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Hand Fans- How to Find Them

I'm an avid collector of fans, and anyone who has spent time online trying to find good antique fans, or even good approximations of antique styles, knows that they can be difficult to come by. For instance, you might find a lovely painted fan, but often they have lace at the top or a hanging loop, so they can't be accurate for 18th century reproductions. Or the angle that the fan opens is very wide, and not useful for 17th century reproductions.

How to find good fans? I'm going to let you in on a secret. After spending hours trolling e-bay for likely specimens, I stumbled upon a site called Collector's Weekly which has a section specifically for hand fans, and what the site does is automatically search and compile all of the e-bay listings with their current prices, watchers, and end dates. They also have lots of other collectibles, if your interests lie in another direction.

Now that I've shared my little secret, don't go sniping all of the good auction items!

Comments

  1. GentlewomanthiefMarch 17, 2011 at 10:31 AM

    Ooh, lovely! I think fans are going to make a big comeback for modern wear as well as historical, so make sure you get something for the summer ;) Thanks for the link!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Olympe de la Tour D'AuvergneMarch 17, 2011 at 5:24 PM

    I think so as well, and I hope they do. How anyone does without them in the summer I do not know.

    ReplyDelete

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