Mark
Verifying Appraiser Credentials: Gorillas Make the List
First, and most importantly, make sure the personal property appraiser that you hire is credentialed by one or more of the three major international appraisal societies: ASA, ISA, AAA. Accreditation is the only certainty that you the layman has that the appraiser knows more than you do about the appraisal process. Billy-Bob the antiques dealer [… read more]
Preparation for an Appraisal: What the Appraiser Will Ask
Alright, so you need an appraisal, of what property? For what purpose? Where are you? Where do you shop? When do you need the appraisal? These and other questions are what one can expect to be asked when one first contacts an accredited appraiser.
What property? Be prepared to email digital images of the object to [… read more]
What’s my painting worth? What’s my antique worth?
About 200 people a week contact me with the purpose of trying to either identify their painting or antique object. So, to stem the flow of that deluge, here’s some advice. Google it. Log-on and try to do some of the leg work yourself. If your painting is signed, type the name within quotes into [… read more]
Major Breaking News: J.J. Audubon
A major story broke 29 July 2010 on Science Daily about the master biologist and self-promoting artist J.J Audubon. If you like Audubons or are just intrigued because some of his elephant folio (that means big) bring well into the six figures, then read about the latest discovery of his earliest print which pushes his [… read more]
Bottle Auction Record March 2010: $100,620
At the Norman C. Heckler & Company auction house in Woodstock Valley, CT, March 2010 a bottle record was shattered. A rare deep sapphire blue, ca.1820, flask-form bottle General Washington and bust – T.W.D. and eagle portrait from Kensington Glass Works in Philadelphia soared to $100,620 on a $40k-$80k estimate (see Maine Antique Digest, June [… read more]
Patriotic Eagle Inlays on American Federal Furniture
Featured in the June 2010 issue of The Maine Antique Digest (pp.26B-30B), Alan Snyder’s scholarly article, Patriotic Eagle Inlays on Federal Furniture, is well-written and illustrated and is perhaps the best story the Digest has ever had on the topic, Federal Period furniture. MAD has an on-line version if your newsstand is sold out!
2007 World Record Price for a Fountain Pen: €200k
In 2007 makers of fine writing pens, Montblanc, produced eighty-one Prince Rainier III Limited Edition 81 with a price of $291,200 in 2010 dollars, so reports Daniel Grant in his article for The Maine Antique Digest (June 2010, p.12A).
World Auction Record: $9.6 million for a Oriental Rug
The current world auction record stands for an Oriental rug at $9,599,535. The Kirman vase carpet sold 15 APRIL 2010 at Christies, reports the Maine Antique Digest (JUNE 2010, p.43D).
Appraisal Services: Available for Federal and State Contracts
Mark C. Grove, Inc. / Appraisal Services (tangible personal property): Available by appointment for Federal and State appraisal assignments, DOD and State Department as well as other agencies and departments. World-wide. Federal credit cards accepted. Viet Nam era veteran. Formerly both USAF and US Army. Officer. BS/MA JMU. Review my credentials in detail on these [… read more]
Business is Good for Personal Property Appraisers
Most all of the appraisers of personal property that I know are experiencing good business at this time. The chief reason seems to be the changing demographics: Baby Boomers are aging and their parents are rapidly fading away. We’ve seen their effect dozens of times since the beginning, in 1946. Whatever the Boomers needed, they [… read more]