October13, 2000
Greetings Accumulators!
And all you triscadekaphobics, too. It's Friday The Thirteenth, and all is
well. It's also Blame Someone Else Day, the favorite of small children and
politicians.
FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF GUESS WHAT JUST HIT THE FAN
***************************************************
According to the New York Times, private records belonging to the former
CEO of Christie's indicate that the auction giant has been working for
years in collusion with Sotheby's, the other auction giant. Federal
investigators say that fees charged by both houses are identical, and that
this is something unlikely to happen spontaneously on opposite sides of the
Atlantic. According to The Associated Press, Diana Brooks, former CEO of
Sotheby's, has pleaded guilty to the price fixing charges, and faces up to
three years in federal prison when she's sentenced in January. Get this:
Christie's confessed first, and supplied the records, so they're not being
charged. Alfred Taubman, major shareholder and former chairman of
Sotheby's, head honcho as it were, is not being charged. And the Feds say
they have no intention of charging any other Sotheby's employees. So,
guess who's left holding the bag? I guess the government forgot that it
takes two to tango. Both auction houses will pay hefty fines, $256 million
each, with $156 million of Sotheby's share coming out of Taubman's pocket
(don't worry, he can afford it). Let's hope they have enough left to send
Diana Brooks the occasional box of chocolate chip cookies.
HOPELESS CAUSE DEPARTMENT
******************************
A wooden gate was stolen from a residence in Bedford Hills, NY on August
22. Here's the description: 54 inches wide by 3 1/2 feet high. That's it.
Oh, and the owners value the gate at $800 (snort!). If this highly
accurate description matches anything you've seen, and you have any
information to share, call the Bedford Detective Bureau at (914)241-3761.
Let it ring several times, as The Bureau takes a while to wake up from his
nap and get to the phone.
MORE SILLINESS
**************
From Stony Brook, NY comes the news that the board of trustees of The
Museums at Stony Brook have voted to change their name to the Long Island
Museum of Art, History and Carriages. Kind of like saying someone is the
star of stage, screen and supermarket openings.
SITES TO VISIT
**************
Learning about rugs have you tied in knots? Try this site for an education
in Persian carpets, their history, their construction, and what makes them
collectible. At last, it all makes sense!
http://www.art-arena.com/pcarpet.htm
Here's a place to learn about the significance of watermarks on stamps.
They're very significant! And learning about them can help you identify
very valuable stamps. This site explains it all for you.
http://www.linns.com/print/archives/20000710/refresher.asp
Off to the country, for Artie and me! We are still in serious home
improvement mode, though we'll certainly get out there to shop, especially
since the weather will be gorgeous this weekend and the foliage will be
too. Hope you get to do the same. Have a great week, Accumulators. Happy
hunting!
Best,
Judith
© 2000 Judith Katz-Schwartz. All rights reserved.
Antiques and Collectibles Newsletter #130
U.S. Library of Congress
ISSN 1520-4464
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Your comments, as always, are welcome. If you have something to say, write to me.
To subscribe to the free short weekly email newsletter, send a blank email to subscribe-judith@topica.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RETURN TO INDEX OF NEWSLETTERS