The Auction Ear
1st Qtr 2015 February 2015
Vol 2 Issue 2
Ever Been Amazed at Your find?
This may be hard to believe, but it is true.
EBAY has everything available for
purchase. The good, the bad and the
unbelievable finds are waiting for a bid. A
good friend, who I will call Fish, texted me
one day and suggested I look at the
Historic Photos on EBAY. Not knowing
what I was looking for, I paged down and
there it was….a photo of my Grandfather
crying (that’s what the old guys called it)
an auction at North Wales on Springs
Road in 1941. This was an original photo
from the Acme Photo NYC as stamped on
the back. For only $9.99!
The info on the
back states that
crowds of nearly
1500 streamed
in and out all
day. How lucky
was I to have a
friend looking
out for my
interest
and
finding
this
treasure
on
EBAY. If you
aren’t
impressed by that, three months later
there was another photo posted which
gave a larger view of the auction. Of
course, I purchased that for $9.99 also.
As you look at the photo, I have circled my
Mother (with her back to the camera) and
my Father holding up a chair. Grandfather
is in the middle.
Published & Copyrighted by:
Shumate Auctions, LLC. #788
The
December Nippon and Art Online
Auction with Proxibid.com was a success.
259 lots were offered at 253 sold.
The
second weekend of January, I
attended
the
Virginia
Auctioneer
Convention in Charlottesville to collect
continuing education credits for my license
renewal. During the first session, the
facilitator asked how many of us (144
attending) were still auctioning holding a
microphone. Three…3…tres… held up
their hands. I was amazed, and quickly
saw that I was behind the times. Being of
“old school” mentality, I set out to talk to as
many of those 141 as I could in two days.
What I found was consistent with all of
them, they tried it and have never looked
back. The majority were from small
communities in Virginia, few Richmond
and Roanoke. Two of them said at
simulcast auctions where live and internet
bids are accepted, people come with
notepads and bid online while watching
item sells live.
The buyers contact
shippers provided in the Terms and the
Auction Company processes credit cards
for purchase and moves on to next
auction.
I am going to try a few more online and
see how it goes. There will be one coming
up in early February with mostly glass.
BUT, I am still offering LIVE auctions
too!!
Magic Glass
What
is that strangely colored glass?
Vaseline, Canary, Lenora Green,
Chameleon are a few of the names given
to that beautiful transparent glass that
glows in ultra-violet or black light. Most
people use the term “Vaseline” even
though that word wasn’t associated with
glass until the mid-1930’s, probably by a
Dealer. “Old Vaseline” generally refers to
yellow glass made prior to 1941. It was
called Vaseline because the color was
similar to the lubricant.
Ultraviolet is the key factor in identifying
Vaseline Glass. The glass contains 2%
uranium dioxide and ultraviolet light emits
high energy emissions of electrons which
has an unsettling effect on the unstable
uranium atom. The electrons circling the
nucleus of the atoms are pulled out of orbit
which results in the yellow-green light
characteristic of uranium. Shortly after
Pearl Harbor and until the Atomic Energy
Commission eased restrictions on their
use in 1951, uranium and its compounds
were unavailable for civilian use.
Custard and Burmese Glass also have a
yellow-green glow, but they are not
transparent like Vaseline glass. Clear
glass containing manganese glows, but
not with the same intensity as uranium
Vaseline. The bright glow from true
Vaseline is unmistakable, making it easy
to verify.
Ultraviolet lights are no longer big and
bulky, now you can purchase small battery
operated lights to check your glass. Be
sure to use only use long-wave ultraviolet
lights. Short-wave ultraviolet can cause
permanent retinal damage to the eye.
Remember, Vaseline Glass is beautiful,
easily identified and not radioactive.
A Guide To The Magic Glass by Jay
Glickman and Terry Fedosky was used for
this article.
Vol. 2 Issue 2, February 2015
THE AUCTION EAR
Shumate Auctions
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Let’s Go Shopping!
At the auctions, I feel very fortunate to
look around and see bidders from local
antique shops. So here is a quick
comment about the some local shop
keepers and their treasures.
3-Hens Treasures can be found on Main
Street in Marshall, VA across the street
from the PO and is open Fri-Sun. Doodles,
Holly and Joan have a homey flow to their
shop, with each room displaying beautiful
antiques and gifts.
Shop here for
equestrian, jewelry, unique furniture,
Fiesta, vintage clothes, quilts and
primitives. Keep looking around, there
are treasures tucked everywhere!
[email protected]
While you are in Marshall visit Designor
Finds on Frost St. Timothy and Joyce are
open Thurs-Sun next to Marshall Antique
Tag Sale, which is operated by Debbie
Flournoy the first weekend of the month.
Designor Finds is an upscale shop with
more than just the usual antique shop
curiosities.
The Treasure Box has a new location next
to China Jade in Warrenton. Matt took the
space where BJ’s Used Books was and
totally transformed it into a bright and
inviting shop. Come in and relax in the
sitting area at the window or browse the
displays and don’t miss the Jewelry Wall.
Oh, one more thing you will find…very fair
prices.
[email protected]
Check it out!
mention of death or no one caring. She
thought it to be a sinister word with a not
very satisfactory definition. Her husband
had attended auctions as a child and saw
one in the paper and insisted that they go.
He said an auction was a gathering of
neighbors who had come to purchase a
memento from a home they had known, or
something they needed. This helped her
see that an auction was not the grim affair
she thought.
decorative bottles that were hard to throw
away.
The Auctioneer quickly drew in the crowd
1845 and 1870 you will find a black, red or
white circular mark. This mark forms from
fragments of the oxidized iron deposited
by the heated pontil.
with snappy bids and he lost his loose
dentures at one point. Emma realized that
this was like a church social of friends
having a good time. After some thought,
she decided that she will become an
auctioneer. But, her family did not like the
idea…her children said they would be
embarrassed and her husband said they
were handled by men. But she said
women were natural talkers, and that’s
what auctioneers do. So she did. Her
story is written in “Sold, to the Lady in the
Green hat” it’s a good story.
Country Auctions, how can you resist the
thrill? Even if you have no intention of
buying, chances are you will see
something you need or like. Then all of a
sudden, you are pulled into the game.
Auctions are conducted at a fast pace to
keep the bidders on their toes.
Who was Emma Bailey?
In 1950, Emma Bailey became America’s
first woman elected to the then all-male
National Auctioneers Association. At 30
years old, she and her family moved to
Vermont and opened an auction house.
She experienced her first auction at 10
years old and was told that an auction
happened when someone died and there
wasn’t anyone left to take their things.
She looked up the word “auction” and the
dictionary gave “A public sale of property
to the highest bidder” as the definition. No
8/11/2010 1st auction on Falmouth St.
Bottle Collecting Tips
Figural bottles are just that, bottles made
in a recognizable shape. Many in the
1930’s, such as Lincoln, George
Washington, Mr. Pickwick had a paper slot
under the cap to be used as a bank once
empty. Everyday liquids such as Lestoil,
Heinz catsup, fruit syrup and the favorite
Mrs. Butterworth were offered in
Age has a few tell-tale signs.
Serious
collectors look for bottles made between
1810 and 1910 that were crafted by hand.
Early bottles have a “pontil scar” on the
bottom where the glassblower rod was
removed, many times leaving a sharp
chunk of glass.
On the bottom of bottles blown between
Molded
bottles can be dated by
observing the length of the seam left by
the mold, the higher the seam the later the
bottle. One with bubbles in the glass is
“an old one”. Bottle Pricing Guide by
Hugh Cleveland has many pictures and is
a good source.
Condition is everything so avoid cracked,
chipped or “sick” bottles. Sick means it
has come into contact with organic
material that will make the glass foggy,
cloudy or discolored. Paper labels intact
are a good find and unusual embossing
also adds to the value.
Sick
bottles may be improved by an
ammonia bath of 4 parts water to one part
ammonia. If you don’t have a good bottle
brush, use a handful of BBs and roll them
around in the bottle. White vinegar can be
used to remove alkaline deposits.
Auctions are a way of
life in America. Most
important is the period
of time before it begins—
inspection time. Always
inspect everything and
have questions answered
about the items before going up for
sale.
[email protected]
540-229-7063
Auctionzip.com #1861
606 Falmouth St. Warrenton, VA 20186
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Shumate Auctions has been pointing the way to Quality Auctions since 1916 in Fauquier County !