bradley & hubbard brass aesthetic mirrors

[aesthete]

Vintrest,

I'm more than a little puzzled by your response to my posting about the aesthetic mirror currently on eBay. I'm sorry if I gave the impression, to you or anybody else, that I was interested in the mirror, other than as an interesting -- and fairly uncommon -- example of the style, and an equally interesting example of optimistic pricing by a seller. I have certainly never "used information provided by others in relative confidence to then go and bid against them," and frankly have no idea how you think this might apply to my original post. All other issues aside, I don't "bid against" anybody on eBay: I bid once, at the last second or not at all; and above all, I would never advertise my serious interest in an object on eBay by posting about it on this site! 

[KLedford]

John and Stever:

John you think they sconces are not reproductions and that they might be dated back to 1820 or 1830 but that they might be historical revival up to the 1930's.  And Stever you are sure they are reproductions.  If they do not go up in cost, then I wouldn't feel I had made a bad investment in either case.  The bid may jump tomorrow as it closes, as did the ones I lost last weekend that I was so disappointed on.  While the age of them doesn't matter to me I would very much like them to be authentic and not modern day reproductions, just because I have wanted a pair for along time and it would be a matter of principle   The best thing I can do is write to the seller and ask her to preform the magnet test to see if they are indeed brass or metal.  then if they are brass, what would you advice be then?  I suppose if they are reproductions they are worth $50.  I have looked at the "other" sconce Stever that you sent and it looks just like the ones I am bidding on.  So you would say that this one is authentic even though it is not solid brass?  Whew I really don't know what to do and now that I'm not sure I want them, it will be my luck to be the winning bidder.

[KLedford]

John and Stever:

Check out these item numbers on e-bay and tell me what you think about them. I am including the ones I liked so much but felt I couldn't afford:

Item #220599763131

Item #390192583958

Item #360257225784

[KLedford]

Got a reply from the seller of the sconces.  Magnet did not stick, so they are solid brass, she said she got them from an estate sale.  She said the back is tin plated and that she feels they are from the 30's or the 40's and that they hang with a very heavy piece of string.  She has been very nice and responded to my numerous questions with extreme patience     If I win them I do and if I don't...well there will always be another pair, maybe ones I like even better.  Wish I could afford the others I told you all about.  But alas the budget doesn't allow that amount on sconces right now.  As I said if the bid does not go up and I were to be lucky enough to get them for $51 plus shipping then that is less than buying a reproduction pair which start at at least $65 for one sconce.  I will look for maybe responses from you in the morning.  Again I think this forum is great and I will be reading all the time to increase my knowledge.  I have been an avid collector of antiques of different kinds for sometime and my knowledge of depression glass is extensive but when it comes to these types of pieces I'm sure I am not alone when "the I've been fooled" statement come around.  I even saw and expert on  Antique Roadshow that had been "fooled" by an item and he had the fortitude to admit it  .  Thanks for the help.  Will look for replies with interest. 

K.

[stever]

Hi Karen---

Sometimes to many perspectives...doesn't help!

My thoughts were only an attempt to help. We all see
differently based on our experiences and "eyes." I see
poor casting where others may not. My reference to
type of metal was related to the ebay lot I sent of the
single sconce where the seller stated "pot-metal."
It does appear the two you are bidding on
are indeed brass. My thoughts? If you like them
and the price is right, then bid and good luck!

As far as bidding against others in this forum?
I believe John's methodology is sound. I too do not
bid until 2-3 seconds and at the maximum I am willing
to pay. This way there are no last minute rash decisions.
One either buys at a price that is ok or they don't buy
at an inflated price. Everyone needs to remember
that an auction is just a competitive event to buy.
Bidding is much like playing cards. Does the card player
disclose his hand? No, not until the outcome has been
decided.

stever

[vintrest]

Aesthete,
Alas, I was afraid sharing a personal opinion could lead to a misunderstanding. If it now means anything, I was referring specifically to Karen who seemed reluctant to give information about the mirror she was bidding on-perhaps assuming that by posting the item number here she might invite unwanted bidding competition. My message was a rather feeble attempt to reassure her we were "nice folks" here and by sharing the item number she had nothing to worry about. In no way was I suggesting that you or anyone else here had or even would violate some unwritten rule about bidding etiquette. If you took my words as criticism, I apologize, and will be more cautious about expressing my opinions in the future. To say anything else might invite further misunderstanding, so I'll leave it at that.

John

[KLedford]

To John and Stever:

I appreciate both of your help. I asked for opinions and wanted honesty above all.  I wasn't  sure about posting an e-bay item for sale here and if it was "okay".  Sometimes you can get yourself in a world of trouble.  I thank you both for taking the time to even respond, as I said I am a novice at items such as this and wanted and asked for help in determining what the top price on them should be and information as to age or period etc.  I like them and did win the bidding.  Last weekend I was bidding on a pair that I was over $200 on them and now I feel that was way to much for them because I feel these are more authentic than they were.  So things turn out never like you expect.  I left home today and was gone to Atlanta all day, and just said to heck with it, if someone wants them let them have them, I wasn't going to ruin my Mother's day with looking at a computer.  But when I got home I was the winning bidder and never put in another bid from the first one.  So I am okay with it either way.  I feel like for $51 you couldn't go wrong with them.  Anything today for your home will cost that even if it came off the assembly line yesterday     The woman selling thenm bought them at an estate sale.  I figure they came from somewhere in the 1930's or 40's.  That is okay with me.  I wanted them to fit the decor in my dining room and I feel they will be and if I get tired of them and something better comes along then I bet I can get my money back out of them on craigs list locally.  I HOPE that I wasn't a problem.  And I didn't know that the post about people bidding on an item was intended for me.  But it was helpful to know that I could expect honor on the forum and that someone doesn't go and bid on something another person wants.  Anyway thanks again and I enjoy the forum and all ya'lls knowledge. 
Karen

[KLedford]

Oh and Stever, please don't take it that I was questioning your opinion.  I was trying to weight all the information and make a decision if I wanted to keep on bidding on these or let them go if the bidding went "alot" higher.  Thanks for all the help.  Just knowing they are solid brass ...I know they were worth $50 so I'm okay.  Now if I were to have been paying hundreds of dollars for them and thought they were a modern reproduction then I would have been burned (ouch).  Hope you all had a nice day and that you Mom's are still with you and you were able to at least talk to them. 

Have a good week.
Karen

[vintrest]

Karen,

Congratulations and a belated Happy Mother's Day. I think you got a very nice deal on these and as you said, you certainly couldn't buy them for less at any home decor outlet. If they turn out to be very old, then that just makes the purchase even sweeter but either way, you made a good buy. Once you get them set up with prisms and on the wall, it would be nice to see how they fit in. Again, no criticism was intentionally directed towards anyone and I do think those folks who post regularly here are nice, knowledgeable people who have a passion for the things they write about.
John-Vintrest
Attached: A "Happy Mother's Day" showing some of our antique roses in full bloom right now. Our home dates back to 1889 and these roses are very old but can't say if they date from the earliest days or not-they bloom but once a year and then go dormant for another 11 and 1/2 months.

[KLedford]

Beautiful roses John!!  Appreciate your e-mail.  I will message you when the items arrive and if I can figure out how to put a picture here I will of the hanging on the wall.  We had a nice day yesterday.  Hope you did too.  Got out to the High Museum in Atlanta and saw the auto exhibition of the world's rarest cars.  The Duesenberg 1936 was my favorite and owned by Clarke Gable.  Saw today that a car like we saw out there yesterday went to an anonymous buyer for 36 million.  All 18 cars were just awesome.  I don't know where you live.  I live about 80 miles from Atlanta, N.E.  Glad I made your acquaintance.

Karen

[vintrest]

Karen,
Thanks for the kind words. My spouse (an MRI Tech) and I live in Fort Worth, TX in a house built in 1889. Our home is on the market (has been for almost a year) and when and if it sells, I hope to relocate to Pennsylvania to be closer to sources of antiques. We have visited Ohio and Pennsylvania several times in the past few years and found several interesting places to potentially relocate to. However, the real estate market here is slow and even more so for one of a kind historic homes. In the meantime, the best thing is patience and staying busy as well as living one day at a time. Hope the mirrors turn out to be better than expected but we already know you got a good deal.
John

[KLedford]

Hoping to show Stever and John the sconces I bought that they helped me with a couple weeks ago.  If you can help me learn how to attach the pictures, I would love for you to see them

[vintrest]

To attach photos, look down at the lower left hand corner at the "+additional options" feature on the message reply form. Click on it and a "browse" feature opens, click on the browse feature and select the photo you want to upload off you hard drive. To add more, click on "more attachments" and then and click on each photo as you did with the first one. When you click on the post message option, the photos should upload. No photo should be larger in file size than 500 kb so larger images should be shrunk to that size or compressed to a smaller size. I'm using Windows so if you have a Mac I'm not sure if the process is any different. Hope this helps...
John