Know your antiques

Summertime often affords a chance to catch up with that often neglected spring cleaning chore. If you have been clearing out your attic and closets lately and found a forgotten treasure or scored that one of a kind item at a yard sale, Peter White Public Library can help with informative materials on antiques and collectibles. Don’t throw that treasured family heirloom away-find out what it is worth!

A new book in the library’s collection, Vintage Home: Using 20^th Century Design in the Contemporary Home may help you look at your grandpa’s chair or that distinctive lamp you inherited from a distant cousin in a new light. Part collector’s guide, part style guide, this well illustrated volume can provide inspiration and information on how to fit that well designed, but quirky item, into your home décor and provide you with years of enjoyment. Author Judith Miller provides decade by decade ideas on how to recreate your personal space using pieces from the Art Deco era to the Space age. New non-fiction: 747 MI

The Kovels’ Antiques and Collectibles Price Guides can help you get a ball park idea of what that collectible that emerged from the attic is worth. Published annually and often considered the go-to resource for listings of recent sale prices of over 35,000 items, this book has listings by item type are accompanied by thousands of photographs to help narrow the search for your particular piece. The current year’s copy of Kovels’ is housed on the reference shelves on the upper level of the library to ensure access for all, while past issues are available to check out for 3 weeks to allow for further study at home. Find this book series in the adult non-fiction section under call number: 749 KO

On the main floor, the library’s periodicals section is another good place to find information on the latest in the world of antiques. PWPL subscribes to several titles including the magazine Antiques, which is published bimonthly and filled with news, interviews with experts, information on historic homes, museum tours, trade shows, exhibits and conventions for collectors of fine antique furniture, art, and collectibles. Treasures is another bimonthly publication at the library about collectibles that can be found in the periodicals section. This magazine covers information on pieces from vintage Art Deco to 60’s kitsch. The most current issues of magazines must remain in the library for access to all, but past issues can be checked out for two weeks.

If you cannot find the information you need in these resources, Peter White Public Library is hosting an Antique Appraisal Event with expert guest appraiser and author Mark F. Moran on September 22 and 23. Back by popular demand, Moran has been in the antiques field for over 30 years, is a former senior editor of Antiques & Collectibles books published by Krause Publications, a contributing editor to Antiques Trader magazine, author more than 25 books on the subject, including Warman’s Antiques & Collectibles, as well as a frequent guest appraiser on the PBS Antiques Roadshow.

Moran’s wealth of knowledge and engaging, personable style make his appraisal events such fun that the event sells out every time he visits Marquette. Tickets for a verbal item appraisal are only $15, with the proceeds benefiting the library. Tickets may be purchased at the library’s circulation desk on the main floor, with a limit of 3 items per person. You can schedule the time of your appraisal when you buy your tickets so there is no waiting in long lines. Viewers are welcome to watch the action at no charge. If your treasure is too large to bring into the building, Moran provides in home appraisals by appointment for a very reasonable charge per hour.

For more information on the Peter White Public Library’s Antique Appraisal event or resources within the library visit the website at www.pwpl.info or call 906-228-9510. Clean out that attic or hit this weekends’ garage sales to find your newest treasure. Mark Moran will help you uncover the background of the item and how much it is worth. Don’t miss out on the fun and help out the library at the same time!

Happy antiquing!

-Margaret Boyle, Programming Coordinator