By Anne Gilbert Among the most sought after pieces of Arts and Crafts design are those either made of various metals or furniture with metal insets. For example, Stickley Brothers often used hardware inlays in pewter and ebony with a rose design. Some of the decorative accessories were of bronze and hammered silver. Many combined more than one metal. Copper, […]

By Anne Gilbert      These days all things with a “MODERN’ look are “hot” and that now includes stainless steel flatware. Nobody wants to spend time polishing silverware in todays busy world. While it seldom makes an auction appearance, prices are modest.    What makes the flatware of this era, as well as the 60s, 70s, is that many of their […]

By Anne Gilbert      The humble ashtray may not be so humble. Prices can range into the hundreds of dollars and more for unusual examples. They may not even look like conventional ashtrays, in unusual shapes and materials Ashtrays can be strictly utilitarian or almost an art form. What interests collectors are those made for the many landmark places of […]

By Anne Gilbert      Prices for 19th and early 20th century examples of Art Glass sell for thousands of dollars when they come to auction. Just because you can’t afford them doesn’t mean you shouldn’t know the many terms and techniques describing them. As “Antiques Road Show” often proves, people who inherit them have no idea of what they have […]

By Anne Gilbert      To the computer generation the typewriter is an all but forgotten object. Not so for its many collectors, mostly over 40 years of age. For them, and me, typewriter history is fascinating, even though names like Sholes and Glidden and Oliver are no longer remembered. Actor Tom Hanks recently appeared on TV displaying his collection of […]