Stories for November '13
()Fabergé Figure Found in Attic
A hardstone figure of a Cossack bodyguard, found in an attic in Rhinebeck, New York, has turned out to be a long-lost Fabergé portrait figure commission by Czar Nicholas II in 1912. When Colin Stair sells it at his auction gallery in Hudson, New York, on October 26, he could ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Paulette and John Peden, Dawn Hill Antiques, New Preston, Connecticut
Paulette and John Peden.
Shop entrance.
View of one small corner of the shop.
Rare set of blue-transfer covered canisters in the Spode’s Tower pattern, $3200.
Paulette sells candles, fragrances, and other products from the tony Parisian firm Diptyque. They make good host gifts (which once upon a time were called “hostess gifts”). They ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Exhibitions
Maine Antique Digest includes, as space permits, brief announcements of exhibitions planned by galleries, museums, or other venues. We need all press materials at least six weeks in advance of opening. We need to know the hours and dates of the exhibit, admission charges, and phone number and Web site ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Thank you
Editorial
This issue of Maine Antique Digest marks the 40th anniversary of the publication. The first edition of M.A.D.—a scant 28 pages with a newsstand price of 50¢ and a yearly subscription cost of $5—was published by founders Sam and Sally Pennington in November 1973.
We want to mark this anniversary by ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Letter from London
Ian McKay, [email protected]
A tureen from a stupendous silver service commissioned by Mimi’s mum, the Empress Maria Theresa, is one of the highlights of the longest of this month’s reports—focussing on four superior silver lots—but also included are a medieval ivory masterpiece, a couple of Monets, a few Old Masters, and ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Elizabeth Lees and Meg Wendy Partner for New York Ceramics Fair
Elizabeth Lees announced that she has formed a partnership with Meg Wendy to produce the 2014 edition of the New York Ceramics Fair, January 22-26. It will mark the 15th anniversary of the fair, which focuses on ceramics and glass from the 17th through the 21st centuries. The show is ... (Read More)
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(Young Collectors)It Takes Only a Spark
The Young Collector
We’re officially going to have to give up collecting antiques. There are just too many mouths around here to feed, and every time we turn around, there are empty dishes and open mouths and screeching demands for more, more, more! We’re just about to go into hock keeping ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Eric M. Wunsch Award for Excellence in the American Arts
The presentation of the second annual Eric M. Wunsch Award for Excellence in the American Arts will be held at Christie’s in New York City on January 22, 2014.
This year’s award recognizes the dedication and contribution of three major collectors and philanthropists to the preservation of American decorative arts. Linda ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)September Jewelry Highlights
Antique Jewelry & Gemology
It’s nice to write about a sector of the market that continues to fare well. There are certain criteria that influence how well a piece of antique or vintage jewelry will do at auction. The fact is, if you’ve taken care of your jewelry, and it is ... (Read More)
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()A Book Review: Ceramics in America 2012
A Book Review
Ceramics in America
Edited by Robert Hunter
Chipstone Foundation, distributed by University Press of New England, 2012, 196 pages, hardbound, $65 plus S/H from University Press of New England, (800) 421-1561 or (www.upne.com)
Ceramics in America, the scholarly journal edited by Robert Hunter and published by the Chipstone Foundation, widens our ... (Read More)
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()Forty M.A.D. Years: Million-Dollar Americana Lots Sold at Auction since 2004
Million-Dollar Americana Lots Sold at Auction since 2004
Tall-case clock made by Peter Stretch, Philadelphia, 1740, in a mahogany case, $1,688,000 to Winterthur. A record for an American clock at auction. Sotheby’s, October 28, 2004.
Japanned high chest, 1735-39, signed by Rob Davis, $1,876,000 to a dealer on the phone. A record ... (Read More)
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()Forty M.A.D. Years: Folk Art Lots over $500,000 Sold at Auction since 2004
Folk Art Lots over $500,000 Sold at Auction since 2004
Johannes Spitler hanging cupboard, $962,500, a record for American painted furniture, to David Schorsch and Eileen Smiles. Green Valley Auction Company, Mt. Crawford, Virginia, November 13, 2004.
John Haley Bellamy monumental-size eagle with “God Is Our Refuge and Strength” on the banner, ... (Read More)
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()Forty M.A.D. Years
See Americana Lots over One Million Dollars Sold at Auction since 2004
See Folk Art Lots over Five-Hundred-Thousand Dollars Sold at Auction since 2004
In November 1973, Sam and Sally Pennington launched Maine Antique Digest from their kitchen table in Waldoboro, Maine. Since its first issue M.A.D. has been the publication of ... (Read More)
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()A Primer on Pricing
The Art of Marketing
For the last three months I’ve covered the topic of advertising. Now it’s time to change gears and move on to another very complex topic—pricing.
Someone once said, “An item is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it.” I’ve found that in the antiques business this ... (Read More)
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()Books Received
These are brief reviews of books recently sent to us. We have included ordering information for publishers that accept mail, phone, or on-line orders. For other publishers, your local bookstore or mail-order house is the place to look.
American Decoration: A Sense of Place by Thomas Jayne (The Monacelli Press, 2012, ... (Read More)
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()Willard House and Clock Museum Hosts Exhibit of Rare Musical Tall Clocks
Christian Eby, ten-tune musical tall-case clock with highly inlaid cherry case, Manheim, Pennsylvania, circa 1804.
The Willard House and Clock Museum in North Grafton, Massachusetts, is hosting Keeping Time: Musical Clocks of Early America, 1730-1830, an exhibit of nearly three dozen early American musical and chiming clocks. These fully functioning mechanical ... (Read More)
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()Wi-Fi and Finders
One of several flea market finding apps available for Android and Apple iOS smartphones.
Computer Column #299
John P. Reid, [email protected]
Cell phone Wi-Fi at antiques shows, auction finders, and finders for flea markets and yard sales are this month’s topics.
Wider Wi-Fi
In the April issue we reported on the increasing use among antiques ... (Read More)
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()Just Another 'Ectomy
Auction Law & Ethics
A lot of folks complain about auctioneers. Auctioneers have complaints too.
Remember when you were a kid and another youngster came along and grabbed something that should have been yours. Maybe it was the next ride down the sliding board that a line-cutter snatched from you. Perhaps it ... (Read More)
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()The Morgan/Van Wickle Pottery: A Case of Mistaken Identity
This rare 1817 Bissett crock has been attributed to the Morgan-Van Wickle pottery for years. The blue flower on the reverse side of the crock and the coggle are identical to the decoration found on the Sim sherd in the Monmouth County Historical Association’s collection. Photographs of the crock are courtesy ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Christie’s Posts $5.8 Million Fall Sale
Queen Anne walnut compass-seat side chair, circa 1750, with carving by a contemporary of Samuel Harding, who carved architectural elements in the interior of the Pennsylvania State House (Independence Hall), sold for $579,750 to a phone bidder, underbid by dealer Leigh Keno on the phone. It was from the estate ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Skinner Sells a Fitz Henry Lane View for $1,384,000
Camden Mts. from the Graves by Fitz Henry Lane (1804-1865) sold to a private collector for $1,384,000. The 13" x 22" oil on canvas was signed and dated “FH Lane 1862” on the front and inscribed on the reverse: “... F.H. Lane to J. L. Stevens Jr./ Gloucester 1862/ A ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Thieves Hit Antiques Center
Police are looking for the public’s help in trying to identify three people who stole an estimated $10,000 in antique silver flatware from the Cambridge Antiques Center in Cambridge, New York, on September 18 at about 4 p.m. Thieves took from a locked case more than a dozen Tiffany and ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Major Theft at National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
1903 Belmont Stakes trophy, won by Africander.
1903 Brighton Cup trophy, won by Hermis.
1923 Grand National Steeplechase trophy, won by Sergeant Murphy.
1914 Brook Cup Handicap Steeplechase trophy, won by Compliment.
1905 Saratoga Special trophy, won by Mohawk II.
Five historical trophies were stolen during a three-minute burglary at the National Museum of Racing ... (Read More)
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()Rockwell Kent Painting a Big Hit
Fourteenth-century carved marble plaque, attributed to Tino di Camaino, $109,250 (est. $10,000/15,000).
West Greenland Landscape, 1929, a 28" x 34" (sight size) oil on canvas by Rockwell Kent (1882-1971), more than doubled its estimate to sell for $172,500.
Francis Augustus Silva (1835-1886), a view of Brace Rock, off Cape Ann, Massachusetts, watercolor ... (Read More)
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(Show)The Baltimore Summer Antiques Show 2013
Arcadia Fine Arts, New York City, offered Paul Rousso’s super-size money. Five Grand from NY (bottom), 50" x 75" x 7", was $16,900. (The $1000 bill was $15,900.) Rousso makes wall pieces and free-standing sculpture of large sheets of acrylic, on which he transfers high-resolution prints of paper money from ... (Read More)
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(Feature)Annual Maritime and China Trade Auction
“It’s going to a great home,” said Bourgeault after knocking down the painted silk 16" x 14" mourning escutcheon (hatchment) that was part of the elaborate funeral of Thomas Hancock in August 1764. It had descended in the Hancock family, spending years folded up and in a closet before being ... (Read More)
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(Show)Scherenschnitte to Shipwrecks: The Annual Ellsworth Antiques Show
The impressive silkwork and oil painting, featuring a velvet hull and silk sails, by Thomas Willis in 1909 was in great condition and considered one of his best examples. It was priced at $12,500. The 1930’s New England gilded fish weathervane was $6400, and the painted New England faux tiger ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Park, Backus, and Thieme Pace McInnis Sale
Small (4½" x 5¼") oil painting by Korean artist Park Soo-Keun (1914-1965), $119,025.
Anthony Thieme oil on canvas, White Birches in an Autumn Landscape, $21,850. McInnis photo.
Albert Ernest “Bean” Backus (1906-1990), oil on canvas of a Florida landscape, $20,700.
The original paint of the matching flame graining on the drawer fronts was ... (Read More)
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()Rare New England Furniture Form Stars at Americana Sale
This 23½" high chip-carved spoon rack with crusty black paint carried an estimate of $800/1200, but there was a lot of interest in the early accessories, and $9000 is what it took to buy it. Stephen Corrigan of Stephen-Douglas, Rockingham, Vermont, took it home.
Although it was clearly a good day ... (Read More)
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()The Adirondack Museum Show
Ronald Wells of Binghamton, New York, featured a circa 1760 fruitwood settee with a caned seat and back for $2800. The horse oil painting, Black Runner by Edward L. Ulrich, 1933, was $5200, and the etched bronzed cocktail table, signed “Mark D’Haehehens” and dated 1979, was $18,500.
Loose Moose Antiques in ... (Read More)
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(Show)Smaller but Still the Biggest
Dennis Raleigh of Wiscasset, Maine, always brings some great upscale stuff to this show. This year, he had a 19th-century patriotic drum for $3400 decorated with an American flag with a non-official star field of about 45. “It was made in Cleveland,” Raleigh confirmed via a “sunbeam” hole in the ... (Read More)
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()Pickers Market to Remain a Friday Event
Michael Hall came from Nashville, Tennessee, and it was his first time exhibiting at the Pickers Market. “It was a long way for me to go from Nashville to do the show. I think a lot of customers didn’t go to the show or left town before Friday…This is the ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Americana, Fine Arts, and Marine Auction
This vivid oil on masonite by Anne Ramsdell Congdon (1873-1958) of Nantucket was offered early in the Osona sale. It was signed and dated on the lower right, “Anne Congdon, 1940.” A very similar picture is in the Nantucket Historical Association collection and is illustrated in Picturing Nantucket on page ... (Read More)
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()Stoneware and Pottery Auction
“G.W. Hubacher, Dry Goods &c., Clarington Ohio,” eight-gallon crock stenciled with a shield-breasted, spread-winged eagle and having freehand cobalt lines, $5170. It previously sold at auction for $9000 hammer.
Two-piece birdbath with embossed birds at the bottom, diffused blue and white, unmarked, 9¾" high, $3080.
“From W. H. Mallory, Clarington, Ohio,” six-gallon ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Americana and Paintings Sale on the Cape
Norman Rockwell’s Study for Lunch Break with a Knight was signed on the lower right. It had been featured on the cover of the November 3, 1962, issue of the Saturday Evening Post. The lot included a framed copy of the magazine cover. It came from a private Massachusetts collection. ... (Read More)
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()The Weaver Collection of Americana and Folk Art
This 36" high painted lift-top blanket chest proved to be the auction’s biggest draw. With two false upper drawer fronts on a simple cutout base, it was missing the pulls on the two lower drawers, but bidders loved the faded, dry but original blue paint. It started easily at $2000, ... (Read More)
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()Strong Dealer Buying at Vermont Antiques Dealers' Association Annual Show
Mill Brook Antiques, Reading, Vermont, reported very good preshow sales. In fact, most dealers said there was a lot of action at setup, some of which we witnessed. This labeled Grenfell mat is 21" x 33½" and was priced at $1950.
Holden Antiques, Sherman, Connecticut, showed a painted game board, 36" ... (Read More)
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(Show)The Newport Antiques Show
G. Sergeant Antiques, Woodbury, Connecticut, asked $14,500 for this 51" diameter single-board Sheraton breakfast table; it sold. Gary Sergeant said he also sold a mid-18th-century George II English inlaid walnut chest (not shown); the asking price was $18,000.
Diana H. Bittel of Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, asked $9500 for this late 19th-/early ... (Read More)
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(Show)Strong Market for American Brilliant Cut Glass at ACGA Convention
This very rare Quaker City three-piece revolving punch bowl in the Roosevelt pattern, 22" tall x 16" diameter, from ACGA dealer Elias Bustamante of Atwater, California, sold in the first 30 minutes. The bowl stand and cut collar ring, covering a metal turning mechanism, joining the base to the bowl, ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Fine and Decorative Art
Friends Forever by Demetre Chiparus (Rumanian, 1886-1947) is a 25" tall (including base) bronze and ivory sculpture on textured marble. It is signed and has a foundry mark of “L.N. Paris J.L.” It brought $60,000.
Coucher de soleil sur la mer (Italie) by Ivan Federovitch Choultse (Russian, 1874-1937) is 17½" square (sight size). ... (Read More)
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()Banksy Shows Up at Neal
French Opera House, New Orleans by William Woodward (1859-1939) is a vivid Raffaelli crayon sketch on board, 13½" x 9½", and was the top lot of the sale, going to a collector in the room who won against the phones. The final price was $95,600, well above its conservative $18,000/25,000 ... (Read More)
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()Trustee Teitelbaum and Judge Drain Arrange Fate of Esmerian Collection
On Friday, March 22, a meeting was held in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in White Plains, New York, before Judge Robert Drain. The reason for the meeting was to hear arguments, pro and con, concerning the liquidation trustee’s motion to award the auction of the Esmerian collection to Sotheby’s.
Ralph Esmerian ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)New Jersey Vintage Book & Ephemera Fair Moves to New Location
The New Jersey Vintage Book & Ephemera Fair, produced by Tina and John Bruno of Flamingo Eventz, LLC, will be in a new location this year. The long-running show will be held on Friday, December 6, 5-9 p.m., and Saturday December 7, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., at The Bethwood, an events ... (Read More)
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