TV show brightens dark days
With apologies to Shakespeare, I call this time of year the midwinter of my discontent. The holiday rush is over, and the house has settled back into a routine. I’m feeling a little isolated from the rest of the world, and more than a little weary of gray, cloudy, days.
Most of the estate sales and garage sales are on hold until warmer weather, and the antique mall booths can look pretty picked-over. The flea market is gone until spring.
There just isn’t a lot out there, and even when something fun does come along, it’s always possible that the weather will sabotage us.
So, short of a road trip to a sunnier climate, we may have to settle for being armchair antiquers with online auctions like eBay and Goodwill.com, and couch-potato junkers watching trash-to-treasure segments on television.
That’s why I think the folks at Antiques Roadshow picked a good time to premier their new show, Antiques Roadshow FYI.
FYI takes up where the Roadshow leaves us.
The first episode, which premiered Wednesday on Public Television stations across the country, was a good mix of new information and follow-up facts.
Correspondent Clay Reynolds talked to a woman whose rare Beatles album was appraised at more than $10,000 on a past Roadshow episode. She sold it for as much as the appraiser said she could get, and with the proceeds – after putting a new roof on the house – took a trip to England.
Roadshow Appraiser and antiques dealer, J. Michael Flanigan, took us to Brimfield, Mass., and walked us through the ins-and-outs of shopping flea markets and antique shows with in-depth advice for recognizing a good buy and how to effectively negotiate the best price.
The show also covered how to detect damage and determine the value of antique ceramics, and showed a complete restoration of an 1890’s cast iron stove.
I think Antiques Roadshow FYI is going to be fun. As much as I enjoy the original Roadshow events, I am always left unsatisfied. I want to know the story or stories behind an object. The new series fills in the blanks.
Next week’s episode reunites a pair of century-old handmade rocking chairs, bringing together the two families who own them, and follows a couple of men who attended the recent auction of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash memorabilia.
What makes that segment interesting is that these aren’t men who can pay whatever it takes to get what they want. They come to the auction with high hopes and, as is the case with most of us, limits to what they can spend. They both lose out on several items to wealthy online and telephone bidders around the world, but bring home a treasure or two anyway.
The second episode also features an expert who demonstrates the tools of the trade and demonstrates how to determine the condition and authenticity of antique furniture.
Each week’s show will feature a missing masterpiece; an object or work of art that has been stolen or lost.
It’s the dark of winter and I can’t do anything about the weather, but it helps to know that at least one night a week there’ll be something on television worth wrestling the remote away from the rest of the family.
I can be content with that.
Two weeks ago I wrote about listening to audio books as I puttered around the house. Reader Elizabeth Hunter wrote to tell me she shares that pleasure, but that she listens to much more than books. “I often listen to seminars led by interesting speakers, taped radio messages and church sermons,” she wrote. “When I listen I’m improving my knowledge of various topics while still enjoying myself and getting the housework done!”
Hunter discovered the art of listening to good books many years ago while she was recuperating from back injury. “Having something to listen to as I lay there took my mind off the pain,” she wrote.
Later, in a classic example of a mother’s multi-tasking, when Hunter’s son was a baby she often listened to an audio tape during late-night feedings.
Now Hunter says she sometimes listens to recordings to keep her out of bed and motivated. “When I’m very tired and just want to go to sleep, yet I must finish some task first, listening to a taped message gives me the energy to get the job done.”
Treasure hunting basics
Local antiques expert Julie Dearman, an accredited appraiser and owner of Julie Buttons Antiques on Monroe, will be teaching three classes dealing with antiques. Two are sponsored by the Spokane Community College, and one is offered by Spokane Parks and Recreation:
Antiques Appraisal Class. Monday Jan. 24, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. North Central High School. Bring two items to class and learn how to determine the value and age of your collectibles. For more information or to register, call 434-5141
Antique Buttons. Wednesday, Jan. 26, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. North Central High School. Bring your button collection and learn how to identify and date antique buttons. To register or for more information, call 434-5141.
How to buy, price and sell antiques and collectibles. Jan. 31, Corbin Art Center, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The class will cover where to buy, how to research and price and how to sell antiques and collectibles. To register or for more information, call 625-6677.
Julie Buttons Antiques is at 2907 N. Monroe St. For more information call 324-2018.
More fun to come at the auction
Last weekend’s estate auction, featuring the jewelry of Spokane’s Helen South Alexander, brought-out several hundred bidders. One of the standout objects was the 22 carat diamond tennis bracelet. Appraised at more than $30,000, the bracelet sold for more than $11,000.
The remainder of the estate, featuring more than 8,000 items of clothing, designer hats and dozens of bolts and rolls of vintage upholstery fabrics, will be held on Jan. 30.
Auctioneer Jeff Owens says that they have found more than a few surprises. “We opened another wardrobe box full of furs, and found more artwork in the attic,” Owens says. “Plus, we’ve got Wedgewood and Lenox china and another set of sterling flatware.
Photos of the auction contents will go online Jan. 27. Items can be previewed Jan. 27 and 28, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and before the sale on Jan. 30. Sale starts promptly at 11 a.m.
For more information contact Owens & Co. Auctions at 891-9935.