November 2, 2001
Greetings Accumulators!
Artie and I spent a perfectly uproarious and mirthful Hallowe'en here in
The City On High Alert. We went to the Greenwich Village Hallowe'en Parade,
along with our friends and about six thousand police and National
Guardsmen. Their costumes were stylishly accessorized with automatic
weapons. Ours were not. A fabulous time was had by all, including the cops.
Various ax murderers, ghosts and serial killers stopped to shake their
hands, and they got well-deserved cheers from the crowd as well. My
favorite paraders (aside from all the men dressed as women with giant
bazzooms, who were, of course, the envy of every female in the crowd. We
all wish we could acquire breasts that large that would stand up that
well!) were the vegetables carrying placards that said "Pray For Whirled
Peas".
FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF PEOPLE WHO MUST HAVE A TOUGH TIME JUSTIFYING THEIR
LINE OF WORK TO THEIR KIDS
Awright, you collectors of fashion. Far be it from me to condemn any
collection for being frivolous. I have some pretty lightweight ones myself.
But this one takes the cake - literally. This week some well-known French
fashion designers, including Big Names like Paco Rabanne, staged a runway
show in Paris. It included some hot designs: side-laced mini skirts,
bustiers, chaps, beaded evening dresses, tailored suits and beachwear. All
of them were made of chocolate. What is the point? Beats me. Oh, some of
you might think it was a sweet thing to do, and you may soon get the
opportunity to see some of these confections - they're planning to send the
garments (and, I'm guessing, the models, too. Otherwise you'd have to
scrape the dress off one girl and slather it onto the next one, no? And who
is going to wear a used chocolate bikini? Not I!) to the US for another
show. Reports say that, because of the extreme heat under the show's
lights, pastry chefs were standing by backstage for last minute "touch
ups". One chocolatier remarked that the skirt he made is a little worse for
wear. "It now looks like old leather instead of new". I guess is you're
going to do "silly", you may as well be really out there.
SMALL FUZZY CREATURE DEPARTMENT
Christie's has announced the sale, on November 16, of a collection of proof
copies, first editions and letters by J.R.R. Tolkien, author of the Lord Of
The Rings trilogy, featuring your favorite Hobbit and mine, Bilbo Baggins.
The material is from the collection of Tolkien's friend, George Sayer and
includes a letter thanking him for his support when work on the books was
going badly. The pre-sale estimate for the material is $51,270, which is,
as we all know, far below what these things are really expected to fetch
but, as we also all know, auction houses love to underestimate these things
because it creates so much buzz when the actual sale far outstrips the
estimate (think of the Jackie O. memorabilia auction). The sale is timed
very close to the release date of the $300 million dollar film based on
"Lord Of The Rings" - December 19th (at last!).
BIG DEAL SATURDAY NIGHT!
Don't forget - Tomorrow night (Saturday) is the night that Victorian parlor
suite from the Sally Show is being auctioned at The Old Red Barn in
Cuddebackville, NY. Proceeds will go to benefit the families of the victims
of the World Trade Center attacks. Included in the lot are a photograph of
the suite on the show with Sally Jessy Raphael (I believe Sally autographed
the picture, too) and an autographed copy of my new book, "Protecting Your
Collectible Treasures: Secrets Of a Collecting Diva". It's not too late to
submit your absentee bid, so call the auction house at (845) 754-7122.
Accumulators, I hope you are planning a wonderful weekend. You know where
I'll be, along with He Who Is The Light Of My Life, at least on Saturday
evening. The weather promises to be excellent in the Northeastern US, and I
hope it'll be pleasant enough where you are to enable you to hit some of
the last yard sales before the winter freeze. If you're coming to
Cuddebackville, bring money. Have a great week, Accumulators. Happy hunting!
Best,
Judith
© 2001 Judith Katz-Schwartz. All rights reserved.
Antiques and Collectibles Newsletter #160
U.S. Library of Congress
ISSN 1520-4464
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