Tabla de contenidos para July 2025 en Kovels Antique Trader

When I started collecting many moons ago, rumors were floating around about how pieces marked Miriam Haskell, DeMario, and Original by Robért were linked. Some of the jewelry marketed by these brands has a similar look since it was made by hand using simulated pearls and beads in various shapes and sizes, and men named Robert were indeed associated with all of them. One theory had Robert DeMario being the same Robért who signed jewelry Original by Robért. Robert Clark was one of the head designers of Haskell, so that apparently added a bit more confusion for some folks. The truth, however, is that an entirely different Robert was the one who put his name on the pieces marked Original by Robért. Even though this type of mistaken identity has…

With dining elevated to high art during the 19th century, people loved showing off their wealth with sophisticated table settings, including elaborate dinnerware and serving pieces specially designed for specific foods. Considered a delicacy, oysters naturally had their own specialized plates. Decorative oyster plates added beauty to tables then and are now actively pursued by collectors more than a century later as small works of art, with some pieces worth thousands of dollars. Served in Style Initially a staple for the poor and working class, oysters were cheap and plentiful everywhere in the 19th century. As consumption grew, however, populations declined, and the mollusks became an expensive luxury affordable only to the social elite. Victorian hostesses delighted in serving them on ornately designed and organically shaped plates. Oysters were also…

CALIFORNIA Every first Sunday of the month, Alameda. Alameda Point Antiques Faire, 3900 Maine St., Alameda, CA. The Alameda Point Antiques Faire is the largest antiques show in Northern California, boasting 800 dealer booths. All items are 20 years old or older. For more info, visit alamedapointantiquesfaire.com. Every first Sunday of the month through May, Palm Springs. Palm Springs Vintage Market, PS Cultural Center at the Camelot Theater, 2300 E Baristo Rd, Palm Springs, Calif. For more info, visit palmspringsvintagemarket.com. Every second Sunday of the month, Pasadena. World's largest flea market at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena. More than over 2 million items offered for sale by more than 2,500 vendors. Shop for rare and unusual, vintage collectibles, antiques, new items, arts and crafts and second-hand items. SH: early birds, 5-9am;…

Heritage Auctions’ Spring Sports Catalog Auction on May 16-18 brought in a slam-dunk total of more than $18.4 million. One of the lots that had bidders sitting on the edge of their seats was Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls uniform, which earned a $2.63 million winning bid. Jordan was famously captured wearing this uniform in an on-court image that appeared on the October 18, 1993, cover of Sports Illustrated. The red, black-lettered jersey and short set were worn during the Bulls’ iconic 1992-1993 championship season and is the only uniform, according to experts at MeiGray and Sports Investors Authentication, to have been photo-matched to the first Bulls’ “three-peat” or three consecutive NBA championships. Jordan switched out his uniforms more frequently after his first retirement (1993-1995), so the jersey and short sets…

In Texas, July rolls in like a sun-drenched retriever—panting, pushy, and smelling a bit like stagnant pond water. The “dog days” of summer are here, and it seems only fitting that I curled up with Love Immortal: Antique Photographs and Stories of Dogs and Their People, a tender and beautifully crafted book by Dr. Anthony Cavo. As our readers know, Dr. Cavo is our resident expert in all things collectible. In Love Immortal, he pays tribute to the timeless bond between humans and their four-legged companions, captured in evocative vintage photographs and poignant personal narratives (along with a poem called A Dog Adieu that had me in tears over every pup I've ever loved and lost). Each image, whether a formal studio portrait or a spontaneous snapshot, holds a story…

In this follow-up to our first interview (available to read on Antique Trader.com and the February 2024 print issue of KAT), Kovels Antique Trader catches up with Robbie Wolfe of American Pickers to talk about his Rust Belt Americana event, the passion behind his charitable foundation, and the stories that stick with him long after the pick. Kovels Antique Trader (KAT): Hi Rob, thanks for taking time to sit down with us again. Let's chat first about your Rust Belt Americana event. What originally inspired you to create it? Robbie Wolfe (RW): Rust Belt Americana was created to bring car and antique lovers together—and to give back. I've always been passionate about education. It blows my mind that elementary teachers still have to spend their own money just to teach our…

Cyrus Dallin (1861–1944), a 23-year-old Utah-born sculpture student, shocked the Boston art scene when he entered and won an 1883 competition for a heroic-scale equestrian monument of Paul Revere, beating out two other finalists, including Daniel Chester French. Due to a variety of circumstances, including two World Wars, it would take Dallin fifty-seven years and seven different models to complete the project. Dallin‘s first model for the competition, Waiting for the Lights, won him a coveted finalist spot. Though all entries were required to reflect the ideas in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, “Paul Revere's Ride,” finalists were asked to revise their models after the monument committee became aware of a historical inaccuracy in the poem— Paul Revere already knew the route of the Regulars and did not wait for a…

Sitting amongst the farms, cosmopolitan cities, and natural beauty that dot the diverse Texas landscape are long-standing National Historic Landmarks designated by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior. Often accompanied by roadside markers, these relics of past wars, former governments, and long-past societies stand today to remind Texans and visitors alike of the monumental events that helped shape the state into what it is today. Texan and history buff Tristan G. Smith knows many of these places well, so much so that he honors 50 of the state's designated landmarks in his book Treasures of Texas: National Historic Landmarks of the Lone Star State (Schiffer Publishing, 2025). “Everyone has a story … so, too, does every place,” writes Smith in the text. In this unique compilation that is both history…

For centuries, many have enjoyed summertime by hopping on a bicycle and going for a ride. Although encased indoors in an air-conditioned building, the Cincinnati Art Museum is taking visitors out for a stroll in one of its latest exhibitions, Cycle Thru! The Art of the Bike. But unlike a typical ride that goes through, say, a park or trail, Cycle Thru! pedals through the history of bicycling and bike design. “The continued power of the bicycle as a vehicle for change and artistic inspiration comes to life in this multi-media presentation,” explains Cincinnati Art Museum Curator of Decorative Arts & Design Amy Dehan on the museum's website. “…We bring you nostalgia, progress, and delight! Your soul will ‘pop a wheely!’” Currently on view until August 24, Cycle Thru! displays…

The 2025 Rust Belt Americana auction will feature one of the most exciting collections of vintage advertising to hit the market in recent years: the Bob Swaback Collection. It holds nearly 400 collector-grade pieces, including signs, cans, globes, and many other amazing items. This group of rare 30-inch signs will serve as the centerpiece of the multiday auction, held in partnership with Richmond Auctions. These signs are desirable for several reasons, including their display size and portability. They're big enough to wow and small enough to haul. Each of the four featured Swaback lots here represents an exceptionally rare example from some of the most desirable brands in the field. The idea for pairing a live auction with Rust Belt Americana emerged through early collaborative conversations between event founder Rob…