Monday, June 1, 2015

Luna's Cafe: $140M Picasso Leads Christie’s Curated Evening Blo...

Luna's Cafe: $140M Picasso Leads Christie’s Curated Evening Blo...: $140M Picasso Leads Christie’s Curated Evening Blockbuster | In the Air: Art News

Margaret Keane Painting, ca. 1965




Keane Painting is appraised on The Antiques Roadshow !
Margaret' Keane' story is quiet a remarkable story. Her ex-husband sold her paintings as his own for years, claiming to be the artist of the famous wide-eyed children paintings. However, around the 1970's she announced to the public that she was indeed the real artist behind these amazing paintings, and eventually sued her ex husband Walter for slander. The judge ordered both Walter and Margaret keane to create a painting to determine who was the actual painter of these famous paintings . Margaret create her painting in 53 minutes, while her husband Walter refuse to painting by declining the challenge in court that day. The courts discovered that the real artist was indeed Mrs Margaret keane . Keane's extraordinary story has been portrayed in the media recently by one of her biggest fans, Tim Burton movie director, and avid collector of her work . Burton's motion picture"Big Eyes,'' Where she was portrayed by Amy Adams.In above video we see one of her signature big eyes paintings bought into the Antique Road Show and appraised by their experts !See how much it's worth in the clip above !




Friday, May 24, 2013

Old and First-Edition Books May be Valuable ....But Not Always

Old and First-Edition Books May be Valuable ....But Not Always

Books are a somewhat complicated genre of collecting, buying and selling. It is one area in which condition is everything. Buyers want books that are in pristine condition. If the book originally had a dust jacket, the price is reduced quite a bit if the dust jacket is missing. Other condition issues to be considered are cosmetics, such as: rounded corners; fraying of the covers along the edges and spine; foxing (browning) of the pages; the smell of the book (looking for mildew); and cleanliness of the book exterior and interior.

The question posed to me for appraisal concerned “The Cat in The Hat” by Dr. Seuss, a.k.a. Theodor Geisel. The 1957 first edition, first printing of this title by Random House Publishing, with the blue and white matte paper-over-board covers and original dust jacket, has sold for as much as $5,000 at auction. The customer presented to me a green cloth-cover book with a colorful pictorial front cover of the “The Cat in the Hat” dated 1957 but printed by Houghton Mifflin Co., and she wanted my assurance that her particular book was a first edition worth $4,000-$5,000. This is not the case.

The value of the green cloth cover book is $50 or less, as there does not seem to be a demand for this particular book. Why is this book not as valuable as the trade book? I really don't have an answer for that, other than the books issued to the schools were most likely distributed in a much larger quantity than the first edition run of the trade books. Many of the school books are probably ex-library books (these are not as desirable) and show greater signs of wear.
Other indicators of a true first edition of “The Cat in the Hat”:
• The inside of the dust jacket, where the price is, will show “200/200”;
• No mention of Beginner’s Book Series on cover;
• Covers are a matte finish instead of the customary glossy;
• The inside of the spine will show one signature instead of two;
• It is a blue cover with white accents.


credits:by Michelle Staley   by worthpoint 

Friday, April 19, 2013

Making extra money from home for that vacation you have always wanted to take !



Many people dream of working from home by starting their very own online sales business.This is a great way  to earn extra money every month. At first this can be a little challenging in the beginning stages,especially if you've never trained on creating your own internet store. You can easily learn the ropes  with a little research and  some dedication .There are many sites on the internet that will help you set  up a store.Some of these  sites will host and create an online store for just a few dollars a month.The best way to do this  is to research the sites and find out how much they charge for setup. Once you've figured out what type of business it is that you want to start, you should be on your way to owning your very own internet store.So where do you find things to sell on line ? Well, many people start by selling products they find while buying at flea markets or garage sales. They may even find themselves at their local goodwill or a  thrift shop looking for items to  sell online. The real fun starts when you find an item you buy for a few bucks and you flip it online! Lots of people sell these products on  sites such as  E bay,or Craigslist  when they first start selling! Once they learn the ropes of selling used items  or treasures they find while hunting at their local goodwill , they become more of a savvy buyer and only purchase what they know for sure the customers want. They start buying  more high end collectibles or  antiques. You will need to choose your items wisely ,  and   market  your products to the right people, this comes with  experience and expertise. Its important you learn all these tricks of the trade. You can start by purchasing antique price guides most of them are filled with pictures by reading and studying them.This will help you spot items immediately when u see them at a garage sale, flea market or an estate sale, believe me all  this hard work will  pay off ! So,  if you are serious about making money online and are determine to spend a  few hours a weeks then your dream business  will  come true! Once you have products to sell from home and an established a web store you will  start making money! You will have started a new business venture and you will be able to pay for that vacation your family has always wanted to take,or just put some extra cash in your pocket!