It started with a “mustache cup,” which protected men’s mustaches from getting drenched while sipping coffee or tea, and has evolved into a lifetime of sharing a love and knowledge of antiques. Now, Terry Kovel, 92, has been named the “Grand Dame of Antiques” by Antique Trader magazine. Terry and her late husband Ralph Kovel published their first book, Kovels’ Dictionary of Marks – Pottery and Porcelain, in 1953. Before that, antiques collecting was an obscure field left to dry experts speaking, well, dryly about the history and identification through marks of porcelain, furniture and other collectibles. Today, “the Kovel name … is synonymous with the antiques and collectibles field. The couple … were pioneers in the truest sense,” noted the article.
The article details how that first 25-cent purchase of a mustache cup at Niagara Falls by Terry as a child, and husband Ralph’s intuitive observation in the 1950s that there were no resources for average collectors, were the sparks that have made the Kovel name synonymous with antiques. In addition to millions of copies of the annual Kovels’ Antiques and Collectibles Price Guide, there are dozens of other books, the longest-running national newspaper column by the original author, a website, a monthly newsletter, Kovels On Antiques & Collectibles, articles in Forbes and House Beautiful, and last-but-not-least, former television series for PBS and HGTV.
The article also shows pictures of Ralph and Terry through the decades, including the couple gleefully waving pedestals found at a flea market that are still in Terry’s home today, and on home guru Martha Stewart’s TV show, with Martha intently reading a page in one of the Kovels’ books.
My sister and her friend would let me go to flea mkts with them back in 1970s. A old thing, collecting, whatever you like to call it was born and still is strong. Still getting my kovel books
Congratulations Ma’am !! No one has ever deserved more. I wish you the best of Luck and many more years of antiquing.
WTG Mrs. Terry! I’m glad your getting the recognition you richly deserve! You taught me quite a lot, almost 30 years ago, and I often send young people that are just learning and collecting here to you and your team!
Congratulations and I wish you Many More Happy Years Antiquing!
Best Wishes, Vicki H.