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Discover Mid-America — May 2007

Internet Search Tools 101: Part II

In last month's column, we talked about the various Internet search engines and learned to construct a query that will keep search terms together in a string while screening out irrelevant listings. Whichever search engine becomes your personal favorite, here are some further tips for optimal Internet research on antiques and collectibles.

1. Experiment with synonymous search terms

A common error among novice researchers is to assume that the information isn't out there because they can't find it using one narrowly constructed Internet search query. To continue with our Hitchcock table example, I found nothing when I searched under "Hitchcock Chair Company" in one of the databases available on The Invisible Web. But I found seven free articles with significant references on Hitchcock furniture when I searched under "Lambert Hitchcock."

For readers who may have missed Part I of this article, here is a photo of the Hitchcock occasional table we used as a case in point for how to do draw accurate conclusions from Internet research. Although the manufacturer was producing furniture in the 19th century, our Internet sleuthing revealed this particular table was produced post 1946. (photo by the author)

2. Use the search functions on individual web sites

Our initial search to find information on the Hitchcock table has now forearmed us with enough information that we can return to eBay listings to find examples of Hitchcock furniture and be better able to distinguish real information from hearsay in auction descriptions. But how would anyone find anything at all within eBay's millions of weekly listings were it not for its sophisticated internal search function? Nearly every web site of any complexity has one of these internal search engines.

Pay careful attention to the search instructions within each site to learn whether they require Boolean logic (in which searches are constructed with conjunctions such as "and" between individual words in the string) and for other clues on to how to construct a query for that particular site.

Here's a grouping of recent Connoisseur Collection offerings from Fenton Art Glass and master glass craftsman Dave Fetty. The two vases at left and right are a reprise of the mosaic glass produced by Fenton around 1925. In the ‘20s, Fenton referred to this as "off-hand" glass, in which glassmakers experimented with various techniques, often at the end of a production day and using spare bits of glass. A little Internet research would tell you that Fenton mosaic glass from the ‘20s routinely commands four figures per item even on eBay, where, in February 2006, an 11-inch vase brought $2,750, one of the top two prices paid for pottery and glass on eBay that month. As such examples from the 1920s become increasingly scarce, the prices on newer Fenton mosaic glass are likely to appreciate rapidly on the secondary market. A little Internet research would tell you how to distinguish the newer from the older pieces; for one thing, newer examples are etched on the base with Fetty's initials. (photo by the author from a family collection)

3. Mind your P’s and Q's

Spelling matters when you're doing Internet research. Some of the main search engines, such as Google, will correct your spelling — provided what you spelled bears any discernible relation to what you meant. In other words, if you type in "Hitchcok [sic] chair," Google will ask you if you meant "Hitchcock Chair" — with a helpful link for the correct spelling. (However, if even Google doesn't recognize the word from your spelling of it, it won't offer alternatives.) eBay, too, has gotten more sophisticated in offering corrected versions of common spelling errors. As in Google, eBay's internal search engine may also ask you if you meant some other spelling. But try typing such a misspelling into an article database for arts, antiques and collectibles and you'll get back nothing back at all.

This cuts both ways; dealers and collectors can find some wonderful bargains on eBay just by searching under common misspellings of maker names that a more literate user might not think to explore.

The maker of this Spanish porcelain figurine is Zaphir, a now-defunct brand affiliated with Lladró. The mark is scripted and not easy to read for people unfamiliar with it, so I used occasionally to find some "teal" bargains on Zaphir items listed on eBay under common misreading of the name such as "Zaphin" or "Laphin." For lesser-known names such as this, that trick still works; eBay's sophisticated search engine doesn't recognize the variant spellings on uncommon names and so doesn't correct for them. Point? Spelling matters in Internet research, especially if you're a seller trying to attract buyers! (photo by the author)

4. Assess the quality and reliability of information

For antiques and collectibles, it's important to remember that a "dot-com" is a commercial web site that has something it wants to sell you. Depending on the reputation of the seller, the information on the site may be more or less reliable in overcoming seller bias.

An institution of higher learning, usually a college or university sponsors a “dot-edu” site. These sites can often be useful for historical information.

A "dot-gov" site is sponsored by municipal, state, or federal government. Depending on how you feel about the government, you may consider this a more or less reliable source of information, but it's really the only game in town for population and demographic statistics that dealers may find useful when considering, for example, whether and where to relocate a business or to market particular merchandise.

Ask yourself the following key questions when evaluating Internet information: When was the site last updated? What sources are cited for the information and/or what are the qualifications of the writer? What's the tone of the article — appreciative or dismissive? Does the writer have a bias? As ideology relates to antiques, someone who thinks an item has to be 18th century or earlier to qualify as a bona fide antique is going to write very differently about 19th century Eastlake furniture than a writer who has some appreciation for that later style. On the other hand, someone who thinks anything produced before 1970 is an "antique" has a different set of axes to grind.

Retain a healthy skepticism when online descriptions of merchandise contain words such as "rare" — a word so often abused that it has become almost generic in the trade. Likewise, with more contemporary collectibles, beware the phrase "limited edition": Once the production run gets up into the six figures, how limited can it be, really? A regular production run of an item that was difficult to make successfully may be far scarcer than something actually labeled as limited.

Fenton Art Glass, America's oldest extant glass company, is credited by some with being the originator of carnival glass back in the first decade of the 20th century. At that time, Fenton called it "iridescent glass." Some older carnival glass by major makers such as Fenton and Northwood can be very expensive, but not all carnival glass is created equal. Much depends on the pattern and color. Scarcity is in part a function of intensity of demand. This Fenton "Peacock and Grape" pattern, circa 1911, is among the most desirable carnival patterns, but it is more expensive in the darker carnival colors than it is in the marigold pictured here. Even this example can easily command $75-$100. (photo by the author from a family collection)

It will be no surprise to anyone who's spent much time surfing the 'Net that a lot of the information it contains is pure bunk and junk. The old adage applies, whether the page is in a newspaper or on the Web: Don't believe everything you read.

5. Remember the limitations of the technology

Access to information on the Internet is so convenient and instantaneous that we sometimes forget the technology has limitations. In the very first place, not all the world's info is online. Just as with a personal computer, what's there depends upon data entry (which, in web design, is called "coding"). Sometimes, what's there can't hold a candle to one good book on the topic you're researching, provided there are books in print on that topic.

Another limitation of the Internet is that it's built for people with short attention spans. As such, there are very few web sites that contain information in any depth. It's probably best to think of Internet information as an appetizer that prepares the user for a full course meal of books or articles in print on the topic in question.

Peggy Whiteneck is a writer and collector living in East Randolph, VT. If you would like to suggest a topic she can address in her column, email her at allwrite@sover.net.

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