This Weekends Antique & Collectibles Shows December 16, 2010

As the year dies down and we get closer to the Holidays, we have less antique and collectibles shows or flea markets to attend. Which is a shame because more people should be shopping at these markets for unique, inexpensive and long lasting gifts that cannot be found at Macy’s, Toys R Us, Walmart or any of the other retail stores. Antiques and collectibles in most cases also appreciate in value and help with our green effort by keeping things out of landfills.

So where do you go this weekend to get that gift for a special someone? There are a couple of places in the Mid Atlantic region. If you are in the Washington DC metro area, you might consider the Georgetown Flea Market or Eastern Market. Both have many dealers selling antique furniture, vintage pottery and art glass as well as linens, porcelain and china. The Georgetown Flea Market is open on Sundays in the parking lot of Hardy Middle School. Also on Sundays, the Eastern Market is held on 7th and C Streets in DC.

Other shows in the Mid Atlantic region include Renningers Antique Market in Adamstown Pennsylvania. This market is open on Sundays and averages about four hundred dealers. In Fletcher North Carolina, there is Smiley’s Flea Market which is open on Friday thru Saturday. This market and antique mall is a huge 100,000 square foot facility filled to capacity every weekend. For other antique flea markets and shows, please visit my monthly calendar.

Rare Star Wars Collectible Up for Grabs

eFX Inc and 501st TK Project are teaming up to auction off one of the most unique Star Wars collectible today. An eFX Stormtrooper Helmet featuring the autographs of, among others, Star Wars creator George Lucas and actors Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher. The auction is being held on EBay and the best part of this is that it benefits the Make a Wish Foundation.

501st Legion is an organization that was created by Star Wars fans to help raise funds for needy causes and the Make a Wish Foundation attempts to grant the wishes of children with life threatening medical conditions.

Michael Jackson Photos Sold at Paris Auction

The King of Pop still rakes in the cash as one of the all-time greats in collectibles and memorabilia. About 700 prints of the King of Pop sold at Paris auction house Pierre Berge & Associes. The prints, some of which were classified as portraits of Jackson were taken by French photographer Arno Bani and some were originally intended to be used on the Invincible album cover.

The photographs brought in more than $265, 000, which is consistent with past sales of Jackson memorabilia. Since his death in July 2009, collectors and fans have fueled a buying frenzy for anything related to his life and lifestyle. One of the gloves sold last year for over $350,000 and a crystal studded shirt sold for $52,500. However, fans and collectors have to beware of fakes. Additionally, some collectors fear that there will be a glut in the amount of collectibles available and prices eventually will plummet.

Beatles Memorabilia Eleanor Rigby Register Sells at Auction

Ah look at all the lonely people . . . where do they all come from? If you are a Beatles fan, and many people are, you will recognize the lyrics from their song Eleanor Rigby, which Sir Paul McCartney penned and released on the Revolver album in 1966. Since the album first came out and the song became one of the most popular Beatle songs, many people have wondered, who was Eleanor Rigby? As it turns out, Ms. Rigby was a nurse at Liverpool City Hospital around 1911, according to a recent document sold at auction for $177,000.

The document is a salary register that bears the signature E. Rigby, which had to be signed to get her wages at that time. After many years of speculation, the register surfaced in 1990 when McCartney reportedly sent it to Annie Mawson, who had appealed to him for a donation. Mawson, who is head of a charity called Sunbeams Music and uses music to help people with special needs, must have thought him a little crazy when she received an envelope with the register. The register was sold by The Fame Bureau an auction company in London.

On another note reports have Paul McCartney saying that Ringo Starrs’ outburst about not signing autographs for fans. He said that Ringo was not arrogant, but was “honest.”

Springsteen Donates Memorabilia Off His Back for Charity Auction

It has been reported that Bruce Springsteen took the leather jacket off his back at a charity auction and donated it to help raise money for wounded war veterans. The arrogant Ringo Starr should take a page out of a real artist’s book. Springsteen, apparently was taking part in the New York Comedy Festival for the Bob Woodruff Foundation and had already donated his 1994 Harley. When the bidding stalled at $40,000 for the bike, Springsteen threw in the jacket and together they brought in $70,000. He had also donated an autographed guitar which was purchased for another $50,000. No wonder he is one of President (Elect) Barack Obama’s, whose own memorabilia is flying off of shelves, favorite artists.

The Boss, as he is affectionately known to his fans, reportedly is also working on a Barack Obama inspired album which is due out sometime in January. Springsteen campaigned for Obama as well as performed shows to benefit the Obama campaign. The album is sure to include “Workin’ on a Dream” which The Boss performed with his wife Patti at an Ohio campaign event. Brendan O’Brien is the producer of the album and according to the published reports, the album may be close to finished already. I wouldn’t be surprised to run into Springsteen in Washington on January 20th.

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 . . .

Presidential Cabbage Patch Kids Raise Money for Toys for Tots

I remember standing outside a Montgomery Wards Store in New Jersey, can’t remember if it was in ’82 or ’83, but it was cold outside and we were about the tenth in line at the ungodly hour of 4 am. Our friends had accompanied my wife and I and we were drinking steaming hot cups of coffee from thermoses, chatting and eagerly waiting for the doors to open at 6 am. No, we weren’t waiting to buy an X-Box or a new computer, they hadn’t even been invented yet. What we were waiting for on that cold and dank morning was the right to purchase the ugly but short supplied Cabbage Patch Kid doll.

When the store employees finally came out of the store, everyone in line crowded forward and I thought we were going to die as the people crushed us to get their hands on a slip of paper that was the “license” to buy the dolls. We did manage to come out of that mess alive, each with armed with two licenses. When the manager flung open the doors at 6 am, thermoses and coffee long forgotten, we raced back to the toy section so we could have the best selection. The only time I have seen people run faster is at the running of the bulls in Spain, except that we were the ones that looked like the bulls.

In any case, we did manage to get four of the ugly cabbage patch dolls, which we quickly turned around for a nice profit. At the time I believe we paid about $25 for the Cabbage Patch Kids at Montgomery Ward and we sold them each for an average of $125 at a flea market in New Jersey. Essentially, we made $400 by standing in the cold and risking life and limb from crazed “bulls” that wanted to stampede past us so they could get the prettiest of the ugly dolls.

Today however, there are no shortages of Cabbage Patch Kids and prices for a new doll hover around $50 for a brand new one and vintage ones from the late 70’s and early 80’s bringing in hundreds of dollars at auctions. One particular auction on eBay, today featured one of a kind 25th Anniversary Cabbage Patch Kids that were made to look like our presidential candidates McCain, Palin, Obama and Biden. I have to say that they probably didn’t have to do too much creative design to Palin’s doll since she kind of looks like a Cabbage Patch Kid anyway.

The auctions, that ended today, the same day in which we will vote for our next president, were spirited as presidential memorabilia buffs tangled with Cabbage Patch Kids collectors, vintage toy doll collectors, vintage toy collectors and plain ordinary folks who want a piece of history. This time the profits however will not go into someone’s pocket, like ours did oh so many years ago. This auction that raised a total of $36,000 benefits the Marine Corps Toys for Tots Foundation, which raises money every year to help provide gifts for needy children.