January 2, 1999
Greetings Accumulators!
A hearty Happy New Year to you from the frozen-solid Northeast. No way am
I going out there!
FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF A PLUG FOR THE COMPETITION
No, actually, there's no competition here. My friend, Ron McCoy, well
known to all you Prodigy people, is the publisher of an antiques and
collectibles newsletter that is a little more - um - serious than this one.
It's chock full of helpful information and great education for collector
and dealer alike. I subscribe to it myself, and even write the occasional
brief article for inclusion. It's called "Antiques and Collecting
Newsletter", is published twice a month, and you can subscribe to it by
going to http://goodstuff.prodigy.com/Mailing_Lists/antique-collect.html or
by writing to Ron at njaa32c@prodigy.com.
"GIVE IT BACK!" DEPARMENT
All of us know by now that thousands of prominent works of art were stolen
by the Nazis from Jews throughout Europe during World War II. And many of
us are aware of the struggle between heirs to these collections and the
various governments now in possession of the art. The latest report comes
from France, where, for the first time ever, a family is suing a French
museum for the return of a looted painting. The painting, Braque's "Le
Joueur De Guitare", was purchased in 1981 by the Georges Pompidou Center
for $2,000,000. The family of Alphonse Kann, the Jewish former owner of
the painting wants it back. The Pompidou Center says it came by the
painting honestly, having had no idea it once belonged to Kann, and that it
has no intention of returning it. The larger issue here is how the
government of France intends to treat these artworks. President Jacques
Chirac, speaking about the newly opened Museum of Jewish Art and History,
expressed his government's determination to retain artworks owned by
families extinguished by the Nazis, rendering them unreturnable. He said,
"The place of these works, naturally, is here". The Kann family have
already recovered hundreds of looted paintings since the end of the war.
"PERSONAL FX PROPS ON EBAY"
So, what became of all that funky stuff in the FX Apartment, now that the
network has closed down the facility? Most appropriately, they went up for
auction a couple of weeks ago, along with the technical equipment. I was
fortunate enough to attend the auction, and to win a few lots. Most of the
items will be quite familiar to you if you're a fan of the show - You've
seen them almost daily for four years! So, I've begun putting the loot up
on eBay, in order to give everyone a chance to own a meaningful memento
from the show.
HOW TO KEEP THOSE MEAN OLD CROOKS FROM TAKING ADVANTAGE OF YOU ON AN ONLINE
AUCTION
Yes, I receive an endless stream of mail containing tales of woe from every
corner of the globe (okay, so the globe doesn't have corners. It's an
expression). Ninety-nine percent of them have to do with eBay and how some
creep done you wrong. So I wrote an article telling you how to protect
yourself from the bad guys, and how to be a straight shooter yourself. It
important for all of us to pitch in and do our bit to thwart the
ne'er-do-wells in our midst. I'm not saying there are a lot of them - but
all it takes is a few bad apples.... The article is called "Judith's Laws
of Online Auction Commerce". To read it, go to:
Judith's Laws.
As always, your comments are welcome.
Well, Accumulators, I hope you have big dreams for 1999. And I hope every
one of them comes true. I wish you all health, wealth and love - and the
time to enjoy them. Happy Hunting!
Best,
Judith
© 1999 Judith Katz-Schwartz. All rights reserved.
Antiques and Collectibles Newsletter #67
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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