April 23, 1999
Greetings Accumulators!
Get out the old jeans - it looks like it's going to be a great weekend for
rooting around in other people's surplus "stuff".
FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF ALL YOU THOUGHT YOU NEEDED WAS A NEW PAIR OF SNEAKERS
If you have a birthday coming up and someone has told you to pick out your
own present, have I got an idea for you! You want this: a diamond tennis
ball. On May 13, Antiquorum will be auctioning off a tennis ball featuring
2,300 diamonds (a total of 58.8 carats) in 18 karat gold, one of only two
known to exist (somehow I'm certain there aren't many more unknown ones
lurking out there). The other one is owned by tennis pro Steffi Graf
(don't ask me what she does with hers!). The pre-sale estimate for this
bauble is $80,000 to $100,000 (just another example of an auction house
underestimating an item so they'll look fabulous when it sells for much
more). I suppose you could have this baby mounted on a ring or something,
giving truth to the saying that "he gave her a daimond the size of a tennis
ball"! For additional information (really, what more could you possibly
want to know?), call (212)750-1103.
BARBIE BIZ DEPARTMENT
No, I do not collect Barbies. It's not that I don't like them, but one has
to stop somewhere, doesn't one? Anyway, two news tidbits have emerged this
week from the Land of The Plastic Princess. First, Consumer Reports
reports (smirk) that Flip n' Dive Barbie is a very unreliable girl.
Sometimes she flips, sometimes she just doesn't feels like it. The
magazines said that even though the TV commercial shows Barbie diving
perfectly into a swimming pool, when actually played with all she did was
"sort of sit and fall". This would seem to be a replay of 1996, when
Olympic Gymnast Barbie didn't even take the Bronze because she wouldn't
flip either. Has anyone entertained the thought that maybe the girl is
tired? Since most collectors are buying Barbie for what she's wearing, and
not what she can do, this news would seem more disturbing for children than
for us alleged grownups.
Also in the news,the Mattel Company has bought the Barbie Hall of Fame
collection of barbies - the world's largest. The company wouldn't divulge
what they paid Evelyn and Robert Burkhalter for the museum's contents, but
the collection contained an estimated 21,000 dolls and accessories, so you
can imagine it was more than this week's grocery money. "Personal FX, The
Collectibles Show" visited the Burkhalters and their collection and I can
tell you, it was impressive. Mattel does have plans to open a museum, so
you will be seeing Barb again someday soon.
GET OUT THE PURPLE HAIRSPRAY AND NIPPLE RINGS, MA, WE'RE GOING TO THE MUSEUM
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, and New York's Metropolitan
Mueum of Art are joining together to produce an exhibit that will examine
classic rock n' roll musicians and their influence on fashion (are they
serious? No, really. Come onnnn). The exhibit will open at The Met in
New York City in December, 1999 and will remain until March 19th, 2000.
Twenty or so rock artists and their attire will be featured. No word yet on
whether smashed guitars and amplifiers, or fire and smoke machines will be
part of the fun.
Thanks for spending a few moments with me, Accumulators. We'll be spending
the weekend celebrating not only Artie's birthday, but my sister Evelyn's
birthday as well. I will, of course, be sneaking an auction in there on
Saturday morning. Next week: something truly new. Have a great week,
Accumulators. Happy hunting!
Best,
Judith
© 1999 Judith Katz-Schwartz. All rights reserved.
Antiques and Collectibles Newsletter #80
U.S. Library of Congress
ISSN 1520-4464
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