Pressed and blown glass pitchers with pretty patterns were popular when they were made a century ago and they still attract collectors. Kovels on Antiques and Collectibles May 2014 newsletter pictures opalescent glass pitchers that sold from $200 to close to $7,000 at a Virginia auction. Petroliana or “gas station collectibles” sold at an Illinois auction, and Kovels’ May newsletter pictures some of the priciest gas pump globes and signs. See a 1950s Harbor Petroleum sign that sold for a hefty $60,000 and a vintage Spirit gas globe picturing a beehive that went for $12,000. Attractive and affordable, Heywood-Wakefield’s “Modern Furniture” of the 1930s to 1950s is making a comeback. Kovels' highlights some of their classic “blond” pieces that sold at auction for very reasonable prices.

Smart bidders with an eye for fashion were able to pick up some vintage cocktail dresses at a Maryland auction. Pictures, descriptions and prices are in Kovels’ May issue. A New Orleans auction featured antique bronze sculptures that were small in size but not very small in price. Kovels’ pictures a bronze fairy, bust of Apollo, sphinx, huntsman on horseback and others, along with prices. And Kovels on Antiques and Collectibles also continues to celebrate its 40th year of publication with a sale report featuring antique Mettlach beer steins and their prices “then and now.”

New Uses for Old Stuff shows a clever new way to repurpose surfboards by turning them into tables. May’s Dictionary of Marks lists makers marks on antique dolls. The popular illustrated Collector’s Gallery has prices and answers to readers’ questions about a fake Wells Fargo belt buckle, Phoenix Bird cup, a Thomas Mayer Staffordshire dinner plate and a Wyon alabaster plaque. The Buyer’s Price Guide has current prices of 50 antiques and collectibles and also shows what’s up and what’s down by comparing prices with those from the May 1975 newsletter.

Kovels on Antiques and Collectibles is available as a print subscription or as a digital version that is part of the Kovels.com Premium subscription.