Stories for July '16
(Fragment)Ross Perot's U.S.S. "Constitution" Flag Will Be Conserved for New Display
A rare 19-star flag that once flew on the U.S.S. Constitution, also known as Old Ironsides, is being conserved by Museum Textile Services in Andover, Massachusetts. The flag is owned by Texas billionaire and former U.S. presidential candidate H. Ross Perot, who received it as a birthday present from his ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)A Bitter Bottle Battle
After almost 150 years, excavating a latrine under one of the more than 100 saloons that operated in Virginia City, Nevada, during the Gold Rush produced some interesting artifacts—a pottery cribbage board, a spittoon, fluted stemware, and several Dr. Wonser’s U.S.A. Indian Root Bitters bottles, among other items. Upon learning ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)GSA Goes After New Deal Painting Offered on eBay
“This [was a] non-identifiable piece of trash that I turned into a gleaming piece, and the government decides they want it,” said art dealer Matthew Schwartz of Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Schwartz was speaking about 1934 Farmer, a large oil on canvas by John D. Slavin that he offered on ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Two Americana Dealers Take Leave of Absence from Winter Antiques Show
Summertime seems to be a time for decisions. Peter Eaton and Joan Brownstein have decided not to do the Winter Antiques Show in January. “We are not dropping the Winter show; we are taking a year’s leave of absence for medical reasons. Joan had four vertebrae fused two weeks ago, ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)James Gallagher and Ruth Zager, North Norwich, New York
In the Trade
The antiques trade has a well-deserved reputation for being a textbook example of capitalism in the raw. There’s little regulation; there’s lots of gossip; and there’s certainly no shortage of sharp practice. There are times when one might be tempted to rank antiques dealers below even politicians, used ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Letter from London, July 2016
Ian McKay, <[email protected]>
Chinese works of art, mostly in the ceramics line but with one little ivory figure and a couple of big wooden screens included, provide a run of way over estimate results and most of the higher priced items featured in this month’s “Letter.” Elsewhere, we have a few ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Rivera Painting Sold Privately for $15,750,000
Diego Rivera (Mexican, 1886-1957), Baile en Tehuantepec, oil on canvas, 79" x 64½", signed and dated 1928. ©2016 Banco de México Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Baile en Tehuantepec, painted by Diego Rivera (Mexican, 1886-1957) in 1928, has been sold ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Antiques at Magic Mountain Is Now Antiques at Stratton Mountain
The Vermont Antiques Week show formerly known as Bromley and most recently as Magic Mountain is now Antiques at Stratton Mountain. The show will be held at the Stratton Mountain base lodge in Stratton, Vermont, October 1 and 2.
Owner and manager Greg Hamilton met with Stratton base lodge officials and ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)The Palm Beach Show Group Expands into Fine Craft Market
The Palm Beach Show Group is expanding its show roster by taking over ownership and production of the Palm Beach Fine Craft Show. Elizabeth Kubie, the previous owner of the well-established Fine Craft Show, is retiring but will act as a consultant to the Palm Beach Show Group, which “intends ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)California Woman Sues over Unpaid Rockwell Consignment
On May 16 Ashleigh Adamec of California filed suit in New York alleging that the estate of her father had yet to be paid for a Norman Rockwell painting sold by Illustration House in New York City in 2008.
In 2008 Donald A. Adamec (1937-2013) had consigned five paintings to Illustration ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Weathervanes: Three Centuries of a Pennsylvania Folk Art Tradition
Photos courtesy Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum
The current exhibition at the Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, has every schoolchild in Lancaster County looking up at church steeples, the cupolas of public buildings, and roofs of barns and shops hoping to find weathervanes. Their parents will ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Hobcaw Barony Gets Back Some Pictures
Some long-missing artwork has been returned to Hobcaw Barony in Georgetown, South Carolina, the winter estate of Belle W. Baruch (1899-1964), eldest daughter of Bernard M. Baruch (1870-1965).
M.A.D. first reported on the missing items in 2003 when Charleston, South Carolina, antiques dealer Samuel Eugene “Sammy” McIntosh II was arrested and ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Okemo Show Changes Hands
Kris Johnson, owner of Tex Johnson & Son Antiques, and Steve Sherhag, owner of Early American Antiques, have purchased the Vermont Okemo Antiques Show from Don and Pat Clegg. The 2016 show dates are September 30 and October 1. For show information and advance ticket sales, contact Kris Johnson at ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Freeman's Consolidates Southern Offices
Freeman’s, the Philadelphia auction house, is consolidating its two Virginia offices into one location at 5401 Patterson Avenue in Richmond. “Though we will no longer have a physical location in Charlottesville, our staff is dedicated to the region and will continue to offer the same world-class auction services that we ... (Read More)
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(Book Review)Books Received, July 2016
These are brief reviews of books recently sent to us. We have included ordering information for publishers that accept mail, phone, or online orders. For other publishers, your local bookstore or a mail-order house is the place to look.
American Patented Nutmeg Graters, 1854-1935…Plus! by Carol J. Bohn (Heritage Printers, 2015, ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Flying the Antiques Flag
Thanks to the Connecticut legislature and to some activism by Karen Reddington-Hughes of Abrash Galleries, Woodbury, president of the Woodbury Antiques Dealers Association, shops that are part of the Connecticut Antiques Trail will be able to fly a flag to inform customers of their location, despite local flag and sign ... (Read More)
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(Young Collectors)Lessons Learned
The Young Collector
In April Andrew debuted as an antiques dealer. He discovered many things, including the fact that one of his favorite antiques-related jokes is true: Two antiques dealers were stranded on a desert island. Business was brisk. Ba-dum-bum.
The Ohio Country show, managed by Bruce Metzger of Queen City Shows ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Cape Cod Antique Dealers Association Announces Scholarship Winner
The Cape Cod Antique Dealers Association (CCADA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing the public’s knowledge and appreciation of antiques, has awarded its annual scholarship to Abigail Feliciano of Centerville, Massachusetts. Each year, the CCADA provides funds to the Cape Cod Community College Educational Foundation to provide a scholarship to ... (Read More)
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(Computer Article)Conservation and Restoration
Computer Column #331
John P. Reid, <[email protected]>
A recent column discussed computer software to help furniture restorers make precision woodworking drawings. The software is available online. There are other online aids to antiques restoration and conservation. (The cumbersome URLs are listed by number in the “Websites” sidebar. Subscribers can click on the ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Elmore Wins One in Harvard Suit
On May 19 a federal judge handed New Mexico dealer and author Steve Elmore a partial victory in his legal battle against Harvard University. United States District Judge Robert C. Brack ruled against Harvard’s claim of copyright infringement on some of the images used in Elmore’s book.
“Mr. Elmore and Harvard ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)New Antiques Show in Virginia Beach
D’Amore Promotions is adding a new show to its 2016 lineup. The Virginia Jewelry, Art, & Antiques Show will be held August 5-7 at the Virginia Beach Convention Center and will feature more than 100 dealers. It will be the largest antiques show in the Hampton Roads area, a metropolitan ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Exhibitions, July 2016
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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(Issue Story)Uncertain No More
Editorial
It isn’t perfect, but the new federal rule regarding African elephant ivory should bring a sigh of relief from the antiques trade. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), which issued the final version of the rule on June 6, will make dealers and collectors jump through a lot ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Final Federal Rule for Antique Elephant Ivory Released
On June 6 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) published its final revision of the section 4(d) rule for the African elephant. The rule will go into effect on July 6.
“The rule, which fulfills restrictions outlined under President Obama’s 2013 Executive Order on Combating Wildlife Trafficking, substantially limits ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Chinese Clock Brings $1,270,500
An antique Chinese animated triple fusee bracket clock estimated at $500,000/750,000 sold for $1,270,500 (includes buyer’s premium) at Fontaine’s Auction Gallery, Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on May 21. It was the top lot in a sale that grossed approximately $2.5 million. The buyer was in the room but asked not to be ... (Read More)
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(Show)Penn Dry Goods Market Antiques Show and Sale
Pennsburg, Pennsylvania
The fourth annual Penn Dry Goods Market Antiques Show and Sale, held May 13 and 14 at the Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania, was a grand gathering of those who appreciate textiles. Collectors, quilters, and embroiderers met curators, authors, and researchers and enjoyed two days of ... (Read More)
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(Auction)May Auction in New Orleans: Estates Span Time and Space
Neal Auction Company, New Orleans, Louisiana
Photos courtesy Neal Auction Company
Estates provide the lifeblood of regional sales, and the Neal Auction Company has flourished in a region with a perpetual flow of high quality offerings. While some sources produce material of local interest, southern consignors have formed diverse collections that keep ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Lever Monhegan Scene Is Top Lot at Barridoff
Barridoff Galleries, Portland, Maine
Photos courtesy Barridoff Galleries
Barridoff Galleries, Portland, Maine, held its biannual fine art auction on May 5 in the Abromson Center on the campus of the University of Southern Maine in Portland. The approximately 291 lots brought in a total of $570,510, but that number is expected to ... (Read More)
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(Show)The Greater York Antiques Show
York, Pennsylvania
At what show can you find a $35 fly swatter, a $120,000 folk art bird tree, a $16,800 stoneware butter churn (made by Hamilton of Greensboro, Pennsylvania), a $45,000 Bill Traylor gouache on paper, and a 3" high Steiff black cat for $175?
All of it was at the Mitchell ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Folk Art Blossoms in the Spring
Slotin Folk Art, Buford, Georgia
Photos courtesy Slotin Folk Art
The Slotin Folk Art auction in April is almost a spring folk art ritual. These sales are always animated and informal. The April 30 and May 1 event was particularly lighthearted and had many in-house active bidders. In addition to the on-site ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Record Price for Single Firearm
Rock Island Auction Company set a record price for a single firearm at auction when a Winchester Model 1866 sporting rifle and a gold-plated pocket watch, both previously owned by the man credited with the surrender of Geronimo, sold together for $1,265,000 (with buyer’s premium) on April 30 in Rock ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Four or One? Clocks and Watches at Skinner
Skinner Inc., Marlborough, Massachusetts
Photos courtesy Skinner
A Tornek-Rayville TR-900 dive watch was the top lot, by far, at the sale on April 29 at Skinner in Marlborough, Massachusetts. For its price of $113,775 (includes buyer’s premium), someone could have taken home all four of the next-highest lots with money left over. ... (Read More)
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(Show)The NYBG Antique Garden Furniture Fair
New York Botanical Garden Antique Garden Furniture Fair, Bronx, New York
The 25th anniversary of the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG)’s Antique Garden Furniture Fair was a blooming success from the April 28 opening through May 1. Bringing the outdoors inside was achieved by filling a 10,000-square-foot tent with flowering plants, ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Variety and Surprises
Farmer Auctions, Salem, Virginia
Photos courtesy Farmer Auctions
Farmer Auctions held its spring catalog auction on April 23 at its gallery in Salem, Virginia. The sale offered a good mix of categories and generated several pleasant surprises.
One was an ephemera archive involving a construction project that never came to fruition. In February ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Buyers' Market for Americana
Pook & Pook, Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Photos courtesy Pook & Pook
Pook & Pook’s Americana sale on April 23 was open for preview during the weekend of the Philadelphia Antiques & Art Show, and some of those on the Pennsylvania turnpike en route to the show stopped off in Downingtown to have a ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Silver Sells
Christie’s, New York City
Photos courtesy Christie’s
Collectors of American silver can find silver for sale at Christie’s at least three times a year. Generally Colonial and Federal silver and 19th- and 20th-century silver works by Tiffany and Gorham appear in Americana sales catalogs in January and sometimes in September. For more ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Fine Furniture, Decorative Arts, and Silver
Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, Chicago, Illinois
We’ve already written here about the cornucopia of variety available in a Leslie Hindman auction. Based in Chicago with regional satellites in Denver, Milwaukee, Naples and Palm Beach, Florida, and St. Louis, the house has widespread contacts. To all that, add international bidders and previews held ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Stickley Chest Tops Auction
Bruce Gamage, Jr., Antiques, Rockland, Maine
Every antiques auction, whether it’s a $10 million barnburner or a $10,000 snoozer, has points of interest that can be learned and stored for future use. No records were set at Bruce Gamage’s April 18 offering in Rockland, Maine, but it did bring forth some ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Historical Documents Sale Highlights Reagan's 50-Year Correspondence with a Fan
Profiles in History, Calabasas, California
Photos courtesy Profiles in History
An archive of over 350 candid photographs of Ronald Reagan, the majority unpublished, along with 128 letters by him dating from the 1940s through the mid-1990s, as well as much, much more, sold to an unidentified institution for $120,000 (including buyer’s premium) ... (Read More)
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(Show)Chicago Botanic Garden Antiques, Garden & Design Show
Glencoe, Illinois
The Chicago Botanic Garden was the site of two very different events in April. Both were newsworthy, but they could not have been more unlike. One, the 16th Chicago Botanic Garden Antiques, Garden & Design Show, held April 15-17, was an eagerly anticipated and always gorgeous annual event. The ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Local Buyers and Good Karma at Rago, and Strong Designer Brooch Sales at Heritage
Antique Jewelry & Gemology
Photos courtesy Rago Arts and Auctions and Heritage Auctions
There was strength in the private buying pool and an 88% sell-through rate at Rago Arts and Auctions’ April 17 fine jewelry and unreserved jewelry sales in Lambertville, New Jersey, according to Sarah Churgin, head of the jewelry department. ... (Read More)
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(Feature)Wilton Spring Antiques Show
Wilton, Connecticut
The Wilton Spring Antiques Show, held April 16 and 17, faced two hurdles it had trouble overcoming, yet “it’s still a viable show,” said manager Frank Gaglio of Barn Star Productions.
The warm, sunny weekend along with area schools being on spring break accounted for the show’s low attendance, Gaglio ... (Read More)
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(Auction)South Shore Treasures
Willis Henry Auctions, Plymouth, Massachusetts
Karel and Willis Henry of Willis Henry Auctions, Marshfield, Massachusetts, routinely offer their estate-sale bidders fresh South Shore material, mostly from longtime collections. One such collection was that of Oscar Karl Hollander Jr. and Lois Hollander of West Falmouth, Massachusetts. The Hollanders collected widely and unerringly. ... (Read More)
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(Auction)California Fine Art
Bonhams, Los Angeles and San Francisco
Photos courtesy Bonhams
Specialist Scot Levitt called his auction on April 12 and 13 in Los Angeles (simulcast in San Francisco) of California and Western paintings and sculpture “extremely successful. We had our best sell-through rate in many years, with all but twelve paintings sold out ... (Read More)
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(Show)AD 20/21
Boston, Massachusetts
The ninth AD 20/21, the annual Boston design show, held April 7-10, was set up under the steel and glass dome of the Cyclorama building at the Boston Center for the Arts. Forty-three dealers in antiques, art, and design filled booths in the 1884 brick building for the show ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Greene Line of Toy Trains and Accessories Highballs It to $1.19 Million
Bertoia Auctions, Vineland, New Jersey
Photos courtesy Bertoia Auctions
“Be wise. Accessorize,” a catchy advertising slogan of a prominent jewelry firm, might well serve as a mantra for Bertoia Auctions’ sale in Vineland, New Jersey, on April 9 of the trains, rolling stock, and railside accessories from the Jerry and Nina Greene ... (Read More)
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(Auction)American Indian and Western Art
Cowan’s Auctions, Cincinnati, Ohio
Photos courtesy Cowan’s
A Lakota triple-bladed war club sold for $96,000 (includes buyer’s premium) and was the highlight of the American Indian and Western art sale held by Cowan’s Auctions in Cincinnati on April 8. The price was significantly under the estimate of $150,000/250,000.
From the collection of James ... (Read More)
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(Show)The Spring Show in Monroe
Monroe Antique Show and Sale, Monroe, Washington
While spring was taking its time across much of the country, the Pacific Northwest was blessed with a perfect spring day for the opening of the Monroe Antique Show and Sale, held April 2 and 3 at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe, Washington. ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Americana Auction
Garth’s, Delaware, Ohio
Photos courtesy Garth’s
There’s no shame in admitting that the Americana sale held by Garth’s on March 19 in Delaware, Ohio, wasn’t the company’s best offering. Good material, yes. Solid antiques, absolutely. Best stuff ever? Not so much.
Amelia Jeffers, president of Garth’s, put it in perspective. “I’m a collector. ... (Read More)
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