Stories for March '15
(Show)New Book and Ephemera Fair for NYC
The New York City Book and Ephemera Fair will have its debut on Saturday, April 11, at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola’s Wallace Hall on Park Avenue. The fair will host more than 50 dealers and is designed as a satellite event of Rare Book Week, the annual spring ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Very Rich & Handsome: American Neo-Classical Decorative Arts
“The good life as it was lived in the United States in the early years of the 19th century” was handsomely presented by Hirschl & Adler Galleries in an exhibition on the fourth floor of the Crown Building on Fifth Avenue in New York City December 18, 2014, to February ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)A $1,750,000 Norman Rockwell Becomes a $20,000 Harold Anderson
In 1994, collectors Barry and Isabel Knispel of Saddle River, New Jersey, paid $347,437 to Gallery 63 Antiques, New York City, for Mending His Ways, purportedly by Norman Rockwell. Almost two decades later, an appraisal for insurance purposes revealed the painting is not by Rockwell but by Harold Anderson. The ... (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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(Fragment)2015 Philadelphia Antiques Show Canceled
The Philadelphia Antiques Show has been the largest fund-raiser for Penn Medicine, known as HUP (Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania) when the show was founded 53 years ago. In 2011 on its 50th anniversary, it announced it had raised more than $17 million for Penn Medicine and was proud ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Barn Star Productions Adds Spring Wilton Show, Moves Guilford's Dates, and Takes Over Cord Shows
It’s been a busy winter for Frank Gaglio and his company, Barn Star Productions. The Rhinebeck, New York, show promoter has announced several major moves.
Two years ago, Gaglio revived the long-running one?day Wilton Antiques Show in the autumn. He is now adding a two?day spring show to his schedule. The ... (Read More)
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(Auction Law and Ethics)Prepare to Inquire
Auction Law and Ethics
Searching for the answer: this pretty much summarizes every area of serious human activity. Be it geographic exploration, scientific investigation, medical research, space probes, religious study, legal analysis, academic education, political thinking, marketing focus groups, or the like, what we do in most endeavors usually is aimed ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Maine Museums Threatened
Editorial
Governor Paul LePage of Maine, a twice-elected hard-line conservative, included a stunning proposal in a broad and bold plan to overhaul the state’s tax system: he wants to tax nonprofits.
LePage wants to end state revenue sharing with cities and towns, which will have a big impact on local budgets. In ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)William Secord's Inaugural Exhibition in New Gallery
The William Secord Gallery’s inaugural exhibition at its new location at 29 West 15th Street in Manhattan’s historic Chelsea district is Canine Masters, The Nineteenth Century. It will feature works by English artists such as Maud Earl (1864-1943), Thomas Earl (fl. 1836-85), John Emms (1843-1912) and Arthur Wardle (1864-1949), as ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Nadeau's Auction Gallery Holds Jewelry-Heavy New Year's Day Sale
Nadeau had this strawberry brooch with diamonds, rubies, and emeralds from the Reventlow estate appraised by a jeweler to get a comprehensive description and estimate of value. The brooch consists of three 18k gold and platinum leaves set with a total of 146 round diamonds. The diamonds are a mixture ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Antiques to Help Beat Alzheimer's
Pewter & Wood Antiques’ ninth annual Alzheimer’s Silent Auction Benefit for Research is being held March 21 in Cave Creek, Arizona. All items are donated by customers, dealers, and supporters. Donations of antiques are currently being accepted through March 13. Donations are tax deductible, and the Alzheimer’s Association will mail ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Hixenbaugh Ancient Art Relocates to Chelsea
Hixenbaugh Ancient Art (HAA) has relocated to the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City after nine years on the Upper East Side.
HAA handles art farom a variety of ancient civilizations that flourished in Europe, North Africa, Western Asia, and the Americas. The gallery is led by Randall Hixenbaugh, ... (Read More)
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(Book Review)Books Received, March 2015
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 a mail-order house is the place to look.
Impressionism in Canada: A Journey of Rediscovery by A.K. Prakash (Arnoldsche Art ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Acroterion, Randal Dawkins, Kinderhook, New York
Randal Dawkins.
A partial view of Dawkins’s front room. Some things are for sale, some aren’t.
A striking rosewood and gilt center or loo table, circa 1825, $42,500. Dawkins said, “It’s the best center table on Firstdibs under fifty-six thousand dollars,” and noted that two others on that site are priced ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Historic Military Images Sought
Customers and exhibitors are invited to bring historic military images to the 32nd annual Spring D.C. Antique Photo and Postcard Show, March 15, at the Holiday Inn Rosslyn in Arlington, Virginia. The photos may be scanned for future inclusion in Military Images magazine or appraised for possible future auction consignments ... (Read More)
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(Young Collectors)Community Gardening
The Young Collector
Kids’ minds work in remarkable ways. Sometimes you have a keen awareness that they are laying track across vast swaths of new territory, and they’re constantly discovering more uncharted areas. (A terrifying awareness is that you are allegedly helping them.) Sometimes the breadth of what they do not ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Letter from London, March 2015
Ian McKay, <[email protected]>
Winston Churchill continues to attract adulation and huge prices in the salesroom, as one of the last of the old year sales in London so clearly showed, but in this selection he is joined in his staggering success by the most expensive watch ever made, a $24 million ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)No Regrets
One of Édith Piaf’s big hits was “Non, je ne regrette rien” (No, I regret nothing), but I doubt the French chanteuse was a collector.
All collectors and dealers have regrets about purchases, some of them costly. If they deny they’ve made mistakes, they’re either too embarrassed to admit them or ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)American Neoclassicism--Jefferson versus Emerson
Amanda Lange, curatorial department director at Historic Deerfield, showed that Classical objects such as obelisks were popular decorative forms. This is one of a pair of circa 1800 English “feldspathic stoneware” obelisks by Chetham & Woolley of Longton, Staffordshire County. The overglaze enamel decoration depicts “trophies” of musical and military ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Searching for the Works of a Master Woodcarver--Charles Vollrath
The author and the circa 1930 carving, which stands about 2' high and is carved from a single block of wood.
In the realm of folk art, woodcarving is a popular collectible. The Ottawa Valley in Canada was home to a number of folk artists who worked in wood. One in ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Susan Jaffe Tane: From Collector to Curator
Susan Jaffe Tane, pictured in her library. The bibliophile and philanthropist earned a B.S. from Boston University’s School of Education and later pursued postgraduate courses at Hofstra University and C.W. Post University. She began her career as a schoolteacher and later launched Fashions by Appointment, a small business dedicated to ... (Read More)
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(Computer Article)Bits of News
The mouse pointer drags files back and forth between a computer file system and an Internet cloud storage Web page. Apps make similar transfers with mobile devices.
Computer Column #315
John P. Reid, [email protected]
A number of hints and bits of news have accumulated.
NeoCollect Closing
In the Maine Antique Digest editions of June 2009 ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Sotheby's Raises Buyer's Premium
Effective February 1, Sotheby’s enacted a new buyer’s premium rate structure. The new rate structure will be 25% on the first $200,000 of the hammer price; 20% on the portion of the hammer price above $200,000 up to and including $3 million; and 12% on any remaining amount above $3 ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Highlights from Americana Week in New York City
Sixteen-star American national flag, Tennessee, circa 1817, with hand-sewn double-appliquéd cotton muslin stars on a two-piece wool bunting canton, the upper section aged to a light blue color, the lower section navy in tone, with hand-sewn canton, stripes, and linen sleeve, and sleeve marked “8 ft/ American Ensign/ N.Y.B./ 1817” ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Raccoon Creek Antiques and George Allen Stave Off Sheriff's Sale by Declaring Bankruptcy
On January 19, Raccoon Creek Antiques at Oley Forge, LLC and dealer George Allen each filed for bankruptcy in federal court in Pennsylvania. The January 19 bankruptcy filing stopped a January 20 sheriff’s sale that would have been conducted by the sheriff of Berks County, by order of the Court ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Florida Auction House and Company President Plead Guilty to Wildlife Smuggling Conspiracy
Elite Estate Buyers Inc., doing business as Elite Decorative Arts, an auction house located in Boynton Beach, Florida, and the company’s president and owner, Christopher Hayes, pleaded guilty on January 14 in U.S. District Court in Miami to an illegal wildlife trafficking and smuggling conspiracy. The auction house and Hayes ... (Read More)
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(Show)The Annual Augusta New Year's Day Show
Preliminary drawing of the Mystic Whaler, a 78' long schooner designed in 1963 by V.B. Crockett in Camden, Maine. It was $50 from dealer Dana McKinney of Rockland, Maine.
The sign from the early 1940s was for the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America. ... (Read More)
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(Auction)American Art and Pennsylvania Impressionism
Six phone bidders competed for The River Road by Daniel Garber (1880-1958). The 30" x 28" circa 1940 oil on canvas was signed “Daniel Garber” on the bottom left. In a Bernard Badura frame, the painting sold to a collector on the phone for $327,750 (est. $150,000/250,000).
Newell Convers Wyeth ... (Read More)
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(Auction)New Ownership and Strong Victorian Sales for Farmer
The high lot of Will Farmer’s sale was this elaborately carved parlor table by John Henry Belter. The mid-19th-century table is in the Victorian Rococo Revival style and features what appears to be its original turtle-form marble top. The base is heavily carved and pierced laminated rosewood. The skirt features ... (Read More)
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(Show)Greenwich Winter Antiques Show
This mid-19th-century English burl walnut canterbury, circa 1850, was $3450 from Zane Moss Antiques, New York City.
New to the show, Nancy Steinbock Vintage Posters, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, displayed this scene of Newport Harbor, circa 1915, from the Forbes Lithograph Manufacturing Co., Boston. She asked $3600 for the 29" x 41" ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Tailor's Dummies by Henry Koerner Brings $270,250
Tailor’s Dummies, $270,250. Photo courtesy Dirk Soulis Auctions.
The Bailey epergne, an extremely rare piece of R.S. Prussia porcelain, brought $19,550. When Helen Bailey of Kirksville, Missouri, showed up with this piece at the 1987 R.S. Prussia convention in St. Louis, it was the only R.S. Prussia epergne known to exist ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Picker of the Year at Mebane
There is a tear in this 18" x 12¾" oil on canvas profile portrait of a young girl by Czech artist Václav Brozik (1851-1901). The painting opened at $500, a long way from where it stopped—$6710.
There was a fair amount of foxing to this Currier & Ives lithograph titled ... (Read More)
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(Auction)54th Annual Thanksgiving Americana Auction
Landscape of the Mather farm near Lebanon, Ohio, attributed to Marcus Mote (1817-1898), oil on canvas, unsigned, 30" x 40", plus its original frame, minor repairs, $12,500.
Inlaid Chippendale blanket chest, Pennsylvania, dated 1818, walnut with tulip, star, and fylfot inlay, 29½" high x 49½" wide, period brasses, old finish, small ... (Read More)
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(Auction)"Gold Rush" at Printed Manuscript and Americana Sale
A patriotic letterpress broadside stating the articles of agreement for the Continental Navy’s U.S.S. Columbus, with attached manuscript signature lists, sold for $62,500. The broadside proper, printed in Philadelphia on November 15, 1775, is 18" x 14". With the list attachments, dating through January 19, 1776, the whole measures 36½" ... (Read More)
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(Auction)California and Western Paintings and Sculpture
E. Charlton Fortune (1885-1969), Sunny Morning, St. Tropez, oil on panel, 13" x 16¼", sold to a private collector in southern California for $281,000, far above its $60,000/80,000 estimate.
Granville Redmond’s Fishermen and Fishing Boats on the Shore, oil on canvas, 12" x 16", sold for $75,000 (est. $40,000/60,000) to the ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Hollywood at Auction
This studio 58-key piano on wheels with wood and plastic keys was likely manufactured by Kohler & Campbell (1927) and was pulled from the Warner Bros. prop room for Casablanca. It realized the highest price of the “There’s No Place like Hollywood” auction. It sold on the phone for $3,413,000. ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Neal's Louisiana Purchase Auction: The Main Event
Cover lot, top of the chart, and undisputed star of the sale, the 1791 portrait of English physician Dr. Robert Dow by José Francisco Xavier de Salazar y Mendoza (c. 1750-1802) was purchased for a nice round $250,000 by a local collector after spirited bidding. New Orleans was a sophisticated ... (Read More)
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(Auction)U.S. History Auction
Gardner’s Photographic Sketch Book of the War, two volumes having a total of 100 albumen photographs by Alexander Gardner (1821-1882) and others, first edition, scuffing to the covers, minor problems with the endpapers, light wear and foxing to the pages, $144,000.
Revolutionary War naval document, the official record of a May ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Bunny Mellon's Americana
A pair of 7" long Chelsea asparagus tureens and covers, circa 1755, sold for $118,750 (est. $20,000/30,000). Each is realistically modeled as a bundle of asparagus tied at either end. They have a red anchor mark and the number 17 on the base of one and 15 on the other. ... (Read More)
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(Auction)The Sporting Art Auction Brings Bounty
The Horse Race, N.C. Wyeth (1882-1945), oil on canvas, 40¼" x 32¼", an illustration for James Boyd’s novel Drums, earned $488,750 (est. $550,000/650,000) after the auction. The painting was for the passage “Cursing and whipping like a madman, the scarlet jockey drew up on the turn, hung knee to knee, ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Babbitt and Hyde Family Artifacts at Auction
An 18k gold or better three-piece Victorian mourning suite in a relief ram’s head motif produced the biggest price of the sale at $4600.
A full-plate daguerreotype of the family of Edwin and Elizabeth A. Hyde sold for $2875.
Gamage had high hopes for this Victorian American walnut and marble bedroom ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Chinese Wall Plaque Sells for $57,600
The Chinese painted porcelain wall plaque, from the collection of Alma Cleveland Porter, brought $57,600.
This Ammi Phillips (1788-1865) oil on canvas portrait (32" x 27") of Elizabeth Hardenbergh DeWitt went to a collector for $33,600. Northeast Auctions photo.
The pair of Dutch Delft chargers, 1690-1700, depicted Queen Mary II and William, ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Nautical Antiques Sold in Boston
This lighthouse beacon was described in the catalog as “monumental.” It had a huge 500 mm Fresnel lens of cut crystal set into a bronze frame. It had been converted to AC current with a light fixture but also was supplied with an AGA gas burner. Measuring 52" tall and ... (Read More)
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(Show)The Main Line Antiques Show
This tip-top table, made in Nantucket, of maple and birch, 1815-30, with an old red finish, a three-piece top, turned pedestal with an urn, and spider legs with reeded edges, was 29" high x 27¼" wide x 17" deep. It was $3800 from W.M. Schwind, Jr. He said it was ... (Read More)
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(Show)The Salon: Art + Design
Arlie Sulka of Lillian Nassau LLC, New York City, who specializes in Louis C. Tiffany and Tiffany Studios, has expanded into mid-century modern furniture and design. For example, the 1966 walnut slab shelf (left) by George Nakashima holds three Tiffany Favrile pots from 1905-10 and an Edmond Lachenal piece from ... (Read More)
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(Show)The 2015 BIFAS
Principle Gallery, Alexandria, Virginia, and Charleston, South Carolina, showed work by Geoffrey Johnson (b. 1965), including Three Buildings in Gold (48" x 36"), a 2014 oil on panel that was priced at $19,500.
Back Bay, Boston, dealer Martha Richardson showed Father and Child Reading, a 14½" x 9¼" x 8¾" bronze ... (Read More)
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(Auction)The Pennsylvania and Americana Auctions
Crewelwork work bag panel, “Jane Hoopes / October 13 1768,” Goshenville, Chester County, Pennsylvania, 29½" x 19¾", ex-Price estate, $7500 (est. $2000/3000) to a phone bidder. A woolwork sampler that sold at Skinner in November 2006 records her parents’ names, John and Christian, and the name of the Hollis School ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Chanel and the Beatles' Psychedelic Apple Boutique Score High
This Chanel black silk chiffon full-length bias-cut Chantilly lace gown from the 1930s has lace insertions in the bow and ribbon patterns, a low V back, shoulder capelet, and narrow chiffon and lace streamers attached to the sides by the hips. Lined in black silk charmeuse with a deep lace ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Holiday Sale 2014
Rookwood Uranus Tiger Eye vase, Albert Valentien, circa 1899, cranes in flight, 18½" high, several in-the-making base chips, $35,650.
Rookwood Iris glaze vase with gold-plated silver overlay at the rim, Albert Valentien, 1904, three life-size irises in bloom and two buds, the overlay engraved with a floral design, 14½" high, uncrazed, ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Hold an Auction and They'll Come
While calmly preening herself, this early 1900s eider hen carved by Gus Wilson became the top-priced lot of the sale at $43,200. Slotin photo.
Four Joseph Yoakum lots drew aggressive bidding from phone and on-line bidders and far exceeded estimates. He worked primarily in colored pencil with occasional pastel or ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Three Days and 1500 Lots Later
The top lot of the entire three-day event was this 17-jewel stainless steel Rolex Oyster chronograph, model 6238, serial number 866399. It closed out at $29,900. Thomaston Place photo.
The fully detailed whalebone prisoner-of-war ship model sold for $17,250.
Not extremely old, but this has flash and style. The 20th-century carved ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Fine Majolica at Auction
This 13-piece German majolica zoomorphic kitchen canister set, circa 1900, sold for $10,800 (est. $3000/5000) on the phone. The mother duck “Oil” canister stands over her kitchen staff with their contents written across their bellies. It may be the only set to survive. Strawser.
This important Minton majolica turquoise-ground flat iron ... (Read More)
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