Kovel, Ralph Mallory

▪ 2009

      American antiques expert

born Aug. 20, 1920, Milwaukee, Wis.

died Aug. 28, 2008, Cleveland, Ohio

popularized the finding and collecting of antiques and other collectibles by making the hobby accessible to ordinary people with an interest. During their 1950 honeymoon Kovel and his wife, Terry, began collecting pottery, which led to their first book, Dictionary of Marks: Pottery and Porcelain (1953). They published Kovels' Antiques and Collectibles Price List annually from 1969; the 2009 edition came out shortly after his death. In addition to writing numerous other guides, the Kovels from 1954 had a weekly question-and-answer syndicated newspaper column that by 2008 was running in some 150 papers. They also had series on public televisions well as the cable TV networks HGTV and Discovery Channel, contributed articles to general-interest and antiques-related magazines, and for many years wrote on collectibles for the Encyclopædia Britannica Book of the Year.

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