Creative Halloween Costumes: Playing Dress-Up in Hollywood’s Closet

October 16, 2009 in Ephemera by admin | No comments

Faux buckskin tunic and pants worn by Spencer Tracy in the movie Northwest Passage

Faux buckskin tunic and pants worn by Spencer Tracy in the movie Northwest Passage

The only downside of my Halloweens past has always been the paucity of good costumes.  Plastic masks and sweatshirts, or “Let’s just tease your hair, you can wear your dad’s leather jacket, and you’ll be a biker chick!”  *sigh*  But in the Movies, Stage, Radio and TV category of the Prices4Antiques database, we have loads of props and costumes from classic movies and television shows!  Do a little searching, use your imagination, and you may come up with a great idea!

Don the buckskin suit and go as Spencer Tracy in Northwest Passage.  Loretta Swit’s nursing uniform from M*A*S*H has also been up for grabs, if you think you have what it takes to fill Hot Lips’ shoes.  If you’re up for something zany, there’s always Bob Denver’s grass skirt (pictured above) from Gilligan’s Island, or go for the dramatic as a Confederate soldier from Gone With the Wind.  If you’re looking for something classy, dig out your pearls and step into Elizabeth Montgomery’s classic couture from Bewitched.  If you want a classic ghoulish Halloween costume there’s this black vampire cloak from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Or, if you’re just looking for something comfortable to wear while tagging after the kids, pull on your tennis shoes and  go as Eminem in 8 Mile.  Jeans and a sweatshirt are always a plus, especially if you don’t have to wear a plastic mask!

-Hollie Davis, Senior Editor, p4A.com

Everything Old is New Again: Modern Furniture in the Modern Market

October 12, 2009 in Furniture by admin | No comments

Vladimir Kagan armchair with original velvet upholstery

Vladimir Kagan armchair with original velvet upholstery

Remember that coffee table your grandparents had?  The one made out of Lucite?  Or maybe they had a stereo cabinet with paneled doors and metal grillwork.  Or maybe you just always wanted to live in the Brady Bunch house!  Modern furniture is popping up everywhere, and many people aren’t aware of how popular modern design is in the current market.

A big factor driving modern prices are designer names.  George Nakashima’s amazing work is hugely popular, as is the work of Edward Wormley, and while many of us might have passed by this Kagan chair pictured above with fabulous orange velvet upholstery at a neighborhood yard sale, it brought an astounding $10,200 at auction!  Egg chairs, stereo cabinets, blonde wood, and abstract forms – it’s all here.  Prices4Antiques can help you recognize a goldmine buried underneath blue shag upholstery.

-Hollie Davis, Senior Editor, p4A.com

Richard Wright Collection of Rare & Important Dolls

October 8, 2009 in Auctions & Events, Dolls by admin | No comments

An Izannah Walker cloth Child doll, image courtesy of Skinner

An Izannah Walker cloth child doll, image courtesy of Skinner

Skinner in Boston hosts the Richard Wright Collection of Rare & Important Dolls October 10, 2009. Richard Wright, an antique dealer and appraiser who often appeared on Antiques Roadshow, owned and operated Richard Wright Antiques & Dolls, in Birchrunville, PA. His vast collection includes early dolls like this circa 1820 German portrait-type carved wood lady doll estimated $40,000 to $60,000. American dolls are also represented including a highly sought after cloth doll by Izannah Walker. The circa 1860 small child doll is hand painted and wears a handmade cotton dress and brown leather boots. Izannah Walker was a Rhode Island doll maker who’s work resembles 19th century folk portraits. It’s estimated to bring $10,000 to $15,000.

Search all upcoming auctions.

-Jennifer Castle, Editor, p4A.com

Pack Up Your Troubles: Antique Trunks and Luggage

October 6, 2009 in Boxes by admin | No comments

Georgian tooled leather trunk, circa 1760, bearing the label Edward Smith

Georgian tooled leather trunk, circa 1760, bearing the label Edward Smith

With economic woes, many of us are opting for a staycation instead of a vacation, which, if you actually remember recent attempts at travel, might start to seem like a good idea.  Modern travel is an ordeal – long lines, TSA regulations, overbooked flights, but historically, travel was, well, no day at the beach either!  Traveling was a filthy, dirty endeavor – coal soot, mud, and dust were everywhere, highwaymen posed a constant threat, and then there was the luggage!

Of course, if you were fortunate enough to travel with a Louis Vuitton turn-of-the-century trunk like this one, you probably didn’t have to hoist it aboard yourself, but still, some unfortunate porter had to haul them around.  Even beautiful tack-decorated examples like the one pictured above, from the George III-era had to weigh a ton, and there’s little hope of getting ballgowns, wigs and petticoats in this tiny salesman’s sample.  Sea chests at least have rope handles on the ends for dragging them up and down the plank, although that’s probably little compensation for the other joys of a 19th-century sea voyage.  No, at the end of the day, travel is, in many ways, much easier, or at least much cleaner, but it’s still nice to imagine shoving one of these trunks over to a pushy baggage screener and walking off!

-Hollie Davis, Senior Editor, p4A.com

Casting Around for a Collection: Cast Iron Kitchenwares

September 30, 2009 in Kitchen & Household by admin | No comments

Griswold No. 50 Hearts & Star cast iron muffin pan

Around this time of year, the house starts to get chilly, and I start looking around for reasons to leave the oven on.  I have to admit, there is no better dividend for heating while baking than skillet cornbread!  There is a short but vital list of things that cannot be accomplished without cast iron, and a cast iron skillet is a must for every kitchen.  And, if they look like they’ve been around forever, they probably have!

Cast iron actually became possible around 500 B.C. in China and 1100 A.D. in England, and its durability quickly made production soar.  By the 17th and 18th centuries, cast iron was indispensable to a household, and both cast iron stoves and cookware were appearing in homes.  (Rumor has it that George Washington’s mother loved her cast iron so much that she made a special bequest in her will regarding it!)  Companies like Griswold and Wagner were born, and cast iron continued to boom until the early 20th century, when lighter materials became more desirable.  But there’s still plenty of it out there, probably because short of melting it down, it’s pretty hard to get rid of.

Some of the most valuable are the large sugar kettles, like this 42″ one that brought almost $10,000, and early forms, like this tea kettle, also bring good prices.  Collectors are also fond of muffin tins, like the hearts and star one pictured above, and even traditional forms like skillets and dutch ovens can bring more than you might think, depending on marks and condition.  Rusty old cast iron might actually be too valuable to cast away!

-Hollie Davis, Senior Editor, p4A.com

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