February Antiques & Collecting newsletter

[grasswire]

Antiques & Collecting Newsletter
Volume 15, Number 7
February 1, 2010
Ron McCoy, editor
http://collectingbuzz.com

"February, when the days of winter seem endless and no amount of wistful
recollecting can bring back any air of summer." --Shirley Jackson

So, here we are in the second month of the new year and the only month
with fewer than 30 days. For such a short month, there is always a lot
happening in February: Groundhog Day, The Super Bowl, St. Valentine's
Day, President's Day, Black History Month, Laurel's birthday,
Westminster Dog Show, Mardi Gras, etc.

We hope you continue to enjoy our free monthly newsletter covering the
latest antique/collectible news, trends, interesting tidbits and
spotlights of interesting websites, particularly unusual corners of the
collecting and pop culture world. If so, please forward it to someone
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(¯`·.¸¸.-> IN THIS ISSUE

ONE TRACK MIND
JFK LIBRARY GOES DIGITAL
MICHELANGELO EXHIBIT IN FLORIDA
IRS AND ONLINE SELLERS
DISHEARTENING!
MUSEUM RECOVERS CIVIL WAR GUN
ANTIQUES ROADSHOW SUMMER 2011
MICHELANGELO PAINTING FOUND
RODENT PROGNOSTICATES FOR 125 YEARS

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ONE TRACK MIND

For nearly fifty years a Philadelphia man, Jerry Greene, one of the
world’s leading authorities on model trains and toys, has been
accumulating model trains and the paraphernalia that goes with them. He
has more than 1,700 locomotives and cars, 700 stations, and thousands of
accessories worth tens of millions of dollars. A selection from his
collection (hand-painted station houses, bridges, barges, carousels,
Ferris wheels and hundreds of figurines in 19th century garb and
Prussian army uniforms) is currently on display at Sotheby's in New York
through February. Sotheby’s describes the items, mostly dating from
1850-1940, as the most important collection of top-quality European and
U.S. toys and trains ever assembled. The exhibition, called the Jerni
Collection, takes up the entire fourth floor of Sotheby's York Avenue
headquarters but is just a fraction of the entire collection which is
available for private sale through Sotheby's as a single lot.

Model Train Collector's One Track Mind (Video from CBS News)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNogf5vE1pc

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JFK LIBRARY GOES DIGITAL
http://www.jfklibrary.org

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of President John
F. Kennedy a new digital online archive now gives global access to JFK
papers, records, photographs and recordings. Anyone can search, browse
and retrieve original documents from the Kennedy Library’s collection,
gaining a first-hand look into the life of President Kennedy and the
issues that defined his administration. The Kennedy digital archive
includes 200,000 pages of text, 1,245 individual recordings, 300 museum
artifacts, 72 reels of moving images and 1,500 photos. It took more than
four years to digitize the documents, photographs, audiotapes and films.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MICHELANGELO EXHIBIT IN FLORIDA
http://moaflnsu.org

A small marble relief of Jesus Christ flanked by two angels and being
held up by Mary was one of the last pieces that Italian Renaissance
master Michelangelo ever created. This marble work is displayed next to
a cast of his other great work, The Pieta, depicting Christ in his
mother's arms after his crucifixion. They are part of about 170 works on
display as part of the exhibit "Vatican Splendors: A Journey Through
Faith and Art," which opened last week at the Museum of Art Fort
Lauderdale. After it ends April 24, the pieces go back to the Vatican
and will not be on display. Many of these pieces will never be shown in
the U.S. again because, by law, they cannot be outside the Vatican's
walls more than a year.

Vatican Splendors at MOAFL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St_zjGkZzNQ

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IRS AND ONLINE SELLERS
http://tinyurl.com/IRSreporting

The new law requiring payment processors to report transactions to the
IRS is now in effect. Online sellers continue to have questions about
how payment processors will implement the law, and how it will affect
sellers. PayPal, which processes payments for online merchants and
individuals, answers additional questions raised by AuctionBytes.com
readers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DISHEARTENING!

Who would have thought that the subject of Necco Sweetheart Conversation
Hearts would become one of controversy? Each February since we began
this newsletter, we have reported on a rather pop culture phenomenon
which, although certainly not urgent or even particularly important, is
bit of a barometer of what's of interest to the public in that
particular year. The entries into this newsletter concerning the iconic
Valentine candy has traditionally just notified the readers of the new
sayings imprinted on the yearly hearts. However, we find that 2010 was a
big year for the Necco Co., as they had the unmitigated gall to change
the flavors of the hearts, much to the dismay of thousands of fans who
apparently had nothing better to do than to raise a big stink about the
change. At this writing we haven't discovered whether the Necco Co.
intends to rectify the problem, but we are still doing the research.
Thus far, we have unearthed an amazingly large number of anti-Necco
Hearts pages on Facebook. Just search "Necco Hearts" and you'll see what
we mean. Meanwhile, we have found out that the theme for 2011's
Sweethearts "messages" is activity, with sayings such as "Race Me,"
"High Five." and "U Can Do It".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MUSEUM RECOVERS CIVIL WAR GUN
http://www.moc.org

A Civil War .36-caliber Spiller & Burr revolver was stolen in 1975 when
the Richmond, Virginia Museum of the Confederacy collection was moved to
a new building. The revolver, one of the first Confederate-manufactured
handguns and used by General George Washington Rains, was one of the
museum's most prized possessions with an estimated value of $50,000. A
woman in Knoxville, Tenn., discovered the gun in December in her late
father's belongings. She tried to sell it to an Ohio antique dealer who
traced the gun to the museum. The woman's father collected Civil War
items. It's not known how he came into possession of the gun and the
woman will not face charges.

Related:
Gun Mystery Solved (news video)
http://tinyurl.com/stolengun

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ANTIQUES ROADSHOW SUMMER 2011
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/ontheroad.html

PBS television show Antiques Roadshow announced the cities it will visit
this summer. Tour destinations are: Eugene, OR, June 4; El Paso, TX,
June 18; Minneapolis, MN, July 9; Tulsa, OK, July 23; Atlanta, GA,
August 6; Pittsburgh, PA, August 13. Start scouring your attics! Veteran
television personality Mark L. Walberg serves as series host. In each
hour-long episode, specialists from the country's leading auction houses
and independent dealers from across the nation offer free appraisals of
antiques and collectibles. Admission to Antiques Roadshow is free, but
tickets are required. Check the website for details.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MICHELANGELO PAINTING FOUND
http://tinyurl.com/MikeInBuffalo

Ever wonder what could be hiding behind your couch? A Buffalo, N.Y.
family found a possible unfinished Michelangelo painting behind theirs.
The painting had been in the family for generations, having been sent
over to the sister-in-law of the Kober's great-grandfather, who was a
lady-in-waiting for a German baroness. It is now in a bank vault.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RODENT PROGNOSTICATES FOR 125 YEARS
http://www.groundhog.org

February 2 brings the most-watched weather forecast of the year—and the
only one led by a rodent. Groundhog Day Celebration 2011 is Wednesday at
Gobbler's Knob, near Punxsutawney, PA. Punxsutawney Phil has been
"predicting" the weather for 125 years. Tradition states that one must
observe a groundhog's burrow on this day. If the groundhog emerges and
fails to see its shadow because the weather is cloudy, winter will soon
end; however, if the groundhog sees its shadow because the weather is
bright and clear, it will be frightened and run back into its hole, and
the winter will continue for six more weeks.

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[Vinca]

1. I love that story about the painting in Buffalo.