juan0505

http:// http://www.tootoo.com/w-Furniture_Furnishings/buy- Glass_Furniture /src_product/ Don't refinish your furniture. Original finish adds to the value.This warning is given over and over on TV shows about antiques. Butis it always true? No. An original finish on a superior example of an 18th, 19th oreven 20th-century piece of furniture should add value. But becausewell-to-do Victorian housewives had their furniture touched up andpolished every few years, many pieces now have finishes that, whilenot original, are more than 100 years old. If you have a piece with such a bad finish it would look out ofplace in a home, it could be refinished and gain in value. Sometimes a refinished piece sells for a high price because it isso rare or decorative. At a Rago Craftsman auction in New Jersey, aGustav Stickley trapezoidal tall-case clock just sold for $32,500.The catalog description said it had a "skinned finish." That's aslang term meaning the original finish was scraped off and a newfinish was added. Oak Arts and Crafts furniture was out of fashion from about 1920 tothe 1980s. When collectors started buying it again, they wantedattractive furniture with a perfect finish. A few dealers sandedoff the original scarred and darkened finish -- "skinned" the piece-- then applied a new finish that very closely resembled the oldone. Experts can spot these skinned pieces, but few novices will noticethe difference. The clock was so rare that even with the announcednew finish, it sold for a high price. But it was below the pre-saleestimate. I have a green glass vase 6 inches high by 4 inches in diameter.It's marked "Hoosier Glass" on the bottom. Have you ever heard ofthis maker? Glass flower vases marked "Hoosier Glass" were first made in 1979by Syndicate Sales Inc. of Kokomo, Ind. Hoosier Glass was a utilityline sold to commercial florists. The vases sell today for $5 to$15 each. Lately, we have seen more interest in this glass amongcollectors. Syndicate Sales is still in business, still makescommercial glass for florists and still lists Hoosier Glass amongits trademarks and product lines. My mother left me a 30-piece set of "winter scene" figures. Shemarked the box they are in "valuable." The small figures, mostunder 2 inches tall, are flat, lead and painted. Many of thefigures are skiers, skaters and sleigh riders, and they're allwearing winter clothing. There are also trees and streetlamps. Theword "Germany" is embossed on the base of the larger pieces. Wewould appreciate any information you can give us about the figures. Collectors call "2-dimensional" lead figures like yours "flatbacks." The first of these were toy soldiers and saints made by16th-century German tinsmiths. The molds used to make the figureswere simple -- two slabs of slate, one engraved with the figure'sright side or front and the other with its left side or back. Leadwas eventually added to the tin to lower the cost of the figuresand to make a smoother liquid metal. By the middle of the 19th century, flat German tin soldiers werebeing exported to the United States. Standing sets of flat-backfigures like yours on a mirror or sheet of cotton created a winterscene. They became popular during the 20th century, and Germanmanufacturers still dominated the market. A set of 30 figures made right before World War II sold a few yearsago for $175. That set was marketed in the United States by aNorwalk, Conn., company called Art Craft Products. Sets continuedto be imported from West Germany into the 1980s, but the newerfigures are lighter in weight and the painted clothing and featuresare less detailed. My niece inherited a dining-room table from her grandmother. It hasa label that says "Alliance Furniture Co., Jamestown, N.Y." Couldyou give me some information on the company? The tabletop needssome work. Would refinishing hurt the value?
2008-06-20 16:27:34