So, I've found ebay's vintage hair comb auctions and am planning to start slowly collecting them. Is anyone here collecting them? I could use some advice. I have a few questions, but I welcome any information that you wish to share.  :)

1. How much is it reasonable to pay for an ornate vintage comb that is in good condition (no cracks or missing stones)?

2. Are there other big sellers than Ebay?

3. Is there anything special to know about handling, wearing and storing of vintage combs?

I gotta get Susan to answer your questions - she has a serious collection of vintage hair combs.  Have you checked out what she had for sale?  She doesn't have any for sale right now, but has pictures of some lovely combs that she sold.  You can find them under Vintage Hair Combs.

I do know the celluloid combs should be kept dry, out of direct sun, but in the open air.  That's the extent of what I know.  I have one comb that a special friend gave me.  I should get it in my hair and have a picture taken one of these days.  

Good luck with your collecting!

wrote on Feb 15^th, 2005 at 7:13am:

So, I've found ebay's vintage hair comb auctions and am planning to start slowly collecting them. Is anyone here collecting them? I could use some advice. I have a few questions, but I welcome any information that you wish to share.  :) 1. How much is it reasonable to pay for an ornate vintage comb that is in good condition (no cracks or missing stones)? 2. Are there other big sellers than Ebay? 3. Is there anything special to know about handling, wearing and storing of vintage combs?

Vintage combs come in a great range of prices... from tens to many hundreds of dollars.  What you pay is determined by the condition of the comb, its age, what it's made of, the design of the piece, and whether or not it is entirely original.  Replaced stones are common, don't necessarily believe that just because a comb has all the stones that it has not been repaired... *MANY* sellers who lack integrity will do this and not tell you and it is my experience that eBay is *filled* with such unethical practices.  I even returned a quite valuable huge pearlized lucite comb to an eBay seller because it had a hole drilled into it, who then filled the hole with epoxy and turned right around and put it back on auction WITHOUT DISCLOSING IT!  How do I know?  Because she actually wrote me to warn me she was doing this so I wouldn't buy the same comb again thinking it was a different one!  And guess what?  She *was* an experienced collector and respected seller.  I was completely floored by the whole experience.

The best advice I can give you is to ask questions and to make sure you get a LOT of pictures.  GOOD pictures.  I have lost so much money on eBay combs that I have learned it really pays to do your homework.  Don't assume that all stones are original, ASK.  Buy ONLY from people who seem to know what they are talking about, unless you think it is worth taking a chance on a rare piece that someone picked up at an estate sale.  Learn about what you are buying... what's valuable, what's not and what lowers the value of a good piece.  Unfortunately, all the good hair comb books that are currently available are getting old now and the prices are really no longer applicable (especially since there are so many more collectors now vying for the "good" stuff) but they are great learning tools regarding the history and general information about the different types of combs available.  You might check Amazon and see if you can find some good reference books.  Whatever you do, make sure you can see the piece clearly in the photographs and make sure you don't see ANY rough spots the comb.  If you see anything that looks rough, peeling or like it is disintegrating, no matter how small a spot, you may end up with a comb that has what is known as "celluloid virus" and you risk infecting your entire collection and losing everything.  An honorable seller would never dream of doing anything but disposing of a virus-ridden comb, but you'll find plenty who will try to sell them before the virus becomes too apparent so they don't lose their initial investment, or are just completely unaware of celluloid virus and have no clue that the piece is beginning to disintegrate and will be nothing more than a pile of dust in a few months.  Just like everything else in the world, you get what you pay for... beware of bargains, considering how many experienced collectors compete on eBay for good combs.  If no one else is bidding on it, there is likely to be a reason why you shouldn't either.

The best place to find combs once you feel educated enough in what to look for, is antique shops and estate sales.  At least there you can hold the comb in your hand and inspect it closely.  You will quickly learn how to tell a quality vintage piece from that which you should leave where you found it.

I do sell vintage combs, and I have many, MANY sitting here beside me that are begging to be put on the site, I just don't have the time to do it since I can barely keep up with my own designs at the moment; however, I am ALWAYS willing to scan photos of what I have and send them via email if you let me know what you are looking for.  I actually have sold many more combs this way than through the boutique over the past year since my time is so limited.  If you're interested in seeing what I have, just send me a private message and I'll be happy to discuss my collection with you.

Regarding the keeping of celluloid, BB is right on the mark.  It is very important to keep them where they can get air and out of direct sun.  Do NOT tuck them away in a drawer or keep them in a jewelry box, you will encourage disintegration.  They have to be allowed to "breathe," so displaying them for everyone to enjoy is your best option.  

Depending on the size of the comb, they can usually be used to hold a bun or simply be tucked into a style as ornamentation.  Generally, if the teeth are long enough and the comb size is appropriate to your hair and what you are trying to do, you can use them just like you use hairsticks.

Best of luck with building a killer collection of combs!  It's certainly an addiction I have enjoyed for many, many years :)

Wow. That's a lot of information, thank you so much!  :D

I guess I'll start my career by searching that book. There seems to be so much to know.
I think I'm mainly interested in art deco combs- for now.

Ebay sounds quite scary though what you told is not very surprising. But sadly, my shopping options are limited to internet: I like buying antique furniture, and therefore like visiting antique shops. In this country, I have never seen a shop selling hair combs...only things like brooches and detangling combs.
From what I know of Finnish history, I doubt that I ever find one here- the circles, where people could have been interested in buying combs during art deco period, were so small and said people probably did their shopping abroad anyway, and in time passed their beautiful combs to their daughters who moved to Sweden during WW II...  ::) it's just too likely. But, if I success in starting a collection, it makes it all the more unique here! :D

After I've done my "homework", I'd be certainly interest to take a peek to your collections.

Can I just say this:  I LOVE vintage combs!  

The obsession started when I was a little girl and one of my great-aunts passed away (I know, that's a bit morbid!) and we were going through her things.  She was very big in the theatre, a marvelous dramaticist (ooooo!) and she had TONS of costumes, costume jewelry, and the most exquisite hair combs I have ever seen!  Unfortunatly, I was too young to recieve any of these treasure...(oh, the despair!) but as it seems I'm the most likely out of the next generation of Mooney's to pick up the entertainment torch, some of her combs finally trickled down to me.

Not to mention, my mother bought this gorgeous, fabulous, well-kept, in the best condition comb from Rapunzel for me for Christmas.  THANK YOU, RAPUNZEL!!!  So my collection is begining to grow.

I have to say I honestly don't even try to find anything on E-bay.  Or any antiques off the internet, for that matter.  (Aside from Rapunzel.  I swear, honey, anything.. well, just about anything *grins* you decide to put up for sale in your antique combs page I'll buy!)  And that's because I'm just really picky and I like to see and hold what I'm buying.  Just the other day I stopped at an antique fair (not expecting to find anything) and found this fabulous turn of the century tortiseshell comb, no baubles or stones, but beautifully carved, for a little bit of nothing.  Well..  :-[  I say that, but when it comes to vintage combs, everything costs "a little bit of nothing".  Ha!

But I do have a question..  now that my hair is long enough to wear these spectacular gems, I'm wondering how I should care for them.  I wash all my hair toys that I wear regularly (scrunchies, sticks, etc etc) and I'm wondering how to wash the vintage combs.  I've just been using a soft, damp cloth and gingerly dabbling at them.. is there any kind of soap that is gentle enough to use on them?

Water is fine, but don't let any glued stones stay wet.  You can also get yourself a tube of Simichrome polish, this stuff is great for caring for vintage celluloid, bakelite and plastic.