I will be writing blogs again, but on a very occasional basis, when the mood strikes me. I thought that a number of estates were coming my way but they didn’t materialize. At the same time, I was doing a significant amount of business from my website. So I decided to do a full 360°. I’m back to my regular business. I never retired, as some people suggested, but I directed my attention to estates. I’m still interested, if and when they come my way. So here’s a few nice items I purchased recently. Very fine Tiffany Studios 16″ Black-Eyed Susan table lamp Very fine Tiffany Studios 16″ Black-Eye ..read more

For about 50 years I bought and sold American and French Art Nouveau and Art Deco glass and lamps. The point has come where I won’t be doing that much longer. I will be selling off my remaining inventory at great discounts to get down to zero. It’s not that I don’t want to keep doing the same thing, but it’s gotten so much more difficult. Most antique shows have failed or have been severely cut back. I will be exhibiting at my last two shows ever. The first will be in Winnetka, IL this November and the last will be in Miami Beach, FL, this January. I say that with sadness because I really enjo ..read more

I will publish a new blog once in a blue moon, which as you know is not very often. What was my motivation for writing a blog? Well, what is anyone’s motivation? It’s got to be self-serving. I wanted people to know that I was very active in the antiques business and that I was an expert in my field. I wrote about new items for sale, items I’d sold, antiques news, lessons, etc. And it worked. I remember an incident at an antique show many years ago. I told a client that a lamp I was selling was authentic. So I referred her to another dealer on the floor of the show to verify what I was saying ..read more

I will do my best to publish a new post every Monday. Toomey & Co., Oak Park, IL, held a sale of The Ira Simon Collection on April 27, 2022, with outstanding results. Included in the sale were some very fine examples of Tiffany lamps, and a multitude of unique Art Nouveau and Art Deco items. Following is a review of a few interesting lots by Tiffany Studios. There were other categories and makers that also sold fabulously well. You can check them all out by clicking here. Tiffany Studios 22″ diameter Dragonfly table lamp, Toomey lot #1 The sale started off with a bang. Lot #1, a lovely Tif ..read more

I will do my best to publish a new post every Monday. Winnetka Community House My show schedule used to be packed with over twenty shows a year. That’s now been whittled down to three or four a year. Not only that, but the limited schedule seems to be in a state of constant flux. The Baltimore Summer Antiques Show is now a late October show. The Chicago Antiques + Art + Design Show, which was held for many years in the Merchandise Mart, was canceled, revived and then moved to a new, unproven venue in a Chicago neighborhood I never heard of. The dates were scheduled for October 6-9, 2022. I dec ..read more

I will do my best to publish a new post every Monday. Cottone Auctions held a Fine Art & Antiques sale on March 19, 2022. Included in the sale were 17 Tiffany Studios leaded and Favrile glass lamps. Following is a review of the top three results of these lamps. Tiffany Studios 18″ diameter Peony table lamp, Cottone lot #126 The top lot of the group was an 18″ diameter Peony table lamp with beautiful red, pink and magenta flowers. It sold for $126,000, including buyer’s premium, against an estimate of $60,000 – $80,000. Tiffany Studios 18″ diameter Peony table lamp, Cottone lot #127 The nex ..read more

I will do my best to publish a new post every Monday. Business continues to be good with the most interest in the usual suspects; Tiffany lamps and French glass. Following are three recent sales. Tiffany Studios 18″ diameter Turtleback table lamp It’s been really tough buying good Tiffany Studios lamps. I can sell many more lamps than I can buy. So I consider myself lucky to have bought a superb 18″ diameter Turtleback table lamp with amazing color and mottling. The patina on the Mock Turtleback base is fantastic. The kicker is that the lamp was the personal property of Marcello Mastroianni. H ..read more

I will do my best to publish a new post every Monday. Christie’s New York held an online only Modern Collector: Design and Tiffany Studios sale, February 25 – March 11, 2022, with total sales of $2,000,628. Included in the sale were additional items from the collection of Dr. Thomas Chua. On March 4, 2022, Doyle New York sold part of the collection (see my blog post of March 7, 2022 for a review of that sale.) Daum Nancy Dragonfly table lamp, Christie’s lot #81 The top lot of the collection was #81, a 20″ tall Daum Nancy Dragonfly table lamp. While the workmanship was superb and the decoration ..read more

I will do my best to publish a new post every Monday. Tiffany Studios Grapevine table lamp, Aguttes lot #34 Very few authentic Tiffany Studios lamps come up for sale in Europe, but occasionally one does. Aguttes, a French auction house, sold one on March 24, 2022 in their 20th Century Design sale. The lamp was a rare 16″ diameter Grapevine shade on a Bamboo base; a strange combination, in my opinion, but apparently original as presented. Figuring out the value of this lamp was difficult because there were no comparisons with the usual suspects; Tiffany floral, leaded lamps. This one was built ..read more

I will do my best to publish a new post every Monday. Skinner Boston Bonham’s, the UK’s third-largest auction house after Sotheby’s and Christie’s, has decided to expand its reach within the United States with the purchase of the venerable Massachusetts-based auction house, Skinner Inc. I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was. I’ve been buying at Skinner’s for decades, and remember Mr. Skinner. I shouldn’t have been surprised as Bonham’s bought Butterfield’s Auction in California in 2002. Now I’m curious about some other auction houses, like Doyle New York, for example. If they’re acquired ..read more