What’s Aunt Merri’s trunk worth?

Our daughter, like most little girls, had a favorite toy. One Easter morning she got up and found a wonderful basket filled with candy and toys. One of the toys, a stuffed animal, was an eight inch, pink and white rabbit with a beautiful face. Jennifer decided to name it Esther the Easter Bunny.

She loved that bunny with abandon. Esther traveled with Jennifer everywhere — grocery stores, vacations, hospitals, to kindergarten and to friends’ homes. She couldn’t sleep if Esther wasn’t by her side. Yes, Esther was a well traveled bunny.

Once, when Jennifer was a patient in Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD, the time came to return home. Her father and I packed up all the toys she had acquired from the nurses and the parents of other patients and started for home. When we arrived, Jennifer asked us if we packed Esther. We thought she had Esther. We had a very difficult night.

One of the wonderful nurses phoned us that evening, asking, “Have you forgotten anything?” She knew we had because she found Esther under the hospital bed. She was kind enough to carefully wrap the bunny and send her to our house. The day Esther arrived, Jennifer celebrated with a tea party.

Most of us have items for which we have a special fondness. Whether it’s a doll, toy car, or something you inherited, you may have thought about the worth of it on occasion. The Austerlitz (NY) Historical Society is sponsoring the Austerlitz Antique Appraisal Day on Sunday, May 16, from 10am to 4pm at Old Austerlitz Village on Route 22 in the Columbia County village. A panel of accredited appraisers will be there to examine items. The limit is three per visitor, at $5 each. You’ll receive a verbal estimate of its worth.

Of course, you must care for the items you bring for appraisal since insurance restrictions require the museum personal not to handle them. The Historical Society is not responsible for objects left unattended.

The 1794 Morey-Devereaux House and the 1780 Harvey House will be open for self-guided tours.

Complimentary coffee will be provided. Lunch and other refreshments will be available for purchase.

Phone: (518) 392-0062

Check our Antiques & Collectables Events Calendar for New York and New England.

Chocolate Barn items on the block

My husband and I used to drive on weekends to learn the area when we first moved to New York’s Capital Region more than 30 years ago.

Route 7 seemed a lovely trip, passing all the antique shops, the mountains and row after row of pine trees. We came across the Chocolate Barn in nearby Vermont, which originally was an 1842 sheep barn, decided to stop in, and bought some chocolates after looking at the antiques on two floors. The hand-dipped chocolates and some of the fudge were a great way to appease our sweet tooth. But, most impressive was the display of 600 chocolate molds used to form Swiss chocolate figures. It was quite an enjoyable experience on a cool fall day.

Sadly, the Chocolate Barn has been sold. All the chocolates are gone. The entire inventory of antiques and accessories will be sold at an all-sales-final, auction. The inventory will be displayed inside the barn and the auction will take place inside in a walk-around country style. No formal seating.

Inspection of items will be Sunday, April 11, at 9:30am, followed by the auction at 11am on the Chocolate Barn property on the West side of 7A south of Arlington and north of the town of Shaftsbury, Vermont.

Terms: Absolute auction; 13% buyers premium reduced to 10% for cash or approved check. Immediate removal, Bring your trucks!

Check our Antiques & Collectables Events Calendar for New York and New England.

Quilts of many colors

My parents had a cabin about a half-hour from where we lived. It was their getaway place and we spent most of the summer and some winter weekends there.

The cabin was quite large with a wraparound screened-in porch. The porch was stocked with many rocking chairs, a large table where at least 20 people could sit down for a meal or, if it were a very hot summer night, sleep in a nice breeze.

The cabin was situated above a creek that was suitable for rowing boats, fishing or swimming. At night, you could hear the bullfrogs croaking and the crickets chirping. It wasn’t always easy to sleep with nature’s orchestra preforming every evening.

What made it easier for us kids to sleep were the many quilts covering beds and stacked in closets. There was one I always wanted and usually got. It had patches from many different materials, including velvet. It was as colorful as Joseph’s coat of many colors. I’d wrap up in it on a cold night and sleep like a baby. I guess that’s where my love of quilts got started and continues to this day.

Quilts can signify and are named many different things, such as the wedding ring quilt. One of my neighbors collects quilts that show a story of an event or struggle, such as the AIDS Quilt. She hangs them on a large wall in her living room, changing them from time to time. They are beautiful and show a tremendous amount of work by someone or several someones to document passing times.

If you like quilts, you will want to got to the 12th Annual Franklin County Quilt Show, Saturday, April 11 from 9am to 4 pm, and Sunday, April 12 from 10am to 3pm in St. Albans, Vermont. More than 100 quilts will be presented, with awards given for people’s choice and the mayor’s award. A silent auction will be held. There’s no cost to attend.

Special exhibits will include Purple Heart quilts, breast cancer quilts, a 2010 charity quilt for the Franklin-Grand Isle Habitat for Humanity, and charity quilts for numerous local organizations in Franklin and Grand Isle counties.

For more information go to Franklin County Quilters Guild, 802-326-3135.

Check our Antiques & Collectables Events Calendar for New York and New England.

Cocktail time remembered

My husband began collecting cocktail shakers some years ago. He remembered the parties at his childhood home on Long Island, and wanted to bring some of the elegance into our home.

For the holidays thereafter, he received as many types of cocktailiana as I could find. He seemed to relish each new addition whether it was chrome, colored or clear glass, or a set with shaker and glasses. I searched sometimes for a full year to find the next present and was pleased with myself when I found it. Every shaker or set was in top condition and usable, per his request. When he opened each present, he would regale me with the stories of his parents’ parties, smiling as he remembered. I always enjoyed it.

The trouble with collecting anything is, where are you going to put the items you collect? After filling several glass-front furniture cabinets, the space above the kitchen cabinets and even storing some, the collecting slowed down. Although, I have a feeling he may regain his interest when I tell him about the breweriana collection at the Antiques and Collectable Auction, Thursday, March 25, at South Works VFW, 1059 Millbury St. in Worcester, MA.

There’s quite a bit more to the auction such as Chein Tin Litho Toy Collection, sterling silver, furniture, estate and costume jewelry.

Preview is at 3pm. The Breweriana Collection is at 5:30pm. Antiques & Collectables Auction is at 6:30pm. The auction is being presented by Central Mass. Auctions Inc. (508) 612-6111.

Terms: cash, Visa, MasterCard, debit card or pre-approved check.

Check our Antiques & Collectables Events Calendar for New York and New England.

Riding the dream

Everyone has their favorite memory or memories of childhood. One of mine is a lovely carousel in a small, modest park in my hometown.

I was very young when my parents would take me to this park to ride the carousel. I loved the horses with their flared nostrils, wild eyes and manes that seemed to fly in the wind. I would hold on tight as the horses went ’round and ’round. I’d wave at my parents as I passed them, looking immediately for them to come into my sight line so I could wave again. It was like being in another world as the houses passed by faster and faster, and my white steed went up and down. Eventually, the ride would end and we would walk to our car to drive home.

Throughout my growing up years, the park began to look rundown. The horses were not as lovely as the paint faded and someone or thing had broken off quite a few of their ears. The reigns and stirrups dried out and fell apart. Dust collected on everything. The neglect was evident and eventually no one went to the park. It was a sad sight for me.

One day, when I was in my early teens, I passed the park and was surprised to see the carousel missing. My father told me that evening he had heard the carousel was sold to someone building a restaurant in Florida. The horses would be refurbished and placed in various spots in the restaurant. I wanted to go to Florida immediately. The whole family did go sometime later, but we never saw the restaurant or the carousel horses again.

If you’d like to treat yourself and children to a ride on a carousel, drive to The New England Carousel Museum at 95 Riverside Avenue, Rt. 72, in Bristol, Connecticut. Or, visit the historic Bushnell Park Carousel in downtown Hartford’s Bushnell Park, a great place to take a ride on the antique wooden carousel.

Making memories for your children is a gift they will appreciate all their lives. For more information go here.

Check our Antiques & Collectables Events Calendar for New York and New England.

Alice’s wonderland back in style

Collectors, grab your running shoes and start scouring flea markets, antique and collectables shops for Alice in Wonderland memorabilia.

“Alice in Wonderland,” the movie, opened here in Albany, NY, across the nation and Canada March 5th to a whopping $41 million day. It will bring in more money from the 40-plus foreign countries presently playing the movie. There already are items such as old books of the story, some mugs, cups, bowls, coloring books and children’s toys of Alice floating around for you to collect, and more to come as Disney floods the market place with the various toys made in the image of all the characters in Alice.

Then, as I mentioned in an earlier post, there are the designer clothing and jewelry made under the influence of the movie.
A few years ago, I found a cup and saucer with the Alice motif and brought it home for my husband, a great fan of the books. He was pleased, and for a while the items were displayed in our kitchen. Somehow, they made their way to the basement shortly thereafter. Perhaps it is time to bring them back to the kitchen.

Haven’t yet seen the film? Go here and click under the Alice picture to see a video trailer.

Check our Antiques & Collectables Events Calendar for New York and New England.

Schenectady, the city of lights and old dreams

Flea markets can be so much fun. They are another way to “go green,” by purchasing items you remember as a child such as the types of mugs you drank cocoa from on Saturday mornings while watching Mighty Mouse on TV.

My husband and I love going to various flea markets, whether indoors or out, just because the products displayed trigger many memories of our childhoods. It can even be mental therapy. See that china over there? I never could understand why mother wouldn’t use it and she wouldn’t let me touch it or look at the pipe stand. It’s so much like the one Uncle Mark had when I was young. He would pull out his Meerschaum pipe, stuffing it with something that smelled like cherry and puff away for hours. The aroma is transfixed in my senses forever.

It is interesting to see the many kitchen utensils your family used during your growing-up years, the games you played, the comic books you read, the toys you played with, and the many old signs you saw in almost every store. And then, there are the old newspapers. It’s like stepping back in history.

Schenectady, NY, has, as do many other cities and towns, an indoor flea market. Here is a look inside the sprawling Crane Street Antique & Flea Market.

Check our Antiques & Collectables Events Calendar for New York and New England.

A girl’s best friend on sale in Boston

When Marilyn Monroe sang “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend” in the 1953 movie “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” she echoed the sentiments of many a woman.

There is something almost magical about receiving a gift of diamonds or other jewelry. It says “I love you” for some, and/or marks a special occasion for others. My husband has gifted me with jewelry many times. Most recently, it was a silver bracelet decorated with five silver butterflies. It was a special moment because the butterflies signified my mother, my three sisters and I, representing our family circle.

At 10 pm Tuesday, March 16, Skinner Fine Jewelry Auction will present at its Boston gallery at 63 Park Plaza items from the collection of Hope Goddard Iselin of New York City and Newport, RI — the first woman to compete in the America’s Cup yacht racing series — 15 pieces, including an Art Deco platinum, diamond and onyx bracelet from Cartier, with an estimated value of $30,000 to $40,000.

Also on offer will be a pair of Cartier Art Deco platinum jadeite and diamond ear pendants, estimated at $6,000 to $8,000; a Cartier emerald, diamond and seed pearl drapery brooch, estimated at $10,000 to $15,000, and a Droguet turquoise and diamond drapery brooch, estimated at $8,000 to $12,000. Droguet was a Parisian atelier and in the first quarter of the 20th Century one of Cartier’s principal manufacturers of platinum jewelry set with gemstones.

The sale also will feature antique and contemporary signed pieces by Cartier, Tiffany & Co. and other famous jewelers.

The auction preview is scheduled for noon to 5 pm Sunday, March 14, with a jewelry clinic from noon to 5pm, and from noon to 7 pm Monday, March 15.

Additional information is available online.

Check our Antiques & Collectables Events Calendar for New York and New England.

Visiting Edna St. Vincent Millay

Like many people, I’ve always had a fondness for historic houses. One of my all-time favorites is, well, everything in Williamsburg, VA, a whole town at its historic best.

But, closer to home in the New York/New England area I cover, there are many Colonial and Victorian structures. For example, in the Albany, NY, area is the home of the poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, located in Austerlitz, Columbia County.

The Edna St. Vincent Millay Society will open her home, Steepletop, to the public for the first time on May 28. The house is part of an expanding historic site and garden museum on nearly 200 acres. There will be 16 weekly tours conducted, through October 18. Tickets are $15 per person.

Vincent — her middle name, by which she preferred to be called — was born in New York City. Her mother, Cora Lounella, a nurse, and father, Henry Tollman Millay, a school teacher, were divorced in 1904. From then on Cora traveled with Edna and her two sisters from town to town until they finally settled in a small house on the property of Cora’s wealthy aunt in Camden, ME. It was a modest dwelling in the middle of a field where Edna found the inspiration to write many of her poems.

After a poetry contest in 1912, a wealthy woman named Caroline B. Dow offered to pay for Millay’s education at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY. She moved to New York City after graduation, then in 1923 married Eugen Jan Boissevain, 43, a widower who greatly supported her career and took primary care of domestic responsibilities.

They lived near Austerlitz, NY, in a farmhouse they named Steepletop. In the same year she won the Pulitizer Prize for her poem “The Ballad of the HarpWeaver.” She lived in the house for 25 years, dying there on October 19, 1950, from a fall.

Visitors can view only the second floor of the house while the first floor is being renovated. Guided tours of the gardens have been conducted since 2008. More details are available by phone at (518) 392-3362 or online.

Check our Antiques & Collectables Events Calendar for New York and New England.