Dear Lee,

Collector’s Gallery, on the last page of each newsletter, is filled with questions and pictures sent from readers by email or letter. We get hundreds of letters each month, but many can’t be researched and published because of blurry photography or too little information. We explain what addresses to use and other necessary details at the bottom of that page, but few of us read the small type instructions. An email sent to the editor or other sections of Kovels’ almost never gets to the Collector’s Gallery and may not be read. So here is a list of what is needed.

 

  • A letter or email should come first. Write the size, color, material, and any family or collecting history. A picture—digital or print—is necessary. A photocopy can’t be reproduced clearly enough to use. If the information is sent in one letter and the picture in another, both will probably be ignored.  
  • Pictures should be in focus. Photographs should be of a single object—the complete object. Don’t cut off the top, sides or foot. Take the picture from the front, not the side or top or even a partial angle. We want your rectangular advertising sign to look like a rectangle. And no family pictures with a half hidden cluttered dresser. We are not in the room with you looking at your collectible, so look at your picture and see if it is a good view of your item.
  • A picture of any identifying writing or symbols like hallmarks, labels, signatures and advertising logos is also important. Sending more than one picture of your item is okay. Just the bottom of a vase in not enough.
  • Take the picture in daylight if possible. There are fewer shadows. Use a plain background; a white sheet will do. And please, not on a patterned floor.
  • If you want the pictures returned, tell us. And send a stamped, self-addressed envelope large enough to hold them. It takes a while for us to get the mail, open it, decide what to research and write the answer. Be patient.
  • We don’t give official appraisals, only a range of possible value. It is almost impossible to judge the quality of stitching on a quilt, age of the finish on furniture, or a clever repaint of a good fake. These must be seen in person.

We get hundreds of questions and can only answer a few that are of general interest. But we do read every letter, and even if yours isn’t answered, we use it to decide what you want us to write about in the newsletter.

Getting your letter answered is a little like winning the lottery. Good luck.