Sorting Out the Often Confusing World of Specialty Antiques Categories

 

QUESTION:  Every time I go into an antique mall, I become overwhelmed by all the items. Booth after booth of what seems like junk. Yet I know there must be some interesting and perhaps valuable antiques hidden there. How can I make sense of it all?

ANSWER: Previously, we took a look at some of the main categories of antiques. But beyond them lies an array of specialty categories. 

One of these is the toy category. Antique toys take in everything from cast-iron banks and vehicles to board games and rocking horses. The diversification is so great that most collectors specialize in collecting one type of toy or another. Few are generalists. But collecting toys can be expensive. The more specialized antiques are, the most costly they become.

A subcategory of toys is dolls. Dolls, dolls, and more dolls dominate this category with teddy bears a close second. There are other products, but from a value standpoint, dolls and bears dominate. English and German dolls are most sought after while German Steiff bears are desired almost exclusively. This category generates more emotion among collectors than does any other. As a result, collectors and dealers become very competent and have extremely specialized knowledge. A beginner in antiques should tread lightly as this is a very technical category filled with passionate and very knowledgeable people.

Like the doll category, antique collectors of scientific instruments are very knowledgeable. As a subcategory of clocks, collecting barometers and chronometers,  particularly marine chronometers and nautical instruments is also a male dominated group. These seem to invoke the smell of the sea in their favorite piece. Again, English makers predominate. Among instruments, telescopes are popular as are surveying and nautical instruments. Microscopes and medical instruments follow hard on their heels.

Another antiques specialty is jewelry. Precious and semi-precious, as well as costume jewelry are the dominant categories with Victorian era jewelry the most popular. Specialized knowledge is required in the precious jewelry category, but most ordinary folks soon become familiar with the semi-precious stones and the costume jewelry found in all antique malls. Pins, earrings and bracelets are the most popular product lines.

One of the most interesting specialty categories is commemorative antiques. Relying mainly on English Royalty and history, the commemorative antique category consists of anything celebrating an occasion. Royal weddings, a monarch's reign, births and victorious battles are all occasions for producing commemorative products. The Victorian period is the most popular, but more localized events such as battles or achievements are also forever immortalized on plates, jugs and spoons.

Collecting Asian antiques takes a lot of effort and research. This highly technical category is best avoided by beginners, Chinese and Japanese antiques dominate this category. Eighteenth Century Tang, Quing, and Cantonese pieces are quite popular, and Japanese antiques are particularly sought after by Japanese collectors who tend to be very nationalistic. Imari ceramics and Satsuma pottery are much in demand among this group of wonderful antique buffs. And more than in any other speciality, the chances of fakes is far greater. 

The military antiques category takes in arms and armor, swords and daggers, pistols, revolvers, medals, and military equipment. British, German, American and Italian items are all covered in this class. For the beginner it is best to avoid these antiques until you have time to study them. Definitely a man's "thing," military antiques cover everything related to wars and regimental history.

Traditionally, antiques include objects that are 100 years old and older. Items less than a century old are typically classified as collectibles. This category covers everything from blue willow patterned ceramics to the war medals. Often collectibles can be quite new and tied to popular media and the movies.

A subcategory of collectibles is memorabilia. Dominated by Walt Disney products, particularly those to do with classics such as "Snow White."  Elvis leads the list of musical memorabilia. Postcards, Coca-Cola signs and signed autographed copies of correspondence are also in demand. This is a fun category as it's so diverse. But it’s also very fickle and tends to go through trendy periods when prices fluctuate widely.

While the main and specialized antiques and collectibles categories mentioned here are the most popular, there are many others. With antiques and collectibles, there’s something for everyone to collect.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about railroad antiques in "All Aboard!" in the 2021 Summer Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Memories of Childhood

 

QUESTION: When I was a kid, I collected flicker rings. I loved the way they produced a flickering image of my favorite super heroes. Trading them with friends became a passion. I forgot about them until I saw a story online about them and did a search on eBay to see if I could find any. Low and behold I discovered some of the ones I had collected as a kid. Heaven knows what happened to them. I’m thinking about collecting them again but don’t know anything about them. Can you tell me how they originated and a little about how they were made?

ANSWER: No problem. There are many little promotion items like flicker rings out there that make wonderful collectibles today. 

A flicker ring has a clear, ribbed lenticular plastic lens over a specially created image underneath. When viewed at different angles, it optically switches between two or more separate images. 

Though invented in the 1950s, it wasn't until the 1960s that flicker rings reached their peak of popularity. Made by the millions, these small plastic pop cultural icons appeared as cereal premiums, were sold in vending machines, hung on display cards at drugstores and supermarkets, and could be found by the box full on counter tops at variety stores across the country. 

The Vari-Vue Corporation perfected the dual image camera that took two separate images and split them into hundreds of fine lines. Then workers applied hundreds of images to a sheet of plastic which had been rolled out by a machine that left lenticular lines, allowing the individual photos to be viewed by slightly tilting the sheet. Unlike the later holographic process, which used laser technology and produced an image with three-dimensional qualities, the flicker consisted of two distinct images. Finally, workers  cut the sheets and applied the flickers to a ring base which was usually made of plastic  in Japan or Hong Kong. Some of the more desirable rings had metal bases or were larger, and some resembled a tiny T.V. set. Vari-Vue often contracted out piece work to local families, who would take thousands of flicker pictures and ring bases home and attach them.

Since there are two pictures on flickers, it's quite common to have linked images. Often  one image is split into a positive and negative form, like the Famous Monsters and Universal Studios Monsters sets. Characters who didn't have a strong tie to a partner appeared in two poses, such as Superman standing and Superman flying with cape out-spread. And then there are the type that show animation such as the Roadrunner with legs in motion. Rings showing pop culture icons of the 1960s are the most sought after by collectors. 

Collectors also seek the multi-image sheets used to make the rings. When Vari-Vue shut its doors in the mid-1980s, much of its stock of uncut sheets made its way into the hands of collectors and dealers. These sheets aren’t all that rare and can be found at toy and collectibles shows.

One of the rarest and earliest rings on the market is the Howdy Doody version from the early 1950s. This ring, along with a set of five premium rings offered by Famous Monsters Magazine in 1968 are two of the most collectible of flicker rings. 

Rock 'n' roll, too, came of age in the 1960s, with the Beatles and the Monkees topping the list of flicker rings. The 1964 World's Fair, the Space Program, television shows, movie characters, political campaigns, and even products, all made their way onto flicker rings.

Along with rings, flickers appeared on pins, earrings, keychains, cufflinks, rulers, in books, ads in magazines, promotional premiums, and on business cards. In fact, the  cardboard cards on which displayed the rings are now more valuable than the rings themselves. Usually a dealer threw away these header cards once he or she sold the stock, which is the reason for their scarcity.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about the Retro style in the Fall 2020 Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

                          

More on Organizing Your Collections

You’ve figured out a numbering system and assigned numbers to the items in your collection. The next step is to apply them to your objects. Whichever technique you used depends on the surface of the object. The labels must be removable in case you sell an item from the collection, but they must also be durable and long-lasting. Choose a place for the label on the bottom or back of objects, being careful not to obliterate any trademarks, serial numbers, patent dates, or maker's signatures. Use a thin pointed Sharpie marker to print the numbers on the labels. Removable labels work the best.

Paper items can be labeled with a soft pencil, never with ink or a rubber stamp. Apply the label in an inconspicuous place, preferably on the back, always keeping in mind that it may have to be removed. Place the label on a sturdy portion of the paper, not so close to the edge that the paper will tear if the number is erased.

For such textiles as rugs, quilts, samplers, wall hangings, and clothing, use small fabric labels numbered with a laundry pen or fine ballpoint pen. Always test the pen first on a piece of scrap label to make sure that the ink does not bleed or smear. Attach the label to the fabric with only one or two stitches at each corner so that the label can easily be removed without damaging the fabric. Although self-adhesive labels or iron-on tape may seem quick and easy, they are not recommended because they fall off in time. They sometimes permanently discolor the object or leave a residue that can damage it.

If you recorded your collection on cards or in a looseleaf notebook, you can break it down into individual classifications for filing purposes. You may wish to even break down those classifications further.  Some specialties may not require such complete listings, and some individual headings may need to be expanded. For example, if the specialty is Eastlake-inspired furniture, subheadings can be added in the furniture category to identify makers or types of furniture. In the case of bottles, for example, specify the type of glass, blown or molded, the color and shape, and the type of bottle—whiskey bottle, flask, bitters bottle, or house-hold bottle. The contents of your collection and your planned future acquisitions will determine the headings you choose.

Using a digital camera or camera-equipped smartphone, you may wish to add photos of the items in your collection to your listings or database. Photograph the items individually. If you’re working with small objects, consider buying or making a lightbox—a box with white paper on three sides and bottom—in which you can photograph them. Save the originals as is, but make copies of all the photos first and rename them using the catalog number you’ve assigned to that object.

Most growing collections represent substantial investments of time and effort as well as money. Besides its obvious uses for insurance claims, a carefully kept catalog is valuable to those who may buy or inherit your collection. Cataloging is also a way of becoming intimately acquainted with all the objects in your collection, identifying the collection's strengths and weaknesses, and  taking the time to enjoy it thoroughly.