made from bamboo and finely carved wood (sometimes ivory and horn), embellished with hand painted paper and silk or impacted with fine jewels and gold leaf.

* The earliest fans were hand-woven in bobbin and needlelace style often from silk and these are the rarest and most desirable of all collectable fans, also the most expensive.

* Condition is vitally important to price of fans and because they were meant to be used, not stored away, most fans either got broken or discarded when they fell out of fashion. Heat and strong sunlight are the worst enemies of these delicate items, and both cause colours to fade and lace or paper to disintegrate and grow mouldy.

* Fans should be stored in

Fans date back many thousands of years but it is mainly those from the 1800s and 1900s that are most collectable today. Though many types and styles of fan appeared over the centuries it is the folding typed that can be splayed out and retracted into a compact stick shape that have proved most popular for users and collectors.

Their purpose was multifold and not always for staying cool in hot climates. They were used as fashion accessories, to hide blushing and facial blemishes, for flirting and to remain anonymous in public.

For us, they have just one main purpose, to fetch high prices on eBay. And they do fetch high prices, especially the most delicate types covered in lace or hand painted or craftsman carved. The more elaborate, generally speaking, the more money a fan will fetch. Most costly of all are fans encrusted with jewels and precious metals as well as some Art Deco and Art Nouveau types by popular artists during the 1920s and 1930s.

Lace fans represent a popular collectible in their own right especially early hand-woven silk lace filigree types. Lace fans, being easily torn and quick to fade, fetch a high premium in good condition. Silk lace was very rarely used and being so delicate few silk lace fans survived the decades unscathed by use or exposure to sunlight and dampness. Those that have survived in good condition are extremely collectable, very rare and incredibly expensive.

In recent weeks some high prices have been raised on eBay for fans I swear are similar to many I've seen selling for just a few pounds in local auction.

On eBay, an antique French Lace and Mother of Pearl fan with box recently fetched ?180; a folding paper fan with an advertisement for 'Parfum Pommeia' made ?75, and several late Victorian fans made from paper and hand painted with butterflies and flowers raised over ?50 each.

Tips

* Fans often attract heavy bidding, not because they are beautiful or collectable, but because they interest people with widely different collecting tastes. Some people want fans, per se; others collect the theme depicted on fans, such as dogs, Japanese art; some buy for the materials used especially fancy feathers and fabulous lace.

* So when you're selling, remember always to study possible collecting themes associated with each item and consider listing in two eBay categories: vintage fans under (usually) Collectables > Vanity / Perfume / Grooming > Other Vanity / Grooming, and whatever sub-category attracts the alternative collector. I have though seen fans, especially modern types, listed alongside clothing and accessories, and older fans with advertising or dog paintings listed under Collectibles > Advertising and Collectibles > Animals > Dogs > Breed, respectively.

* Look for quality fans created on delicate hand-carved structures made from bamboo and finely carved wood (sometimes ivory and horn), embellished with hand painted paper and silk or impacted with fine jewels and gold leaf.

* The earliest fans were hand-woven in bobbin and needlelace style often from silk and these are the rarest and most desirable of all collectable fans, also the most expensive.

* Condition is vitally important to price of fans and because they were meant to be used, not stored away, most fans either got broken or discarded when they fell out of fashion. Heat and strong sunlight are the worst enemies of these delicate items, and both cause colours to fade and lace or paper to disintegrate and grow mouldy.

* Fans should be stored in a

r craftsman carved. The more elaborate, generally speaking, the more money a fan will fetch. Most costly of all are fans encrusted with jewels and precious metals as well as some Art Deco and Art Nouveau types by popular artists during the 1920s and 1930s.

Lace fans represent a popular collectible in their own right especially early hand-woven silk lace filigree types. Lace fans, being easily torn and quick to fade, fetch a high premium in good condition. Silk lace was very rarely used and being so delicate few silk lace fans survived the decades unscathed by use or exposure to sunlight and dampness. Those that have survived in good condition are extremely collectable, very rare and incredibly expensive.

In recent weeks some high prices have been raised on eBay for fans I swear are similar to many I've seen selling for just a few pounds in local auction.

On eBay, an antique French Lace and Mother of Pearl fan with box recently fetched ?180; a folding paper fan with an advertisement for 'Parfum Pommeia' made ?75, and several late Victorian fans made from paper and hand painted with butterflies and flowers raised over ?50 each.

Tips

* Fans often attract heavy bidding, not because they are beautiful or collectable, but because they interest people with widely different collecting tastes. Some people want fans, per se; others collect the theme depicted on fans, such as dogs, Japanese art; some buy for the materials used especially fancy feathers and fabulous lace.

* So when you're selling, remember always to study possible collecting themes associated with each item and consider listing in two eBay categories: vintage fans under (usually) Collectables > Vanity / Perfume / Grooming > Other Vanity / Grooming, and whatever sub-category attracts the alternative collector. I have though seen fans, especially modern types, listed alongside clothing and accessories, and older fans with advertising or dog paintings listed under Collectibles > Advertising and Collectibles > Animals > Dogs > Breed, respectively.

* Look for quality fans created on delicate hand-carved structures made from bamboo and finely carved wood (sometimes ivory and horn), embellished with hand painted paper and silk or impacted with fine jewels and gold leaf.

* The earliest fans were hand-woven in bobbin and needlelace style often from silk and these are the rarest and most desirable of all collectable fans, also the most expensive.

* Condition is vitally important to price of fans and because they were meant to be used, not stored away, most fans either got broken or discarded when they fell out of fashion. Heat and strong sunlight are the worst enemies of these delicate items, and both cause colours to fade and lace or paper to disintegrate and grow mouldy.

* Fans should be stored in

ensive.

In recent weeks some high prices have been raised on eBay for fans I swear are similar to many I've seen selling for just a few pounds in local auction.

On eBay, an antique French Lace and Mother of Pearl fan with box recently fetched ?180; a folding paper fan with an advertisement for 'Parfum Pommeia' made ?75, and several late Victorian fans made from paper and hand painted with butterflies and flowers raised over ?50 each.

Tips

* Fans often attract heavy bidding, not because they are beautiful or collectable, but because they interest people with widely different collecting tastes. Some people want fans, per se; others collect the theme depicted on fans, such as dogs, Japanese art; some buy for the materials used especially fancy feathers and fabulous lace.

* So when you're selling, remember always to study possible collecting themes associated with each item and consider listing in two eBay categories: vintage fans under (usually) Collectables > Vanity / Perfume / Grooming > Other Vanity / Grooming, and whatever sub-category attracts the alternative collector. I have though seen fans, especially modern types, listed alongside clothing and accessories, and older fans with advertising or dog paintings listed under Collectibles > Advertising and Collectibles > Animals > Dogs > Breed, respectively.

* Look for quality fans created on delicate hand-carved structures made from bamboo and finely carved wood (sometimes ivory and horn), embellished with hand painted paper and silk or impacted with fine jewels and gold leaf.

* The earliest fans were hand-woven in bobbin and needlelace style often from silk and these are the rarest and most desirable of all collectable fans, also the most expensive.

* Condition is vitally important to price of fans and because they were meant to be used, not stored away, most fans either got broken or discarded when they fell out of fashion. Heat and strong sunlight are the worst enemies of these delicate items, and both cause colours to fade and lace or paper to disintegrate and grow mouldy.

* Fans should be stored in

nese art; some buy for the materials used especially fancy feathers and fabulous lace.

* So when you're selling, remember always to study possible collecting themes associated with each item and consider listing in two eBay categories: vintage fans under (usually) Collectables > Vanity / Perfume / Grooming > Other Vanity / Grooming, and whatever sub-category attracts the alternative collector. I have though seen fans, especially modern types, listed alongside clothing and accessories, and older fans with advertising or dog paintings listed under Collectibles > Advertising and Collectibles > Animals > Dogs > Breed, respectively.

* Look for quality fans created on delicate hand-carved structures made from bamboo and finely carved wood (sometimes ivory and horn), embellished with hand painted paper and silk or impacted with fine jewels and gold leaf.

* The earliest fans were hand-woven in bobbin and needlelace style often from silk and these are the rarest and most desirable of all collectable fans, also the most expensive.

* Condition is vitally important to price of fans and because they were meant to be used, not stored away, most fans either got broken or discarded when they fell out of fashion. Heat and strong sunlight are the worst enemies of these delicate items, and both cause colours to fade and lace or paper to disintegrate and grow mouldy.

* Fans should be stored in

made from bamboo and finely carved wood (sometimes ivory and horn), embellished with hand painted paper and silk or impacted with fine jewels and gold leaf.

* The earliest fans were hand-woven in bobbin and needlelace style often from silk and these are the rarest and most desirable of all collectable fans, also the most expensive.

* Condition is vitally important to price of fans and because they were meant to be used, not stored away, most fans either got broken or discarded when they fell out of fashion. Heat and strong sunlight are the worst enemies of these delicate items, and both cause colours to fade and lace or paper to disintegrate and grow mouldy.

* Fans should be stored in acid-free boxes, placed flat and fully opened, with padding below the bottom fan and more padding with acid-free tissue paper between fans placed on top.

* Never attempt to clean fans with erasers or water, most are extremely fragile and you may cause them to disintegrate.

* Fans should not be opened and framed. Stretching causes stress that tugs at the folds and can cause splitting. Glass covering might keep out the dust, but it also leads to foxing and sweating which destroys and fades delicate fabric on folds and elsewhere, and eventually causes delicate materials to fall away from the fan's basic structure.