Antiques and Collectables – The Collectors Blog

Lynn Hopper of The Indianapolis Star reports that Shirley Temple dolls are still going strong in the collectibles market:

For an old gal of 78 years, Shirley Temple is still going strong.

Almost anything connected to this most famous child star of all time is still being avidly collected, with a wide range of values. Many of us still remember Shirley’s heyday fondly, but VCR tapes, DVDs and cable movies have given her a whole new audience as well.

Lisa Hutchurson of the Democrat & Chronicle writes about a couple in Avon that has enlisted help in getting rid of some of their “clutter”:

Collectors like the Hindsons constitute a certain breed of clutterer, according to the book Cut the Clutter and Stow the Stuff ($16.95; Rodale Press; multiple authors).

“There’s a certain obsessiveness about Collectors’ accumulation,” states the book. “Their collecting appears to have a method or goal, which differentiates them from Accumulators (your basic packrat).” But the collections remain incomplete, adding structure to a person’s life as they strive, above all else, to finish them. “The very process of looking for the one piece that will complete (the) set leads, inevitably, to finding more things to collect. Eventually, a Collector has a collection of collections.”

Dwight Chapin of SFGate.com reports that Topps plans on releasing 2005 Turkey Red baseball this summer:

There’s nothing wrong with trying to emulate the most beautiful baseball cards ever made.

If samples provided to the media are any indication, this new set will be a stunner, just as the old one still is, almost 100 years later.

Shawna Ritcher of The Hawk Eye Newspaper writes that one antique dealer now understands that if it looks, smells or feels old it really may not be old:

“Bob’s here to talk about what’s hot, what’s not, what’s real and what’s a reproduction,” said Carolyn Lehman, at the Dover Sunday celebration at the Dover Museum.

And Bob Bonar, an antique dealer who lives in Mount Pleasant, said it can be hard to tell sometimes.