By Dr. Lori Verderame One of the most common questions that I field is: “What’s an Antique?” The word antique has a simple definition. While many people confuse the word and its definition with other related words like vintage, classic, antiquity, or ancient, the word antique refers to an object that has reached 100 years of age. For an object to be called antique, it must be 100 years of age. So, in 2022, many […]
Dr. Lori Verderame
Art & Antiques by Dr. Lori: Big Bucks for Pokemon
by Dr. Lori Verderame Pokémon or Pocket Monsters, the famed card game and collectibles, that originated from Japan remains popular with collectors. Pokemon cards are widely traded and originated from Japanese anime art. The trading card game and collecting category has dedicated collectors and they are ready to spend big for that important card. Recently, a rare Pokemon card brought $375,000 from a collector with deep pockets. Judging from this sale, that collector wanted to […]
Art & Antiques by Dr. Lori: Discovering Queen Victoria’s Jewelry Gift
By Dr. Lori Verderame With Valentine’s Day celebrated this month, jewelry is on the minds of both givers and receivers. One of the most popular and growing collecting category is antique and vintage jewelry, particularly in precious metals like gold and silver jewelry. Many collectors and resellers are looking for fine gold jewelry from the 19th and 20th Centuries at auctions and online. They are looking for jewelry pieces at thrift stores, yard sales, antiques […]
Art & Antiques by Dr. Lori: Valuable Cooking Collectibles
by Dr. Lori Verderame Collectors are known to look in the basement or attic for coveted family heirlooms but the kitchen may be the best place to find valuable objects from the past. Kitchen objects of old from fine china to appliances are popular with collectors and can hold their value well. Look for good design elements and good condition to identify value in cooking collectibles. Some of the most coveted, popular, and valuable vintage […]
Dr. Lori: Antiques and Your Home: Thrifty products for your Antiques by Dr. Lori Verderame
You don’t need to invest in expensive products in order to protect, clean, or display your fine art or antiques. Since we all have to watch our pennies in today’s economy, here are some money saving tips and little-known tricks to keep your antiques and artwork in tip top shape. Many of my audience members at my nationwide appraisal events have complained that white cloths and acid free tissue paper, both staples for storing antiques […]
Art & Antiques by Dr. Lori: Avoiding Heirloom Damage by Dr. Lori Verderame
About a week ago, a friend called me in a panic. She realized that her sump pump failed and there was water all over her basement. After calling in the plumbers and the clean up team, she called me to ask if there was any way that she can save her beloved childhood scrapbooks. She told me, “While you had always told me not to store my scrapbooks in the basement, I had them up […]
Art & Antiques by Dr. Lori: Are you Damaging your Family Heirlooms? by Dr. Lori Verderame
It’s easy to spot obvious damage on your art, antiques, and collectibles when you are considering spring cleaning. Evidence like mold growing on your antique prints, a tear in an oil painting that grandma left to you, or a huge crack in a 1950s ceramic cookie jar are easy to identify. The real question is: Can you stop it before it starts? Yes. When it comes to properly displaying your art or antiques, some of […]
Art & Antiques by Dr. Lori: The Fine Art of Lighting by Dr. Lori Verderame
Rembrandt van Rijn’s paintings are famous for their luminosity. When considering works by the Dutch master in major international museums, you might agree with most people who think that a Rembrandt painting looks pretty good in any light! I agree with that statement. For art lovers, it is important to remember that there are certain methods to properly light your art masterpiece. While Rembrandt’s paintings seemingly glow of their own accord, various light sources are […]
Art & Antiques by Dr. Lori: Online Selling in the Age of Covid – 19
by Dr. Lori Verderame When you think of eBay.com, Etsy.com, Rubylane.com, Facebook marketplace, Chairish.com, and other sites for online selling, you probably think about electronics, toys, kitchen items, jewelry, paintings, magazines, clothes, doorknobs, bikes, celebrity autographs, and just about everything—old or new–else! Working or non-working condition doesn’t even matter when it comes to selling stuff online. Many people are selling online and I’m showing them how to do it with instructional videos about how to […]
Art & Antiques by Dr. Lori: Dumpster or No Dumpster? Dr. Lori’s Antiques Quiz
by Dr. Lori Verderame When cleaning out grandma’s attic, are you making decisions based on memories, just guessing an object’s value as you go? When it comes to your valuable objects, would you recognize the treasures from the trash? My quiz game, “Dumpster or No Dumpster” will help you to use your antiques knowledge to determine whether you should throw something out or keep it. You may have already done this when you were downsizing, […]