Another Valuable Lessoned Learned

In March of last year, I opened up a store at Etsy.

 When I first heard of the site, I was under the belief it was geared more for women with handmade items like clothing, or even jewelry.  I quickly realized that the site also offers vintage items that could be tailored to both women and men.

This site has been absolutely fantastic for me.  Not only does this site give you a chance to sell, but they also have what they call “Teams.”  These are groups that you can join that share your same interests.  There are also teams that also give you an opportunity to discuss things like how to promote your items for sale.

I’m a big fan of Etsy—what are your favorite sites for buying and selling?

It’s Completely Different Than What I Had Originally Thought It Was—It’s Arabic Made!

A while ago, I talked about what I thought was a handmade and unique coffee pot in a blog post.

An eagle-eyed shopper dropped me a line and told me that the pot was actually Arabic made, and it was from the 1930’s to 1950’s.

It always pays off to do your homework before you post something for sale online, but it’s also extremely nice to have someone also help out and catch an error with a listing.

As for the pot, it’s listing has been corrected and can be seen in my Etsy store here.

Types Of Sports Cards

Think a sports card is a sports card?  Far from it.  There are a ton of different types of cards that you could find.  Here’s a few:

Retail Card—these are cards that are sold to major retailers like Kmart.  The cards will often have the name of the store printed on the card as well.  You might even find a card from a now-defunct retailer.

 
Insert Card—these are cards that are inserted into packs at a staggered rate (like one card being inserted into every 24^th pack).  There is also a number on the back of every sports card.  The number on the back of the insert card will be different than the normal set numbers.  The normal set numbers will appear as 1-400 (or however many cards are in the set), the insert cards will have a number like ST1, or PL1.  When you buy a pack, you never know what kind of insert card could be in there.  There even could be a player who became much more famous later on.

Sell Sheets—these are not cards at all.  They’re ads that are sent to distributors for cards that are for sale to the public.  This would show what cards you could get in the set, and would show the players that are featured in the set.  You could get these ads from a sports cards dealer for pretty cheap, or even free if the retailer is going to throw them away (it never hurts to ask them if it’s possible for you to have it).  They’re also great to display along with a complete team collection!

So what’s the rarest card that you’ve ever found?

Great Ideas For Valentine’s Day Gifts

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, I’m sure we’re all thinking about gifts for our loved ones.  Jewelry remains a classic, ever-popular Valentine’s Day gift.

You can see some great jewelry pieces in my Etsy store here.

 

 

 

Another fun idea is to send a vintage Valentine card.

 

You can view these great examples of vintage Valentine’s Day cards in my Etsy store here and here.

 

With so many ideas are out there, there’s no telling what you might find for Valentine’s Day.  What kinds of gift ideas can you think of?

There’s A New Hot Item Just In Time For Valentine’s Day

Starting in 1953, Fenton produced a line of glass called “Black Rose.”  The best way to describe this line is that it is a combination of Peach Blow and black crest glass.

The original line only lasted two years, and was discontinued in 1955.  Since the line wasn’t around that long, the pieces are more sought-after by collectors.

There have been some pieces made to be sold QVC, and the pieces were marked with a paper label.  If the pieces have been hand-painted, the artist will sign and date the bottom of the piece.  Items that come from the original line will either be unmarked, or have the Fenton name embossed on the bottom.

A picture of the original base can be seen here:

The basket that I have listed in my Etsy store dates to the 1950’s.  With a pink interior, it would be a great item for Valentine’s day.  It could be given to someone holding candy or even a small piece of jewelry or some flowers. 

You can see the Fenton “Black Rose” basket that I have listed in my Etsy store here.

Vocabulary Words For The Beginning Collector

When you dive headfirst into the world of collectibles, you’ll hear many terms that will become an essential part of your vocabulary.  Here are few that you’ll often hear:

Cross-Collectible—A item that falls into multiple collectible categories (like toys, Salesman’s Samples, and advertising).  A cross-collectible will be of interest to more collectors, and in theory, will be an easier sell.  I have a couple of great examples of cross-collectibles in my Etsy store.  You can see the Salesman’s Sample sad iron here and the screw jack by Simplex salesman’s sample here.

Milk Glass—A type of glass that is opaque or white in color, and is either blown or pressed into a mold, and is made into all types of items.  It could be a vase, tray, or even a lamp shade.  There’s a great set of milk glass spice holders in my Etsy shop.  You can see them here.

Transferware—Getting its start in the Staffordshire England area in the 1800’s, this is a type of decoration process for pottery.  It uses transfer printing, and starts with a copper plate printing an image onto tissue paper.  While the ink is still wet, it is applied to the pottery.  The item is then fired in a kiln at a low temperature to permanently adhere the image to the pottery.  I have a great example of transferware pottery in my Etsy store; it happens to be a mug by Royal Bonn with a pattern called THEETRINKER.  You can see it here.

What collecting terms have you heard recently?

My New Mailing List For Wisdom Lane Antiques

While you’ll always find great news on collecting, sales, etc. here at the blog, I also wanted a way to interact with my customers directly.  So I put together the quick and simple mailing list.

The form is only three questions long, and it will make sure that the latest news on sales and specials here at Wisdom Lane will be sent straight to your inbox.

The best part of the form is that you get a chance to tell me what you’re looking for—what you collect, and what’s on your wish list.  When one of your dream items comes up for sale, I’ll email you the link to the item’s listing.

Thanks in advance for signing up—I’m looking forward to a fantastic year at Wisdom Lane!

Merry Christmas From Jake!

Happy Hijacking, err, I mean Merry Christmas!  Yes, it's Jake again and I have hijacked John's blog.  The big guy's celebrating Christmas today, so I decided to do today's blog post.

The great thing about Christmas is that there's a ton of collectibles that you could have.  Think about it, you could do sweaters, ornaments, and Santa is an area that's all its own.

I love the ornaments that John has in his Etsy shop, especially the ornament that was designed by Thomas Blackshear for Hallmark.  You can see the ornament here.

So stay warm and bundle up!  And for me, I have some pajamas that I am going to throw on.

Ben Cantwell And The 1933 Goudey’s Baseball Card Set

When we think of baseball cards today, we think of the packs with bubble gum.  But the packs didn’t always come with the gum.

In 1933, the Goudeys Gum Company released a 240 card set released called the Goudeys baseball card.    This card set is the first one of its kind to be issued with bubble gum in the pack of cards.  Before this set came out, the cards were released in tobacco packs.

The cards also double as advertising for Big League Chewing Gum, which can be seen on both the front and back of the card.  They are also very distinguishable because each card features a drawing of each player. 

The first card that I bought that was from this set features Ben Cantwell.  Ben was a pitcher for several teams starting in 1927.  By the time 1933 rolled around, he was a relief pitcher for the Boston Braves.  This year was a pretty good year for Ben; he came close to winning the MVP award for the year. 

 

The great thing about this card is that it falls into several collectible categories: advertising, baseball lovers, and gum nuts could find room in their collection for it.

I have this card listed in my Etsy store, and you can see it here.

Vintage Sheet Music For Every Type of Collector

It’s kind of scary how big the sheet music collectibles area is.  There are different styles of music like rock, country, and jazz.  When you start to look at each area, there are even sub-categories like rock-a-billy, hard rock, smooth jazz, and even classic jazz.  The list just goes on and on.

Click here to see a piece of WWI sheet music.

WWI is a popular area to collectors.  It’s not just the patriotic song, but the cover as well that people collect.  This type of sheet music was produced to help keep the spirits of the country up when we were involved in WWI.  The covers that feature at least one soldier tend to be the most popular.

Sheet music with great covers are also highly coveted.  Covers can feature celebrities like Joan Crawford, images from famous movies like THE SHEIK, or even famous artists like Norman Rockwell.

Click here to see a piece of sheet music featuring Joan Crawford.

Over the years, I have come across a ton of sheet music.  As with other areas of collecting, the condition is king.  The area that gets a lot of wear and tear are the edges and the spine of the music.  Fading to the cover is also another concern.  Over time, the sheet music could be left in the direct sunlight, and some of the art on the cover has faded away.  Things like writing on or in the sheet music, yellowing or missing pages, or brittle pages can also affect the value of the sheet music.  Price stickers from the retailer could also decrease the value of the music.

Click here to see a piece of sheet music featuring a Norman Rockwell Print.

There are as many ways to display your collection as there are items to collect.  They could be proudly displayed on a vintage piano, put on a coffee table, or even framed.  The list just goes on and on.

 

Click here to see WHAT KIND OF AMERICAN ARE YOU?

 

But do you know what the great thing about sheet music is?  Not only can you find pieces to fit any budget and fit into a fairly small space, you can also play it and get tons of enjoyment out of it.

 

Click here to see THE SHEIK sheet music.

You can see some additional examples of some vintage sheet music in my Etsy shop here.

 

A Truly Special Find

You don’t get any better than this in the collectible world:  thanks to shows like American Pickers, porcelain signs are quickly becoming one of the most sought-after antiques.

This one-sided Mobilgas gas pump sign, which I recently listed on TIAS, is a perfect way to get in on the craze.

Most of the porcelain signs I run into are so big, they literally need an 18-wheeler to transport, and a barn to hang on.  But at 12 ½ by 12 inches—that’s inches, not feet—this Mobilgas sign is the perfect way to begin collecting signs.  It would make a great addition to a garage, or over a bar, a little boy’s room, or in a man cave.

A pump featuring a similar Mobilgas sign recently sold at a Barrett-Jackson auction for $5700.

If you’re in the market for a Christmas present for the man or car enthusiast in your life, or know someone who is restoring an old gas pump, this sign is for you.  Head over to ETSY and get a good look.

Sulphide Marbles—Brief History And Collecting Tips

Sulphide marbles were made in the mid 1800’s until the 1930’s, and they feature a porcelain figure encased in glass.  When this type of marble was being produced, early collectors feared them because they thought that the figure in the marble was made out of sulfur, not porcelain.

The most common sulphide that I have seen is the white porcelain figure in crystal glass.  There are some variations of sulphides out there, and they can be pretty rare.

Hard-to-find sulphides that have colored glass (like green or blue), and the figures in the marble can sometimes be painted.

Another thing to keep an eye out for are different figures.  More common sulphides feature a dog or cat.  Sulphides that feature a deer, lion, pig or even a bear command a bigger price.  Human figures are also rare as well.  Numbers are also been known to show up as well.  Usually, it’s a single digit.

There are two things to keep in mind when it comes down to the condition of the marble.  The glass itself is always something to look at for chips, cracks, and even clarity.  But don’t forget to examine the figure itself.

When the marble was made, it was made by hand.  The figure was inserted into the molten glass, and then the glass was formed into the final shape.  When the figure was inserted into the glass, it could crack or an air bubble could form right beside it.  The crack is usually obvious, even to the naked eye.  I have even seen figures completely split in half.

You can find plenty of modern sulphides for sale.  The difference in new and old sulphides are very obvious.  The new sulphides have an extremely high quality on both the glass and the figure.  The figure will always be perfectly centered.  They were meant to be collected and displayed.

Old sulphides will have air bubbles in the glass, and the figure will be off-centered and sometimes there will be a pontil mark.  They were meant to be played with, and they often were.  Sometimes they were played with to the point where they are chipped and even cracked.

There is an authentic antique sulphide marble in my Etsy store; you can see it here.

It’s Tea Time

When 1971 rolled around, Mosser Glass Company produced a Children’s Set with the “Jennifer” pattern. 

The “Jennifer” pattern is based on the Depression glass pattern that’s called “Cameo.”  The “Cameo” is also called “Ballerina” or “Dancing Girl” and was produced by Hocking Glass Company from 1930 to 1934.  When the Hocking Glass Company made the “Cameo” pattern, they never produced any children’s dishes, so you if you happen to run across a child’s dish in this pattern, you know it was made by the Mosser Glass Company in 1971.

This set happens to have 17 small groupings in it, and each grouping has two or three pieces each sold in their own box.  Each group could have a bowl and a pair of candlesticks, a few grill plates (also called a divided or 3 compartment plate), or even a teapot and cups.  This way you could mix and match what pieces you would want so that you don’t have a massive set on your hands.

 

The groups can be found either loose, or you can find them still in their original boxes.

 

The great thing about having the box for the collections is twofold when you think about it.  Not only do they add value to the set, they are also a great way to help store the items when you happen to pick up some of the pieces.

Be careful, though.  The pieces that you find can be chipped or even cracked due to the fact that children could have used these at tea time, so be sure to check every piece that you are interested in very thoroughly.

I have a collection of the “Jennifer” set in my Etsy store, which can be seen here.

 

 

 

Goofus Glass: Holiday Decoration

The great thing about the antiques and collectibles area is the fact that you never know what you might run across that you could use or display during the holidays.  It could be just about anything, really.

Goofus Glass is a perfect collectible for the holidays.

 



 The dominant colors on many Goofus Glass items, gold and red, would go great with any Christmas decoration that you might have.

 

And the great thing is that you can pick up some pieces that could have a dual purpose.   The powder jar shown below could be used as a potpourri holder (cinnamon potpourri makes any home smell like the holidays), and the bowl above can hold anything from holiday ornaments to decorations for the table.

 

Even a vase could be a multi-purpose item.  Not only could it hold flowers, it could even be used to hold a bouquet of vintage cocktail stirrers.

 

 

Just be careful, though.  The relatives could see the Goofus Glass pieces and want to take them home with them after the holidays are over.

 

You can see all of the Goofus Glass in my Etsy store here.

I'm Open For Business Again!

This past week has been rather chaotic for me to say the least.  The computers at my house all decided to go on strike and completely stop working at the same time.

With this very unfortunate turn of events, I had to find a functioning computer and shut my TIAS and Etsy stores down for a few days so that I could get everything resolved.

I created a new coupon code in my Etsy store to help celebrate the reopening.  All you have to do is use the code REOPEN10 to receive a 10 percent discount when you make a purchase.
 
So hurry!  The coupon code will expire on Monday, November 12.