Belt Auction

Kovels Antiques News

Kovels Antiques: Coin-operated machines have a rich historyFriday, July 15, 2011 @ 12:18AMNew slot machines and pinball games are designed to look modern and up to date. They have flashing lights and moving decorations and they make lots of noise.

Kovels Antiques: Wine Trolleys Began As Tabletop ItemsWednesday, June 15, 2011 @ 3:09PMA trolley, according to an American dictionary, is a cart or wagon of several types that moves on a track or wire. But in England and other parts of Europe, the definition can include a wine trolley, a cart that was used to serve wine.

Kovels Antiques: Stars provide clues to ages of collectiblesFriday, June 10, 2011 @ 12:18AMFlag Day was first celebrated on June 14, 1889, in a public school in Fredonia, Wis. The teacher thought the pupils should celebrate the 112th anniversary of the official adoption of the Stars and Stripes.

Kovels Antiques: Flags add touch of patriotism to toys from pastFriday, June 3, 2011 @ 8:18AMMay is the month we celebrate a holiday that goes back to 1868, after the Civil War. Flags were put on soldiers' graves in the North, and Gen. John A. Logan of the Union Army declared May 30 to be "Decoration Day" for the nation. Twenty-seven states celebrated it that year.

Kovels Antiques: Mixed mediums offer bargains for collectorsThursday, June 2, 2011 @ 11:04AMToday's most famous designers often have the talent to create furniture, pottery, jewelry, paintings and even industrial items and architecture.

Kovels Antiques: Bars, cabinets for liquor often draw top dollarFriday, May 20, 2011 @ 12:25AMDrinks before or after dinner have been part of the ritual of dining in America since the 1800s. By then, the wealthy lived in houses that had a dining room, living room and perhaps a parlor or library.

Kovels Antiques: Porcelain once trumped gold as valued itemFriday, May 13, 2011 @ 12:25AMGold is selling for very high prices today, but porcelain was more precious than gold in 17th-century Europe. Thin white porcelain was first made in China in the 10th century, but it wasn't seen in Europe until 1260, when some pieces were brought back by Marco Polo.

Kovels Antiques: Old carousel figures coveted by collectorsFriday, May 6, 2011 @ 12:25AMCarousel figures, made mostly in the early 1900s, sell for high prices today. Carousels probably were first made in the 1700s to train spear-throwers, not as enjoyable rides for children. A horseback rider would ride toward a hanging ring and try to put the spear through it.

Coffee table from '80s carries valueFriday, April 15, 2011 @ 8:08PMIn 1980 I paid $500 for a hand-carved and inlaid coffee table that was a floor sample in an interior design company's Cincinnati showroom. The name "John Widdicomb" is stamped on the underside of the tabletop.