Holiday & Patriotic

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Tomtes Bring Christmas Cheer to the p4A Office

December 14, 2009 in Holiday & Patriotic by admin | No comments

The Prices4Antiques office is decorated for Christmas with a distinctively Swedish flair! Take a look around and there are tomtes everywhere- a tomte is a gnome-like mythical creature from Scandinavian folklore. They are believed to live underneath the floorboards of a farmer’s home and to protect the family and the family’s animals from misfortune. The tomte is also the Swedish equivalent to Santa Claus, bringing gifts to children on Christmas Eve.

Our tomtes are engaging in all kinds of winter activies- caroling, skiing, ice skating, and cookie baking.

-Jennifer Castle, Editor, p4A.com

Vintage German Halloween Collectibles

October 29, 2009 in Holiday & Patriotic by admin | No comments

Early 20th century German-made Halloween decorations are highly sought after by Halloween memorabilia collectors. The curious thing about this is Halloween isn’t traditionally celebrated in Germany. Prior to World War II papier-mâché Halloween Jack-O-Lanterns and candy containers were manufactured in Germany for export to the American. Many were disposed of after use making those that survived extremely rare and valuable, selling at auction into the thousands of dollars.

Vintage German Halloween Jack-O-Lantern

Halloween scary black cat candy container

Witch on black cat candy container

-Jennifer Castle, Editor, p4A.com

Seeing Stars: Collecting the Stars and Stripes

September 16, 2009 in Holiday & Patriotic, Textiles/Clothing/Accessories by admin | No comments

A 36-star glazed cotton American National Parade Flag; image courtesy of Cowans Auctions, Inc.

A 36-star glazed cotton American National Parade Flag; image courtesy of Cowan's Auctions, Inc.

Interested in becoming a vexillologist?  (That’s your word for the day – use it three times in a sentence.)  A vexillologist, just in case someone doesn’t know, is a student or a collector of flags.  And the p4A database has flags out the ears – hundreds of them, so look no further!

From political flags dating from the campaigns of Clay, Lincoln, Grant and McKinley to American flags from 13 stars to 52 (yes, 52), flags often draw big crowds and big bucks.  Determining what makes a flag rare and valuable is a little tricky, but early handsewn examples with unusual patterns are often popular.  Flags made from unusual materials, such as a crocheted flag, a Navajo woven one or a crib quilt flag, can also cross over and appeal to the folk art market.  And condition isn’t everything – the bedraggled example pictured above still sold for over $1000!

-Hollie Davis, Senior Editor, p4A.com

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