The category that seems to confuse most dealers in pricing as well as salability, is foreign items. Many of the cards are written in a language that is incomprehensible to them and often the country of origin is not even indicated. For example, unless you keep an atlas handy, it is very difficult to know which country a particular town in the Alps is in. Is it in Switzerland or Italy or Germany, and with shifting borders due to wars and peace treaties, is the town even in the country it was in when the card was produced?
If this isn't confusing enough, you can have a country like England, where it is divided into counties. Their counties are equivalent to our states, however, it does not indicate which county a card may be in. There can be a town in more than one county just like we have Manchester's in more than one state. Is that Richmond in Surrey or Richmond in Yorkshire? Unless you know the town you'll just toss a coin.
Because of the changes in boundaries of some towns, the counties can change, sometimes three and four times but most often only twice. People will ask if you use the old counties or the new as most dealers choose one or the other and file that way.
Unless you have a good atlas you'll never know where to file a town. Though it is easy to guess that Warwick castle is in Warwickshire, how do you know where Longleat is or any other castle, palace, church, cathedral, or country home. Without a Gazetteer it is awful; with one it is just hard work.
There is a nice little book called "Historic Houses & Castles" and Gardens which comes out yearly and costs about $13 US which tells about 2000 places mostly in UK but also in Belgium, France and Germany. Now assuming you have these books and can place them in the right country and county and you can differentiate the Gaelic names of Welsh, Scottish, and Irish towns you still don't know, what is good and what isn't? Some of the loveliest cards of picturesque little villages with thatched roofed cottages or seaside towns are highly unsalable.
Why? Because everyone went to see them and bought cards and so few people lived there. I once purchased a fabulous collection of cards of a small town called Broadway and my excitement turned to dismay when my Englishman informed me these were as rare as cards of Washington, DC. Sometimes what looks good just isn't.
For years, I have collected the Blackpool illuminations. If these were Coney Island USA they would be worth 10-15.00 each but they are only worth a few dollars at best and very difficult to sell. So, even all great amusement park cards don't sell. It's like all those great views of the devastation from the war, impossible to sell but very interesting. I collect them because I think the cards are stunning - not because they have any great value. Ultimately, the only reason to collect is because you like the item, not because of the value. So how do you price all those foreign cards and where do you sell them?
There are more dealers today who buy certain countries they are interested in. There are the philatelic enthusiasts; and there are a handful of dealers who specialize in foreign cards and ephemera because they do business overseas. There is an old saying, "You don't take coals to Newcastle (a coal mining center)."
Well with antiques it is just the opposite. New Hampshire Pottery sells better in New Hampshire than in Colorado and Roseville sells better in Ohio than in New Mexico. Why? Local pride has quite a bit to do with it. With paper items and other ephemera it is the local history buff that is more interested in the item than someone who lives hundreds of miles away. Aren't you more interested in the town you reside in than some small town in Montana? It is easier to sell items about a place to people who live there, unless it is a major resort or tourist area. In that case you have to take the coals back to Newcastle. Unless you know the towns that are salable you can amass a whole album of Broadway, or some other unsaleable town. What you need to do is go toward images. In America, real photos are scarcer than printed images; in England and Europe, companies like Valentine did myriad's of real photos and often it is the printed image, especially the early lithographed cards that are most desired. Maps, amusement parks, tunnels, transportation, multiple views, interiors and exteriors of hotels and restaurants, animals, fancy borders, are some of the items that enhance the salability of an item from an area.
Buildings or areas that are no longer there or have experienced major changes due to fire or modernization are particularly interesting. What is interesting in American cards is pretty universal. A great image of an automo- bile which can be identified in front of a theater which has a marquis you can read is exciting; a building like the state house in Boston is just too common.
Europe has many wonderful hotels but no motels so it is not a category you will encounter. The closer and more defined an image, or the more stylized and datable the scene the more collectible.
Just as Americans like lobster, alligator, and lighthouse borders, the Europeans have multiple scenes in a butterfly's wings with a woman's body. There are so many variations and differences from country to country that you can literally spend a lifetime researching what sells and then only know an iota of what there is to know. It's almost like picking the horses: "You pays your money and you takes your chances". If, however, you know something about the horse and his jockey and his previous history, you have a better chance.
Did you know that the word "foreign" is the most misspelled word in the English language? Are you as confused about foreign cards as you were before? Hopefully they aren't as foreign to you as they were.
One more tip. Affluent countries sell much better than poor ones or ones at war. It is easier to sell Germany than it is Boznia. You can learn history in its many robes by looking at photos, maps, postcards, and menus and it will open up doors for you that you would never have opened otherwise. Once some- thing becomes familiar, it is no longer foreign.
About the author: If you have questions or need an appraisal, Pam can be contacted at halloweenqueen @cheshire.net or by calling 603-239-8875. She has an antique shop specializing in postcards, ephemera and holiday items, and is always interested in purchasing items for her shop on Route 10 in Winchester, N.H., or for her private collection. An author of four books, and publisher of the Trick or Treat Trader, she writes for magazines and newspapers internationally.
©1998 Unravel the Gavel