November 8, 2002
Greetings Accumulators!
I just don't like it when it gets dark so early! Years ago, when I worked in the restaurant business, my day began when the sun went down, so I never had the winter blahs - it was always a party until 4 AM. And yes, I was up and out by 10AM, so I got to enjoy the daytime too. Not that I want to go back to working nights. I just think the planets and the stars should move the way I want them to!
FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF SOMETHING WITH WHICH WE CAN ALL IDENTIFY
A British man has been forced to buy a new house to accomodate his collection of toy buses. This in itself is probably not unusual, but this is the fourth house he's had to buy as his collection outgrew each of the previous homes. Geoff Price and his wife, Linda, have purchased a five bedroom house to accomodate his 42 year collection of vehicles, now estimated to be worth $750,000. By him of course. I've noticed that when you allow someone to estimate the value of his own collection, it's usually a pretty hefty number. Price admits that even the new home is stuffed to the rafters, including the entire attic. No word on whether Linda Price has had her head examined yet.
MUCH HOTTER BARBIE THAN WE'RE USED TO DEPARTMENT
Susanne Pitt, a dollmaker with a web site has won a preliminary battle with the Mattel Corporation over her "dungeon doll", made with a Superstar Barbie head. She allegedly attached big breasted doll bodies of her own design to the head and publicized the doll in a sexually explicit story on the Web site. I can respect a woman with a vivid fantasy life. Mattel sued Pitt, saying the S&M doll infringed on its copyright. Hey, if anyone is going to make money from an S&M Barbie, they want it to be them! Judge Laura Swain ruled against Mattel because she found the doll wasn't "a market substitute for Barbie dolls". "To the court's knowledge, there is no Mattel line of S&M Barbie," the judge said. That's about the only one they haven't thought of yet. Don't go trying to find the web site, either. Pitt closed it down as soon as Mattel launched the suit.
RARE BOOK ALERT
It seems that First Editions of "Harry Potter And The Sorceror's Stone" are now selling for upwards of $20,000 a copy. Only 300 were printed in hardback in 1997 and 200 of those were sent to schools in England. The originals all feature the number 10987654321 on the third page. At least two school children in England have found the originals in their school libraries after hearing about the books on the evening news. At least some must have made their way out of the country, so keep looking - you never know.
Okay, out to dinner we go. Tomorrow it's up to the country house and out to the shops. Hope you enjoy your weekend. And have a great week, Accumulators. Happy hunting!
Best,
Judith
© 2002 Judith Katz-Schwartz. All rights reserved.
Antiques and Collectibles Newsletter #197
U.S. Library of Congress
ISSN 1520-4464
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