ANTIQUEHAVEN

In the 1920's-1930's, Morton Potteries out of Morton, Ill produced a line of pottery called Woodland. Similar in nature to the work of England's Rockingham and Vermont's Bennington Potteries, it is often mistaken for being manufactured by those potteries. Woodland pieces are characterized by the blending shades of green, brown and yellow with a shiny glaze. Common type pieces include bowls, pitchers, vases, planters, teapots and pie plates. Most of these are found unmarked, making identification difficult. So, these pieces are often lumped into the Rockingham/Bennington category. 6 Potteries operated out of Morton, Ill from 1877-1976. They include Rapp Brothers Brick and Tile Co (1877-1915), Morton Pottery Works (1878-1915), Morton Earthenware Co (1915-1917), Cliftwood Art Potteries (1920-1940), Morton Brick and Tile Co (1915-1936), Morton Pottery Co (1922-1976) and Midwest Potteries Inc (1940-1944). Rapp even had a line called Rockingham, which adds to the confusion.

I have a cousin who has hated smiley faces ever since they first made their appearance in the 1960's. He made the mistake of letting people know how much he disliked these yellow monsters and thus began an endless stream of Smiley Faced gifts for his Birthday, Christmas and any other excuse of a holiday to give him a gift. Not wanting to be rude and throw the gifts out, he reluctantly created a mini-museum in his house, a "Face Place" so to say. This weekend's journeys found me finding a rare Smiley item....A Brearley Bathroom Scale. Likely made during the height of Smiley Mania in the late 1960's to early 1970's, this guy is very hard to find. I bet my cousin does not even have one !!! SOLD $70

I picked up 2 boxes of 1970 Goose Lake International Music Festival Tickets. Green and White. The Goose Lake Festival was held in Jackson, MI August 7th thru 9th. It is estimated that 200,000 people attended the festival. These plastic "tickets" were given out. The tickets were made by Ewing MFG Co out of Las Vegas, NV. Both sides have a goose in a circle surrounded by the words "Goose Lake Music Festival" Check out the list of who performed: Friday: John Drake's Shakedown, Mighty Quick, SRC, The New York Rock and Roll Ensemble, John Sebastian, Chicago, Small Faces w/Rod Stewert, Ten Years After Saturday: New World Symphony, Brownsville Station, The Litter, Teegarden and Van Winkle, The Flying Burrito Bros, The Stooges, Third Power,Mountain Sunday: Suite Charity, Alice Cooper, Mitch Ryder, Bob Seger System, Frost, The Flock, Savage Grace, James Gang, Jethro Tull. There is some debate on a few of the acts. Savoy Brown and Joe Cocker were on the promotional poster...

Another Garbage find !!! My associate at the shop found a 100+ year old 5-Gallon Light House Establishment Oil Can in the garbage. Clearly marked on the bottom of this brass can, are the words "U.S. Light House Establishment, US Depot Staten Island, NY" A maritime collectible, the item was purchased on E-bay by one of the largest collectors of Lighthouse and Coast Guard Memorabilia in the nation for $660. He has a terrific web site http://www.lighthouseantiques.net/antiques/antiques.html . The can was used to carry oil from the storage shed to the lighthouse to fill smaller oil cans and lanterns. Another great garbage find.

I recently picked up a trophy from a boys golf tournament held at The Detroit Golf Club in 1906. I listed it on the net, for maximum exposure, hoping to find someone who might have a tie in with the club and want it for their collection. I even imagined it returning to the club and maybe ending up in a showcase there. Well....guess what? It is returning to the club. The General Manager of The Detroit Golf Club won the trophy (at no profit to me unfortunately) and perhaps it will be displayed exactly 100 years from the time a young Master Franklin Robbins took it home after winning the tourney. It kind of takes the bite out of basically breaking even on this small piece of history to see it return to it's original home.

To the surprise of myself and many I know in the Antique business, there is a whole industry that exists producing reproduction Vietnam Era miltary patches. Known for their interesting and colorful designs, Vietnam Era Patches are highly collectible. However, much like WWII Nazi items, they are heavily reproduced. And here is the scary thing....they do not have to be rare patches. Common patches are reproduced in great quantities. Many of these patches have been made in Vietnam, so, they are correctly advertised as being "Made in Vietnam" but, are brand new. E-bay is rife with these. Experts state that some of these patches are almost indistinguishable from the originals. We recently picked up a collection of about 30 patches and we have definately found some horrible repros and some real good repros. We also found some that appear legit period pieces. So....how do you tell? Here are some sites that will help http://www.ljmilitaria.com/index.htm http://www.vintageproductions....