Innehållsförteckning för February 2025 från Kovels Antique Trader

Starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, Grease, released in the summer of 1978, became one of the most successful movie musicals of all time. A black leather motorcycle jacket worn by Newton-John as “Sandy” sold for $476,250 at Julien’s Auctions in December. Newton-John, who died in 2022 at age 73, wore the jacket in the movie’s final scene where she and Travolta as “Danny” perform the songs “You’re the One That I Want” and “We Go Together.” Almost 50 years later, Grease is still the word.…

A whopping 145 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged each year, according to Hallmark, who knows a little something about the card business. For that, you can thank Esther Howland, a woman who never married but who united innumerable lovers through her visionary work. In the mid-1800s, Howland, a 20-year-old graduate of Mount Holyoke College living in Worcester, Mass., ushered in what is now a $26 billion holiday by introducing the first massproduced commercial valentines in the U.S. Exchanging valentines was popular in America by the early 1840s. In 1846, more than 30,000 valentines passed through the New York City post office on Feb. 14. In a letter to her cousin, Emily Dickinson commented on the widespread nature of the Victorian valentine craze: “The last week has been a merry…

Walt Disney (1901-1966) made dreams come true. He gave us unforgettable cartoon characters like Mickey Mouse, classic animated films such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, as well as the amusement parks Disneyland and Disney World. No wonder a personal check from Disney’s private account at the United California Bank recently sold for $12,000 at Heritage Auctions. Dated April 18,1962, and signed “Walter E. Disney,” it reflects not only a financial transaction of $850 but also a glimpse into the meticulous nature of Disney’s craftsmanship. Stories abound of Uncle Walt’s dedication to perfecting his autograph. Disney artist legend Ub Iwerks recalled watching Walt diligently honing his signature even when they were teenagers back in Missouri.…

Toy collectors eagerly await the unveiling of treasures in Bertoia’s Annual Fall Auction and this year’s selections were worth the wait. The two-day auction on Nov. 22 and 23 featured an array of categories with standout highlights and provenance, including collections of trains, mechanical and still banks, cast-iron toys and much more. Leading both days of the sale was a model of the ocean liner Amerika by German toy manufacturer Märklin, which hammered for $95,000. The all-original, museum-quality clockworkpowered four-funnel vessel, circa early 1900s, included lifeboats masts, upper deck appointments, and an extraordinary color coordinating paint scheme. The top lot on Day 2 was an Ives cutter sleigh with its original figure that sold for $38,000. The sleigh was fresh to market after being discovered in a Virginia home in…

Ask me the brand I think of most often when it comes to comes to big, bold, statement-making jewelry that doesn’t incorporate even one tiny rhinestone? That’s easy— no one does it like Monies (which is pronounced mawhn-yes, by the way). While I do love my bling, I have a boho side that appreciates chunky styles screaming to be noticed. I’m not quite in the league of the late Iris Apfel or the “Advanced Style” ladies wearing overthe-top ensembles on Instagram, but every now and then I do take a stroll down that road sporting my Monies. There are actually several things that impress me about this brand. Some are thought-provoking, like the sustainable materials they “borrow” from Mother Nature. Others are just superficial and fun. The wearing of Monies…

When Sotheby’s announced the Danner Memorial Window would be up for auction, it caused a stir. Windows by Tiffany Studios rarely come to auction, and the Danner Memorial Window, commissioned for the First Baptist Church in Canton, Ohio, in 1913, is an especially beautiful example. Sotheby’s off ered the window at its Nov. 18 Modern Evening Auction in New York; it had a presale estimate of $5 million to $7 million. It more than exceeded expectations by selling for $12.48 million, the highest price any Tiff any Studios piece has achieved at auction. The last time the window sold at auction was at Christie’s in 2000, when billionaire Alan Gerry bought it for $1.9 million. The new record price isn’t the only groundbreaking part of the sale. This was the…

ATLANTA - A Sam Maioof walnut and mixed wood “His” rocking chair sold for $20,570 and a 1997 Rolex Cosmograph Daytona 18k yellow gold and stainless-steel watch slipped onto a new wrist for $18,150, highlighting two days of auctions Dec.4-5 by Ahlers & Ogletree Auction Gallery. The 1988 Maloof rocker was signed, dated and numbered 44. Similar chairs by Maloof are held in collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the White House Collection of American Crafts, and The Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. The 1997 Rolex Cosmograh Daytona 18k yellow gold and stainless-steel wristwatch, model #16523, featured a Swiss made perpetual Zenith movement and had a white dial with applied white markers, screw down crown / stem assembly,…

Who among us has not fallen for the wrong person? At least Marlene Dietrich, in one of the great warnings of cinematic history, is upfront with her suitors. “Kiss me and I’ll break your heart!” she purrs in the 1935 film, The Devil Is A Woman. Reflecting the pinnacle of Golden Age Hollywood design, this movie poster one sheet (27 in. by 41 in.) is as luscious as Dietrich’s painted red lips. The poster sold recently for $52,500 at Heritage Auctions. Dietrich rose to fame after director Josef von Sternberg “discovered” her and cast her in the legendary 1930 film The Blue Angel. Together, they would go on to create some of the most intriguing and spectacular films of the 1930s. The Devil Is A Woman is the last movie…

The Olivetti Valentine typewriter, offered in passion red and featuring seductively modern stylings, is considered by many as the most sensual typewriter ever made. Admittedly, that recognition is as noteworthy as being the tallest Munchkin in The Wizard of Oz. Truth is, typewriters will never be known for their sex appeal. Even so, the Valentine is a looker. Designed by Italian Ettore Sottsass and launched in 1969, the Olivetti Valentine, is a hit with collectors. Its avant-garde appearance, coupled with a brilliant marketing campaign, was irresistible. Magazine ads called the Valentine “The Brightwriter” and an “anti-establishment portable.” In an era of unrest, even a hint of subversive was enough to seduce young buyers. Sottsass suggested his creation was perfect to use “in any place except in an office, so as…

In one of his best designs for TWA, DAVID KLEIN’S 1950s Las Vegas travel poster illustrates the dual nature of Las Vegas: a sunkissed bathing beauty by day and a glamorous RatPack era casino gambler by night. This image is possibly the definitive symbol of Vegas at the first glitter of its international fame. Although Klein produced illustrations for Broadway productions, Hollywood, the U. S. Army and numerous corporate clients, he is without doubt best remembered for iconic travel images he created for Howard Hughes and TWA during the 1950s and 1960s. This eye-catching 40 in. by 25 in. poster sold recently for $1,134 at Poster Auctions International.…

When my younger brother and I were kids, one year for Halloween he wore a supercool costume of his favorite superhero, Batman. Long after trick-or-treating was over, he continued to wear the blue vinyl cape. He wore it when he fought imaginary Gotham villains, when he rode his bike over homemade jumps in airborne feats of derring-do, and when he taped nickels and dimes to the bottom of his shoes to wow us with his “tap” dancing moves. Why couldn’t he set aside that blue vinyl cape? Because even my scrappy 8-yearold brother knew that a cape adds a certain pizzazz, an air of grandeur to whatever you are doing while wearing one. Fastening a cape around your shoulders is sartorial shorthand for impending action and means you are ready…

A Carson City (Nev.) Branch Mint Troemmer special bullion balance scale used from 1870-1893 sold for $62,500 to take overall top lot honors at the massive 4,300-lot, seven-day Autumn Gold Auction held Nov. 2127 by Holabird Western Americana Collections in Reno. The 31-inch-tall special bullion balance scale was built into a waist-high table for ease of use at the Carson City Branch Mint. The set, which came with two framed signs, was on display at the Nugget Casino in Nevada for about 70 years. It was the most important numismatic artifact to surface in decades, and surpassed its $50,000 pre-sale high estimate, to the surprise of no one.…