Toys: Bertoia Auctions’ June 10-11 Toys with Character sale June 10-11

Wide Array of "Toys with Character" Take the Spotlight at Bertoia Auctions' Sale on June 10-11:

"Both auction sessions will open with still banks, including what may be the largest and finest single-owner collection of “safe” banks ever to pass through Bertoia’s doors. Many are pictured in Bob and Shirley Peirce’s Iron Safe Banks book. “We were quite fortunate to get this collection. It’s extraordinary,” Rich said. “Guy and Kim Zani, who built the collection, only went for rarity. They didn’t collect anything common.”

Between the still banks and safes, there will be nearly 400 lots from which to choose, including many rare examples. Standouts among the “stills” include one of only two known Grover Cleveland banks, as well as J.M. Harper’s Lincoln, Indian Family and Peaceful Bill. Rare safes include what may be the only known Uncle Sam bank."

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Leonardo da Vinci: seven paintings exhibit @ National Gallery | The Guardian #Squidoo

Leonardo da Vinci show at National Gallery to limit visitor numbers | Art and design | The Guardian:

"It will be a singular opportunity to see half of Leonardo da Vinci's extraordinary paintings together at one exhibition and the National Gallery has announced it will attempt to make the experience as joyous as possible by restricting visitor numbers.

The Leonardo show, which examines the artist's years as painter at the court of the ruler of Milan, promises to be one of the most popular art exhibitions ever. Its scale is unprecedented: to get the loan of one of his 14 paintings would be something of an achievement but to get seven is 'miraculous', said Luke Syson, curator of the show."

Leonardo Da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan, runs from 9 November 2011 to 5 February 2012

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Collecting technology: 1st time exhibit of Bill Buxton's tech collection -- Engadget

achMicrosoft's Bill Buxton exhibits gadget collection 35 years in the making -- Engadget:

"... exhibiting in public for the first time at a conference in Vancouver, British Columbia this week. Not able to check it out in person? Then you can thankfully settle for the next best thing, as Microsoft Research has also put the entire collection online, complete with Buxton's own notes for each of the items (which range from Etch-a-Sketches to watches to a range of different input devices"

Buxton has accumulated hundreds of items that struck him as interesting, unusual or important to the evolution of interactive devices – watches, keyboards, mice, an electronic drum set, a 60-year-old transistor radio whose design inspired the iPod, a Nintendo Power Glove, several Etch-A-Sketches, and even the first so-called "smart" phone – controlled by a touch-screen - first shown in 1993, 14 years before smart phones exploded onto the scene.

Visit the collection online

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Hello to all collectors out there

Image by Brian Caldwell via Flickr

Hello to all collectors out there. Postcards, matchbook covers and playing cards jokers are just a few of the paper collectibles that I enjoy. What do you collect? Penny jars and your favorite clothing counts too! http://bit.ly/lfTG6M

Street Rod Nationals South

Hot rods, the muscle cars from the 60s and 70s. These kinds of cars were appreciated by Ed "Big Daddy" Roth with his classic cartoon illustrations of hot rods piloted by monsters.

Amplify’d from www.knoxnews.com

As many as 15,000 attendees and more than 2,000 vehicle exhibitors gathered at Chilhowee Park over the weekend for the 37th annual National Street Rod Association's Street Rod Nationals South.

The biggest difference between the older classics and the '60s muscle cars that also are very popular to restore is that parts are still relatively available for the '60s- and '70s-era cars.

Parts for the cars that are more than 50 years old often have to be fabricated or scavenged from yard sales and junkyards, Smith said.

Typical "from the ground up" restorations for show cars will cost from $75,000 to $100,000, he said.

Show-quality restorations usually involve replacing or reconditioning just about every part of the vehicle. It's not unusual to invest more in the restoration than the vehicle might reasonably sell for. Such vehicles are for collectors only, he said.

"These are the people who have a lot of money," Smith said. Read more at www.knoxnews.com

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/iere2O