The one that I now owned was a very early one. She had a bisque socket head, large brown glass eyes which glanced side-ways, brows more like dots; a closed smiling mouth; and a painted tuft of hair. The body was composition, chubby toddler style; jointed limbs with starfish hands. Clearly marked 'Ges. gesch. O'Neill J.D.K.' She was about 13" long. Best part, her current value at the right auction would be about $4,600.00.

Why didn't Dutch know and why was she priced so low? Who knows? It's especially true that older dealers tend to lose touch with up-to-date prices. Another problem is that dealers are lazy. They tend to price things based on what they paid for something and make what they believe to be an educated guess.

In short, that's what makes the world go round.

Time to get cleaned up, almost…

I needed two things first. I stopped in a little bodega down the street from the Antique Emporium. Picked up a pre-paid cell phone for fifty dollars plus tax.

One more block down I found an Old Navy. Ran through the store; selected a blue t-shirt, a pair of jeans, white socks and a dungaree jacket. Paid the overly pieced and tattooed, but very cute blond at the counter and was on my way.

I went over to Lexington Avenue, turned right and went up about a dozen blocks. In case you have never noticed, the blocks in Manhattan are very long.

There it was, the 92nd Street Y. I stood on the steps for a couple of minutes considering my options. I now had a phone and a couple of bucks in cash. What I should do is make some phone calls, try to make some sense of how-and-why I got here and head back to Philly. Or, I could finish what I started and continue working.

Screw it…

I walked in the front door and was greeted with a toothy "Hi" from a young man wearing a bright red shirt. Just a kid really. Still had his pimples.