He had recently donated the entire collection and was looking for something new that would be fun for him. He had started when his kids were little and continued to add to the sets when his grandkids were small.
As we got to know him we learned that he had collected a large basement full of model trains. He came in to Skillful last year and spent a very long time selecting a pool table. One of our favorite customers is a gentleman in his late seventies. Request Recommendation and Quote on a Pool Table.HydroPool Executive Collection Swim Spas.Water 101 – Interested in a Salt Water Tub?.Michigan Ave., Suite 1400, Chicago, IL 60611. Send e-mails to or write Danielle Arnet, c/o Tribune Media Services, 435 N. Source: “Cameos: A Pocket Guide: 3rd Edition” by Monica Clements and Patricia Clements (Schiffer, $19.99).ĭanielle Arnet will answer questions of general interest in her column. The earliest cameos were carved from lava, stone, glass and glass paste. Intaglio carving is the reverse, where the carver works below the surface. Q: In jewelry, what’s the difference between cameo and intaglio? For bonus points, name three ancient base materials for cameos.Ī: Traditionally, a cameo is carved in relief so that design rises above the base material. Terracotta is an unglazed, baked ceramic clay. Made in the late 19th century, each signed urn stands 36 inches high and 41 inches across between the handles.
A circa 1920 Tiffany jabot pin featuring a 15.5 carat pear-shaped diamond fetched $1.2 million.ĪUCTION ACTION: A pair of large terracotta garden urns that brought $17,080 in a recent auction of garden ornaments at Bonhams and Butterfields in San Francisco was copied from an antique vase. Best sellers were early 20th century Cartier and Tiffany with superb stones, diamonds and vintage colored stones.
A single family collection brought almost $10 million. MORE: What recession? This month, Sotheby’s New York realized a whopping $39.4 million for a sale of Magnificent Jewels.
Collections or unusual ration books bring slightly more. Q: How can I sell my eight war ration books?Ī: Look on eBay: Most World War II ration books list for 99 cents to $3. In that case, online auction such as eBay worldwide will open the sale to a world of bidders. If to sell is the decision, make sure that potential Chinese buyers are alerted. The smash is the reader’s to execute: Sell or donate? Either way, he’s a winner. Display would “add exposure in an appropriate venue and could generate interest in a sale, if that is the reader’s interest.” “We would be honored and delighted to display the paddles and other memorabilia,” added Quinn. Special events are planned, including one at the Nixon Foundation in July. Here’s where timing fits in: This year marks the 40th anniversary of Ping Pong Diplomacy. Calling the paddles “historic,” foundation president Richard Quinn states that they are “valuable because there are not many artifacts available related to Ping Pong Diplomacy” and Nixon’s subsequent China visit in 1972. The Richard Nixon Foundation, part of the Nixon presidential library in California, also expressed interest. In an email, he added, “It would be an honor to preserve and promote legacy.” If donated, the paddle and accompanying items also would travel to world championships where the museum stages exhibitions. Chuck Hoey, curator of the ITTF museum in Lausanne, would love to see the items “preserved in our museum instead of scattered to the winds.” He offers to credit the donor by name.
How special? Very - to the sport, to the Chinese, and in the United States. Smart collectors are by now getting the drift that the paddles and the accompanying photo are special both for what they represent and because of what they are. Because of 1971, Hoarfrost has returned as an honored guest multiple times, most recently to speak at the 150th anniversary of Chou-en-Lai’s birth. As much as the sport has grown here, in China it is a mania. According to Hoarfrost, “the visit of the Chinese team in 1972 was an important historical event” not just in ping pong, but “particularly in the history of diplomatic relations between the USA and China.” To this day, she receives inquiries related to that visit from Chinese students and press.