Antique Marketplace News

Step into the pulse of the antiques world with Antique Marketplace News—your insider guide to what’s trending, what’s selling, and what collectors are talking about. We bring together expert insights, market highlights, and curated stories for vintage and antique living.

Thrift With Intent: What to look for, how to save money

Thrift With Intent: What to look for, how to save money
Did you know that August 17, 2022, was National Thrift Store Day? News to me. According to NARTS, The Association of Resale Professionals, there are currently more than 25,000 resale, ...

Cautionary tales & advice for disposing of art

Cautionary tales & advice for disposing of art
Anyone who has had to help a family member move or downsize, or been left with the responsibility of emptying an estate, knows the heartache of making the hard decisions: ...

What’s hot this summer besides the weather?

What’s hot this summer besides the weather?
After what seems like years physically distanced from the shows and markets that make antiquing and collecting such an exciting and engaging hobby, shows and buyers are back! This turnout ...

Can Antiques Survive on Main Street?

Can Antiques Survive on Main Street?
Small, independent businesses in towns across America are once again feeling the effects of a changing economic climate brought about by a confluence of challenges. This past June in an ...

Star Wars: Out of this world values

Star Wars: Out of this world values
Over the last 25 years since the first Star Wars movie hit theaters, legions of fans around the world have followed the tales and memorable characters associated with each new ...

The Fast Fashion Impact on the Thrift Store Marketplace

The Fast Fashion Impact on the Thrift Store Marketplace
Are you familiar with the term “fast fashion?” If not, you should be. It’s the hottest trend in the apparel industry today and it’s coming to a thrift store near ...

Upholstery Across the Ages

Completed Bench by Leif Johnson
by Leif Johnson, TLC Upholstery, Palmer, MA, interviewed by Judy Gonyeau The true beginnings of upholstery took place in Ancient Egypt. Animal skins and dressed leather was stretched across a ...

One Hundred Years of American Trunk Innovation

Circa 1850 “Hourglass” Saratoga trunks (top and right) photo: Paul Norton
By Paul Norton Trunks and travel articles tell a story of adventure and intrigue. The impulse to travel—into town or overseas—required bringing along one’s necessities. As 18th and 19th century ...

Star Wars: From Toys to High-Valued Collectibles

Star Wars: From Toys to High-Valued Collectibles
Over the last 25 years since the first Star Wars movie hit theaters, legions of fans around the world have followed the tales and memorable characters associated with each new ...

Street Clocks & Their Restoration

Restored 1910 Brown Street Clock with a Seth Thomas No.2 auto-winder.
By Eric Ryback, restorer and owner, Saint Louis Street Clock Company “I never wore a watch. I always depend on public clocks, and stores have clocks, but that is strange.”  ...

The Price of Trading Card Authentication

The Price of Trading Card Authentication
Technology is changing the century-old trading-card market, and it’s a big upgrade from the shoebox under the bed. Today, card boxes are microchipped to enable GPS location monitoring, QR codes ...

Takeaways from the 2022 Art Basel Market Report

Takeaways from the 2022 Art Basel Market Report
Despite predictions of a pandemic crash, the findings of the latest UBS Art Basel Report, authored by cultural economist Clare McAndrew and released March 29, 2022, show the global art ...

Mid-Century Modern: Still Hot in 2022?

Mid-Century Modern: Still Hot in 2022?
After falling out of fashion in the 80s and 90s, Mid-Century Modern is back as one of the biggest interior design trends of the early 21st-century. Last month in this ...

A Look at Decorative Arts & Antiques Market Trends for 2021

Decorative Arts & Antiques Market Trends of 2021
A barometer of what’s hot and what’s not in the antiques trade is Asheford Institute’s annual Decorative Arts Trend survey. Conducted from January 2021 to December 2021 by the research ...

Around the House with Art Deco

Modern serving ware designs for Chase, by Russel Wright. Clockwise from left: Cocktail Ball on Olympia Saucer; Pancake & Corn Set; Devonshire Pitcher; Antarctic Ice Bowl; Individual Coffee Set; Ice Bowl & Tongs.
By Donald-Brian Johnson • Photos by Leslie Piña “Art Deco was the last truly sumptuous style.” – Alastair Duncan, Art Deco, 1988 Art Deco. It isn’t all black and white ...

Time Capsules: History in a Box

Time Capsules: History in a Box
I have been fascinated over the last few weeks with the news coming out of Richmond, Virginia about the time capsules just unearthed, found buried inside the Robert E. Lee ...

DAOs – The future of investment crowdfunding

DAOs - The future of investment crowdfunding
Thousands of cryptocurrency fans collectively pooled their money last month to make a bid on a rare original printing of the US Constitution. The group, calling themselves ConstitutionDAO, brought $41 ...

Comic Books: Not Just For Reading

Comic Books: Not Just For Reading
Remember when a comic book cost less than $.20? We had a candy store down the block from my elementary school and during recess my friends and I would walk ...

Collecting & Preserving Seeds: An Insurance Policy for our Future

Collecting & Preserving Seeds: An Insurance Policy for our Future
Our October issue explores the historical roots of the American harvest. You may question what that has to do with antique collectibles but in their own way, the indigenous seeds ...

Exploring Antique Technologies: Acing the Autopen – Helping Collectors Feel More Confident with Mechanical Writing

This 2011 photo depicts Bob Olding of Damilic Corp, a leading present-day manufacturer of signature machines, demonstrating the vintage Autopen Model 80. The machine uses levers and your favorite pen to duplicate programmed signatures, and while this can be a lifesaver for public officials, many in the government still use it sparingly. Though President Bush received a Justice Department Ruling in 2005 to sign a bill via autopen, he opted not to, and went out of his way to sign in person. Photo: via USA Today and Damilic Corp, Associated Press, 2011
by Kary Pardy Footage from a 1950s 9-second video shows a grey, boxy machine using mechanical levers to exactly mimic the slopes and angles of a person’s handwriting. Since the ...

Exploring Antique Technologies: Leather Fire Buckets – Painted Americana at its Most Helpful 

1. Club fire buckets were decorated with their chosen logo, and few examples are as impressive as this Adroit Fire Club example from Salem, MA, ca. 1820. Emblazoned with the club’s name, the owner’s name, and the motto “Delay Not,” this striking example depicts men fighting to save a Federal-style house from burning. According to Sotheby’s, which sold the bucket for $40,000 in 2020, other examples from the Adroit Fire Club carry on the theme of the burning house surviving. photo: Sotheby’s, Triumphant Grace: Important Americana from the Collection of Barbara and Arun Singh, 2020
by Kary Pardy Imagine you lived in the 17th or 18th century. Chances are good that you would be surrounded by wooden buildings and that you would be very wary ...

Taking Your Collection to the Next Level: For many collectors and homeowners, the downtime of the last year provided the rare opportunity to do a deep dive into their collections and document their objects of value.

Taking Your Collection to the Next Level: For many collectors and homeowners, the downtime of the last year provided the rare opportunity to do a deep dive into their collections and document their objects of value.
For many collectors and homeowners, the downtime of the last year provided the rare opportunity to do a deep dive into their collections and document their objects of value. This ...

The Return of Shows: It has not been easy but show organizers are working hard to return to live events

The Return of Shows: It has not been easy but show organizers are working hard to return to live events
This week is the return in full of the Brimfield Antique Shows after over a year's hiatus due to COVID. Like all small shows and large-scale events, there remains some ...

Owning a Share of Sports History

Owning a Share of Sports History
If you are like most sports fans and collectors of sports memorabilia, you can’t help but be blown away by recent auction sales. In just the first half of this ...

“The Art World is Going Digital Over NFT”

"The Art World is Going Digital Over NFT"
When graphic designer Mike Winkelmann started producing a drawing a day in 2007, he was simply looking for a way to improve his art skills. At best, the resulting "Everydays" ...