A phrase that I hear on a weekly basis, when appraising antiques, is troubling: “My children (or grandchildren),” I am told, “want nothing to do with my antiques.” When I was growing up, ...
http://antiqueauctionforum.com/blog/my-children-do-not-want-it-why-the-young-dont-want-antiques/
Sold by Heritage Auctions, Jan. 7, 2016, at Florida United Numismatists (FUN) Convention in Tampa; famous coin makes only its fourth appearance at auction in history DALLAS – An 1894-S Barbe...
http://antiqueauctionforum.com/blog/blog-blog/dime-sells-for-nearly-2-million/
by Martin Willis If you happen to be one of the 5,000 people to live in a beautiful country town to the west of Boston, Lincoln, Massachusetts then you had the chance recently of owning a local...
http://antiqueauctionforum.com/blog/modernistic-silver-in-lincoln-massachusetts/
by Martin Willis Coming up next month, Christies takes a daring leap and has the distinction of assigning the highest art at auction estimate ever. Picasso’s Les Femmes d’Alger, created in ...
http://antiqueauctionforum.com/blog/record-auction-estimate/
by Martin Willis 60 YEARS OF WAITING PROVES WORTHWHILE A painting purchased in the 1950s by Finland’s Gösta Serlachius Fine Arts Foundation was never proven to be by the artist as it appear...
http://antiqueauctionforum.com/blog/tech-proves-monet-authentic/
by Martin Willis Not often can so many magnificent pieces travel through time unattributed, but such was the case of many Nathaniel Gould’s masterpieces. It all started several years ago when...
http://antiqueauctionforum.com/blog/the-almost-lost-attributions-of-a-master-craftsman/
A Collector’s Perspective by Martin Willis I have to look back in my memory to try and understand why I loved antiques at such an early age. I attribute this to walking around the border of...
http://antiqueauctionforum.com/blog/the-collecting-bug-caught-early/
If it exists, it is collected by someone. In my long career in the antiques and auction business, I have seen the vast variety of items that people collect. The reason people usually start coll...
by Martin Willis Listen to the associated podcast here. When visiting Prout’s Neck , right away you know you are somewhere special, a peninsula surrounded by water, a harbor on one side an...
http://antiqueauctionforum.com/blog/winslow-homer-studio-painter/
by Martin Willis THE MORE YOU PAY THE MORE YOU LIKE IT Values of rarities are only perceived ones and are subjective to the beholder. Only two people have to have this perception, the winning...
http://antiqueauctionforum.com/blog/905000-at-auction-for-apple-1-computer/
HOARD INTERVIEW Q. YOU CALL THIS THE SADDLE RIDGE HOARD; IS THAT WHERE YOU FOUND THESE COINS? MARY: YES – WE FOUND THE COINS BURIED ON A LITTLE AREA OF OUR PROPERTY THAT WE CALL THE SA...
http://antiqueauctionforum.com/blog/saddle-ridge-10-million-hoard-interview-images/
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE …
http://antiqueauctionforum.com/blog/impressionists-on-the-water-images/
by Martin Willis A look at how antiques connect us to forgotten lives of the past I was walking my dog this morning on the property of the 1790 House, which is a fine colonial structure in Wo...
http://antiqueauctionforum.com/blog/antiques-time-travel-for-dummies/
by Lee Kalfon One of the most pressing issues in our industry today, and one near to my heart, is how to engage the next generation of auction goers and antique collectors. I have read a good ...
A HISTORIC AUCTION, MEDIA FRENZY AND A NIGHT OWL’S DELIGHT by Martin Willis Check out our interview with Dan Meader prior to this auction here. When you have so many objects of a great fa...
http://antiqueauctionforum.com/blog/presidential-auction-results-emotions-prices-run-high/
‘One Man’s Trash’ you have heard the expression enough; here is another example how that it rings true. Back in 1982, my father, (Morgan Willis) and I were at a storage place meeting a w...
by Martin Willis Auction disasters and major challenges are rather rare, but when they happen they certainly leave an impression and they can be very interesting (as an afterthought). I have b...
http://antiqueauctionforum.com/blog/auction-disasters-challenges/
by Martin Willis Back in the 1990s I went on a house call to see a past clerk of my father’s auctions. Louis Sochia was a pleasant man with a great sense of humor. He, his partners Charlie & ...
http://antiqueauctionforum.com/blog/artist-walt-kuhn-was-no-clown/
I was recently inspired to write this because of podcast number 107. WITH GUEST LEIGH KENO . Leigh made a remark that the younger crowd is influenced by the simple functionality of the iPhone ...
photos by Kate Manko The year is 2012, the Large Hadron Collider is trying to separate the tiniest of particles, the Kepler Mission is finding all kinds of planets in other solar systems, and ...
http://antiqueauctionforum.com/blog/brimfield-social-media-antiques-collide
by Bram Hepburn Many advanced collectors of early American glass bottles will tell you the category they first started collecting was ink bottles. Their diminutive size and alluring colors and...
http://antiqueauctionforum.com/blog/blog-blog/really-digging-bottles/
AN APPRAISER’S PERSPECTIVE OF AN ICON’S WRITTEN WORDS by Martin Willis I was recently involved in a very large appraisal and worked with a team of appraisers having varied specialties. I...
I recently had the pleasure of vetting The Original Miami Beach Antique Show , and saw an amazing bronze by Emile Louis Picault (France, b. 1833-1913). There was a constant buzz at the show about...
I always seem to talk about fakes and reproductions in every podcast that I do. And lately I have been apologizing for doing so. Fakes have always been around and it probably always will be aroun...
http://antiqueauctionforum.com/blog/fakes-and-reproductions/
I guess you could say that our family got in the antiques auction business because of drunkenness. Most people would be embarrassed to admit some...
http://antiqueauctionforum.com/blog/a-drunken-auctioneer-set-my-path/
It has been way too long since I posted my last blog. I love to write and hope to do more soon. On my way to the Randolph Street Market in Chicago, I had left California with a day or two to sp...
by Martin Willis FOR A MORE RECENT BLOG AFTER READING MARILYN’S UNKNOWN PERSONAL LETTERS, CLICK HERE. I recently had a talk with Joe Maddalena on podcast number 80 and he made a very log...
http://antiqueauctionforum.com/marilyn-monroe-subway-dress-liz-taylor
by Martin Willis One of the genesis of starting the podcast is I thought there were so many stories to tell in the business. There are so many things that happen behind the scenes that no one c...
By Martin Willis There has always been controversy on when someone should refinish on old piece of furniture and when they should leave it be. I did antique restoration and the refinishing of...
http://antiqueauctionforum.com/blog/to-refinish-or-not-to-refinish/
by Martin Willis Back around 1983, I was working with my father at his auction gallery in Eliot, Maine. It was a small, regional auction house called Seaboard Auction Gallery. We had auctions ...
http://antiqueauctionforum.com/blog/country-auctioneer-in-the-city/
A STORY ABOUT A PORTSMOUTH, NEW HAMPSHIRE ARTIST, JOHN S. BLUNT (1798-1835) by Martin Willis I came from a town right outside of a small New Hampshire historical harbor city, Portsmouth. It ...
http://antiqueauctionforum.com/john_s_Blunt_fire_bucket_portsmouth_artist
by Martin Willis I will be the first to admit that I am not well versed in this era of furniture but have been trying to educate myself a little on it. Some pieces I do not find appealing, but ...
by Martin Willis This week’s podcast is an interview with Harold Holzer, one of the leading scholars on Abraham Lincoln. I am very thrilled to write this article about Abraham Lincoln’s wr...
http://antiqueauctionforum.com/writings_of_abraham_lincoln_blog
by Martin Willis All of us in the business like to hear about best finds that someone scoops at an estate sale, flea market, auction or by other means. I decided not to go into my own person...
By Martin Willis For a related podcast, click here. For several years I assisted Chuck DeLuca from Maine with his maritime auctions. He would have such interesting pieces pass through his s...
http://antiqueauctionforum.com/antique_whale_ivory_scrimshaw
This is Part II of a blog by Reyne Haines So, last week I left you hanging when I asked Martin the question: WHAT STRATEGIES TO BUY AT AUCTION WOULD YOU GIVE TO THE NOVICE? Here is Part II...
THE FOLLOWING IS FROM A BLOG: PICKING WITH REYNE. PART II WILL BE UP NEXT WEEK. Who says you can only pick door to door? There are plenty of picking opportunities that arise at auction. I kno...
Since we started our podcast, we have been looking for ways to spread the word about what we are doing. Our first priority has always been to make our podcasts fun and informational. We hope to s...
In Episode 53. Professor Burstein talks about the timeless way of writing that Jefferson had as one of his many gifts. After all, he did write the Declaration of Independence. While Jefferson w...
http://antiqueauctionforum.com/blog_thomas_jefferson_burstein