Freelance
Treasures & Trends

Question: I have a small collection of Valentine postcards that are from the early 20th century. They are in a small, Victorian-era album. Some were mailed and have postage and messages, others do not. Do these cards have any value, and who can I contact locally to find out more about them? – Tracy, Tucson

Answer: Vintage seasonal post cards – especially Christmas, Easter, Halloween and Valentine greetings – are always in demand with collectors. The value of the cards is determined by several factors including age, category, size, manufacturer, artist signature and condition. To find out more about post cards, I suggest you contact Joan Gentry, president of the Tucson Post Card Exchange, one of the better clubs in the region. Her contact information: joangentry@msn.com and 297-0980.

Q: I have a Kewpie doll that was given to me by my dad during the 1930s. It is in excellent condition and, although I have no desire to sell it, I am curious about how much it is worth. – Katie, Tucson

A: Len Witkowski is an officer of the International Rose O’Neill Club. O’Neill was the designer of the original Kewpie doll. His address is P.O. Box 61, Golden, CO 80402. Wilma Schiebel is a dealer who specializes in Kewpies and Rose O’Neill materials. Her address is 2200 S. Highway 62-65, Harrison, AR 72601.

Q: Due to a death in my family, I have inherited several hundred books, mostly first editions from the 1950s and ’60s. Where can I sell them locally? – Ben, Tucson

A: I highly recommend Claire Fellows and Tina Bailey, owners of The Book Stop, 214 N. Fourth Ave., 326-6661. One of the better price guides is “Collected Books: The Guide to Values” by Allen and Patricia Ahearn and published by Putnam. I found several used copies at amazon.com.

In addition to his work for the Tucson Citizen, Larry Cox writes book reviews and a weekly collectibles column that are syndicated by King Features and distributed throughout the United States and Canada. E-mail: contactlarrycox@aol.com.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 15th, 2008 at 12:00 am and is filed under Weekend Plus. Tags for this post: antiques, Arizona, Larry Cox, page-W10, Treasures & Trends, Tucson. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.