Hi everyone, I'm new here, and fairly new to the antiques and vintage business as well. I buy and sell basically anything that can help pay the bills, and I'm pretty good at researching items that I'm not sure on, but this one has me stumped. This here is a framed "Certificate of Award" from the International Cotton Exposition of 1881 in Atlanta, GA. I was able to find information about this particular exposition, and did find some items from it, but nothing comparable to this. It was awarded to A. White & Son, Card Clothing, which I was also able to find some information on, they were a local company here in Massachusetts that made cards for cotton, but are obviously not in business anymore. There is a gold seal on the certificate that states 1881: The International Cotton Exposition GA. It is listed as Exhibit No. 1873. There are three signatures, "Secretary" J. W. Ryckman, "Director General" H.I. Kimball, and "President" A.H. Colquitt who was Governor of Georgia. At the very bottom it states Phototype F. Gutekunst Drawn by Horace Bradley Atlanta. I'm not sure if this is the original frame, but the certificate appears to be in very good shape, with a little fading on the signatures. I am really stumped as to the value/worth of this item. I generally would sell something like this on ebay, versus putting it in my booth for sale, but without knowing a value and marketing to the right person I'm worried I won't get a good price for it. I purchased it for $10 at a yard sale in my town. Any help, thoughts, feedback is much appreciated, and if you have any questions I can try to answer them. Thank you!
cotton2 by
Linneadates, on Flickr
cotton1 by
Linneadates, on Flickr
