Next Issue Mails on March 13

Maine Antique Digest — (11/16/09)

The next issue of Maine Antique Digest will mail on March 13.

Next Advertising Deadline: April 7

Maine Antique Digest — (11/04/09)

The next advertising deadline for Maine Antique Digest is Wednesday, April 7, for the May issue that mails on April 17.

Follow Maine Antique Digest on Twitter

Maine Antique Digest — (06/19/09)

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Auction for a New World

Maine Antique Digest — (03/10/10)

A first edition of Les voyages du sieur de Champlain by Samuel de Champlain (1567-1635) sold to Peter Harrington Books for $751,000 (est.

Historic Firearms and Militaria Auction

Maine Antique Digest — (03/10/10)

A 16" long French and Indian War powder horn with an engraved map of Pennsylvania depicting the forts and waypoints on the trail from Philadelphia to Fort Pitt, as well as the Forbes Road, having an untouched yellow to brown patina, brought $57,500 (est.

Bannister Paintings and a Whistler Print Lead Winter Sale

Maine Antique Digest — (03/09/10)

The Dyer by James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834-1903), a brown-toned etching on laid paper, trimmed to plate imprint, brought an attention-getting
$115,000 (est.

Daffodils, Lilies, and Pansies Bloom

Maine Antique Digest — (03/08/10)

Tiffany Studios Daffodil lamp, $63,250.
Tiffany Dragonfly lamp in dichroic glass, $40,250.
Leaded glass window, possibly by LaFarge, the Rudy Brothers, or perhaps another maker, $16,100.
James D.

In the Trade: Susan Silver of Sheffield, Massachusetts

Maine Antique Digest — (03/08/10)

Susan Silver is shown with an Anglo-Indian wardrobe (to her right) of solid satinwood— not veneered—and ebony.

Garth's Americana Auction

Maine Antique Digest — (03/05/10)

Decorated corner cupboard, Pennsylvania, 19th century, poplar and pine, two-piece construction, alligatored reddish brown over yellow vinegar graining simulating curly maple, 86¼" high x 40½" wide, one pane cracked, brass pulls missing from the drawers, $36,425.
Late Victorian diamond cluster ring with a center old-European-cut diamond, approximately 2.4 carats, surrounded
by two rows of white old-European-cut diamonds, approximately 2.6 carats total, set in platinum on gold, with no hallmark, $9988.
One-piece wall cupboard attributed to the Hudson River valley, New York, late 18th or early 19th century, mixed woods in old tan paint, removable cornice, 81" high x 73" wide, $12,338.
Garth's, Delaware, Ohio
by Don Johnson
Photos courtesy Garth's
Fresh off Garth's 49th annual Thanksgiving Americana auction, company president Jeff Jeffers didn't speak as if the season ahead were some winter of discontent.

Antiques & Art at the Armory

Maine Antique Digest — (03/05/10)

M.S.

Books Received

Maine Antique Digest — (03/04/10)

by M.A.D.

Antiques Software for Macs

Maine Antique Digest — (03/04/10)

Before Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh, antiques records were kept with cumbersome DOS programs such as PC-File 5.0.
Computer Column #255
by John P.

Pair of Nisbet Card Tables at Strong Sale in Saint John

Maine Antique Digest — (03/04/10)

A pair of card tables by Saint John cabinetmaker Thomas Nisbet fetched $16,800 ($15,943).

Etnier Oils Lead Foster Auction

Maine Antique Digest — (03/03/10)

Stephen Etnier oil on canvas, signed and dated ’59, $6050.
Stephen Etnier oil on canvas, probably a scene near his Harpswell, Maine, studio, $2750.

Peabody Essex Museum Antiques Show: Steady at the Helm

Maine Antique Digest — (03/03/10)

Salem, Massachusetts
by Jeanne Schinto
Diana H.

Photograph Album Leads Evans Sale

Maine Antique Digest — (03/03/10)

This historically significant photograph album contains 425 albumen prints by John K.

Modernism + Art20

Maine Antique Digest — (03/02/10)

Paul Donzella of Donzella Ltd., New York City, offered two chairs and a cocktail table, designed by Paul Laszlo in the early 1950’s, of handcarved and lacquered wood.

New Associate Curator Position at PMA

Maine Antique Digest — (03/02/10)

Alexandra Alevizatos Kirtley has been named The Montgomery-Garvan Associate Curator of American Decorative Arts at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
The new associate curator position was endowed by Robert L.

Up the Creek with a Paddle

Maine Antique Digest — (03/02/10)

Canoe paddle, 19th century, 67” long, $13,800.
Gould Auction Company, Gardiner, Maine
by Mark Sisco
Several years ago, auctioneer Timothy Gould wondered aloud to us about how long he could maintain his auctions, restricting his consignments only to items that conformed to his rigid "fresh-to-the-market" criterion.

Letter from London

Maine Antique Digest — (03/01/10)

by Ian McKay, e-mail: <ianmckay1@btinternet.com>
The Nicholas Hilliard miniature portraits of Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester and the one real love of her life, which sold for $120,015 at Bonhams.
Elizabeth and Leicester: An Unrequited Love Story?
One of the three great questions of Europe, the King of France once asked in jest, was "whether Queen Elizabeth was a maid or no?" It is a question that has continued to intrigue over succeeding centuries, but there is no doubt as to who the main man in the so-called Virgin Queen's life might have been, and at Bonhams on November 25, 2009, a pair of miniatures by Nicholas Hilliard of Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, were offered as part of the Merchiston collection.
Within months of Elizabeth ascending the throne in 1558, foreign ambassadors to the court were reporting back to their masters on the young queen's infatuation with Robert Dudley.

Prior Tops Auction

Maine Antique Digest — (03/01/10)

The William Matthew Prior oil on board portrait sold for $10,350.
Shelf clock by John Taber of Saco, Maine, $8625.
Cyr Auction Company, Gray, Maine
by Mark Sisco
On November 12, 2009, Cyr Auction Company held a solid Americana sale in Gray, Maine, anchored by a rare Maine-made shelf clock, a good Prior primitive portrait, and a strong collection of Native American items from a now-defunct western museum.
Leading it off was a mahogany-cased shelf clock by John Taber of Saco, Maine, with brass works, full-column case, mirrored door, cutout crest, five brass finials, and an unusual weight.

Japanese Art Dealers Association Holds Exhibition during Asia Week

Maine Antique Digest — (03/01/10)

Plans are in the works for a very busy Asia Week New York, March 20-28 (see M.A.D., February 2010, p.

Leslie Hindman Opens Florida Location

Maine Antique Digest — (03/01/10)

Naples, Florida, headquarters of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers.
Leslie Hindman Auctioneers of Chicago has opened a new auction facility in Naples, Florida.
"Many of our longtime clients winter or live year-round in Florida, specifically the southwest region, so Naples is an ideal location for a satellite office," said Hindman.

The Main Line Antiques Show

Maine Antique Digest — (02/26/10)

Paul Vandekar offered this Chinese export porcelain hunt bowl for $50,000.

Folk Art Reaches Maturity

Maine Antique Digest — (02/26/10)

Outdoor Art Show by Vestie Davis.

Firearms and Accoutrements

Maine Antique Digest — (02/25/10)

Inlaid wheel-lock rifle, European, 16th or 17th century, wrought-iron hardware and 33¼" long tapered and flared octagonal barrel, 26 bone inlays with scrimshaw detail and a sliding bone patch box, 45" long, key missing, pieced restorations, old repairs to splits in inlay, $11,163.
Two inlaid wheellock pistols, European, 16th or 17th century, heavily inlaid with scrimshaw bone ladies, birds, panels, and detailed vining, 22" barrels have relief panels with bands, old restorations and some variations, one ramrod pipe missing, one screw on the lock is stripped out but accompanies, $37,600.
Wheel-lock pistol, European, mid-16th century, octagon-to-round barrel signed “Wolf.

Mikan Card Sold for $218,550

Maine Antique Digest — (02/25/10)

$218,550.
On behalf of an anonymous client, SCP Auctions, Laguna Niguel, California, purchased what some call the most important and valuable basketball card known to exist: a 1948 Bowman George Mikan rookie card graded Gem Mint 10 by PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator).
The card sold for $218,550 in an on-line auction conducted by Memory Lane, Inc.

New England Motel Upgrades Tents for Brimfield

Maine Antique Digest — (02/25/10)

New England Motel & Antiques Market in Brimfield, Massachusetts, is preparing for the upcoming antiquing season with an upgrade.
"Our Pavilion sites continue to be very popular," wrote Marie Doldoorian of New England Motel.

Collectors Go after Bargains

Maine Antique Digest — (02/24/10)

Summer Landscape by E.

Garth's Breaks Record for Arthur Meltzer Painting

Maine Antique Digest — (02/24/10)

On January 30 Garth's Auctions, Delaware, Ohio, sold The Robe of Winter, a 42" x 46" oil on canvas landscape by Pennsylvania artist Arthur Meltzer, for $156,875 (includes buyer's premium) to Valerie and Kurt Malmberg of Greshville Antiques and Fine Art, Boyertown, Pennsylvania.

Americana at Christie's

Maine Antique Digest — (02/23/10)

A double portrait by Ammi Phillips (1788-1865) of Theron Simpson Ludington (1850-1922) and his older sister Virginia Ludington (1846-1865) with a cat and shaggy dog, circa 1855, oil on canvas, 43" x 40", sold for $782,500 (est.

New York Bill Would Tightly Regulate Auctions

Maine Antique Digest — (02/23/10)
by Betty Flood
More transparency in the world of New York auctions will result if legislation introduced in the state legislature is passed.

Bittel to Manage Delaware Show

Maine Antique Digest — (02/23/10)

Diana Bittel is the new manager of the Delaware Antiques Show.

Ken Farmer Sells a Big Little Fish

Maine Antique Digest — (02/22/10)

The big fish of the Farmer sale was this fish-form bitters bottle, described as light yellow-olive in color and marked “W.H.

The Great Run

Maine Antique Digest — (02/18/10)

Bill Stahl at the podium on September 26, 2008, for Sotheby’s sale of the Americana collection of Rear Admiral Edward P.

Saint Bernard Carving Tops Florida Auction

Maine Antique Digest — (02/17/10)

Circa 1900 39" wide Black Forest carved tableau of a Saint Bernard dog and pups, $30,590.

Sotheby's January Americana Auction

Maine Antique Digest — (02/12/10)

Punch bowl with dolphin handles made by Cornelius Kierstede, New York, 1700-10.

The Mystery of K. Shirayamadani

Maine Antique Digest — (02/12/10)

by Elizabeth Fowler, Ph.D.
Shirayamadani, the Japanese artist who joined Rookwood Pottery in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1887, is shrouded in mystery.

Keno Auctions Launches with Preview in New York City

Maine Antique Digest — (02/12/10)

Leigh Keno (right) at his Friday night preview at the Regency Hotel to launch Keno Auctions.
by Lita Solis-Cohen
On Friday evening, January 22, Leigh Keno invited friends old and new to the Regency Hotel, five blocks down Park Avenue from the Winter Antiques Show, for a glass of champagne and a sneak preview of some of the items he will offer at Keno Auctions' first sale at the Marriott Hotel & Spa in Stamford, Connecticut, on May 1 and 2.