Introducing Cordier Auctions & Appraisals

Tuesday, September 9, 2014
            Sunny, clear skies, and hot

Introducing Cordier Auctions & Appraisals

   As you know if you'r a frequent reader of my blog, I like to visit the Liveauctioneers website frequently. Liveauctioneers is a website for people around the world who are interested in seeing merchandise up for auction also from around the world. The company hosts live auctions in real time, via the Internet, and people are able to see and bid on items on a secure website.  

  Last week, I noticed an auction company that was selling old toys. What was different about their auction was that many of the toys were being sold in lots, compromised of  anywhere from six to sixteen (6-16) individual toys. The toys were not the rarest or the oldest, but the idea of selling toys in "groups" certainly caught my attention. 

  The name of the company is Cordier Auctions & Appraisals. Their location is in Harrisburg, Pennsylvannia, USA.  I wrote to the company at the end of August, and received a reply from Ellen Miller of  Cordier Auctions & Appraisals.  Ellen's position at Cordier is that of being the director of "Catalog and Specialty Auctions". She is also a Licensed Auctioneer and a Certified Appraiser, and has a Master's degree in Business from Temple University. She also is a dedicated and hard-working volunteer with the Muscular Sclerosis Society. Wow, Ellen certainly is quite busy!

  The website of Cordier Auctions & Appraisals  has a well-written  introduction to the company, 

so I decided to present it for you to read. 

ABOUT US

"David and Sandra Cordier had been collectors for years when they began their business in 1980, while living in Halifax, Pennsylvania.  Initially the Cordiers exhibited at area venues such as Black Angus near Reading, Pennsylvania, and the Eastern National Antiques Show held twice yearly in Harrisburg. In 1988 the Cordiers opened a permanent display at Northgate Antiques Mall in Carlisle and, as they became established, began to exhibit at regional shows such as Atlantic City, New Jersey, Baltimore, Maryland, and New York City. As the depth of their interest and knowledge increased, the Cordiers began developing a small market in original art from the 19th and early 20th centuries. While there are several contemporary art galleries in the greater Harrisburg area, the fine antiques establishments displayed very little, if any, original art from the period. This prompted the Cordiers to open a gallery located in Camp Hill. As the Internet and its impact on the antiques and collectibles industry grew, Cordier Antiques expanded into that venue. In 2000, Ellen Miller joined the company to oversee that component of the business in addition to other responsibilities.  Realizing the significance of both traditional and online auctions, David Cordier became a licensed auctioneer in 2006 and began establishing Cordier Antiques & Auctions as the premier auction house in Central Pennsylvania.  Currently, Cordier Antiques holds dozens of onsite, estate, real estate and multi consignor auctions each year in additional to twice yearly catalog auctions of select antiques and fine art.  Cordier Antiques & Auctions was voted “Best Of” by Harrisburg Magazine in 2004 and has been Reader’s Choice for many years. David Cordier currently writes “At Home with Antiques” for the Harrisburg Patriot News “At Home” magazine. From 2002 through 2006, Mr. Cordier also wrote a bi-weekly feature column “Eye on Antiques” for the Patriot News that focused on antiques and related events in central Pennsylvania."* * 'About US' Courtesy of Cordier Auctions & Appraisals.  Please click here to visit this fine American auction and appraisal company   When I  received Ellen Miller's reply, I was informed that I should credit all of the photography to  Mr. Vince Cassaro of Vince Cassaro Photography. Vince is an accomplished professional photographer, and early this year, in collaboration with Cordier Auctions & Appraisals won an award for "Best in Show" for  their brochure, and another award (first place) for their entry at the 2014 Pennsylvania Auctioneers Association Conference held this year on January 8-10, 2014. Please click here to read about these two awards The photography below is superbly done. I did minimal work below. Mostly it was just to whiten the foundation  (what the toys are sitting on). I would highly recommend viewing these photos in Google Blogger's slide mode to see how fantastic these photos really are. Coincidentally, most of these toys have been restored.I had just written two posts early this week  about unrestored and restored toys, and comparing the 2 types of toy conditions for people who might be interested in either. The quality of the restorations is very, very good, and I was thinking how these toys would have looked like this some 50-80 years ago. The Hubley toys below are more recent, compared with the Tootsietoys. In my communication with Ellen Miller, I had to ask her why these toys would be presented in small to larger groups. Her answer was that since most of the toys were restored and not high value, it was preferable to present them at auction in these groups. Personally, I like the idea of being able to bid on groups of toys together rather than one at a time. When I was buying and selling on ebay, it was rare to see more than one toy up for auction. As such, my costs for paying for shipping was much more expensive when buying toys one at a time. Also, if I was more interested in having the toys as room decor rather than as collectibles, this would afford me a great opportunity to purchase many of these nice toys together. Most of the descriptions are quite brief. I've written about most of the Hubley toys except for the Disney toys below. If you are interested in more information on the Hubley and Tootsietoy toys, simply try searching for them on my blog with search words.  I always like to imagine how toys might have appeared "brand new" when they first came out,and today's introductory post certainly illustrates what these toys would have looked like so long ago. Of course, I appreciate whomever had restored these toys to such a fine level or workmanship. I know, since I also did many restorations, but mine were never as fine as these.  Maybe one day, if I I stop writing  and want to keep busy, I can go to Santas' village in the North Pole  and learn how to repair and recondition old toys to the level that we see here! Thanks for dropping by to visit, and as always, have a great part of the day or night, wherever you may be. Stacey toysearcher@gmail.com