London Eye: April 2009

Although with some repair, this Continental olivewood and walnut serpentine fronted bureau, probably Maltese, circa 1750, 42 1/2 inches high by 52 inches wide by 22 3/4 inches deep, sold for £10,000 plus premium at Dreweatts in Newbury in January.
Although with some repair, this Continental olivewood and walnut serpentine fronted bureau, probably Maltese, circa 1750, 42 1/2 inches high by 52 inches wide by 22 3/4 inches deep, sold for £10,000 plus premium at Dreweatts in Newbury in January.
Although with some repair, this Continental olivewood and walnut serpentine fronted bureau, probably Maltese, circa 1750, 42 1/2 inches high by 52 inches wide by 22 3/4 inches deep, sold for £10,000 plus premium at Dreweatts in Newbury in January.

Some economists are warning that the global recession could endure until 2011, but listening to the upbeat message from the UK’s fine art auctioneers you’d be forgiven for doubting that there was even a recession on, let alone one that might continue for the next two years. Asked how the recession is affecting them, an understandable note of caution creeps into most responses, but it’s hard not to conclude from the small straw poll we conducted this week that while business is hardly booming, it’s still surprisingly bright.

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EBay installs new team to mediate in buyer/seller disputes

SAN JOSE, Calif. (ACNI) – EBay has stepped up to the plate and addressed the 800-lb. elephant that has loomed large since the online-commerce giant launched its site in 1995: the problem of no definitive referee to resolve buyer/seller disputes.

In an April 14 posting in its News section, eBay’s Senior Vice President & General Manager, North America, Stephanie Tilenius, announced that the company has now established “an entire team devoted to finding new ways to help [eBay users] improve their efficiency.” One of the key areas the team will oversee is the resolution of squabbles resulting from claims including non-receipt of purchased items or items said to be different than as described in the eBay seller’s ad.

“The goals of the new process are to keep buyers on eBay by giving them a more familiar e-commerce resolution experience, and to reduce the time buyers and sellers spend resolving issues,” Tilenius said. But that doesn’t mean the process will be a single-step solution in which eBay is the stage-one ombudsman.

“Direct communication between buyers and sellers will continue to be strongly encouraged,” Tilenius said. “[but] buyers and sellers will also have an option to call eBay.” A tollfree number will be available, as will an internally generated dispute form available on the eBay Web site, which initially would be the default option available to non-U.S.-based users.

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Lincoln stamp trove scores nearly $2M at auction

DALLAS (AP) – A Georgia man’s collection of more than 10,000 Abraham Lincoln stamps has sold at auction in New York City for nearly $2 million.

Dallas-based Spink Shreves Galleries on Friday auctioned off the Lincoln-focused collection that took 67-year-old William J. Ainsworth of Roswell more than 30 years to amass. Officials said bids came from around the world.

The presale estimate for the collection was more than $2 million.

Among the collection’s highlights was a proof of a block of eight mint-condition 90-cent stamps of Lincoln with his image accidentally printed upside-down. The block is one of only two known and sold for $149,600.

A 90-cent vertical block of six Lincoln stamps from 1869 sold for $86,250.

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-CS-04-17-09 1921EDT

Kovels – Antiques & Collecting: Week of April 20, 2009

Red stain and good design add to the value of this two-part 1830s Pennsylvania corner cupboard. It sold recently at a Pook & Pook auction in Downington, Pa., for $15,200.
Red stain and good design add to the value of this two-part 1830s Pennsylvania corner cupboard. It sold recently at a Pook & Pook auction in Downington, Pa., for $15,200.
Red stain and good design add to the value of this two-part 1830s Pennsylvania corner cupboard. It sold recently at a Pook & Pook auction in Downington, Pa., for $15,200.

Ever wonder how large, tall pieces of furniture were moved in and out of the small doorways in 18th-century homes? Beginning about 1740, corner cupboards were very popular storage pieces. Some were built into the room by carpenters and not meant to be moved. Instead of a rectangular piece of furniture, the corner piece was triangular so it fit into a corner with no wasted space. Through the years, many of these built-ins have been removed, given new backs and sold. Most old corner cupboards were made by a cabinetmaker to be moved from house to house. The cupboard was made in two pieces. The top section usually had glass cabinet doors covering several shelves. The silver or dishes inside were arranged to be admired. The bottom section had two wooden cabinet doors that covered shelves for stored pieces that were useful but not meant to be seen by guests. Sometimes the bottom section also had a top drawer unit that held silverware and small items. Small plain or bracket-shaped feet were at the bottom to keep the cupboard off the damp floor when the house was cleaned. If you look carefully at a two-part cabinet, you can see a molding or ridge on the bottom part designed to keep the top part in the right position. It was easy to move the cabinet out of the room. Two strong men had to lift the top glass-door section and carry it out. Then they carried the lower section. Each piece could be moved sideways through the door. Height was not a problem. By 1800 the corner cupboard was no longer used in stylish homes. Today any early corner cupboard sells for thousands of dollars. The best are the two-part examples made by skilled cabinetmakers.

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