Authors

Mariann Katz-Marks

Mariann Katz-Marks lives with her husband and their three children in rural Pennsylvania . For years she pursued a career selling English and American Majolica through an at-home mail order business and numerous antique shows. Her fascination with this colorful Victorian ware began when she purchased a box lot of three Majolica plates at a country auction. She holds a bachelor's degree in Psychology and completed graduate work in Sociology, Anthropology, and Clothing and Textiles.

Michael J Kelly

Michael Kelly holds a Ph.D in English from the University of Massachusetts (1968) and a post doctorate Master of Arts in Professional Writing from Carnegie Mellon University (1989). He retired in 2002 after teaching writing and literature at Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania since 1967.

John P. Kelly and Mary Kelly

John P. (Jack) Kelly has been a collector all his life, a dealer of antiques for the past 20 years, and a long time business and sports executive. After graduating from Northeastern University in Boston and earning a master's degree from Purdue's Krannert Graduate School of Business, he embarked upon a corporate career as an officer of two major U.S. corporations, Tenneco and American General. He was president of two U.S. Olympic Festivals in Houston and Minneapolis-St. Paul, and served from 1990-1996 as president of Turner Broadcasting's wholly owned subsidiary, Goodwill Games Inc., which included coordination of all Turner international sports efforts. He is currently the CEO of Event Partners Inc., a respected sports management, consulting, and marketing firm.

With numerous international sports contacts and clients, Jack has been able to acquire many rare and unusual collectibles while visiting over 75 countries over the past 30 years. His specific interests include Olympic collectibles, particularly medals, posters, and torches, Russian pre-Revolution antiques, and Art Deco period posters.

Mary (Kathy) Kelly, a CPA, is a graduate of the University of Houston. After tolerating Jack's interests for most of their 36-year marriage, she has developed her own art and poster collections over time. With her financial background, Mary's collaboration on the book has made it possible to keep its publication on schedule.

Jack and Mary Kelly reside (and collect) in Irving, Texas

John A. Kolbeck

John Kolbeck was born September 24, 1946, in Wausau, Wisconsin. He was in the United States Air Force from 1966 to 1987, and retired as captain. He has been married for 25 years and has three children. He has been a magazine editor, a full-time fishing guide, and outdoor writer, and is currently an antique lure dealer.

He has always fished, but only started collecting old tackle about eight years ago. Now that the Internet has made it so easy to contact collectors, he makes his living as an antique tackle dealer. "Nobody sells more old tackle on eBay than I do," he says. "Thousands of collectors have bought stuff from the Ol Cap. Many collectors and dealers consign items for sale."

"I still love to fish and take off whenever I think the big uns are biting. Many of my customers have fished with me here in Wisconsin or invited me to their area for some good fishing. Check out my website for some recent fishing photos: http://oldlureprices.com

Louis Kuritzky

Louis Kuritzky has been an avid bookends enthusiast for over a decade. His profession as an academic physician often involves the opportunity for travel to diverse sites around the United States, and of course, at least a few minutes to spend foraging amongst local antiques dealers, thrift shops, flea markets, and the like. In addition to being coauthor of Bookend Revue and Collectors Guide to Bookends, he has published articles on bookends in sites such as Martha Stewart Living.

Judith Scoggin Gridley, Joan Reed Kiplinger, Jessie Gridley McClure

Photographer Judith Scoggin Gridley and illustrator Jessie Gridley McClure, both of Washington, have a passion for fabric. They are the co-owners of Fabric.net, a fabric information, sourcing, and referral network that caters to all levels of the industry. Joan Reed Kiplinger of Ohio has a passion for fabric. She is a graduate of Kent State University with a double major in journalism and history. She has assisted researchers with their textile projects and fabric identification.