Patriotic Buyers Lift
Americana Art Prices

A few days after the attack on the World Trade Center, Cathy Kaplan -- whose office had been in the Twin Towers -- decided to take action: She bought a $2,000 red, white and blue American quilt from the 1940s inscribed "Pray for peace." "I am a big believer," says the New York City attorney, "that art and beauty can be a counterforce to destruction."

In recent weeks, the country has gone on a patriotic buying binge from sea to shining sea. Now, all this red-white-and-blue consumerism is spreading into the pricey market for Americana, the art-world collecting category that includes everything from antique flags and homey quilts to schoolgirl samplers. Sales of items particularly emblematic of America -- think presidents, eagles, or our national colors -- are up as much as 50% from even a few weeks ago, antiques dealers say.

But all the flag waving can only go so far -- and last so long. Indeed, well before Sept. 11, the Americana market was softening, with this year slower than last for most dealers, and with some predicting the market would slip even further. And while most experts see today's patriotic mood as more than a flash in the pan, few are predicting any general surge in antique prices. Indeed, according to Victor Wiener, executive director of the Appraisers Association of America, past blips in patriotism haven't had long-term effects on Americana, including the wave of enthusiasm following the Gulf War.

So for those caught up in the mood, but who don't want to spend foolishly, here's a tip: While all men may be created equal, all Queen Anne highboys aren't. Below, a look at what experts say might hold their value when the patriotic fervor cools -- and what might not.

The 'Stars and Stripes'

The nationwide rush to hang up an American flag has boosted the market for antique ones, as well. Moreover, this market is not only booming, but it's one that experts expect to continue to do so. But, a warning to serious collectors: There are holy grails, and then there are just old flags. What matters most is the date the flag was made, the documentation that helps to prove its age and origin, and the configuration of the stars.

Before 1912, the state stars could have any pattern so long as the number reflected the number of states in the Union. One sought-after design: the "Double Medallion" or "Triple Medallion," in which the stars form either two or three concentric circles. Those flags were common during the Civil War, but hard to find today, and a medallion-style flag from that period might bring $7,000 to $8,000, says vintage-flag expert Jeffrey Kenneth Kohn. Later in the late 19th century, a popular pattern was the "Great Star" or "Great Luminary" pattern -- that's where all the state stars form one big star.

Perhaps surprisingly, a flag made after 1959, when Alaska joined the Union, isn't worth much more than one made Thursday. And flags with 48 stars, which date from 1912 to 1959, are so numerous they're of little interest to serious flag collectors; indeed, dealers sometimes give them away.

Founding-Father Furniture

Of course, you never go wrong with Chippendale. Of course, you probably can't afford Chippendale. Or Queen Anne, for that matter, another 18th-century furniture style that dealers agree will hold its value but can cost six figures or more. What dealers might try to sell you instead in these patriotic times is 19th-century Chippendale-style furniture, and that's not the same thing. While legitimately antiques, these pieces were essentially fakes created for 19th-century homes decades after the esteemed Mr. Chippendale (who was actually British) and his craftsmen died.

Elsewhere in this category, and earlier centuries, grandfather clocks tend to hold their value, as do card and tea tables by "name" craftsmen. But don't expect patriotic fervor to lift the price of whatever you buy up over time. Any antique furniture, regardless of style or craftsman, that has been frequently repaired or otherwise is too far from its original condition is almost always a bad buy. And, "the whole furniture market is not going to go up because of this," says John Hays, an international director for Christie's in New York. "Given the economy, some segments of the market may even soften."

Consider American Empire furniture, the heavy, masculine, early 19th-century style decorated with scrolls and columns that was out of favor for decades but had recently started to go up. "We'll see if that continues" in the new economic climate, says appraiser Mr. Wiener, skeptically.

Needlework and Pennsylvania Dutch Frakturs

The humble needlework market changed forever in January 1996 when the Boston Museum of Fine Arts spent $1.2 million for a circa-1750 picture of Boston stitched by a schoolgirl in wool, silk and metallic thread. In the 18th century, schoolgirls stitched such samplers as part of their education, and prices for these relics of a more domestic era have been rising.

Also boosting this market long before recent tragic events: Samplers are one of the few types of Americana where the artist can be consistently documented, and feminist-related historical research into early American women has helped spur collector interest in recent years.

Since 1996, needlework prices for unusual and well-executed pieces have quadrupled, says Amy Finkel of M. Finkel & Daughter, a Philadelphia company that specializes in samplers. Also rising in price are "frakturs" -- hand-drawn and -painted birth certificates or family records from the 18th and 19th centuries, mostly made in Pennsylvania. Some have sold for more than $100,000. "That's always been a good market," says Debra Pook of Pook & Pook, a Downingtown, Pa., auction company.

American Quilts

As recently as the 1980s, it was rare for an antique quilt to sell for more than $10,000. The 1990s' boom changed all that. Prices of $10,000 and more are becoming the norm for exceptional pieces, says New York dealer Ms. Fisher of Laura Fisher/Antique Quilts & Americana, and some have fetched six figures. This year, an astronomy quilt with an image of the galaxy as it was known in the late 18th- and early-19th century sold at the Philadelphia Antiques Show for $225,000.

The quilts that fetch the highest prices are older, 19th-century pictorial quilts, and Ms. Fisher says her customers seem to be responding more to "eagles, shields, stars, flags and red-white-and-blue" designs. Even before Sept. 11, she priced a quilt from the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition with flags and George Washington images above $20,000 -- and got a buyer who has already reserved it. "If I were selling it now," she says. "I might price it higher."

What isn't a good bet? Pastel American quilts from the '20s, '30s and '40s are losing popularity. Part of the reason: An influx of new quilts from overseas look a lot like the early-20th-century pastels, only they're one-third the price.

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