The Crap We Wade Through... - Beyond Tiki

P Philot Tiki Socialite The armpit of Florida Joined: Apr 04, 2003 Posts: 239	P Philot Posted posted on Wed, Mar 24, 2004 8:21 AM Trader Woody: Down that path lies madness. Some things are best not thought of. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/owlcollectors http://www.owlpages.com/links/collections.html and from http://www.owlpages.com/articles/burt_herald.html : Dear Burt, My house is filled with paintings of owls. Every pillow on my davenport boasts an embroidered owl. The fancy soaps in my bathroom are shaped like little owls. I have owl pajamas, owl slippers, an owl door knocker, owl oven mitts and an owl weather vane. An owl clock hangs in my kitchen, above a cookie jar in the likeness of an owl. And my favorite band is The Who. My family says my owls are driving them batty, and that I am nuts for collecting them. What should I do? Signed, Hanging Out in Hooterville Dear Hootervillian, You should get yourself to Bunte Auction Services in Elgin this weekend to bid on one of the dozens of owl figurines that are part of the late Ann Landers' estate. The owl collection of the famed advice columnist (a bit of a wise, old bird herself) boasts nearly 100 owls - including life-size wooden carvings, glass and cloisonne figurines, clay and iron statues, delicate silver replicas and small, cheap versions (think ones made of seashells or pine cones) that fit under the category of garage sale knickknacks, bric-a-brac and gewgaw. Once proudly displayed in Landers' lavish, 6,000-square-foot Gold Coast apartment, the owls currently roost in the Bunte warehouse at 755 Church Road in Elgin, where they will be auctioned at 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday alongside other Landers items. (For details, phone 847-214-8423, or visit the http://www.bunteauction.com Web site.) The heavy glass owls made by Steuben and Val St. Lambert, and the porcelain figures from Beswick and Boehm will sell on their own merits. But how much will one of Landers' myriad run-of-the-mill owls fetch? "Because they are hers, we have no guess. The value is in who owned it," explains Kevin Bunte, president of the auction house. Many of the cheaper owls will be lumped together for the sale, but Bunte figures a bidder could land an owl from the Landers' estate for around 25 bucks. He already is getting bids by phone and e-mail. "A man from Minnesota called and said, 'If I left a bid of three or four hundred, could you pick out an owl for me?' " says Bunte, who agreed, and even stipulated that he wouldn't let the man's wife know. Bunte's favorite of the Landers owls is a silver salt holder that features a tiny spoon in the shape of a mouse. If you can overcome the visceral reaction of seasoning your meal with the help of dead rodent plucked from the beak of an owl, it is pretty cool. To suggest that any owl is anything but cool would ruffle feathers of owl collectors worldwide. "Owl collecting is a lot more popular than people realize," e-mails Deane P. Lewis, an Australian who runs the Web site owlpages.com and links to other owl sites, such as the Belgian international owl magazine at http://www.chez.com/chouettemag. "Many collectors are almost 'addicted,' and can't help but buy every owl they come across," Lewis says. "I get almost any owls I can get - wood hand-carved ones, ceramic, stuffed, whatever there is," e-mails Indonesian collector Rodney E. Johnson, whose Web site is http://www.jakarta-owls.com. "I love the creatures (called burung hantu or "ghost bird") so much. They do no harm, and only make the world a more diverse and beautiful place." "I started collecting owls over two years ago because I identify with the symbol of wisdom," e-mails Jim Cooke, an analyst programmer who lives in Maryland with his wife and Chihuahua. His niche is owl bookends. A gift of owls when she pledged Chi Omega sorority in 1958 at the University of Tulsa drew Ann Hearne of Arizona into the world of owl collecting. Her prizes range from hand-painted English statues and Malaysian pewter owls, to a whimsical sugar and creamer set. But it is German Heidi Stuhlmacher (see her collection at http://www.stuhlmacher.de) who tops the list with more than 8,000 owls. "There's a market for just about anything," says Bunte, who notes that his auction house recently has sold collections of pens, paper dolls and cat figurines. He is confident the Landers owls will sell, as well as a 6-foot wooden egret from her collection. But remember: If you spend all your money on Landers' owls, you'll head home with no egrets. bwahahahahahaha! (or should that be hoot! hoot! ?)

Trader Woody:

Down that path lies madness. Some things are best not thought of.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/owlcollectors
http://www.owlpages.com/links/collections.html

and from
http://www.owlpages.com/articles/burt_herald.html :

Dear Burt,

My house is filled with paintings of owls. Every pillow on my davenport boasts an embroidered owl. The fancy soaps in my bathroom are shaped like little owls. I have owl pajamas, owl slippers, an owl door knocker, owl oven mitts and an owl weather vane. An owl clock hangs in my kitchen, above a cookie jar in the likeness of an owl. And my favorite band is The Who. My family says my owls are driving them batty, and that I am nuts for collecting them. What should I do?
Signed,
Hanging Out in Hooterville

Dear Hootervillian,

You should get yourself to Bunte Auction Services in Elgin this weekend to bid on one of the dozens of owl figurines that are part of the late Ann Landers' estate. The owl collection of the famed advice columnist (a bit of a wise, old bird herself) boasts nearly 100 owls - including life-size wooden carvings, glass and cloisonne figurines, clay and iron statues, delicate silver replicas and small, cheap versions (think ones made of seashells or pine cones) that fit under the category of garage sale knickknacks, bric-a-brac and gewgaw.

Once proudly displayed in Landers' lavish, 6,000-square-foot Gold Coast apartment, the owls currently roost in the Bunte warehouse at 755 Church Road in Elgin, where they will be auctioned at 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday alongside other Landers items. (For details, phone 847-214-8423, or visit the http://www.bunteauction.com Web site.)

The heavy glass owls made by Steuben and Val St. Lambert, and the porcelain figures from Beswick and Boehm will sell on their own merits. But how much will one of Landers' myriad run-of-the-mill owls fetch?

"Because they are hers, we have no guess. The value is in who owned it," explains Kevin Bunte, president of the auction house. Many of the cheaper owls will be lumped together for the sale, but Bunte figures a bidder could land an owl from the Landers' estate for around 25 bucks.

He already is getting bids by phone and e-mail.

"A man from Minnesota called and said, 'If I left a bid of three or four hundred, could you pick out an owl for me?' " says Bunte, who agreed, and even stipulated that he wouldn't let the man's wife know.

Bunte's favorite of the Landers owls is a silver salt holder that features a tiny spoon in the shape of a mouse. If you can overcome the visceral reaction of seasoning your meal with the help of dead rodent plucked from the beak of an owl, it is pretty cool.

To suggest that any owl is anything but cool would ruffle feathers of owl collectors worldwide.

"Owl collecting is a lot more popular than people realize," e-mails Deane P. Lewis, an Australian who runs the Web site owlpages.com and links to other owl sites, such as the Belgian international owl magazine at http://www.chez.com/chouettemag.

"Many collectors are almost 'addicted,' and can't help but buy every owl they come across," Lewis says.

"I get almost any owls I can get - wood hand-carved ones, ceramic, stuffed, whatever there is," e-mails Indonesian collector Rodney E. Johnson, whose Web site is http://www.jakarta-owls.com. "I love the creatures (called burung hantu or "ghost bird") so much. They do no harm, and only make the world a more diverse and beautiful place."

"I started collecting owls over two years ago because I identify with the symbol of wisdom," e-mails Jim Cooke, an analyst programmer who lives in Maryland with his wife and Chihuahua. His niche is owl bookends.

A gift of owls when she pledged Chi Omega sorority in 1958 at the University of Tulsa drew Ann Hearne of Arizona into the world of owl collecting. Her prizes range from hand-painted English statues and Malaysian pewter owls, to a whimsical sugar and creamer set.

But it is German Heidi Stuhlmacher (see her collection at http://www.stuhlmacher.de) who tops the list with more than 8,000 owls.

"There's a market for just about anything," says Bunte, who notes that his auction house recently has sold collections of pens, paper dolls and cat figurines. He is confident the Landers owls will sell, as well as a 6-foot wooden egret from her collection.

But remember: If you spend all your money on Landers' owls, you'll head home with no egrets.

bwahahahahahaha! (or should that be hoot! hoot! ?)

Post #82570 by Philot on Wed, Mar 24, 2004 8:21 AM