Stories for November '17
(Fragment)Foreign National Pleads Guilty to Smuggling Rhinoceros Horn
Irish national Michael Hegarty, 40, pleaded guilty on September 29 in U.S. District Court in Miami to fraudulently facilitating the transportation and concealment of a rhinoceros horn libation cup that was smuggled from the United States to Great Britain in violation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
In mid-April 2012, Hegarty ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Dan Morphy: The Man with a Specialized Plan
Head of the House
Photos courtesy Morphy Auctions
Dan Morphy had the good fortune to grow up in a collecting family. His physician father, Dr. John C. Morphy Sr., and his mother, Janet, took him along on the antiques trail, and Dan began acquiring and dealing his favorite specialties as a very ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Changes at the Winter Antiques Show
Michael Lynch, Lucinda Ballard, and Arie Kopelman.
Arie L. Kopelman, the chairman of the Winter Antiques Show for the last 25 years, was made for the job. As president and CEO of Chanel, Inc. at its New York City headquarters, he is credited with transforming Chanel from a reported $357 million ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Hoarder or Collector? Some Readings and Reflections
“Why do you collect all these newspapers?” I asked Uncle Arthur.
Uncle Arthur tilted his head and looked at me curiously from slitted eyes. “I don’t collect them.”
“Then why do you have so many?”
“I’ve been busy. I haven’t had time to read them.”
Uncle Arthur’s papers closed around us like a dark ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Long Island Dealer Sentenced to Two Years for Trafficking Rhinoceros Horns
On September 18, Fengyi Zhou of Syosset, New York, the owner of New York USA Antiques, Inc., which specializes in Asian works of art, was sentenced to two years of imprisonment for one count of illegally trafficking endangered black rhinoceros horns.
In court papers, Zhou admitted to purchasing a rhinoceros horn ... (Read More)
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(Computer Article)3D Printing for Restoration
Computer Column #347
John P. Reid, <[email protected]>
There have been important technical developments in three-dimensional printing by computer since column #339 was published in the March 2017 issue. It is now even possible to 3D print with concrete. A giant printer is wheeled to a site to print garden seats or ornaments ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Maryland Woman Convicted of Theft During Cleanup of 2016 Flood
A 35-year-old Taneytown, Maryland, woman has been sentenced to 30 days in jail for the theft of jewelry worth over $6200 from an Ellicott City antiques store during the cleanup in the aftermath of a July 2016 flood.
Melissa Lynn Poole entered an Alford plea before Howard County Circuit Court Judge ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Pair Arrested in Stolen Antiques Case
Justan E. Knapp. Violet E. Bienkowski.
New York State Police arrested two people after they sold stolen property to the Pine Street Antique Gallery in Johnstown, New York. Arrested were Justan E. Knapp, 32, and Violet E. Bienkowski, 51, both of Utica, New York.
State police in Remsen were investigating a burglary ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Letter from London, November 2017
Ian McKay, <[email protected]>
With the new London season still moving slowly into action, only two of the auctions featured in this month’s selection are very recent. However, one of them saw a fairly modern, but already famous pocket watch sold for a staggering sum. The other new season sale covered here, ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Mount Vernon's Blue Room Reopens
Here is the Blue Room in 2017.
The Blue Room in the Mount Vernon mansion reopened on October 7 after a seven-month restoration. Guided by new research and investigation, this bedchamber’s transformation includes reproduction French wallpaper, cream-painted woodwork, and a bedstead draped in blue-printed cotton.
As the first room at the head ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)VADA to Move Annual Show to Vermont Antiques Week
The Vermont Antiques Dealers’ Association (VADA) will move its annual show in 2018 from July to the fall, becoming part of the slate of shows referred to as Vermont Antiques Week. The show is likely to be held at the Stratton Mountain Base Lodge, Stratton, Vermont, although plans have yet ... (Read More)
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(Young Collectors)A Privileged Life
The Young Collector
We like the new place, it turns out. First of all, most houses built in the 1970s were built by people who had lived in houses from the 1920s, so you don’t even have to get out of your chair to find an outlet. There’s none of this ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)California Woman Sues Theriault's
A collection of 67 dolls was consigned three years ago to Theriault’s in Annapolis, Maryland, a well-known auction house specializing in antique dolls and childhood playthings since 1970. The consignment resulted in no payments until the consignor filed a lawsuit in California.
Bart I. Ring, attorney for plaintiff Phyllis Roberts, a ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Morristown Antiques Show Discovery Sheds Light on Chase Family Portraits
Treasures turn up at the Morristown Armory Antiques Show. Second-generation antiques and art dealer Butch McGrath and his son, James, offer fascinating and beautiful objects found near their home in Scituate, Massachusetts. Last February, I spotted a handwritten label in their booth identifying material related to the famous American artist/educator ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Pook Gives It Back
Downingtown, Pennsylvania, auctioneer Ronald Pook called the other day to say that his crew had made a great find. It was not a Bonnin and Morris pickle dish nor John Cadwalader’s sofa.
“We cleaned out an attic of items we can sell in an online sale, and just before closing up ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Out in the Cold
Editorial
A ruling handed down in a New York court in late September shines a light on a common practice in the trade and offers up a cautionary tale.
In June 1989 Reed Galin purchased a one-third interest in Andrew Wyeth’s Ice Storm from his childhood friend and art dealer David Ramus. ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Doyle Raises Buyer's Premium
Doyle New York’s new buyer’s premium began on October 15. The new buyer’s premium is 25% on the first $300,000 of the hammer price, 20% on the portion from $300,001 through $3,000,000, and 12.5% on the portion of the hammer price exceeding $3,000,000.
Originally published in the November 2017 issue of Maine ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Seaver & McLellan Antiques, Jaffrey, New Hampshire
In the Trade
A dealer I know who likes large, unusual, striking, or just plain odd pieces suggested that I interview Tom Seaver. When I walked into the Seavers’ shop on the very busy Main Street of Jaffrey, New Hampshire, I saw why. Although Tom Seaver, who works with his daughter, ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Wedding Bells to Ring
Maine antiques dealers Dennis Raleigh and Phyllis Sommer have announced their engagement to be married. The wedding date is to be determined.
Originally published in the November 2017 issue of Maine Antique Digest. © 2017 Maine Antique Digest ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)New Show with Free Admission
The Palm Beach Art, Antique & Design Show, presented by Palm Beach Show Group, will debut December 15-17 at the new Palm Beach Art, Antique & Design Showroom in Lake Worth, Florida. The Fall Palm Beach design show is the latest addition to the Palm Beach Show Group’s portfolio of ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Reimagining "The Peaceable Kingdom"
Fountain House Gallery, New York City
In a world filled with strife—hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, genocide, ballistic-missile launches, terrorist attacks, and political uncertainties—seeking a peaceable kingdom through art might be a soothing antidote.
Thirty-five artists associated with Fountain House Gallery in New York City, which represents artists living with mental illness, were asked ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Exhibitions, November 2017
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 website for ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)"Kasten from Mid-Hudson Valley Collections"
Historic Huguenot Street, New Paltz, New York, has on display over a dozen American and Dutch kasten, or Dutch-style cupboards, from the museum’s permanent collection and through selected loans, in the Jean Hasbrouck House (c. 1721) and Abraham Hasbrouck House (c. 1721-41). The exhibition will be open through December 17.
The ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Christie's Americana
Christie’s, New York City
Photos courtesy Christie’s
The week the United Nations convened in New York City to discuss peace and security, climate change, humanitarian aid, human rights, and economic development was not the best time to hold an Americana sale. John Hays, Christie’s deputy chairman, apparantly did not realize that Donald ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Variety Characterizes Quinn's Fall Auction
Quinn’s Auction Galleries, Falls Church, Virginia
Photos courtesy Quinn’s Auction Galleries
Quinn’s Auction Galleries held its fall cataloged sale of fine and decorative arts at its Falls Church, Virginia, galleries on September 16. The auction combined consignments from its central Virginia location in Louisa with a wide array of offerings already prepared ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Toy Auction
Pook & Pook Inc./Noel Barrett, Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Photos courtesy Pook & Pook/Noel Barrett
“These days you have to add a fourth ‘D’ to the reasons for an auction; in addition to death, debt, divorce, add downsizing,” said Noel Barrett at the September 15 toy sale he masterminded in partnership with Pook & ... (Read More)
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(Auction)"Fan Fire IV" Heats Up Weschler's Rockville Debut
Weschler’s Auctioneers & Appraisers, Rockville, Maryland
Photos courtesy Weschler’s Auctioneers & Appraisers
Weschler’s Auctioneers & Appraisers held its first cataloged auction at its new Rockville, Maryland, location on September 15. The sale was a doubleheader of sorts, with two sessions and with the two separate catalogs bound into a single volume.
The morning ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Leslie Hindman Sells Palmatary Map of Chicago, Expands to Atlanta
When Leslie Hindman Auctioneers in Chicago offered an aerial pre-Great Chicago Fire view of Chicago in the September 13 sale of fine books and manuscripts, the staff knew that it would do well, but they had no idea how well. So they set what Gretchen Hause, director of fine books ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Summer Summary of Jewelry Sold at Hindman and Skinner
Antique Jewelry & Gemology
Photos courtesy Leslie Hindman Auctioneers and Skinner, Inc.
In the last days of summer, auctions at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers in Chicago and Skinner, Inc. in Boston brought a vast array of fine jewelry to market, including many antique offerings. Each auctioneer held a live sale. Hindman had 1609 ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Eclectic Sale in Cambridge
CRN Auctions, Cambridge, Massachusetts
When CRN Auctions’ Karin J. Phillips and Carl R. Nordblom put together an auction, collectors and the trade take notice—it’s bound to be eclectic. The September 10 sale in the Cambridge, Massachusetts, gallery was just that. Furniture and smalls flourished.
A Boston Classical mahogany bookcase in three parts, ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Americana
Garth’s Auctions, Delaware, Ohio
Photos courtesy Garth’s
Sometimes it just works. That was the case during the September 9 sale of Americana held by Garth’s Auctions in Delaware, Ohio. The multi-consignor event featured an assortment as diverse as it was interesting. “The property worked really, really well together,” said Jeff Jeffers, ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Soap Hollow Sells at Mishler's
Mishler Auction Service, Davidsville, Pennsylvania
Photos courtesy Mishler Auction Service
Because it is so distinctive, Soap Hollow furniture makes an impression on collectors. Its bright red color and unique inscription (“Manufactured by…”) across the front of a piece make it memorable. On the one hand, it is relatively abundant, perhaps being the ... (Read More)
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(Show)The 2017 Baltimore Art, Antique & Jewelry Show
Baltimore, Maryland
The Baltimore Art, Antique & Jewelry Show, held August 24-27, was slimmer this year, down about one-third of the number of dealers from a year ago. The gate was down as well on a weekend with the most glorious weather of the summer. The majority of dealers said selling ... (Read More)
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(Show)The Rise and Fall of Political Collectibles
APIC Midwest Regional Show, Indianapolis
Featuring 75 tables of vintage and contemporary memorabilia, the American Political Items Collectors (APIC) held its annual Midwest regional show in Indianapolis on August 26. The event was a microcosm of political collecting and could easily be summarized by a number of bullet points.
• The cycle ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Wyeth Eclipsed by Prendergast and Others
Bruce Gamage, Jr., Antiques, Rockland, Maine
“I didn’t time it for the eclipse, believe me,” Bruce Gamage promised, regarding his August 21 summer auction in Rockland, Maine. His larger annual sales are usually hallmarked by items from the Wyeth family of artists, but this time the Wyeth works were eclipsed by ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Renewed Energy for Antiques with Fine History
Northeast Auctions, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Ron Bourgeault got things off to a rollicking start at his annual summer sale August 18-20 beneath a tent at Northeast Auctions’ Treadwell House in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where it felt a lot like the old days. Eight phones jumped for lot one, a 4½" x ... (Read More)
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(Show)Degrees of Good
Ellsworth Antiques Show at Woodlawn, Ellsworth, Maine
The history of Woodlawn Museum in Ellsworth, Maine, goes back about 190 years to when lumber baron Colonel John Black built his monumental 180-acre estate. In 1928 his grandson George Nixon Black Jr. bequeathed the property to the Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations, ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Julia Opens Maine's Antiques Week and Closes for $3.8 Million
James D. Julia, Fairfield, Maine
Maine’s late summer bundle of antiques shows and auctions that usually happens the last week of August got a kick-start this year when James D. Julia, Inc. moved its centerpiece auction a week earlier to August 16-18 in Fairfield, Maine. Fine arts and antiques department head ... (Read More)
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(Show)The Antique American Indian Art Show
Santa Fe, New Mexico
The origins of the Antique American Indian Art Show date back 39 years when 16-year-old Kim Martindale worked with dealer Don Bennett to put on an antique Indian art show and an antique ethnographic/tribal art show at the Santa Fe Hilton.
Those shows became the Whitehawk shows. After ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Straightforward and Simple
Charles M. Talbot Associates, Turner, Maine
A dictionary definition of the word “auction” reads “a publicly held sale at which property or goods are sold to the highest bidder.” That’s it, straightforward and simple. It doesn’t say anything about reserves, absentee bidders, or buyer’s premium. That’s how James and Dale Talbot ... (Read More)
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(Show)Whitehawk Draws a Crowd
Whitehawk Antique Indian & Ethnographic Art Show, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Marcia Berridge combined a beloved antique Indian art show with a beloved antique ethnographic/tribal art show to create one mixed show, the Whitehawk Antique Indian & Ethnographic Art Show, held August 11-14 at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center in ... (Read More)
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(Show)Objects of Art Santa Fe
Santa Fe, New Mexico
At Objects of Art Santa Fe, held August 11-13 (with an opening night party on the 10th) at El Museo Cultural de Santa Fe, the first of three major (mostly) antiques shows that take place in August in Santa Fe, New Mexico, every dealer was hoping for ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Collections of Americana Offered
Skinner, Inc., Marlborough, Massachusetts
Collections, collections, collections. Skinner’s August 13 Americana sale in the Marlborough, Massachusetts, gallery brought antiques from several choice collections. Phone bidders and the Internet were particularly active. Skinner’s Chris Fox said before the auction that the sale drew more phone bidders than had been seen in a ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Americana Sale
Rafael Osona Auctions, Nantucket, Massachusetts
Photos courtesy Rafael Osona Auctions
By the time Rafael Osona began his annual Americana auction on August 5, it was standing room only in the auction hall on Washington Street in Nantucket, just a short walk from the ferry landing. The top lot of the auction was ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Colonial Williamsburg Acquires Tennessee Portraits at Auction
Colonial Williamsburg bought portraits of Thomas Claiborne Jr. and his wife, Sara Lewis King Claiborne, by Ralph E.W. Earl on August 5 at the Case Antiques auction in Knoxville, Tennessee, for $42,000 (see M.A.D., October 2017, p. 27-E). Painted in Nashville in 1817, they are the first Tennessee paintings to ... (Read More)
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(Auction)August Americana Auction
Robert C. Eldred Co., Inc., East Dennis, Massachusetts
Photos courtesy Eldred’s
In a new twist in the antiques world, Robert C. Eldred Co., Inc., East Dennis, Massachusetts, and Decoys Unlimited, Inc., West Barnstable, Massachusetts, have joined forces in a decoy collaboration. The two Cape Cod auction houses, both located along Route 6A ... (Read More)
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(Show)Greater Cincinnati-Dayton Antique Advertising Show
Lebanon, Ohio
The Greater Cincinnati-Dayton Antique Advertising Show debuted July 23 at Miami Valley Gaming, a racino west of Lebanon, Ohio. Michael Villamanga of Cincinnati managed the event, which drew about 40 dealers and a total attendance of approximately 200.
Villamanga has collected for 35 years and has sold antiques for three ... (Read More)
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(Auction)American History
Cowan’s Auctions, Cincinnati, Ohio
Photos courtesy Cowan’s Auctions
An ordinary-looking walnut plantation desk with an extraordinary back story was the top lot during the American history sale held by Cowan’s Auctions in Cincinnati, Ohio, on June 9. The desk realized $32,400 (including buyer’s premium) because of its connection to Confederate General Robert ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Rookwood XXVII
Humler & Nolan, Cincinnati, Ohio
Photos courtesy Humler & Nolan
An Iowa State College vase and a Rookwood plaque each sold for $23,600 (including buyer’s premium) during the Rookwood XXVII auction held by Humler & Nolan in Cincinnati, Ohio, on June 3 and 4. However, those two pieces of art pottery offered ... (Read More)
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