Ralph and Terry Kovel
In the 1950s, he was in the export-import business and imported a variety of things, including the Lambretta motor scooter, the new bikini bathing suits European women were wearing, and specialty food products.
He represented many of the new frozen food lines, like Stouffers, specialty items like Sweet and Low packets, and even live, bare-root fruit trees.
Ralph sold McDonald's fresh potatoes in 1956 by the carload when hamburgers were 15 cents and the chain said they would never use frozen French fries.
In 1970 Ralph started U.S. Brands, Inc., a fulfillment company that did packaging and handling for the Kovels books and newsletters as well as for many other businesses.
She took specialized courses, including "How to Teach New Math," at the University of Illinois, and studied American antiques at the Winterthur Museum Summer Institute.
She has served on the Ohio Historic Preservation Committee and has been a board member of the Cleveland Chapter of the Council of Jewish Women, the Catholic DePaul Infant and Maternity Home, and Hiram College.
Ralph and Terry were living in an apartment with their young son, Lee (and with a breakfront full of their collection of English 18th-century porcelains).
Their daughter, Kim, was born the day the first copy of Ralph and Terry's first book, Dictionary of Marks: Pottery and Porcelain arrived by mail.
1979–2000, "Ask the Experts," a monthly column in House Beautiful magazine[7] 1995–2003, "Antiques and Collectibles" section for the Encyclopædia Britannica Yearbook 2000–2002, "The Kovels on Collecting,” a monthly column about antiques in Forbes magazine 1992–present, Many Buying Guides and Special Reports that include hard-to-find identification clues for collectors.
The Kovels have also written articles for many magazines, including Forbes, Boardroom Reports, House Beautiful, Family Circle, Woman's Day, Redbook, Town and Country, Giftware News, and various antiques-oriented publications.
Ralph and Terry Kovel started appearing on television in 1969, when their shows were made on film with one camera and no editing.
The first series of 10 half-hour shows with no commercial breaks was produced by WVIZ, the Cleveland public television station.
It currently lists over a million actual prices for antiques and collectibles from the United States, Canada, and Europe, individually reviewed by experts.
The website also offers news, identification information, readers’ questions with expert answers, a database of factory marks, pictures, and community features like forums, calendar of events, business directory with antique-related services and more.
[17] [18] They have met and were interviewed by many collector-celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey,[6] Martha Stewart[19] Merv Griffin, and Pat Robertson.
[7] Ralph was a first-name-basis friend to many food celebrities, including Ray Kroc, founder of the McDonald's chain, Colonel Sanders of KFC, and Dave Thomas of Wendy's.
The Kovel newspaper column helped to find a missing inkwell needed for the United States Supreme Court in 1994.25 Viktor Schreckengost, who made the famous Jazz bowl, an art deco masterpiece, was a local friend who lived nearby.
The Kovels have collected everything from American art pottery to Holt Howard ceramics to printed textiles to furniture and enamels.
[20] Ralph and Terry Kovel have been senior members of the American Society of Appraisers and have served as expert witnesses in court cases.
