Antiques writer Ralph M. Kovel dies at age 88

The publications will continue with the help of family and staff.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Ralph M. Kovel, a nationally known antiques writer who published an annual price guide, has died. He was 88.

Kovel, who had made his home in suburban Shaker Heights, died Aug. 28 at Euclid Hospital from complications after hip surgery, said Liz Lillis, a spokeswoman for Kovel and his wife, Terry.

The couple’s book “Kovels’ Antiques and Collectibles Price Guide” has been published annually since 1968. The 2009 edition was just released.

Much of Kovel’s early work involved indexing antiques by the factory-specific markings found on the bottom of pottery. Until then, most indexes sorted pottery by country of origin.

His 1953 book “Dictionary of Marks: Pottery Porcelain,” written with his wife, led to a weekly question-and-answer column, “Kovels Antiques Collecting,” for the Cleveland Press, a former daily newspaper. The column was syndicated in 1954 and appears in more than 150 newspapers, including The Vindicator.

Their monthly newsletter, “Kovels on Antiques and Collectibles,” has about 60,000 subscribers and is available on the Internet.

The publications will continue with the help of Kovel family members and staff, Lillis said.

Kovel and his wife produced several programs for public television, the Discovery Channel and HGTV (Home and Garden Television Network).

Kovel, while devoted to antiques, also was a food broker and business owner.

In the late 1970s, he purchased a small Cleveland company called Sar-A-Lee. The company was sold in 1989 to Sara Lee Corp., where he continued as a senior vice president of Sara Lee Coffee and Tea’s Foods Division until 2000.

He was president of U.S. Brands Inc., a suburban Cleveland direct marketing firm; president of Lucayan Aquaculture, a shrimp farm in the Bahamas and owner of R&R Roosters Inc., a restaurant in Cleveland.

Kovel is survived by his wife, two children and three grandchildren.

His funeral service was Aug. 31 in Cleveland Heights.