Kasia Maciejowska
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| 11 Mar. 2010 | BROWSE |
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THIS Sunday, everyone has a chance to buy a piece, or two, of history. The antique items from the historical Lauderdale heritage property will be auctioned off after the selling of the house in late December. The auction consists of a range of items originating both from the Alfredton home and from outside entries. The contents dates back to the late 18th century with features including a rare pair of Mahogany bookcases expected to sell for a minimum of $50,000. Other items include an 1850s double-ended settee, a 1935 Harley Davidson and a range of clocks, porcelain and Asian pieces. Auctioneer at Fine Arts Auctions Phil Caldwell said the items were relatively out of the ordinary. "It's a very diverse, interesting collection," Mr Caldwell said. "It is mainly centred around English furniture, porcelain and paintings with a smattering of French, Australian and Italian. "There's some magical stuff here." The 30-year owners of the Lauderdale property decided to hold the auction after purchasing a smaller home in Ballarat. The auction will be held at noon with items expected to sell in the high thousands. "The overall quality of all the items is very high," Mr Caldwell said. The Lauderdale property was first settled in the 1830s with the current home built in the 1860s. It once encompassed most of the Ballarat region until being reduced to a large suburban block. It was sold for just under $800,000. Furniture to treasure - and grow in valueThe smartest homes blend old and new, but do you know your ‘Big Bang’ style from your Arts and Crafts? Mark Newson's Lockheed Lounge chair sold for £748,000 at Christie's in 2007 That’s enough Habitat and Ikea. There may be more lasting value in old furniture. This is the message of Cracking Antiques, a forthcoming BBC Two series that aims to highlight the attractions of scouring auction rooms, car boot sales and junk shops for second-hand pieces that give your home character and have the potential to appreciate in value. The new series, which has an accompanying book — Cracking Antiques by Mark Hill and Kathryn Rayward — to be published next month by Mitchell Beazley, priced £18.99, will also make the point that antiques are the environmentally-friendly choice of decor. But the eco-conscious are already mixing the old and the new in their interiors. This style has another plus: it indicates that you are aware that minimalism is over. Some of the homeowners buying second-hand items could also be hoping for large gains. In 2007 the auction house Christie’s sold Mark Newson’s Lockheed Lounge chair, pictured, for £748,000 — the highest price paid for a piece by a living designer. The chair, created in 1986 — the year of the Big Bang in the stock exchange — has since been valued at £1.2 million, highlighting the ways in which pieces created as recently as the 1980s increasingly are viewed as collectible. If this is all as much of a mystery to you as the assembly instructions for an Ikea flat-packed bookcase, then you need a period of study before you start trying to achieve the perfect blend of old and new. Background reading is key. The Antiques Trade Gazette provides regular updates on sales and trends (www.antiquestradegazette.com). It also operates www.the-saleroom.com, an online auction site. Miller’s Antiques & Collectables has another useful site at millersantiquesguide.com). One of the newest guides is Star Pieces: The Enduring Beauty of Spectacular Furniture (£40, Thames & Hudson) by Helen Chislett, David Linley and Charles Cator, furniture expert at Christie’s. Ms Chislett says: “The provenance of a piece is the most important thing, be it the name of a famous maker, the family or house for whom it was made, or its use by someone of note at a later point in its history.” Ms Chislett also says that Georgian and Regency items will never go out of fashion, thanks to their domestic scale: they do not demand great rooms in stately homes to look good. Jonathan Coulborn, the chairman of the British Antique Dealers’ Association, meanwhile, offers one simple recommendation: “Buy the best piece that you can within your price range.”
 On a bitter cold November afternoon in 1906 someone cut a hole in the frozen Detroit River. The story goes that magician Harry Houdini stood on the Belle Isle Bridge above the river for what seemed like forever staring down at the hole. His hands and feet were heavily shackled. Out of nowhere the magic man jumped off the bridge, down through the hole and disappeared into the black icy water. The crowd watching from the shore began to whisper. Some people turned away. Others couldn’t stop staring. Houdini wasn’t coming up. The whispers turned to talk. What was happening underneath the ice? No one could possibly survive more than five minutes in water so cold. Was this Houdini’s grand finale? Did the swift river current carry him downstream? Was he too far away from the hole? Did he drown? Newspapermen at the site rushed off to file their hand-cuff king, “downfall” stories. After what seemed like forever a rope was thrown into the hole in the ice. Eight minutes passed and still no Houdini. Somewhere from underneath the ice, Houdini finally spotted the rope. He swam toward it, grabbed it and pulled himself unto the ice. Houdini cheated death one more time. For the next two weeks there was a “Standing Room Only” sign outside the Detroit Temple Theater where he performed. Just what Houdini hoped for. The magician retold this story again and again. Was it true? The myths surrounding Houdini’s showmanship are as big as the footprints he left behind in magic history. Death-Defying escapes. Impossible hocus-pocus phenomena. Audiences were so thrilled by Houdini’s act they were sure he had supernatural powers. His legend was great box office fodder. “The easiest way to attract a crowd is to let it be known that at a given time and a given place some one is going to attempt something that in the event of failure will mean sudden death,” Houdini said. His was a classic story. Flirting with death, Houdini was the little guy who beat the odds and came up smelling like roses. Excuse the pun, but there’s something magical about holding a prop that belonged to a show business legend like Houdini. Collecting Houdiniana is a recent phenomenon. In the 1930s, Thayer’s Magic Studio in Los Angeles auctioned Houdini letters for 50 cents a piece. Times have changed. Nowadays, holding a letter, wand, canvas straightjacket, hand-cuffs or leg-irons Houdini used in his stage act is almost as exciting as seeing the man himself in action. Complete with scratches, tears, nicks and dents, relics like these are souvenirs of a time in history when people stood in line for hours just to see the work of the world’s greatest escape king and professional magician. The Houdini name recognition, solid provenance, variety and rarity, brings out magic collectors time after time. On Oct. 28, Swann Auction Galleries, New York, featured the Magic Collection of a Gentleman on the block. A selection of Houdini artifacts were offered in the sale. Here are current values for Houdini items. Houdini Photograph; manacled Houdini in bathing attire; standing on end of boat; 5 inches by 7 inches; signed by photographer Harry Gibson; $1,920. Photo Postcard Portrait; Houdini in suit; inscribed and signed;1920; $2,280. Press Booklet; for The Master Mystery; inscribed and signed; 16 pages; New York; 1918; $4,320. Bust Portrait Pocket Mirrors; Houdini and wife Bess; oval; Philadelphia, circa 1928-29; 2 ½ inches by 2 inches; $5,520. Handcuffs; Houdini owned; standard pair; with key; stamped Houdini; $8,400. Magician’s Wand; wood with silver tips; plaque in center says “Harry Houdini President Magicians Club London,” hallmarked; 15 ½ inches long; $10,200.
The weekend extravaganza, at which around 1,300 lots changed hands from a variety of categories in a sale that grossed more than $700,000, was held in Philip Weiss Auctions’ gallery facility, located at #1 Neil Court in Oceanside. As expected, the Jackson-Presley document was the top lot of the sale (not counting a single-owner lifetime stamp collection that made $77,000). “This was a great way to start the new year,” Philip Weiss said of the auction, the first of 2010 for the firm. “The story with this one was pretty much the same as last year’s sales. Great merchandise sparked spirited bidding, which resulted in strong prices. It’s all about the items. If you’re fortunate to attract quality, fresh-to-the-market consignments, you’ll do well every time.” About 200 people packed the showroom over the course of the three days. In addition, there were over 1,000 registered Internet bidders, who participated online via Proxibid.com and the Philip Weiss Auctions website (http://www.prwauctions.com/). The marriage certificate, in fact, sold to a bidder on Proxibid.com. Phone and absentee bidding was also very active all three days. The Jackson-Presley certificate is one of the most important celebrity documents of the 20th century, right up there with Charles and Diana’s and Monroe and DiMaggio’s wedding certificates. The 8 ½ inch by 10 ¾ inch sheet was signed by both stars and was also signed by State Official Hugo F. Perez. It had been laminated to protect it from the Dominican humidity. Following are additional highlights from the auction. All prices quoted include a 13 percent buyer’s premium. Philatelists (stamp collectors) were serious and came armed with cash, making the Sunday session (the last day of the sale) a memorable one. In addition to the single-owner collection that brought $77,000, a full, post office-fresh sheet of 80 stamps from the People’s Republic of China (Scott #1586), sailed past its high estimate of $55,000 to gavel for $67,250. A page from the 1964 Beatles USA, Ltd. tour program, beautifully signed by all four Beatles and personally inscribed to the late pianist Liberace, soared to $15,800. In their light-hearted way, the Beatles signed the 12 inch by 12 inch page “to Liber-Archie” as a play on words. The photo on the page depicts the band wearing their winter coats, standing atop a wall. The 1967 Belmont Stakes trophy, won by the late jockey and horse racing legend Willie Shoemaker when he rode Damascus into the winner’s circle, breezed to $15,350. The trophy, comprising 59 ounces of sterling silver, has three horses on a base holding up the body and is topped by a lid with a bridled horse as a handle. It is nicely embellished with leaves and acorns. An official American League baseball, signed in blue ink on the sweet spot by Hall of Famer Tris Speaker, brought $7,910; a rare 1913 W.B. Jarvis Sporting Goods Store advertising sign featuring Hall of Famer Ty Cobb, with a New York Times article explaining Cobb’s connection to the firm, realized $7,350; and a find of E97 Briggs baseball cards made $14,000. A pair of original works by the German-American artist Carl Rungius (1869-1959) were sold as a single lot for $9,900. The first was an oil on paper of a cowboy on a horse with snow-capped mountains in the background, with Rungius’ initials on verso. The second was an oil on canvas of a snowy landscape, featuring Rungius’ trademark thumbtack marks on each corner. An 1892 marble bust of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir William Hamo Thornycraft, the initiator of the “New Sculptors,” went for $4,520. It is signed and dated at the bottom of the bust. Also, an oil on canvas work by Konstantin Alexeivitch Korovin (1861-1939), titled Interior of Room with People, crossed the finish line at $15,800. Philip Weiss Auctions’ next big sale will be dedicated to Comics, Comic Art and Animation Art. It is slated for Sunday, Feb. 28, at 10 a.m. Featured will be the comic collection and original art from the estate of noted cartoonist Eldon Dedini. The comics consist of 21 key Golden Age books, all unrestored, with the owner’s name and code numbers noted on the covers. Included in the collection are Detective Comics #’s 1, 2, 28, 34, 38, 40, 41, 42 and 48; More Fun #60 and 62; Batman #3, 4 and 5; comic art, to include a great 1962 Peanuts baseball daily and a Herriman Krazy Kat, both fresh to the market; two fresh to the market Hogarth Tarzan Sunday pages; a wonderful early Peanuts daily; and Eldon Dedini Playboy illustrations. Then, on Saturday, Mar. 20, at 10 a.m., another auction will be held, this one dedicated to barber shop, militaria, nautical, presidential memorabilia and advertising items. Recently arrived are an original life preserver ring, café chairs and a deck lounge chair from the ill-fated ocean liner the Andrea Doria. The advertising section will feature a nice selection of Mr. Peanut items. In April, at a time and date still to be determined, Philip Weiss Auctions will be proud to offer The Edward Ryan Toy Soldier & Military Memorabilia Collection. Mr. Ryan was a noted author on the subject of paper toy soldiers. His collection covers paper soldiers, plus Britains, composition soldiers and important French military memorabilia. It should be a good auction. Philip Weiss Auctions is always accepting quality consignments for future sales. To consign an item, an estate or a collection, you may call them at (516) 594-0731, or e-mail them at phil@prwauctions.com. To learn more about Philip Weiss Auctions and its calendar of upcoming auctions, to include the Feb. 28 and Mar. 20 events, click on www.prwauctions.com. 30 eBay
Sellers to Cope with More Changes, This Time to Fees and Stores By Ina Steiner AuctionBytes.com January 26, 2010 Reading AuctionBytes: eBay Sellers to Cope with More Changes, This Time to Fees and Stores
 
Adrianus Everson often painted imaginary views with the intention of evoking an atmosphere rather than representing accuracy. He worked in Amsterdam and studied under Cornelius de Kruyf, and then under Cornelius Springer. He spent most of his life in Amsterdam, where he exhibited regularly. His work is represented in several museums. The two paintings realised the total of AU$124,000 after being consigned to Christies in Amsterdam.
By Le-Min Lim Dec. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Christie’s International’s sale of Asian artworks in Hong Kong yesterday might have sent records tumbling amid bidding wars, yet it was the antics of the buyer with Paddle 960 that got people talking. The bidder was Shanghai-based Wang Wei, who has spent more than 1 billion yuan ($146 million) this year with her stock- investor husband, Liu Yiqian, on a buying spree of Asian paintings as they prepare to open a private museum in the Chinese city next year, said Zhao Xu, executive director of Poly International Auction Co. On the 2009 China rich list run by Hurun Report, Liu ranks No. 176 with a net worth of $740 million. Wang wouldn’t say how much she has spent on artworks this year. At yesterday’s sale of Asian artworks, Wang frequently waved her paddle to offer an additional HK$1 million in pursuit of the pieces she wanted, often obliterating her opponents. Several times, she just held up her paddle regardless of rival offers until she won the lot. Not in the last five years has the Hong Kong art-auction scene produced buyers of such confidence. “I just bought those for fun,” Wang commented during a break, declining to elaborate. Slender, with straight shoulder- length hair, and sporting a leopard-print handbag and shoes, Wang spoke into her mobile phone in rapid Shanghai dialect. So overwhelming was Wang’s buying power that some buyers in the auction room craned their necks to see if they were up against her before deciding if they would bid on an item. Christie’s wouldn’t say how many items she bought. Carved Dragons In October, Liu paid a record $11 million for a Qing Dynasty imperial throne with carved dragons at Sotheby’s Hong Kong sale. This month, Liu paid about 170 million yuan ($25 million) at Beijing’s Poly auction for a Ming Dynasty scroll by Wu Bin, the most for a Chinese painting, said Poly’s Zhao. At this auction, Wang paid HK$7.2 million for a scarlet-and-pink acrylic-on-canvas by Chinese contemporary artist Liu Ye, titled “I Always Wanted to be a Sailor.” Liu and Wang typify an emerging group of mainland Chinese art buyers that are paying top prices for antiques. Wu Qun, a Beijing-based buyer who paid HK$23 million in April for a Xuande era (1426-1435) blue-and-white stem bowl with Tibetan script at Sotheby’s Hong Kong auction, predicts mainland buyers will start paying “hundreds of millions of yuan” for the best Chinese antiques in the coming years. American collectors remain the strongest buyers in this category of art. Christie’s auction continues today with Chinese ceramics and ends tomorrow with the watch sale. Chu Leads Yesterday’s auction of Asian artworks tallied HK$126.7 million, led by Chinese abstract artist Chu Teh-Chun’s “Hivernale A,” which fetched HK$7.34 million. On Nov. 29, another work by France-based Chu (1920- ) fetched an artist record of HK$45.5 million at Christie’s evening auction. “The record prices set at the Nov. 29 evening auction made these works more sought after at the day sale,” said Kate Malin, Christie’s Hong Kong-based spokeswoman. Other highlights were Li Chen’s bronze sculpture, “Pure Land” which fetched an artist record of HK$2.9 million, against its presale estimate of HK$600,000. A nearly 3-meter- tall mixed-media installation by Korean artist Nam June Paik, “Alexander the Great,” sold for HK$2.66 million. Estimates don’t include commission. To contact the writer on the story: Le-Min Lim in Hong Kong at lmlim@bloomberg.net
 MARY. S
Mary S has been a collector for the past 10 years and a dealer for the last 1year of those. Beginning her career at the Teralba Antique and Collectables Centre in Teralba
NSW, she changed from banking and moved to Antiques and collectables in Feb 2009. Being one of the 'owner' dealers of this centre, Mary has developed quite a following in the Hunter Valley region area and beyond.
Specializing in all think old and collectables with bid of vintage clothing and secondhand from the 1940's, 50's and 60's, you may even find earlier attire from around the turn of the 20th century. Vintage dresses; hats, gloves, umbrellas, and other accessories can be found in one of her several spaces in the centre.
Mary also collects blue willow, porcelain tea cups/saucers and accessories, artwork, and jewellery. She travels throughout the hunter valley and the north coast, in search of the finest collectible and vintage items that she can bring back to the Teralba Antiques and Collectables Centre.
Antique MapArt Australia assists in obtaining the antique Australasian maps that customers require. Some of the collections offered at Antique MapArt Australia include Australasian maps like 1571- Pars orbis, 1589- Maris pacifici, 1661- Carta secon, etc. The Montanus' map offered by Antique MapArt Australia shows the distribution of Noah's sons and their offsprings as they re-populated the earth after the flood. The alphabetical and numerical reference system identifies where each of his children are settled. The map shows the depiction of islands representing Portuguese knowledge of Australia. Valck's map was designed by the famous mapmaker Joan Blaeu who engraved the map in 1672 but did not publish it. Historians believed that this was because of fire that occurred at the printery. A year later Blaeu died and eventually this part of his estate was passed on to Valck and it first appeared to the world in 1695. This map is an example of the map making of the 17th century, depicting all the ornateness of the period. This map alos has an unusual depiction of the hemispheres for the time. The pictures on the map illustrate the story of Noah’s Ark with the sun and moon on the the top of the map. 14/02/2008 12:00 AM
READERS would be aware of the activities of the Antique Arms Collectors
Society and the significant role it is playing to preserve valuable
Australian heritage in the face of increasing hysteria around gun
controls. Less well known is the potential value of these heritage pieces as investment collectibles. Their monetary value combined with the perception of bureaucratic indifference or insensitivity to the intrinsic historical worth of antique firearms further fuels the sense of outrage felt by many who have an abiding interest in the subject. In a recent interview with a Sydney journalists, antique arms dealer, Ken Burton, said the value of antique arms, swords and weaponry had increased annually by eight to 10 per cent. "On the whole, the quality and condition of the weapon are the most important things to look for when you want to buy," Burton said. However, if the piece has a special provenance, its condition is less of an issue. Melbourne dealer, Gordon Morgan, also told the same interviewer it was often hard to put a price on a particular piece. "For instance, if you owned Lord Louis Mountbatten's personal revolver and it was engraved with his name, that would make it very valuable," Morgan said. "Take for instance, the Colt percussion revolver called the 1851 Navy. The standard model is worth about $2,000, but the one that Ned Kelly used at Glenrowan is worth a quarter of a million dollars." Advice for novices is to join a collector's society, read books and browse online, ask experts for their opinion and visit the heritage arms shows held in Sydney every three months. The history of firearms dates back to the late 1400s, with the development of the first ignition type of firearm, called a matchlock. Over the ensuing two centuries, various mechanisms were devised including the wheelock before the flintlock mechanism enjoyed widespread used around the middle of the 17th century. This type of firearm really dominated for the next 100 years with the exception of a brief appearance in the 1830s of a percussion or cap and ball system. The cartridge style of firearm with which most people are familiar today, made their debut in the 1850s, and were first widely used during the American Civil War in the early 1860s. Within each of these time periods there is a broad array of styles from small intricately patterned duelling pistol sets favoured by the European aristocracy to crudely mass produced flintlock muskets and tiny "muff" pistols which women carried to protect their personal safety when travelling by coach. Most antique arms collected in Australia were made in the UK or the US. Navy Colt pistols and Winchester rifles are popular collectors' items. "Police in colonial Australia used navy Colts and stamped them with a number which indicated which police station they came from," said Ken Burton. "Pieces with the Australian markings added, are more valuable with a standard Colt worth around $2,500 and one showing it was a police firearm worth $5,000 to $6,000. Sydney solicitor Paul Duffy has been interested in antique firearms ever since growing up in the central western NSW town of Bathurst, where, like most boys, he learned to use firearms responsibly and to feel comfortable having them around. Paul explained he had been collecting heritage arms for 30 years with an initial interest in how they worked and later developing a passion for learning how each of the pieces was actually made. "It all worked on an apprentice-master system," Duffy said. "There were stock makers, barrel makers and lock makers, people specialising in the manufacture of each component. "Also you have to distinguish between military arms, mass produced for infantrymen and higher quality pieces, often intricately hand crafted, for the nobility to use for sporting occasions," Duffy added. Paul Duffy's advice to budding collectors: call the Antique Arms Collectors Society of Australia on (02) 9390 8000 and a representative will be more than happy to help you get started.
GOOD VALUE: Pedlar's Antique Market owner Cheryl Spriggs says antiques hold their value well. ANTIQUES are shaping as a recession-proof bet for a growing number of people in search of a safer way to invest their cash. Adelaide antique fairs, shops and auctioneers are reporting increased interest from buyers. A record crowd of more than 3000 people attended the three-day Adelaide Antique Fair at St Peters Town Hall this month. Fair founder Sandra McKessar said it was clear “people are happy to invest their money”. “There’s that perception that antiques are safe,” she said. One Rundle Trading Co. director Josephine Marshall said she was “noticing a surprisingly quick turnaround on antiques”. Pedlar’s Antique Market owner Cheryl Spriggs said antiques “hold their value and it could even go up.” * Another antiques fair will be held at the St Peters Town Hall from September 11-13. THE preponderance of art news centered on record auction prices for paintings is causing a bit of reflux in antiques circles, with dealers keen to demonstrate the current excellent value of furniture and decorative arts. If everyone is interested in the next record price for a Brett Whitely daub, the fact remains that there are hardly enough to go around, and most collectors will in any case persevere with more traditional investment categories than spend big on sometimes confronting modern pictures. Paintings have been in the investment limelight of late, with a resurgence of investment interest in top-ranking modern works, but behind the scenes the antiques trade is ticking over very nicely too, fuelled by a good cross-section of high-quality, one-owner estate collections. If the best contemporary paintings have performed well, with price increases of 100 per cent or more in the space of a decade, don't let the marketing spin dampen your enthusiasm for furniture, silver, cars and collectables.
Most of these categories have been achieving equal and better results for long-term investors since the late 1980s. The extraordinary prices achieved for specific collectors' cars at Bonhams in Sydney are a good indicator. The GTHO Ford that sold there this year for $680,000 was worth well under $80,000 a decade ago, an investment gain of over 800 per cent. Similar percentages have been achieved with colonial furniture, toys and specialised collecting areas like garden architecture, eclipsing the performance of the full painting market while covering every collecting pocket. The trick is to buy well and wait patiently. The best examples of items of any sort will always improve in value eventually. Researching your purchases is essential and the best way to do this is to inspect and handle as much as possible, build relationships with specialists, and read the textbooks. This month, there's another ideal opportunity to see and feel the best of the best in terms of furniture and decorative art with the return of the Australian Antique & Art Dealers Association Fair to Sydney. The AA&ADAF has moved to Moore Park's showring centre, promising better exhibition space and more than 60 dealers drawn from across the country. Running from August 22 to 26, the fair attracts some of Australia's most prestigious and knowledgeable dealers, all keen to showcase their top stock. There's a gala opening on August 22, worth attending for those keen to pick out the investment bargains ahead of the competition. The best buys usually go first so it is best to come armed with a cheque book. Otherwise, the general open days are relaxed and pleasant times to look and learn. Another popular buying moment is towards the end of the last day, when some dealers prefer to discount prices rather than carry unsold goods home, but of course this assumes that special piece remains unsold until then. This year the Sydney fair has attracted a bevy of established
specialists, including Tasmanian John Hawkins and colonial dealer
Andrew Simpson. Hawkins specialises in exceptional quality items with interesting provenance, and this year has a remarkable locket containing a piece of Napoleon Bonaparte's hair taken by his valet, Comte Louis Marchand, while Napoleon was in exile on the island on St Helena, 2000km west of Africa. Discovered in 1502 by Spanish navigator Joao da Nova Castella and claimed initially for Portugal, the location of St Helena was kept secret until English navigator Thomas Cavendish visited in 1588. The conveniently placed port encouraged development of the island as an important trade link for European ships travelling to the East Indies. St Helena was soon annexed by the Dutch and control wavered between Holland and England for two centuries. After Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo in 1815, he was exiled on St Helena by the British until his death in 1821. During this time, the island was heavily garrisoned and patrolled by war ships to deter rescue attempts by the French, but Napoleon must have enjoyed a lavish lifestyle nonetheless. He initially stayed as a guest at The Briars, the luxurious home of a British family named Balcombe, who later moved to Australia. Eventually a residence called Longwood was completed to provide his permanent home in exile, replete with fine French furniture, decorative art and bibelot. Hawkins is well known for his canny purchases of small luxury goods with close associations to important historical figures, and while not cheap, the provenance will be impeccable. Among interesting Australian antiques at the fair are a fine cedar chiffonier with a particularly good backboard and attractive 19th century patina. Andrew Simpson is showing the piece as a part of his personal collection. A rare Australian pound stg. 50 banknote printed in the 1880s is on offer by currency dealer John Pettit. Jewellery specialist Anne Schofield has a very fine 1860s goldfield's brooch featuring a kangaroo and an emu in leafy foliage and set with seed pearls. Schofield also has a beautiful collection of "memento mori", small souvenirs recalling deceased loved ones. Highly popular and fashionable among early 19th century Europeans, mourning jewellery typically took the form of brooches containing locks of hair, portrait miniatures or rings incorporating black bands. A rare alternative incorporated fine miniature paintings of just the eyes, usually set in gold- or pearl-mounted frames. Schofield has assembled a fine collection of eye paintings arranged as brooches, lorgnettes, rings and lockets. Look also for stands by new Melbourne auctioneer Mossgreen, with a selection of furniture from the collection of retiring dealer Leslie Walford, Veronica Bunda's array of quality Asprey accessories, and a topical exhibition of barometers and antique weather-reading equipment called "Under Pressure", from furniture dealers Chris and Jenny Snook. Antiques ReproductionsAntiques reproductions are beautiful pieces, no doubt. Antiques reproductions are furniture and other knickknacks that are meant to copy the look of the original antiques. You can find antiques reproductions that approximate the popular styles in antiques. Styles in antiques reproductionsThese antiques reproductions are popular in various American, French and English styles. For American antiques reproductions, you can opt for William and Mary, Queen Anne, Classical, Chippendale, Federal, Country and Shaker, and Empire styles. Chippendale antiques reproductions are probably the most popular. Authentic Chippendale antiques date back from 1750 to 1780. When it comes to French style antiques reproductions, the popular options are in the style of Louis Philippe, Louis XIV and Louis XV. The authentic items that are basis for these antiques reproductions date from 1830 to 1848, 1643 to 1715, and 1723 to 1774, respectively. English style antiques reproductions, on the other hand, come in Georgian, Regency, Victorian and Edwardian styles. These are very popular antiques reproductions. The original items that are basis for these antiques reproductions date back from 1714 to 1812, 1812 to 1830, 1837 to 1901, and 1901 to 1910. Why buy antiques reproductionsOne of the many reasons people buy antiques is its looks. The styles of authentic antique items are undoubtedly some of the best looking in the market. Add to the value of authentic antique, the collector will surely have a classic looking and very tasteful home. Alas, authentic antiques come with a very steep price tag. This is where antiques reproductions come in. Antiques reproductions are mainly for people who want the look and feel of authentic antiques but may not have such a thick wallet to afford these. Since antiques reproductions approximate the looks of these antiques, you can have the closest thing you can get to actually owning authentic antiques. This way, you can design your home to have the classic antique-ish look without spending too much. Caution with antiques reproductionsUnfortunately for collectors of authentic antiques and even those who are into antiques reproductions, there are those scrupulous business entities who try to pass off antiques reproductions as the real thing. While antiques reproductions are legitimate pieces and are actually part of a very big industry, these are far from the real thing. The price difference is an issue, for one thing. People who pass off antiques reproductions and sell these as authentic antiques are just looking to trick people. When buying antique, always go to legitimate sources
As time marches on and 50s and 60s Strats become outpriced for the average player, I believe the term "vintage", and to what it applies, will change significantly. Despite the fact that a vintage dealer in Nashville may believe that 70s and 80s Strats are nothing more than good utility instruments, to many born in, say, 1980 or later, a vintage Strat may be anything manufactured before his or her date of birth. I'm starting to get young players asking for vintage Jackson guitars!
Let's look at a typical example to see the impact this has. A Stratocaster with a $12,000 USD market value that can be bought in the US for $10,000 USD, when brought to Australia will end up costing approximately $17,000 AUD, or $12,434 USD, after all applicable taxes and shipping costs - an amount greater than its market value. Now, let's go back the other way and see where it takes us. If someone from the States was interested in buying the same instrument that has a $12,000 USD market value and that cost the Australian dealer $17,000 AUD ($12,434 USD), the dealer would have to sell it at a loss to remain competitive with the market in the US. This essentially makes us uncompetitive in the US market with local US dealers unless we can buy instruments at a deep discount to their market value, or we invest in ultra-rare guitars that will bring a premium from knowledgeable buyers. This fluctuating currency exchange rate affects the market to such an extent that it produces an overall slowing down of sales in general as our dollar gains, whereas, when our dollar is at 50 cents, bargains are to be found in Australia.
We can conclude that although Australia has had and still has quite a wide variety of players and collectors, at present the market here is still in its early days for high-end vintage pieces. But, having said that, bear in mind that we are a people who love things American and appreciate fine quality workmanship and great-sounding and -playing guitars. This will definitely lead to a greater vintage and high-end market as time goes by. If I had $50,000 USD to invest in guitars where would I put it? I would probably get something like what we just sold, a 1962 Fiesta Red Stratocaster, plus some early 70s strats, three-bolt and all! And maybe even a couple of late 60s thinline Teles for good measure. Why? Because they're already twice the age of the average band playing today! To these players vintage is 1970... or is it 1980? About Ric Zand-Vliet and Rics Vintage Guitars
At the time, there was no vintage market in Australia, and I remember passing on old Strats because I thought who would ever want one of those old guitars. How wrong I was and how times have changed. It wasn't until the Internet began and the occasional guitar website would pop up and a few friends travelling to the US brought back vintage-guitar magazines that I really saw what was going on elsewhere. These facts fuelled my desire to do more than sell the odd guitar at a flea market. We started our website in 2002, and within a year of the site opening we saw a need to expand. The only way we saw this happening was with a bricks-and-mortar store. With the help of a generous benefactor (thanks, Rob), it became a reality, and before you know it we were not only selling to our local market but to interstate and overseas clients as well, which has helped us get to where we are today. We started business in Fremantle and to this day we are the only vintage guitar dealer in the Perth region. In only a year and a half, we have become Australia's number one vintage-guitar dealer. Being "the most isolated vintage guitar shop in the world" (Perth is the world's most isolated capital city) has some benefits - we see rare and collectible guitars and amps every now and then, such as the Fender LTD and the Fender Montego 2 pictured in this article, both currently offered by us. Although we are a relatively small dealer compared to many in the US and
Europe, we offer some very rare and interesting items, such as the elusive 1964
Daphne Blue Strat pictured above, which makes us worth keeping in your
favourites list! Contact Information Contact: Ric Zand-Vliet John Steinbeck's "Cup of Gold"; first edition, first issue; with color pictorial jacket; Robert M. Mc Bride; 1929; sold for $6,000. Photo courtesy of PBA Galleries. When John Steinbeck wrote his first novel “Cup of Gold” he worked as a caretaker in Lake Tahoe on a large estate owned by the widow of a San Francisco surgeon.  Steinbeck’s nearest neighbor was two miles away so he could write in peace. There was also plenty to read in the family’s well stocked library and mostly he was content. When Steinbeck wrote he also listened to classical music. He said it improved the rhythm of his words. “Cup of Gold : A Life of Sir Henry Morgan, Buccaneer, with Occasional Reference to History,” was the full title of the book. Steinbeck’s 1929 historical fiction was loosely based on the life of pirate, Sir Henry Morgan. Morgan ruled the Spanish Main in the 1670's, ravaging the coast of Cuba and America and wrecking havoc wherever he went. Full of good guys and bad guys the book celebrated the myths and legends Steinbeck enjoyed as a child. The novel grew out of a short story he wrote as a student at Stanford. While he was writing “Cup of Gold” Steinbeck traveled to Camp Richardson twice a week on snowshoes. It was a meeting place for caretakers of surrounding resorts. There he got his mail and enjoyed some conversation and camaraderie. But Steinbeck enjoyed his solitude. He saw it as groundwork for life as a writer. “Do you know, one of the things that made me come here was, as you guess, that I am frightfully afraid of being alone,” he wrote to a friend. “The fear of the dark is only part of it. I wanted to break that fear in the middle, because I am afraid much of my existence is going to be more or less alone, and I might as well go into training for it.” In deep isolation he was able to go deep with “Cup of Gold”. He knew the book would not be his best work, but he hoped it would jumpstart his career. When he was done, Steinbeck sent the handwritten book to college friend Kate Beswick who typed it for him. Early in 1929 Steinbeck received word from Stanford classmate, Ted Miller that Robert M. McBride & Company was going to publish “Cup of Gold”. Steinbeck was paid a $250 advance against future sales. His friend Mahlon Blaine was hired to illustrate the text and Steinbeck was upset and insulted. He thought the illustrator made the book look like a swashbuckling tale for teenagers rather than a work of serious adult fiction. Ultimately, Steinbeck didn’t complain too much because “Cup of Gold” sold more copies than his next two books combined. Steinbeck was a natural storyteller with a knack for capturing the feelings and lives of everyday working people from the early-20th century through the 1960s. “My whole work drive has been aimed at making people understand each other,” he said. Steinbeck did just that. Collecting John Steinbeck has always been expensive for two reasons. His books are desirable and his first editions in dust jackets are scarce. On Jan. 15, PBA Galleries, San Francisco, featured a selection of Steinbeck books in its Fine Literature sale. Here are some current values. John Steinbeck Of Mice and Men; first edition, first issue; pictorial jacket; Covici-Friede; 1937; $900. East of Eden; one of 1500 copies; Viking; 1952; $1,440. The Red Pony; first edition; one of 699 hand numbered copies; Covici-Friede; 1937; $2,040. The Grapes of Wrath; first edition; color pictorial jacket; Viking; 1939; $3,000. Cup of Gold; first edition, first issue; unstained top edge; color pictorial jacket; light wear to edges; $2.50 printed price still present; Robert M. Mc Bride; 1929; $6,000. Following the letter sent to the Editor of The Times - see Headline below,
members of the trade are being asked to sign the petition on Antiques.co.uk or click on the banner on the left hand side of
this page. Ian Brunt will be appear BBC Radio 4 "You and Yours" on Friday 1 May to discuss the petition. "While other sectors are receiving help from the Government, the antiques industry - which is partly reliant on the housing market - does not. Even the recent VAT reduction does not help us," say doyen ceramics specialist Henry Sandon of Worcester and Ian Michael Brunt of Ledsham, Leeds, co-signatories of a Letter to the Editor of The Times, published in London on 4 April 2009. Under the headline, "Preserve Antiquarians" the letter concludes: "With sterling at its lowest for some considerable time, UK products are once again attractive to overseas buyers. With some marketing support from the Government, we could be using this opportunity to reach the world market for antiques." To justify the suggestion of government aid the letter quotes unspecified statistics that the UK's antiques and art market in 2007 contributed ten per cent of the global market share of £40 billion. In 2008 there was a significant fall from that £4 billion to £2.75 billion. CELEBRITY ANTIQUES USA President Obama and the First Lady’s choice of Los Angeles
based Michael Smith to redesign the private quarters of the White House has been
viewed with excitement by US antiques dealers and has garnered some major
interest, as searches on the Internet for information on Smith and his plans for
a makeover of the White House have skyrocketed recently. One high-end antique
dealer said, “I think this might be the start of something beautiful...” Smith
was apprenticed to the famed Californian dealer Gep Durenberger and studied
extensively at the Victoria & Albert Museum. His style has often been
referred to as a sort of European classic - mixed with some new world flavour.
Other antique dealers seemed to mirror the sentiment, adding that the Obamas
could possibly add some real stimulus to the antique market, simply by having
chosen a designer who thinks antiques are “cool” again Another high profile American antiques buyer, pop singer Michael Jackson, due to perform a sellout UK tour in July and August 2009,  has
cancelled the forthcoming sale of 1,400 items from his Neverland Ranch in
California that were due to go under the auctioneer's hammer in April 2009. A
five-catalogue auction of items owned by "The King of Pop" has been cancelled.
Items that were to be offered in the sale included antiques, works of art, and
decorative accessories. According to About.com's Lisa Hallett Taylor, who was
present on the first day of the auction preview, "Apparently, the singer had a
'change of heart' about parting with his vast and eclectic collection. Jackson,
his representatives and Los Angeles based Julien's Auctions halted the sale and
came to an amicable agreement to return the collection to Jackson." With the
cancellation of the auction being official, the sale was transformed into an
extended exhibition which ended on 25 April 2009: Image shows the pop star
shopping for antiques in Los Angeles during the week of the exhibition. LAPADA PLEA FOR EVICTED ANTIQUARIUS DEALERS The battle to save part of Chelsea’s eclectic heritage seems
to have finally been lost, another blow against the small shopkeeper and the
character of so many of Britain’s high streets. The future of 34 of Chelsea’s
independent businesses trading from Antiquarius, is now, sadly, in jeopardy.
Despite great sympathy for resident antiques dealers shown by the Councillors at
the planning meeting held by Kensington & Chelsea Council, on 21 April,
2009, the planning application by the landlord, London Associated Properties
(LAP) to redevelop the Grade II listed site into a new outlet for the American
fashion chain Anthropologie, was approved. Antiquarius, on the Kings Road, is
the oldest antiques centre in London and has been attracting visitors to Chelsea
from all over the world for some 40 years. Sarah Percy-Davis, Chief Executive of
LAPADA, The Association of Art & Antiques Dealers said: “We have been doing
all we can to support our members and the other dealers in Antiquarius since
this problem began … I do hope that LAP will at least take some moral
responsibility for the affected dealers as the councillors strongly encouraged
at the planning meeting. For example, to help them find new space where they can
re-locate collectively or to give them plenty of time before they have to move
out.” NOEL Clark has never been to London, but that did not stop him from wanting to get his hands on a 1963 Austin FX4 London taxi. The taxi is just one of 400 items which will be sold at an unreserved price at an auction clearing sale this Saturday. The five passenger black taxi with a clock work flag meter will be put under the hammer and so will a 1949 Daimler DB18 and 1929 Dodge DA Roadster. Mr Clark bought the taxi in the 1970s. “I was going to import one, but this one was advertised in the Sydney Morning Herald from Armidale,” he said. “I went to Armidale and drove it home.” Mr Clark said he was interested in the taxi as he thought it was a unique vehicle. It was purpose-built for taxi work and there were not many in Australia. The Roadster comes complete with a “Dickie Seat” which Mr Clark termed the “Mother-in-law seat” because it was separate from the cabin part of the car. The auction this Saturday is being run by David Snow from Peter Snow and Co and is the second part of the sale. In the first part of the auction, the house at 18 Collingwood Close, Toowoomba, was sold along with some china and ornaments. The majority of the rest of the auction is a collection of antiques Mr Clark's late wife Muriel Clark began putting together in the mid-70s. “My wife was the collector. I just followed her around with a cheque book,” Mr Clark joked. Mr Clark said his wife made a point of collecting anything she found, which included English furniture and china. A particular favourite was Royal Doulton. The auction clearing sale will be held this Saturday at 9am at 18 Collingwood Close. People are welcome to start inspecting the antique pieces of the collection from 8am. AN AUSTRALIAN painting bought for $US25 at an antique market in Texas is expected to fetch up to $A45,000 at a Melbourne auction this month. The oil on board, Wild Flowers with White Coral, caught Barbara Pool's attention when she saw it at a market stall and she returned two weeks later to buy it. "For some reason it haunted me and it didn't cost very much, so I decided I could just hang it anywhere," she said yesterday from her home in Carthage, east of Dallas. She and her husband Phil had never heard of the artist, Grace Cossington Smith, and the work hung in their study for about a year before Mr Pool Googled her name to discover she was a famous Australian painter. Smith, a pioneer of the Australian modernist movement, died in Sydney in 1984, aged 92. The Pools discovered that some of Smith's works were held by the National Gallery of Australia. When they contacted Sotheby's in Australia, the company's head of Australian paintings, Georgina Pemberton, was sceptical. "I thought it might be a reproduction print, but when it arrived it couldn't have been better," Ms Pemberton said. "It's Grace Cossington Smith's hand, her brush strokes, her colours, her subject and her very distinctive, lyrical signature." Ms Pemberton made another discovery when she pulled off the work's backing paper. A small label revealed it had belonged to the late Hollywood actor Vincent Price, whose third wife was the Australian actress Coral Browne. "I like to think he was drawn to the picture because it's a still life with coral," she said. "Goodness knows how it ended up at a second-hand stall in Texas." Despite an estimated sale price of $35,000 to $45,000, the Pools were initially reluctant to sell. However, they decided an Australian owner would better appreciate the work. It will go under the hammer at Sotheby's Melbourne gallery on August 25. Also on sale is a Russell Drysdale portrait of the bushman Rocky McCormack, expected to sell for between $1.8 million and $2.2 million. John Glover's landscape Moulting Lagoon and Great Oyster Bay, from Pine Hill is also likely to top $1 million. The “Soft Drink Machine” is as synonymous with the 50’s era as jukeboxes and finned cars once were and for that lucky few still are. It’s clear that we all have a special place in our hearts for nostalgia and what we like to remember as simpler times. It can definitely be said that “necessity is the mother of invention,” and once the fledgling soft drink companies realised they needed a way to sell bottles of their drinks cold, the rush was on to see who could come up with the answer.
It has been well documented that the first “cooler” was a wooden barrel sawn
in half and filled with ice. From there, some ice chests were made with legs,
some with lids and other with elaborate “selecting mechanisms.”
In the mid-30’s, starting in the USA, things began to change. Style, as well as functionality became important. The 40’s saw some very beautiful machines being produced and by the mid-50’s “soft drink styling” was at its pinnacle. Whether you’re a serious collector or just someone who thinks old soft drink machines are cool, you can easily appreciate the workmanship and styling any which way you look at it. Police have found a haul of valuable antiques, including war medals, a $4,000 flute and an 80-year-old street directory, in a drug raid on a unit in Newtown in Sydney's inner west. Police found the drug 'ice', cocaine, ecstasy and more than 100 drivers' licences, credit cards and Medicare cards when they raided the apartment on Station Street last week. They also seized medals awarded for service in World War II and an operation in the Persian Gulf. Other valuables found included a 1914 thermometer, a $4,000 piccolo flute, a 1928 street directory, antique German cameras, crockery from the 1880s, stamps, coins and gramophones. Two men, aged 39 and 45, and a 39-year-old woman have been ordered to face court later this month. They have been charged with possessing drugs and not in relation to the stolen antiques. The 45-year-old is also accused of resisting arrest. Police believe the items were stolen from Sydney homes and one on the New South Wales central coast, before being traded for drugs. Sergeant Trevor Durham says the owners of the valuables are probably elderly people targeted by robbers. "At present we're appealing to members of the public to possibly identify these items and possible owners throughout the metropolitan area," he said. "We're hoping that we can actually identify it by Anzac Day." Police are appealing for anyone who can help find the owners of the valuables to call Newtown Police on (02) 9550 8199 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Andrew Mathieson 17th April 2009 09:25:33 AM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BIG BOYS’ toys for the Rosenbergs have been antiques even when father and son were both still little boys. Collecting big bearskins was an audacious start for John, now 69, Geelong’s most established antique dealer. “I was riding my bike home with its head and all over the handle bars – I must have looked a scream,” he laughs. “I’d put that in my bedroom and my mother hated it because she was scared everytime she came in.” She never understood John and was later heard to utter: “There’s something wrong with that kid – all he wants is all that old rubbish.” He was born on the wrong side of the war, antiques replaced toys when money was tight. As a 12-year-old John was already selling collectables in a Geelong West antique shopfront window, passing on a 10 per cent commission. Visiting Curleys auctioneers straight after school gave him the eye for detail. The East Geelong boy first saw some value in a teapot stand dating from 1755 and paid just a shilling back then at an op shop. “I beg to differ on that,” his son Paul interrupts, “that’s a saucer.” Paul then laughs: “We’ll have to debate that.” Dad cringes a bit and stares back. “It’s a teapot stand, Paul – it’s completely flat,” John responds before grinning, “Hey, don’t tell your father how to suck eggs.” For the 34-year-old son, swapping video games and footballs for all things old as a boy was unremarkable. “They were my toys too,” Paul says. “I just didn’t know any different.” He even paid big bucks to spend a year at Christie’s auction house in London. John insists antique collectors have little say in the matter. “There’s a disease called chinamania, and if you’ve got it, there’s no cure,” he adds. There are more than 7000 antiques in their massive Ryrie Street shop – as well as countless collectables that are less than 100 years old and considered more junk than antiques. Among most of the prized pieces is the largest antique ceramics collection in Australia, and arguably in the world, John suggests. Another 3000 antiques sit in their priceless reference collection. Most pieces are more than 500 years old, but some, such as items from the Ming dynasty, are closer to 1000. Others even stretch back thousands of years. Inside, the antiquity section is something to behold. “We have fragments up to 9000 years old,” John, pointing to them, says, “Lot of these, though, are 6000 years old.” The oldest item is from the Sahara Desert and can fit in the palm of a hand. Another favourite is a tiny lamp that is about 6500 years old. Most were retrieved from returning Australian soldiers in the “shade of the pyramids”. “The oldest things are often some of the cheapest,” Paul remarks. “We have 6000-year-old pots that are $350.” And not everything goes up in price. Victorian period furniture that sold for $1200 two decades ago has fallen from favour and now gets about $300. John shows off remnants from the Pompeii ashes in 79 AD that were pulled out of the ruins. Paul jousts verbally with his dad. “How did it get to Australia and out of Pompeii?” he wryly questions. “Um, maybe we don’t want publicity on that.” Dating the antiques is tough, even for seasoned antique dealers. Shipwrecks are the easiest to narrow down from the year they are found. They liken their jobs to playing a detective. “It is like Sherlock Holmes,” Paul smiles. “You add up all the clues and, if the positives outweigh the negatives, you can end up attributing it.” John then butts in, “And sometimes the experts get it quite wrong.” Paul studied archaeology and specialises in tribal artefacts and ancient fossils. He interrupts the conversation with the banging on a New Guinea drum. “The reason why I did the antiquities is because you and mum had the 18th and 19th century cornered,” Paul tells his dad, “I didn’t have a hope.” Auction CatalogueAntiques & Interiors
The next Bay East Antiques and Interiors auction sees a return to our regular monthly format, featuring the broadest possible range of furniture and decorative arts, entirely from private collections. Highlights include a good selection of Baccarat and Lalique glass, Dutch and English silver, fine English porcelain, Art Deco lamps, Italian design including Cassina and Kartell, Australian cedar, Louis XV and XVI style French furniture, English Regency, William IV and Victorian furniture, modern and Persian rugs, Japanese and Chinese furniture, dolls and toys, books and pictures. We will be continuously updating and revising our online catalogue, giving you the possibility to view and enquire about the items in each sale. The entire and fully illustrated catalogue will be available one week prior to the sale. All buyers are required to provide credit card details (We accept Visa, Mastercard, & American Express) during the registration process. Unless we are provided with these details you will not be permitted to bid at auction. This will ensure an improved service to both vendors and buyers alike. All purchases must be paid for and collected by 5pm on the Tuesday following the auction. For any purchases not paid for by this time, Bonhams and Goodman will automatically charge the full amount due to the card. Also, any purchases not picked up by the close of business on Tuesday, a storage fee of $10 per lot, per day will apply. We are looking forward to seeing you soon. After buying a 2001 Nissan Maxima through eBay Motors that was advertised as being “in excellent condition inside and out,” Ron and Linda Wayden were dumbfounded when a vehicle bearing scratches, dents, rust and evidence of repairs from a serious accident was deposited in the driveway of their Alabama home. But their tale comes as no surprise to consumer fraud experts, who say that a growing number of online auto buyers are being hoodwinked by unscrupulous auto dealers and con artists who have adapted old forms of robbery to the information highway. Car and truck buyers, particularly those in the market for used vehicles, have flocked to the Internet in recent years to search for killer deals on “pre-owned” wheels, making the sector one of e-commerce’s brightest success stories. CNW Market Research of Bandon, Ore., estimates that nearly 30 percent of the 42.6 million used cars that changed hands in the United States last year were bought using the Internet. But while consumers and ethical auto dealers have benefited greatly from the technology, so too have crooked sellers, according to a review by MSNBC.com of nearly two dozen lawsuits springing from online auto sales, and interviews with industry insiders. By Bob Sullivan
Technology correspondent
msnbc.com MSNBC.com warned Internet users that fake escrow Web sites were the latest scam. Six months later, the scam has widened considerably, and it now appears to be among the most successful Internet cons ever. By taking advantage of Net auction winners’ inherent trust of escrow sites, the con artists are stealing as much as $40,000 at a time from big-ticket auction winners. Their total take may well reach into millions of dollars so far. And while federal authorities, including the Department of Commerce and FBI, are investigating, there seems to be no way to slow down the con artists. Worried about getting scammed in an Internet auction? “Just use an escrow service,” is the customary advice. Escrow companies act as a third-party referee, taking payment from buyers but not releasing the money to sellers until the goods are delivered. Escrow companies are supposed to be the safest way to avoid fraud on the Internet, particularly when dealing with Internet auction sales of big-ticket items such as jewelry or cars. But earlier this year, scam artists stumbled onto a successful formula for tricking Net users into wiring thousands of dollars to fraudulent bank accounts. The criminals build elaborate fake escrow Web sites, with convincing names like Simple-Escrow.net and WhyEscrow.com. Often, the Web sites are set up to imitate legitimate escrow services; to an untrained eye, it can be impossible to tell the difference. Your rightsBuying at auction is a little different to buying from a store or a website.
And it can be difficult to put things right because of the ephemeral nature of online auctions — you can’t just rock up to the store and ask for a refund or replacement. Often, you can’t even pick up the phone and have a conversation because correspondence is limited to email or instant messaging. And the seller may be located overseas, where Australian law may not apply. That’s not to say you have no rights whatsoever. You do:
Where to complain
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and starts this week with our first contributors 
harness the energy in the capital this summer and organise a glamorous
event to be called 
Wed Nov 11 2009
12:05:48
A manhunt is under way to find
the son of a prominent British art curator who was stabbed to death with his
daughter in Australia.
through the pottery industry and its popularity was further confirmed and enhanced when the Russian Empress Catherine 11 commissioned a full dinner and dessert service of creamware from Wedgwood.This set was known as the Husk service. Such was Empress Catherine’s delight with the wares that she commissioned a further set .The set comprised of 952 pieces decorated with 1244 hand painted separate views of Great Britain. The hand painted borders were a running oakleaf and acorn for the dinner service and ivy for the dessert, both broken for the insertion of the green enamel frog emblem that gave the service its name. 
already created the perfect non-drip
teapot. The issue of the dripping teapot was solved many centuries ago in the
1600s in fact - by British silversmiths. Metal is far thinner than ceramic, and
it is the thinness of the spout of a silver teapot which prevents its dripping.
One is very unlikely to crack the tip of the spout so a silver teapot not only
offers the best possible cup of tea, but also value for money over a lifetime of
service. Steven Linden, Chairman of The London Silver Vaults Association,
explains: "Imagine how many ceramic teapots the average household gets through
in a lifetime ... A silver teapot lasts far longer than a lifetime, and always
provides the perfect drip-free pouring action. I would happily challenge anyone
to achieve a perfectly-poured, non-drip cup of tea as many times in a row as you
would from a silver or silver-plated teapot, whatever the
design."
eBay explained some of the thinking behind the "fakes" provision of
its new Purchase Protection Policy designed for buyers. The policy as first
published would have instructed buyers to destroy items in which the buyer and
seller could not agree were not "non-authentic." eBay later revised the policy
to state that the buyer should return the item to the seller in such cases
involving counterfeit items. 
- make
unusual, attractive and economic decor, with the added interest of a historical
name or image stretching back a couple of thousand years. Although older signs
can still be found most of the visible images date from the middle of the last
century, commonly having been repainted several times, directly over earlier
versions of the same picture, for example - Nine Elms, Elephant and Castle, The
Angel etc.
The
Fender Stratocaster is the one guitar that seems to evoke so much passion among
collectors and players alike. Should I buy vintage or a reissue? Are three-bolts
as good as a four-bolt? Do CBS Strats hold their value? One can only wonder
where the market is heading in the twenty-first century. 
In Australia, we're at a slight disadvantage compared to the United
States. Not only do we have to take into account our import taxes, shipping
costs and GST (goods-and-service taxes), we also face fluctuations in the
exchange rate between the United States dollar (USD) and the Australian dollar
(AUD), which over the last year or so has gone from 1 AUD equalling .5 USD to .8
USD, and is now back to around 70 cents (as of July 15, 2004, 1 AUD is worth
about .73 USD). What this means is that one US dollar costs us around $1.36 of
our money (1 AUD being the equivalent of $1.36 USD and 1 USD equalling .73
AUD!).
The
market in general for high-quality vintage Strats is still small in Australia.
We recently offered a 1962 Fiesta Red Strat in excellent condition through our
shop and website. All of our enquiries came from the US and Europe. Australia
has been so isolated from the vintage market that when Australian buyers see
asking prices of $20,000 or $30,000 AUD they tend to shy away, not knowing or
appreciating the real value of such vintage pieces and the costs to the dealer.
I
started collecting the odd guitar in the mid eighties,* but at the time I never
really looked at the "vintage" market as such. I used to pick up anything
oddball - those old Ekos, Hofners and such, which were commonplace here in Oz.
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