The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, March 19, 1980, Page page 8, Image 8
pago8 daily nebraskan Wednesday, march 19, 1980 Granny 'sth By Penelope Smith Remember the last time your grand mother dragged you into the garage and said, "Clean it out and burn it, and 111 give you a dollar?" Well, stop and think next time, because according to Van Crowson, a dealer in antiques and organizer of the World Wide Antiques Show and Sale at Pershing Auditorium last weekend, there are still a lot of Da Vincis in the dust. The exhibitors in Crowson's shows are members of the National Association of Dealers in Antiques and a new organi zation, American Dealers in Antiquities. "We advertise our schedule of 21 shows in the national antiques publications. Everything is on a contractual basis. I fur nish the dealers with tables, security and advertising. Then I pay the city of Lincoln a rental fee. My money comes from one place only-through the door," Crowson said. The word "antique" is an ill-defined catchall term. "The federal government defines "antique" as being anything 100 years or older; then it becomes duty free. This isn't very satisfactory. We tend to put it between 75 and 100 years and it all de pends on the item," Crowson said. Crowson said people buy antiques for a variety of reasons. "There's a lot of nostalgia buying or just for the beauty of the piece. Today there is investment buying. Antiques are the number one investment for your dollar be cause of their appreciation. "One of the biggest things right now is collectibles. These are items of limited edition where the mold has been broken. They are becoming more and more scarce all the time becasue of breakage, loss or theft." Crowson gave numerous examples of appreciation of collectibles that the average person would not think of as valuable . One such example was Depression glass, a heavy pressed glass which some times has an iridescent quality known as "carnival." The glass was made during the Depression and most pieces are not out standingly attractive. "They gave this glass away during the Depression as premiums in the grocery stores. My Dad could buy these for $10 or less for a dozen," Crowson said, pick ing up a heavy peacock blue sandwich plate. "Now look at it-it's $225." Amateur luck People are becoming increasingly aware of the value of items, but there is still a chance for the amateur often with no more than blind luck, Crowson said . "About three years ago a professor rowawags becom e today's mluMes from the University of Kansas was hired to do some work on the Mesa Verde cliff dwellings. He and his family couldn't afford to commute back and forth so they bought an old house in Denver. Something about the house bothered him. He finally decided that the light fixtures were a lot newer than the house. Under the steps he found a bunch of carefully sealed boxes th3t had never been opened. They were the original light fixtures in mint condition and they were made by Tiffany." The dealers at Crowson's show were often older people who had started out in other professions and then became inter ested in antiques. As Robert Foster, a dealer in antique water colors and prints, said, "It started out as a hobby and kind of got out of hand." Foster is a retired postal worker from Kansas. Like so many of the others, he deals in all kinds of works, but picks particular pieces for his own because, "They're hard to part with." Heisy glass Maxine Montgomery, is an Iowan deal ing in 19th-century Heisy glass, a high quality, highly collectible glass made for cutting and manufactured in Newark, Ohio between 1896 and the 1950s. Montgomery is not interested in the worth of the glass but in its rarity. "I look for a particular cut pattern of 1880s pressed glass. It doesn't really sell and it's not that valuable, but you very rarely find it. It's the fun of finding it. Stanley Stole was was a journalism teacher at UNL in the early 50s. He went to Kansas and eventually, because of his interests, became the museum director of the state historical society. Stole specializes in antique glass and porcelain. Among the more beautiful 'items for sale were a matched set of Metlock vases made in Germany in 1897. The vases depict the four continents allegorically as cameo heads in a wedgewood technique of over lay ed blues, golds, maroons, and greens. Price: $1200 a piece and rising. Young dealers in the show were in the minority and had unusual reasons for being there. Laurie, a tall, thin young woman from Central City, Colo., said "I'm one of the few and last licensed traders that the Tribal Council allows to go directly to the reser vation and deal with the artists," she said. All of her pieces of exquisite coral, tur quoise, silver and bearclaw are in the Zuni Book, a book showing the individual Indian artists and their work. Everything she sells is a signed work of art. Susan Walking has a bachelor's degree in art history from Montana University, specializing in Oriental art. "I didn't want to teach, so 1 do this. I buy as 1 go from the Chinese communities in Edmonton and Alberta. Hie pieces of jade 1 sell are old and beautiful. Most of them were worn. Jade is a hard material, and even the little buttons are attractive because so much work was put into carving them." Besides varieties of beautiful jade pieces, Walking also had some unusual items for sale. By far the most interesting was an Imperial Chinese silver fingernail cover about four inches long. It was finely filigrced silver, inlaid with turquoise, coral and enamel work. The woman who wore it probably had no need for a dagger up her sleeve, because it was stiletto sharp. V v ... 7 " X - K . I CS? v.' : ; . " 'I 4 h Jd t Photo by Mitch Hrdlicka Earl Burger looked over an assortment of merchandise Sunday at the World Wide Antiques Show and Sale at Pershing Auditorium. Police held at punpoint by disgruntled terrorists By Peg Sheldrick "I'm bored." "I'm Fred. How do you do?" "Very funny. What do you want to do, besides make bad jokes?" "With my life?" "Let's just stick with this afternoon." "Take a trip to the moon on gossamer wings." "We did that last week." humor "Yeah, I guess you're right." "So what do you want to do?" I don't know. What do you want to do?" Thanks, Hiat's very helpful." "Well why do I have to be the one to decide what we do?" ; "Because 1 don't have any bright ideas." "I wonY argue with that . . . Let's see, we can sit around and tell dirty jokes to the plants." We did that last week too." "We could take up smoking." " Poa't you remember we did that this morning and we were going to spend this afternoon trying to quit?" Oh yeah. Feel a nicotine fit coming on?" "Nope." "Me neither. Looks like well have to find something else to do." "Do you want to go out for coffee?" "At 1 :30 in the afternoon? That'-s immoral." "You're right. Some things were meant to be done under cover of darkness . . . Hm ... We could read the paper." "You mean become well-informed? Catch up on world events? Garner cold hard facts upon which to base our opinions? You must be out of your mind." "Geez, all I wanted to do was to read the funnies." "That's more like it. As long as you're leafing through that thing, see if there are any new films playing around town." "Hey, here's one Chinese Cheerleaders in Bondage" 44Very funny." "No, actually it's pretty good. 1 enjoyed it a lot when I " "What?" "Never mind ... Hey, there are no funnies in this paper. I'm outraged." "I understand you have a better chance at getting a . complete paper if you buy it at the newsstand instead of picking it up off bus seats. You don't know where it's been." "Well, I don't know. I picked you up off a bus seat and I didn't know where you'd been, come to think of it." "ToucheV "Let's see if there are any interesting news bits in this thing . . . Hear we go. Dateline: Las Vegas. Police here to day reported a bizarre skirmish with a band of demented punsters seeking to take over Caesar's Palace. Claiming their brand of humor has been derided as the lowest for too long, the crazed mirth-makers held police at bay for several hours ' " "You're making this up." "No, really . . . The crazed mirth-makers held police at bay for several hours with lines like, "What kind of candy bars do nuns like? Almond Cloisters!" and "What's the psychiatrist's theme song? Hello Jung Lovers!' " Police were kept " "Let me see that." "No . . . Tolice were kept totally incapacitated until a crack SWAT team was called in. Crying "Get thee to a punnery!" the special force sufficiently rattled the humorists to permit authorities to surround and overwhelm them with withering bursts of sarcasm. Hie melee continued until the punsters were overcome " "STOP! I'm overcome." "You don't want to read the paper?" "Not ifit's all like that." "Then what do you want to do?" "What's left?' "Studying." "I'd sooner die." "Then what do you want to do?" "Chip in and find a new conversation to have." "IH buy that. I'm bored." "I'm Fred. How do you do."