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Tuesday, January 01, 2002

Fellow Belleekers !!  (lettre # 6.1)

** HAPPY NEW YEARS !! **

I would like to extend to BOTH you and yours out there 
in Belleek land my most sincere wishes for a joyful and
prosperous New Year !!  May it find us all healthy, 
happy and at peace !!

And I do wish that all of you Belleekers found at least
one addition for your Belleek collection during this 
Holiday Season !!  Would any of you out there desire 
to share your finds with the Society ??

RESOLUTIONS !!  As we step off into this New Year, I
would ask ALL of you 'snail mailers' out there, the
EIGHT of you remaining that receive this newslettre via
regular USPS Post, and you KNOW who you are, to PLEASE
obtain E-mail access either for yourselves or via a
relative or friend !!  Remember, this newsletter is a
TOTAL labour of Belleek LOVE and NOT funded in ANY
manner !!  Just drop me an E-mail with your current
mailing address and your requested E-mail Address !! 

** GINA KELLAND'S BELLEEK CROSS REFERENCE !! **

I MUST apologize to Gina for not mentioning that she 
has once again updated her ongoing Cross Reference of 
the  Belleek Collectors' International Society's 
Newsletter and I have incorporated her updates on my 
Web Site for everyone to share !!

This is an excellent cross reference as EVERY major 
article regarding the Pottery's past and present 
personnel and designs, individual collectors and their 
collections, conventions and auctions, honourees and 
Belleek social events, etc., is included in this 
exhaustive work !!  ANYTHING you wish to locate, ALL 
the way back to the original issue of Volume 1 Number 1, 
1979 is included !!  If something DOES NOT appear in 
her cross-reference, then it NEVER appeared in any BCIS
Newsletter !!

If you are producing a 'Formatted Hard Copy', then look
for the (Last Updated) dates of 26-Nov-2001 and 
28-Nov-2001 as those pages reflecting the LATEST 
Modifications !!

THANKS AGAIN, Gina for your dedication to this task !!

** SAY HEY LITTLE GIRL .. TAKE ME BY THE HAND ..
       WALK ME DOWN THIS BOARDWALK ..
           ONE LAST TIME AGAIN .. **

YES, this is it !!  The GREATEST Antique Fair held yearly
anywhere in the (known) world !!  I'm referring, of 
course, to the spectacular show scheduled for Atlantic
City, New Jersey, March 23rd. and 24th., 2002 !!  MARK 
YOUR CALENDARS NOW !!  You don't want to miss this one !!

This is the ORIGINAL Atlantic City, NOT just for us 
Belleekers, but for ALL Antique collectors !!  But don't 
let the show overwhelm you !!  You have the FAMOUS 
Boardwalk, COMPLETE with its FABULOUS hot dog vendors !!
Then, you can take a stroll barefoot thru the WHITE 
sands of the Atlantic Ocean Shore !! You have the Miss 
America Pageant, or have had it, at least thru this 
Year !!  Rumors are, that the Pageant Organizers are 
considering re-location to (possibly) Las Vegas ??  And,
of course, you have the gaming and floor shows !! 

I'll be arriving Friday evening and staying at the 
Sheraton Atlantic City Convention Center Hotel, JUST 
adjacent to the actual Convention Center which houses 
the Antique Show !!

To give you a feeling for the size of this show, I 
arrived at the opening, at 10:00AM Saturday Morning 
and by 8:00PM that Evening, I had JUST finished my 
transverse of EVERY aisle of the show !!  I ONLY spent 
VERY limited time the first day actually conversing with 
dealers !!  The majority of my time was consumed just 
'jotting' down the booths that I desired to revisit on 
the following day !!

There's just an OVERWELMING amount of information to 
include in its entirety, so PLEASE try the following :

    COMPLETE Atlantique City Fair Information !!

If the above HYPERLINK doesn't work, COPY/PASTE the 
following into your Browser :

      http://www.atlantiquecity.com

Or call 1.800.526.2724 for your FREE Courtesy Pack and 
additional information !!

HINT : Since 'major' airlines DO NOT seem to service 
Atlantic City, I found that flying into Philadelphia 
works GREAT !!  From Philly, there's buses or, my 
preference, a Limo to pick you up and deposit you 
directly at your hotels doorstep !!

** BLACK LIGHTS !! **

What a GREAT invention !!  The actually extent of their
use is phenomenal !!  Prior to my acquisition of the 
portable 'pocket' model I carry with me, I'm totally 
amazed at how I survived so long without one !!

They are indispensable in detecting repairs and cracks 
in china, glass and porcelain !!  Additionally, they have 
multiple uses authenticating paper, metal, bone and ivory, 
textiles as well as with gemstones !!

Quoting from the "Black Light Book" :

"The basic principle behind black light is that different 
materials react differently to black light.  That is why 
ingredients and materials used in old originals fluoresce 
one color and the different ingredients and materials 
used to make modern reproductions fluoresce another color.  
Once you have a list of how originals fluoresce, it is 
fairly easy to identify fakes and reproductions that 
fluoresce differently."

Simply put, in days of old, when items were designed thru
basic naturally occurring organic products, these 'simple'
products fluoresce quite differently from those 
constructed of man made chemicals, dyes and compounds !!
This is especially true of the fluoresce from complex 
glues, epoxy and resins as opposed to natural clay, 
mortar, potters slip and glaze !!

Excellent examples of this are found in the Potteries 
'original glue' !!  They used excess potters slip and 
glaze for the attachment of tea cup handles, flowers to 
vases, bases to busts, etc. !!  If, for example, a tea
cup handle has been repaired, no matter how professional
the restoration, a simple blacklite test will detect 
ANY glue or resin re-attachment by the unique display 
of a BRIGHT yellow fluoresce !!

If you want a REAL treat, compare Cherry, Lemon and 
Blueberry versus Red #40, Yellow #5 and Blue #2 !!  My 
personal favourite is 'scanning' the carpet following a 
thorough vacuuming !!  You JUST can't believe what that 
old vacuum leaves to be discouvered !!

They also STRONGLY recommend that you DO NOT rely on a 
SINGLE testing procedure, especially as the price of an
item increases !!  The author's of the above-mentioned 
work have even utilized X-Rays for the discouvery of 
'internal' faults within an item !!

Because black light testing is most reliable and 
discernible in the dark, I have found that a VERY 
reliable preliminary test of an items quality can be 
accomplished readily with a simple black light test 
utilizing the darkness of the dealers' display table 
skirts !! 

To give you a feeling of what organic versus chemical 
appears as, I have included here, my Halloween Pumpkin,
which by the way I grew myself out in my atrium !!  As 
you can see, neither the organic pumpkin or black ink 
fluoresces at all, while the 'yellow' and 'pink' 
'highlighter' pens I utilized on his eyes, nose and 
mouth fluoresce quite well !! 

If you are interested in acquiring your own personal
BlackLite you may simply visit my 'HyperLink' to
Golden's Antique Supply at the Top of my Main Web
Page !!  I, personally, recommend the personal model
which includes the 'Battery Eliminator' Input Jack, 
i.e., you plug in an A.C. Adapter to conserve battery 
life !!  And, if you utilize either Nickel-Metal or 
Lithium Hydride (Rechargeable) Batteries, you can 
recharge them via the 6 volt adapter !! 



Belleekingly,

Del E. Domke, Belleek Consultant
16142 N.E. 15th. Street
Bellevue,  WA    98008-2711
U.S.A.

Telephone :  1 (425) 746-6363
Message :    1 (425) 746-6363
FAX :        1 (425) 746-6363 
E-mail :     delyicious@comcast.net
Web-site :   The Beauty and Romance of Irish Belleek  (or) : 
              http://delyicious.magix.net/public/index.html