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I'm going to try and keep you all updated with news, information and tips from the world of antiques and collectables, so please come back and visit often. Please feel free to make a comment about anything.
With all the talk about e-readers, ipads and other electronica for reading books one thing that seems to have passed a lot of people by is the change it will bring about to book collecting. Clearly a first edition of an e-book is something most of us will not be wanting. Another twist to the tale is the fact that signed editions will not be as prevalent. Will we in future have authors doing virtual signings were they send a buyer an email? Will they tweet their signature?
Book collecting has become even more popular in the last decade or so and I suspect that signed first editions from the last century will increase in value well above the levels of inflation. It is already something of a minefield in that there are different ways for books to be signed. Generally the most desirable of all is 'flatsigned'. It's a term coined by the author Stephen King for a book signed by the author on the title page without there being an inscription to someone. Bookplates signed by the author that are stuck into a book lack that special something for the serious collector. There are examples where a signed copy inscribed to someone of significance, especially if they are involved in the book in some way can be particularly collectable.
A friend of mine told me about a book that he has seen was not signed by the writer but instead contained paintings. It was a 1940s copy of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet which with beautiful paintings of costume designs on many of the pages. The paintings were by the artist and renowned stage designer Oliver Messel. They were his ideas for the costumes for a production of the play directed by his friend Peter Glenville. It’s the paintings that make the book both unique and collectable.
As many of you know I regulary visit New York and when I'm there I like to try and search out new antique shops to visit. A friend has just sent me details of a shop in Brooklyn that they think I should visit next time I'm in the city. I thought I;d make it my Sunday Shop for today. It has the unusual name of Kill Devil Hill and it describes itself as a 'curious general store in Greenpoint Brooklyn.' On its web site it goes onto say. 'Thinking about life before 1945, workers, socialism, amber waves of grain, the wild west, searching for gold, the sustainable and renewable. Offering a range of vintage goods, from workwear to military uniforms. Taxidermy, bones, antlers, and teeth. Trading beads, elk ivory pendants and clocks. Come for the curiosities, stay for the stories.'
It's been a long and tiring week so this evening's post is just a quick bit of advance notice about an event with Chorleywood Books on Friday March 12th at 7.30. It will be held at Chorleywood Memorial Hall and Mark Hill will be coming with me. Tickest are £5 each and are available from Chorleywood Bookshop.
This month on the UK eBay site the number of antiques offered for sale stands at 99,443 which is down by about 6% on January, but almost identical to the number in December 2009. On the US site the number of items listed as antiques has dropped to 239,022, which is down from 252,939 – a decrease of 6%.
What’s really interesting is to compare this year with last year. In the UK there were 65,010 items for sale in February 2009 – this means there’s been a massive 53% increase. On the US site the number of items listed as antiques was 209,687 – an increase of 14%. What does this tell us about eBay in the UK?
Anecdotally I’m hearing that there are more people offering things for a set price rather than in an auction. This could well be a part of the rise in items offered.
For many years now it's been popular to stay in hotels that boast rooms full of antiques – I even owned one at one point! It's easy to see the attraction of staying in rooms full of beautiful things, four-poster beds and all the accoutrements of those halcyon days. However, I've just been told of a new phenomenon. A trailer park in Arizona houses a collection of 1950s vintage trailers that are available to stay in. There's a 1949 Airstream, one of those beautiful sleek silver machines, there's a 33 foot Royal Mansion built in 1951 with leopard carpet, martini glasses, Diner-style breakfast booth and phonograph with a collection of 78rpm records, or a 1947 Tiki Bus Polynesian Palace, complete with hand-carved outrigger bar and your own Tiki God.
They play 1950s music and show old movies on the TVs and help visitors recreate holidays when the world was a simpler place. You can find out more HERE
For many years now it's been popular to stay in hotels that boast rooms full of antiques – I even owned one at one point! It's easy to see the attraction of staying in rooms full of beautiful things, four-poster beds and all the accoutrements of those halcyon days. However, I've just been told of a new phenomenon. A trailer park in Arizona houses a collection of 1950s vintage trailers that are available to stay in. There's a 1949 Airstream, one of those beautiful sleek silver machines, there's a 33 foot Royal Mansion built in 1951 with leopard carpet, martini glasses, Diner-style breakfast booth and phonograph with a collection of 78rpm records, or a 1947 Tiki Bus Polynesian Palace, complete with hand-carved outrigger bar and your own Tiki God. 
