June 18, 1999
Greetings Accumulators!
Let me begin by expressing my heartfelt thanks to the scads of you who
responded to my call for past newsletters so I can archive them on the Twin
Brooks website. I'm overwhelmed by the fact that you all even read them,
much less save them! I'm in the process of organizing a list, and will
contact all who offered their copies, to let you know which ones I need.
Special kudos to Dave Kilinsky, who actually has Newsletter Number One.
What a guy!
FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF GOT MILK?
The Chicago Police haven't been taken entirely by surprise. They sort of
expected it to happen. On Tuesday, a bunch of fiberglass cows (not just
plain old fiberglass cows, such as we all usually see standing around our
local urban enclave, but artistically decorated cows) were installed
outside of buildings all over downtown Chicago. They were the first in an
exhibit expected to last through the summer, and to eventually include some
300 cows. These cows are sporting everything from a pink evening gown to
gumdrops, and one of them is a parody of a Picasso sculpture displayed
elsewhere in Chi-Town. No, I don't get it either. But alas, two of the
cows have been vandalized. One, a cow covered with postage stamps and
named "Stampede", had a horn ripped off its head and another was damaged
when a toy crane was almost torn off its back. Police caught the dirty
rotten cow-ards who did this, however, and they were taken into custody.
Total time elapsed between installation of cows and first act of vandalism?
Fewer than three days. Udderly infuriating!
OBVIOUS CHALLENGE TO THE GRAVEROBBERS DEPARTMENT
The largest stained glass window in the world resides in the Resurrection
Mausoleum in Justice, Illinois. It is made up of 2448 panels and measures
22,381 square feet. It's quite a tourist attraction. No word on any
sightings of wandering fiberglass cows in the vicinity.
NEVERENDING HYPE DEPARTMENT
You will be overjoyed to know that you can now get an Austin Powers limited
edition titanium Visa credit card from First USA Bank.
GREAT NEW SITE
The New York Historical Society has just launched a website. Since so much
of early U.S. history is rooted in the Big Apple, you can get a fascinating
glimpse of America by visiting this site. NYHist.Soc.
INVALUABLE NEW REFERENCE
CollectorOnline now has an online collectors' club directory. Go there to
locate collecting clubs with an online presence. If you belong to a group
of collectors with a website, you can register it here too. Clubs are
listed alphabetically. CollectorOnline
LOOKING FOR AN APPROPRIATE ACCESSORY FOR NEXT SEASON'S PEACOAT?
Here it is: George Washington's epaulettes will be auctioned off by
EHammer. Bidding closes on - of course! - July 4.
SHORTS
The Museum of Automobile History just opened in Syracuse, NY (I don't know
why. Perhaps Detroit is full). Located at 321 Clinton Street, the museum
features everything from the automotive world - except cars. I am not
making this up.
As expected, Butterfield and Butterfield withdrew Malcolm X's
bullet-pierced address book from their sale roster. You may remember what
a furor it started when it was announced that the book would be auctioned,
since it was supposed to be in the evidence room at NYC Police Department
Headquarters. The consignor of the book claimed that the police sold it to
him when cleaning out their files. The NYPD says "No way!".
REPRO ALERT
Yup! More figural matchsafes out there. The latest include a woman on a
chamberpot (eeeeuuuwww!). You can recognize the new version because the
hinge is at the back of the chamberpot instead of the front, and the
chamberpot on the new one has no handle. Also, watch out for a Punch
figure (I've seen this one on eBay). It will be marked Sterling and 925, a
mark almost never used on the old ones, and is crudely made, with an
ill-fitting lid. The marks on these things are faintly stamped, to
simulate wear, but them you look at them closely, there are no scratches,
nothing to indicate that the mark is worn from actual use.
HELPFUL HINT
I've been getting a lot of requests for help with cleaning sterling silver
lately, so here's one of my favorites:
Fill a bowl large enough to hold the object you want to clean, with milk.
Squeeze the juice of a lemon into the milk. Add the object, making sure
it's completely immersed in the milk. Go away. Come back in the morning,
rinse the object. Wipe dry.
Oh dear, Accumulators, I do go on, don't I? Time to end for tonight. I
wish I could say Artie and I are going up to our beloved country place this
weekend, but June is a very social month for us, and we have committments.
So, get out there and hit those garage sales. You won't have any
competition from us!
Some Accumulators have been complaining that I don't give you enough
advance notice when I'm going to be somewhere, so I want you to know that
on Sunday, June 27, I'll be at the Liberty State Park Collectors' Expo in
Jersey City, NJ, doing appraisals. Have a great week, Accumulators. Happy
hunting!
Best,
Judith
© 1999 Judith Katz-Schwartz. All rights reserved.
Antiques and Collectibles Newsletter #88
U.S. Library of Congress
ISSN 1520-4464
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