After the Election, What Then?

Tomorrow we will have a new President, and I personally believe that the coming year will be a very good one. I also believe the Antique and Fine Art Markets will flourish. If this is true, how might we start preparing for this time?

Maximize your money by buying something of value. Remember, money in the bank next year will likely produce very little income for you because of low interest rates. Getting back to basics is the order here, and looking to what has produced the greatest returns in the past will tell us what to buy. Paintings, Art Pottery and Art Glass have proven themselves to be the greatest return on investment for many years, and this will hold true in the coming year.

Paintings have guaranteed the person who has found pieces by listed artists and bought them well, the greatest return on investment. The number of people qualified to estimate their value is smaller than any other field in the antiques field. This being true, I highly recommend you spend time familiarizing yourself with a number of listed artists you want to become very knowledgeable about. I chose artists that appealed to me and then followed their successes in the marketplace through auction results and articles written about their works.

My list includes Harvey Joiner, Carl Brenner and Patty Thum. These are all Kentucky artists, and being from Kentucky, I have been able to accumulate a list of people who are searching for their paintings. Whenever I find one, I have a ready market for it. Next, I turned to one of my true loves -- the West. When I traveled to Wyoming, I discovered the paintings of artists such as William Golling, John Borein and Ida McAffee. All of these artist have served me well over the years, and have greatly added to my bank account.

Closely behind paintings, in return on investment, comes American Art Pottery. Grueby, Newcomb, Rookwood and George Orr pottery have increased over the years many times their value, and I believe their value will continue to escalate because of the limited number of pieces that were produced. Have you done your homework so you can know the rare and unusual in these lines?

Art Glass speaks for itself, with Tiffany leading the way in value, but it doesn't stop there. Companies like Stueben follow closely behind. I believe, however, that in the area of Art Glass, the real growth in value might be in the more contemporary glass such as Lotton, Smallhouse and Satava. I’ll be writing more on these last two another time.

I’m happy to assist my readers in any way I can about getting back to the basics. If you have questions, just ask me. Leave a question in the comment box is you like, or send me an e-mail at info@31corp.com. I want this coming year to be one that people will look back on and say ”The 31 Club changed the way that business will be conducted in the future.”

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Antique Pipes & Meerschaum

Meerschaum Pipe. Photo from House of Pipes

As a young man, I remember looking at a magazine ad of a man sitting in a large comfortable chair beside a roaring fire, his dog at his side, smoking a large pipe. What could be better than that, I thought? I looked at the spiraling smoke climbing toward the ceiling, and I dreamed that would someday be me.

I never did start smoking, but that doesn't mean that I can't feel the satisfaction that picture has embedded in my mind.

At one time a man's prized possession was his pipe. He chose the right pipe as diligently as he would choose a wife. His pipe had to be made of the finest wood, clay, ivory or meerschaum. It had to feel just right and draw with perfection. No, nothing was too good for a gentleman's pipe.

How times have changed, and today, having lost their dignity, it is not surprising to find twenty, thirty, or even forty pipes in a box lot. But, there are still people that appreciate a great pipe and are willing to pay handsomely for a special pipe. They're the collectors, of course. And pipes are highly collectible. Just take a quick run through the completed sales on eBay and see how many bids certain types of pipes get, and at what price they're selling for.

This is where you come in. With a little research, you can come to recognize the ones that the true pipe connoisseur is searching for. Yes, among those discarded pipes could be a real treasure. In fact, I have been fortune enough to find several of these treasures in a single box lot.

At one auction, I allowed someone else to out bid me for a box lot of pipes. I later approached the winning bidder and asked about the ones I was interested in. They sold them to me for a couple of dollars. And here's the clincher -- the ones I bought were worth $300-$600, while the ones remaining in the box were worth about $5-$10. Yes, knowledge is King, and I will be showing you this as long as we work together.

Some pipe bowls are often carved with a great deal of artistry. The stems can be made of Bakelite, Vulcanite, Lucite, or just soft plastic. Expensive pipes once had stems made of amber.

Just a few examples from Kovel's price guide. A carved wooded pipe with a figural bowl, Dutch figures $1440; Ivory and wood crowned head and glass eyes $545; breaded man head silver mounted $260. These can be found in box lots for $2-$5 dollars each.

The Meerschaum pipe is a much different pipe, and you may have to pay up for them. The fact that few people really know their worth still can provide you with wonderful surprises. Here is an example. A helmeted warrior with a mother of pearl design $750.

This is where my theory comes in handy. I just say "I will take them all." This works out pretty well for me. I once bought a box lot of pipes for about $200. I sold them all and made about $2,250. There are people who work all month long to bring home $2,250. With knowledge, you can make that amount and not have to work all month for it. I see treasures everywhere.


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TODAY'S LINKS:

There's a couple of good books put out by Schiffer Books about collecting pipes. I recommend Collecting Antique Meerschaum Pipes and A Complete Guide to Collecting Antique Pipes , both by Ben Rapaport, and The Ultimate Pipe Book by Richard Carleton Hacker

Look at some beautiful and interesting antique pipes here:
House of Pipes

This is an older article, but the history is not outdated:
The Art of the Antique Pipe

Ruby Lane has some more common antique pipes that will familiarize you with the more common item and can help you assess value.