DON'T THROW IT AWAY!

We have a mantra that we continually recite to our clients...."NEVER throw anything away."  

Whether or not you believe you have items that deserve a place in a landfill, you could very well be tossing out hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of merchandise.  

An example of a 35mm Las Vegas travel slide

A perfect example of this occurred several months back.  We met with a client representing the estate of her father.  Aside from his profession as a military contractor, he was also a traveler and a very accomplished hobbyist photographer from the 1940's - 60's.  The client did not believe his photographs were worth anything to anybody and tossed out thousands of 35mm slides.   After evaluating the estate, we determined that many of these lost photos were of early Las Vegas, Beverly Hills and the Sunset Strip, military sites and general travel pics.  

From past sales experience, we determined that some of these photos could have been worth up to $40 each (particularly the early Las Vegas slides).  We conservatively estimated that somewhere between $1300 and $3500 in slides were forever lost.  Who buys these slides?  How about historic archives and stock photo agencies.   

A good (but all too late) lesson learned.

We completed a very successful sale, and are now cleaning up (the unfun part of this job).  It may take us a few days, but we expect to have the home in "sell-ready" condition by Thursday.

Of the unique items we had on hand, we were able to sell a c. 1910 banjo uke; a couple of original gouache and watercolor illustrations dating from the 1920's (the artist was Charles Charleton, who created early 20th century movie poster art for Universal, and later Castle Films.  I will be posting some of the images later this month); and the big sellers: exquisite John Stuart, France & Sons, and Peter Wessel Mid-Century furniture.   The owners/clients got good money for these items, and the buyers got great deals.  Everyone appears very happy with the outcome of the sales.

 
We're putting the finishing touches on the estate sale.  It starts tomorrow Thursday, August 22, at 8am.  The address is ***************, Glendora, CA  91741.  Lots of goodies for everyone. 

Big Estate Sale Find on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW

Boy, I could scream.... 

When we tackle estate sale jobs, we are ALWAYS attentive to the possibility of treasures contained in the home.  We research many of the items, either on the internet or in our library of specialized antiques and collectibles reference books.  It may take us a bit longer to get set up, but we nearly always maximize the amount of money collected for the client.  That is why I banged my head against the coffee table when I watched tonight's episode of "Antiques Roadshow" from Washington, D.C.

The guest on the show brought in a signed oil on board painting by Jessie Wilcox Smith.  He found it at an estate sale where the painting was separated from the frame, and were sold individually for $90 (painting) and $10 (frame).  Obviously the person organizing the estate sale thought that he/she could maximize sales by separating the two.  However, if this person had just taken some initiative and done some quick research, he/she would have discovered that this artist is highly desirable.  

The estate lost BIG TIME and the buyer was the BIG WINNER.  The painting was appraised at $75,000 in as-found condition, and if cleaned and restored, it could easily sell for over $100,000 at auction.  

For people hiring estate liquidators, PLEASE know the persons who you're hiring and make sure they're competent and know what they're doing. 

What Is It???

Whenever we conduct an estate sale, we always come across something - that one unique item - that makes us scratch our head with dumbfounded curiosity.   Yes, we are appraisers.  Yes, we deal in antiques and collectibles on a regular bases and consider ourselves generally knowledgeable.  But there are times when we are genuinely stumped and have to hit the books to determine what we have.  

This time, we came across a wooden stick with sterling tips on either end (stamped Reed & Barton on one end, and the words "Run For Your Life" on the other).  This stick measures approximately 15.4" long.   

There were many guesses in our camp at what it could be....a riding crop...a baton for conducting...an officer's crop....etc.  Many guesses, but that's what they were, just guesses.  

After a bit of research, we found out that this is a Victorian jogging stick.  These were only manufactured for a couple of years, and were used to fend off stray dogs that would nip at runners (in the Victorian era, leash laws were not enforced and dogs - domestic and otherwise - would run wild).  If a runner encountered an overly curious dog on his outing, he would bop the dog on the nose with the stick.

This is a great job....You learn something new every day!

Estate sale coming up next week in Glendora, August 22-24.  There will be a whole array of fun items, antique, vintage an otherwise.  To get a more complete description of what's coming up, along with dozens of pics, please click here. 

More information will be added as we get closer to the sale.  Hope to see you all there. 

Took a wee break from setting up next week's sale.   We were invited to Galeria Sparta on the Sunset Strip for the opening of an art showing by Richard Grieco.   A wonderful event.   For the second time in my life, I  had the opportunity to meet and chat with Mickey Rooney  (the first time was over 20 years ago when Mr. Rooney accidentally walked into my PR office on Sunset.  He was offered some coffee and stayed for over an hour relating some stories of Patton, Bugsy Siegel, Ava Gardner, Judy Garland, etc). This guy's a true legend whose life spans film's history.

On the business side, the gallery owner was infinitely pleasant and there may be a strong opportunity to effect more fine arts appraisals in the West Hollywood/Beverly Hills region. I will keep you posted on what transpires

 SCAM ALERT...

Despite what you think, the nation's still not out of its economic woes.  As a result, more "professional" estate liquidators have cropped up in recent years (almost tripled in the L.A. region in the last year).  Many of the newer liquidators are legitimate people trying to start up a new business, but some seem to have less than honest motives.  

Yesterday, we met with a couple from out of state.  They were in L.A., looking to liquidate the personal property of a relative who recently passed away.  The contents of the property was minimal, but there were some nice sell-able items, including a large doll collection, Disney memorabilia, Wizard of Oz collectibles, etc.   

Prior to our meeting, the couple had met with a number of other local liquidators to evaluate the property.  One particular liquidator strongly suggested that the couple take a write-off by donating all the home's contents to charity.  Because the couple was from out of town, the liquidator, of course, would coordinate the charity pick-up on their behalf, and empty the home's entire contents.  

The couple was quick to realize that there was something wrong with this offer.  In essence, they felt that this liquidator was asking permission to STEAL anything of worth, and then donate the discards to charity (charities don't itemize all items, so there's no way for the client to determine quantity of goods donated).  

For any reader of this blog, please do not go with a liquidator who cannot provide stellar recommendations (the above liquidator has been in business for only a year and was unable to provide the client with more than 2 recommendations).   If possible, attend an estate sale conducted by those who you're considering.  Most legitimate liquidators will be excessively busy and should have a sale scheduled every few weeks.  

Despite being a business, estate liquidations also has a personal component.  The liquidator should have some empathy and respect for the client, as well as the property that must be liquidated.  In all cases, go with the liquidator that makes you feel most comfortable and who provides you with the knowledge that they are working with you, and not for you.  

Finally, do not hire a liquidator who is not willing to detail what they can sell, how they can sell it, and who - after the sale is complete - is unable to provide even a cursory itemization of what has sold.  Household property does not belong to the liquidator.  They are merely agents tasked to sell the goods at the highest dollar amount.   

Hey Kids, 

Welcome me to the 21st century.  I finally got the blog up and running.  Took me forever since web techno geeks have a very bad habit of providing overly complicated instructions in a language they specifically created to baffle and confound the layman (somewhat like trying to understand Trekie who's speaking to you in Klingon). 

Anyway, you're invited to be a part of our estate liquidation family.  We have 2 to 3 estate liquidations a month, and will keep you posted on what's available -- antique, vintage or otherwise.  We'll also discuss a wide range of topics relating to the antiques and liquidations field on this blog.  Hopefully the reader and poster alike will learn much more as we progress.  And please be patient as we work out any bugs we expect to encounter in the blog world.

Stay with us, and you'll have fun.  And if you're in the L.A. area, sign onto our website and ask to be put on our email list for upcoming sales.  We're located at www.cbrunoantiques.com. 

- David