The Man Behind A Collection Development Staple

Link to September 7 obituary in the New York Times, "Ralph Kovel, 88, Wrote Antiques Guides".

Excerpt:

Though the Kovels tracked the prices of some expensive items, like 18th-century furniture, they focused overwhelmingly on ordinary things for ordinary collectors, the artifacts — some would say the detritus — of everyday American life. Through these objects, as the Kovels’ work revealed, it is possible to trace the arc of the country’s social history.

Consider Barbie’s girdle. [You'll need to add the search term.] In the doll’s early years — she was introduced in 1959 — one could buy a miniature elastic girdle as an accessory. By the late 20th century, when even Barbie had felt the stirrings of the women’s movement, the girdle was no longer made. In 1996, as Mrs. Kovel said in an interview with The Plain Dealer of Cleveland that year, that tiny scrap of elastic was worth $75.

The Barbie doll initially sold for $3 in 1959.