Story and photos by Donald-Brian Johnson Something Old … Something New Wait. Stop right there. If you’re on the hunt for a wedding gift, how about a two-fer? That’s right: a gift that combines both options: something old and something new. “Hmmm,” you murmur. “A double-duty present? That sounds great! But I know how these […]
Results of Recent Auctions From Near and Far by Ken Hall A Chinese Hunan One Tael silver coin weighing 35.6 grams sold for $6,875 at an auction held Dec. 5-9 by Holabird Western Americana Collections, LLC in Reno, Nev. Also, an unissued capital stock certificate for the Alaska Commercial Company, Alaska’s largest rural retailer, rose […]
Antiques Found Gilty by Jessica Kosinski Overlaying is a process of coating one substance with another substance. The two most common types of metal overlay are silver and gilt (gold). Silver and gilt overlay processes (gilding) have been used for many years to add decorative touches to various other materials, including glass and porcelain. The […]
Reproduced with permission from Art&Object.com Before there was Normandy in northern France, there was Gaul, under provincial rule in the Roman Empire from the 1st century BC to the 5th century AD, and remains of this centuries-old society still rest under the earth. On a spring day in 1830, a farmer named Prosper Taurin was […]
All That Glitters is Not Gold by Maxine Carter-Lome When it comes to what we collect, those of us into antique metals – be it silver, gold, pewter, cast iron, or tin – can’t help but be distracted by the unique objects that represent a fine example of hand craftsmanship and design derived from the […]
By Judy Gonyeau The very nature and character of turquoise has turned the heads of admirers from Ancient Egypt to China, Tibet to Turkey, and in our glorious Southwest. For over 10,000 years, this stone has captured the attention of the powerful and the artistic, as reflected in carved Chinese relics, Egyptian jewelry and scarabs, […]
Results of Recent Auctions From Near and Far by Ken Hall A mid-1930s Watling three-reel 5-cent slot machine sold for $3,250 at an Americana, Railroad, Mining & More Auction held May 7-10 by Holabird Western Americana Collections in Reno, Nev. Also, an 1871 general and business directory for the residents of four counties in Nevada […]
by Deborah Abernethy and Mike McLeod $1,125 (12 bidders, 18 bids): Victorian Austrian Solid Silver Baby’s Rattle/Whistle/Teether/Comforter. This antique Victorian baby’s silver rattle/whistle/teether measures 145mm (5.75 inches) long and weighs 62 grams. It is unmarked as far as I can see and tests as silver. It is certainly continental in origin, and my best guess […]
by Deborah Abernethy and Mike McLeod $1,606 (12 bidders, 29 bids): Extremely rare antique silver polar bear pincushion, Adie & Lovekin, 1909. Dating from 1909, an antique silver pincushion in the form of a polar bear pulling a mother-of-pearl sleigh. This wonderful item was made in Birmingham by top makers Adie and Lovekin. The polar […]
J. Pierpont Morgan Hartford native John Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913), founder of a banking dynasty still in operation today, was one of the great financial figures of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Well known for his successes as a banker, railroad tycoon, and steel magnate, he was also an important philanthropist and avid art […]
