Stories for October '14
(Book Review)Silver in the Met
A Book Review
Early American Silver in The Metropolitan Museum of Art
by Beth Carver Wees with Medill Higgins Harvey
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, distributed by Yale University Press, 2013, 328 pages, hardbound, $75 plus S/H from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, (800) 468-7386 or (www.store.metmuseum.org), or from Yale University ... (Read More)
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(Show)Rhinebeck Antiques Fair Canceled
The Rhinebeck Antiques Fair scheduled for October 11 and 12 in Rhinebeck, New York, has been canceled. The cancellation occurred after the advertisement appearing on page 2-D in this issue had been sent to press.
Originally published in the October 2014 issue of Maine Antique Digest. © 2014 Maine Antique Digest ... (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)Banning the Ban
Editorial
Here are two numbers to know: H.R. 5052 and S. 2587.
They are two identical pieces of legislation that have been introduced in Congress and would roll back the new federal rules regulating trade of ivory. The proposed law is called the “Lawful Ivory Protection Act of 2014.”
In the House, the ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Providence Auction Gallery to Launch
A new auction house, the Providence Auction Gallery, will hold its first sale on November 9. Partners in the fledgling venture include entrepreneur Kevin Bruneau, featured on the PBS television show Market Warriors; Louis Grande, Esq., an antiquarian and collector of 18th- and 19th-century American furniture; and Jeffrey Shore, whose ... (Read More)
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(Young Collectors)Gone to Carolina
The Young Collector
We never take vacations. Oh, we go places, quite often, but almost always “There’s just this one stop I need to make in Hingham” or “It will only take five minutes, but we’ve got to deliver this five-hundred-pound corner cupboard, and I said we’d help her get it ... (Read More)
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(The Art of Marketing)Building Customer Loyalty
The Art of Marketing
Last month I covered the topic of promoting your business in a 21st-century way. This month I’ll move over to another topic—building customer loyalty.
It is rare that a business can survive without loyal repeat customers. Loyal customers are certainly your most valuable asset. If you can build ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Seeking Information about “Old-School Dealer” Mrs. Walter S. Sands
The photograph, inscribed “Mrs. Sands,” is rubber stamped on the back “photo by/ P.A. Beaudoin/ St. Augustine, Fla.” Several times in the inventory books is the notation “Just back from Florida.”
Mrs. Sands?
Mr. Sands?
Page from one of the inventory books.
Included with the books and booth photo was this group shot inscribed ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Letter from London
Ian McKay, <[email protected]>
Lots and lots of good things fill my pending files and will continue to feature in these reports even when the new season sales get up and running. Two of the London summer highlights, a Rysbrack bust of Franklin and a Gilbert Stuart portrait of a Mohawk chief, ... (Read More)
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(Auction Law and Ethics)The Next Question
Auction Law & Ethics
The University of Alabama Crimson Tide has a well-earned reputation for its large and rabid fan base. We sometimes travel to football games where Bama is the visiting team and find that those wearing crimson and white far outnumber the home team’s fans. Alabama is important to ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)New Museum for Red Wing Pottery
A new museum has opened in the Mississippi River town of Red Wing, Minnesota. Its creation comes from the efforts of the Red Wing Collectors Society Foundation and the more than 100 volunteers who donated nearly 10,000 hours of time and expertise to the vast project. A large number of ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Phil Warish, Blue Farm Antiques, Franklin, New York
Phil Warish.
Phil Warish’s new shop on Main Street in Franklin, New York.
A view in Warish’s new shop in Franklin, New York.
A weathered marble bust of Napoleon, $1200. “It’s a lot more interesting because of its flaws instead of being hindered by them,” Warish remarked. It originally lacked a base, so ... (Read More)
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(Computer Article)Loyalty Software
A demonstration e-mail newsletter created in LoyaltyABC.com Preferred Customer Club Marketing System.
Computer Column #310
John P. Reid, [email protected]
There are several short topics this month.
Loyal Customers
The August 2014 edition of this column mentioned two antiques mall accounting computer programs that originated in the 1980s and are still going strong. Many other good ... (Read More)
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(Book Review)Books Received
Books Received
by M.A.D. Staff
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.
“I Am Busy Drawing Pictures”: The Civil War Art and ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Three Lots Top $100,000 at Willis Henry's Shaker Sale
The $206,500 washstand. Photo courtesy Willis Henry Auctions.
It was all good for auctioneer Willis Henry of Marshfield, Massachusetts, at his annual Shaker sale under a tent at Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on September 6.
Three pieces of furniture sold for over $100,000. The highest-priced lot, a New Lebanon, New ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Ruling in Private Provenance Case
On September 4 in U.S. District Court in Dallas, Chief Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater filed a memorandum order and opinion that severely reduced the award that art patron Marguerite Hoffman had won at trial only months earlier. The case involved Hoffman’s desire to keep the sale of a painting private.
In ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Americana Week News: One Show Canceled and a New One to Debut
U.S. Antique Shows announced on August 27 it has postponed the 2015 Armory Antique Show because the National Guard has scheduled a drill at New York City’s 69th Regiment Armory over the weekend previously held for the show and a suitable alternative venue has not been found.
“Upon learning of the ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Folk Portrait Brings $413,000
Photo courtesy Caddigan Auctioneers & Appraisers, Inc.
Auctioneer Joan Caddigan of Caddigan Auctioneers & Appraisers, Inc., Hanover, Massachusetts, had heads swiveling in disbelief at an August 23 on-site auction in South Paris, Maine, when a single primitive portrait closed for $413,000 (including buyer’s premium).
A combination of history from the Cummings/Ingraham family, ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Coca-Cola Calendar Brings $210,000
Near-mint 1900 Coca-Cola calendar featuring image of Hilda Clark, $210,000. Morphy Auctions photo.
A Grapefruitola ceramic syrup dispenser in the form of a grapefruit, in near-mint condition, commanded $66,000 (est. $15,000/ 25,000). Morphy Auctions photo.
At Morphy Auctions’ August 22-24 sale in Denver, Pennsylvania, a near-mint-plus Coke calendar from the year 1900, ... (Read More)
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(Show)Most Attendance, Most Sales: It’s All Good at NHADA Show
Offered by Axtell Antiques, Deposit, New York, a Pennsylvania carved walnut figural watch hutch, circa 1800, with George Washington as subject. It’s 15½" tall and was priced at $15,000.
The yellow-painted dressing table, probably from Portsmouth and 1810-20, is an eye-dazzler. It’s 62" tall overall and about 36" wide. Russ and ... (Read More)
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(Show)The Pickers Market 2014
The Pickers Market filled the Everett Arena and was open for shopping from 2 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, August 7.
The pond boat was $825, and the Adelphi Hotel sign was $3995 from Antiques at 30B, Cambridge, New York.
The shelf was $300, the books ranged from $100 to $425 ... (Read More)
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(Show)Antiques in Manchester: The Collector's Fair
The Collector’s Fair transformed the ice rink.
Shaker specialist John Keith Russell of South Salem, New York, asked $1500 for the second-smallest New Lebanon production chair, circa 1875 (left). The tilting ladder-back chair was $3600 (center). The two-slat chair is a child’s chair. The Shaker broom was $1250.
Kelly Kinzle of ... (Read More)
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(Show)Barn Star’s Midweek Antiques Show
The aisles were crowded at Midweek after the doors opened.
Randi Ona of Wayne, New Jersey, offered miniature cloth-covered books that ranged in size from 1½" to 2". The old shelf was $296, and the collection of books, $3500. The two rattle balls underneath were $825 the pair. One rattle ball ... (Read More)
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(Show)Dependable Deerfield
Betty Anne Lavallee of Hampton, New Hampshire, offered red and blue hula hoops, vintage dresses, flags, and signs, all popular at Deerfield.
Cottage & Camp, Philadelphia, showed a huge store scissors sign, $285, checkerboard, left, $275, signs, and yes, a life ring.
This eclectic booth can only belong to David Ramsay of ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Summer Americana Sale Reveals Market Weaknesses
Porcelain by the Tucker and Hemphill China Factory of Philadelphia has always been eminently collectible. This pair of pitchers, each 9¼" high, appeared to be in mint condition and bore the incised initial “W” for factory modeler Andrew Craig Walker. China and glass authorities Gary and Diana Stradling chased the ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Lincoln Campaign Flag Leads Heritage/APIC National Convention Auction
The top lot of the sale, this Lincoln and Hamlin campaign flag was 8¼" x 13" and made of glazed cotton. It boasted 31 stars in the canton and was inscribed on the stripes “For President, Abram Lincoln. For Vice President, Hannibal Hamlin.” Retaining bright colors, the flag apparently saw ... (Read More)
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(Auction)$2.2 Million Decoy Sale
This black duck by Shang Wheeler of Stratford, Connecticut, was carved as a presentation piece to author Eugene V. Connett. A phone bidder paid $115,000 (est. $65,000/85,000) for it. The underbidder was also on the phone. That price is a new record for a Shang Wheeler, according to Deeter.
One ... (Read More)
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(Show)VADA Show Returns for Fifth Year in Woodstock
Shown by The Red Horse Antiques, Bridgewater, Vermont, was this large rocking horse that originated in Belgium and is mid-19th century in age. Loads of wear attests to its popularity with uncounted generations of children. Its price was $1950.
There were 18 sales in the Beginning Collector Booth, where everything was ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Calligraphy and Fine Art Lead the Way
The high lot of the sale was this pair of calligraphy scrolls by Cai Yuanpei (Chinese, 1868-1940). Cai was a renowned education reformer and served as president of Peking University, 1916-23. The scrolls are written in seven-character standard script calligraphy and mounted for hanging. Each scroll measures 50" x 11¼". ... (Read More)
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(Auction)$330,000 Wilson Merganser Tops Auction
Star of the day, and a record breaker, was this red-breasted merganser drake by South Portland, Maine, maker Gus Wilson, which had been seen at previous auctions. This time out it sold for $330,000 to Colin McNair’s phone bidder who also bought the Wheeler preening canvasback. Copley photo.
An active phone ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)The New York Antique Jewelry and Watch Show
New York City
Attending the New York Antique Jewelry and Watch Show, held at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City on July 25-28, and viewing the myriad offerings was quite an experience—a colorful, shiny, dazzling one. I can hear the R.E.M. song now, as I think back on all the ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Crocker Farm’s Tenth Anniversary Sale
This five-gallon 15½" tall stoneware churn decorated with a rare slip decoration of four marching Civil War soldiers sold for $402,500 (est. $25,000/35,000). The buyer was New York City folk art collector Jerry Lauren bidding by phone. The underbidder was collector Adam Weitsman, also bidding by phone. Probably from Fort ... (Read More)
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(Show)M.A.D. and Goosefare: Running for 40 Years
Show Meisters John and Elizabeth DeSimone of Wells, Maine, offered a large inlaid table with a spectacular flame-grained mahogany surface, surrounded by bird’s-eye maple inlays, for $1600. The five caned chairs weren’t an exact match for the table, but they were pretty close, and they were $385.
A fine country Chippendale ... (Read More)
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(Auction)National Association of Aladdin Lamp Collectors 42nd Annual Gathering
Bringing $300 at the auction was this Aladdinite paper shade, #681, for the Model 12 floor lamp. NAALC photo.
Never put into production, this Aladdin prototype lamp with a metal base and a font in green glass sold at the auction for $1700. Leigh Spargur photo.
The high-selling lot in the auction ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Woelbings’ Toy Stoves Heat Up Toy Sale
This Märklin three-piece tin windup train set with O-gauge engine, tender, and a Speisewagen dining car sold on the phone for $6000 (est. $400/600), underbid in the salesroom.
A set of 12 carved and painted wooden soldiers, probably from a skittles set, each 6½" high, sold on the phone for $2880 ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Bidders See Less Than Seymour in Sideboard but See More in Table
Possibly a John and Thomas Seymour Federal mahogany sideboard. It was not one of their best works but still was strong enough to draw $4025.
The rustic round glass-topped Adirondack table topped the sale at $11,500.
A Sheraton sewing table in brown mahogany with bull’s-eyes over the turned and reeded legs hit ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Ty Cobb Tin Sells for $18,720
The Ty Cobb tobacco tin, one of fewer than 20 known to exist, drew only two bids and went for $18,720 (est. $30,000/40,000).
The 12" beer tray advertising C. Eulberg & Sons pilsener beer of Galena, Illinois, went to an on-line bidder for $2700, way above the $100/200 estimate.
A glossy 30" ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Dawn of the Planet of Hounds and Horses
The sale’s top lot was Run to Earth by John Emms (British, 1843-1912). It was sold by Sotheby’s in 2005 and was included in a New York exhibition early in 2014. Elizabeth and Graeme Lang of Lexington, Kentucky, purchased the 36" x 28½" oil on canvas for $59,000 (est. $40,000/60,000).
Anyone ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Final Single-Owner Historic-Documents Auction Is "White Glove" Sale
A group of eight letters and documents by American and English writers including Jack London, Ralph Waldo Emerson, James Fenimore Cooper, and Rudyard Kipling sold for $16,800 (est. $5000/8000). London’s letter to a high school friend says in part that he often harks back to those teenage years, “but the ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Times Change, and the Cobbs Change with the Times
This 1861, 3" wrought-iron Civil War ordnance rifle by the Phoenix Iron Company, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, led the auction at $37,200.
Two similarly sized 10" x 16" oils on canvas by Frank Henry Shapleigh (1842-1906) each show a farmyard scene viewed through a typical Shapleigh perspective from a shadowy barn interior. At ... (Read More)
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(Show)The 14th Annual Wells Outdoor Antiques Show & Sale
A very fine set of small individual spice boxes, nestled in a larger box, was offered by William Nickerson Antiques, Orleans, Massachusetts, for $240. The maple and tin set dates to about 1870 and features eight circular spice boxes with labels for ginger, mace, mustard, pepper, allspice, nutmegs, cloves, and ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Pennsylvania State Legislators Flunk History
The Pennsylvania legislature passed a bill in early June, and Governor Tom Corbett signed it on June 26, designating the Piper J-3 Cub and the Pennsylvania long rifle as the state’s official aircraft and firearm. Unfortunately, the legislators got their facts wrong about the rifle. Newspapers in Lancaster and Allentown ... (Read More)
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(Show)Antiques in the Valley
The paint-decorated bed (against the wall in back), all original and complete with side rails, was $1450 from Raccoon Creek Antiques, Oley, Pennsylvania. The early 19th-century banister-back day bed from New Jersey was $2400, and the folk art cradle, $1250. In the cradle, the lithographed cloth cats cost $175 each, ... (Read More)
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(Auction)American History Auction
California gold rush-era pocket watch, 14k yellow gold Girard Watch Company hunter case, circa 1850, ornate floral pattern engraving on the outer case along with eight California ore samples encased in glass on the front cover and surrounded by eight alternating inlaid panels of moss agate and California quartz, $37,600.
Flute ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)After Almost 20 Years in the Suburbs, Grogan & Company Moves to Boston
Nancy, Lucy, and Michael Grogan.
An auction house that has been based in Boston’s southwestern suburbs for almost two decades is moving into the city. Grogan & Company has bought a piece of real estate at the foot of Beacon Hill and is transferring its operation there. On June 11 the ... (Read More)
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(Show)California Country Show Evolves and Survives
This Mexican child’s jacket was priced at $65 at Los Angeles dealer Andrew Munana Collection’s American Indian art booth.
This 53" long wood and upholstery settee was priced at $1695 at Atherton Antiques, Menlo Park, California.
This Pennsylvania green-painted and stenciled flowers blanket chest cost $1895 at F. & B. Rosenquist, ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Rookwood XXIV, Keramics 2014, Art Glass 2014
Rookwood Iris glaze vase, decorated by Kitaro Shirayamadani, 1909, moonlight scene with summer birch trees in delicate shades of gray and white, 8 7/8" high, un-crazed, $11,500.
This Rookwood Mahogany glaze vase was a trial piece by William McDonald in 1898 with painted and incised stylized lotus blossoms and leaves. The ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Modern Design, Carpets, and Glass
The cover lot, a mosaic vase by Ercole Barovier, with clear glass murrines edged with cobalt, amethyst, and emerald, 10½" high x 12¼" diameter, sold for $245,000 (est. $30,000/40,000). It is the second most expensive work by the artist.
A murrine vase by Ercole Barovier, with clear murrines edged in red, ... (Read More)
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