Hi Kevin, I just won a teardrop shape part brass Belgium iron at the lately PITCA auction. I also acquired from e-bay like the first one you show with a strap handle, so this was very interesting to me. Thank you so much. Coral
Joe, So, where do I get my stuff? I covered this in KTI #20, and if you have not seen this you should. But to reflect and rearticulate: I still visit antique shops (“in the wild”) with high hopes, but it is very seldom that I find something truly worthwhile. I do however, spend time to develop a friendship with the dealer, and this sometimes develops into a call about something the dealer has seen or that came across his table. Also, when the iron is low-priced, I pay extra (antique dealers remember this). But too many iron collections based on just hunting “in the wild” have very little of any particular value. It is important, if you are to have a collection of some consequence, that you hunt to fill the gaps in your collection, and hunt for the especially nice (and rare) pieces. Nowadays, that pretty much only comes from the specialty auctions. Put in a search in liveauctioneers, that they will tell you about auctions that include your keys words (“sad iron”, “fluting”, etc.). But keep an eye out for auctions that have a group of iron lots, or are maybe dedicated exclusively to irons. Hartzels Auctions has one of these auctions coming up next month, with a listing maybe later this week. I have three videos about these auctions (KTI #s 29, 46, 72). Do you homework, develop a priority list, and see what you can pull down. If you have questions, email me at my home email address. Kevin
Of course, I have been collecting for more than 50 years, and all this started in the pre-online era. But as my collection gets better the chances of finding something truly good diminishes considerably. I now pretty much husband my "squirrel fund" monies for the auctions. Not only are there rarer irons here, but the prices on uncommon irons. are actually less that you would likely find elsewhere, including eBay. I am now having the problem that my space is essentially full and I need to be getting more selective.
I enjoy listening. And learning.
Thanks for watching - we love sharing the collection.
Hi Kevin, I just won a teardrop shape part brass Belgium iron at the lately PITCA auction. I also acquired from e-bay like the first one you show with a strap handle, so this was very interesting to me. Thank you so much. Coral
Yes, the "teardrop irons have long been my favorite European group. I will have a video out on the recent auction soon.
Where have you acquired your many irons? Mostly auctions or out in the wild?
Joe,
So, where do I get my stuff? I covered this in KTI #20, and if you have not seen this you should. But to reflect and rearticulate:
I still visit antique shops (“in the wild”) with high hopes, but it is very seldom that I find something truly worthwhile. I do however, spend time to develop a friendship with the dealer, and this sometimes develops into a call about something the dealer has seen or that came across his table. Also, when the iron is low-priced, I pay extra (antique dealers remember this).
But too many iron collections based on just hunting “in the wild” have very little of any particular value.
It is important, if you are to have a collection of some consequence, that you hunt to fill the gaps in your collection, and hunt for the especially nice (and rare) pieces. Nowadays, that pretty much only comes from the specialty auctions. Put in a search in liveauctioneers, that they will tell you about auctions that include your keys words (“sad iron”, “fluting”, etc.).
But keep an eye out for auctions that have a group of iron lots, or are maybe dedicated exclusively to irons. Hartzels Auctions has one of these auctions coming up next month, with a listing maybe later this week. I have three videos about these auctions (KTI #s 29, 46, 72). Do you homework, develop a priority list, and see what you can pull down. If you have questions, email me at my home email address. Kevin
Of course, I have been collecting for more than 50 years, and all this started in the pre-online era. But as my collection gets better the chances of finding something truly good diminishes considerably. I now pretty much husband my "squirrel fund" monies for the auctions. Not only are there rarer irons here, but the prices on uncommon irons. are actually less that you would likely find elsewhere, including eBay.
I am now having the problem that my space is essentially full and I need to be getting more selective.