Items of Value Inc

     HAPPY SPRING!  We have nearly all you need to get underway with gardening, outdoor dining, physical fitness, putting winter stuff away, get around to doing repairs and chores you have been putting off, redecorating.  We also have many bilingual dictionaries, books on foreign countries, travel guides to help you on your upcoming vacation.  Don't forget to buy the foreign souvenirs from us before you go because you will find them much less expensive than when you get there.  Look for our Norwegian handpainted wood candleholder, Russian handpainted wood St Basil church,  Swiss metal/leather miniature cowbell,  African round carved tray,  Argentinian figurines,  French clay/felt people figures,  Australian boomerang,  Nova Scotian cup/saucer sets along with creamers,  Turkish miniature rugs,  Chinese hand-embroidery,  Alaskan scrimshaw-handled cutlery, Japanese wood dolls.  We have all of these plus more in our two showrooms.

     I have decided to focus on one type of item every month, in part to draw your attention to it, also to perhaps offer a little education on styles.  For this month I have chosen seating furniture, basically chairs, but also benches and stools.  We have 19th century chairs and stools, including an English oak crisscross footstool ready for recovering.  Side chairs include a variety with hole-caned seats, also modern ones with machine-caning.  Some of the antique chairs are in the bamboo style, meaning that the legs and arm supports are ringed to simulate bamboo.  Since you only need one chair as an accent piece to put in a smaller room or the corner of a larger room, look at our French open-arm chairs.  They have a carved floral crest or a ribbon bow in the middle of the back. Sometimes the arms are in a French style called "crosstied reeds" -- you see ridges traversed by "X"s of simulated ribbons.  Take time to appreciate the carving of the crest and arms of our French walnut sofa.  We now have 8 leather desk chairs.

     For true lounging you might prefer the blue cushioned period Mission Oak-style open armchair.  The wood bench with long upholstered cushion might suit your needs in a hallway, landing, or screened porch.  Your little kids might enjoy the pair of miniature ice cream parlor chairs with curved wire backs along with the child-size ice cream parlor table. Also for kids is a child-size side chair with embroidered back and seat, and a rocker.  We have dining chair sets which we would consider selling with or without the tables.  For those of you who have been looking at our antique oak dining table/chairs set with the barley twist posts, know that we found the eighth chair.

         We have spent over 20 hours spread over as many days polishing silver, especially jewelry.  We are most fortunate to have received from a retiring dealer over 60 rings of turquoise set in sterling.  Other rings from another client are sterling without gemstones.  RARE vintage jewelry we received and polished includes brooches in the form of dogs, dragonfly, a pair of scissors (quite unusual).  We ran out of time to polish the sterling silver 3-piece tea set, but we did polish many silver candlesticks which are now in showcases awaiting your viewing.  We will be selling off other pieces of sterling for near bullion value. If you would like some, you need to arrive at our 8am opening on Saturday.

     Among the photographs we are publishing, you will see pictures of book covers.  We have picked up yet more boxes of interesting books.  You might want to read about the history of magic, the history of World War II, Arnold Schwarchenegger's physical fitness book (first and only printing?).  Maybe you will decide to try recipes in one of the more than 40 cookbooks we just received.  We have learned that local cookbooks are going up in price in the resale market.  Maybe the allure of a "tried and true" homegrown recipe entices you too.  Pick a few books for your leisurely weekend or upcoming vacation.

     Those of you interested in "mid century modern" will find what other people call "gems in the rough" among the pieces we have picked up.  We have done some cleaning on a few of them.  Others are ready for you to rejuvenate.  The largest is the stone-top 4-door buffet.  The wood cabinet part of it alone is very heavy, even without the stone slab on it.  Look around in our second showroom to discover small "mid century modern" and period Scan teak tables.  Of great practical use in your mountain or beach getaway would be the metal-topped cabinet.  You will find it with a new coffee maker sitting on top, a few glasses, and coasters -- just as you might use it.  We have put on view a variety of miniature chests and bedside chests/cabinets.  Our collection of cedar chests has grown.  Right now we have 6 different sizes from gigantic to small.

     Small and formerly expensive items we have just cleaned for sale include a round Tiffany porcelain box, a Royal Worcester round dish with yellow flowers,  decorative (also usable) plates from France displaying sheet music and a scene from a famous opera or operetta.  We have uncovered and added more animals to our growing collection -- this time turtles, elephant, and dinosaur, ducks, puppies.  The vintage smoking pipe collection and stands we grouped on a shelf of a teak-veneered tall/narrow cabinet.  So, enjoy looking around to find something you like or would like to give as a gift to someone else.  Our assortment of hand tools and tool boxes has grown again too.

      Note that Items of Value will be closed the second half of May for vacation.  We already have two sales scheduled for June.  Renovations are continuing in our warehouse (also on Stamp Road).  With luck, we may be able to open it for a sale this fall. The second floor there is already set up for a sale with rugs, furniture, small items.  This is the last time we will be offering the 30" brand new in the box dolls, also the last chance to buy glass window blocks.  As a challenge to those who wish to try, we have assembled on 3 shelves in our second showroom single cups and saucers that need your keen eye to be matched again.  Give it a try.  See you this weekend.