What to do now?
I inherited an antique shop. The shop itself had been closed for years, but we received all the inventory. Along with this was a massive collection of antique printing materials. hundreds if not thousands of letters, most either all wood, or wood with a metal front. There are also a lot of advertisers and things like that. some of the letters are almost a foot in length. I have no idea what to do with this. There are also about 12 drawers, hamilton and another company called new foundry something. I would like to sell them, but ebay is mixed on their worth, and there are so many different shapes, sizes, fonts, and the ages appear to be different. Anyone have a suggestion on where to begin, or what to do with such a large lot. I also have these antique, long skinny wooden items with a rounded end almost like a pencil with a washer on the end, but bigger. Are these associated with printing, some have metal on them, and they were found with the printing equipment. Thanks for any help, this stuff seems so neat, I’d keep it, except some of these look like they belong in a really large press. There are also a bunch of shapes, rifle, some boy scout stuff, a few celebrities, indian motorcycle, sale/ 50% off, once again some might be worth a ton and others nothing, is there a way to evaluate these for a layman? Thanks again!!!!
Yes, there is always a myriade of details that go into evaluating each and every piece. Size, rarity, subject matter, usefullness, etc. ad infinitum. You really need to get a few people who know about letterpress “stuff” to advise you on what you actually have.
The main question is WHERE ARE YOU??????
Once that is known, there may be a few knowledgeable people in your area willing to come and see exactly what you have and advise you from there.
Right now you seem to be totally in the dark and very vulnerable to be taken advantage of.
You really want to find a few folks that have been printing and collecting letterpress things FOR A LONG TIME to help you get a good feel for where the market is at this time. There has been a tremendous fluctuation in pricing in recent years.
Rick
Rick
The long pencil like wooden pieces might be shooting sticks. Photos and asking prices would be helpful. Also your location.
Just sell the letters “type” as a set… too many sell them separate. Unusable separate. We only have so much of this history left. Other have purposely destroyed it, in one way or another.
I sent you a reply on the board yesterday but it didn’t appear here so I’m trying again. With some photos, descriptions and discussion I would be glad to help you figure out how to proceed. Know many collectors of individual items from letterpress shops ( myself included) who would be eager to see what you might have. Will help you with valuing what you have and telling you where to sell it to maximize your profit. You can call or text me at 516-633-5107.
Larry
Larry, do you have an ebay store?