A local dealer told us decorators want worn, stained wood and metal pieces with an industrial look. Most popular are metal nail storage units, shelving, and lockers.

Sotheby’s New York auctioned plaster casts of statues and architectural details assembled at New York’s Metropolitan Museum between 1883 and 1895. The museum exhibited the casts, made to illustrate the history of art, until the 1950s. Highest price at auction was $51,000 for a French Renaissance relief of a lion and war trophies, 34 by 61 1/2 inches. Lowest, $60 for broken pieces. Most casts sold for $1,000 to $3,000. Look in your area. Schools stored similar casts in attics, basements, or even the halls.

Ski enthusiasts are collecting old ski-wax tins and packages, old-style skis, and other objects picturing skis, skiers, or ski resorts. Even old ski clothes are bringing good prices, but clothing is bought to wear.

Shops and shows are selling more this year, and auctions are getting high prices. Usable attractive furniture, antique rugs that are not too worn, and dishes that can be part of a set are selling in all parts of the country. Pieces that need repairs are not doing well. Newer, younger buyers are furnishing their houses with antiques, old reproductions, or ’50s-style pieces that cannot be found in a furniture store.

A specialist at the Pew Research Center reports that one in six American adults who go online, about 25 million people, has sold something on the Internet. Nearly one in four (24%, or 35 million people) has bought or sold at online auctions.

The Mad Doctor, a 1933 Mickey Mouse cartoon, featured a very frightening villain. The poster advertising the cartoon, one of two known one-sheets, sold for a record $138,000 at Heritage Auction Galleries in March.

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