“Picking” seems to be the hot new word in the collecting world. A lot has to do with The History Channels new hit series, “American Pickers”.

The definition of a picker is actually one that travels around the countryside, knocking on doors, visiting county auctions and hitting flea markets buying antiques and vintage items to sell to antique dealers. Similar to what you see the guys doing on the show.

I’m sure most of you are not randomly knocking on doors hoping to find that diamond in the rough, but I’ll bet many of you have stories to tell of great finds in the field. (In fact I’m hoping you’ll share them here!)

My first venture into the world of yard sales was more like an accident than an intention. I went to drop off some things at a neighbor’s sale when something caught my eye. Let me back up here a minute by noting I was about 21 years ago, and had never been to a yard sale much less conducted one. I always thought it was just junk… you know, used clothing and broken toys.

I saw a watch in a box that I thought was pretty. I had a watch, and this one was similar in that it was silver and gold, but it was thinner and looked (to my inexperienced eye) a little classier than the one I currently owned. It had a name on it that I didn’t recognize (but would later) and I asked how much it was. $5.00

The catch was it didn’t work. Hmm, a friend of mine’s dad worked on watches and I thought maybe he could fix it. If he couldn’t – I was only out $5 – but if he could, I had a pretty snazzy looking watch for very little money.

To make a long story short, the watch was a Tissot, and the reason it didn’t work was because the battery was dead. A few days and $2 later, I had a beautiful ladies Tissot two-toned watch for $7. Beat that.

It only takes winning one of those scratch off lottery tickets to get you hooked; and boy was I. Still am, all these years later.

Each week, we’ll talk about items to look for in your travels, collectibles on the rise, or recently in the news. I look forward to hearing about your latest picks, and if you’re willing, please share some of your favorite places to find treasures in the rough – or just treasures!

Happy Hunting!

Reyne

Apollo mission hardware and reference materials continue driving popular Space category, April 21, at Heritage Auction

DALLAS, TX – Edgar Mitchell’s Apollo 14 Lunar Surface worn “Mitchell” spacesuit name tag, originally from Mitchell’s own collection, brought $59,750 to lead Heritage Auctions’ $720,000+ April 21 Space Exploration Auction. All prices include the 19.5% Buyer’s Premium. Overall the auction saw a stunning sell-through rate of more than 97% by value and more than 94% by lot total.

“Mitchell’s name tag is certainly going to be the centerpiece a of a very serious space collection,” said Michael Riley, Chief Cataloger and Senior Historian at Heritage Auctions. “In the realm of space collecting, lunar surface worn material is by far the most coveted; it doesn’t get much closer to mission, or more unique to the astronaut, than this very piece.”

Only 12 men have ever walked on the surface of the moon, and only 12 name tags have been with them. The tags from the suits of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin name tags are on permanent loan to the Smithsonian, and Alan Bean ground his up long ago for use in his paintings. That leaves only nine with the possibility of being made public, though many of those are in institutional hands.

“I wouldn’t count on one of these from another astronaut showing up anytime soon,” said Riley. “These are very coveted by those who own them. This was a great opportunity and a smart collector made good use of it.”

An Apollo 10 flown Earth Landmark Maps & Photos Book, directly from the Personal Collection of Mission Command Module Pilot John Young, was hotly contested in the auction before finishing at $43,319, more than five times its base estimate of $8,000, while an Apollo 11 Grumman Apollo Operations Handbook – Lunar Module LM5 And Subsequent Book in Binder went for $35,850, more than six times its base estimate of $5,000.

Apollo 15 Mission Commander Dave Scott’s Lunar Module Flown Flashlight, directly from his personal collection more than doubled its pre-auction estimate to bring $26,290 and become the most valued of these space flown heavy brass-milled two-cell flashlights to have come to auction, with similar examples from James Lovell, Gene Cernan and John Young bringing $10,157, $8,365 and $5,676, respectively, in prior Heritage Space Exploration auctions.

One of the most stunning and impressive lots in the entire auction came from the Gemini program in the form of 150 Glass Slides from Gemini 4, first generation duplicates from film flown on the mission, directly from the Personal Collection of Mission Pilot Ed White II, which brought double their pre-auction estimate to finish at $21,510.

“These are not only stunning and amazing slides in quality,” said Riley, “but also historic as well. These were some of the very first pictures taken of the earth, by human hands, from outer space. One look and you can see that they’re simply breathtaking.”

Further highlights include, but are certainly not limited to:

Apollo 11 Flown Silver Robbins Medallion Originally from the Personal Collection of Mission CapCom Ron Evans, Serial Number 152: Realized $20,315.

Apollo 10 Flown CSM Systems Data Checklist Directly From the Personal Collection of Mission Command Module Pilot John Young, Signed and Certified: Realized $19,120.

Apollo 16 Flown Silver Robbins Medallion Directly from the Personal Collection of Mission Commander John Young, Serial Number 10: Realized $17,925.

NASA Astronaut Group Two: Large Color Photo on Mat Signed by All, Directly from the Personal Collection of Astronaut Ed White II: Realized $16,730.

Apollo 10 Flown CSM Updates Checklist Directly from the Personal Collection of Mission Command Module Pilot John Young, Signed and Certified: Realized $14,340.

Heritage Auctions, headed by Steve Ivy, Jim Halperin and Greg Rohan, is the world’s third largest auction house, with annual sales more than $600 million, and 500,000+ registered online bidder members. For more information about Heritage Auctions, and to join and gain access to a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit HA.com.

AUSTIN, Texas – Austin Auction Gallery chalked up a solid $260,000 total with its April 18, 2010 Important Spring Estates Auction, led by a keenly pursued selection of Mid-century dining room furniture designed by Paul Evans (American, 1931-1987).

The 10-piece sculpted-bronze dining suite consisted of a large ‘Stalagmite’ glass-top table, eight chairs upholstered in purple micro-suede, and a long, sculpted-bronze server set with two slate slabs. The consignor had purchased the suite in 1970, from the Chicago showroom of Directional Furniture, for whom Evans designed.

The Evans set was offered in three lots with a total estimate of $17,000-$23,000, but bidders knew an opportunity when they saw one and pushed the aggregate price to $59,225. The table made $10,925, while the coveted complete set of chairs soared to $29,900. Completing the ensemble, the sideboard closed at $18,400. All prices quoted in this report are inclusive of 15% buyer’s premium.

“We had nine or ten phone bidders, from all over the country, who were interested in the Paul Evans set,” said Austin Auction associate Chris Featherston, “but amazingly, it all went to a buyer from our own hometown here in Texas. One of the phone bidders, who was from New York, was surprised that he had been outbid by someone from Austin.”

18th-century, Louis XV-style marble-top carved console

An 18^th-century, Louis XV-style marble-top carved console from the same estate that produced the Paul Evans furniture also met with success in the sale. Heavy phone participation boosted its closing price to $8,625.

The fine-art section of the sale included a special collection of eight artworks by John Strevens (British, 1902-1990). Strevens exhibited regularly at the British Royal Academy, Royal Society of British Arts, the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, and the Paris Salon.

John Strevens (British, 1902-1990)

“The owner of the paintings had her portrait painted by Strevens and bought additional works by the artist,” Featherston explained. “The eight paintings sold for a total of $26,996, with individual prices ranging from $1,150 to $5,463.”

A category that garnered considerable interest was Asian art. “Since we have been online with our sales, we have gained quite a few buyers out of China,” said Featherston. “Last year many of those buyers were conspicuously absent from our sales. This year the Chinese buyers were back in force, especially for the red coral pieces in the sale.”

Iconic masterwork from Flashing Swords #1, by Frank Frazetta, expected to bring $200,000+ on May 6 at Heritage Auctions Beverly Hills

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – One of, if not the most famous image in all of Fantasy Art – Frank Frazetta’s instantly-recognizable 1973 classic Warrior with Ball and Chain, Flashing Swords #1, paperback cover – will be offered at Heritage Auctions Beverly Hills, on May 6, as part of The Frank Collection of Sci-Fi Art, a sub-offering within the company’s Pin-Up & Glamour Illustration Art Auction.

“This is easily one of the top Frazetta paintings in private hands,” said Ed Jaster, Vice President of Heritage Auctions, “and it’s also one of the largest Frazetta covers ever painted, at nearly two feet square.”

Frank Frazetta holding a copy of the auction catalog. Photo by Rob Pistella.

This stirring, savage and superb Frazetta masterwork first appeared on the cover of the sword and sorcery anthology Flashing Swords #1, edited by Lin Carter, published by Dell Books in 1973. It has since been reproduced many times in many forms, including on page 93 of Frank Frazetta: Book Three, Bantam Books, 1977, and page 185 of Legacy: Selected Paintings and Drawings of Frank Frazetta, edited by Arnie and Cathy Fenner, Underwood Books, 1999. Fans of the Dungeons & Dragons books will recognize it from its most recent use as the cover of the 2005 Wilderlands of High Fantasy paperback, White Wolf Publishing.

“That’s one of my better paintings,” Frazetta said, when asked about the piece’s upcoming auction. “I certainly had a lot of fun with that one.”
There are many aficionados who feel this piece may have been originally created for the Lancer Conan series of the late 1960s – given its similarity to two other Lancer Conan cover paintings – but never used there.

“What we have is an incredible peak period, published cover painting featuring the ultimate subject matter by the master,” said Jaster. “What more can really be said about it? For Sci-Fi fans, it can’t get a whole lot better.”

Heritage Auctions, headed by Steve Ivy, Jim Halperin and Greg Rohan, is the world’s third largest auction house, with annual sales more than $600 million, and 500,000+ registered online bidder members. For more information about Heritage Auctions, and to join and gain access to a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit HA.com.

Auction May 8th & 9th, 2010

American, English, and Continental furniture, porcelain, silver, decorations and fine art

New York

Africa – Contemporary Art, Photographs, Editions

Auction May 15th, 2010 1pm

New York

Catalog Now Online

Modern and Contemporary Art

American and European Art

Preview May 12th – 15th, Auction May16th 12pm

Multi Estate Discovery Auction

April 27th 10am

Furniture of all periods, porcelain, glass, silver, jewelry, fine and decorative art, and much more.

Special Estate Auction

May 2010

Selling the estate of Silvio D’Ignazio

Auction April 29th 10:30am

Fell0ws & Sons Auctioneers & Valuers

Finally! After looking for almost ten years, Steiffgal finally landed one of her dream pieces! After waiting for several anxious weeks – after all, the package was being mailed from overseas – the box finally arrived and was delivered to Steiffgal’s front step. With great excitement, Steiffgal opened the carton and right away… she knew she had it “maid” in the shade with her newest vintage find, a Steiff poodle named Maidy.

So just who is Maidy, and what makes her so special? Maidy is one of those Steiff “One-derful” items, made for just a year or so. Specifically, she appeared in the Steiff catalog in 1959 only. This black mohair beauty is standing and unjointed. She has a slightly longer mohair “beard” around her chin. Her mouth and claw stitching is done in mauve colored embroidery floss. She was produced in 25 and 30 cm; Steiffgal’s Maidy is the 30 cm version.

There are two things about Maidy, besides her very short time in production, that make her really remarkable. First are her eyes. They are gorgeous, large hand blown almond shaped “peepers”; each has a black pupil, brown iris, and white corners. Readers may recognize these eyes as the same ones that appeared on the pre-war and early post war Steiff little black Scotty dogs. The second is her remarkable mohair covering. It is analogous to the look and feel of “Persian Lamb”, that is, it is distinctly bumpy and textured, with the mohair woven in tightly wound clusters. The only other Steiff item that Steiffgal can think of that uses this textured mohair is (not surprisingly…) Swapl, the black Persian lamb, made from 1957 thorough 1964.

Maidy is an interesting and unusual branch on the Steiff family poodle tree. As a matter of fact, poodles are a legacy breed for Steiff; so much so that at least two of these standing curly coated cuties appeared in the debut catalog of 1892. Soon after, in 1894, Steiff introduced a sitting model which was produced through 1905. In 1908, Steiff gave their poodles a “makeover”; giving them a more toy-like in appearance and configuring them in a playful, begging position. Begging poodles were reintroduced in 1929 after a few years break and remained in the line until 1935. The pre-war tail-turns-head begging poodle, introduced in 1931, was reproduced as a Steiff Club limited edition replica in 1996.

Steiff poodles made an almost constant appearance in the Steiff line post WWII though the end of last century. Tosi, a wool plush poodle made in black or white, was introduced in 1950, just a few years after the factory reopened for business after the war. She was quickly followed by one of Steiff’s most beloved and popular dog designs, Snobby the Poodle. This classic Snobby pattern made her grand debut in 1953 and appeared in the line through 1974 in 10, 14, 22, 35, and 43 cm. Snobby was produced in gray or black mohair, was jointed, and had a little round red felt tongue. Her coat was cut in what Steiff refers to as the “modern trim”, meaning that her limbs, face, tail tip, and head crown were long mohair, while her body and neck were short mohair. This Snobby pattern proved so popular that she was soon being produced in as a riding toy, a puppet, and as a soft, curled up resting animal. Fast forward a few years post the classic Snobby period, Steiff continued to produce dozens of mostly soft plush play poodles in white, black, gray, and brown through the next three decades. The photos above on the left show some of the better and lesser known post-war Steiff poodles; pictured here are a grey mohair 35 cm lying Snobby poodle (1955 – 1967), a black mohair 14 cm black Snobby poodle (1953 – 1974), a 12 cm white plush Whitey poodle (1978 – 1984), and a pair of black plush 50 cm standing and begging studio poodles (1978 – 1984).

Steiffgal hopes this column has noodled your interest in these well-coiffed Steiff canines!

Have a question about one of your Steiff treasures, big-haired or otherwise? Let’s talk! Click here to learn more.