Antiques Roadshow Insider
Antiques Roadshow Insider will take you behind the scenes to chat with dealers and appraisers, auctioneers and collectors. You'll see what's selling, what's in demand, and what prices people are paying. You'll discover the signs that can reveal hidden value in an antique. And you'll find out how to spot tomorrow's hottest collectibles today, while they're affordable!
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Sweet and Low
Vintage sheet music offers something for every collector. Most sheet music selling for $3–$25, it’s an enthusiasm that won’t break the bank. American popular music enjoyed a golden age from 1890–1920, an era that left a rich legacy of colorful antique sheet music and other musical emphera
Vintage sheet music was usually printed on high-acid paper and was often roughly treated. Where to find vintage sheet music? Sheets are everywhere: Group shops, flea markets, garage and estate sales, and used-book stores are likely sources for inexpensive box lots holding a few beauties amongst the tattered trash. Word to the wise.......
Sitting Ducks
Waterfowl decoys rank among the most beautiful, evocative, and truly American forms of folk sculpture you'll find. Here, a longtime Antiques Roadshow appraiser examines their place in the market.
Waterfowl decoys and the birds they represent speak to the vast diversity of the American landscape: abundant waterways and flyways, salt marshes, open seas, and freshwater rivers that give habitat and haven to game and fish. They also attest to the creativity and diversity of the expert carvers who created them. And each bird reflects the region, water conditions, methods of hunting, and species of the region in which it was made.
Time to Sell?
Perhaps it's time to move or downsize, or maybe you're settling an estate. What to do about all that furniture? Our experts tip you off.
As with any antique, establishing the best way to sell your furniture depends on having a clear idea of value. An independent, impartial, expert opinion is essential for a fair sale and- just as important-for peace of mind.
Auctioneer and Antiques Roadshow appraiser Ken Farmer cautions that haste not only makes waste, but it practically guarantees poor sales and low prices when you're selling furniture (or anything else). The top tip we heard from Farmer and our other experts: Before you decide how or where to sell a piece of furniture, take the time to find out what you have-and consult someone who really knows.
Crazy About Betty
Collectors of kitchenalia always have a place for Betty Crocker, the grand dame of American cookbooks.
Who conjures up the image of classic nurturing kitchen queen better than good ol' Betty Crocker? Alas, if only she were real....
Betty was actually the genius creation, in 1921, of the Washburn Crosby Co. of Minneapolis (one of the big milling companies that would merge into General Mills). She presented the firm with a "personalized" approach to answering customers' baking inquiries. Who would have thought that this fictional character would soon embody all that is good in American cooking?
EASY COME, EASY GO
Appraiser Rago details the finer points of the tall (11 inches) Harrison McIntosh vase that turned up in Salt Lake City on June 24.
A longtime Antiques Roadshow expert had an appraisal "in the can"---or so
he thought. Here, he explains how confusion over the date of an item left a segment on the cutting-room floor.
With that in mind, I thought Insider's readers might enjoy a behind-the-scenes peek at a good appraisal gone bad. In the process, you'll have the chance to consider some valuable information that otherwise might never see the light of day. As my colleague Noel Barrett would say: When given lemons, make lemonade.
© 2007 Belvoir