We Get Letters...

"You're knive collections look to be overpriced when comaparing to those at fleas markets or garage sale...does anyone need to spend $100 or more on a simple knive?"

Time for a story? You betcha.

I was lucky enough to have seen the Mona Lisa, when, back in the early 60's, the Louvre thought it'd be a cool idea to send it to some of the capitols of the civilized world. No, it didn't make it ANYWHERE in saudi arabia or the middle east or china, nor at that time russia or Japan. That had to await the stricter security standards that the commies and Japs finally set up in the mid-70's. When at long last it arrived in Japan, the Japs of course wanted to buy it, or at the very least be allowed to make smaller copies. The russians tried stealing it, which is why it has NEVER left the Louvre since.

The tour guide explained to us that the total raw material cost of da Vinci's masterpiece was about $5 US at the time of completion (1506 da Vinci's time, 1963 when I saw it), or lets say $30 bucks today. Oils on poplar wood. Last year in 2009 the Frogs finally submitted to the demands of several insurance companies and actually placed a dollar value on their Lisa (as opposed to my Lisa which is priceless).

$700 million.

The moral of the story then goes something like this: There are things we need and things we like and things we consider something of a work of art. To the things we admire, the price can be very, very high. Whenever we've the means to get these things, we do. To each their own.