Innehållsförteckning för November 1, 2023 från Kovels Antique Trader

Erlend Bore discovered the benefits of excercise, as well as gold, in Norway's gold discovery of the century. Earlier this year, Erlend Bore's doctor told him he needed a hobby, anything to get the 51-year-old Norwegian man off the couch and to get mov ing. So Bore bought a metal detector—and almost had a heart attack when he stum bled across Norway's most stunning gold find in a century. In August, Bore unearthed nine coin like gold pendants engraved with rare horse symbols, along with ten gold beads and three gold rings on the southern island of the island of Rennesøy, near the city of Stavanger, in one of the most amaz ing discoveries in Norwegian history. On the advice of his doctor, Bore was out walking the mountainous island…

People who collect bottles are often drawn to them for their beauty and history, and also because they're small and don't take up as much space as some other collectibles. At Holabird Western Americana's four-day “Raise a Glass to Yesteryear” sale August 24-27, bidders were eager to acquire the bottles offered in Day 3's auction. Collectors had more than 100 bottles to choose from, including the top lot: an aqua soda bottle, circa 1870-1890, from James Talbot, one of the pioneering soda water manufacturers in Nevada, that sold for $3,750. It's considered one of the rarest and best looking Western aqua sodas. Soda bottles, created to hold soda water, date back to the late 1600s. In 1832, the first carbonated water was introduced, and bottles were designed to withstand the…

If you've been to a concert lately, you might have noticed that certain pieces of band merchandise have risen in price considerably. The same holds true for vintage music memorabilia; in fact, Heritage Auctions notes that in the last four years, it's sold 13 concert posters for over $100,000. In a Music Memorabilia & Concert Posters Signature Auction that took place between May 11-14, two posters crossed that threshold. One item in particular has collectible pedigree: An original poster from the Beatles’ Aug. 23,1966, concert at New York's Shea Stadium that sold for a then-world record of $132,736 in 2004. Today, that same poster—which advertises one of the very last shows the Fab Four would play togethersold for $175,000. Also selling for that amount was a signed, first-printing February 1968…

WILLOUGHBY, Ohio-The legendary collection of toys from Elmer's Auto & Toy Museum, Fountain City, Wis., heads to auction Saturday, Oct. 28, at Milestone Auctions. The event is the first in a multi year series of quarterly sales of thousands of toys that enchanted museum visitors for nearly 30 years. Elmer and Bernadette Duellman started Elmer's Auto & Toy Museum in 1994. It quickly grew into one of the most impressive and sprawling collections of cars, motorcycles, pedal cars, bicycles, signs and toys in the world. “We feel honored to be chosen by the Duellman family to represent Elmer's incomparable collection,” Miles King, cofounder of Milestone Auctions, said. “We know the toy community is going to love what's coming in each successive sale.” The initial 818-lot auction begins at 10 a.m.…

from the editor I am not a doughnut eater. Not really. Oh sure, I've eaten doughnuts— everyone has—but I can't remember the last time I had one. OK, that's not true. A couple years ago, an old friend, an out-of-town buddy I had not seen for a long time showed up at my doorstep early morning with a box of doughnuts as a birthday surprise. And I was. Totally. But that's the doughnut exception in our house, rather than the rule. Which is why standing here, right now, just a few steps away from the Dunkin’ Donut counter and the vast display of doughnuts glistening in glazed glory, is overwhelming. There are row and rows of doughnuts, a veritable plethora of Dunkin’ delights: jelly doughnuts, powdered doughnuts, Boston Kreme doughnuts,…

With Thanksgiving and winter holidays right around the corner, this is the perfect time of year to bring out cherished silver flatware sets. Stainless steel or (gasp) plastic might be fine for everyday use, but many of us demand something much fancier for a festive feast. Whether you inherited a full set from a relative, assembled one piece by piece or prefer mixing patterns, it's helpful to know your silverware's maker and its history. Here are the maker's marks for some of the best-known makers of antique (and current) silver flatware. The Alvin Manufacturing Company was founded in 1886 in Irvington, New Jersey. It moved to Sag Harbor, New York, in 1895 and became the Alvin Silver Co. in 1919. In 1928, Gorham purchased the company and operated it as…

A black sheep amid rows of white. Seemingly a perfect metaphor for Princess Diana's turn in the spotlight. She stood out—in a good way— among the stuffy Royals, much like the bright red sweater she wore in 1981. Decades after her death, the iconic fashion item—Diana's “black sheep jumper” sweater—sold for $1.14 million at Sotheby's Sept. 14, against pre-auction estimates of $80,000. The princess, then Lady Diana Spencer, caused a stir when she first wore the sweater to a June polo match of Prince Charles—now King Charles III—ahead of their marriage. The sweater by Warm & Wonderful became an instant sensation, demonstrating Diana's pupularity with the general public.…

A Rockwell Thanksgiving No other artist in American history is more associated with Thanksgiving than Norman Rockwell. Throughout his brilliant career, Rockwell illustrated 323 covers of The Saturday Evening Post during a nearly fivedecade relationship with the magazine. With its traditional Thanksgiving setting, “Freedom from Want” (below) is one of Rockwell's “Four Freedom” illustrations that ran in successive issues of The Post in 1943. Using his own Arlington, Vt., neighbors as subjects, the warm, folksy work is widely heralded as one of Rockwell's most recognizable paintings. Rockwell's “Home for Thanksgiving” (at left) first appeared on the cover of The Post on Nov. 24, 1945. “Rockwell's initial intention for the Thanksgiving cover of 1945 consisted of a large group of prayerful people giving thanks,” according to the Norman Rockwell Museum website.…

Q: I have a tall vase or urn. It is pottery as best I can tell, and the stamp on the bottom says “Choisy I Roi” … H B CHOISY. The numbers 333 and 320 are stamped on the bottom. It stands 24 1/2 inches tall and is 39 inches around and the opening on the top is 8 1/2 inches. It's very beautiful as you can tell from the photo. It was purchased at an auction many years ago for approximately $25. I've tried to research the piece and have found the company but not the vase. Any help you can give me would be appreciated. And of course, we would love to know its value. A: Several types of ceramics were made in Choisy-le-Roi, France, including porcelain, semiporcelain…

Collectors went cuckoo for cuckoo clocks when Epic Auctions and Estate Sales offered a single-owner collection of almost 400 on Aug. 19. Dating to the 18th century, cuckoo docks are believed to have originated in the Black Forest area of Bavaria, Germany. With their distinctive hourly bird chirps, antique cuckoo clocks are prized by collectors for their attractive and whimsical aesthetics and handcarved scenes, and they had plenty to choose from at the sale. The most popular feature remains the iconic cuckoo bird that emerges from its special door to sing at the top of each hour. Other motifs and decorative elements include animals, hunting scenes, wine leaves, woodland plants and the modern theme of drinking beer. Some clocks are also ornamented with animated scenes characteristic of the Black Forest,…

On an outing at a farmers’ market on a sweltering day this past summer, I was delighted (and envious) to see a woman carrying a pretty parasol. While I was sweating buckets, she looked stylish and as cool as all the cucumbers for sale. It looked like a fancy Victorian parasol, so my immediate thought was that she was a collector, but before I could find out, I was distracted by snapping up the last quart of strawberries from a vendor famous for their sweet, juicy berries. But I wondered why this onceubiquitous accessory—the parasol—fell out of favor and why I wasn't carrying one, as someone pale and susceptible to the sun. It's surprising that more people in Western society today don't step out with an elegant sun parasol, but…