In the realm of collecting, knowledge is power. It’s also profitable. Buying and selling art, antiques, artifacts and collectibles is easier when you understand the history, provenance and uniqueness of whatever you are buying and selling.
All categories of collecting, from toys to vintage clothes, antiques to art, and ephemera to books are inundated with fakes and reproductions. At the same time, many truly valuable items are simply hiding in plain site. If you intend to sell some of your valuable items to raise some cash, or are curious about the history behind a cherished item, Seattle’s Museum of History and Industry can help. But first you have to schlep.
On Saturday, March 9, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., MOHAI is scheduling the Bring Your Artifact to MOHAI Day! MOHAI will have experts [including our SunBreak What’s-That-Thingamajig Correspondent RvO — ed.] on hand to look at your historic artifact, textile, photograph, document, or art and help you figure out its story, or give you tips on how to go about doing further research on your own.
And with a sluggish economy, knowledge about items you own can be helpful whether you want to make sure you are adequately insured against theft, looking to build a collection, or liquidate a collection.
Be advised that MOHAI will not offer written appraisals. This event is for mining information. Also, no firearms will be allowed into the museum. Museums aren’t usually happy to give out trade secrets, so get there early and take advantage of their offer, which is free with admission to the museum.
