The antiques and collecting world seems finally to be gaining traction with the television world. More and more television shows are popping up that pertain to collecting, and personally, I love it!
The popularity of new shows like Pawn Stars and American Pickers has spawned an interest in collecting like never before. People are digging through old boxes, their attics and basements (and those of friends and family) hoping to find hidden treasures that have been tucked away or long forgotten about.
The other day I received a press release from the HISTORY Channel about a new and exciting concept they are launching Dec. 6, just in time for the holiday shopping season. It’s a pop-up store in Times Square for fans of Pawn Stars and American Pickers.
Apparently the store is going to be erected at 1501 Broadway, New York City. On hand for the opening ceremony will be Rick Harrison from Pawn Stars, and Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz from American Pickers. All three HISTORY Channel stars will be on hand to meet their fans and sign autographs.
The Pop Store will offer show-theme merchandise, and there will be an interactive element for guests. The on-site games will allow you to guess the value of items from the shows on a screen, and to determine if a good deal was made.
The store will also have daily giveaways and a grand prize. I have no idea what the daily giveaways are, but wouldn’t it be great if they gave away a few of the finds the guys have discovered over the past few seasons?
If you happen to be in the New York area, make sure to visit the shop from Dec. 6-19, anytime from noon until 8 p.m., Monday to Friday, or on weekends from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Extended hours are planned the closer we get to Christmas, so guys – keep in mind the brownie points you’d score if you remembered to bring home a gift to place under the tree without waiting till the last minute.
Congrats, HISTORY Channel, for bringing these two shows to light and good luck with the Pop Shop!
P.S. – Just as I was about to upload this I heard back from the HISTORY Channel publicist who informed me that the Pop Shop WILL be selling items from past and future episodes of both shows. She told me what some of the items are that will be for sale, and I’d tell ya what they are, but that just takes all the fun out of it, doesn’t it now?
Whether you bid online or live at a gallery, the gavel rules, and it pays to be prepared before raising your paddle. HOUSTON – A few weeks ago I was at the Annex sale at Michaan’s Auction. It is a monthly auction that runs for two days and has everything from jewelry, to household furniture and contents (pots and pans) to collectibles.
I overhead a few people talking while looking at things and discussing how much they thought certain items might sell for. I thought to myself, ‘Well, that depends. Often within their estimate, but if they are better than average, perhaps more, or not so interesting, perhaps less.’
A little while later, I went to look up something in the catalog only to discover there were no estimates, which made me understand why the people I saw earlier were pondering values.
People truly look to the auction house to determine what price they are expected to pay (and the value) of items they are interested in.
So what does it mean when there are no estimates? It means the item will sell for whatever someone is willing to pay that day. It lets bidders know the item has no reserve and if someone bids $5 and no one bids against them, it will sell for $5.
In situations such as this, the auctioneer has to make a very quick decision as to what he or she thinks the item should sell for. For example, if they think the item is worth $100, they might open the bidding at $50, or half of whatever the value is. If they have no interested bidders at $50, they might ask for $40…eventually people start bidding, or the auctioneer will opt to pass the item and move on to the next lot.
Another thing to question at any auction is, “What is the condition?” People often assume if there is no mention of an item having damage or restoration, it must be in excellent condition. This is not the case. Many auction houses do not place condition information in their catalogs. You have to ask. Request a condition report, or view the item in person before bidding. I know I have attended auctions where I previewed only the items I was interested in, only to watch other items selling with low or no bids and think, ‘Wow, I should bid on that.’ If you take the risk of “buying blind,” you should be prepared for disappointment when you receive your item and note its less-than-desirable condition. Not always, but quite often, there is a reason why no one else was bidding.
A final thing to mention: payment. In some instances, if you plan on paying with a check, you might find that the auction house has a rule about keeping the merchandise until the check clears. If you do not have prior experience buying at that auction house and have not had your credit pre-approved, you will need to pay with cash if you intend to leave with the merchandise that day.
Auctions can be exceptionally exciting to attend, whether live or online. Just make sure you have all of the important information in hand before your paddle goes up.
Reyne Haines is an appraiser, author and host of The Art of Collecting. Visit her website at www.reyne.com
Rufous Piccolo Venetian with Yellow Prunts, circa 1994. Image courtesy of The Collection of Howard Shatsky Becoming one of America’s most recognized artists is the dream of many, but most often remains merely a dream – rarely does it become a reality.
Dale Chihuly made it to the top, but the journey getting there was not always an easy one.
Born Sept. 20, 1941, in Tacoma, Wash., Chihuly was a student of interior design and architecture in the early 1960s. By 1965, he had become captivated by the art of blowing glass. He enrolled in the hot glass program offered by the University of Wisconsin. The program was founded by Harvey Littleton, father of the Contemporary Studio Movement in America.
In 1968, Chihuly was awarded a Fulbright grant to study glassblowing in Murano, Venice. It is often said his inspiration for his glass designs came from his experiences there. After Venice, he traveled to see the Libenskys in Czechoslovakia. Their workshop was known for their heavy cast glass sculptures. From there he went to Germany to visit one of his favorite glass artists, Erwin Eisch.
Chihuly received a degree in sculpture, and then entered the ceramics program at the Rhode Island School of Design. It was there Chihuly founded the school’s glass program, which has produced numerous recognized artists.
Chihuly didn’t stop there. He co-founded the Pilchuck School in Washington in 1971. The Pilchuck School has brought together artists worldwide into the program. It has also helped place the area on the map as a mecca for contemporary artists.
In the fall of 1975, Chihuly was scheduled to lecture at a University in Ireland when he was in an automobile accident, which cost him the sight of his left eye. This could have been the end of a career for most artists, but not Chihuly. With the struggles of losing depth perception, came new collaborations. Freed from the rigors and risks of blowing glass, and could spend more of his efforts drawing and photographing his latest creations.
In 1978, Chihuly was offered a solo show at Renwick Gallery, which is part of The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. This was a huge career move for Chihuly.
Since that time, Chihuly’s works have traveled to museums all over the world. Documentaries about his life and his works air regularly on PBS. His dream of blowing glass had made the move from the Rhode Island School of Design to Chihuly Inc., a multimillion-dollar a year company creating glass for corporation, museums and collectors worldwide.
If you’ve not a “Chihuly” experience yet, you can find his works currently on display at City Center in Las Vegas, Nev., through December and at Frist Center of Visual Arts, Nashville, Tenn., through January 2.
Log on to www.chihuly.com/installations/ for a list of his installations.
ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE
Chihuly Cylinder with Glass Shard Drawing, circa 1978. Image courtesy of The Collection of Howard Shatsky
Creepy crawlers and things that go bump in the night are always welcome this time of year. Ghosts and goblins yelling, “Trick or treat,” carved pumpkins illuminated on the porch and your teenagers couch-bound for a night filled with popcorn and scary movies – Halloween is right around the corner.
Some of us who still enjoy a good Halloween bash like to decorate our homes for the speceal evening. You might invite a few friends over for a costume party complete with a dinner menu of brain spaghetti, ladies’ fingers and “ghoul”lash. But wait! What will you serve this tasty meal on? Why, Halloween glass, of course!
What do I mean by Halloween glass? Glass produced in shades of white, red, black and orange. The colors you might not think of serving food on. How appetizing would it really look? Fortunately, there was enough glass made in these colors during the early 1900s to the 1960s to fit any pocketbook. If you take the time to think about how many people who have passed on that used the glass described below, you might find the glassware to be “haunted.”
Black glass has been used since the 1700s to make wine bottles and other types of bottles. We find it being used again by several of the Depression and Elegant Depression glass manufacturers from the 1920s thru the 1940s. Black glass is semiopaque/opaque glass and is often confused with black amethyst and black ruby glass. One of the easier ways to determine which color it is would be to hold it up to strong light. If the glass changes to a deep red hue – it would be black ruby. If it shows a deep purple color, it is black amethyst.
Milk glass, often referred to as milk white or just white, is an opaque glass that looks like it is made of milk. The earliest known examples of opaque white glass was made in Egypt in 1500 B.C. Around the mid 1800s, milk glass became popular again and was produced by firms in France, America and England. Kitchen and dinnerware were mass-produced to meet the growing demand by consumers. Two of the most recognized American firms producing this glass were Imperial and Westmoreland. Opalescent glass, a crystal-based glassware with a ghostly appearance could be another example to use for white.
Red or royal ruby glass is translucent and blood red – fitting for the occasion. Several companies produced ruby glass. Royal Ruby was the name originally used by Anchor Hocking for their red line of glassware, however, most collectors use the term to describe the red color of most commercially produced glass of the period. Royal Ruby produced before 1950 contained some form of gold that gave the glass its deep red color. Ruby glass produced after 1950 the formula contained bismuth, tin and copper were used to create the red color. Eventually, bismuth was removed from the formula altogether.
Orange glass was not a color widely produced by glass manufacturers. The Akro Agate Co. made a small amount of orange colored glass produced from around 1925 to 1949. Akro Agate collectors coined the name “pumkpin.” Fire-King Peach Lustre, made by the Anchor Hocking Glass Co. from 1952 to 1963, is inexpensive and readily found. It offers a lighter, creamy shade of orange with a topcoat shine. Another product produced in the 1940-50s is Moderntone, made by the Hazel Atlas Co. It came in several fired-on colors, orange being one of them.
An alternative, though not always as cheap, would be Carnival glass. Carnival glass was mainly an American phenomenon, however, it was also produced in several other countries in comparatively small amounts. Marigold, an iridescent shade of orange, was the most common of the array of colors produced. Originally, the marigold color was called Golden Iris or Rubigold. For diehard Halloween enthusiasts, you could also pick from shades of white such as pearl, moonstone (similar to white but more opaque), or simply white. Also available were several shades of red such as amberina, red, red opalescent, reverse amberina, brick red and red slag. Black was made but in small quantities by Sowerby’s in the United Kingdom. The most fitting of all the shades of marigold is pumpkin. Carnival glass was produced from around 1907 to 1925.
As you can see, Halloween can be more than just passing out handfuls of candy to the trick or treaters Its about creepy glassware and the stories behind them.
Spooky Patterns
Perhaps you would like a Halloween theme to your dinnerware. Here are a few patterns that fit the bill of fare:
Carnival Glass:
Autumn Acorns – Not too scary but it has a Fall theme showing autumn leaves and acorns swirling about.
Boggy Bayou – Perfect marigold vase for black roses.
Dragon’s Tongue – Found mostly in light shades of milk glass with a marigold iridescence.
Halloween – Marigold water set that has a black rim and handle. A great way to dispense, blood punch?
Heavy Web – Found mostly in bowl shapes in peach opalescent.
You can also choose from a nice “Covered Urn” to place on the mantel.
Carnival glass producers also made what we call “funeral vases.” What were they thinking?
Imperial made a pair of rare candlesticks called “Crucifix.” True to form they are shaped like a cross. Rumor has it, they were last seen in Transylvania.
Depression and ’40s, ’50s and ’60s Patterns
Crow’s-foot – Paden City designed this pattern, most commonly sought-after in red.
Black Forest – Elegant glass made in several colors, including black and red.
Candlelight – Another elegant glass pattern produced in crystal but offer candlesticks to help illuminate your haunted house.
Saturn – Your alien guests might be delighted with this pattern of dinnerware.
One more thing to consider: glass knives. Originally made during the depression era as knives for cutting citrus fruits, tomatoes, cakes etc. They were advertised as being sanitary, and stain resistant. Keep this with you along side the holy water and garlic cloves.
Now you’ve decided it sounds like a great idea for your pending Halloween bash, where to find such Halloween glass?
Online:
Just Glass Mall – http://www.justglassmall.com
eBay – http://www.ebay.com
Happy Halloween!
Captions:
(for console bowl and candlestikes)
Spooky glass console set. Image courtesy of Gordon H. Hancock, Tiffany Pastel Art Glass Specialist, pasteltiffany@aol.com
(for Carnival glass punchbowl)
Carnival glass witches brew punch bowl. Image courtesy of Prentiques.com
Jack-o’-lantern diecut. Photo courtesy of Skidstuff www.trocadero.com/skidstuff
You might find it hard to believe that Halloween is not another Hallmark holiday made to create millions of dollars in commercial candy, card and costume sales.
Also, Halloween wasn’t founded in America. Irish and the Scottish immigrants carried their versions of the tradition to North America in the 19th century. Soon to follow would be Canada, Ireland, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom.
Halloween was originally called Samhain, which was the name of an ancient Celtic festival that celebrated the end of the harvest season and the preparation of winter.
It was believed that on Oct. 31 the worlds of the living and the dead would cross and the dead would come back to life and spread sickness to the living and damage their crops. During the festival people wore masks to keep the evil spirits at bay.
Fast forward to the 20th century where the custom of trick or treating came to play during Halloween. Children in costumes knocked on doors asking the homeowner that simple question: “Trick or Treat?” The trick part happened to those who did not answer the door, or did so with no treats. Tricks played by kids in America often involved egging someone’s home, or draping their yard in toilet paper. In the United Kingdom, police have often been called out because of the severity of the “tricks” the children play. The term “trick or treat” first appeared in print in 1934.
The act of dressing up and begging door-to-door actually extends as far back as the Middle Ages when the poor would go knocking on doors on Hallowmas (Nov. 1). They would receive food in return for prayers for the dead on All Souls Day (Nov 2).
Halloween was also known as All Hallows’ Eve. It was one of four, and the most powerful, holy days throughout the year when spirits could walk the earth and communicate with the living.
Before the commercial world joined in, children would beg door to door for treats, but the treats were not wrapped sweets like we know today. They would receive nuts and homemade candies.
Today, the Halloween capital of the world is Anoka, Minn. In 1920, it was the first community to hold a Halloween celebration in effort to prevent kids from pulling pranks around town. The town organized a parade and the kids that participated were rewarded with candy and popcorn. Since that time, the city has continued the annual parade and festivities, with the exception of 1942 and 1943 due to the war.
On a final note, Halloween is the second largest commercial holiday in the United States. Surprisingly it beats out Valentine’s Day with $6.9 billion dollars in commercial sales each year.
ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE
Spooky owl diecut. Photo Courtesy of Skidstuff www.trocadero.com/skidstuffWicked Witch diecut. Photo Courtesy of Skidstuff www.trocadero.com/skidstuffRoyal Bayreuth Devil & Cards tableware can serve as attractive adult Halloween decorations, but keep these expensive pieces out of the reach of children. Photo courtesy of Longbrook Antiques www.trocadero.com/longbrook
Everyone who’s a collector or dealer knows about Brimfield. If you’re on the West Coast, you go to the Alameda Pointe, Hillsborough or Rose Bowl shows. In Texas, we have Round Top.
Round Top is a small town (population 77) located about an hour east of Austin and 30 minutes west of Brenham, Texas (home of Blue Bell Ice Cream).
Round Top Antiques Week was founded over 30 years ago by Emma Lee Turney and her company, Antiques Productions. The show started out as a social event for Houstonians that took place in the spring and fall. It offered some of the best dealers with nothing less than the finest antiques this part of the country had seen.
It still takes place twice a year, however, it is no longer caters exclusively to the Houston social scene. Each event is mobbed with antique dealers from around the country and shoppers from all over the globe.
Much like Brimfield, there are different fields that open on different days, and many dealers that set up tents in more than one field. It is said there are over 2,500 dealers set up each season. The event is 10 days long, however, numerous dealers talk about being there for a full three weeks.
What type of merchandise will you find at Round Top? Just about everything, from American Indian jewelry to vintage gas pumps. There are miles of tents, air-conditioned buildings filled with dealers and vendors set up along roadsides.
There are plenty of porcelain plates and Victorian keys offered, but if a bigger acquisition is what you are eyeing, you’ll find a fine array of great art, furniture and important silver there, too.
To help you determine which shows open on what date/time and where, visit the Web site of the Round Top Chamber of Commerce: www.roundtop.org. There are also few magazines published with scheduling information, maps, and highlights of dealers and auctions happening in the area. They are given away at most of the show sites. You will certainly need a map. There are over 50 fields in four different towns for your shopping pleasure.
If all of that isn’t enough, Round Top is also home to the Junk-O-Rama Prom. Yes, I said prom, and not one meant for high school kids. The Junk Gypsy Co. has turned Thursday evening during Antiques Week into prom night. It’s an event for dealers and shoppers to cut loose and have a little fun between the frenzied buying and selling. Everyone dresses up – or down, depending how you look at it – in vintage garb, and Zapp Hall is turned into an outrageous “gym” with champagne, Christmas lights and chandeliers. No prom would be complete without great live music and a disco ball.
So change your weekend plans, book a flight to Texas, or get in your car and start driving now!
What are you waiting for? The deals are just waiting for you to come and find them.
Happy Hunting!
Reyne
ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE
Image courtesy of Marburger Farm Antique Show.Image courtesy of Marburger Farm Antique Show.
Many would say the collector who owns this grouping of items has crossed over into the category of ‘hoarding.’ There is a long-standing joke among collectors that says we all have a touch of OCD or hoarding tendencies. But is it really a joke? Are we really hoarders masquerading as collectors? Just because we are collecting “things” instead of food, paper, or odds and ends doesn’t necessarily mean we are justified.
Let’s take a look at some of the similarities:
Hoarder: Keeps random items in large numbers, sometimes to include trash, food, or random items that seem to have little to no value.
Collector: Is sometimes known to acquire collectibles in large numbers (sometimes broken, soiled and of little value).
Hoarder: Places sentimental attachment to items that would appear worthless to others.
Collector: Often motivated by nostalgia.
Hoarder: Often feels a rush when shopping and acquiring items.
Collector: Loves the thrill of the hunt and will often buy something they would not normally buy if they cannot find something to acquire in their collecting genre to fill that “need to buy something” void.
So this leads to my next thought: Why does adding to our collections made us feel so good?
The Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Conn., states that often, compulsive hoarders feel distressed when they see something they want, and feel they cannot relieve the stress until acquiring that item.
I think this is a similar feeling collectors refer to as being “haunted” by an item we have walked away from, in that we continually think about how we should have bought it. And when we do buy something, we feel a sense of release.
The media have begun exposing celebrities that “hoard” items such as shoes, cars and even pets. If you’ve watched Animal Planet you’ve probably seen their new show Confessions: Animal Hoarding. Who would have thought? Paris Hilton is said to have 18 pets. Will we see her on that show next?
I spoke with my friend Janine Godwin, who is a certified professional organizer with Nooks & Crannies on the very subject. We wondered if the volume of shows on collecting would create a sense of justification for those who do hoard.
I also started to think about the similarities in shows on collecting vs. hoarding. Take American Pickers on the History Channel. It’s one of my favorite collecting shows on air. It follows the two hosts, Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz on their picking adventures around the country. They visit with people who have inherited collections or have built them over the years. They browse through attics, basements and barns packed to the gills with hidden treasures, in hopes of buying a few to resale later. Every show offers new stops, and shows the interaction with the owners of the items. You can see many of them struggle with parting with anything, although they have not looked it the items or used them in years.
Hoarding reality shows follow professional organizers and therapists to meet with families needing assistance with someone they love who is a hoarder. The therapist works with the individual to understand what their attachment to the items is, and how they can change their way of thinking so to not compulsively hoard in the future. The professional organizer works to determine what has value, and what should be discarded.
Do you see the similarities in the formats?
It is said three or more of any item makes a collection. So I guess that means not every collector could be considered a hoarder. I’ve certainly met collectors with 20 items, and I’ve met collectors with 2,000.
When does one cross over? When is too many too much? Would a collector be considered “organized hoarding?” Questions that make you go hmm …
Call it whatever you like, at the end of the day, I’ll still collect things – some in large amounts, some just a few. Some I’ll buy for nostalgic reasons, some because I just like their look.
HOUSTON – Anyone who knows me knows my love of Chevy Corvettes. I’ve had one as my daily driver for years, and one day I plan to add a ’63 split-window (black on black of course) to my garage of toys.
My passion for ’vettes began as a kid. My mother drove a 1975 Corvette, bright blue with blue leather interior. My mom didn’t just drive a ’vette, she knew plenty about them as well. Anytime we were out driving around, she’d test me on what year the Corvette was that we’d pass in a parking lot or that pulled up beside us. I knew the answer every time as she had taught me all the telltale signs for what design changes had been made each year. I also loved the camaraderie we had with other ’vette owners. You always gave the “peace” sign to each other as you passed on the road. It was like some secret club that only we knew about.
We also belonged to the San Jacinto Corvette Club in Houston, Texas. They met monthly, and had car shows and race events periodically. I loved walking a parking lot filled with ’vettes. Surrounded by a variety of models and paint jobs, I was in heaven. And who can resist the roar of a big-block engine on the track? My mother used to drag race her ’vette while I sat in the bleachers cheering wildly.
Perhaps that’s all a little TMI, but it’s how I became so crazed about anything Corvette related, including literature. Recently I caught wind of a new publication titled Legendary Corvettes: ’Vettes Made Famous on Track and Screen. Just what I need, another book to tempt me into acquiring another car (OK, so it’s not that hard to tempt me).
For starters, the book offers a cover that doubles as eye candy to pique the reader’s interest and then opens into a poster, perfect for framing and hanging in the garage for motivation. Inside, the book covers 18 of the most prized Corvettes of all time, from the early models (and yes, there is a chapter on the ’53) to the 2009 Blue Devil. I have yet to drive one of those – have you?
The book starts at the beginning and details how the Corvette came to life, other sports cars being produced at the time, and the people involved in bringing the Corvette to the production line. You get an understanding of what Chevy was up against in the racing world, and what they were willing to do to create a “super sports car.”
Did you know they made a right-side steering wheel Corvette? OK, well, not a production car. Did you ever catch the Mark Hamill movie Corvette Summer? Do you remember the Indy pace car?
I could go on and on about what you’ll see in this book, but I don’t want to give away all the highlights (and there are plenty).
The book is written by Randy Leffingwell and photographed by the very talented Dave Wendt. It offers 175 pages of full-color drool factor. This would make a great gift for that Corvette enthusiast in your life, or would impress your guests who spot it on your coffee table.
Cherry Pie served at the counter at Royers. Photo by Robert Maxwell.ROUND TOP, Texas – It will soon be time for the fall Round Top, Texas Antiques Faire. From the 23rd of September until October 2nd, this small town (and surrounding towns) becomes the Brimfield of Texas. Mile after mile of tents are filled with antiques and collectibles of all kinds offered by thousands of dealers from across the country.
I know you’re probably expecting me to blog about the great finds I’ve scored over the years there, and how it’s a show not to miss. These are all things that are true, however I’m blogging about a different kind of find this time – one of the edible kind.
I travel a lot for this business and am always wondering where to go to get a taste of the region I am visiting. The big cities are easy; you ask close friends, or the concierge at your hotel. When staying in the country, there might not be a concierge or a magazine in your hotel room with recommendations beyond the local Applebee’s (note, no negative juju towards Applebee’s, I’m just sayin’…)
Last year while I was taping at Red Barn Antiques, one of the higher-end antique markets at Round Top, the show promoter strongly recommended that I make reservations to have dinner at a place called Royers.
I thought to myself…reservations? In the country? At a café? Surely you’re kidding! Then I thought, well, it’s probably because it’s a small place and tens of thousands of people have just descended upon the town and they can’t all be fed at once.
A few dealers at the show asked me where I was having dinner and I said, “Some place called Royers,” to which they replied, “Ooohh, you’ll love that!”
I found out Royers is a third-generation café in the center of town. The outside of the building offers a porch to sit on while you wait for your table to be readied. The owner, Bud Royer, is there every day, sitting on the porch, calling out names, and offering little tidbits of information about the town and the café while you wait.
Inside is chaotic. It’s a small place, but it feels very homey. Depending on how many are in your group, you might be seated with other patrons. You never know whom you might get to sit with. It could be a family of tourists from Louisiana, a farmer from the neighboring town, or the Governor of Texas.
Don’t let the small town fool ya. The food whipped up at this family establishment rivals that of any high-end restaurant Texas (or anywhere else) has to offer.
The menu has something for everyone. Whether you love seafood, poultry, steak or just a great salad, they’ve got it! The food is nothing short of mouth watering, and always seems to have a unique twist. For example, on my first visit (first of many) I had the shrimp BLT. You can order this as a meal, or in the appetizer portion, which can be made to share with the table. The shrimp is seasoned to perfection, and is served with a crispy strip of bacon, lettuce and tomato on jalapeño bread. Delicious doesn’t begin to describe it. Another night I took the filet mignon challenge. I’ve been a Palm and Morton’s fan for years, so when I saw the menu offering “The Great Steak,” I raised an eyebrow and said, “We’ll see about that!”
I couldn’t even finish half of the 10 oz. filet, but not for a lack of trying. You truly could cut it with a fork! It was definitely the best steak I had ever had. As a side, I was served mashed potatoes, sautéed mushrooms and onions. My waiter (Bud’s son) brought over a basket of warm rolls. They came with optional butter or an apple butter sauce, which made me want to order a dozen of them to go, with a vat of apple butter, of course. Bud quickly reminded me to go easy on the rolls so I would have room for pie.
The pies the Royers bake up are not your everyday Mrs. Smith’s pies; oh no! These are the kind of pies that rival your grandmother’s. I’m not the only one who thinks their pies are something special, but Royers has been featured on The Food Network’s Road Tasted, CBS Sunday Morning, Texas Country Reporter, and they were even written up in the Washington Post’s wine column (yes, pies and wine do go together!). Bon Appetit included Royers pies in their list of top 10 in the country!
Whether you’re a dealer or a buyer, I’m sure you’ll have a great time at Round Top. Make sure to make reservations for dinner at Royers at least once (twice if you can still fit into your pants after the first time). After you’ve tried it, drop me a line and tell me what you thought of it. And if you remember, tell Bud Royer I sent ya.
Happy eating…errr I mean hunting!
To contact Reyne Haines, e-mail reyne@reyne.com .
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ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE
Shrimp BLT at Royers. Photo by Deb Taylor.Micah’s snapper at Royers. Photo by Deb Taylor.
Everyone is going through hard times and looking to save a few dollars here and there. Many of us have lost our jobs and there seems to be nothing on the horizon. Some of us have dealt with bill collectors, credit card fee increases and difficulties obtaining loans from banks. Let’s face it: Nothing is easy out there.
One struggling family recently was staring foreclosure in the face, but was fortunate to stumble across the answer to their problems – a comic book that was found in their basement.
We’ve read numerous articles lately about the record prices being achieved at auction for comic books. Six figures have been paid time and again for some of our favorite childhood memories.
The family had lived in their home since the 1950s, and were about to lose it to the bank. They were devastated. As they packed up 60 years of memories, they found a box of old comic books. Many of them were worth $10 to $30, however, there was one diamond in the lot. It was a copy of Action Comics no. 1, dated June 1938. The famous comic book marks the first appearance of Superman. The cover depicts the Man of Steel lifting a car above his head. The original cover price: 10 cents – value today: up to $250,000.
After unearthing the box of comics, the family decided to search online for their values. They read how ComicConnect.com had brokered two Action Comics no. 1 books – one for $1 million in February and then another for $1.5 million in March.
Comics are valued by issue, but also like many other items, by their condition. This copy was recently rated as a 5.0 VG, which is a Very Good rating on a scale of 1-10, hence the lower value.
The family, who wishes to remain anonymous, is still a bit overwhelmed with their find. They realize their luck in having found the comics, just in the nick of time. It is as if Superman was called in to save the day.
