As any serious collector of modern editions can tell you, much of a book’s value is wrapped up, so to speak, in its jacket. I keep thinking of the first edition of Nelson Algren’s first novel, “Somebody in Boots,” published in 1935 – a rare volume that Algren supposedly didn’t even have his own copy of. I saw one in a jacket in New York about 30 years ago; it sported a really cool illustration of a hard-staring Elvis lookalike in leather. The book is so rare in the original jacket, I couldn’t even find an image of it online to steal for this post. My recollection is that it was priced at over $1,000 back in circa 1982. How I wish I had gone into hock for it then; today, it would cost almost as much a lot of 2012-model cars.

The takeaway: If you’re going to buy a book for your own collection, or give one as a gift to a collector, it’s best to invest in a copy with the best jacket you can get. (CAVEAT EMPTOR: With the new printing technologies, some people actually COUNTERFEIT dust jackets nowadays; on a recent episode of “Antiques Roadshow,” an appraiser even identified a bogus jacket on a book on an otherwise authentic first edition, and I’ve noticed a few eBay sellers listing books in “facsimile” jackets. So be careful who you buy from if the jacket is very rare!)

Back to Babylon Revisited: This is a dealer that specializes in books in their original jackets, and they’ve just issued their newest catalog, number 81: “mostly Jazz Age and Depression Era fiction … primarily vintage novels published before 1940, including Mysteries, Fantasy Fiction, Romances, Photoplay Editions, Westerns, Hollywood Novels, Adventure titles, Nautical Fiction, etc.,” according to owner Mike Manz. Most of these feature exceptional period artwork. I have purchased a number of books from Mike, and I’ve always been delighted with their condition. Be sure to get on their e-mail mailing list: It’s a feast for the eyes, especially if you love art deco and 1940s noir imagery.

Visit: www.yesterdaysgallery.com

All images courtesy of Babylon Revisited

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• Steve Lott boxing collection (Lott was Mike Tyson’s assistant manager, and we’re told the collection features some amazing Mike Tyson material!)
• high-grade T206 card collection valued at over $250,000
• fresh collection of 19th-century Baltimore Orioles game programs
• high-grade Topps baseball sets from the 1950s and ’60s
• Josh Gibson 1950–51 Toleteros rookie baseball card
• Dwight D. Eisenhower’s personal presidential golf clubs
• cricket bat signed by Winston Churchill, Dwight Eisenhower and World War II Allied Forces personalities with provenance
• “The Colossus” 19th-century folk art hand-carved boxing figure nearly seven feet tall
• Sal Larocca Brooklyn Dodgers collection (Part IV).

Again, the deadline is this Friday, so if you want to be a part of this important auction, e-mail photos and item descriptions to consignments @ lelands (dot) com or call (631) 244-0077 (Bohemia, N.Y.) and talk to a Lelands.com expert.
Visit www.lelands.com.

If you’re just coming out of hibernation – and especially if you suffer from seasonal affective disorder (as I do) – there’s no better place to improve your mood and just have a great time than going to America’s Largest Antiques & Collectibles Shows, organized by Palmer/Wirfs & Associates of Portland, Ore. The next show is at the Portland Expo Center on Sat. and Sun., March 3 and 4, and will have 1,000-plus booths.

I’ve started asking exhibitors what they’ll be bringing to the March show, and the first replies just came in …

Greg Davidson of Greg Davidson Antique Lighting – formerly of L.A. and now located on Bainbridge Island, Wash. – has been specializing in old and beautiful lamps, chandeliers, shades and other lighting fixtures and accouterments for more than 25 years. Greg told me he’s mostly packed up his collection for the show, but he mentioned that he’ll be bringing a really cute circa 1915 piano lamp marked “Germany” and showing two boys stalking a mouse (priced at $575), and an American-made eight-arm gas/electric brass chandelier, circa 1900 and now wired (price not noted).

Dick Carter of Dick Carter and Associates specializes in logging tools and outdoor sporting collectibles. While I’m anything but handy around the house, I’m interested in the collectability of tools – they sometimes come up on “Antiques Roadshow” – and especially logging tools here in the Northwest, so I asked Dick about it. He replied, “I have been interested in them for only a few years myself now … They, like most collectibles, are pretty difficult to find in any condition, let alone in great condition. I will have mainly some older axes and a couple of spring boards that I’ve gathered and now it’s time to pass them on.”

You may recall a Louis Vuitton travel trunk from the 1920s that was appraised on a recent “Antiques Roadshow.” Well, Portland exhibitor Paul Norton is one of the premier antique trunk restorers in the U.S., and owns Hartco Travel Trunks of Plymouth, Conn. Paul has a stock of pre-1890 trunks, strongboxes, tool chests and immigrants’ chests. The best way to describe his profession is as a traveling itinerant merchant.

Paul also does a bit of tinkering and repairing of trunks at shows. With many friends spread over the countryside, there are always opportunities to set-up in front of busy shop locations. “Conversation often turns to the history and evolution of trunks.” He told me. “There’s usually hammering and stripping of trunks going on, with the crowd amazed at the overall activity of the place.”

Among Paul’s offerings: hide trunks from circa 1800 to 1830; carriage trunks from the 1850s or thereabouts; dome tops from the 1860s to the 1880s; and flats. He also has some especially rare and interesting pieces, such as a harp trunk from about 1890, for transporting the instrument between performances; and an original 1830s wall trunk from north-shore Boston that is covered with sailcloth and was used for transporting tea.

For more information, visit:

Greg Davidson Antique Lighting: www.antiquelighting.biz
America’s Largest Antique & Collectibles Shows: www.palmerwirfs.com

All images courtesy of Greg Davidson Antique Lighting
America’s Largest Antique & Collectibles Shows is a sponsor of AmeriCollector

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All images courtesy of Railroad Memories

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Shows like “Storage Wars” and “American Pickers” have sparked people’s interest in finding great bargains on antiques and collectibles. The idea of digging up old objects appeals to different people for different reasons. Of course, the history associated with these items is charming. And in some cases, the items can bring in huge paydays. For one woman, the antique jade china she found in her father’s attic turned out to be worth more than $1 million. So whether you’re looking at Brooklyn storage or across the country at Seattle storage, antiques can be found for incredibly cheap at storage auctions. Here are a few tips that each prospective collector should know before plunging into the world of storage auctions:

Wear casual clothes to the auction. If you roll up in a limousine and in a suit and tie, you’ll be projecting one thing: You have money. That is exactly the opposite of what you want everyone at the auction to think. I’m not saying you need to show up in sweats that have food stains on them, but try not to look like a hotshot. If you decide to overdress, you may come across people who bid on an item just to raise the price – and get a rise out of you.

Bring cash. A lot of storage auctions take only cash and there would be nothing worse than closing the deal on a unit only to discover that they don’t take credit or debit cards. You may wish to call in advance to figure out exactly what that vendor’s policies are regarding cash versus credit.

Bring locks. Once you win the auction on a certain unit, you’ll be expected to remove the contents within a specified period of time. If you can’t get everything in one trip, you’ll want to be able to lock up everything until you can come back. You’ll really want to have locks if you happen to buy something as valuable as what Jinx Taylor found in 2009.

Storage auctions can be hit-or-miss but if you decide to throw your hat in the ring, be sure you come prepared. Know that company’s policies and make sure you’re projecting the right image at the auction. Finally, make sure you have fun!

Lisa Moore blogs about collectibles and storage.

Image courtesy of Lisa Moore, Blog Content Guild

Yard sale speculators, eBay entrepreneurs, garage sale gamblers – you read it here first: There’s a new show just for you! It’s called “Real Deal,” and it premieres on Sun., Nov. 27, at 9 p.m. Eastern Time on the History Channel (or, as they call themselves, HISTORY; can they actually trademark that?), with a bonus episode on Mon., Nov. 28, at 11 p.m. ET (after brand-new episodes of “American Pickers” and “Pawn Stars“).

Now, there are a lot of collector’s shows on cable now – “Pawn Stars,” “American Pickers,” “American Restoration,” “Storage Wars,” “Oddities” – and I’m a big fan of all of them: I must be, since I’ve seen every episode of all of them at least once. But there’s still a niche to fill: Few of us own pawnshops – or any shops at all; few of us tool around America’s back roads for a living, rifling through old barns and warehouses for days on end; few of us have the time, knowhow or money to restore old, rusty motorcycles or gas pumps or arcade games to their original condition, then sell them for a profit.

In fact, not that many of us make our bread and butter by buying and selling collectibles … but when we can, many of us DO buy and sell collectibles for extra cash – on eBay or Craigslist; at flea market or antique mall booths; or by consignment to auction houses. And this is ESPECIALLY true in this slack economy, when disposable income is meager, and a little wheeling and dealing can really help pay the bills.

“Real Deal” follows four collectibles dealers as they negotiate with sellers for flippable items, which requires not only nerves of steel but in-depth knowledge of the collectibles themselves and the current demand for them. In each case, the seller can accept the dealer’s offer, haggle or auction the item off.

For example, how much would you offer for a ’56 Lincoln Mark II that looks like it just rolled out of the factory? “Gary,” the seller, knows he’s got a hot item that could fetch to the tune of $70,000. Our “Real Deal” regular offers $30,000. Gary declines and the car goes to auction, where it realizes $45,000. Gary considers himself a winner, having shrewdly turned down the 30 grand.

(Of course, ordinarily a consignor would have to transport the item to the auction location at his own expense, wait for the auction to take place, hope the bidders are biting that day, deduct from the hammer price a 15 to 20 percent consignor’s premium for the auction house, deduct a listing charge if a catalog was issued, then wait six weeks for a check to come in the mail. And the item could go unsold for lack of interest or because it did not reach the reserve price, or it could sell for a lot less than the consignor expected. I’m just saying: Auctions are not only a crapshoot, there are various charges involved.)

“Whether it’s a collection of footballs signed by NFL legends or an autograph by Harry Houdini, a World War II German Storm Trooper dagger or a 19th-century spittoon, everything that comes into the auction reveals something about an earlier time and the way people lived in the past,” reads the “Real Deal” press release. “But an article that’s rich with history doesn’t necessarily make its owner rich. One seller thinks he can get $580 for a 1904 home electrotherapy machine. The dealer offers $240. No deal, decides the seller, and heads to the auction house, where he gets only $225 for it.”

And you thought “Let’s Make a Deal” was high suspense!

Seriously, if you fancy yourself a junkyard Indiana Jones, as I do, “Real Deal” comes closer to real life than other the collector’s TV series: It’s like “The Art of the Deal” meets “Antiques Roadshow” (or even “High Stakes Poker” with the Keno brothers).

But tension, conflict and plot twists are not enough: All good programming needs charismatic characters, and “Real Deal” would seem to have them. These include champion auctioneer Bryan Knox of Birmingham, Ala., and the four competing dealers: two pawnbrokers, Glen Parshall (of Bargain Pawn in Las Vegas) and Chip Plemmons (of Carolina Pawn and Gun in Canton, N.C.); antiques dealer Jason McCoon, owner of Tory Hill Auction Company in Raleigh, N.C.); and Troy Howerton (aka “The Redneck Picker”) of San Diego, an enterprising Everyman who works out of his own home but has truck/will travel to make a gainful transaction.

Troy is, in fact, a fellow many of us can immediately relate to – one who has taken some hard knocks but keeps getting up. “I’m just a regular guy who lost his job due to the economy,” he told me. “While I have always had the picker mentality, I knew I was out there on my own. It was time to pave my own way again. My true passion as a young man was to be a coach. However, that opportunity did not come to fruition.

“I have a background heavy in sales and management,” he explained. “I was also a small business owner. I have failed my way to success in today’s crappy economy. I made a conscious decision that if I made this business work for myself, I would help others in the same situation. I have helped countless people learn how to make extra money and have a better life. I wake up every day with a good attitude and am grateful for a roof over my head! I always am thinking that someone else has it worse than me. Self-motivation and a strong sense of urgency are what keep me going. I have a family to support and bills to pay like everyone else. I am making the switch from full time picker to author and teacher in the reselling business.”

Honestly, can anyone NOT like a dude with an attitude like this? He’s even written a book that will be released right after “Real Deal” hits the airwaves.

I couldn’t help asking Troy some specific questions about himself and picking as a livelihood. Here’s what he told me …

AmeriCollector: How did you get interested in picking, and how long have you been doing it?

Troy: I first got interested in this business when I was 15. I used to go with my grandfather to auctions. I first took collectible picking seriously in 2001. I lived in the Midwest and collectibles were easy to find. Here in California, they are hard to come by!

AC: What are your favorite “picking grounds”?

Troy: I really like the swap meets and auctions. Although I have found great collectible items at yard sales too! I have a great network of fellow collectors. My phone rings every day from someone who wants to buy sell or trade.

AC: Do you specialize in anything when you pick? Are there any kinds of collectibles that you stay away from, and if so, why? (For example, Rick Harrison on “Pawn Stars” won’t trade in Nazi memorabilia, and Dave Hester on “Storage Wars” won’t sell weapons in his store.)

Troy: I really don’t specialize in anything particular. It’s about two things: profit and finding a home for your find. You have to keep in mind, I’m not picking for ME, I’m picking for somebody else. About the only thing I stay away from is art: It has a smaller niche market, and it’s something that does not really interest me. Now trench art or “steampunk” – different story!

AC: Do you collect anything yourself?

Troy: Not as much as I used to. At one time I had a very large pedal car collection. That bug bit me real bad in the early 2000s. I had over 30 cars at one time. I also had one of the largest Zippo lighter collections in my area. They were both very expensive habits! Now I stick to old license plates, porcelain signs, college football memorabilia and old tin toys.

AC: Do you find it hard to sell some great items that you pick?

Troy: Very rarely. I think I have a good enough eye to sell most everything I find whenever I put forth the effort. I always keep in mind my profit level. Sometimes you may have to wait a little while to find the right buyer. It also is economy of scale: Some folks would buy it in a heartbeat is it were less expensive!

AC: Do you ever restore anything that you pick before selling it?

Troy: Sometimes. I usually will sell things as they are. I leave the restoration process to the professionals like Rick Dale of “American Restoration.”

AC: What are some of the really great picks that you’ve made, both in terms of the rarity of the items and the money you made?

Troy: Several come to mind. Probably my favorite, most fun and one of the most profitable was a box of vintage toys, Major Matt Mason action figures from the 1960s. I bought the whole box for $15. It had an old Zeroid robot toy in there as well. I pulled in over $1,500 for the whole lot.

Another would probably be the old Gamewell telegraph register. I picked it out at an auction and bought it on a hunch: paid five bucks and sold it for $200! Funny, as the same week I bought this, there was an episode of “American Pickers” and Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz found a similar one. Probably the one and only time I knew about something that they didn’t!

AC: What do you consider a reasonable profit margin that you hope to get when you make an offer on an item?

Troy: I think a reasonable profit margin is at least 300 percent, or tripling your money. That is fine for most people, but I like the sweet spot of making five to 10 times my money. Those items are out there, you just have to know what to look for. That comes with a continuing education!

AC: How do you usually sell what you find?

Troy: AS FAST AS I CAN! (Laughs.) I sell about 25 percent online, 25 percent at auctions – such as Don Presley Auctions in Orange, Calif. – or at swap meets and 50 percent within my picker network.

AC: I think a lot of folks fantasize about becoming pickers. Is it a tough way to make a living?

Troy: This is NOT an easy business! You have to be self-motivated and have your working capital invested at all times. You must always be educating yourself as well.

I don’t know what jobs out there that can provide the flexibility and freedom that this industry can, but if you are not self-motivated, you are sure to fail – not just at this business but at anything you do in life. Also, I don’t know where you can invest your money by making a disciplined buying decision and get the returns on your money like you can in this business. When I am working this business to its fullest capacity, there are days I will make $20 to $100 per hour – but there are other days you don’t make a dime!

AC: Do you think TV shows like “Real Deal” and “American Pickers” will raise the public’s awareness of picking?

Troy: Absolutely! It’s not only profitable, but it’s FUN! You meet some great people along the way too!

AC: How did you get a book deal? And what’s the book about: Is it strictly a bio or a how-to? And when will it be available?

Troy: I had the idea to write a book about nine months ago. I actually wrote the first draft and didn’t like it. I shredded it and started over!

I figured it would be a great medium for folks who wanted to learn how to get into this business and earn some extra money. My main goal was just to help others who needed to earn some extra money working from home. The book is part self-realization, motivation, tips and tricks, but most importantly how to find the stuff, use problem-solving techniques with the power of cash, negotiate and make disciplined buying decisions with a twist of my scientific techniques.

The book will be available on my website on Sat., Nov. 26, the day after the premiere of “Real Deal” on the History Channel.

AC: Speaking of which: How did you get on “Real Deal”?

Troy: I started a YouTube channel in October 2010. I was contacted by Mike Toole from Mike Toole Casting via my Facebook page. I thought it was a JOKE. I was just sharing my finds and giving some advice, and all of the sudden I was inundated by production companies! I was very flattered and excited to be “picked” out of a lot of other people they were looking at. I went to the offices of Zodiak Media Group and auditioned. I actually had to try out two more times after that.

I was chosen to be on the show with auctioneer Bryan Knox three other fine gentlemen: Chip Plemmons, Glen Parshall and Jason McCoon.

AC: Did you know the other cast members before going on the show? How do you get along? Are there rivalries, as between Dave Hester and Darrell Sheets on “Storage Wars” – or do you all work independently?

Troy: No, I did not. We all get along fabulously. We are just a bunch of regular guys that buy and sell for a living. We all come from different geographical areas and are all different in a lot of ways, but we are all cut from the same cloth!

No rivalries, but I think we all try equally as hard to make each other laugh as much as possible. We all work independently of each other. The other guys are in the pawn or auction business.

AC: How does “Real Deal” differ from, say, “Storage Wars”? Do you pick only collectibles, or do you also go after usable goods that you can make a profit on?

Troy: When you compare the shows they are very SIMILAR for a few reasons: (1) You have very little time to make a wise decision on what you see. (2) You have no time to research! (3) You better be damn sure you know what the value is before you make an offer and, more importantly, what costs are associated with HOW you are going to sell it! A lot of variables in a very short period of time! Sometimes you have to “play” the seller and not the item. Kinda like poker!

There is a GIGANTIC difference when you are picking. Let’s take a storage unit auction, for instance. You can only bid on what you see and have to take it all no matter what the price. When you are picking, you can make a more disciplined buying decision because you have a couple of great advantages: opportunity for research, TIME and the opportunity to use your problem-solving skills.

Finding a good “true” pick (like you would see on “American Pickers”) is not that easy. Finding a good pick can take days or weeks! It takes time to build a network of people to get that “pick referral.” Yes, you can wander aimlessly up and down country roads, but that is time-consuming and often you wind up coming home empty-handed with a big fuel bill! Finding storage units are really simple these days. I just go to StorageTreasures.com and can find one in my area in minutes!

Don’t forget that part of being a modern-day picker is NOT all about collectibles. Think about everyday commodities! With the tight economy we live in today, everyone wants to save some money. A truly good picker can buy and resell things like appliances, furniture, electronics, exercise equipment and more! I talk in great depth in my upcoming book about how to find and resell industrial items like restaurant equipment and other commercial products. So you don’t have to be an expert in antiques to be considered a picker!

AC: Why do you think reality shows like “Pawn Stars,” “American Pickers” and, we hope, “Real Deal” are so popular?

Troy: My humble opinion is this: It’s all about the “deal”: Was it good or bad? I think the fans like to “play along” at home … They ask: What is it really worth? Did the seller take less than he or she wanted? Was it a good decision? It’s the tension of the negotiation! Or: That guy only offered him that much? Cheap bastard!

AC: Are there any especially dramatic incidents that we should watch for on the 10 pilot episodes?

Troy: Oh, there are plenty! You will just have to tune in to “Real Deal” on the History Channel, airing Sun., Nov. 27, at 9 p.m. ET (with a bonus episode on Mon., Nov. 28, at 11 p.m. ET), after the new episodes of “American Pickers” and “Pawn Stars.”

Keep visiting AmeriCollector for more about Troy Howerton and “Real Deal.” Learn more about the show on the History Channel Web site: www.history.com/shows.

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Images courtesy History

Commercial for Real Deal

Other links:

Troy Howerton
theredneckpicker.com
facebook.com/redneckpicker

Chip Plemmons
carolinapawnandgun.com

Jason McCoon
toryhillauctions.com

Glen Parshall
pawnplace.com

Bryan Knox
bckauctions.com

Don Presley Auctions
donpresleyauctions.com

Storage Treasures
storagetreasures.com

What we nowadays most often call the American Civil War went by other names 150 years ago, depending on who you were and where you were from: In the North it was called the War of the Rebellion or the War for the Union; in the South, it was the War of the Rebellion, the War of Secession or the War of Northern Aggression, and the War Between the States after the fighting ended; among Southern slaves, it was the Freedom War.

These names reflect different perspectives on the causes of the war: the clash over slavery – complete abolition, restriction to the Southern states or expansion in the West; the right of states to secede from the Union; the economic domination of the agrarian South by the industrialized North … What’s not in dispute is that the Civil War was America’s costliest military conflict in terms of human devastation – some 620,000 soldiers killed, many more wounded or maimed, and God knows how many civilian deaths from combat, disease and starvation. The echoes of that bitter struggle, though a century and a half in the past, still resound in our national psyche and continue to affect us in ways large and small. Without doubt, it always will.

Small wonder, then, that many, many people are deeply interested in the Civil War. If you are from the South, where most of the fighting took place and historical monuments are everywhere – or if you have an ancestor who fought – then discussion of the war was probably a part of your upbringing. Civil War battlefields are visited by millions each year, and dedicated reenactors not only portray military events for crowds of spectators but try to duplicate the physical realities of the era in minute detail – for example, by wearing only authentic period clothing and accoutrements.

Then, of course, there are the collectors: of weapons and uniforms; flags, medals, musical instruments and equipment; coins, stamps, bonds and currency; newspapers, maps and letters; diaries and documents; photographs and autographs … Whatever physical artifact of the Civil War you can think of, someone collects it – passionately.

Brian & Maria Green, Inc., of Kernersville, N.C., is a premier dealer in Civil War autographs and paper memorabilia; I’m a customer of theirs myself, so I can heartily recommend them. Brian’s breadth of knowledge of the war never fails to impress me; what’s more, he’s highly regarded in his field, knows a lot of people and attends a lot of shows, so if he doesn’t have what you’re looking for now, he’s bound to find it sooner or later. (My advice: Send him your want list.)

I asked Brian about collecting Civil War autographs and other material. Here’s what he told me …

AmeriCollector: How many Civil War–related autographs do you have in stock? Do you include antebellum and Reconstruction autographs in this category?

Brian Green: Over 1,000, including both prewar (antebellum) and postwar (Reconstruction) personages, North and South, who were in the war. We also include the Indian Wars era, as many Civil War personages were participants.

AC: Do many collectors specialize in the Civil War?

Brian: It is the most collectible era in the United States, especially as it is now the 150th anniversary of the war and there will be five years of events. We have quite a few customer, with a large catalog following – we do four a year – plus many collectors who attend the various Civil War shows around the U.S.; most are east of the Mississippi (we exhibit at eight to ten a year). Our catalogs have our show schedules in them.

AC: What subjects do your customers collect (e.g., specific signers; material related to specific units, battles, military campaigns, states; etc.)?

Brian: They collect many ways, such as generals, government and civilian officials (from the president on down), states, specific units (including ones ancestors served in), battles, military campaigns, etc., in letter, cover (envelope) and document form. They also collect Confederate States of America (CSA) and U.S.A. currency, bonds and stamps, including postally used (on and off a cover). We have a mail exhibit featuring famous CSA generals that has been on display at philatelic shows throughout the U.S. and won many awards, including gold medals and one “champion of the most popular exhibits” competition in 2011.

AC: What are the rarer autographs that you have now and have handled in the past? Do you work with institutions as well?

Brian: We have had most of the rare autographs of the KIA (killed in action), MWIA (mortally wounded in action) and DOD (died of disease) generals of both sides; a signed President Lincoln document suspending the writ of habeas corpus in Maryland, which was General Winfield Scott’s personal copy; the terms of a POW exchange in Missouri between General Sterling Price (CSA) and General John C. Frémont (U.S.A.); CSA general Jubal Early’s written proclamation read on the steps of the courthouse of York, Penn., to its citizens as to why the Confederates were in Pennsylvania and that they would not harm the citizens, unlike the treatment of Confederate citizens by the Yankees; “Stonewall” Jackson’s battle report for Second Manassas (August 1862); etc.

We do work with institutions and have a number of them as clients.

AC: What makes an autograph important?

Brian: Such things as who the personage was, what he or she did and where (e.g., major battles), whether KIA, MWIA, POW, etc. Also, how many are known to exist, especially when there are less than 10 recorded.

AC: Are ordinary soldiers’ letters much collected? What kind of content do collectors of these letters look for? What is the price range?

Brian: Yes, there are many people interested in soldiers’ letters, and many are affordable and within reach of the vast majority of collectors. Many sell for under $100. Content, especially battle descriptions, dictate the price, as well as whether a letter is from a famous unit, such as the Iron Brigade of Michigan and Wisconsin, the 69th New York, the Stonewall Brigade of Virginia and the 26th North Carolina. Collectors look for descriptions of locations, camp life, campaigns, battle action, etc. These letters can range from under $50 to thousands, depending on whether they contain accounts of major battles like Shiloh, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, Franklin, etc.

AC: I have seen a lot of illustrated covers (Civil War–era envelopes) on eBay. Are they much collected?

Brian: Illustrated or patriotic covers are very much collected. They depict leaders, flags, portraits (generals and civilians), slogans, cartoons, battle scenes, ships, etc., as well as expressions of patriotism, scorn, hatred, etc. Southern (CSA) covers are much scarcer due to the lack of manufacturing processes, paper, inks, climate, the ravages of war as well as insects and rodents.

Probably more than 100 Union patriotic (covers) exist for each CSA cover, and the ratio could well be higher. For many of the CSA patriotic, only one or two are known or recorded. There are two major catalogs devoted to these patriotics: for CSA covers, “The New Dietz Confederate States Catalog and Handbook” by Hubert C. Skinner, Erin R. Gunter and Warren H. Sanders; and for USA (Union) covers, “The George Walcott Collection of Used Civil War Covers” by Robert Laurence.

AC: What other kinds of Civil War material do you sell?

Brian: We also sell CSA currency, both government and state. The states issued currency, as there was not enough government money to supply the demand, plus transportation problems as the Federals occupied Confederate territory.

In addition, we sell CSA stamps and postal history (stamps on postally used covers and envelopes). Covers include civilian, military and government. They are collected by type of stamp (14 major government issues, not including the temporary postmasters’ provisionals until the government stamps appeared in 1861), cities, states, military, homemade (including those made from wallpaper), etc. We also carry photographs (cartes de visite, or CDVs) and engravings of some of the war personages. They are often used by collectors for framing with autographs.

We also have “first day of issue” covers (first day covers, or FDCs) for stamps issued by the U.S. government pertaining to the war, beginning in 1937 (such as the Army-Navy series and the final reunion of the Grand Army of the Republic, or GAR) and continuing through 1951 (the United Confederate Veterans final reunion) and later. They usually range between $3.50 and $10.

We can be contacted by mail, phone and online (though our Web site). We advertise in all the Civil War magazines and papers. We offer an authentication service for our material as well as client material (there is a fee for this). Many dealers and auction houses use this service.

An autograph or other item from the Civil War era makes a great gift for a collector and can inspire a young person to learn more about American history.

Visit Brian & Maria Green at www.bmgcivilwar.com.

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All images courtesy of Brian & Maria Green. All of the items pictured are available for sale at this writing.

Fair disclosure: Brian & Maria Green is an advertiser on AmeriCollector.com.

If you missed the big Palmer/Wirfs show in Portland this past weekend, you have another chance to see what upwards of 150 of the Northwest’s premier antique and collectibles dealers have for sale – and right before the holiday gift-giving season, if you’ve got a collector or decorator on your shopping list.

As usual, I asked around to find out what some of the vendors specialize in and what they’ll be bringing to the show. Here are their responses:

Marshia Armstrong of Mastoyshop (aka The Toy Lady) has been exhibiting toys in shows for over 20 years and has been selling online for over 11 years. “My prices are very reasonable and vary from two for $1 to $5 each for plastic figures, depending on the subject matter,” she says.

Marshia will be bringing many TV and movie figures to the Puyallup show: Disney and Warner Bros. characters, Cabbage Patch Kids, Madame Alexander dolls, California Raisins, Smurfs, Breyer horses, Hallmark miniatures and ornaments, Boyds bears and Bearington bears and more – “Really, too many to name them all here,” she adds.

Sizes vary from half-inch items for dollhouse lovers to 20-inch plush items. “Nearly all of my items are pre-owned and recycled, making me a very green person,” Marshia points out. “Most plush have been washed and stored in airtight bags. Discounts are offered on multiple purchases over $20 total, and I’m always more than fair especially with the kids that come to buy for their collections.

“This year I am going back to my old style of plastic containers for the figurines, so they are all sorted out ahead of time. There will be a couple of digging bins, as some of my customers love them.”

Bruce and Barbara Blakeman of Blakeman Antiques are also veteran antiquer-dealers who have been in the business since 1986. “We began our ‘career’ in antiques and collectables when I retired from the Navy in 1985,” Bruce explains. “We did shows up and down the East Coast at the rate of 26 per year on average. We also purchased a pair of turn-of-the-century cottages in the heart of the Pensacola, Fla., historic district and turned them into an antique mall. They were perfect for the industry and were a joy to operate. We moved back to the Pacific Northwest in 1998 and are continuing our business in antiques.

“We specialize in primitives and country because they are our first antique love,” Bruce says. “However, we have an appreciation of all of the works of artisans from the mid- and early 20th century and late 1800s. Unfortunately, a lot of the talent and art that went into many of the wonderful items from this era have been lost in our industrial and automated society.

“Some of the items we’ll be bringing to the Palmer/Wirfs show include a mid-1800s tall wooden butter churn with a beautiful dark patina, and an early (late 1930s) Walt Disney Enterprises11-inch-wide spin top with beautiful lithographs of the original Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf. We’ll also be bringing a surviving whiskey barrel from 1937 with tap and plug still intact, a variety of crocks and stoneware (the heart of home canning/food and drink preparation and preservation) and a variety of hand tools used by the previously mentioned artisans. Since most of the attending audience of the Palmer/Wirfs show have extremely eclectic tastes, we will be bringing a surviving whiskey barrel from 1937 with tap and plug still intact, a variety of crocks and stoneware (the heart of home canning/food and drink preparation and preservation) and a variety of hand tools used by the previously mentioned artisans. Since most of the attending audience of the Palmer/Wirfs show have extremely eclectic tastes, we will be bringing a varied mixture to this show, including a gorgeous hanging mirror shelf from the Victorian era with ornately carved panels and finely detailed support stanchions and flourishes. This is a small sampling of the things we’ll present at the show and we are looking forward to sharing our enthusiasm and our merchandise.”

Wayne Anderson of Anderson Enterprises specializes in primitive art. “I will be bringing Indian baskets, stone artifacts, pre-Columbian artifacts, ethnic textiles and an Eskimo ivory pipe from the 19th century that is a museum-quality item valued at $7,500,” Wayne tells me. “I also will bring a wide variety of estate items, including vintage sports stuff like wood shafted golf clubs, framed art (both original oils and prints), a Nazi helmet, an ornate piano stool, some jewelry, pottery and a collection of rare books and vintage comics. We will also be buying Indian items and related material with free verbal appraisals.”

Paula and Gary Barnebey of Hall Mania, who just exhibited at the Palmer/Wirfs Portland Expo Show, will be at the Puyallup show as well. They are authorities on the Hall China Company of East Liverpool, Ohio, and will be bringing a wide range of ceramics, including dinnerware in a variety of patterns, as well as lamps and restaurant ware. Their prices range from $2 to $450.

If you love vintage advertising – as I do – you’ll want to meet Kerri De’Noble of The House of Kerri. She and sister Chriss have been selling at Palmer/Wirfs’ Puyallup show since 2002.

“I started out selling primarily tin advertising memorabilia,” Kerri recalls. “In 2004 I started branching out into embellishing vintage furs, advertisement memorabilia, antiques and collectables. I still sell advertising memorabilia but more general advertisement pieces as well as other items that would appeal to buyers.

“At this November Palmer/Wirfs Show, I will be bringing a 1950s Mr. Peanut costume, priced at $10,000: I had a picture taken with (antiques expert, appraiser and author) Harry Rinker when the shows were at the Tacoma Dome,” Kerri says. She’ll also have a 1949 Nalley Valley tin popcorn pail for $75 and an array of embellished vintage furs ranging price from $75 to $1,500.”

Also specializing in vintage advertising is exhibitor Donald Fairbanks, who told me: “I will have a 10-by-20-foot booth at Puyallup full of advertising, country store items, bottles, etc. Most of my items are from the 1930s though the 1950s. I will have lots of spice tins (100 or more), applied color label (ACL) soda bottles (about 80) and coffee tins. Many – as many as I can find – are from Washington state. Among them, Donald says, are an uncut metal sheet of 12 Mello Cup (Seattle) coffee tins ($100); three Gold Shield (Seattle) coffee tins ($35 to $40); an ACL Dennis soda bottle marked ‘Longview, South Bend and Raymond’ ($30); a rare blue Camerano (Tacoma) seltzer bottle ($175); a white ACL Eagle (Seattle) seltzer bottle ($70); and two more coffee cans, an Empress and a Reliance (both Seattle; $25 to $30) and a Gold Shield sample cup ($5). “These are some of my better items but I will also have lesser items for $1 to $20, including a fairly large box of $2 spice tins,” Donald notes.

Lighting and glass collectors will want to pay a visit to Tony and Debbie Davies of D&D Enterprises. “We specialize in what are called panel lamps: that is, the shades are made up of glass panels in metal frames,” says Tony. “These lamps were made mainly from the late 1800s to approximately 1930. We sell mainly table lamps and an occasional floor lamp or ceiling fixture. We also sell reverse painted lamps, leaded glass lamp, and smaller lamps for desk or mantel. Some of our more noteworthy manufacturers are Bradley & Hubbard, Miller, Pittsburgh, Rainaud, Handel, Duffner & Kimberly, Wilkinson, Whaley and an occasional Tiffany.”

Chris Palmer, president of Palmer/Wirfs, organizer of America’s Largest Antiques & Collectibles Shows, says, “As always, the show offers evaluations and identifications by our crack team of qualified experts for $5 per object. We utilize five people, all members of the International Society of Appraisers (ISA), many of whom have worked on the ‘Antiques Roadshow.’ We provide a verbal market evaluation, the price you would receive if you were to offer the item in a retail setting. In other words, a realistic value.”

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Links for more information and venue directions:

• Palmer/Wirfs & Associates: www.palmerwirfs.com
• Puyallup Fair & Events Center: www.thefair.com
• International Society of Appraisers: www.isa-appraisers.org

Fair disclosure: Palmer/Wirfs & Associates is an advertiser on AmeriCollector.com.

Just in case you’re still debating whether to rake leaves or go shopping this weekend, here is an additional sampling of what visitors to America’s Largest Antique & Collectibles Show in Portland, Ore., can look forward to:

Walt and Jody Bammann of Woodberry Lane Antiques are experts in ceramics made by the Bauer Pottery Company, in operation in Los Angeles from 1910 to 1963. “They are best known for their colorful kitchenware line from the thirties and forties called Ringware, and for the popular hand-thrown pieces by Matt Carlton and Fred Johnson, also of that era,” Walt said.

Jody began collecting Bauer pottery in the early 1990s and Walt got involved a few years later. By 2001 their collection had grown to the point that they could sell duplicate items. “Bauer produced many lines of pottery over the years as customers’ tastes changed,” Walt observed. “We always have the largest display of Bauer at shows and typically have items from Bauer’s earliest years up until their closure. Prices for Bauer items range from $10 to over $1000 depending on scarcity, condition and popularity.

The Bammanns will be bringing several very unique Bauer items to the Portland Expo, including four hand-thrown vases attributed to Matt Carlton, ranging in price from $150 to $1,000, and a rare water bottle with lid from the Ringware line for $650. They’ll also have an assortment of other antiques, from Taylor Tilery bird panels to Bakelite jewelry.

Robert King and Peggy Phillips of Rainy Day Treasures specialize in “smalls,” with a few Halloween items thrown in. They’ll also have a rack of clothes including some by Pendleton Woolen Mills.

Marci Carvalho of Character Collectibles has been selling antiques and collectibles for over 30 and specializes in toys, dolls and bears, but she’ll also have antique holiday items, including Christmas, Easter, Halloween and the Fourth of July pieces. “I love children’s items and rabbits and cats, so I usually have a pretty strong collection of all of the above-mentioned,” Marci told me.
Of special note, she said, are some wonderful mannequins for children’s clothing, lots of Disney items and lots of African-American memorabilia.

“I also have a wonderful RCA Victor lamp and dog. All my items are OLD,” Marci pointed out. “I do not deal in reproductions and my condition is as good and as original as I can find. I really love this business, and my booth will represent my passion for it. Hope this answers your question, please feel free to ask more and I will try to help out.”

Paula and Gary Barnebey of Hall Mania have been collecting products made by the Hall China Company of East Liverpool, Ohio, for about 15 years, have almost all of the shapes and sizes of tea- and coffeepots made by the Hall China in their personal collection. “Hall China made more tea- and coffeepots shapes and decorations than any other American china company,” the Barnebeys told me. They are the authors of the collector’s reference book “Hall China Tea and Coffee Pots: The First 100 Years” (Schiffer, available on Amazon) and a self-published book on Hall decanters and lamps.

Gary and Paula exhibit at both the Portland and the Puyallup show. They will be offering a wide range of Hall China products, including a 1939 maroon automobile teapot, coffeepots, decanters, lamps, refrigerator ware, and restaurant ware pieces. They will have various pieces in dinnerware patterns including Autumn Leaf, Red Poppy, Orange Poppy, Silhouette, Crocus and Wildfire. Because of the wide variety of items, prices range from $2 to $450.

For paper and ephemera collectors, Elisabeth Burdon of OldImprints.com sells historical graphics from the 1600s to about 1950; at the Portland Expo she’ll have antique prints, antique and vintage maps (with a specialty of pictorial maps), a select stock of old books, especially illustrated (children’s, travel, natural history, literature, etc.), ephemera (such as old travel brochures and merchandise catalogs etc.) and vintage magazines. Prices range from $5 to $1,000+.

Asked about special pieces she’ll have on hand, Elisabeth mentioned a 1905 bird’s-eye chromolithographic view of Spokane, Wash., by John W. Graham & Co., a Spokane paper and stationery supply store. “In 1898 the main commercial area of Spokane had suffered a devastating fire; along with loss of life, there had been hundreds of thousands of dollars of property damage, including the total loss of the Graham store, then located in the Great Eastern block, built in 1890 at a cost of $250,000,” Elisabeth explained. “A mere seven years later, J. W. Graham & Co. trumpeted the resurgence of the Inland Empire, and their business, in this huge bird’s-eye-view image,” which identifies 74 sites, including two J. W. Graham locations, one of which is a warehouse; there is an inset at the upper left edge of the military post Fort Wright. Measuring 41.5 by 61 inches, mounted on linen and attached to wood rods at upper and lower edges, the map is priced at $2,650.

On the lower end, Elisabeth mentioned a complete January 1914 issue of the “Good Housekeeping” magazine, illustrated in color and black and white, in color pictorial wrappers as issued. The contents include an article titled “The Making of a Militant” by suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst and artwork by Jessie Wilcox Smith (the Mother Goose series), plus a massive quantity of period advertising. It’s priced at $55.

Fran and Luke Alton of Sweet Memories Antiques are eclectic dealers with lots of period items from the 1930s and forties. “We have been selling in the Expo show for over 15 years, and we have been doing shows for over 25 years,” Fran said. “We sell what we call ‘happy’ items. Our items are colorful, priced right and off they go . . .

“We keep our prices very fair,” she added. “We sell a tremendous number of items to other dealers, and we rarely bring items a second time. After the show, the antiques go to our shops. The customers love the fact that our items are always new.”

Floyd and Marine Bergmann of B & B Antiques, whose specialties include furniture, silver, Venetian glass and lighting, told me they’ll be bringing “a lovely old Chinese cupboard, a drop-leaf inlaid table, matching burgundy wingback chairs with ottoman, a small oak drop-leaf desk and chair, mirrors, oak coffee table, confessional style bookcase, a beautiful old drill bit holder, collectable flatware, some Waterford, Limoges and Bavarian china, English china, a horse harness mirror, a Victorian wall-hanging cupboard, a bamboo table, a primitive medicine cabinet, chandeliers . . . Whattaya think?”

Personally, I like it just fine!

The Portland Expo Show, produced by Palmer/Wirfs & Associates, promises to be a great one: the perfect place to do your holiday shopping early – and have fun doing it!

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Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers. Catalog 191 includes more than 300 new items. Some of the noteworthy content includes:

• the Northwest Ordinance
• a Confederate broadside
• the first report of George Washington’s death
• a great San Francisco earthquake issue
• a map of America in 1754
• rules for the Continental Army.

Visit www.rarenewspapers.com.

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Recommended

Recently I purchased a couple of watercolors from Alan Barnes Fine Art, a gallery in Santa Fe, NM. It was a very pleasant experience and I am delighted with my new acquisitions. Alan Barnes Fine Art has a very nice selection of 19th- and 20th-century works in different media. If you’re wondering what to buy the art lover on your holiday gift list this year, check out the gallery website: www.alanbarnesfineart.com.

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September’s Priciest

Abebook.com, that indispensible source for anyone who collects books or just wants an out-of-print copy at a great price, just released their list of “Top 10 Most Expensive Sales in September 2011.”

Topping the list is “Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae,” which Abebooks describes as “an eight-volume work cataloging representations of mythology in the plastic arts (i.e., architecture, ceramics, collage, conceptual art, drawing, glass art, land art, metalworking, mosaic, painting, paper art, among others) of antiquity” – although the book itself is hardly an antique: It was published in Zurich in 1981. The set sold for $14,067.

Number 10 on the list is 10. A signed first edition of Ken Kesey’s second novel, “Sometimes a Great Notion” (1964): It sold for $4,500. (Number 3 on the Abebooks list is Kesey’s first novel, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” published in 1962; it sold for $9,000. Take that, Kindle!)

Check out the whole list at www.abebooks.com … and NEVER bid on a book on eBay without looking for a similar copy on Abebooks first: You may well find a cheaper deal there or at least get a better idea of how high to go.

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A call for assistance to our readers

AmeriCollector.com often receives e-mails asking how much an item is worth. Whenever I can, I simply refer the writer to a trustworthy dealer or other person who might offer information on a collectible’s value. However, I thought it would be nice to open this up to our regular visitors.

A reader writes: “Our family has a canceled envelope dated Dec. 7, 1941, from Honolulu, Hawaii, and postmarked 9 a.m. The letter was written from a friend of the family who was on board the USS Arizona and went down with the ship. It was written on a USS Arizona letterhead with a picture of the ship at the top. The items are not in pristine condition, being 75 years old, but the stamp is very legible and the picture of the ship is clear. We were just wondering what the value would be for this type of cover.”

Any input would be much appreciated. Please e-mail us at letscollect (@) americollector (dot) com.