Treasure Season is Beginning – Daryle Lambert's Antiques and Collectibles Blog - Is it cheap enough?

Is Your Treasure in the Corner? 

Thanks to Frontpage.fok.nl

 

I am feeling those old feelings again and my mind is telling me the Treasure Season is near. What do I mean by that? It is hard to get out of bed and start your day breezing through antique shops or second hand stores in the dead of winter with snow on the ground. But that is the most you have to chose from at that period of the year. However, things are about to change.

Soon garage sale signs will be on every corner and the house sale ads will fill the classifieds. Not to mention the spring antique shows that will be coming out of the woodwork and auctions that are too many each weekend to make it possible to visit them all. Yes, the treasures will be waiting, but are you prepared?

What have you been doing with your time? Have you checked out books from the library on antiques, fine art and collectibles. Has your knowledge increased on how to spot fakes and reproductions? How about your ability to recognize marks? Do you have Kovel's book of marks and price guide? Don’t leave home without them. Remember, when you're at a sale, you might not always have the time to search through your books while a true treasure that you had in your hand passes out the door with someone else. But you can always hold on to the item while you check.

This is an exciting time of year and soon you will be hearing others’ stories about their successes but how about your stories? The only difference between them and you might be knowledge and this is where I want my members to shine. In our members only section of the www.darylelambert.com site, we are beginning to supply you references that will give you the knowledge needed for your success. Ondre is taking it upon herself to search out the most up to date information available and post it in the members only section. I can't tell you what her efforts will mean to each and every member of the Daryle Lambert's Antiques and Collectibles Club, but be assured it is going to mean a lot.

There is one thing, however, that I must warn you about and that is the price of items that you will be finding. I think I would be safe in saying that most prices have dropped at least 50% since last year. That isn't always true of the rare and unusual items but since they only compose about 1% of all items, we need to be aware of the other 99%. I would like to get an example of what I mean.

I received a call from a wonderful lady from New York who had purchased several large John Lotton vases several years ago. She had followed the prices of Lotton Glass and said that she was looking to receive from $10,000 to $15,000 dollars each for her vases because she had seen those prices in the past. I asked her to describe the pieces and she told me that the first one measures about 15”, is a floral and has gold wash inside the vase. It just so happened that I had been looking at what was being offered on eBay for Lotton and guess what? There was an identical piece listed there. Not wanting to say what my opinion was of her vase, but wanting to inform her of its value in today's market, I relayed the eBay price to her of $3650, with no bids. I know it was hard for her to believe it because there is no doubt in my mine that she had paid much more than that for the vase. I told her that she has a wonderful piece of Art Glass but to get the price she wished for may take a few years until the economy recovers.

So again I am going to tell you that today when something seems cheap, ask yourself another time. Is it cheap enough?

My 220 page book about how to make money buying and selling antiques and collectibles is FREE with your membership in the Daryle Lambert's Antique and Collectible Club. Join Us Today http://www.darylelambert.com/

 

Jon Price Pottery – Daryle Lambert's Antiques and Collectibles Blog – Crystalline Glazes.

 Jon Price Pottery at a Show

The first piece of pottery that I ran across with a crystalline glaze was Ruskin Pottery, from England. I was at a house sale when I spied this beautiful crystalline vase, about twelve inches tall, and knew it had to be mine for about $75. It had different shades of blue and green in the glaze and it just spoke to me. Jon Price has written an exceptional book on crystalline glaze pottery called The Art of Crystal Glazing. It may be one you want to pick up.

Returning home and not being sure of how great a deal I had made, I turned to the Internet and soon discovered that the vase might be quite valuable. So what was the next step? For this, I decided to research whether there was a Ruskin collectors club, and there was. So I contacted the club and asked about my vase. I was soon directed to a gentleman who showed some real interest in the piece. After some negotiations, we came to terms at about $1250, if my memory serves me right. This definitely sent me on a quest for more Ruskin and over the years I have been very successful with it. I believe that I have sold over six pieces of Ruskin for $1000 or more.

There are American companies that also used the crystalline glazes. Pisgah Forest is one. However, the crystalline pottery that I want to talk about is still being produced today by a man named Jon Price. You will love his website. Be sure not to be fooled by the home page but go into his gallery and other pages. You may wonder how I came across this pottery and you may be surprised. One of our members bought a Jon Price vase and it is quite a story so here it is from her own lips

Daryle,

Here’s a pic of the Jon Price crystalline glaze vase that I picked up at a garage sale yesterday. I wanted to show it to you because it was at a garage sale that was very crowded before I got there. I guess no one else was willing to pay the guy’s $5 price for it. The only reason I knew it was worth more was because I went with a friend to an art glass shop to have another piece identified and we spent over an hour walking around a gawking at all of the treasures in the shop. And I vividly remembered this crystalline finish on some of the pieces – I loved it.

A similar blue vase sold on eBay for $45, which isn’t a fortune, but hey, that’s a pretty good ROI!

So I just wanted to let you know I had followed your advice to go to shops where they sold beautiful things just for education.

Lou Ann

I believe her vase is probably worth more than she thinks. It my be wise for you to be on the look out for Jon Price pieces.

My 220 page book about how to make money buying and selling antiques and collectibles is FREE with your membership in the Daryle Lambert's Antique and Collectible Club. Join Us Today http://www.darylelambert.com/

Your Company’s Affiliate - Daryle Lambert's Antiques and Collectibles Blog – One step at a time.

 Lets Make Money

My Dad taught me that nothing that comes without hard work will stand the test of time. This company that we are creating together is definitely an example of that old adage. Step by step, we are working together to create a presence in the world of Antiques, Collectibles and Fine Art that won't be duplicated. I know that you, like myself, are proud of what we have accomplished, but this is just the beginning.

I am so happy to announce that the Daryle Lambert's Antiques and Collectibles Club has taken another step in its future. With the completion of the Affiliate Program, it is now possible for members to make thousands of dollars by putting the affiliate link on their website. This can be accomplished by going to the home page www.darylelambert.com and following the simple instructions. You must be a member to participate in this program.

What does the Affiliate Program provide for the person joining? First, you will receiver 10% of the sales price of anything sold on our site, plus $3.00. How does this work? Whenever a person clicks on the Affiliate Ad on your site, they are taken to our marketplace where they can begin shopping. When they make a purchase you will be notified by email, and once your total commission reaches or exceeds $25.00, you will receive a check. But what’s the $3.00 for? That is a bonus because we wanted the smallest commission to be $5.00 and so, if someone joins the Club, the commission is $5.00, 10% of the $20.00 cost of joining and the $3.00 bonus.

If you aren't familiar with the Daryle Lambert's Antiques and Collectibles Club, you may be interested to know that at the present time there are items with values over $30,000 listed there. What if one of your clients purchased this item? Would putting $3,003 in your bank account make you smile? At the present time, there are already nearly 150 items listed with more being added each day. It is our desire that over the next few months this will be one of the highest quality marketplaces on the internet. There will hopefully be thousands of items for your clients to purchase, adding dollars to your account each time they do.

Gary Daw will be managing this program and any questions that you may have can be answered by him. He can be reached at gary@darylelambert.com. It will be his greatest desire to see our members beginning to make money.

God Bless each and every one of you that are making this all possible and helping in making my dream to serve others come true.

My 220 page book about how to make money buying and selling antiques and collectibles is FREE with your membership in the Daryle Lambert's Antique and Collectible Club. Join Us Today http://www.darylelambert.com/

Joseph W. Gies – Daryle Lambert's Antiques and Collectibles Blog – What's in a name.

Joesph W. Gies - Thanks to Klassiskgitar.net

Looking at a painting before you purchase it or bid at auction can be troubling if the signature isn't readable. Many times I have had to make an instant decision on a painting when I wasn't sure who painted it. How do you decide to go ahead with a purchase under these circumstances?

Here is the procedure that I follow. First, is the quality there? Second, what price range have I seen other paintings like this one sell for in the past, and third, is it just too cheap to pass by when I have decided that the quality is there. These steps have produced some amazing finds for me when I eventually got the painting home and through research discovered who the artist was.

Just this week, I was emailed by a wonderful lady who was disposing of a rather large Asian collection and as an afterthought she told me she also had a few paintings. This caught my attention and I asked if she would send pictures. She told me that the one she liked the best had a signature but it couldn't be made out. Once I received the pictures in an email, I began to study them. The first one was on velvet and had little value. The second piece was a pencil drawing and the value probably would approach $200, but it was the third one that interested me and of course it was the one with the difficult signature.

I tried every spelling that resembled what I saw on the painting only to be disappointed. As a last resort, I thought that the first letters of his last name were “Gi” so I started there and began the tedious search through Davenport's Art and Reference Price Guide. Lo and behold, there it was: Joseph W. Gies. All of a sudden this painting of perhaps a $200 value, now might very well be worth $2000. Mr. Gies was a Michigan painter who was born in 1860 and died in 1935. His top price at auction according to AskArt was $7500.

After discovering who painted the piece, it was time to share the great news with the owner. The phone rang and Patti picked it up. I said, “This is Daryle again and I have news for you.” “What is it?”, she asked. When she heard what it could possibly be worth, I could hear the excitement in her voice. I will be trying to get her an honest offer for the painting soon.

This is why we have our rule to never sell anything unless we know who created it and what the value should be. What a mistake it would have been for her to have sold this painting for $100. So don’t be in any hurry when dealing with items that may become true treasures if you just spend a little more time researching them.

My 220 page book about how to make money buying and selling antiques and collectibles is FREE with your membership in the Daryle Lambert's Antique and Collectible Club. Join Us Today http://www.darylelambert.com/

Chinese Marks – Daryle Lambert's Antiques and Collectibles Blog – Thanks Dan.

Chinese Mark - Thanks to Gotheborg.com

It is no mystery that China's economy is growing faster than almost any other in the world. In fact, if there isn't some intervention, they may soon own America lock, stock and barrel. We should have seen this coming when Mao said that he could lose 500,000,000 people and still win any war. With the American total population just over 300,000,000 people, he was saying that he could lose what would be equal to our entire population and still be victorious.

You know the history of China? They were invaded several times and most of their antiquities were taken out of their country. Since their economy is now strengthening, it is giving them great pleasure to be able to buy their history back, plus all the other fabulous items that the world so cherishes. If you had a painting worth $100,000,000 and wanted to sell it, China would be your market. They are also willing to pay premiums for what they want to buy so this is an invitation to us to keep looking for the best Chinese treasures. But how can we identify them without knowing the language, you must be asking.

This is where our friend Dan comes into the picture. Yesterday, I received an email from Dan saying that a website that he had run across might be of service to my readers. Was he ever right! You might want to visit this sight if you have Asian pieces with marks that you don't recognize. The site has over 800 marks for your use and here is the link http://www.gotheborg.com/marks/index_marks.htm

I can tell you that this site can be of tremendous help to you because I have already used it on one of my pieces. Guess what? It seems that my piece is much older than I thought. You should bookmark this site so that it will always be available when you need it. Here is another book that might help you, Antique Chinese Accessories: Vernacular Items, C. 1850-1930 by Margie L. Yates. You know I must have a story to share, so here it go. A friend in Florida whose parents collected Tiffany also often picked up Asian antiquities and he inherited this small jade carving from them and decided to sell the piece at a Christie's action, I believe. The auction house had a $30,000 - $40.000 estimate but, are you ready for this? It was hammered for over $600,000. I don't believe my parents left me anything like that but one can hope.

I am having the hardest time not telling you a secret but the other staff members have said that if I give it away before Monday my name will be mud. I can assure you that everyone should read my blog on Monday. 

My 220 page book about how to make money buying and selling antiques and collectibles is FREE with your membership in the Daryle Lambert's Antique and Collectible Club. Join Us Today http://www.darylelambert.com/

Boxing – Daryle Lambert's Antiques and Collectibles Blog – Is now its time?

 The Rock - Thanks to hey.ge 

I haven't thought much about boxing lately, even though I did box in the Golden Gloves when I was twelve. Yes, I won a trophy and at that time they only gave them to the winners, not like today when we have to make all children happy with a trophy for just participating. That's a whole different matter that we may discuss later, but today it is about making money with boxing memorabilia.

Boxing has really fallen on hard times lately with the anti violence movement that has swept this country and boxing was caught in the whirlwind. Don't get me wrong. I am totally against violence but I consider boxing a sport or at least it was at one time. Just maybe it is time for this country to get tough again before we lose it all. There where many great fighters that gave this country a patriotic zeal like nothing else has for a long time. As a kid, Rocky Marciano, Joe Louis and Sugar Raye Robinson were my heroes. When they would lose, it was worse on me than when my father gave me a spanking. (I have to admit those spankings were just a few and even then not nearly as many as I deserved.)

To me, great boxing memorabilia is still a sleeping giant and if, in this depressed state, you are able to obtain items that were owned or used by the great fighters of yesteryears, you can't make a mistake. But what should you be on the search for? Let’s start with original fight posters lying in someone’s old trunk that you might purchase for a few dollars. To the true collector, and there are some, they might be worth thousands. Boy, would I love to have a robe worn by Marciano, perhaps the toughest man to ever live. Trunks, shoes, signed gloves, programs with signatures and then there are the old boxing cards. All of these items can bring many hundreds and even thousands of dollars.

This brings me back to where these items might be found. The spring cleaning season is right around the corner and we know how women are about spring cleaning, don't we? This will be the time to visit as many garage and house sales as you can and be sure to visit the basement and garage of every sale you attend. It is most likely that this is where you will find the material you're looking for. It may be sitting in the corner of a basement in a cardboard box that is 40 years old with a price tag of $5.00 on the whole box. But when you get that box home, there may be $10,000 worth of boxing memorabilia inside, which was at one time the husband’s collection, Whoops.

Even with the slower markets, there are still some rather expensive boxing items changing hands. Here are just a few: signed photograph of James J. Jefferies selling for $15,000, Jack Johnson vs Burns 1908 program $7,500, 1938 Churchman set of boxing cards $7,000 and almost any signed Muhammad Ali or, as I know him, Cassius Clay boxing glove will bring $3,500. Just a little side note, my son Joshua and I were attending an event in downtown Chicago and I ran into this old friend who had traveled with Ali. He asked if Joshua would like to met Ali. Ali was receiving treatments there and my friend took us to a room where we met with Ali alone. I couldn't believe it but Ali spent maybe 15 minutes with us and Josh was mesmerized the whole time. I may have been just a little excited myself.

Talking about boxing brings back good memories of my father because he often took me to matches and honestly, until I started writing this blog, I had forgotten that, so thank you for the opportunity to remember. God Bless. 

My 220 page book about how to make money buying and selling antiques and collectibles is FREE with your membership in the Daryle Lambert's Antique and Collectible Club. Join Us Today http://www.darylelambert.com/

Dave Smallhouse – Daryle Lambert's Antiques and Collectibles Blog – A Real Man.

I don't believe that I have to defend Dave Smallhouse as an exceptional glass artist because you can determine that for yourself after viewing his work on the www.davesmallhouseartglass.com site. I fell in love with his pieces when Warner Smith, my friend and the founder of www.glassclubs.com, introduced me to his vases that were decorated with the most realistic animals that I had ever seen besides in a zoo.

But that isn't what I think Dave Smallhouse is all about. You see, he is very approachable and a down to earth guy. I only talked to him for a few minutes before he had won me over and I knew we would become friends. I had to call his office on another matter and believe it or not, his wife, Hannah is of the same nature. It seemed as if I had known them all my life. What a pleasure it was to be sharing with this wonderful couple that didn't seem to want attention or need to be treated as royalty.

Have you seen a more realistic octopus or, for that matter, frog? He is constantly working to bring new ideas in glass to the market and I believe he sets the standard for the type of work that he does. Yes, I couldn't resist purchasing one of his pieces and you are viewing it for the first time today. The vase itself is done in foam green that reminds me of the coast off of California and that little octopus is just waiting for a crab to pass his way. I can't tell you how long I have sat and just admired this piece.

Here is the message for you. Dave Smallhouse has a bright future ahead of him so why don't we participate in it with him by creating a wonderful primary and secondary market in his work? Once you have a piece of his work in your hand, there will be no doubt you will wish to sell his masterpieces but watch out. You may, like me, just have to buy one for yourself. Enjoy these pictures until there is one in your living room. By the way, his prices are great too because I don't think he knows how special his work is. 

My 220 page book about how to make money buying and selling antiques and collectibles is FREE with your membership in the Daryle Lambert's Antique and Collectible Club. Join Us Today http://www.darylelambert.com/