Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Antiques

What kind of spoons are these?

YoungAmerican — Fri, 17 May 2013 11:38:25 -0800

As seen in this picture. They're English silver plate, retailed my Abercrombie & Fitch probably sometime between the 30s and 60s. But what are they for? Some kind of cocktail thing? Each is about 4 1/2" in length - on the small side.

Seeking information about a very old piece of furniture

crazylegs — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 17:05:45 -0800

Are you an antique furniture expert? What can you tell me about this piece? I'm going to an auction tomorrow with this in it. It looks really old to me. Can you tell me anything about it? And why are there mortise holes at the tops of the front legs? Thanks!

Dealing with Dealers

kimdog — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 08:46:32 -0800

I'm helping a friend liquidate the contents of his mother's apartment, and we have two weeks to do it. I have some antiques dealers coming over who will make offers. I have questions. We are on a tight timeline, and my friend is in dire need of cash ASAP. There is some antique furniture, and last night I found a cache of vintage Chanel handbags, along with some other high end brands. I have a dealer (who is a friend of a friend) coming over to take a look at the bags, and some silk scarves and costume jewelry.

After a night of research, I have an idea of what the bags might be worth (we are certain they are real). The dealer who is coming over has very similar bags (and in one case, the exact same bag) for sale on her website in the $2,000- $3,000 range. eBay prices are wider in range, but $1000-$3000 seems to be the average. I don't expect that we will get top dollar from a dealer, but what should we hold out for? Is $500 a bag reasonable? Is there a formula that we can apply given that we know about what the retail price is? Or is it all a matter of bargaining?

The furniture is a little trickier. I don't know much about most of it. I did find exact auctions prices for a gaming table. In the last 4 years, one sold for $700, and another sold for $900. My friend has two of them. I'm hoping we can get $500 for the pair. Is that reasonable?

Unfortunately, we don't have the luxury of time... this has to be done be done by March 31. Bonus question- Can anyone recommend reliable antique dealers in NYC (apartment is on the UWS)? I've had people flake on me all week long.

Gift to help catalog antique pottery

Raichle — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 12:53:43 -0800

I need help finding a gift for somebody who is a constant state of labeling and cataloging his collection of antiquities and pottery. What would help him? (more inside) So, I have this uncle who goes to auctions and collects very specific rare pottery. He has hundreds of pieces. He's been trying to label them but I his current method is to write the info on a piece of paper and drop it in. I'm trying to think of a way to help him catalog this. Suggestions? Note: can't put stickers on them directly.

Help ID uniforms in an old drawing

WickedPissah — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 09:06:13 -0800

Help me identify uniforms worn in an antique pencil watercolor. And maybe a guess as to where it was recorded. Found this little drawing/watercolor at a consignment shop. Overall. I really like it but am struggling to figure out who it is depicting. Trying to pin down the date based on the uniforms but have not gotten very far. Someone suggested mail carriers which might make sense considering one is carrying a bag over his shoulder and the other is holding what looks like an envelope.

Detail Views here:
Detail One

Detail Two

Would love to hear any ideas and also any thoughts on where it might be taking place. It is saying Philadelphia or Washington DC to me.

We're trying to start a vintage clothing business! How do we source the best clothing at the best prices?

faeuboulanger — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 10:06:15 -0800

How do I source reasonable to high quality vintage clothing at low prices Some friends and I have a bit of capital with which to start a business. We've decided we want to try selling great quality, mid-century vintage garments online, probably etsy at first... and later (if that works out... fingers crossed), through our own website and/or a brick-and-mortar shop. What we're struggling most with so far is finding reliable sources of good clothing--we're really trying to minimize losses and not accumulate a bunch of stock that won't sell. Online vintage lot dealers seem of questionable quality for the price, and e-bay often gets rather expensive. We've just thought to look on craigslist, and so far that seems the most promising... we shall see. Any advice on where to find the best garments at the best prices would be much appreciated (we're Chicago-based if that's relevant)... or, any general wisdom about starting a business of this type, for that matter. We're really hoping to make a go of this, and want to make all the right decisions from the outset. Thanks!

The V&A just about killed me.

you're a kitty! — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 14:09:08 -0800

I'm fascinated by unusual jewelry with a history — medieval memento moris, ARP whistles from the Blitz, Victorian nude stanhopes, that sort of thing. I don't care at all about precious metals and gemstones (real or fake), but rather about the story behind them. Cheap, mass-produced mementos and handmade crafts seem to carry more history than high-end jewels, but they're difficult to search for. Boring, pretty things always swamp me when I search for "costume" or "antique" or "estate" jewelry. Other than Monica Laughlin's excellent series of Hairpin posts, where can I discover more history-through-jewelry? I'm hoping for book recommendations, websites, stories, articles, or online shops. Is there a general term for this sort of thing? I've found some things through Erica Weiner's jewelry shop and some interesting reproductions/inspired by's on Digby&Iona, but there doesn't seem to be much else out there for folks with this particular interest. I'll be delighted if I can afford any of this stuff, but that's less relevant than the interesting stories.
Thanks!

Tips for selling a piece to an antiques dealer?

jabes — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 07:12:10 -0800

I have an item I'd like to sell to a local antiques dealer. It's a mid-century modern piece and the dealer recently listed a similar item for $1200. Mine would need a bit of refinishing, but what's a fair offer? This particular dealer buys items from individuals but explicitly states on their website that the seller has to come up with the amount. I'm moving at the end of August and need to be rid of the piece by then. It's not a family heirloom or anything -- the previous tenant in my apartment left it behind when she moved and only when photographing it for craigslist did I realize it might be worth something -- so I'd like to make as much as possible but it's all free money either way. I was thinking of asking for $500, and hoping he would negotiate from there. Does that sound reasonable? Will dealers negotiate from the asking price or is it usually a yes-or-no thing? I've never dealt with an antiques dealer before so if anyone has any advice I'd greatly appreciate it.

How on earth to sell this object?

Frowner — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 07:37:47 -0800

How best to value and sell a beautiful, large, fragile antique desk in the suburban Chicago area? Asking for a relative! My relative has inherited a very tall antique desk. It's somewhere over 100 years old, has a roll top, drawers and compartments in the base and a very tall, fragile, glass-fronted cabinet as the top half. I assume that it was made by a skilled provincial carpenter, as it is nicely made, obviously not mass-produced but does not have inlays or gilded trim or anything Robber Baron-ish. It belonged to our wealthy immigrant side of the family (although the money was lost in the 1930s, there are still plenty of oddments around), but was made in the US and purchased in the Chicago area. I don't know if there is a maker's mark - it's a bulky piece and can't really be moved without a lot of effort. It's in good condition.

My relative does not want to keep it - it's exceedingly bulky, fragile and hard to move, and thus does not fit at all with my relative's lifestyle - also, lord knows we have inherited plenty of material objects of sentimental value from that side of the family.

My relative lives outside Chicago and does not have a car. What is the best way to get as fair a value as possible for the desk? If we sell it ourselves, what is the best way to figure out an asking price?

Ice, ice baby?

chrisfromthelc — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 08:26:50 -0800

What is this odd ICE knob on the faucet? This is an antique faucet setup in a historic hotel (The St. Anthony in San Antonio, if that help). The bathroom sink has the old-style separate knobs for hot and cold, and this faucet in the middle with the curious ICE knob (button? handle?). It doesn't seem to do anything. The little flipover handle controls the drain plug.

Any ideas what this would've done? Is the original intention even a bathroom faucet, and not perhaps a kitchen faucet?

What to do with inherited stuff/antiques?

meantime — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 11:31:25 -0800

I have just inherited about one hundred boxes full of 40-100 year old stuff from 2 or 3 generations. I can't really use any of it and some of it may be very valuable. How can I best assess the values of the thousands of items so that I can sell/donate/throw out everything? Within the boxes are over one thousand books (many of which are hand bound), many sets of dinnerware (much of which is hand painted and some silver), various pieces of art, old magazines and various random but seemingly quality pieces. This is mixed with a whole bunch of junk that appears to be the remains of hoarders. Its possible, however, that even some of the junk might be interesting to some given its age/quality/category.

I have to do something with this stuff and though I think at least half of it isn't worth anything - I don't know how to begin sorting through it all. There are thousands of items here and I'm afraid to throw anything out because maybe one small piece that seems like "junk" might actually be of value - if not financially, then perhaps to someone.

Ideally, I would get rid of the "junk" and then clean up and sort the rest of it to present to people who might be interested. But this has been difficult for me to do.

Further complications:

- the stuff is full of dust, etc, so at least the initial stages are 'dirty work' that I can't do in random slots of free time - i have to dedicate half or full days so that i don't waste my time cleaning

- I have to move through it relatively quickly because space is limited and the boxes have to be cleared

- The items are in the Czech Republic (so am I) and primarily of Czech and German origin - so besides having no background in antiques, I have limited ways to educate myself in what might have value or how to locate people who might be interested in these items (i.e., i can't google search each item nor do I know if this is stuff for Sotheby's or a Czech version of ebay)

How do people go through this process when someone passes? Is there a best practices for something like this? Any suggestions given the special circumstances?

Antiques close to NYC

ch1x0r — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 17:58:25 -0800

Where can I go get antiques on a day trip out of NYC? We have rented a zipcar for the day tomorrow, and want to leave the city to do something random. I have been looking for a good rocking chair for a long time, so I was hoping we could go in the direction of good antique shopping. Someplace also near a park that would accommodate a quick hike would also be fun. Charming towns a plus. Can you suggest a direction for us to drive?

Identifying odd home artifacts and features

raztaj — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 09:22:54 -0800

Antiques Metafiltershow: Can you help me identify any of these wild, weird, artsy household features? My siblings and I inherited my dad's (very dated) house after his passing, and are beginning to try and assemble some plan of what to do with everything. All of the attached features came with the house, which my parents bought in 1985, and was built by the only previous owner in 1978. I think they were international contractors, or possibly diplomats - something that afforded them to travel and collect eclectic stuff.

We identified this gothic looking chandelier - turns out it's an interesting Brutalist artistic light piece, and maybe even worth a little bit.

These are some others we're trying to place (pictures here):
- Silver & black doorbell chime cover
- 3 hanging (brass?) Moroccan-ish lamps
- Attached filigree (brass?) Moroccan-ish ceiling lamp
- Hand-blown glass mini chandelier

And from my parents' own odd collection, a set of stone encased coffee and two end tables. At least from the early 80s, probably 70s. The top appears to be varying sizes of stone encased in some kind of material - definitely not glass, feels plastic-ish. The base is mostly wood, with some metal features (the petal-looking parts on legs of side tables)

Can you help identify any of these pieces? Dates, makers or manufacturers? Or provide any terms and descriptors that might help us narrow or research?

Help me find James Dean's watch!

twoforty5am — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 13:59:03 -0800

Where can I find a working all black Westclox "Wrist Ben" watch or one that looks similar? I've been doing research and trying to track down the type of watch James Dean wore in "Rebel Without a Cause". I found this thread on a watch forum. http://forums.watchuseek.com/f11/james-dean-rebel-without-cause-watch-can-anyone-id-554173.html
It seems as if the watch is a "Westclox Wrist Ben" with black band and black face. I have tried contacting various local jewelers and antique stores in my city but have had no luck. I've also been searching on ebay, etsy all that for the past few months and the few ones that have been listed have been in really rough condition.

Although I'd really like to find an actual "Wrist Ben", I think it's going to be next to impossible to find one of these that could be repaired to work again. So, my question for you is this: What's the next best thing? I want to find something extremely similar but how do I go about even finding something like this. I haven't ever seen a watch that looks like this. I love the all black and the style of numbers on the face.
Any ideas of similar men's watches? I'm willing to spend up to about $300 or $400.
Thanks!

We have stamps.

functionequalsform — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 13:08:02 -0800

Antiques/stamp appraisers in NYC or vicinity? My dude has a serious amount of antique stamps, given to him by his father. He's interested in learning the value of these, individually or as a whole collection.

I guess we're looking for a reputable appraiser who specializes in stamps in the NYC vicinity, if such a person exists. We're not sure how this works, or where to start, so any advice would be helpful.

(We could google for an appraiser, but have no idea who or what to look for in regards to "reputable.")

What or who should we be looking for? What are the costs associated with this?

Thanks!

What might be the history and significance of my monkey figurine?

Perodicticus potto — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 14:04:28 -0800

What's a "monkey of silence," and have I got one? About ten years ago, I bought this little monkey figurine in a charity shop. (Here's a front and rear view.) It's about 3.5 cm high, is carved from some kind of stone and has a hole in its base. I figured it was a tourist souvenir from somewhere. I put it in my living room and didn't think much about it.

Yesterday, I went to this exhibition at the Wellcome Collection. A large part of it consists of amulets collected by the folklorist Edward Lovett in London during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Among the amulets was a little monkey very like my own, about the same size and style of carving, and in a similar "praying" pose. It was in a category by itself, and labelled "Jade Monkey of Silence." The other categories had captions explaining them in more detail, and describing particular objects, but this one had only that phrase: "Jade Monkey of Silence."

I'm pretty sure my monkey isn't jade (it's the wrong colour, and I doubt the charity shop would have sold it for a pound if it were jade), but otherwise it's so similar that I think it may have been made around the same time and for the same purpose. I asked the staff member on duty at the Wellcome Collection if she could provide any more information; she was quite willing to help but couldn't find anything. I also looked at some books on magic and folklore, but again, no luck. An obvious place to look would be Lovett's own book Magic in Modern London, but it's out of print and offline, and used copies are expensive as hell.

I don't expect my monkey to be worth a huge amount of money or anything, but I am curious about the story behind it. Does anyone have any idea of when, where and why it might have been made, or suggestions of where I could look for more information? Thank you!

(P.S. I did think of the "speak no evil" monkey, of course -- but is it normal to have one of the Three Wise Monkeys on its own? And why would someone have used it as a good luck charm?)

(P.P.S. I'm probably going to write a blog post about this too, so if you google "jade monkey of silence" in a couple of days, that might come up. I hope that's OK -- I wanted to explore as many avenues as possible, and figured AskMeFi has slightly more readers than my blog.)

Antiques & Collectibles Education Sought

FlamingBore — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 10:33:11 -0800

How do I learn about antiques & vintage collectibles? I have more than a passing interest in collectibles and antiques, though to be perfectly frank more on the vintage collectibles than the antique side.

I've been going to a local auction house for the last couple of months and I routinely see things there that not only interest me for my personal use/collection but that I recognize as having resale value. I have met a couple of people there who either have stores of their own or who deal in this stuff already and I'm interested in doing this as a sideline/hobby now with the possibility of doing more with it down the road.

My question is how do I get the best combination between a quick education and a deep understanding of the market? I've just ordered a couple of books - Kovel's guide and Schroeder's Collectible Toys to read through. Are there others that I should seek out?

I watch American Pickers, Storage Wars, Auction Kings, and a couple of other shows like it.

I have an inherent "need to know" about things that interest me and generally pick up knowledge about those things easily and quickly.

I understand that condition impacts value, but I'd like to have a greater understanding of not only what to look for and how to value items but also how deeply certain condition levels impact certain collectibles or even furniture. Especially confusing are the items where refinishing/restoring can either enhance or destroy the value of something.

Example: a few weeks ago I picked up an original (not one of the newly produced) Heywood Wakefield step side tables with drawer in champagne finish for only $35. The finish on the top surfaces has been damaged. The wood is in good condition. I know it's next to impossible to refinish this with a good match to the original champagne stain though. I can't decide if it would be better to leave it as is or to refinish in the easier to deal with wheat finish.

Little Pink Chair

hillabeans — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 20:20:43 -0800

Help me learn a little more about my new cute Pink Chair. I picked up this awesome piece of furniture advertised on Craigslist as a "1930s Occasional Chair". The upholstery is very faded, the springs are a little wacky (when I sit down in it I sink to one of the corners). I bought it for $40 and there is very little cosmetically wrong with it and I am willing to invest some time and effort into fixing it up but not 'altering' it too much. My question to the MeFites out there, do you have some good video, link, tips for fixing up upholstered antiques like this? Any tips on determining the actual age, model, even the pattern on this chair?

How to sell this stuff?

daisyace — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 08:37:42 -0800

My mom has a lot of stuff to sell, and she doesn't want the hassle of a do-it-yourself approach. What kind of people should we involve? We're thinking maybe an ebay broker for the small stuff and an estate person for the big stuff. (Or else maybe a place like Sotheby's?) Know any good ones who serve Westchester, NY? How would we find good people? Here are photos of some of the stuff. There's:
--China and glass, including some antique, Limoges, Copenhagen, etc. A sample is in the photo, but there's more. Oh, and a Judith Leiber purse is in there somewhere, too.
--Antique furniture. A few are in photos, but there's more.
--Non-antique furniture. A few are in photos, but there's lots more.
--A large Balinese hand-carved figure.

For the smaller stuff, I was thinking maybe they could hire an ebay broker. They would want to get the right value out of using such a service, i.e., a seller who:
--has a great seller rating.
--takes the time to put together great listings, with nice, detailed photos, and keywords and descriptions that are based on research and/or knowledge about what the pieces are.
--is expert at maximizing ebay returns with the use of the right features, categories, titles, etc.

For the furniture and Balinese sculpture, I thought they might need some kind of estate seller. Again, we'd want someone worth their fee, but here I know nothing about what to ask or expect of the service.

We're not sure if involving an e-bay person and an estate person is the right approach. If it is, we're not sure how to find an ebay seller who meets the criteria above, and a great estate person.

They're also wondering whether a better approach would be to contact someone from a place like Sotheby's or Christie's.

Any help very appreciated!

Vintage stores in Russia

you're a kitty! — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 07:42:35 -0800

Cheap vintage or antique stores in St. Petersburg/Moscow? I'm in Russia for a few more days (today and tomorrow in St. Petersburg, the days after in Moscow), and I really love shopping in low-key, cheap US antique stores so I'd like to try the same thing here. I tried Googling, but it's hard to tell how upscale a place will be, and we don't want to walk all over the city - the one we tried today turned out to contain only museum-quality sculptures and furniture, and the salespeople looked at us like we were street urchins. I'm hoping for the sort of place where you can find old jewelry and trinkets under about $100. Does such a thing exist here?

Help me find great places to shop for clothes, antiques and oddities in Paris.

Thin Lizzy — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 08:44:24 -0800

Help me find great places to shop for clothes, antiques, and oddities in Paris. I'm going to be in Paris for a weekend and I'm looking for interesting places to shop. I'm specifically looking for great consignment shops and odd little antique stores. In a perfect world, I would return to the U.S. with Channel dresses and Hermes scarves that are a few seasons old and maybe a human skull (a la David Sedaris)

I'm currently planning on going to Reciproque and La Belle Epoque for clothes. Where else should I go? Areas as well as specific stores are welcome.

Rules regarding sale of items with ivory trim in the UK?

Anonymous — Sun, 15 May 2011 22:36:53 -0800

What restrictions (if any) are there in the UK on selling antiques that contain ivory trim? I have a couple of old silver teapots that I inherited from my grandmother that I would like to sell. Both have small amounts of off-white trim that I presume is ivory. Are there any restrictions on my selling the teapots? Will I be challenged if I take them to a silver dealer? The teapots are quite obviously old, but I don't have any paperwork for them. I have read the guidance for antique dealers linked on this page of the DEFRA website but I can't figure out what it means for me. (One sub-question: if the teapots were made before 1947 does that satisfy the legal requirements even though I, the current owner, was born after 1947?)

Is it art

WickedPissah — Thu, 05 May 2011 18:48:05 -0800

Help with a old paintings...and should I buy them...more inside. Alright Mefites. You have been a big help in the past and now I am asking again. I came across a set of three oil on canvas paintings that I really want but want to see if they are a decent investment.
First Photo
Second photo

Sorry for the terrible photos.

They are maybe 11x14 inches oil on heavy duty canvas. They have been nailed to a homemade frame. Some cracking in the paint. From what I am told by the seller they are circa 1800's circus or carnival banners from France. One of them is obviously Napoleon Bonaparte.

Do they look familiar to anyone. Any guess on value.

Liquidating small vintage items

xenophile — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 09:17:50 -0800

What antique stores/dealers in Austin might be interested in buying vintage kitchenware such as Pyrex, and various small pieces of American art pottery (Roseville, Sascha B, Van Briggle, etc.)? I bought all this stuff at very low prices, and was able to sell some of it at a profit to a Vegas dealer. Where can I find buyers in Austin?n Or should I just piece them out on Craigslist?

Eldritch Horrors, Please!

Because — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 23:51:39 -0800

SeattleFilter: Where can I buy weird old stuff? I'm looking for weird Victoriana or vintage things that one might use for home decor, if one were the Addams Family. Examples include phrenology heads, old medical books, skulls, mounted animal skeletons, memorial photography. Not interested in medical instruments, but teaching aids of various sorts are nice. I am also always looking for more normal antiques-- nice old picture frames, jewelry, et cetera. But I'm fairly new to the area, and I don't know where to go to get any of this stuff.

So, do you charming and well-informed people know of any awesome antique, vintage, or junk stores that might stock things which are less fancy and well-polished than the more expensive places usually have? I am located near Capitol Hill, so stuff nearer the city center is a bonus, but I am definitely willing to travel for especially good prospects. Scratched and dented is better than expensive. Thanks!