Antiques Collecting Fact:
Did You Know?

Antiques and Collectibles:
Ten Ways to Tell if You've Been Had

In my last newsletter, I reviewed five tips to help you ensure that the seller is on the up-and-up. Here are five tips from Josie to help you assess objects.

1. Look at details. Inspecting joints (i.e., dovetails vs. nails.); styles of handles or pulls (and look inside drawers to spot extra holes, a telltale sign of replacement); and accessories (i.e., escutcheons and locks are fairly easy to date) help authenticate original pieces.
2. Examine signatures. Marks, labels, and/or numbering patterns help reveal origins. (i.e., Frederick Remington sculptures, for instance, are among the most faked objects in the world. Very often, reproductions bear a number in the "x/y format," 45/100, for example, indicating that this piece is the forty-fifth of 100 units that were produced; however, Remington sculptures weren't limited editions. As long as orders were placed, sculptures were cast. A genuine Remington would therefore only be labeled "45.")
3. Consider condition. In most cases, you should expect to see normal wear and tear. Repairs, repainting, and other improvements reduce value. Also, look at the back- and undersides of furniture. They should appear clean and untouched. Stick a straight pin into a wormhole. If it's a fake (created to replicate an antique's look, for example), the pin will go straight down. Genuine wormholes aren't straight—they follow the winding path a worm actually takes.
4. Evaluate materials. Starting in the late 1600s, brass was commonly used in cabinet handles; before then, most were made of iron. Thus if you're told that a piece of furniture with brass handles dates from the early 1600, in all probability, either the handles have been replaced or the object has been misdated.
5. Know trends. Back in the 1980s, cookie jars were a popular collectible. Now, they're less fashionable. Expect to pay more for objects currently in vogue.

"And don't forget to trust your gut and use common sense," Josie adds. "If an offer sounds too good to be true, probably, it is."

Cooking Tip from Josie's Mom

"Sprinkle cinnamon on a toasted English muffin. Yum! You don't need butter!"

Jane on You Tube

	the trailer for Antiques to Die For
	Jane reading an Excerpt from Deadly Appraisal
	Jane speaking about the writing process)

Jane's Blog Tour

Jane's publisher, St. Martin's Minotaur, has invited Jane to blog on their site all week during her publication week. You're welcome to pop over and read her essays starting on Monday, April 14th. The essay titles are:

1. The Words of Your Father (and Mother) Live On
2. An Antique is Worth What Someone Will Pay For It—Or Is it?
3. Lessons I Learned in a Trash Can
4. The Origin of Ideas
5. Libraries and Librarians
6. The Anatomy of Persuasion
7. A Moss Garden Grows in Manhattan

On April 15th, Jane is the guest blogger on FreshFiction.com.

On April 18th,  Jane is the guest blogger on The Stiletto Gang. You can read all about producing her book trailer.    

Antiques to Die For
More Great Reviews

Myshelf.com

"...This was a fast reading, fascinating story, full of suspense and well rounded characters you really care about. It's also nicely garnished with interesting information about the antiques business without any feeling that you're being educated rather than entertained. Compulsively readable and definitely recommended, I'm already looking forward to the next in this series."

(click on the cover to read or hear the excerpt)

Lesa Holstine, Lesa's Book Critiques

"... As always, Cleland includes intriguing stories about antiques, as part of the story of Prescott's Antiques and Auction. There's a side story about Whistler's palette that adds interest to Josie's business. The employees of the auction house are also an enjoyable element in Cleland's books.

Josie has grown in the course of the books, and Jane K. Cleland has grown as an author. Josie's fear was palpable in Antiques to Die For. Cleland made the reader feel that fear with sentences such as, 'And always one thought, terrifying in its intensity and impossible to dispel - there was a killer on the loose.'"

Maggie Mason, Deadly Pleasures Magazine

"Always filled with antique lore, this is a nice entry of a series I find hard to believe only consists of three books.  I feel like I've learned so much about the antique business, I've surely read more than three books."

Antiques to Die For selected as a Fresh Pick at FreshFiction.com for April 13. The Fresh Pick is chosen by a group of readers, not purchased. A Fresh Pick is chosen because of its appeal to readers. Fresh Fiction says, "we like to share our diverse tastes in reading and hope other readers will give it a try."

Ask Jane:

Q: Which of the Josie Prescott Antiques Mysteries is your favorite?

A: The one I'm writing now! I fall in love with the stories as I work on them. I love spending time with Josie!

Who Should Play Josie
in the Movies?

Jane is challenging you to decide! Tell her who you think should play the characters and enter for a chance to win a copy of Antiques to Die For AND two Josie Prescott martini glasses? Read all about it at My Book, the Movie.

More Free Drawings

Crimespree Magazine and St. Martin's Minotaur are offering a free copy of ANTIQUES TO DIE FOR to the winner of their April drawing. To enter:

THE BOOKBITCH.COM

Enter to win one of five copies of Antiques to Die For that are up for grabs in April. Hurry, contest ends 4/30/08.

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Tales of the Teapot

Julia Spencer-Fleming has interviewed all of this year's Agatha nominees for Best Novel.

She also interviewed a few other authors—the authors who are her summer read picks. Antiques to Die For is one of her picks! You can read the interview on Jane's site on Friday, April 25!

Also, enter Jane's April drawing to win an ARC (Advance Review Copy) of Julia's new book, I Shall Not Want, along with one of Jane's books and two Josie Prescott martini glasses.

Gravitas for Cozy Gals

An excerpt from
Jane's latest Blog

At the recent mystery conference, Left Coast Crime, I moderated a panel entitled, "What's My Niche? Cozies With a Theme." As the author of the Josie Prescott Antiques Mysteries, that topic is right up my alley.

My panel was intended to include four authors of themed-cozy mysteries, but one fell ill, and one had a day job, business emergency, so I was left with only two authors: Rosemary Harris and Cricket McRae. Don't get me wrong—these two are fabulous—they're terrific writers, engaging speakers, and all around nice gals... but two participants does not a panel make.

Enter Edgar nominee, Reed Farrel Coleman, who writes gritty New York noir sorts of mysteries. I told him about the situation and he jumped in, offering.... [MORE]

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