items he had placed into a box as ‘very high-end’ turned out to be pretty commonplace and we were able to convince him to pass them on to family members as keepsakes or price them in a realistic manner.

If at all possible, before you start your sale, do a little research. Go to a few malls and try to find similar items, then price yours lower than those found. Check out the internet. If your mass-produced figurines are bringing less than $5, why put them out at 7 times that? They will not be purchased. Consider hiring a professional to help out, even if it is to appraise your ‘best items’, and a service may be the answer if you have a large inventory.

Having sold antiques and collectibles in various venues for over 25 years, I know the trends swing like crazy and many items just do not hold their value. Better to pass these on to family as a pleasant memory. A little bit of up-front work can truly help your “no sales” to turn into cash!