Innehållsförteckning för January 1, 2024 från Kovels Antique Trader

Auction Highlight When it comes to philately, there's one stamp that flies above all others: the “Inverted Jenny.” The world's most sought-after stamp, the upside down 24-cent error stamp soared to new heights, selling for $2 million, at New York's Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries in November. “This is not only a record-breaking price for a single Inverted Jenny, but the first time a single United States stamp has ever brought more than $2 million at auction. It is a historic moment for the entire hobby, as well as our auction house,” Scott Trepel, Siegel's president, said. The stamp was produced in 1918 to commemorate the introduction of the U.S. postal service's first airmail delivery between New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. It featured a Curtiss JN-4, or “Jenny”,…

Years ago, when I met Joyce Chorbajian at an event for jewelry collectors, her passion about her late father's work was clear. His legacy as the man behind Hollycraft was important to her, and she freely shared that history with the collecting community. This includes providing some much appreciated and simply beautiful artist's renderings of Hollycraft holiday pieces published as a jewelry as art feature in CJCI Magazine years later. Many of the facts, anecdotes and tidbits of information we have to cherish about the costume jewelry of yesteryear were gleaned from folks like Joyce Chorbajian. Given the holiday season is upon us, it seems like a great time to explore the topic of Hollycraft including the company's collectible Christmas jewelry. A Brief History of Hollycraft Jewelry The business responsible…

Clementine Hunter painted Southern life in vibrant colors, focusing on scenes she felt were often overlooked, like church on Sundays, pecan harvesting, and work in the field. Born in 1886 and working most of her life on the Melrose cotton plantation near Natchitoches, La., Hunter never learned to read or write and only taught herself how to paint when she was in her 50s. Yet the former cotton picker's way of understanding her world often got her compared to another famous self-taught artist, Grandma Moses, and she is now considered one of the most celebrated Southern painters. Her admirers include Oprah Winfrey and the late Joan Rivers. Other collectors got the chance to acquire some of her colorful work when Neal Auction offered eight paintings during its Premiere Collections sale…

CALIFORNIA Every first Sunday of the month, Alameda. Alameda Point Antiques Faire, 3900 Maine St., Alameda, CA. The Alameda Point Antiques Faire is the largest antiques show in Northern California, boasting 800 dealer booths. All items 20 years old or older. For more info, visit alamedapointantiquesfaire.com. Every first Sunday of the month through May, Palm Springs. Palm Springs Vintage Market, PS Cultural Center at the Camelot Theater, 2300 E Baristo Rd, Palm Springs. For more info, visit palmspringsvintagemarket.com. Every second Sunday of the month, Pasadena. World's largest flea market at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena. More than over 2 million items offered for sale by more than 2,500 vendors. Shop for rare and unusual, vintage collectibles, antiques, new items, arts and crafts and second-hand items. SH: early birds, 5-9am; regular admission:…

More than 800 lots from the legendary toy collection of Elmer and Bernadette Duellman were released back to the collecting community at Milestone Auctions on October 28. “Elmer's Premier Toys Auction #1,” the first in a series of auctions of the extensive vintage toy collection from the famed Elmer's Auto & Toy Museum in Fountain City, Wis., featured 818 toys of all kinds, including pressed steel trucks, Japanese tin cars, race cars, tether cars, motorcycles, German toys, tin windups, character toys, battery-operated items, space toys, and much more. The top lot that courted bidders is one of the most sought-after postwar tin friction motorcycles: I.Y. Japan's Romance Motorcycle, known as the “large blue version” and featuring a male driver and female passenger, that raced to $25,200, more than eight times…

RUBY LANE @ 25 We meet a lot of people throughout the year. One of the most delightful was Tom Johnson, the CEO of RubyLane.com. Johnson shared his thoughts on the business he started in 1998, which has evolved into a go-to online marketplace, as well as his Mid-Century home in Naples, Fla. – that's his rescue pup, Lucky Lu, lounging in the living area. “It's been a wild ride with lots of ups and downs, but when you're passionate about something, it's all worth it.” Passion. Now that's something we can all embrace heading into the new year.…

Tapping into children's need for rebellion, Topps’ Garbage Pail Kids sticker card series from the 1980s–gross-out cards that parodied the cutesy and highly successful Cabbage Patch Kids–became a massive hit with youngsters while making adults’ heads explode like Adam Bomb's. Still resonating with people 38 years later, the original Garbage Pail Kids are totally rad collectibles today. Loved By Kids, Loathed By Parents Best known for baseball cards, the Topps Company also had success with bubblegum cards based on popular TV shows and movies and numerous humor lines, the most popular of which was Wacky Packages, debuting in 1967 and peaking from 1973 to 1977. Like Mad Magazine, Wacky sticker cards spoofed consumer products with biting accuracy. Pop culture is always ripe for parody, so when Wacky Packages stopped being…