an internet publication serving dealers and consumers Dec. 17, 2010
Pickers Pedals Passions & Blunders
Books - New Icon Representing Wealth No one disputes the fact that due to our ever evolving high technology, the world is moving towards a more paperless society. Yes, it might mean saving more trees but on the other hand there a few other little unanticipated problems that are inherent with someone being totally ‘plugged-in.’ Don’t sit there and tell me that you haven’t laughed out loud at the popular commercial touting yet a new all-in-one phone that does it all and quicker. It is truly a very humorous tv ad showing a few people being totally oblivious as to their surroundings and goings-on. Me personally, I love
the clip showing a father roaming around a ball field in the middle of his kid’s game. I actually believe that books will always be around despite our push to end traditional printing. After all, there are multitudes of books out there in the world before we discovered computer technology coupled with electronic publishing software. I remember a conversation many years ago, just at the cusp of electronic desktop publishing. Someone older and much wiser than me emphatically said that books would become an icon of the very wealthy. My thought at the time was, ‘wow, I cannot imag-
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ine my life without printed books that I treasured or used frequently for reference on various subjects and issues. I grew up measuring ‘wealth’ by the number and the type of books one had in their own personal library. In my personal library over the decades, someone could pick up an antique reference guide, a copy of Edgar Allan Poe’s poems, the autobiography of Jim Corbett, an Englishman living in India who was a famous Books continued next pg
Pickers Pedals Passions & Blunders is an eclectic mix of unique items, passions, events and bargains and the people who love them. Our mission is to provide more exposure on a monthly basis for antique and collectible dealers in order to connect to consumers who want to find those dealers. There’s always this unquenchable thirst to add to one’s collection and to find that ever elusive item, whether it be a piece of period furniture, a doll, a tea pot, or a vintage piece of farm equipment. We just want to connect folks so that everyone can buy and sell the things that we all love.
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hunter turned maneating tiger hunter, or some obscure traditional martial arts book that was translated to English. Oh yes, an astute person can actually tell quite a bit about a person just from browsing their bookshelves.
Now, the equivalent is what are the favorite bookmarked websites on people’s computers and phones. Just know that there is a whole breed of people who have grown fond of their books, whether brand spanking new novels or rare antique books.
Audubon’s “Birds of America” Fetches $10 Million GREGORY KATZ, Associated Press Gregory Katz, AP – Tue Dec 7, 2010
LONDON – It’s quite a nest egg. John James Audubon’s “Birds of America,” a rare blend of art, natural history and craftsmanship, fetched more than $10 million at auction on Tuesday, making it the world’s most expensive published book. With its 435 hand-colored illustrations of birds drawn to size, the volume is one of the best preserved editions of Audubon’s 19th-century masterpiece. The sale at Sotheby’s auction house had been anticipated for months by wealthy collectors. The book sold for $10,270,000 (6.5 million pounds) to an anonymous collector bidding by telephone,
the auction house said. Because each picture is so valuable, there have been fears the volume will be broken up and sold as separate works of art. However, experts believe that’s unlikely. The tome is probably more valuable intact. And collectors hold Audubon in such reverence that the notion of ripping apart a perfect copy would be akin to sacrilege. “Audubon’s ‘Birds’ holds a special place in the rare book market,” said Heather O’Donnell, a specialist with Bauman Rare Books in New York. “The book is a major original contribution to the study of natural history in the New World.” “It’s also one of the most visually stunning books in the history of print: The scale of the images, the originality of e a c h composition, the brilliance of the hand coloring.” Then there’s the wow factor. 2
And we can’t let the opportunity slip by without pitching a perfect Holiday Gift for that someone who is hard to buy for. Consider what that person likes or enjoys, then find a book they’ll love on the subject. Renee
“No one can rival John James Audubon for frontier glamour,” O’Donnell said. “The story of his lonely journey through the American wilderness and his struggle to record what he saw there gives the ‘Birds’ a resonance that no other book can match.” Part naturalist and part artist, Audubon possessed an unequaled ability to observe, catalog and paint the birds he observed in the wild. Experts say his book, originally published in 1827, is unmatched in its beauty and is also of considerable scientific Audobon Book Auction cont. pg 8
For new readers who were forwarded this from someone... make sure you OPT-IN to receive your own FREE copy of Pickers Pedals Passions & Blunders! Just email us requesting to opt-in. For info on our Display Ad sizes and rates, email rtwdesigns@embarqmail.com or water.warrior8@gmail.com, or call 336.340.6299 for details.
Passions Destination Calendar of Events The New Years Antiques Show at the Birchwood Manor, Jan 1-3, Whippany, NJ, The Birchwood Manor. 111 North Jefferson Rd. For info, JMK Shows 973-9272794, 973-224-2797 or visit www.jmkshows.com The Sarasota Holiday Antiques Show and Sale, January 1-3, Sarasota, FL, Sarasota Municipal Auditorium. 801 N. Tamiami Trail. For info, 973-927-2794 or 973224-2797 or visit www.jmkshows.com
“Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall.”
Richmond Antiques Spectacular & Antique Tool Show, Jan 2-3, Richmond, VA, The Showplace. 3000 Mechanicsville Turnpike. For info, Louis Jesse 804-462-6190 or Bob Taylor 804-769-8866.
ATTN All Hunters! Don’t forget to donate your kills to your local chapter of Hunters for the Hungry. There are chapters set up in just about every state, so please visit your local organization’s website for more details on how to help feed the hungry. 3
for all our readers out there who are hunters, please remember to donate unwanted meat
Merry Christmas
from the staff at Antique Market Place Greensboro, NC
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Give the Gift of Knowledge this Holiday Season! If there is an antique/collectible or classic car lover in your network, then we have the best gift idea that is totally free! Sign up that person to receive Pickers Pedals Passions & Blunders! We know that there are readers out there who are forwarding our newsletters out to fellow antique and collectible lovers, so why not just give them their very own subscription? Don’t worry....if they don’t want to receive our newsletter, they can email us asking to be removed from our mailing list.
Network with Fellow Collectors We want to encourage our readers who are comfortable with surfin’ the internet and different websites to drop in and visit one of the coolest and most helpful sites called iAntique.com. Dan Briddle
recognized that an online forum was needed for people to meet and converse with each other about their passions. Dan agrees with us that it’s all about sharing knowledge and educating newcomers to antiques.
an internet
publication
serving dealers
and consumers Oct.6, 2010
Pickers Pedals Passions & Blunders
The Passions & Traditions of the Fall Season sell their merchandise and p r o d u c e . Shoppers flock to Piedmont Farmers Market to stroll and enjoy the comfort of seeing and conversing with growers. Long standing Here’s a greeting for any visitor coming to get their NC grown vegetables of at the Piedmont Farmer’s Market. Fall produce tends to make shoppers traditions think of much simpler times when just about all food served was prepared buying and in home kitchens across the nation. selling take on special meaning for North As tens of thousands of cars Carolina families. Generational pass by the Piedmont Triad differences are soon bridged as Farmers Market on Sandy Ridge parents and grandparents Road on their busy travel of describe seasonal items only Interstate 40 outside of found at the farmers market. Greensboro during the week, A bag from this vendor and a only a relatively small number are able stop to enjoy the colors and smells of the seasons. But on the weekends, the thousands are drawn to caravans of s m a l l s merchants and f a r m e r s who’ve come Not only are there good fall vegetables to be found but also beautiful flowers. This booth at Piedmont Farmer’s Market is of Whitakers Farms to the market to & Gardens located in Climax, NC (Richard & Faylene Whitaker). 1
bag from that seller soon find their way into family seasonal recipes, many passed down from one generation to the next. The influence and location of the Piedmont Farmers Market is quite apparent with Camping World on the same exit, one of the RV Dealers located same exit. The flavor of the tradition and convenience makes for a nice day trip , especially if coupled with a stop at Antique Market Place nearby.
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Pickers Pedals Passions & Blunders Proprietary Reserve Offerings
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Pickers Pedals Passions & Blunders Proprietary Reserve Offerings
1936 Plymouth Coupe
1938 Chevrolet 2 door Sedan Street Rod
Make - Plymouth 2 door Coupe Model - 1936 Engine - 350 C.I. Chevrolet 300hp Color - Torquoise Interior Description - Bench cloth seat with tan dash and door moldings, power steering, tilt wheel, air condition Exterior Description - Torquoise with chrome spoke wheels Price - $34,000.00
Make - Chevrolet automatic with air conditioner Model - 1938 Engine - 350 C.I. Chevrolet 300hp Color - Red Interior Description - Bucket seats, tan leather, power steering, brakes, air condition Exterior Description - Red with chrome rally wheels Price - $32,000.00
Serious inquires only, please! For more photos on any vehicle, please contact Dale Swiggett at 336.340.6299 or email him, water.warrior8@gmail.com. All inquiries will be qualified prior to appointments made for viewing.
1940 Ford 2 door Coupe Make - Ford 327 C.I., automatic transmission Model - 1940 Engine - 327 C.I. Chevrolet 300hp Color - Red Interior Description - Bench tan, leather seat, tan dash and moldings, power steering, tilt wheel, power windows, air condition Exterior Description - Red with chrome spoke wheels Price - $42,000.00
1936 Chevrolet Pickup Truck Make - Chevrolet 2 door pickup Model - 1936 Engine - 327 C.I. Chevrolet 300hp, Chevrolet automatic transmission Color - Maroon with black fenders Interior Description - Tan bucket seats with black dash and moldings, automatic tilt wheel Exterior Description - Maroon with black fenders, chrome wire wheels Price - $26,000.00 7
w w w . g r a c e l i w a n g . c o m
Audobon Book Auction continued
“I want to create vibrant imageries that become the active force in expressing Colors and Forms as in Nature, with emotional qualities that are strong and radiate energy and exuberance.”
likely be valued even higher if they came up for sale. Harrington estimated that a complete Gutenberg Bible in good condition would probably sell for between $30 million and $50 million, but none has been sold in more than 30 years. In recent years, he said, a complete First Folio of Shakespeare’s works sold at auction for about $5.6 million while a Chaucer collection sold for more than $4 million. “That’s getting close to Audubon,” he said. While the Audubon volume holds the record for a published book, a 72page notebook of Leonardo da Vinci’s
value, justifying its stratospheric price tag. Pom Harrington, owner of the Peter Harrington rare book firm in London, said it has been 10 years since the last complete edition of “Birds of America” was auctioned, going for a thenrecord $8.8 million. He said it is unusual to find a copy not in a museum or a c a d e m i c institution. “If you want to buy an example of a rare work of art, this is one of the best,” he said. “It is valuable in its artistic nature because it is so well drawn.” He said other historic books — such as an excellent example of a Gutenberg Bible — would Portrait of John James Audobon
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handwritten notes and illustrations went for even more. Known as the Leicester Codex, the collection was bought by Bill Gates in 1994 for $31 million. Also on the block Tuesday was a Shakespeare First Folio from 1623 that fetched $2.05 million (1.3 million pounds). Sotheby’s books expert David Goldthorpe said the Audubon and Shakespeare volumes represent “the twin peaks of book collecting.” Both came from the estate of the 2nd Baron Hesketh, a collector who died in 1955. The “Birds of America” plates were printed in black and white and then hand-colored by “the best artists of the time,” Harrington said. The collection, made from engravings of Audubon’s watercolors, measures more than 3 feet by 2 feet (90 centimeters by 60 centimeters) because Audubon wanted to paint the birds life size. The size of the illustrations makes them extremely valuable as stand-alone pieces of art, leaving the complete edition vulnerable to being broken up so the prints can be sold one by one. Harrington said the wild turkey depicted in the first big plate of the book can be sold for $200,000. But Mark Ghahramani, a rare book specialist at Classic Bindings in London, said it is unlikely this “Birds of America” will be divided up. “There are very few copies left of the entire book, so I would think that whoever bought it at the auction would be quite interested in keeping it whole,” he said. “Anything to do with American Audobon Book Auction cont. next pg
Next Week’s Issue... More Holiday Recipes ‘My Favorite Christmas Gift Was...’ Antique Ornaments Yuletide Traditions in the South
Pickers Pedals Passions & Blunders Wishes All of Our Readers a very Merry Christmas! Please Enjoy the Season yet Still Remember the Reason
Audobon Book Auction continued
sailed to Britain, eventually natural history is quite valuable.” finding printers in London and in Audubon, who died in 1851, Edinburgh, Scotland. represents a unique figure in The volume is seen as a vital American history — a piece of American history, Renaissance man with shades of Harrington Huckleberry Finn. said. Like Mark Twain’s “It is the fictional character, most important Audubon made an natural history epic voyage down book for the mighty America,” he Mississippi — but said. “That is with a scientist’s the main point. inquisitive nature. It screams Taking along Americana. For only a rifle, an an American assistant and a patriot, it is the drawing pad, he greatest book made illustrations on American of as many birds as heritage. There he could find. is no He did not find a competition.” printer in the One of our favorites from ___ United States Audobon’s collection. Gillian willing to take on S m i t h the book with its contributed to this report. oversize illustrations, so he 9
For those of our readers who are looking for something particular, please contact us and we will do our very best to locate the object of your desire! Pickers, Pedals, Passions & Blunders Needs Sales Reps We just can’t get around fast enough! We need Sales Reps for areas in Pennsylvania, Maryland, DC, Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, SC, Georgia, Florida and Louisanna. We are looking for enthusiastic people with interest in Americana and travel. Photography, creative writing, internet access and basic computer skills are needed. No phone calls! All decisions will be based upon resumes and creative introductions. Send resumes to our PO Box in NC or email us, please!
Pickers Pedals Passions & Blunders is a NC-based publication. Mailing address... PO Box 578 Rolesville, NC 27571 Publisher... M. Dale Swiggett 336.340.6299 water.warrior8@gmail.com Editor... Renee Warren 919.880.5217 rtwdesigns@embarqmailcom Website coming soon!