Fur: Real versus Fake fur Fake fur is a relatively modern invention. Thus, fake fur will help identify fake fur will help identify an 'antique' item as a fake antique, retro, reproduction or altered in modern times. Fake fur was introduced in 1929 and has been commercially available since the 1950s. Due to animal right … Continue reading A few tips for identifying real versus fake vintage fur

Wood Even experienced wood experts say that identifying the type of wood is difficult and involves guessing. There are a number of reasons for this difficulty. One is trees are generally categorized by external qualities such as shape, flowers and leaves, rather by the inner wood. This means different woods can be similar in grain … Continue reading Identifying wood in antiques Part I: an introduction for beginning collectors

Purchase a copy of Identifying Common Materials in Antiques Identifying Non-Precious Metals Metals are identified by examining numerals qualities, including appearance (color, shine, signs of aging), weight, magnification (drawn to magnet or not), use (your bicycle spokes won't be made out of sterling silver) and hardness. Metal is often easy to identify. It can be … Continue reading Identifying Non-Precious Metals : a quick look

download Return Trip: aesthetics and epistemology "Looking at visual illusions and how they work show us that reality and human perception of reality are different things." Return Trip by David Cycleback is a shortened, chopped-up and transformed version of prominent art historian Cycleback's earlier published works on aesthetics, psychology and epistemology. It examines aesthetic perception … Continue reading Aesthetics and Epistemology * Free ebook