Dietology – The Art of Postcard Collecting

Deltiolgy is the formal name for postcard collecting. It is one of the fastest growing and is rumored to be one of the largest collectible hobbies in the world and it is no wonder considering that postcard collecting can take many different angles. For example, postcard collectors can collect just black and white postcards or colored postcards. They can collect postcards of U.S. cities or towns, or European cities or towns. They can collect funny postcards or vintage holiday postcards. In any case, there are many subjects and collectors tend to migrate to different collections.

There are two online auction sites that cater to dealers and collectors of postcards, delcampe.com and playle.com. Both of these online auction sites boast large inventory listings with Delcampe having over five million listings. Delcampe has also averaged over sales of over 100,000 postcards in recent months. The difference between these online auction sites and eBay is that these sites do not charge dealers for hosting their listings and the final value fees are in most cases lower. If you are a deltiolgist, you may find that card you have been looking for on these sites.

NOVA-Antiques Newsletter Archive – August 24, 2007 . . .

Reward Offered for Stolen Art Cache

I have written about how only dumb thieves steal art in the past but it their just doesn’t seem to be a shortage of dumb crooks in this world. The fact that artwork is recognizable, identifiable or harder to sell than other things does not stop those with a low IQ and the irrational thought that they could make quick money. Now police in Los Angeles are offering a reward and looking for the person or people that were dumb enough to steal a cache of specialized artwork that included paintings by Gorky, Soutine, Chagall and Diego Rivera. Experts have said that some of the paintings are worth more than $4 million.

The owners of the stolen art cache were in another part of the house when this theft occurred and police speculate that the thieves must have worked very quickly to remove the paintings by a side door. They also believe that the thieves may have been familiar with the couple’s routine. The sophistication and the smartness of the art thieves themselves will be evident when, not if, the artwork is recovered. The artwork will be recovered either at a flea market or when someone tries to sell it in Europe ten years from now. The authorities have contacted all of the major auction houses, show promoters, art dealers and others to be on the lookout for the paintings. A $200,000 reward has been offered.