Auction and Show News

Eileen Rhoads Auction November 2019

Vintage miniatures from the collections of the late Virginia Merrill, her daughter Susan Richardson and the late Gloria Hinkel.

While attendees commented that it was not quite as large an assortment of artisan miniatures as are usually offered by this specialist auctioneer, there were some truly rare and unique items offered this weekend including one-of-a-kind needlework, four rare Eugene Kupjack miniature rooms and a generous assortment of miniature furniture by Paul Runyon whose museum-quality work was much admired but not made in great quantity. They were so treasured by their original owners that they are seldom seen these days until they become estate pieces and enter the secondary market.

Virginia Merrill collected wonderful miniatures during that golden age and she made her own furniture which was featured in her first book co-authored with Thelma Newman. Her second book, devoted exclusively to fine needlework, was written with her daughter, Susan Richardson and some of the fine needlework offered in this auction was executed by Susan and used to illustrate the second book. Virginia was one of the dozen founding members of the IGMA and her work was well known among older collectors for the past four decades. I read her first book so many times that it is quite worn-looking now.

Additional consignments included dolls and roomboxes from the collection of the late Gloria Hinkel who, with Carolyn Sunstein, was a co-founder of Philadelphia Miniaturia. Until just a few year ago Gloria was a fixture of the Philly show where she and her daughter Beverly had one of the largest booths at the show and sold a wide variety of antique, vintage and artisan miniatures. So plentiful was their stock that it is taking literally years to sell it all off. At this sale, an assortment of Gloria's dolls by James Carrington, Jacqueline Polier and other artists were offered along with roomboxes by the late Robert Bernhard. And a number of very attractive lots of furniture made by June Clinkscales were consigned by a fourth person.

The Thursday afternoon preview took place during some pretty miserable wet weather and a number of the attendees remarked on the awful downpours they had driven through to get there. Later that evening, an F-2 tornado touched down on the other side of the county and many local communities were without power, but the lights came back up at the auction hall a few hours before the Friday pre-sale auction and the rest of the weekend was uneventful weather-wise.

Preview attendance was typically light on Thursday and then Friday morning had more viewers since the uncatalogued pre-sale auction did not start until 11 AM. The Friday auction was well-organized and took place on the other side of the auction hall where chairs were set up and things just seemed far less chaotic than the way I'd seen it done in the past (note: it has been two years since I attended in person so this improved set-up was new to me but I believe was used to good effect in previous sales). The pre-sale contents were a blend of commercial and vintage dollhouse items and the usual addition of dolls, doll clothes, empty roomboxes, some books and lots of accessories. I got a box lot of old German toy village structures for a very modest sum. There were dozens of boxed Madame Alexander dolls and other modern dolls on Friday. And Saturday's auction included a substantial number of non-dollhouse items including some modern art dolls and some distinctive silver pendant jewelry that seemed so out of place that even the auctioneer asked what they were doing there. They were a late addition to the sale and just experimental to see if there might be any interest because there are a LOT more where they came from... Sometimes it's good to have a run of such different items so the real die-hard miniatures collectors can take a bathroom break or grab a snack.

The first couple of dozen lots were fine artisan miniatures from Gini Merrill's collection and I would say that interest in them was evenly spread among buyers present in the hall, several very active phone bidders and on the internet. Two phone bidders captured some of the best lots and they bid on many items throughout the day.

I thought those early lots should have been grouped together quite differently because some items that were grouped with other pieces really should have been sold by themselves, particularly because I knew that there would be some people interested in Gini's needlework exclusively while others were more keen for the Runyon pieces alone. So it made it hard for the needlework lovers when some of her chairs with her needlework seats were lotted with desirable Runyon pieces. Lot #2 is a perfect example where the Runyon chest of drawers should have been sold by itself and Gini's chair should have been sold with another needlework piece. Also, I think it is a bad idea when lots are grouped with multiples of the same type of item in one lot. For example, there was a lot with two of Gini's distinctive bird cages and three of her needlework stands. No one but a dealer would want three very similar needlework stands, so collectors were faced with a difficult choice to either pay too much for duplicate items or let it go by. I found that really annoying. And multiple lots contained chairs that were assembled from Xacto kits but the descriptions repeatedly called them artisan pieces. I understand part of the problem was that the consignor wanted things described in certain ways. But other issues involved signatures and logos unfamiliar to the uninformed person cataloguing the sale and that's how three early John Hodgson chairs were grouped with two Joe Andrews chairs commercially produced in Taiwan. Sigh...

So the Runyon items performed pretty much as expected and Shirley Hillhouse's beautiful decorative painting on the dower chest brought an astonishing winning bid of $1000 - I wish she were still alive to have seen that! I think the rest of the artisan furniture performed pretty well. I thought the prices for the needlework items were modest and it made me wonder if perhaps those things might have done better had they been sold ten years ago when Virginia Merrill's name had more recognition in the marketplace than it seems to now. I was so excited to learn that collection was heading to the auction block but in the weeks leading up to the sale I found myself explaining her importance to younger collectors who simply were not familiar with her things that seemed so wonderful to me when her book was published in 1975...

The presentation of Kupjack roomboxes was a little irritating to me. I understand the consignor wrote the descriptions for her mother's treasured roomboxes but I found some inaccuracies in those descriptions and was frustrated by the vague and incomplete condition reports. One only had to compare the auction photos to the photos of the same rooms in her books to realize that some furniture and accessories were missing or replaced. All four boxes were described as having the accessories still as originally placed by Eugene Kupjack with some additions made by Gini, but I noticed that the French bedroom was missing its chandelier and some of the wallpaper had faded so badly there was no discernible design left to see. The PA parlor was missing a chair in the foreground, the flower arrangement on the back wall had been replaced with an inappropriate Victorian style figure under a dome and the metal teapot on the tripod table was snapped off its base. Three of the four rooms had some degree of over-painting because Kupjack's signature was painted over. Did anyone else notice? Did anyone else care? Even with the condition issues, it was a special joy to see them up close, but I felt sad they they had not been more carefully preserved.

Since the auction I have been puzzled and then disappointed to read comments from others who said they did not know who some of the artists represented in the sale were. People seemed to know Virginia Merrill had written some how-to books and had some nice things in her collection but I was surprised by the limited recognition of Paul Runyon's name and reputation, and others whose work was sold at the auction. It reminded me of the last sale of Flora Gill Jacobs' collection at Noel Barrett's a few years ago when I never heard the auctioneer even mention her name that day. I regularly encounter collectors who don't know names like Richard Mann, Donald Dube, Linda Wexler and even Eric Pearson. The demise and/or decline of the better quality miniatures magazines doesn't help.

I will add photos of items I purchased at this sale in a few days. [6 Nov 2019]

IGMA Show Windsor CT 2019

All year long, special events have been held to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the founding of the IGMA and the annual show in September was planned to be the culmination of these events. Three days of classes under the instruction of Guild Artisans and Fellows began on Wednesday as a well as a field trip for 14 of us to tour three home at Historic Deerfield before lunch at the Deerfield Inn and two museum visits in the afternoon. At the Memorial Museum we got to view Renee' Wilson's 1/12 scale Deerfield house furnished with a pleasing combination of vintage artisan and good quality commerical furnishings from the 1970's and '80's. It seemed somehow fitting it was the last stop of the day.

I took Mark Murphy's class on Thursday and then Friday I had planned to visit the Webb-Deane-Stevens house museums in nearby Wethersfield but instead I had to run home and get a fresh pad of checks because on Thursday I realized I only had one check left in my checkbook for shopping at the show on Saturday! So I drove home after Hartford's morning rush hour and then stopped at Thistle Needleworks shop for overdyed threads on my way back to the hotel.

On Friday evening, Desserts and Demos were held in the lobby's atrium with about eight Artisans and Fellows demonstrating their craft while I had a demo on collection management. It was gratifying that so many people spent time at my station and I went through ALL of my pre-printed hand-outs before the evening ended. I did something similar at the Guild show five years ago but this time I had my laptop and several pieces from my collection to show how I inventory and label my own stuff and a little time describing my process for appraising other people's collections. I shared my "If Something Happens" binder where I have my wills and financial records and instructions for dispersing my collection if I die before I do it myself. That seemed to make an impression on my audience, perhaps because I was so candid about it and it struck many people as extremely organized but I emphasized that if you break the job down into little pieces it's not that hard to do over time.

Saturday morning people started lining up at the doors almost an hour before the opening of the show, and the crowd filling the aisles for the first hour during the Members Only previews was certainly up from the previous two years at this venue and as I checked back during the afternoon and Sunday morning, interest looked strong.

As usual, I headed straight to the first three tables where I do my first round of buying and bought some wonderful things. Then I spent the rest of my time looking more slowly and choosing more carefully while trying (unsuccessfully) to stay within or at least somewhere in the vicinity of my budget.

I should point out that there was a virtual crush of people who headed directly to Geoff Wonnacutt's table right at the start and by the time I strolled by half an hour later, it looked pretty well picked over. By Sunday morning I think there might have been two items left, which looked quite strange. Some other tables looked barely touched so I don't know how successful a sale it was for some people. I could be wrong but I had the impression that if a thing was very fine and expensive, or the exact opposite, it sold and a lot of stuff in the middle price range seemed to struggle a little. I talked to a few dealers and craftsmen about what sells at this show versus what sells (or does not) at other shows. Apparently New Englanders still like very traditional furniture and decorative items and there were a lot of do-it-yourself creative epople looking for tools and supplies and they like primitive country furniture. The same things may not do as well at Chicago or Kensington. It's tricky.

Among the new faces behind the tables was my friend Bradley Meinke of Purple B Emporium. We've chatted for years on line but met in person for the first time on Friday evening when our tables were beside one another's during Dessert and Demos. I liked the range of items he offered with vintage artisan furniture alongside his own creations with his distinctive faux finishes, and the work of other contemporary artists coming up through the ranks with Bradley's support. It's really exciting to see some really new things by artists unfamiliar to me.

One of my first purchases was this stunning walnut finished William and Mary lowboy and veneered mirror by Mark Murphy, whose work never fails to boost my pulse to an unhealthy rate. I was first attracted to the mirror, actually, because I already have several nice lowboys or dressing tables in this style but Mark made them to be sold as a pair so I complied and purchased both without a pause. And at the same table I purchased three dolls and a Gilbert Mena box painted by Mary Grady O'Brien.

I had lost out on a pair of Mary's sweet dolls at the Guild School auction earlier this summer and she told me afterwards she would bring more to the Guild Show, so I grabbed three of her sweet ladies while I had the chance.

As usual, my very first stop was at the table where my favorite needlework artists offered their wares. Although Pat Richards was uanable to be there, her samplers were so I bought the smaller of two band samplers. I also bought a framed piece of micro-petitpoint floral embroidery by Annelle Ferguson and a sweet French knot rug from Pat Hartman with a recumbent feline.

I suppose it's a little ironic or unimaginative that after taking a painting class this past summer with Phyllis Hawkes where we painted a little girl in a pink dress, I chose a portrait from her display of... a little girl in a pink dress. But I found her irresistable. The detail on her dress is stunning.

Lee-Ann Chellis-Wessel had a pretty breath-taking display of fine cermaics and I was please to take home this lovely polychrome Delft plate from her. She also brought two really lovley display cases for the exhibit room.

I decided I had written enough checks so I paid cash for my last two purchases: a pair of the tiniest little Staffordshire cats I've ever seen that are just too dang small to get a good photo of in my current environment, and an exquisite piece of tatted lace by newcomer Minicucadas of Spain. It is less than one inch square. I wanted to purchase a large specimen but I didn't have quite enough cash and they couldn't take checks or credit cards. Ah well.

I tried to buy things from newcomers at this show, but I also missed some familiar faces. I understand Jane Graber had a family commitment but I don't know why Henny Staring-Egberts was missing and I'll have to see if she is coming to Philadelphia in November. No sign of Marty Stark and his usually expansive (and expensive) array of artisan furniture, nor Eileen Cohen, but New York's Tiny Dollhouse seemed to fill that void quite readily. I missed the Lawbre folks because I had hoped to purchase some very thin glass from them. And Sherri Colvin's dolls were missed as well. I wish more international artists were there but I know it's such an expensive enterprise for them...

There was a buffet banquet on Saturday evening preceded by the auction which was conducted fairly swiftly by Duffy Wineman and Darren Scala. There were comments and complaints from a number of people about the loud volume on Duffy's microphone as she was twice as loud as her partner. I found it particularly painful and extremely irritating. By the time the auction was over I had a headache. But the amplification of the live music was even worse and I spent a good part of the evening with my fingers in my ears and repeatedly considered leaving and getting my dinner somewhere else. But I wasn't about to let my prepaid $40 dinner ticket go to waste. Maybe someone can explain to me why people amplify acoustic instruments in a modestly-sized venue where sound bounces all around the flat walls so you can't hear what the person next to you is saying. That part was a nightmare and I was so relieved when it came to an end. I know it was all well-intended but it could have been planned better with a sound check beforehand.

I had looked forward to the "slide" presentation of photos of the work of some of the artists who founded the IGMA forty years ago but the screen that was used was tiny and I could barely make out the outlines of the pieces that were shown - that was a really big disappointment to me but I sensed it just wasn't that interesting to a lot of the people who were there that night, which was a shame. And Duffy's commentary during the photo array was pretty much just a reading of the 20-year anniversary booklet as written by Sally Hoffman and she just skipped over Donald Dube saying she didn't know much about him. I felt sad about that. I remember the day he came into Molly's shop in the autumn of 1976, three years before the formation of the Guild, and he brought an exquisite southeastern PA-style walnut open hutch with the most divine scrollwork along the edges. Molly complimented him and suggested he dove-tail his drawers next time, but she was happy to put it and some of his other pieces in her showcase, on the shelves reserved for the finest artists of that time. It was so lovely and it did not remain there long. It just bothers me that so little trouble was taken to prepare the commentary to go with the photos that I couldn't see. Oh well.

Just before I moved house at the end of August, I worked quite feverishly preparing the text for the 40th anniversary booklet that was given to those who attended the show and I believe copies will also be distributed at the Philly and Chicago shows. additional text was provided by Pat Richards, Annelle Ferguson and Barb Davis wrote about the Guild School. Kate Unver wrote a brief section at the end of the booklet about the Guild's internet presence. There were a couple of hiccups in the process but it ws a great relief to finally see it in print when I got to the hotel in Windsor. An internet version of the booklet is supposed to be available on line but don't ask me when that is going to happen! [9.29.19]

IGMA Show Windsor CT September 2018

This was the second year for the Guild Show in its newer location outside Hartford, CT. I enjoyed the show last year and I also heard a lot of positive feedback from others afterwards. I guess the word spread because I noticed better quality dealers and larger attendance this year. I enrolled in Pat Hartman's class on Thursday and also went on the field trip to Stockbridge on Wednesday and have written about that for the next issue of the Cube, the Guild's quarterly publication. 

The trip to Stockbridge included a guided tour of Naumkeag, a lavishly decorated Victorian summer home for a New York lawyer that remained in the same family until it went into trust, so everything was original to the house and its family. About a dozen of us enjoyed the lovely interiors of the eclectic Queen Anne/Tudor style house designed by Stanford White, followed by a tour of the expansive gardens. I found the garden touring a little difficult times at since I was wearing an ankle brace for a torn ligament and the house is sited on a sometimes steep slope, but that is also why the views of West Stockbridge are so impressive.

We enjoyed lunch at the historic Red Lion Inn and that was a special treat for me since I had spent my honeymoon there 19 years ago. It was sad to see where Country Curtains has closed, but Main Street was still bustling in late September. In the afternoon, we were unleashed at the Norman Rockwell Museum and all of us enjoyed his famous streetscape of Main Street as well as a temporary exhibit of other artists who influenced him and others of his generation. My favorite part was visiting his studio, which has been removed from its original location on Main Street and is sited on a bucolic hillside a few steps from the museum. The trustees were careful to situate the house so the light coming through the windows is exactly the same as it was in town. And I enjoyed seeing his shelves filled with art books and finding a few we had in common. The weather was perfect for that sojourn.

Thursday, I learned to make a miniature penny rug from hand-dyed felted wool in Pat Hartman's class. Pat is pretty soft-spoken, which made the class particularly peaceful and relaxing even as we struggled to glue and stitch circles the same size as the end of pencil eraser! I loved the heathery colors of the felted wool and I finished my project by the end of the day, but I still need to iron it.

On Friday, I had planned to visit Sturbridge Village but, instead, I tagged along with Pat Hartman and two of her friends with a visit to the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford where we wandered around for about an hour before we were treated to a private, behind-the-scenes tour of a new exhibit that was in the process of being mounted for an opening the following week. https://thewadsworth.org/exhibitions/bed-furnishings-in-early-america-an-intimate-look/. It was thrilling to see such gorgeous textiles up close and many are in superb condition.

By the time the doors open for the show Saturday morning, I had already had a pretty fabulous time. After two hours of pretty furious shopping, I was ready to head home, so I did not attend the Saturday evening talk and banquet. Since I suspected there would be some pieces by Janet Reyburn at the Gallery of the Guild's table, I went there first and bought two items.

I was so pleased with the handsome painting I purchased from Phyllis Hawkes last year, that I zipped right over to her table to buy a small double portrait called "The Wedding Picture". It's so unique.

I also bought petit point samplers from Annelle Ferguson and Pat Richards and a French knot rug from my esteemed instructor, Pat Hartman. I always feel that their items are so reasonably priced for the amount of work it takes to make such lovely things that I really need to restrain myself and not buy out their entire table!

Karon Cunningham's table was fully stocked - the last time I saw her at a show, her shipment had been held up in customs or some bureaucratic snafu meant she could not set up at all. I purchased two clocks and a sweet paint box of watercolors.

I was delighted to see Mark Murphy and Mary Grady O'Brien together again and I bought three items there. Each is a treasure.

I also purchased a few kitchen accessories from Roberta Solari and noted there were several artists from Italy this year. Sergio Netto came all the way from Brazil and I was sorry to learn that something was stolen from his table in the morning before the members' preview. Several other artists were victims of theft, apparently also before the show opened so there were rumors that the thief or thieves were among the hotel staff or another artist or dealer. It is hard to imagine a fellow artist ripping off another craftsman. Whoever did this, I hope they are caught and I know the shows' Director and staff will make additional security arrangements next year to prevent a repeat. It makes me very sad.

An unplanned last purchase was a Tarbena decorated cabinet I purchased from a dealer. I had just missed out on one of these in the spring when several lots of Tarbena furniture sold for very little money at a regional auction house in southwestern CT. I had previewed the miniatures earlier in the week and registered to bid by phone. The auction staff told me they did 80 to 100 lots an hour so my items would be coming up around 2:30 in the afternoon, so I did some house painting in my barn and came back into the house around 2 PM only to find three messages on my answering machine from the auction house. Apparently they skipped many lots earlier in the sale that had no buyers, so my items came up well before 2 PM and I missed out on them - lesson learned!! So I had my eye on this similar piece and decided to grab it at the show. It was my most expensive purchase of the day but still cheaper than buying a new one directly from the Barneses.

Last year, I noted there was a buzz in the room when the show first opened and although I did not stay past the first few hours, I heard the attendance was very good. I feel hopeful about the show's future in this location. I just hope that next year, they arrange a field trip to an older house or museum - there is no shortage of Victorian house museums across the country, but New England is special for its colonial homes and there are some wonderful house museums that are closer to the venue than Stockbridge. I vote for the Webb-Deane-Stevens complex, just two towns away in Wethersfield. They are wonderful house museums right beside one another: https://webb-deane-stevens.org/. And they have run some wonderful programs in the past.

Regretfully, I am not planning to go to Philadelphia this year. But I may cave in and go to Chicago next April since I have never been. [10.23.2018]

Molly Cromwell's Sturbridge Miniatures Show June 2018

This was my first visit to this show in decades. Now that I am living in Connecticut, this show is only 90 minutes away and a pretty easy drive. I like to stay overnight at the Publick House when I am in the area, and did so for this show. I already knew the show was smaller than it had been in years past, so my expectations were modest. I attended the Preview Saturday afternoon and Molly was kind enough to let me purchase my ticket at the door. I arrived about five minutes before the doors opened and got in line behind no more than 25-30 people, or less.

First, the venue. The Travelhost hotel has always been on the modest side which is perfectly fine, but I think it is looknig and feeling its age. The entrance hall was dark and a little spooky, and then the "ballroom" felt more like a gymnasium than anything else. Throughout the two hours I was there, Molly or someone else was speaking into a microphone and I couldn't understand a word. I think one announcement was about pizza. There were door prizes, but when I piad my entrance fee, I was not given a door prize ticket or form, nor a map, and I grabbed a photocopied program off the table just as I went in because I saw someone else do it. There appeared to be some sort of hors d'ourvres table in the lobby that was already well picked over when I got there.

Okay, so it was a bit shabby. Inside the ballroom, there were two rows of tables in the midle of the room and then tables ringed the perimeter with plenty of space in the aisles. With such a small number of attendees, the atmosphere was very relaxed and low-pressure - none of the overheated congestion I've grown used to in Cherry Hill (I feel sort of silly calling it the Philly Show), so that was a plus for me but I couldn't help thinking it was a bit of a bust for the promoter and the vendors. There were a handful of IGMA Artisans and Fellows including Bill Studebaker, Pete Acquisto and Teresa Layman and several artists who made painted country furniture. Barb Vajnar was there as a visitor, not a seller and I didn't see any country furniture there as nice as hers. Much of it looked very similar, but it was refreshing that only a few people had repainted Bespaq furniture for sale - my regular readers know that is my pet peeve at shows these days. Several sellers offered paintings at modest prices, but I've become such a fan of Phyllis Hawkes and Pat Hartman's paintings lately that I wasn't tempted by any of the artwork I saw in Sturbridge. One artist's portraits looked very odd to me with her ladies' faces noticeably distorted - it occurred to me that she might have an undiagnosed astigmatism and I felt bad for her. It was unsettling.

I felt lucky to find someone selling Jane Graber's pottery at Jane's prices and I scooped up a number of redware plates and Moravian pottery soon after I spied them. I didn't see anyone else at the show even look at them. It was nice to buy Jane's things without being elbowed at her table in Cherry Hill. I also purchased four items from Peter Acquisto and a number of beautifully crafted and painted flowers made by Pat Richmond, trading as TwinHeart, who came all the way from California. There were some nice artisan pieces offered by several resellers, but I felt they were overpriced. I tend to buy vintage miniatures at auction or from other collectors, usually for what I would call market prices and after paying taxes and buyer premiums, I feel those prices are the equivalent of retail prices. I know I am competing with these same reselling vendors who must sell them for more to make it worth their while. I guess those prices are palatable for some, but it seems pretty nuts to price things for several hundred dollars more than active artists are still selling them for. As an example, one those resellers a little too well known for her stratopheric price tags was asking $850 for a Tarbena piece you can buy today from the artists for $563 plus postage. When I asked her about possibly reducing her price, she said it was a consigned piece, so I don't know if the consignor paid too much for it originally or if it was an effort to maximize her "commission". I liked it, but I can order it myself for far less and just wait a little bit.

I spoke with several other collectors at the show while we were there and everyone agreed the show is not as large and varied as it once was. One person felt that the midwestern shows are getting better while the east coast shows are fading. Maybe it's a cyclical thing? Or does it have to do with regional trends? Maybe midwestern collectors haveore disposable income left after paying more midest housing prices and lower taxes than we do in the East, or perhaps there are more young collectors where other costs are lower. Here in CT, young people move somewhere else after college, and more and more retirees are fed up with high property taxes and fuel bills so they move south and west. I can see how these bigger trends involving financial realities and mobility have an effect on our hobby here in the Northeast.

But I also know that the Guild Show's change of venue to CT last September has generated almost universal high marks and many of the artists who were there last year said they felt a wonderful energy in the rooms there that had been lacking in Teaneck. This year's show has sold out with vendors and with the lessons learned last year, I have very high hopes the show this September will be even better.

Philadelphia Miniaturia 2017

Many of you know it has been an unusually busy show season this fall with the relocated IGMA show in September following right after the invitational Kansas City show and others in the past few weeks before this traditional date for the Philly show.  So I wasn't shocked to see that a good number of dealers who usually exhibit here were taking a break this year. There weren't enough dealers for the show to rent the Terrace Room this year and I retired early from the Preview Friday night.

Of course, I was disappointed that my favorite needleworkers were not present since they are normally my very first stop, but I did make a bee-line for the Gallery of the Guild where I purchased a desk by Elizabeth Gazmuri. I've wanted to own one of her pieces for years and I was really pleased to see a number of her items offered for sale at the Guild's table. I purchased a lovely painting from Phyllis Hawkes and she told me she had just finished it this past week. She had been busy with multiple shows this season and told me she had struggled to add inventory in time for this show. Jane Graber also told me something similar.

Since The Dollhouse Factory is closing down, they are no longer doing any shows at all so their traditional table was occupied by someone else. Henny Staring-Egberts was absent and so was Karon Cunningham and I missed them both. No sign of Michael Walton, Ferd Sobol or Jim Irish, either.

A number of dealers who do this show regularly resell vintage artisan miniatures. I know several of them regularly buy at auction and I often know what they paid for the items that re-appear at their booths, so I find their mark-ups pretty extreme. Of course, William Clinger's Windsor chairs have been selling at inflated prices on ebay for some time and now they are sporting very high prices at dealer booths. It seems to me that there are suddenly an awful lot of them everywhere I look, too. But I saw a lot of Birkemeier chairs with very aggressive prices that seemed well beyond reasonable. I saw a two-inch scale Pierre Wallack chair I liked but it was repaired and still the asking price was kind of nuts. The same dealer was asking $1000 for a John Hodgson Welsh dresser that was missing two drawers! I saw a lot of people looking at that table but I did not see much sell there by the time I left Saturday afternoon. I don't understand why dealers who pay retail prices for things at auction then ask twice as much as they paid, as though they purchased these things at wholesale prices...

Last year I commented on the overwhelming number of dealers selling repainted Bespaq.  They're still at it. It seemed like every third table featured "Shabby Chic" style painted commercial furniture. Isn't that fad over yet? Zzzz....

Since I have moved back to New England, I doubt I will attend this show again. But I'm looking forward to going to some shows I haven't been to in years.

Phi ladelphia Miniaturia 2016

I had a different sort of experience at the Philly show this year. For the first time, I signed up to take a class before the Preview. I was very pleased with the class I took with Phyllis Hawkes painting a small folk art painting of Tinkle the Cat. I learned some new things about transferring designs, good tips on the sequence of paint application and I came away with three great little paint brushes I plan to use again very soon! I saw the prototype for another class she will be giving in Chicago next year and that might tip the balance for me in deciding whether or not to attend that show - I've never been because I am wary of big crowds, but 2017 might see me heading to Chicago. We'll see.

My class finished around 2 PM and after lunch I took a nap that gave me extra energy for the Preview so I was able to last for the full three hours that evening. I'm usually worn out after two hours and my feet and lower back tend to punish me for all that time walking on carpet-covered concrete, but this time I took a little medication BEFORE the preview and I made it to 9 PM before hobbling off to my hotel room and a pretty decent night's sleep in a strange bed.

I did most of my shopping right at the start of the Preview after I made a beeline to the back-of-the-room booth shared by Pat, Pat and Annelle - always my first stop. Annelle had made me a special petit point picture that was ready in time for the show and it was my favorite purchase of the night. I also bought from her a small lidded box covered with petit point that was an unexpected find. Pat Hartman brought a larger French Knot rug that I claimed as soon as I saw it - her work is SO perfect and precise and she is such an inspiration to me. And Pat Richards always brings some surprises so I bought a pretty pair of petit point shoes and a strip sampler from her - all things that found their way into my most recent English cottage project.

Annelle also had some furniture from Mark Murphy and when my buddy Bill Murphy nudged me and asked me why I wasn't buying his painted Windsor bench, I responded by picking it up and saying "Who said I wasn't?". The bench and a pretty painted tray by Leslie Lessige completed my purchases at my first stop and did some serious damage to my checkbook but I love every item without regret.

I usually find something at the Gallery of the Guild, but nothing tempted me this year, so I visited with my teacher and purchased a sweet painted box from her. I had actually made a list this year of things I needed for my cottage project, but the first hour of the preview, I mainly purchased things that simply won my heart.

This was the second year in a row I missed seeing Lucy Iducovich at the Philly show, but this year, her usual spot was taken by a young couple from Kentucky whom I had met back in September when they bought heavily at the Rhoads auction. They had a lot of vintage artisan furniture and I felt I got a real bargain when I purchased a half-spindle plank-bottom chair by Jim and Shirley Hillhouse. Not part of a typical painted bedroom set, the chair features a delicious darker green background and beautifully hand painted crest rail and I do love chairs, you know...

I had wanted to buy some glassware from Ferenc Albert or Jim Irish but neither was there, nor was Michael Walton or Geoff Wonnacott. Karon Cunningham came to the show only to buy, so I missed her booth as well. I did find the linens I needed from Bonni Backe and my search for horse brasses was fulfilled by a visit with Ron Stetkowicz. After the disaster he experienced last month when his home burned to the ground, I was a little surprised to see him there and he said he wasn't sure he would come but I'm glad he did and I bought a lot of things from him including andirons, door locks and six horse brasses. He is such a nice person and the tragedies he has experienced this year are heartbreaking.

It's hard for me to pass by Jane Graber's booth without making a purchase and this time I added to my stock of slip ware mugs, plates and tureens. I love her Moravian pottery, perhaps because I have a fondness for the Moravians' dedication to missions and their love of music, and I sent my daughter to a wonderful Moravian school in Bethlehem PA that was staffed by truly remarkable teachers. They have a wonderful heritage.

Saturday morning I made another purchase from Phyllis Hawkes when I bought this painting of a little girl with a basket and a canary - I can almost hear it sing!

My last purchase was an Hindeloopen cradle painted By Joan Wheatley, from whom I also bought a painted pantry box. I think her things are so reasonably priced for so much artistry.

I bought a lot of painted furniture and accessories at the show, but I was a bit disappointed with the quality of the other artists selling paintings at the show. Johannnes Landman was absent, and the English paintings offered by Marty Stark looked sort of tired - he's had some of them for years and the market may be a little glutted these days with English coaching and genre scenes. I saw three different versions of Ammi Phillps' Girl in a Red Dress and Phyllis Hawkes' version was by far the best. Carol Spence was also missed, as was Le Chateau, Rik Pierce, Natasha, Bluette, My Fair Ladies and others. There was still a lot of redone Bespaq and more contemporary items that have zero appeal to me and I wonder how deep is the market for those things? One can admire the creativity, the skill and artistry of fantasy figures, but they are not easy to incorporate into a collection like mine and I wonder if they will seem dated and unappealing ten years from now? Steam punk seems like a fad with nowhere to go or grow. With my background, it's hard for me to see them appreciating in value over time. As more and more collectors in an aging demographic are facing limited display space, I don't see folks making a whole lot of room for things that are quite that quirky and whimsical. I know that when they come to the secondary market at auction, the appeal is very limited with today's collectors, but who knows what people will be collecting ten or twenty years from now? It could be a very different marketplace by then. I know my personal taste is more focused on the decorative arts of the past, so these other genres remain something of a mystery to me. But the important thing is that somebody appreciates them. (11.8.2016)

IGMA Show August 2016

I've got into the habit of rushing through the one-hour Preview in a bit of a whirlwind and spending most of my money within the first 20 minutes after I get through the door. And that's just what I did this time when I spent half my budget at the table shared by the needleworking ladies: Annelle Ferguson, Pat Richards and Pat Hartman. I bought one thing from each of them and I felt like I got the very nicest things at the show. Perhaps because I do some needlework myself, I have a sincere appreciation for the fineness of their work and the immense time it takes to complete such lovely things. I also found a handsome cupboard by Mark Murphy with Gothic arches - it took me all of one second to decide I must have it. So I wrote a very nice check there before making other purchases from Karon Cunningham and the Gallery of the Guild. I ordered a pitcher from Lee-Ann Chellis Wessel and also bought from her a table by Mark Murphy, so I came home with two of his things despite the fact he cancelled his appearance there (and also the class I was enrolled to take with him, alas!). It was disappointing that he wasn't there, nor was Jack Cashmere or the Boorums. This was the first time in quite a while I did not buy any ceramics, but I loved the things I got.

There was a little more of line of people waiting for the doors to open than I recall from the last time I was there two years ago, which is a good thing, I think. But I also noticed no real change in the volume of people in the aisles after to doors opened to the general public at 10. I don't know if there was a line, but I hope so.

I joined my daughter for dinner on Friday evening and asked her to meet me in the hotel lobby. She waited patiently while I was showing my most recent completed French Knot rug to Pat Hartman, who was doing a live demo. When I looked up and saw my daughter waiting, I joined her and as we exited the building she exclaimed that she had to be the youngest person there and that she thought everyone she saw in the lobby was 80 years old. She is 31 and not a keen judge of older age, but she certainly had the impression that this hobby was exclusive to retired ladies. And when she dropped me off after dinner, she noticed a sign for a nearby senior housing center and quipped, "Well, isn't THAT convenient?"  Yes, it was pretty snarky but I think there was an underlying truth in her observations. I was right out of college when I first attended a miniatures show and in those days, there were plenty of gray-haired ladies in attendance, but there were also collectors in their 30's and 40's to balance things out a bit.

We talked about hobbies in general while we were dining and aside from a voracious appetite for classic movies and an enduring interest in American presidential history, her only hobby is destination hiking on the weekends. She mentioned that many of her friends from college are still in debt and have low incomes if they are working at all, so they didn't have enough money to indulge in a hobby that she deems expensive. I find my budget is considerably better now than it was when I was younger, and I used to save all year for the Guild Show when I was in my 20's, and felt guilty about some of my spending in my 30's when I raised my daughter. I've tried to interest her in miniatures all her life but I now accept she has no interest but appreciates that some things certainly have monetary value beyond their artistry. I don't lose sleep at night worrying that my collection may end up in a yard sale one day, but it's also not something she wants handed down to her.

She enjoys showing my dollhouses to young guests who visit me in the summertime and some of my visitors are pretty keen on them while others want to know where is the treehouse? I wish I knew how to get younger people involved in collecting and creating miniatures. Little boys still collect baseball cards but nowadays they go buy the entire year in one box on a single visit to a hobby shop. That sounds a bit sad, doesn't it? I wonder if the relative affluence that allows older folks like me to spend so much at a show or to buy nicer things for our homes and take vacations seems like a distant and unattainable goal to young people today who might otherwise be developing into serious collectors? They are just worried about paying off student loans and some even say they doubt they will ever own their own home. Makes me feel somewhat guilt sharing my photos here of the things I purchased at the Guild Show this year. But here they are:

My heart leapt in my chest when I saw the colors of this French knot rug by Pat Hartman and without any hesitation, it was my first purchase at the show. It's my favorite rug.

The focus in this picture is not good so the detail isn't showing up, but I was also swift to scoop up this framed petitpoint picture by Pat Richards of a gentleman on a prancing horse. It's a nice size that will easily fit just about anywhere.

My next purchase was this framed petitpoint by Annelle Ferguson. I'm not that keen on the frame and may paint it over, but not right away.

This mahogany cupboard by Mark Murphy seemed a little unusual to me, but very English and so I was drawn to it as soon as I made my needlework selections. Mark was not at the show and I heard he had suffered an injury to his hand. But I was so pleased to bring home something he made from this show.

This pretty painted tin flour bin is about 2.5" tall. I noticed it right away when I stopped at Karon Cunningham's booth and love the painted decoration.

Karon also offered this small blue and white sampler by Deirdre Carpenter. It will find a new home in my Swedish house's kitchen.

Again, I have to apologize for the poor focus on this lovely painting by Phyllis Hawkes. I dropped my camera last year and my close-up focus has been tricky since then. Anyway, this was the artist's submission when she applied for Fellow status in the IGMA a few years ago, so it has special meaning to me and was my most costly purchase of the day. Totally worth it!

I did not get to the Gallery of the Guild's table until after 10:30 and by then a lot of things had been sold. But I was very pleased to see this Janet Reyburn piece that is so similar to the one I ordered from her last year. Now I have one on each side of the bed in my Swedish house's master bedroom!

This tea table by Mark Murphy was in Lee-Ann Chellis Wessel's booth a the show. I ordered a painted jug from Lee-Ann and also bought the table to take home. Later, someone told me it was a prototype for a class Mark previously taught at Castine. I love the deeply scalloped apron.

The Guild show is moving to Hartford, CT next year. It is further away for me and for a lot of other people, but I am still glad it is going there. I've always found the highway traffic super stressful around Teaneck and the whole area of norther New Jersey, and I'm told the new hotel is much less expensive for both the ballroom rental and rooms. I heard the available tables were sold out very quickly and I look forward to seeing some artists who will be doing this show and have not been regulars in New Jersey. I can't wait. Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to Philadelphia in November. (8.19.2016)

Eileen Rhoads Auction May 20th and 21st, 2016

It's been a bit hectic here since the auction as I have hosted a whirlwind of guests and been preparing for my first week at the Guild School in Castine, so my first impressions about the auction have faded a bit.

There was very strong attendance at the preview Thursday afternoon with all indications that there would be a good crowd Friday morning when the antique and vintage items were offered. Some antique dealers who have kept low profiles in recent years showed up for the sale, and there was intense phone bidding for the rarest antiques on Friday. At least one well-known dealer had been able to preview privately beforehand and was actually bidding on the internet, but the folks who showed up in person took home a lot of items at the end of the day. The second day was devoted to mainly artisan objects and there were fewer lots than the first day, so attendance was a little smaller, but the internet bidders were busy.

As for my own consignment: as one would expect, some things did better than expected and some disappointed a bit, but I always take the broader view and overall I was pleased with the results. I know where some of my things ended up and am pleased to know they will be looked after appropriately. Quite a few of my Tynietoy lots went to Ann Meehan, so if you wanted some of the items individually, you should check her website.

A few things did surprisingly well, like my dollhouse dolls in original outfits and the room boxes I made just for the auction. My antique English houses all did very well and sold for considerably more than I paid for them, but I had hoped my big American houses would do better. The Mystery house was not sold but after it came home, I sold it on ebay.

The marketplace is still pretty tough on big dollhouses, both old and new, and the buyers who were in a frenzy to own Tynietoy and Mystery houses ten or twenty years ago are just not buying the same way anymore so I have to say these results did not surprise me that much and are simply reflections of the market as it exists today. I am so relieved to be free of all my antique houses but two, and have no regrets at all about selling their contents. I kept some things I've been especially fond of, but I really wanted to unload all my commercial German furniture and accessories. You see those same pieces in one dollhouse after another and I'd rather have something unique and unusual. I still find space for hand-painted treenware, original artwork and needlework, pretty dolls and things that have meaning. Just as when I sold my huge Gottschalk and Hacker houses in 2008, I was happy I had the chance to own and play with these more recently sold houses, but I don't really miss them that much.

The other major consignor, Elizabeth Hamilton, did very well with her houses, considering the marketplace, and I understand she was pleased with the results. Since I bought many of my old things either privately or at auction, I seldom paid high end retail prices the way Ms. Hamilton did. She bought from dealers at the top of the market and in a situation like that, a collector should not expect to get back the full amount they paid for something. So she came out behind on some things, but still did very well on one smaller dollhouse (I'm telling you, smaller is the way to go!) and several of her early dolls did amazingly well, especially considering some had been repainted or redressed. Her Evans & Cartwright kitchen range was a blockbuster hit at $1900 plus premium, while a pair of E&C chairs that had been completely repainted sold quite modestly.

The huge Lawbre houses that were offered on the second day sold for reasonable prices, but well below their original retail cost. Again, not many people have room for a big house, even when it is a "limited edition" by the best commercial maker in the field. The LE Tudor house had a highly detailed and appealing exterior, but the interior had a staircase that went nowhere and some genius had snipped off several of the chandeliers. Sometimes I want to shake the dollhouse builders and tell them to stop making dollhouses that are left open in the back. It uses up an inordinate amount of space to have access to both sides and an open side accumulates dust in no time at all. I won't buy a house that doesn't open in the front. There are enough houses that open conveniently from the front that I don't waste the space or my time on open-back houses. Wake up, Lawbre and friends!

The other large house that had some folks scratching their heads because of its massive size, was the beautifully hand-crafted one-of-a-kind Charleston townhouse. While it was an engineering marvel with its interior totally separate from its exterior shell, the gorgeously detailed period rooms were only accessible when the interior house was raised up above the facades and awkward to get to even then because of the front porches and landscaped base. It sold for $3000 plus premium.

As a buyer, I think the prices for the artisan furniture were reasonable this time. Most of the fine artisan miniatures came out of the Charleston house and the amount of artisan miniatures in the sale was not as large as some other sales. So I was pleased to take home BOTH the Patrick Puttock cabinet AND the table, and I also bought David Booth's unusual sideboard with a pair of fabulous Obadiah Fisher candlesticks glued to the top. When I got home, I was able to gently pry them off the top with a palette knife and discovered that the adhesive used by the previous owner was dried out rubber cement. The mark left by the glue was easily removed with rubbing alcohol. I was able to achieve the same results with the glue stains inside the cabinet, and removed the Vince Stapleton vase of flowers on the Puttock table, but am waiting for a replacement glass shelf for the one that was broken in the cabinet. I also purchased a set of Betty Valentine chairs and several items by Dennis Jenvey. I made a very satisfying purchase when I bought an antique bookcase from one of Vivien Greene's houses - I had been the underbidder when it was sold at Theriaults a few years back. It was one of those rare days when I got everything I wanted at an auction!

This photo was taken before I removed the glue stains on the back on the interior. The lower doors feature burled walnut inlays and the overall coloring and patina are a delight to me.

Burled walnut marquetery also features on the top of this elegant table by Patrick Puttock. It now resides in My Robert Berhard House, Midsomer Parva.

These are the four roomboxes I sold at the Rhoads auction.

I made this little room from an old wooden packing box that a college professor gave me in my freshman year at NYU. Underneath, it still has the mailing label for the Chem Dept at NYU and was used to ship some bottles of something that probably smelled bad, but the box smells just fine. To wallpaper the walls, I used some sheets of decorative book liner paper that I cut out of some old hymn books that had been thrown out on the sidewalk during the church's big clean-out. The pattern is so tiny and quaint, I couldn't resist. The fireplace came from Hamley's toy shop in London and I furnished the room with some old pieces from a box lot I purchased years ago. I re-upholstered them with antique fabric, and I made frames for some old tintypes to hang on the wall. It's quite small and fits easily on a bookshelf.

The next box I made (above) was constructed by my husband from some very good quality plywood that we salvaged from the shipping crate that contained my second TynieToy Mansion when it came from California. I painted the walls and chimney breast with a mural inpired by Rufus Porter and used a fireplace mantel from yet another old box lot. The floor boards are individually cut and laid using old mahogany from some warping boards that came with an antique floor loom I purchased about 20 years ago at a local antique show.

The third box was made specifically for some dining room furniture that had been homeless. The breakfront and sideboard were leftovers from box lots and the table and chairs were made up from Anglesey kits I purchased in London years ago. I refinished the serving pieces to match the table and chairs and added some painted decoration. The seats are upholstered with antique petitpoint from the handle of an old purse, and the window was a pre-made one I had sitting around in a cupboard for a few years. Again, the floors are individual mahogany boards and at the last minute, I added the murals over the chair rail after deciding I would not use wallpaper.

The last room box was designed as a music room for the harpsichord that I purchased at a Rhoads auction some years ago. I hated the olive green color that Elisabeth Andrews had painted it so I left the underlid painting she did and re-painted the exterior and re-upholstered the bench with the same antique petitpoint I used for the dining set shown above. The highboy was made by Ruth Pollack and the vase atop it is by Jean Tag. I made the room to compliment the harpsichord and wanted it to have a Swedish farmhouse flavor similar to the house I recently re-constructed (see it under "My Collections"). The stairway newel post came from the same Victorian mansion I purchased from the estate of Mary Kaliski and I used weathered old wood for all the trim. After staining and varnishing the mahogany floor, it lloked too dark and formal so I painted over it with a light grey and that helps to brighten the entire room. The French door was recycled from a shop building I made back in the late 1970's and later disassembled. For all these rooms, I used recycled materials and accessories that I already had on hand and that made it more satisfying for me while getting rid of clutter in my studio! I hope the next owners enjoy them! (6.1.2016)

When you send your miniatures to auction

When you send a collection to be sold at an auction house, you often have the option of having a large collection picked up by the auction house and carried away in a van. In the case of estates, it is not uncommon for the auctioneer to do the packing as well as the hauling, but many times a consignor packs their own things for shipment or hauling. I have seen a vast range of packing techniques used by different folks over the years and would like to offer some suggestions for anyone faced with packing up a substantial collection, from my perspective as a person who often ends up unpacking and cataloging a collection.

Inventories

Yes, it's nice when you have an inventory of a collection that may include information about provenance, if items were made to order by specific artists, or if something was made at a class, etc. It's particularly helpful when a collection has a lot of vintage artisan pieces that may be unsigned, or made by someone who was not that well known. Unless a piece was painfully expensive, the auctioneer doesn't always need to know the purchase price, but it doesn't hurt to include that information. An inventory is not helpful when it has incorrect information, or when it is excruciatingly detailed, particularly if there are a lot of commercial items included. You really don't have to tell a GOOD auctioneer if it's Bespaq or Shackman or Sonia Messer.

When there are multiple items of things like pottery or silver, you might list each item separately for your own records, but it only helps the auctioneer to know that there are six plates by Stokesayware, or three Jane Graber redware pots, etc.

When packing items from a dollhouse, people often do a room at a time and then may include an inventory of the room while the contents might be dispersed into several different packing boxes. It is more helpful to make an inventory as you pack each box so the auctioneer can check as the box is unpacked to be sure nothing goes missing, and numbering each box as you go along is helpful as well. Inventories are a helpful way of giving the consignor a degree of security knowing that there has been a list made, but they are not as helpful in the cataloging process as you might think, particularly when a collection contains many small items of lesser value. By all means list your Herbillon and Gutheil pieces one by one, but don't spend a lot of time listing individual accessories or commercially manufactured items. It's just not necessary.

Packing

What IS essential is packing things so they arrive safely. It's disappointing for everyone involved when an item is unpacked and discovered broken. This happens when things are packed carelessly (often by someone who feels they have been burdened with the task of getting rid of things from an estate and they just toss unwrapped things into boxes) but it also happens when things are packed too fastidiously. What I mean by that is when too much tissue or bubble wrap has been wrapped tightly around every single items and then swaddled with tape. I have seen collections unpacked where every single plate or tea cup or book was stuck into a tiny plastic bag and then proved so difficult to remove that plates were accidentally cracked in half, or items flew out of bags and were lost forever. Bubble wrap covered with packing tape is a disaster for the person tasked with unpacking - the packing tape doesn't peel off easily so the bubble wrap starts to stretch and pull and the next thing you know, there goes a cabriole leg!

Here is an example of something I recently unpacked for an auction. While I have no problem with the way two chairs have been bundled together to save on space, there is no tissue paper or bubble wrap to protect them and the bag is too small. The only way to remove the chairs safely was to take a pair of scissors and cut the top off the bag and then slide the scissors down the side to open the bag carefully. This took 2 to 3 times more time and effort to unpack then something packed more sensibly. It may look tidy when you pack it this way, but you need to think about the person tasked with UN-packing your things and make that job as quick and painless as possible so YOUR things don't get damaged when they are unpacked.

Here is the way I like to pack things for shipping: Furniture items can be packed in loose tissue paper (I like to buy it at my local dollar store where I get 40 plain white sheets for $1) and it usually doesn't need to be taped at all if there are enough items to fill the box. Things are not going to unwrap themselves in the box! It just doesn't happen. Smaller pieces of tissue can be used to fill the spaces between table legs, etc, but the important thing is to not pack them too neatly or tightly - do it loosely so the air also acts as a cushion. Bubble wrap is okay but again, don't use packing tape to secure the bubble wrap . If you must use tape, use blue painter's tape or colored masking tape that peels off easily and is easy to SEE against clear bubble wrap. I can't tell you how much time is lost trying to see where tape begins and ends on a ball of tightly taped bubble wrap. When it takes ages for miniatures to be unpacked, the auctioneer is entitled to charge a higher consignor's premium for the extra labor required to unpack things that have been "over-wrapped". You can save in paper and valuable space by wrapping two matching chairs together as shown above, or placing a smaller item between table legs after loosely wrapping it in tissue. More care should be taken to make sure you pad the bottom, top and sides of the actual mailing box.

PLEASE don't use those dreadful polystyrene packing peanuts. They can shift during shipping and end up not protecting your contents after all, and they are a real nuisance when unpacking. They're lousy for the environment, too!

Many small and sturdy items can go into plastic baggies like, say, a set of wooden bowls or needlework, but make sure the baggie is not too small or snug - it is a lot easier to remove things from larger bags than from ones that are too snug. Also, if you have a loose piece that goes with something - like an umbrella with stand, or say you have a loose piece of trim that you want to send with the rest of an item - that should go into a baggy that gets packed with the piece of furniture to which it belongs so it doesn't get overlooked. Don't trust loose pieces to stay in drawers or cupboards.

Extra Care

Certain items do require special packing and that refers to things like chandeliers, floral arrangements and fine china. It's nice to have a small box for each individual chandelier, but you must be careful to not wrap them too tightly or risk damage. Tissue paper can snag and rip so I sometimes use a small, plastic coaled foam sheet or part of a dry cleaner's bag to loosely wrap a chandelier before gently sliding it into a box - the plastic slides off more easily than tissue when unpacking and it allows you to see what you are unpacking. Fine china also gets a little extra attention. I like to wrap things like plates together with a layer or two of tissue between each plate as I fold them all together in one piece of tissue that I then place in a generously sized baggie to keep a whole dinner service together. Large, bread-loaf sized zipper-lock baggies are nice because you can trap a little air in them for extra cushioning.

Before you tape up the boxes for shipping (if mailing yourself) remember to write a packing slip inside each box in case they are accidentally opened or damaged so they still have a chance of reaching their destination. If you must use up all your mailing tape somewhere, the outside of the mailing box is the appropriate place to do so. And be sure to insure the contents of every box - you KNOW that they are more careful with the boxes with INSURED stickers on them, don't you? (4.23.2015)

How an auction catalogue comes together

I wanted to take the opportunity to explain some of what goes on at an auction house as they prepare to sell a collection of antique or artisan miniatures.  I've had the opportunity to work for a number of auction houses on the east coast in the past ten years and while they all have their own slightly different approaches, they all go through essentially the same steps.

First, when a potential consignor decides to either down size or completely liquidate a collection, one hopes they do a little research before choosing the venue. Some auctioneers have built their reputations on antiques while others have more experience selling artisan miniatures. If it's your stuff, you want the folks with the most experience and expertise because they will be the only ones to truly appreciate what you are bringing to the market, and they will know the best way to present it to the "right" bidders and where to advertise it. The one thing I stress over and over to collectors is that they should not send their collections to generalists: the local auctioneers who sells antiques, paintings, china, coins and household items in box lots - don't do it! They really have no idea what your things are or what they are worth.

Once a seller has an idea where she might want to sell, she generally sends an email or letter with GOOD quality photos to a potential auctioneer. If a collection has been featured in a magazine article or book, copies of the articles might be attached. A list of artisans or firms represented within the collection is also helpful. If the collection is a good match to the auction house, the auctioneer will respond quickly and contact the seller to discuss terms. If they don't think your collection is quite as wonderful as you think it is, you may not get any response at all. And right here, I'll mention 1970's to present day dollhouses and commercial furnishings:

If you have a plywood dollhouse made from a kit or manufactured commercially with mass-produced furniture from Asia - you will not get anything close to what you actually spent on it. The market is saturated with that stuff and it has very little resale value.

Auctioneers groan when they get those pictures of "the house my grampa built for me when I was a girl" and they see Shackman, Reevesline, Petite Princess, Lynnfield and Sonia Messer filling the rooms. Even Bespaq and its imitators have become so pervasive that their value at auction is not worth the time and trouble it takes to catalogue it. Sorry, but that's the reality of it. And that's becoming true for Olszewski/Goebel figurines. They were very expensive originally, but the market is now flooded with them. And Franklin Mint. Ugh.

There is room to negotiate when a collection is a good one. Some auction houses offer very attractive commission rates based on the quality and quantity of the collection and a seller should try to spend some time negotiating the best deal. The best deal doesn't necessarily mean the lowest seller's commission (the percentage the auction house keeps from the proceeds). Terms can include transportation, storage and insurance costs, and some auctioneers even charge the seller for the cost of advertising, so a number of factors should be weighed before making a decision. I find that during this process, some people don't do their due diligence - this seems particularly true when the owner of a collection has died or passed power of attorney to someone else to act on their behalf. Often, an executor just wants the estate settled as quickly as possible and makes decisions based on expedience - this is why I advocate for folks to sell their own collections while they are well enough to do so and not leave it to someone else after they are gone.

Once the terms are negotiated, a contract is signed. A really large and outstanding collection might be catalogued on site. For example, when famous museums in Washington and Delaware closed, a few houses went home with their curators but the rest were catalogued and some even photographed in situ. On the other hand, private collectors often inventory and pack their own items before shipping them to an auction house, or have the auctioneer pick them up in a van. Sometimes, a frazzled executor just tosses the furniture into boxes with little or no packing and borrows a truck to bring everything to the auctioneer, which is very sad. There are a number of different ways to handle it. But regardless of how it gets there, someone at the auctioneer's has to unpack, sort, catalogue and photograph the collection before it is offered to the public.

How does that process work? A few consignors provide detailed inventories and even preliminary identification numbers with their collections. Sometimes this can be helpful to the auctioneer, but it can also slow down the process when taken to extremes - not every single plate or painting needs to be wrapped in tissue, covered in tape, and then tucked into its own plastic baggie with copious notes. Yes, it's helpful to attach a sticky note that gives the name of the maker if it is unsigned, but it's not necessary to identify clearly signed items or to say in which room of which dollhouse it was displayed. It's okay to leave your price tags on, but understand they may be removed during cataloging.

And be aware that, particularly in the realm of antiques, you may have purchased an item from a dealer you thought was trustworthy, but the auction house may determine that it's not what you were told it was. I have seen too many items from prominent collections that contained things that were not what their owners thought they were. Sometimes things are heavily repaired, restored, repainted or simply made up from other things and consignors paid far too much for them thinking they were authentic and original. Many people in the auction world know the fraudulent origin of these items of dubious quality and when they get recirculated into the market through the auction process, a reputable auctioneer has a duty to be ethical in describing these items accurately, even when it means the consignor may be surprised and disappointed when their things sell for significantly less than what they paid for them from a well-known dealer. This scenario occurs far more frequently than it should and I feel the current market is rife with these detestable things as an entire generation of collectors have come to the point where they are now selling rather than buying.

Some of the larger auction houses assign an inventory number to each lot before deciding the actual lot number and where each item will appear in the catalogue while others, in the interest of economy and timing, assign lot numbers as they go along. It takes a lot of time to carefully unpack delicate miniatures and do a preliminary sorting to calculate how many lots there will be, how many days the sale will last, and if there are multiple consignors, how the items will be grouped. Should they be grouped together by consignor, should all the silver, all the dolls, all the paintings be sold together or interspersed? The answers to these questions frequently change and evolve as the sale comes together.

As the lots are sorted and the catalogue descriptions are written, each item is examined and identified by the cataloger - someone who is knowledgeable on the subject and knows the key words that should appear in the description so that Internet browsers will easily locate the item for bidders surfing the Internet. The cataloger takes care to examine each piece to determine condition and authenticity. Some auction houses do a better job of this than others. And some auctioneers will make repairs to items that have arrived in damaged condition and will state such in the description while others will simply offer the item "as is". Some places will charge the seller for any repairs needed while other do it as a courtesy - this should be addressed during the contract phase. 

The consignor should trust the auctioneer to put the lots together in a way to achieve the best results - if you don't trust the auctioneer to do that, you probably shouldn't send your collection there. If a consignor doesn't trust any auctioneer to do it properly, they should simply sell it themselves. What could be more insulting to an auctioneer than to have a consignor second-guess the way they put the lots together or how they photograph the items? Or complain when the catalogue mentions that something has been damaged or repaired?

While the auctioneer is working for the seller, not the bidder, he always has an obligation to be honest and forthcoming about any known defects or issues - in most states, an auctioneer risks his license if he knowingly fails to mention any problems. Some auctioneers are scrupulous about this but, sadly, some are not. When a buyer discovers an issue after paying for something, it is a major headache for the auctioneer if he was remiss in mentioning it. Sometimes honest mistakes do occur and the ethical auctioneer will make good when that happens. Issues like this are one of the reasons there is a "waiting period" between the end of the sale and the time the seller is paid. The auctioneer needs time for checks and credit card charges to clear and any problems or misunderstandings to be worked out. When a buyer waits a long time to report a problem with a purchase, it is extremely difficult for the auctioneer who has already paid the consignor. If an item is returned for a refund two or three months after a sale, the auctioneer pays that refund out of his own pocket and then must find a way to resell the item. It's a real hassle and, in my opinion, thoughtless and unfair on the part of the dissatisfied buyer. When an auctioneer takes back something expensive months after a sale, it can be a painful financial punch in the gut. When he accepts a late return just because the buyer has spent a lot of money in the past, the buyer is basically behaving like a bully and I don't care much for that sort of thing. It's funny how bidders expect auctioneers to behave ethically, but some seem to make their own set of rules regarding their own conduct. Every auctioneer I know has had to deal with this issue. Please don't do it. If something's not right, address the issue right away.

Photography happens in conjunction with the lot assignments and the composition of the descriptions. It is not uncommon for some photos to be taken and publicized well before the catalogue is completed, to spark interest and give bidders a reason to "save the date". I am surprised at how impatient some folks can get about the release date for a catalogue. Somehow, a place like Theriaults gets away with mailing their catalogues only a week before the auction and I know of a number of folks who didn't receive theirs until the auction was over, including yours truly! Typically, a catalogue isn't ready until 2-3 weeks before the sale date - I know of no one who finishes it any sooner than that, yet anxious potential bidders don't hesitate to call an auction house to complain about how long it takes! At the same time, I've noticed that fewer and fewer people want to pay for a printed catalogue now that most sales are on the Internet and anyone can print their own catalogue from their own computer. Yes, it's nice to have a glossy, hardcover catalogue for reference but it's traditionally a money-loser for the auction house. They are VERY expensive to produce and more often than not, the auctioneer is stuck with a lot of unsold leftovers that make excellent doorstops...

So, the lots are numbered, the descriptions written, estimates calculated and the pictures are taken. Time to proofread and make sure the pictures match the descriptions and finally the catalogue gets uploaded to the Internet. Meanwhile, everything has to be moved into the auction hall and arranged for display - this is also a lengthy process and at a busy auction house, it can be tough to remove everything from one auction and set up for the next one within a small window of time. Some houses that only do 2 - 4 sales a year have the luxury of ample time for setup. But for all of them, setting up miniatures for display is an exhausting task! I really appreciate the work that goes into presenting someone's collection with such care.

Printed catalogues are nice to have. If you don't order one through the mail before the sale, they are usually available on site at the time of the preview. Just because you may be a returning customer and the auctioneer remembers your face and name, you shouldn't assume that you are entitled to a free catalogue. Yes, complimentary catalogues exist in this world and receiving one is a pleasure. I would just ask folks to remember how hard the auctioneer works to put together a miniatures sale, how many people and how much time are involved in transporting, unpacking, sorting, etc, etc. When it comes to miniatures and the amount of handling involved in presenting them for sale with an informative catalogue, please don't complain about paying a few bucks for a printed version, or paying the buyer's premium. Believe me, the auctioneer has earned every penny! (9.25.2013)