Antiques & Collecting: Overlooked treasures

What should my painting sell for? Antiques appraisers are not licensed like real estate appraisers, but there are art appreciation courses in universities, degrees in fine art and appraisal associations that require members to pass tests. Some work in an art gallery, auction company or museum and learn to appraise through experience.

A treasure can be found in a house sale, resale shop or charity auction; however, the White House had an eglomise desk that was a reproduction. The Ford museum bought a fake 1620 “Brewster” chair made deliberately to fool a museum “expert” in 1969. And sometimes a real treasure is thought to be a reproduction.

A pair of marble busts made by Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828) were exhibited in Paris in 1789. They were bought in Paris in 1926 by an American diplomat, mentioned in a reference library in 1932 and passed down in the family of the American diplomat.

They were “lost” until a Cottone auction in 2019. The pair sold for $1.475 million. Where had they been? The last record was in a 2000 house sale run by a New York auction house that had an appraiser who did not realize that they were busts by Houdon.

The 11-inch-tall busts are signed and dated, 1788 and 1789. One is Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the other Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon. The busts must have been in the diplomat’s house and then a relative’s for 77 years after the collector who bought them in Paris died in 1941.

I’d like information on my Sears Kenmore sewing machine, Model No. 117-959. It’s electric and sits in its own cabinet. When the cabinet lid is open, the sewing machine lifts without being pulled up.

Sewing machines with electric motors were first sold in 1889. Sears began selling Kenmore sewing machines in 1913. Several manufacturers made sewing machines for Sears until the Kenmore line was discontinued in 2012.

Kenmore Model No. 117-959 was made for Sears by the White Sewing Machine Co. beginning in 1948. It sells online for $75 to $130. Some collectors look for antique machines with fancy iron bases and gilt decoration. They sell into the hundreds, even over $1,000.

Current Prices

Motorcycle license plate, Oklahoma, OKLA 915, red border, red text, cream, c. 1932, 8 x 4 inches, $180.

Salesman sample, Aldek scaffolds, aluminum, configuration photos, briefcase, green handles, 19 x 18 inches, $340.

Coin operated skill machine, Major Novelty, marquee, wood case, yellow, red, 37 inches, $420.

Orange Crush door push, "Come in Drink," bottle, straw, orange, black, 1920s, 12 x 3 inches, $660.

Tip: It is said creativity comes from a messy, cluttered environment. It inspires ideas. Remember that the next time you rearrange your collectibles.