Page 8 - joa 2-2020

World Marketplace News

HULL LIVE – Never before seen OCR REGISTER – Anaheim, prepare! The new Millennium Falcon
engraved blocks used to print the legen- popcorn bucket is a small version of the fastest hunk of junk in the
darily rare first edition of Alice in galaxy. The Millennium Falcon souvenir collectible is now available at the
Wonderland have been found stashed in Tomorrowland popcorn stand filled with popcorn ($27) or at
a garage. Window cleaner Paul Searle, 56, Tomorrowland’s Galactic Grill quick-service restaurant filled with
bought a job lot of ‘junk’ for £50 at a french fries ($25). Yup, you read
garage clearance, hoping to find interest- that right, you can get your Falcon
ing and quirky glass bottles for his collec- filled with fries. The rear engines
tion. He found four heavy iron plates in light up on the collectible
a tin hidden among the dusty bottles, version of the Corellian YT-1300
etched with detailed drawings of a little man in a top hat at a tea party, light freighter. The back half of
and a girl in a puffy dress. An online search on his phone in the pub the starfighter’s roof flips open to
revealed two were copper-plated lead printing blocks used to create reveal space for the popcorn or
the 1865 first editions of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Only fries. The approximately
about 20 copies of the first edition survive, making it one of the rarest and 18-inch-long Falcon bucket
most valuable books in English literature. He also had another two blocks comes with a handy carrying strap. Hong Kong Disneyland began
used to print the first editions of sequel Through the Looking-Glass in 1871. selling the Millennium Falcon buckets late last year.
Having survived intact for more than 150 years, the rare relics of liter-
ary history were verified by The British Museum. He’s sold them to a
book shop for an undisclosed fee. ATG – As part of an ongoing trade war with China, certain Chinese
goods including art are now taxed at 15% on entry to the US, regard-
less of the port of origin. Following Christie’s setting out its stance in
A love/hate story is finally seeing the October where it became the first art market firm to
light of day. The letters of famed poet seek exclusions from the tax, Sotheby’s has now
T.S. Eliot that were sent to his longtime added its name to the list, requesting that tariffs
love Emily Hale of Boston have just be lifted across seven categories: paintings, draw-
been made available to the public. Hale ings, pastels by hand; hand-made decorative
had donated the letters to Princeton articles, engravings, prints, lithographs; original
University with the caveat that they not be sculptures, statuary; antique silverware, age over
made publically available until fifty years 100 years; antique furniture, age over 100 years;
after they both passed. Eliot issued a state- and antique art, age over 100 years. Claiming that
ment also to be released as soon as the let- the current tariffs policy undermines 120 years of
ters were released. “I was not in love with Emily Hale,” Eliot wrote on free importation that has “allowed American
Nov. 25, 1960 and went on to almost re-define the relationship in con- institutions, museums, and private collections
tradiction of the letters. Professor Anthony Cuda, who has yet to see the to flourish, making the US the world’s largest art
letters himself, said fellow scholars who had viewed them had described market,” it points out that such tariffs are not effective in either eliminat-
heartbreaking passages that showed a man “ardently in love.” As for ing certain Chinese practices or increasing demand for American-made
Hale, whatever feelings she conveyed to Eliot are lost to history. In a terse antique art. Among the firms that have succeeded in receiving an
postscript, Eliot wrote, “The letters to me from Emily Hale have been exemption is technology giant Apple for importing parts of its mobile
destroyed by a colleague at my request.” phones and other products.

JERUSALEM – Archaeologist of NYT – NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE ).- In a part of Manhattan
the Israel Antiquities Authority booming with trendy green high rises, renovated lofts and digital media
(IAA) Ari Levi (right) holds what companies, a nondescript building in Tribeca is the Archive of
looks like a piece of concrete Contemporary Music, a nonprofit founded in 1985. It is one of the
plumbing but is really a rare world’s largest collections of popular music, with more than 3 million
2000-year-old measuring table recordings, as well as music books, vintage memorabilia and press kits.
used for liquids such as wine and For point of comparison, the Library of Congress estimates that it also
olive oil, in Jerusalem. Found by holds nearly 3 million sound recordings. And now it all has to go, some-
the IAA in what it says supports in where. Rent in the neighborhood has continued to rise, challenging the
theory to be the main city square and market along the Pilgrimage Road organization to stay on budget, said
in Jerusalem, dating to the Second Temple Period. “When shopkeepers Bob George, the founder and director
wanted to make sure they were working with the same standard, they of the archive. Recently, George
used to see … the manager of the market” who owned the table.” reached an agreement with his land-
lord to get out of his lease early. He
has until June to find another space.
NEW YORK POST – A Flatiron District community board is no fan
of a planned Harry Potter-themed retail
store – and wants to hex its plans to install NYC – The Metropolitan Museum of Art
a dragon and broomsticks on the outside of announced receipt of an extraordinary gift from
the building, a report says. Warner Bros. Trustee Philip Maritz and his wife, Jennifer, of over
Entertainment presented designs for 700 American photographs and albums from the
“Wizarding World” with a proposal to add 1840s to the 1910s. These rare photographs—
the beast and six “wand-style” flagpoles made daguerreotypes, salted paper prints, ambrotypes, tin-
out of antique brass to a landmarked build- types, albumen silver prints, and gelatin silver prints—
ing’s facade, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Mortimer Building come from the private collection of Drew Knowlton
would be home to said dragon, but only if the proposal passes. and William L. Schaeffer.

6 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles