Antique Auction Forum

Martin sits down with author and historian Linda Zimmermann to explore her powerful new book, A Civil War Soldier and Me—the true story of Sgt. Albion Brooks of the 8th Connecticut Volunteers. Over the course of 30 years, Linda traced Albion’s life through original letters, diaries, and family papers spanning three generations. In this conversation, she and Martin discuss how a single Civil War soldier became a personal obsession, starting with a dusty trunk of documents and leading to thousands of miles of battlefield travel. You’ll hear about: Albion’s journey from Maine and Bridgeport, CT to the front lines His experiences at Antietam, Fredericksburg, Suffolk, Burnside’s North Carolina Expedition, Drury’s Bluff, Bermuda Hundred, and Cold Harbor What his letters reveal about courage, humor, faith, and the emotional weight of war Linda’s immersive battlefield visits that retrace where he marched, fought, and died Albion’s final hours at Cold Harbor, as recorded by the chaplain who stood at his bedside Martin also shares a brief anecdote about his own Civil War–era family history, adding another personal layer to the discussion If you’re drawn to personal soldier stories, Civil War history, or the emotional power of original letters and diaries, this episode of The Everything Else Show offers a rare, intimate look at one young man whose words still speak across 160 years. SHOW NOTES Podcaster Martin Willis’ great, great, great grandfather: William James Hipp (b. ~1842, SC; d. 1902, GA) served in Company F, 44th South Carolina, and He lost his arm at the Battle of Frazier’s Farm (Glendale, Virginia) in 1862. Furniture made with one arm below. http://antiqueauctionforum.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/albion.mp4

In this episode, we’re joined by Johanna McBrien who has worked in the field for more than 40 years in the antiques, publishing, and museum fields. From Historic New England to teaching at RISD and Boston Architectural College, Johanna has spent her career digging into the rich stories behind furniture, interiors, and decorative arts. Johanna discusses her love for 18th century Salem, MA furniture (see our related video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVB-tb1GOfk ), also she talks about what’s hot (and what’s not) in the antiques market, why you should collect what you love instead of chasing value, and how the loss of historical education is putting our connection to antiques at risk. For Johanna, it’s simple: when antiques lose their stories, they lose their soul. Tune in for a thoughtful, engaging chat about why history matters—and why understanding the past is essential to preserving the beauty and relevance of antiques today. Johanna is the currently t executive director of the Dedham Museum and Archive.

The Single Portrait Martin grew up near historic Portsmouth, New Hampshire—a treasure trove of Colonial-era antiques and stories. In the 1980s, he uncovered a set of stunning fire buckets and portraits linked to local artist John S. Blunt. With help from his friend, historian Joe Copley, Martin pieced together their history, leading to a record-breaking $32,500 bid at auction. It’s a story about discovery, passion for history, and the thrill of bringing the past to life—dedicated to Joe, who helped preserve Portsmouth’s legacy. Post script: I forgot to mention, the red pigment on the back of the canvases, was a telltale of John S. Blunt’s work! John S. Blunt, Portsmouth (1798-1835) Related Blog With Images

The 1919 Molasses Flood was a tragic and significant event in the history of Boston’s North End, reflecting the challenges of a rapidly changing city after World War I. In this episode, Jake Sconyers from the HUB History podcast delves into the disaster, examining the working-class Italian immigrant community it affected, the lasting impact on the neighborhood, and how the Great Molasses Flood has become a piece of Boston’s enduring mythology. BIO: Jake Sconyers is the founder and cohost of HUB History, a weekly podcast where we share our favorite stories from Boston’s history. Before starting the podcast, Jake founded and ran a walking tour company called Boston Strolls for a couple of seasons. More recently, he has been a lecturer at Cambridge Center for Adult Education, an organizer of History Camp Boston, and a volunteer docent at the Shirley-Eustis House.In addition to Jake’s obsession with Boston history, he takes the photographs that he shares here, and he enjoys running marathons, kayaking, gardening, making jam and jelly, brewing hard cider, and grilling and barbecuing tasty meats. At work, he helps physicians use their EHR. He is a volunteer with a dog rescue called Shultzs Guest House and he gives platelets to the Red Cross. Jake’s Websites jacobsconyers.com I like to take pictures. I take pictures of Boston, of my adventures, of breaking news, of animals, and flowers, and sunsets. I post the decent ones on this site. You can consider this the canonical site for Jacob Sconyers. https://www.hubhistory.com/ My wife and I host a weekly podcast. It’s our way of sharing our favorite stories from Boston’s history. https://historycamp.org/ History Camp is an unconference for history, founded in the Boston area and expanding beyond. I built and maintain their website, as well as helping to organize monthly history events for History Camp enthusiasts. Firemen stand in thick molasses after the disaster in 1919. The Great Molasses Flood in Boston’s North End killed 21 people and injured 150.

First ever monologue discussing how I got into antiques, and the adventure along the way. From digging bottles, a 1964 garage sale, to my dad auctioning for the first time by replacing a drunken auctioneer. Let’s not forget a $300k rug fragment that came from the box lot of things that could not sell at a yard sale. This fragment was from the same home that we were all excited about the Paul Revere silver spoon & and lastly  a story that could have inspMrs Doubtfire! Email: auctionpodcast@me.com  

Robert K. Wittman had a remarkable career as an FBI agent for 20 years, from 1988 to 2008. Specializing in art theft and cultural property crime, Robert became the FBI’s go-to expert for these types of cases. His impressive work undercover led to the recovery of over $300 billion worth of stolen art and property across 20 different countries. His extensive undercover operations are detailed in his book, Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World’s Stolen Treasures. He has fascinating stories. https://www.robertwittmaninc.com/ In 2008, after 20 years with the FBI, Robert Wittman retired from the Bureau and brought his expertise to the private sector. He sought to create a Security and Recovery Consulting firm that would draw on his unique investigative experience to protect its clients from losses related to theft, fraud or forgery. Since its inception, Robert Wittman Inc. has grown far beyond its original vision, providing protection and recovery services to more than 100 public and private collections worldwide. Robert Wittman Inc. continues to proudly serve a diverse portfolio of institutions, auction houses, collectors, galleries, insurance companies and Nations committed to protecting their cultural assets. Martin’s mentioning of the Declaration of Independence almost forgotten when Washington was burning: “Pleasonton acquired several coarse linen bags, and filled them with all the Department’s records. This included the still-unpublished secret journals of Congress, the commission and correspondence of George Washington, the Articles of Confederation, the United States Constitutionand all the treaties, laws, and correspondence of the department made since 1789. He had all of this placed in coarse linen sacks and carted to a grist mill two miles beyond Georgetown. Before he left, he noticed the Declaration of Independence had been forgotten and was still hanging in its frame on the wall, and took that as well.” Robert’s Story on Dolly Madison saving the George Washington Portrait 

2010 interview with HARDCORE HISTORY’S Dan Carlin, a fascinating guest who’s podcast still holds up after 11 years. Dan talks about prep for his shows, the predictable things that happen when you reflect on history and much more.

Founder of Art Guard, Bill Anderson discusses the art theft market, as well as Art Guard’s system which is dedicated to protecting anything that’s valuable and portable. A system that is always on, operating discreetly in the background, managed from anywhere on a mobile device.

Adam discusses the antiques business today in the New York City surroundings, an area of exodus, the merchandise available and how to handle things as a buyer and seller in a COVID restricted environment. Check out his website: Syl-Lee Antiques

Martin Willis interviews longtime friend Stephen Schofield on coins and stamps, and how rare are rare coins? What about collecting stamps? What to do for more information about what dad or grandad may have stashed away. Who to trust and what the importance is of condition and care for these historic pieces passing through our lives. For images and info check out his auction website: http://www.centennialauctions.com/

One of Maine’s noted artists, David Vickery discusses his path on becoming an artist by first looking through a camera lens, what challenges him and what inspires him. Check out his Varieties of Maine Realism at: http://www.dvickery.com/ https://www.dowlingwalsh.com/artists/david-vickery

Martin Willis speaks with Mike Lord & Justin Nash who decided that they were not going to let one of the country’s largest antiques shows not happen during the virus, so they created an online event to rival the experience of being there. Gates open May 12, 10:00 AM EDT. #Feelthebrim https://feelthebrim.com/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/BrimfieldOnline/

Curator, Rob Verbsky on the collection of planes, antique cars, motorcycles, memorabilia and more. What is considered transportation, interesting stories, the rarest of the collection, how it all began, the future and more. Check out these related links: http://owlshead.org  http://owlshead.org/collections/category/aircraft http://owlshead.org/collections/category/automobiles http://owlshead.org/collections/category/motorcycles http://owlshead.org/collections/category/carriages http://owlshead.org/collections/category/bicycles

Interviews with auction houses around the country on the new reality of “Online Only Auctions”, with Stephen Fletcher of Skinner Auctioneers in Boston; Wes Cowan of Cowan’s Auctions, Ohio; Rick Unruh of Clars Auction Gallery, Oakland, CA and Greg Willett, a global picker, Wisconsin. www.skinnerinc.com https://www.cowanauctions.com https://clars.com  https://www.gregwillettantiques.com

Interview with Richard Wright and David Rago about their Rago/Wright merger, how it is expanding business and their perspectives on material they handle, such as buying, selling and collecting in the current market. Check out the websites: https://www.ragoarts.com/ https://www.wright20.com/ Show Notes and Transcript

Author, Jim Craig joins us for a fascinating interview on the finest American eagle carver of all time, John Haley Bellamy.  Check out the  Facebook Page.

A delightful conversation with Jim “Griff'” Griffith on eBay today, trends, added enhancements and the changes that social media bring to the platform. Starting with one person in a condo in 1995, growing to a global market of buyers and sellers worldwide with over 1 billion items offered at any given time. eBay’s Dean of Education, Griff is an eBay seller coach, instructor, mentor and advocate with the eBay North America Marketplaces Team. In addition, he’s the author of The Official eBay Bible, the authoritative eBay guide for the beginning bidder, seller, and professional entrepreneur as well as host of eBay Radio. For more information, join our eBay Radio Group: http://www.ebayradio.com

Anne Laure Bandle joins us from Geneva and discusses the fascinating topic of her 2016 book: The Sale of Misattributed Artworks and Antiques at Auction  Some amazing cases of sleepers, jackpots and the legality of it all. Dr. Anne Laure Bandle is an attorney-at-law at the lawfim Borel & Barbey in Geneva where she advises clients in matters related to works of art, copyright, contracts, estate planning, foundations and trusts.  Anne Laure Bandle website: https://www.artsandlaw.ch/

Live Streamed on YouTube, One of the world’s leading Leonardo experts, Martin Kemp, who helped authenticate the $450 million Salvator Mundi talks about what it was like behind the scenes exploring the authenticity, the depth of the work, emotional quality and more. He later discusses the ongoing speculation of the buyer, (the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia?) where it may end up (possibly the Louvre Abu Dhabi) as well as other aspects of Leonardo’s work. He will be writing a book on this particular work soon, which you will find on his website: www.martinjkemp.com He said that he knew immediately upon first viewing the restored painting that it was the work of Leonardo: “It’s got that kind of uncanny vortex, as if the hair is a living, moving substance, or like water, which is what Leonardo said hair was like. However skilled Leonardo’s followers and imitators might have been, none of them reached out into such realms of “philosophical and subtle speculation”. We cannot reasonably doubt that here, we are in the presence of the painter from Vinci. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvator_Mundi_(Leonardo) Bio: Martin Kemp is Emeritus Research Professor in the History of Art at Oxford University. He has written and broadcast extensively on imagery in art and science from the Renaissance to the present day. He speaks on issues of visualisation and lateral thinking to a wide range of audiences. Leonardo da Vinci has been the subject of books written by him, including Leonardo (Oxford University Press 2004). He has published on imagery in the sciences of anatomy, natural history and optics, including The Science of Art: Optical Themes in Western Art from Brunelleschi to Seurat (Yale University Press). SOURCE: http://www.martinjkemp.com/welcome.html

It has been awhile, glad to be back! Martin talks live streaming with Dan Meader at John McInnis Auctioneers in Amesbury, MA. about a hidden and unknown Andy Warhol work find in a New England family attic. “I’m trudging along, it’s 150 degrees in the attic, I’m on my hands and knees going through this box that was just stuff, I can see this bubble wrap in this box that’s falling apart. … I flipped it over and I see the inscription on the back and I started shaking.” Source Auction results will be posted. PRICES REALIZED of a few highlights, including the 23% buyer’s premium: Lot 40. Andy Warhol broken canvas, “Abstraction – Gift to Jon Gould” sculpture: $369,000; Lot 44. Andy Warhol, ‘NY Post’ crumpled sculpture: $43,050; Lot 48. Andy Warhol charcoal drawing, “Body Builder”: $43,050 and Lot 52. Andy Warhol stitched photo collage “Jon Gould”: $61,500 plus so much more.