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Valentine's Day

According to American Greetings, it was in the 1840s when the first mass produced Valentines were available in the U.S. Today it is the second most popular holiday for greeting cards, Christmas is number one with card buyers.

More Valentine's Day

Barbara's Collectibles Blog

Mystery Antique of the Week

Wednesday February 10, 2010

  • Size: Estimated 8" - 10"
  • Patent Date: June 1892
Post your guesses in the comment section below.

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Last week's mystery antique.

Depeche Mode's Charity Auction

Tuesday February 9, 2010
I consider myself a watch collector, but unfortunately I have a feeling, that when the final hammer goes down, these amazing watches will be way out of my price range. At least I hope they are!

From LiveAuctioneers:
One of the most successful bands ever to come out of Britain, Depeche Mode has partnered with the Geneva watchmakers Hublot, Swiss auction house Patrizzi & Co., and LiveAuctioneers to raise funds for Britain's Teenage Cancer Trust. They've come up with a fabulous idea - auctioning 12 unique watches, custom-designed and crafted by Hublot and each featuring artwork on the face that corresponds to one of the band's 12 studio albums. Each watch is presented in a box filled with a number of other gifts personally chosen for inclusion by the band. All proceeds from the Internet-only auction, which runs through Feb. 24, will be turned over to the charity during the band's Feb. 26 concert in Dusseldorf, Germany.

View the catalog of all 12 watches up for auction.

LiveAuctioneers.com

Collecting Black Memorabilia

Monday February 8, 2010

(c)Bill Correll
What exactly is Black Memorabilia? The best description is found in "Black Collectibles, Sold in America" by P.J. Gibbs. She explains "in order for an item to be considered a Black collectible, it must be made in the imagery of a Black person or it must be directly attributed to a Black artisan."

That description can cover a lot of stuff! From the early and, many times, offensive pieces depicting the times of slavery to recent collectibles such as Thomas Blackshear's Ebony Visions, it all fits into that catchall category of Black Memorabilia and collectibles.

St. Bernard Carving Sells for $30,500!

Thursday February 4, 2010
With a pre-auction estimate at only $6,000 - $8,000, this wonderful wooden carving certainly caught a lot of attention -- selling for almost four times the expected price. Auctions Neapolitan was the auction house selling the piece in January 2010.

Larger image and more information.

Auctions Neapolitan

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