The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

FRID A Y , JANUARY 13,2006 Artscene able buy. The second piece in today's trio of items is a pottery model of a lit tle girl sitting in a chair. The owner, who asked not to be identi fied, claims that his parents always told him that this figure was the most valuable piece in the house. This in itself would not be important unless you are aware that the home the little pottery girl came from was full of 18th century paintings, sterling silver, and furniture of the highest quali ty. Unfortunately the owner has been unable to get any clear assessment of value or origin of the piece. I took a picture of the piece and its mark confident that I would be able to use my extensive ences to get a clear date and value for this eight inch figure. As is sometimes the case, I have not been able to find the mark my archives. I then showed the picture and mark to three very experienced appraisers and have received three different opinions. For now I am prepared to state that the piece is almost certainly Dutch Delft and most probably 19th century. I give this example because sometimes it can be diffi cult to find a definitive value for items. Any information from read ers would be appreciated. An Oakville resident named Cam has an item which he treas ures. To this day it isrreferred to as "the Tramps' Bed." It is actual ly an old Canadian Rope Bed. Cam told us that during the Hungry Thirties men used to come to his family's farm looking for work. Often they would have no place to stay, so the rope bed was set up JSJI M O akville Beaver 29 Historical pieces have interesting stories In this week's column we will >ok at a dining room table of surrising value, a mystery item, and bed from the "Hungry Thirties." Miriam Reed was writing a ,aurentian University exam at an Id school off campus. The room he was writing in was decorated rith antiques. "I kept being distracted by the larvest table I was writing on. It vas 10 feet long and far too large or me as a student to accommolate but I was still fixated on it." Later that year when she was valking by the school she noticed iome of the furniture being moved )ut. She asked about the table ind the owners said they would :onsider selling but they wanted $400. "I had just received that exact amount from an income tax return. I had nowhere to put it, no way to move it, but I truly feel that somehow I was meant to have that table." What probably seemed like a huge sum for a "starving student" was actually a very good purchase. This more casual style of table is very sought after. I know of a dealer in Toronto who sells barn board reproduc tions for $4,000. This early,. 19th century maple table is a remark This pottery model of a little girl sitting in a high chair is believed to be a 19th century Dutch Delft production. Early Canadian beds are "significantly undervalued" according to Jed Gardner. in the summer kitchen and the men could sleep there. Over time everyone on the farm referred to the Canadiana piece*as the "bed the Tramps used," or the "Tramps' Bed." Today it has an honoured place in the household and it recalls a time less prosperous than our own. I believe that beds are current ly significantly undervalued. People don't want to deal with the smaller proportions of m ost antique beds and many dealers find they take up significant floor space. I see many very good early four-poster beds going for a frac tion of- what I feel their value should be. This early Canadiana cherry rope bed would sell at auction in the $400 range. This seems to me a shame when one considers that most new mattresses cost much more. See Tips page 31 Mothers Helping Mothers with Postpartum Depression tid a l SH s h OW B U R L IN G T O N · OAKVILLE Y o u r C o m p le t e B r id a l P la n n in g & S h o p p i n g C o n n e c t io n G ra n d P rize Have you experienced postpartum depression? W ould you like to provide telephone support to new mothers at risk o f developing postpartum depression? You can help support new mothers by becoming a Peer Volunteer in a postpartum depression research trial conducted by the University of Toronto. If you would like more information, or like to enroll, please email Julie at julie.weston@utoronto.ca or call 416-946-8677 or 1-877-344-0464. W IN A C O M P L E T E B R ID A L P A C K A G E VALU ED OVER $ 5 0 0 0 FABULOUS D O O R P R IZ E S J a n u a ry 2 1 s t & 2 2 n d 2 0 0 6 S a t u r d a y 11 - 6 p m & S u n d a y 1 1 - 5 p m f a s h i o n s h o w s t w i c e d a ily - 2 & 4 p .m . B u rlin g to n C o n v e n tio n C e n tre 1 1 2 0 B u rlo a k D rive @ Q E W European Engineering Combined With Traditional Workmanship Dealer w w w .th e b rid a ls h o w .c a Window b Door Designs $ 2.00off c o u p o n nr p e r p e rs o n present this coupon at the door and receive S2.00 off regular adult admission "Building on the Brightest Ideas Around Glass" 905.849.0266