Rust Remover on Fine China?

Never use rust-remover on china as it can remove the glaze or protective coating of the china.

Also, calcium, lime or rust-remover products should not be used on gold or platinum-banded crystal because they can stain or permanently change the color of the metal-banding.

Collecting Marbles

Marble collecting is a hobby practiced by over 400 million people around the world. Marbles are categorized by many factors including condition, size, type, manufacturer/artisan, age, style, materials, scarcity, and the existence of original packaging.

A marble's worth is primarily determined by type, size, condition and eye-appeal, coupled with the law of supply and demand. Ugly, but rare marbles may be valued as much as those of very fine quality. However, this is the exception, rather than the rule - "Condition is King" when it comes to marbles. Any surface damage (characterized by missing glass, such as chips or pits) typically cut book value by 50% or more.

Marbles date back to the times of the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans who played with marbles made of stone or polished nuts.

According to the National Toy Hall of Fame, even Shakespeare mentioned marbles in his play the Twelfth Night.

We have a few older marbles available--come by to see us anytime!

Saturday's Car Show

We had a great time looking at all the cars in the 5th Annual Grand Car Show on Saturday!

The winner of the Best Car with All Original Parts was parked right in front of Antiques on the Avenue--it was a 1937 Oldsmobile. They borrowed items from the store to make it look like a traveling band from the 30s!

Fire King

Fire King is an affordable houseware collectible found in antique stores, garage sales, flea markets, and thrift stores, as well as on the Internet.

The Fire King line includes bowls, casseroles, cups, plates, serving platters, creamers, vases and more. Fire King is not designed for dishwasher use, which can dull its original lustre and remove any applied paint decorations.FireKing was originally produced in the 1940s for everyday use, rather than display. It was often sold in bags of flour as a promotional item or was given away at gas stations.

Fire King could also be purchased at local grocery and hardware stores.Jadeite Restaurant Ware is most popular among some collectors. It is a creamy jade color. Martha Stewart popularized this pattern by using it on her TV show. Fire King solid glass colors come in rose-ite (creamy pink), turquoise blue, azur-ite (light pale blue), white, and ivory. It can also be a fired-on coating over crystal in shades of pastel green, pastel blue, pastel peach, pastel yellow, primary orange, primary blue, primary yellow and primary green. These fired on colors are part of the pattern Rainbow. Rainbow is not technically Fire King, but included in the same category with most collector books. There is also a fired on Peach Lustre color that comes in several patterns.

What does CIRCA mean?

The word circa is often used in antiques and this is usually represented by the letter C in front of a date, what this means is hat the item in question can be dated ten years either way from the date that is quoted as a guide.