August 5, 1999
Greetings Accumulators!
Yes, I know this newsletter is a day early (pretty unusual for me, isn't
it?), but all will become clear to you later.
FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF MAYBE IT'S HER EXFOLIANT
It's Barbie's 40th birthday, and nothing has even begun to sag! Fans
gathered in Philadelphia today to celebrate the forever young doll. A
special 40th Anniversary Commemorative issue, to be sold to attendees at
the National Barbie Convention, was unveiled at the event. She is wearing a
gown inspired by her original bathing suit and has accessories that include
a bouquet of nearly four dozen long-stemmed roses and a teeny tiny little
reporduction of the original 1959 doll and its packaging. And that
horrible, unsupportive Ken, who hasn't popped the question in more than 30
years of dating, was nowhere in sight.
LUCRATIVE MOONLIGHTING DEPARTMENT
As reported here previously, Alastair Duncan, widely considered to be the
world's foremost expert on the works of Louis Comfort Tiffany, was indicted
on charges that he bought stolen Tiffany stained glass windows and resold
them to foreign collectors. His trial has begun in New York City, and
testimony is currently being taken from one Anthony Cassamassima, the man
who admits he sold the windows, taken from New York area cemeteries, to
Duncan. However, Cassamassima, who is testifying against Duncan in an
apparent effort to lighten his own sentence, says he did not steal the
windows, he only "liberated them". He says he did this, as reported in the
New York Daily News, to preserve them and protect them from vandals. Mr. C
also considers himself an artist, having used his daylight hours to make
fake Tiffany lamps and windows, which he then sold to New York City
antiques dealers. Naturally, Mr. Duncan claims he had no idea the windows
he was buying were stolen (one of them was 9 ft. by 5 ft.), and the
antiques dealers say they had no idea the fake Tiffanys weren't real. No
word from Mr. Cassimassima on how the $60,000 he got from Mr. Duncan for
the big window ties in with his altruistic "preservation" efforts.
COLLECTIBLES OF THE FUTURE
A groundbreaking new movie, slated for release in 2001, is sure to spawn
much merchandise, so save your pennies. It's called "Final Fantasy - The
Movie" (I suppose this is so we don't get it confused with, say, a coffee
shop) and will feature the voices of Alec Baldwin, Steve Buscemi, James
Woods and Peri Gilpin. It is being billed as the first computer-generated
animated motion picture with "photo-real" characters. Don't ask me what
this means. The plot of the film involves saving the earth and its people
from the "ultimate enemy". Of course.
REPRODUCTION ALERT
New brass scientific instruments are showing up on the market. What makes
them tough to pick out is that they come trademarked with authentic factory
trademark names and numbers. Some of the names in use are:
Stanley: all tools
Ross: telescopes
Thos J. Evans: compasses
Ross Evans: compasses and telescopes
West: sundials
These items are made in India. To recognize the new items, pay attention
to the tools' construction - not just their trademarks.
So, Accumulators, here's the scoop: Artie and I are leaving tonight for the
country house, so we can pick the lovely Mallory up at camp tomorrow for
her visiting day outing (Mallory doesn't know this, but we're secretly
bringing her Mom with us to surprise her at camp). Then, on Sunday, I'm
off to Virginia for a week, for the premiere of "Treasures In Your Home",
the new PAX Network TV show about collecting. The show, which airs live,
Monday through Friday at 7PM Eastern, will be hosted by John Burke, whom I
know you remember from "Personal FX". Next week's newsletter will be late,
as I won't be back until Saturday, August 14. So, I hope all you
Accumulators will be watching our new show, and cheering us on, and that
you'll be bidding on the items at the show's website. Have a glorious
week, Accumulators. Happy hunting!
Best,
Judith
© 1999 Judith Katz-Schwartz. All rights reserved.
Antiques and Collectibles Newsletter #95
U.S. Library of Congress
ISSN 1520-4464
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