July 8, 2000
Greetings Accumulators!
It was a pretty inpressive Fourth in The Big Apple. Five hundred or so
ships from all over the world showed up for the parade of tall ships, and
70,000 (that's not a typo, folks!) pleasure craft were on hand to observe
the festivities (oh, my aching Police Patrol Boat!). The fireworks were
stupendous, the biggest fireworks display we've ever had, with sixteen
explosive-laden barges ringing Manhattan Island for the show. And this
town has been full of foreign sailors all week, hitting the tourist spots
and giving the economy a helping hand. What an interesting array of uniforms!
FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF VIDEOS WE'VE LIVED WITHOUT SEEING SO FAR
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If you collect the bizarre and ultimately boring, you may be familiar with
the name Seth Warshavsky, the upstanding (no pun intended!) entrepeneur who
brought you Mr. and Mrs. Tommy (Pamela Anderson) Lee, starring in their own
"home movie", brought to you direct from their bedroom. He also graciously
provided Internet visitors with naked photos of Dr. Laura Schlessinger,
someone that some of us would rather not see, even with her clothes on.
The story is that Warshavsky is allegedly under investigation by federal
authorities for credit fraud and income tax evasion, the result of
affadavits filed by former emplyees, who claim that Warsahvsky overcharged
credit card customers. Okay, so we wish him well (or not), since he denies
any wrongdoing. But, the real story is that Dr. Laura sued Warshavsky. And
lost.
DOWDY STYLE DEPARTMENT
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Handbag collectors, rejoice! Here's a chance to own one with a bit of
history attached. Now through July 13th, you can mosey on over to
www.handbag.com and bid on a Ferragamo handbag owned by former British
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Thatcher was very rarely seen without a
handbag and her bags were the basis for the coinage of a British political
term, "handbagging", which stood for her style of dealing with opponents.
The auction also includes bags formerly owned by Jerry Hall and Cherie
Booth (wife of the current Prime Minister), with proceeds going to Breast
Cancer Care, a British-based charity. No word on whether the contents of
Thatcher's bag include the head of Moammar Qadaffi.
REPRO ALERT
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Alert Accumulator Steven Phillips has not only reported on fake Shelley
China circulating in the market, he has very graciously put up a web page
to help you identify the reproduction mark. To view the page, go to
http://chintznet.com/shams/shelley/. While you're there, you'll find the
rest of Steven's site, Chintznet, amazingly informative and helpful.
YARDSALE CENTRAL
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If you've ever yearned for a site where you could just punch in your
zipcode and look up yardsales in your neighborhood, here it is. It's just
a fledgling, so don't be disappointed - it has a great future, once it
catches on. The site is at www.yardsales.com. Right now, it's
concentrating on the Washington, DC area. I typed in my zipcode here, and
the one at the country house, and didn't turn up much. Bookmark it, and
check back from time to time.
INTERNET AUCTION FRAUD - AGAIN!
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In typical government style, the Federal Trade Commision has finally caught
up with the rest of the world, and published an article on Internet auction
fraud. It's posted at www.amartpot.org/fraud.htm - FTC. I think my own,
much earlier article is better (of course I do!). You be the judge.
"Judith's Laws Of Online Auction Commerce - how not to get burned" is
posted at www.msjudith.net/other/010199.htm.
Okay, Accumulators - I've bent your eyes enough for one day. Artie and I
are off to a family gathering and then the country house. Oh - did I
mention that we have deck? We finshed building it! Get out and hit those
yard sales, you guys. Have a great week, Accumulators. Happy hunting!
Best,
Judith
© 2000 Judith Katz-Schwartz. All rights reserved.
Antiques and Collectibles Newsletter #126
U.S. Library of Congress
ISSN 1520-4464
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Your comments, as always, are welcome. If you have something to say, write to me.
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