Want to bid on an original Chagall? How about a siddur from the 16th century? Or a baseball card featuring a Major League Jewish player?
Although you may be tempted to travel to a famous auction house, you can bid for a wealth of Jewish artifacts and ephemera right from your computer.
But before you buy (or sell) anything through an online auction, you should check the reliability of the site and its policies regarding commission, shipping, insurance, tax, duty and returns. I strongly recommend reading a primer written by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, “Internet Auctions: A Guide for Buyers and Sellers.” [http://bit.ly/aucti01]
Of course the granddaddy of all online auctions isn’t actually a “Jewish” auction. But Jewish collectors are bound to find something interesting in eBay’s Jewish section, where there were over 25,000 items up for sale when I last checked. [http://bit.ly/aucti02]
At the upper end, you can bid on a 15th century Hebrew Incunabula (printed booklet) from Naples or buy it now for $23,500 (US). [http://bit.ly/aucti03] If that’s a bit rich for your taste, you can purchase a first day cover featuring Hammerin’ Hank Greenberg, the Jewish all-star home run slugger of the Detroit Tigers. [http://bit.ly/aucti04]
At its most recent auction, Jerusalem-based MatArts sold a Johannes Jacobus Hilverdink (1837-1884, Dutch). His View of Jerusalem (1874 oil on canvas) went for $110,500. [http://bit.ly/aucti05] Although there are no MatArts auctions scheduled right now, you can view that three-hour auction online and decide whether you would have raised your virtual paddle to bid. [http://bit.ly/aucti06]
Available right now over at Virtual Judaica Auctions:
• a poster announcing the funeral of Rabbi Isaac Jacob Weiss (1902–1989), chief dayan of the Edah Haredit of Jerusalem;
• a 19th-century silk far eastern tallit bag,
• and the Jewish cookbook, Israelitisches Kochbuch (Prague 1886). [http://bit.ly/aucti12]
Aside from acquiring a beautiful piece of art or religious object, is collecting Judaica a good investment? An article at Antiquetrader.com [http://Antiquetrader.com] says yes and suggests that Austrian, German and Polish silver Torah ornaments dating from 1850 to 1880 have held their value in times of economic stress. [http://bit.ly/aucti08]
Jonathan Greenstein of the Judaica auction house J. Greenstein Co. agrees, but warns that the Jewish market is flooded with fakes. So be careful before you bid. [http://bit.ly/aucti09]
In a surprising side effect of the Madoff scandal, the Judaica market has been flooded with antiques by people who have had to part with treasures to shore up lost fortunes. Last year Rhea Schindler, widow of Rabbi Alexander Schindler of the the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, was forced to auction off a 200-year old diamond adorned yad (Torah pointer) that went for $23,000. [http://bit.ly/aucti10]
If you’re planning a trip to Israel and want to try a different kind of auction, bid on a meal at a restaurant at eluna.com [http://eluna.com]. Here’s how it works: a dinner for two at Café Inbal in Jerusalem is valued at 150 shekels. The current bid is 70 shekels. If that bid wins, the bidder can go to the restaurant and enjoy a meal at less than half price. [http://bit.ly/aucti11]
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More Jews in canoes: I recently did a column on camping and Jews, but neglected to mention the Mosaic Outdoor Club of Ontario, which has been organizing seasonal activities for Jewish adults for the past 13 years. Coming up is an Aug. 20 voyage along the province’s French River. [http://mosaicontario.org]
Mark Mietkiewicz is a Toronto-based Internet producer who writes, lectures and teaches about the Jewish Internet. He can be reached at [email protected]