Miniature black and white portrait on what looks like ivory?

[ericmcintire]

Just saw this at an estate sale for $95.. not sure what it is but I couldn't put it down, decided to take pics and see if you guys might know what it is and what it's value might be.  it looked very old.  Any input would be appreciated, thanks :-)

[talesofthesevenseas]

Neat! The collar and tie look modern. It is not the stand-up collar and shorter fabric ties of the 1850's so I think this is going to date to the late Victorian period into Edwardian- 1880 at the earliest to 1920's at the latest. If you can access the back of it, we have a lot of help in the "Special Threads" section of the forum that can help you identify what it is made of.

[ericmcintire]

Thanks for the input, I haven't purchased it yet, do you think it would be a wise pickup for $95?

[talesofthesevenseas]

It is hard to say, not knowing what it really is, but if you like and and can afford $95 without causing yourself hardship, I would say go for it and research it afterwards if you will love it either way.

If it is on ivory values can be very flukey. People love ivory or they hate it because of it being harvested from animals. Prices can be all over the place and there are some places where you cannot sell it, even if it was made before the ban on ivory.

[mart]

These were not uncommon from the Victorian period !! I think its a bit overpriced unless you know the person and just want it to keep !!  $40. to $50. would be a more realistic price range !!
The enlargement doesn`t tell if its ivory or not but it could be bone !! Couldn`t tell if it had graining but didn`t look like it !!

[KC]

In the early 1900's these were made on celluloid instead of ivory and believe it or not....the celluloid looks like ivory.  So, you would need to differentiate that.  As Talesof said...look at the Special Threads Section to discern this.

This looks closer to early 1900's.  Haven't honestly seen one framed like this before....interesti ng.

The big questions to ask are: 1) Do you really like it for yourself?  2) If buying to resale....do you honestly think you will make $$$ on it? and only pay for it what you can afford to lose in anything you buy because the market isn't always so accommodating.

[mart]

Forgot about celluloid !! Could be it !!  Didn`t look like ivory to me,, from what I could see !!

[ericmcintire]

Thanks for all the input guys, I think I'll wait to see if they do a 50% blowout on the last day of the estate sale, If I can get it for $45, I'll do that, just to satisfy my curiosity.

[mart]

I think that would be a fair price !! Not many should be interested without knowing the person or the family !!  There are a few collectors that would buy it just because of what it is but they are rare !!  Hope you get it !!