Stories for April '15

(Auction Law and Ethics)

Prepare to Gather
by Steve Proffitt

Auction Law & Ethics “Impatience can cause wise people to do foolish things.” Canadian author Janette Oke needed just nine words to explain why some of the biggest blunders are committed and to warn others that unrestrained enthusiasm can lead to the same mistakes. Impatience is seldom the right path for an ... (Read More)

(Young Collectors)

In Defense of Pattern Glass
by Hollie Davis and Andrew Richmond

The Young Collector What a winter. Everyone seems to be talking about the weather. We’ve been lucky here, keeping mostly warm and never losing power—until the day after Hollie wrote this sentence. There’s hardly an experience more jarring to young Americans than losing power (unless perhaps losing Internet access), especially to ... (Read More)

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Ellis Antiques Show Closes Again
by Frances McQueeney-Jones Mascolo

Changing demographics have killed off another venerable antiques show. Boston’s Ellis Memorial Antiques Show saw 49 years as the city’s premier antiques show before closing up shop in 2008. It was picked up and run as the Ellis Boston Antiques Show in 2011 by producers Tony Fusco and Bob Four of ... (Read More)

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New Temporary Location for Cahoon Museum
by M.A.D. Staff

The Cahoon Museum of American Art has a new temporary location: 30 Bates Road in Mashpee Commons North (in the former New Balance space), Mashpee, Massachusetts. The museum’s permanent location at 4676 Falmouth Road in Cotuit is being restored and a new addition is being built. The permanent location will reopen ... (Read More)

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Nantucket Antiques Show Rebranded
by M.A.D. Staff

The Nantucket Antiques Show, held annually for 35-plus years, has been rebranded as the Decorative and Fine Art Show Nantucket. The dates and location of the show remain August 7-10 at the Nantucket High School, Nantucket, Massachusetts. Jerry Ritch, a second-generation antiques dealer and a 50-year veteran of the show circuit, ... (Read More)

(Issue Story)

Cindy Johnson, Dater House Antiques, Troy, New York
by Frank Donegan

Cindy Johnson. Dater House Antiques is on Route 2 a few miles east of Troy, New York. A partial view of Johnson’s shop. Mortars with pestles: left, $195; right, $169. “They’re always good sellers,” Johnson said. Quilted skirt or petticoat in tones of brown and plum with green and white flowers, $235. Two-part stepback cupboard ... (Read More)

(Issue Story)

Between a Rock and a Hard Place
by Clayton Pennington

Editorial Tiny Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts, has a big problem, and the administration thought it had a perfect solution. The problem is the Vining Collection, approximately 7000 rare books and artifacts given to the college by the family of Edward Payson Vining in 1921. Proper care for the collection is costly, ... (Read More)

(Computer Article)

Data Disposal, Backup Power, and Mobile Web Sites
by John P. Reid

Sanding away all or part of the label to the center hole makes a CD or DVD unreadable by identity thieves. Computer Column #316 John P. Reid, [email protected] Disposing of data CDs with sensitive information, Internet survival in bad weather, and adapting a Web site for mobile devices will be covered. Shred CDs and ... (Read More)

(Issue Story)

A New Location for Chelsea Clock Company and a Second Edition of Its History
by Jeanne Schinto

One of the new photographs in the second edition of the Demeters’ book is a vintage image showing Joseph H. Eastman (1843-1931), founder of the Chelsea Clock Company’s immediate precursor, the Eastman Clock Company. Eastman, who trained as a watchmaker as well as a clockmaker, fitted his clock movement with ... (Read More)

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Forty Years of Sommer
by Mark Sisco

“I have a wonderful relation with the dealers who are in the shop. I like what they see and buy and bring in. I’m spoiled,” said Phyllis Sommer. The next time you’re driving on Route 1 into Searsport, Maine, take heed of the 25 m.p.h. speed limit sign as you’re approaching ... (Read More)

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Midweek Antiques Show Confirms Opening Hours
by M.A.D. Staff

Barn Star Productions’ 22nd Midweek Antiques Show, now held in Concord, New Hampshire, during Antiques Week in New Hampshire, is adjusting the opening hour for the August 4 and 5 show. “Last year we moved our Midweek Show to Tuesday following the Americana Celebration Antiques Show, launching Antiques Week with two ... (Read More)

(Issue Story)

Rediscovery: Henry Grant Plumb, Master of Arts and Letters
by Christine Oaklander

Henry Grant Plumb self-portrait, circa 1910. Henry Grant Plumb to his family, Paris, May 11, 1875. The vignette on the first page shows the artist and a friend sketching in the Bois de Boulogne. Untitled, watercolor on paper, circa 1874, 14" x 10". Lake Champlain from Basin Harbor, 1910-20, oil on artist’s board, ... (Read More)

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Canadian Auction House Busted for Selling 1970s Ivory
by M.A.D. Staff

A scientific first has led to an auction house and its director pleading guilty to offering prohibited ivory for sale in Canada. On February 27, Five Star Auctions and Appraisals of Toronto and its director, Chun Al Jin, pleaded guilty to charges under the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation ... (Read More)

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Jennifer Carlquist Appointed Curator at Boscobel
by M.A.D. Staff

Curator Jennifer Carlquist in the drawing room of the mansion.   Jennifer Carlquist is the new curator at Boscobel House and Gardens in Garrison, New York, where she will research, oversee, and celebrate the museum’s collection of New York furniture and decorative arts from the Federal period. She will also organize annual ... (Read More)

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Bidsquare Gets New President and CEO
by M.A.D. Staff

Allis Ghim is the new president and CEO of Bidsquare (www.bidsquare.com), the on-line bidding platform formed by six regional auction houses: Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, Rago, Skinner, Inc., Brunk Auctions, Pook & Pook, Inc., and Cowan’s Auctions. Ghim will have oversight of the overall strategic direction and the expansion and operation of ... (Read More)

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Logania
by Lita Solis-Cohen

Courtesy the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania at Stenton. At a time when historic houses are struggling to attract an audience, Stenton, the house James Logan (1674-1751) completed in 1730 five miles northwest of the center of Philadelphia, where generations of Logans lived ... (Read More)

(Book Review)

Books Received, April 2015
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 a mail-order house is the place to look. Kodachrome Memory: American Pictures 1972-1990 by Nathan Benn (powerHouse Books, 2013, 168 ... (Read More)

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Lake Country Antiques & Garden Show Moves to New Location
by M.A.D. Staff

The Lake Country Antiques & Garden Show will be held in a new location. The 70-dealer show will take place May 1-3 at the Waukesha County Expo Center, 1000 Northview Road, Waukesha, Wisconsin. For more information, call (262) 968-4913 or check the Web site (http://antiquescenteratwales.com). Originally published in the April 2015 ... (Read More)

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Contemporary American Illuminations, Art of Barbara Wolff at the Morgan
by Lita Solis-Cohen

  In Leviathan Whom Thou Hast Formed, a platinum fin whale and some fish of the sea, great and small, are depicted in the depths of deep blue water as an illustration by Barbara Wolff for the unbound manuscript You Renew the Face of the Earth: Psalm 104. New York artist Barbara ... (Read More)

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Antiques Week in New Hampshire: Pickers Market Changes Dates
by M.A.D. Staff

Barn Star Productions’ 21st Pickers Market Antiques Show is changing dates. It will be held on Friday, August 7, in Concord, New Hampshire, during Antiques Week in New Hampshire. Frank Gaglio of Barn Star said, “Last year we moved the Pickers Market one day earlier to Thursday after the NHADA show ... (Read More)

(Issue Story)

Ivory Ban's Effects on Collectors, Museums, Musicians, and the Art Trade
by Kevin P. Ray

In response to concerns that poaching of African elephants is rapidly driving the species to extinction, the U.S. federal government tightened restrictions on the import, export, transfer, and sale of African elephant ivory and rhinoceros horn.1 The revised restrictions followed on President Obama’s July 2013 executive order committing the U.S. ... (Read More)

(Issue Story)

Exhibitions
by M.A.D. Staff

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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A $37 Picasso
by M.A.D. Staff

An original painting by Pablo Picasso, La Coiffeuse (The Hairdresser), was shipped to the United States in a FedEx package that declared it as an “art craft toy” worth only $37. Discovered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, it was subsequently seized by Homeland Security Investigations. On February 26, U.S. attorney ... (Read More)

(Issue Story)

Carved in Stone: American Stone Books
by Ian Berke

“Remembr [sic] the Maine” in relief letters. High-relief floral carving. Initials in neo-Gothic style. Heart with initials and “stitched” decoration. Low-relief anchor (front); cross (back). Relief deer in landscape (front); birds in tree (back). Note crisp carving. Catlinite (pipestone). High-relief floral carving with tiny inset colored stones, rope border. Massive. Recumbent lamb with cross, in high relief. ... (Read More)

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Manship and Troubetzkoy Sculptures Recovered 32 Years after Being Stolen
by Lita Solis-Cohen

Paul Manship, Seated Female Figure, 9¾" high x 11 5/8" wide x 6 5/8" deep, on a 2" high marble base. It would fit underneath a trench coat.   Paul Troubetzkoy, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, 21" high x 7½" wide x 12¾" deep. Eric Baumgartner said the sculptures were stolen before Hirschl & ... (Read More)

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Four Cannon Pattern Cups and Saucers Bring $23,100
by M.A.D. Staff

Photo courtesy Witman Auctioneers, Inc. When auctioneer Luke Witman was cleaning out the estate of collector Mary S. McCommon of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, he found an old, stained, rain-soaked box in the garage, not very far from the trash bin. “I always tell my guys, ‘Look in every box,’” he said. When the ... (Read More)

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George Allen and Gordon Wyckoff of Raccoon Creek Antiques Arrested
by Clayton Pennington

George Allen of Raccoon Creek Antiques at the 2009 Heart of Country show in Nashville, Tennessee. Things have gone from bad to worse for George Allen and Gordon Wyckoff, well-known dealers of Raccoon Creek Antiques LLC in Oley, Pennsylvania. On February 27, both were arrested by Officer Pamela E. Mathias. Each was ... (Read More)

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Man Trying to Sell Stolen Antiques Arrested in Sting Operation
by M.A.D. Staff

A man’s alleged attempt to sell stolen antiques in California led to three men being arrested. On February 25, Deputy Ryan Arthurton of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department responded to a commercial burglary report in Yucca Valley. The victim, David Scholar, reported that unknown suspects had forced entry into his ... (Read More)

(Issue Story)

Letter from London, April 2015
by Ian McKay

Ian McKay, <[email protected]> There are a lot of pictures in this month’s selection, some of them very expensive ones, but added to the mix are some fine old German glasses and a German broadsword, a Bellarmine jug, some wall lights, an odd assortment of items from a “Gentleman’s Library” and what ... (Read More)

(Issue Story)

February Auctions at Sotheby's and Freeman's
by Mary Ann Brown

Antique Jewelry & Gemology Photos courtesy Sotheby’s and Freeman’s Two auction houses on the East Coast held moderately priced sales in advance of Valentine’s Day. Sotheby’s Important Jewels auction, held in New York City on February 5, included jewelry with lower estimates than its Magnificent Jewels or Noble Jewels sales would contain. ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Fresh-to-Market Philadelphia Tea Table Sells for $1,895,000
by Lita Solis-Cohen

The 1755-57 Potter-Crouch-Jordan family Philadelphia mahogany tea table, 29" high, top 37 3/8" inches in diameter, sold for $1,895,000 (est. $500,000/2,000,000). A group of Sons of Liberty toasts found in the papers of William Russell (1748-1784), a schoolteacher and early member of the Sons of Liberty and a Boston Tea Party ... (Read More)

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Virginia Rejects Ivory Ban
by M.A.D. Staff

Virginia Senate Bill No. 1215 was voted down 12-0 on January 26 by the Virginia Senate Committee for Courts of Justice after the bill’s sponsor, Senator Adam Ebbin, withdrew his support. If passed, it would have been one of the country’s most restrictive ivory laws, making any person who “imports, sells, ... (Read More)

(Show)

The Art, Design, & Antiques Show at Wallace Hall
by Clayton Pennington

Brad Reh and Debbie Turi transformed Wallace Hall into a small boutique show with 34 dealers. Six China trade watercolors of Chinese sampans and junks, each 14½" x 18", circa 1850, were $15,000 from Earle D. Vandekar of Knightsbridge. The frames are contemporary. Need to seat 16? The George III three-pedestal table, ... (Read More)

(Auction)

The Silver Collection of Roy and Ruth Nutt
by Lita Solis-Cohen

A rare pair of American silver bottle stands, Myer Myers, New York, circa 1765, each circular with scrolling openwork fret-sawn sides, centering on a solid cartouche monogrammed “SSC,” fitted with turned wooden bases. They are marked on the back of the cartouche“Myers”in a conforming rectangle. The diameter is 5 1/8". The pair ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Arader Gets $3.277 Million for Fewer than 145 Lots
by Clayton Pennington

Seabright from Galilee, New Jersey, 1880, a 21" x 42" oil on canvas by the short-lived American artist Francis Augustus Silva (1835-1886), sold to an absentee bidder for $183,000 (est. $150,000/200,000). The painting depicts Sea Bright, New Jersey, as seen from the small town of Galilee, which lies on the ... (Read More)

(Show)

The 2015 Winter Antiques Show
by Lita Solis-Cohen

The very rare New York gate-leg table in untouched condition with original butterfly hinges, old finish, and no restoration, red gum, 27¾" high, 52" wide open, 43½" deep, was from Queens County, Long Island. An identical table from the same workshop is pictured in Dean Failey’s Long Island Is My ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Sotheby's Various-Owners Americana Auction
by Lita Solis-Cohen

Three phone bidders competed for this pair of oil on canvas portraits by Robert Feke (1707-1752) of Mr. Tench Francis (33¾" x 25¾") and his wife, Elizabeth Turbutt Francis (33½" x 26½"). Painted in Philadelphia, circa 1740, the portraits descended in the family of their daughter Anne and sold on ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Lancaster County Desk-and-Bookcase Tops Christie's Americana Auction
by Lita Solis-Cohen

The Chippendale carved cherrywood desk-and-bookcase, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, circa 1785, 92½" x 42¼" x 22 1/8", sold for $665,000 (est. $400,000/600,000) to collector Peter Wunsch in the salesroom, underbid by a collector on the phone. It came from the collection of the late Bertram and Trish Coleman of Bryn Mawr, ... (Read More)

(Auction)

The Nutt Collection of American Furniture and Decorative Arts
by Lita Solis-Cohen

Rare Chinese export porcelain American market punch jug, early 19th century, 9" high, painted with a portrait of George Washington in an oval surrounded by a gilt band and bead border, the surround repeated on the opposite side enclosing a monogram “BH,” the gilt band repeated around the rims and ... (Read More)

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iGavel Opens a Texas Branch
by M.A.D. Staff

iGavel founder Lark Mason (right) and his son, Lark Mason III, at the New York Ceramics & Glass Fair in January. Lark Mason III has joined the firm and will head up the iGavel branch in Texas. iGavel (www.igavel.com) has opened a branch in New Braunfels, Texas. Lark Mason Sr., founder of ... (Read More)

(Show)

Metro Curates
by Julie Schlenger Adell

Gemini Antiques, Oldwick, New Jersey, sold this equestrian cast-iron trade sign, made for the Cincinnati Stove Works company, circa 1901; the asking price was $28,500. The 36-drawer chest, possibly from a hardware store, with original ivory paint and dovetailed construction, also sold. It was tagged $18,500. The tramp art wood ... (Read More)

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The Wunsch Award, Now a January Tradition, Honors Arnold Lehman and Chipstone
by Lita Solis-Cohen

Arnold Lehman is shown accepting the Wunsch award. Jonathan Prown, director of Chipstone. Peter Wunsch (left) and Christie’s John Hays. Christie’s hosted the third annual Eric M. Wunsch Award for Excellence in the American Arts on January 21, honoring Arnold L. Lehman, the retiring director of the Brooklyn Museum in New York ... (Read More)

(Show)

The Lebanon Antique Show Finds a New Home, but for How Long?
by Don Johnson

A variety of coverlets and quilts were displayed by the Warren County Historical Society, which hosts the Lebanon Quilt & Fabric Arts Show each March. This 50" wide end-of-the-line trolley bench from Marietta, Ohio, had a back that flipped from one side to the other. Judi and Bob Fryer of Fryer ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Americana Surprises at Pook & Pook
by Lita Solis-Cohen

Sheet copper butterfly weathervane, late 19th century, attributed to J.W. Fiske & Co., New York, 22¼" high x 25½" wide, sold for $90,000 (est. $4000/8000) to a collector in the salesroom, underbid by Oliver Overlander. It’s a very rare form, and according to the condition report, the surface has been ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Big Crowd Sees Red at Foster's
by Mark Sisco

Connecticut Valley Chippendale four-drawer chest in dry red paint, $1980. Stepback mahogany Sheraton chest with uniform matching graining on the drawer fronts, full spiral-turned columns, and hints of tiger graining on the top edge, $990. A 6'5" x 4'6" Navajo rug showing kachinas, sun symbols, and several animal pictographs rang out ... (Read More)

(Auction)

The Design Sales of December
by Julie Schlenger Adell

A phone buyer and a man in the salesroom vied for this table by Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988). The bidding continued for several minutes, with the phone buyer eking out the win by $50,000. The Goodyear table, made by Noguchi in 1939 for A. Conger Goodyear of Old Westbury, New York, ... (Read More)

(Auction)

A Celebration of Music: A Bravo-Worthy Sale of Manuscripts and More
by Jeanne Schinto

A leaf from part of Mozart’s Serenade in D Major for orchestra, K. 185, realized $209,000 (est. $200,000/300,000). The two pages, approximately 6 2/3" x 8½" each, are from the working manuscript. A leaf from this same serenade sold at Sotheby’s in London on November 27, 2013, for £200,500 ($325,111). A ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Bidders Spend Big for Einstein, Lincoln, Jefferson, & JFK
by Jeanne Schinto

An eight-page manuscript draft for a scientific paper signed by Albert Einstein was the sale’s top lot, bringing $180,000 (est. $120,000/180,000). The subject is his unified field theory, which was an attempt to unify his general theory of relativity with Maxwell’s theory of electromagnetism. The latter theory was named for ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Grogan & Company Holds Sale in New Boston Gallery
by Francis McQueeney-Jones Mascolo

The new Grogan & Company gallery on Charles Street, Boston. Lucy Grogan is vice president and gallery director of Grogan & Company. Michael B. Grogan is the president and chief auctioneer of Grogan & Company. His wife, Nancy H. Grogan, is the vice president of the company they began back in 1987—also ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Paintings and Jewelry Rule in Columbia
by Pete Prunkl

Shortly after bidding opened at $7500, a phone bidder jumped the bid on Conrad Wise Chapman’s View of Monterey, 1865, to $30,000. At the end, auctioneer Ronald Long was asking for $5000 increments. A New York collector bidding on the phone bought the 8¼" x 32½" oil on canvas for ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Quinn & Farmer Sale Led By a "Really Heavy Desk Thingy"
by Walter C. Newman

This Sculpture Front cabinet by Paul Evans (1931-1987) is signed and dated 1968. The cabinet is constructed of welded, torch-cut, and polychromed steel and brass, with a thick slate top. The piece has three doors with external hinges. The pair of doors on the proper left open to reveal two ... (Read More)

(Auction)

$1.37 Million Indian Arts Sale
by Alice Kaufman

Mother’s Blessing, a 22" high x 33" wide bronze by Allan Houser (1914-1994), sold to an Arizona collector for $35,000 (est. $20,000/30,000). A Northwest Coast raven rattle, 13" long, sold to an East Coast dealer for $62,500 (est. $20,000/40,000). A 6" high x 25½" diameter Apache tray sold for $15,000 (est. $7000/10,000) ... (Read More)

(Auction)

"The House Is Out" and Other Hillsborough Stories
by Pete Prunkl

At $44,840, this 100" x 46" x 22" Roanoke River basin Chippendale china press was the sale’s top lot. It was purchased above its $20,000/30,000 estimate by a floor bidder from Virginia. Ernest Trova (1927-2009) was noted for his “Falling Man” series of armless, pot-bellied male figures in paintings, prints, ... (Read More)

(Auction)

The Robert and Elaine Dillof Collection
by Don Johnson

Grueby Faience Company vase decorated by Ruth Erickson (1883-after 1932), carved and applied vertical leaves, suspended matte green glaze, incised artist’s initials, illegible date, 22" high, minor glaze chipping to foot, very good overall, $20,740. This was the vase discovered in the lobby of a hotel in Southwest Harbor, Maine. ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Fall Toy Sale
by Lita Solis-Cohen

This Märklin Rocket engine with train cars is a toy version of Stephenson’s Rocket, which was not the first steam locomotive but was the most advanced of its day. It was in service through 1840 and influenced steam locomotive construction for 150 years. Märklin’s Rocket is the only commercially produced ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Absentee Advertising Auction
by Don Johnson

Dr. A.C. Daniels veterinary cabinet for dog and cat remedies, lithographed tin, 20" x 13 1/8" x 5 3/8", well-done restoration to side panels and back, $7015. Beacon Oil sign, double-sided porcelain, 30" diameter, scattered chips on the back, $6440. Pe-Ru-Na catarrh cure pocket mirror, celluloid, depicting a woman in a low-cut ... (Read More)

(Auction)

Brenner Estate Collection Marks End of John Russell's Material Legacy
by Larry Thompson

A photograph of one room of the Russell-Brenner residence. This Dehua porcelain 34" high standing figure of the bodhisattva Guanyin from 17th-century China, bearing the “fisherman” mark to the upper middle back, sold for $7425. It was a gift to John L. Russell from Mrs. Beardmore, sister of Lady Allen, Montreal. D. ... (Read More)
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