A, B, C, D, E, F, G...

QUESTION: My grandfather gave my parents a wooden child’s chair, covered with letters, that he had when he was a kid for me to use. I remember singing the alphabet song while sitting in the chair, and that’s pretty much how I learned my ABC’s. My grandfather is gone now, but I still have the chair. Can you tell me anything about this chair?

ANSWER: What you have is a wooden alphabet chair with lithographed letters of the alphabet decorating it. If your chair is in really good condition—many of these are not—then you have something of some value.

Lithographed toys range from dollhouses to acrobat figures to nests of blocks to an array of boats, horse-drawn carriages, and trains. Collectors value for their often substantial size, handsome graphics, and careful attention to precise details.

Of the three types of lithographed toys—tin, wood, and cardboard—the latter two have vibrant, two-dimensional details printed on paper that’s combined with a three-dimensional shape. Collectors appreciate the intimacy and color of these hand-drawn but mechanically printed designs.

Before the development of chromolithography—the process of printing a color picture from a series of lithographic plates—by German printers in the 1840s, toys had to be handmade. So most toys were too expensive for all but wealthier people. Less affluent families had to make do with homemade toys.

By the 1870s, French, English, and American firms had patented chromolithography production methods, which offset designs from inked sheets or rollers onto toy surfaces. By the 1890s, they had standardized the process, and both the American and European toy industries were able to mass-produce colorful toys inexpensively. In time, American toymakers, such as Rufus Bliss, John McLoughlin, and Parker Brothers, refined the technique and became world-leading toy manufacturers.

Production of all three types of lithographed toys ran from the late 19th century into the early 20th. But just as horse and steam power gave way to the internal combustion engine, production of wood and cardboard lithographed toys waned as technology developed. By the 1920s, after ore became available for cast-iron toys, manufacturers found metal better suited for mass production and that lightweight tin could more easily house clockworks and springs than wood.

The mass production of toys came at a time when parents were beginning to view their children less as miniature adults to be instructed and more as children to be entertained as well as taught.

Numerous wood lithographed replicas of horse-drawn fire engines, prairie schooners, steamboats, and luxury side-wheeler river steamers paralleled a strong interest in the rapidly changing modes of transportation at the turn-fo-the-20th-century.

Today wooden lithographed toys are available at auctions; estate sales, and flea markets. Because of their fragility, however, it’s difficult to find examples in excellent condition. Those that have survived the years are worth from $50 to $4,000, depending on size, condition, and rarity. Since your alphabet chair is of the larger variety, it’s worth more, depending on its condition.

Collecting Boxes

QUESTION: I love old boxes and want to start a box collection. But where do I begin? What sort of boxes are highly collectible?

ANSWER: Collecting old boxes is a great introduction into collecting antiques. Boxes are small enough so as not to take up too much room, yet intriguing enough to keep you interested as your collection grows.

Boxes are popular with collectors. The shape of a box reveals clues as to what it once held while the quality and type of workmanship are a key to the type of individual that owned and used it. And when you life the lid of an antique box, you’ll smell exotic aromas of times gone by—the scent of peppery clove, the fruity wood smell of tobacco, the delicate odor of beeswax or bayberry.

With the passing of time, the styles and functions of boxes have changed . Early settlers used rustic wooden and tin boxes to hold necessities like salt, flour, and candles. Colonials in Ben Franklin's day toted their snuff in convenient pocket-size boxes, the elaborateness of which indicated a gentleman's social standing. Elegant Victorian ladies who indulged in the luxury of lace gloves and cloth beauty patches kept them in ornate silk- and velvet-covered boxes. Today,  boxes like these bring a bit of history to any room and can be used to hold keepsakes or simply enjoyed for their own unique charms. So you want to start a box collection? What’s involved?

Before you buy any antique box, research it carefully. If you're looking for boxes made in the late 19th century, for example, read books on the subject, view historical displays of that period in museums, and browse antique shops and shows.  Once you decide on the type of boxes you want to collect, go to auctions, estate sales, and quality flea markets to see what's available.

Once you begin finding boxes to add to your collection , select on the best ones and avoid those that show more than normal wear. Bypass wooden boxes with warped veneers, cracks, and damaged hinges. Check porcelain, pottery, and glass boxes for chips and cracks, and avoid metal boxes that have bad dents. Always buy the best your budget will allow. Quality boxes do appreciate in value with time. Plan to keep any box you purchase at least 10 years to realize this appreciation.

Box collectors particularly favor those handmade by American craftsmen in the 19th century. Many of these are rustic and were designed to hold everyday possessions, such as salt and seasonings or grooming aids. The contents of a box usually determined its shape. A box made for a three-cornered hat, for instance, was triangular, while a candle box was long and narrow. Craftsmen decorated some boxes with carving or delicate hand-painted designs while they left others plain.

Brightly colored boxes made by Pennsylvania Germans, and boxes with finger-style joinings made by Shakers are excellent examples of folk art, and command high prices today. Fortunately, most antique shops and shows have many other types of primitive boxes at reasonable prices.

Boxes made during the early 20th century are also gaining popularity with collectors. Victorian women used some of the most common ones, made of cardboard covered with silk, velvet, paper, or shells, to store gloves, handkerchiefs, sewing items, and trinkets. You’ll find these boxes for $15-20 and up. Other early 20th-century examples include assorted sizes of Japanese lacquered  boxes, selling for $20 or more, small brass Oriental ones with metal appliques, and porcelain "fairing boxes," originally sold at English country fairs. You’ll usually find these “fairings” in antiques shops or at shows, starting at around $125.

Collecting boxes can be addictive because there are so many different kinds out there. The more focused your collection is, the better.

Looking for Value in All the Right Places

QUESTION: I’m a novice at putting value on furniture and other old things. Can you tell me the best way to do this?

ANSWER: Putting a value to an antique or collectible isn’t as simple as black and white. Finding out about the value of an object involves several steps.  First you need to authenticate it—that is, find out if it’s real or fake. Then you need to determine the value you want to research. And if you discover that you have something valuable, you need to consult a certified antiques appraiser.

While there’s no fixed value in antiques and collectibles, there are two types of value you need to consider—replacement value and retail value. Which type you need to research depends on whether you’re planning keep or sell the object.

If you’re keeping it, you want to find its replacement value. Replacement value is the retail price you would pay to buy an object that’s identical to the one you own. Though that sounds simple enough, it isn’t. The object has to be exactly the same, including its condition. Then you’ll have to purchase it from the same type of source—an Internet antiques store, eBay, an antiques shop or show, or flea market. The retail price of the object will be different at each of the venues. So, unless you purchase it at exactly the same type of sales outlet, you may have a problem.

In the end, you’re the one who determines which price applies. Most beginning collectors use the highest price. While this may boost your ego, this may not be the best value. What about averaging all the prices? That won’t work, either. You’ll just have to consider the most likely place to which an average person might go to purchase the item.

Traditionally, insurance companies have considered the retail price asked by a dealer at an antiques show or at an antiques and collectibles mall as the replacement value. But, let’s face it, who pays the asking price? Smart collectors don’t. The object is to buy pieces at the lowest price possible, so that they’ll gain value right off. A lot of novices are turning to eBay to determine the replacement value. But this isn’t good, either. Any of the auction sites are just that—auctions. That means that buyers bid against each other, often sending the price higher than it should be. If you’re going to use eBay to determine value, you’ll need to study several months worth of pricing data.

If your goal is to sell your object, the price varies depending on retail venue. Traditionally, people sell items through garage sales, flea markets, eBay, and antiques shops and shows. You’ll need to research the potential value in all those categories. Each one has hidden costs, so the price represents only a portion of the amount paid. Auctioneers charge a commission to sell objects. Antiques dealers have to mark up their wares to make a profit. Flea market dealers have to do the same, albeit not as much, to make a profit over space rental fees. Ebay sellers have to add on numerous fees. Only garage sale sellers can charge the least amount and still make a profit. If you base your object’s value on their pricing, you’ll never get anywhere, even though some price their items based on what they see on eBay.

About the only way you’ll get the full value from an item is to sell it privately. However, while private buyers will pay the highest amount, they have to want the object. Most private buyers have been collecting for some time, so the list of what they want is usually short. Most of the time, they’ll already own the item. Further, finding a private buyer is a time consuming and difficult process. The best example is trying to find a buyer for collectibles from the 1939 New York World’s Fair. While there are certainly many collectors of these souvenirs, finding them is another story.

Treasure Between the Pages

QUESTION: I was given some old magazines, two of which are dated 1894?  How can I determine if they are of value?

ANSWER: Is it worth keeping old magazines? The answer to that question depends on several things. Just stockpiling old magazines doesn’t result in any significant gain unless you know what you’re doing. Perhaps a family member gave or left you some. Now what?

As with any other type of collectible, condition is critical. However, you could have a back issue that's over 100 years old and pristine but virtually worthless because there's nothing inside or on the cover that a collector would be interested in.

And like other collectibles, an old magazine is only worth as much as someone is willing to pay for it. Perhaps you have some that feature fairly recent notable events, but then you find that they’re only worth a fraction of what you thought. And if no one wants them, they’re worth nothing. Take the Saturday Evening Post, for instance. Most issues from the 1960s forward aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on–one reason the magazine didn’t last. About the only reason anyone collects later issues are for the covers by Norman Rockwell during the 1950s. For modest collectibility, you need to have issues from the 1930s and 1940s. And if you’re lucky enough to have an issue or two in good condition from the 1920s, then you’re talking big bucks.

To know exactly what you have, you’ll have to do some research. Find out what magazines are selling. Check eBay, of course, but don’t forget to check other sources, such as ephemera price guides and other Web sites belonging to dealers and collectors.

So what are collectors looking for in old magazines? The majority look not at the whole issue of a magazine but at certain parts. Some look for vintage magazines with covers by a famous artist. Did you know that Andrew Wyeth painted a Saturday Evening Post cover—and only one at that? Others look for unusual advertisements. They carefully remove the ad and sell it separately, matted and/or framed. A magazine full of unique advertisements could bring in more than issue, itself. A few look for first editions while others look for articles on specific topics.

Like most collectibles, the price of an old magazine is directly related to its age, condition, and the general demand for it. And with demand comes supply. As with newspapers, publishers print magazines in great quantity, especially today. The higher the number printed of a particular issue, the less it’s worth.

By far, the most popular magazine is LIFE. You see them everywhere—at garage sales, on tables at flea markets, and on counters in antique shops. They’re larger than most other magazines and have distinctive covers with the date printed on them in big type. But even famous issues, like the one for the Apollo Moon landing in 1969, only sell for a few dollars. Why? Because they flood the collectible magazine market.

Another topic that you’d think would be highly collectible is the assassination of John F. Kennedy. LIFE, Look, and the Saturday Evening Post all did extensive coverage of the event. Today, you’ll find mint copies of these issues selling for $25 or so at an ephemera show. That’s because T.V. shows on collecting and such have given everyone the impression that these are very valuable. So everyone who has them continues to hold on to them. In this case, it pays to research the event and the market for magazines reported it.

The two hottest collectible types of magazines continue to be those featuring stories, photos, and covers of movie stars and sports personalities. But even these don’t bring much more than $20 an issue—and that’s only if it’s in mint condition.

National Geographic gets the prize for the all-time worst magazine to hold on to. Again, too many people have held onto them which means the market for them is overloaded.

Getting into the Antiques Biz

QUESTION: I love antiques and have been collecting them for 20 years or so and have so many things that my house is bursting at the seams. I’m ready to retire and have been thinking about opening my own antiques shop. Is this a good idea in this economy?

ANSWER: Lots of people dream about going into business for themselves. For some, it seems like a way out of the corporate rat race. For others, something to do in retirement. And while an antique shop may seem like an uncomplicated, quiet business to get into, it’s far from it. Remember, first and foremost, selling antiques is a business–and the emphasis here is on selling.

Many people think because they’ve been buying up a storm at yard sales and flea markets that they can turn around and sell what they’ve bought. Sure, you can put some items up on eBay to sell, but to be successful at selling on eBay, you first have to know what people are buying. Salesmanship is a skill that needs to be learned. And loving antiques has nothing to do with it. In fact, the worst reason to open an antique shop is that you love antiques and have been collecting them for years.

To have a successful antiques business, whether selling in a shop, at shows, flea markets, or online, you need to know what people want to buy and then buy those items. What usually happens is that the items people want to buy aren’t the ones you personally like to buy, so you avoid them. For instance, today, the trend is towards collecting items from the 1930s and 1940s. But you love Victorian antiques and can’t stand Art Deco.

Also, this is a business. That means keeping records, learning how to display things so they sell, and developing a network of sources to buy new inventory. The IRS doesn’t look kindly on people who just play around.

NOTE: I’m still having problems posting images to this blog. And an antiques blog is nothing without photos of the items I’m discussing. So I’m looking for a new host for my blog and may be moving it in the near future. Please stay tuned and thanks for your patience.