Innehållsförteckning för June 5, 2019 från Kovels Antique Trader

BOSTON (AP) – A 1780 letter from Alexander Hamilton to the Marquis de Lafayette stolen from the Massachusetts Archives decades ago has been found and now an effort is underway to get it back. The U.S. attorney’s office in Boston filed a forfeiture complaint in federal court asking a judge to order the letter returned to the state. The letter, along with original papers of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere and others, was stolen by an archives employee sometime between 1937 and 1945. The letter resurfaced in November when an auction house in Virginia received it from a South Carolina family that wanted to sell it. The letter was part of a deceased relative’s estate. The auction house determined it had been stolen and contacted the FBI.…

As this edition of Antique Trader is readied for the press, June is upon us. With the exception of freak weather systems about the country, warmer temps are the trend. A trending theme in this edition of Antique Trader are “missions,” both personal and on a grander scale. You’ve read news here and there recently about the efforts being put into the development of a U.S. Marshals Museum (USMM) on the banks of the Arkansas River in Fort Smith, Arkansas. In fact, it was announced way back in January 2007 that Fort Smith would be the home of the museum. Construction is now under way. I often wondered “Why Fort Smith?” According to usmmuseum.org: “Fort Smith is often considered sacred ground for the Marshals, as more Marshals and deputy Marshals…

Q First let me say that I am such a fan of Antique Trader and I look forward to the “Ask the Experts” section every time the magazine arrives in my mailbox. I am excited to ask you about my Bakelite radio. Although it looks like an ordinary worn radio from the early ’40s, it happens to have come from the home of the Shirelles – the historic first girls singing group of the 1960s. This is the radio – the only form of home  entertainment at the time – that the girls sat around the kitchen table singing along to at home when their friends and mothers discovered their true talent. They sat around and sang along to the radio. I know this because the sister of one of…

ROANOKE, Va. (AP) — Jeremy Bennett drives a car more than twice his age. It’s not a beat-up hand-me down. It’s a gleaming 1960s-era Volkswagen Beetle. Two of them, actually. One is a flashy mint green number from 1968, the other a more understated red Bug from 1963. The 19-year-old likes his cars old, something that sets Bennett apart from his peers. “All my buddies love cars,” Bennett said. “They’re just not into old cars, because they had nobody there to teach them about old cars.” But Bennett does. His dad, Jeff Bennett, is a master hot rod car builder, who used to have his own shop. Father began passing the craft on to son informally, but this past year the two participated in the Virginia Humanities folklife apprenticeship program,…

Fear affected the psyche of many Union soldiers at the Battle of Cold Harbor. Facing the prospect of impending death, the men feared the worst. Many were veterans of several battles and knew all too well the difficulty of identifying the dead whose bodies were severely maimed and disfigured. They feared that their loved ones, back home, might not know what happened to them if they fell in battle—the troops saw far too often their mortally wounded comrades interred in shallow unidentified graves. With artillery and musketry closing in, the Federal soldiers busied themselves attaching pieces of paper, with their names written on them, onto their uniforms. Earlier, some of the Union troops had carved wooden tags to identify themselves and put them on their person. There is little anecdotal…

1. Try to document or record every example that you find. Photograph the cans, measure the external dimensions and the volume. Record all that information along with the place that you found the can, the price paid, and any other information. 2. Collect and research. That is, as well as collecting the actual milk cans, search for information such as patents, old photographs and newspaper articles. Also, try to find people who used to work in dairy factories. 3. If you don’t have the space for real milk cans (they can take up a lot of space) try collecting miniature and toy milk cans. The same applies as above. Photograph the items and keep records of all relevant information. 4. Be proud of your collection – display the cans and…

NEW YORK (AP) — A baseball signed by all 11 members of the inaugural induction class of the Baseball Hall of Fame headlines the Lelands Spring Classic Auction. The ball features the signatures of George Sisler, Cy Young, Tris Speaker, Eddie Collins, Connie Mack, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Babe Ruth, Walter Johnson, Larry Lajoie, Ty Cobb and Ho-nus Wagner. All were inducted in 1939. The autographs were collected on inauguration day by Eddie Rommel, a star pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1920s and early 1930s and later an American League umpire. Other items among the 42 up for bid include: a 1914 Baltimore Orioles team photo featuring 19-year-old rookie pitcher Babe Ruth; a 1924 New York Yankees team baseball signed by rookie Lou Gehrig; the jersey worn by former…

LAMBERTVILLE, N.J. - On June 9, Rago Auctions will offer for sale a rose-cut diamond button ring, the central diamond of which once belonged to the last Emperor of Mexico, Maximilian I. This rose-cut diamond was among a set of diamond buttons (the exact number of which is unknown) owned by Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico, who was installed as the ruler of Mexico by Napoleon III in 1864 only to be overthrown and executed three years later in 1867. Twelve of these buttons were later acquired by Col. Edward H. R. Green, son of the brilliant and miserly financier Hetty Green, the richest woman of the Gilded Age. When this collector of coins, stamps and jewelry died in 1936, his collections were sold privately and at auction. Hammer Galleries…

WYOMISSING Pa. — The Antique Advertising Association of America (AAAA), also known as “Quad-A,” announced the seminars that will take place at its annual convention in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania from July 24-27, 2019. Included among the convention offerings are presentations by well-known, published authors. On Thursday, July 25, Margaret Carpenter and Alice Muncaster will present a seminar entitled “The Cat Made Me Buy It!” This presentation will celebrate cats who helped sell products and services from the late 1800s to the 1950s. Alice Muncaster co-authored a series of popular books on the role that cats, dogs, and babies have had in advertising. Titles include: The Cat Made Me Buy It!, The Cat  Sold It!, The Black Cat Made Me Buy It!, The Dog Made Me Buy It!, and The Baby Made…

NEW YORK (AP) — One of Claude Monet’s iconic paintings of haystacks has fetched a record $110.7 million at an auction in New York. Monet’s “Meules” sold at Sotheby’s sale of Impressionist & Modern Art May 14. The auction house says it’s a world auction record for the artist and the first work of Impressionist art to cross the $100 million threshold at auction. The 1890 painting is one of only four works from Monet’s acclaimed “Haystacks” series to come to auction this century, and one of only eight examples remaining in private hands. The 17 others reside at museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago. The previous owners had purchased the painting in 1986 for $2.53 million. Sotheby’s did not provide any details…

NEW YORK and SAN JOSE, Calif. – LiveAuctioneers and eBay have jointly announced a new partnership that will expand selling opportunities for auction houses in a way that is unprecedented in the art and collectibles sector. The combined force of eBay’s presence in the online retail marketplace with LiveAuctioneers’ technology and client database of more than 5,000 auction houses will form the infrastructure for a “Buy It Now” after-sale venue set to launch this spring. “With the goal of bringing exceptional art, antiques, jewelry and vintage collectibles inventory to the eBay platform, we’re excited to partner with a highly regarded industry leader in LiveAuctioneers,” said Katerina Frank, Category Manager of Art and Antiques at eBay. “LiveAuctioneers’ partners will benefit by having their coveted goods accessible by eBay’s large global customer…

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – On April 18, runway action halted temporarily as fashionistas worldwide grabbed their mobile devices to bid in Urban Culture Auctions’ sale of original sketches by the late Chanel mastermind Karl Lagerfeld (1933-2019). After weeks of media coverage, the auction of fashion drawings from Lagerfeld’s days as a budding couturier had finally arrived. By the time the hammer came down on the last lot 4-1/2 hours later, the auction had realized $247,520 and was 100% sold. “The auction far exceeded our expectations. We had many new-bidder sign-ups, and from everywhere you can imagine – Russia, Australia, Japan, probably a dozen European countries, and all over the United States,” said auctioneer and Urban Culture Auctions co-owner Rico Baca. “Here at the gallery we served our Palm Beach-area…

GENESEO, N.Y. – Two rediscovered marble busts by the 18th century French sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon (French, Versailles 1741-1828 Paris) sold for a combined $1.475 million at the Fine Art & Antiques Auction held March 23 by Cottone Auctions, online and in the firm’s gallery. The busts were the top achievers in an auction that featured just over 300 lots, totaling over $3 million in sales. Both busts were recorded in the Frick Art Reference Library in New York in 1932 and had been passed down through the descendants of the Honorable Irwin Boyle Laughlin (1871-1941), an American diplomat serving in the State Department from 1903-1932 who acquired them in 1926 from the Paris dealer Paul Gouvert. They were rediscovered, remarkably, at an estate in Geneseo, where Cottone is based. The…

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Federal prosecutors plan to retry a Delaware man who admitted he broke a thumb off a $4.5 million statue at a Philadelphia museum. Philly.com reports prosecutors told a judge May 16 they’re refiling charges against Michael Rohana for theft and concealment of an object of cultural heritage. A jury deadlocked in the case in April after Rohana’s lawyer argued he hadn’t been charged under the right law. Rohana was attending a Christmas-themed ugly sweater party at the Franklin Institute when he entered a closed exhibit of ancient Chinese terra cotta warrior statues. Authorities say Rohana snapped the thumb of a statute called “The Cavalryman’’ and left with it. The incident was captured by surveillance cameras. Rohana told jurors it was a stupid, drunken mistake. The vandalism outraged…

Button cards, advertisements I am searching for advertisements for the businesses listed below: post cards, trade cards, display cards and business cards. Request 1: Chalmers Pearls (Button Manufacturer), Amsterdam, NY Request 2: James Mix (James E. Mix) Manufacturing Jeweler, Hudston Street, Beaver Street, South Pearl Street in Albany, N.Y. Diamond Merchants, South Pearl Street, Albany, N.Y. James Mix (b. 1793-1859) father James E. Smith (b. circa 1822-1907?) son Green Street Hudson Avenue South Pearl Street — Joann Ryan Send leads to atnews@fwmedia.com [subject: Picker’s List Reply] or mail to Antique Trader Picker’s List Reply, 5225 Joerns Dr., Suite 2, Stevens Point, WI 54481. On the hunt for postcard dealers I learn so much from your magazine. Things I hadn’t known about before. My favorite article was the one about National…

The truth about Social Media and free web services is this: If you’re not their customer (i.e., buying ads or services) then you are their product. Facebook, Blogger (and similar platforms) are not open-source communities intended to bring mankind closer together; they are profit-driven corporations that expect a return on their investment. The Facebook API assembles names, hometowns, work histories, religious affiliations, web-surfing habits, and personal preferences. Google tracking software is installed on over 10 million websites; whenever you watch a YouTube video, send a gmail, or use Google Maps you are tracked. Hosting companies offer free site builders in exchange for permission to monetize your content. Advertising sales is the engine that makes all these services work. I’m OK with that business model. In the pioneer days of the…

STOW, Mass. (AP) — John Katsaros flew a B-17 bomber during World War II, but he rarely saw tanks and ground support. But on Thursday, May 9, the 95-year-old did just that at the Collin-gs Foundation’s American Heritage Museum [https://www.collingsfoundation.org/american-heritage-museum/], taking in the sights of a Higgins Boat used on D-Day to get soldiers on the shores of Normandy and an M4A3E2 Sherman “Jumbo” tank. “We’ve been waiting for it for a long time,” Katsaros said of the museum’s opening. “I never expected it to be so huge and to have so many artifacts here. People from all over the world should come here and they’ll never see anything like it.” During the museum’s grand opening, hundreds gathered as the foundation celebrated the journey it took to make the museum…

JERUSALEM (AP) – A long-hidden trove of unpublished works by Franz Kafka could soon be revealed following a decade-long battle over his literary estate that has drawn comparisons to some of his surreal tales. A district court in Zurich upheld Israeli verdicts in the case in early April, ruling that several safe deposit boxes in the Swiss city could be opened and their contents shipped to Israel’s National Library. At stake are untouched papers that could shed new light on one of literature’s darkest figures, a German-speaking Bohemian Jew from Prague whose cultural legacy has been hotly contested between Israel and Germany. Though the exact content of the vaults remains unknown, experts have speculated the cache could include endings to some of Kafka’s major works, many of which were unfinished…

LONDON (AP) — The British government used its powers to preserve the nation’s cultural treasures on May 13 to halt the export of a tattered paperback copy of “Lady Chatterley’s Lover.” The copy of the once-scandalous book was used by the judge in the U.K. obscenity trial of Penguin Books. Penguin was prosecuted in 1960 for publishing D.H. Lawrence’s novel about an affair between a wealthy woman and her husband’s gamekeeper, a landmark in the frank literary depiction of sexuality. A prosecution lawyer infamously asked in court whether it was “a book that you would ... wish your wife or your servants to read?” It took jurors just three hours of deliberation to find Penguin not guilty, and the case is regarded as a landmark victory for freedom of speech…

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Turner Auctions + Appraisals is presenting Native American and Inuit Art from the Estate of Michael Denman on Sunday, June 2, 2019, at 10:30 a.m. PDT. An eclectic and enthusiastic collector for over 50 years, Mr. Denman was the owner of a San Francisco restaurant that is a favorite among locals. Offering 225 lots, this sale features Native American pottery and baskets; Inuit stone sculpture and carvings; Navajo rugs; Cape Dorset, Native American, Southwest and Hawaiian artworks; tribal arts magazines and catalogs; and Arts & Crafts furniture. Pottery comes from a variety of Southwest tribes, including the Pueblo, Hopi, San Ildefonso, Pomo, Zia, Santa Clara, and Acoma. The sale also offers some African, Pre-Columbian, Eskimo and Latin American items. Rounding out the sale are items…

BREWSTER, Mass. – The Brewster Historical Society will be holding its 46th Annual Open Air Antiques Fair on Saturday June 22, 2019 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m., on the Drummer Boy Grounds on Cape Cod Bay, at 773 Main Street (historic Route 6a) in West Brewster, Massachusetts. “Along with several exciting new exhibitors, many of our well-known, longtime exhibitors will join us in 2019, promising a most varied selection of goods for any shopper. Our dealers will offer a wide selection of fresh-to-the-market, quality merchandise ranging from the Primitive to Mid-Century finds. With many superb exhibitors from the Northeast, New York State, the mid-Atlantic states and Florida you’re sure to enjoy the thrill of the hunt in search of that special treasure!” said Antiques Fair Committee Chairperson, Joann Moran. The Society’s…

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Julius Caesar and the 11 other Caesars of long-ago Rome, along with more than 400 other ancient and Papal coins will be publicly displayed together in Southern California for the first time anywhere. Many of the historic rare coins are the finest known of their kind. The educational exhibit will be insured for more than $30 million for its debut at the Long Beach Coin, Currency Stamp & Sports Collectible Expo (www.LongBeachExpo.com) in the Long Beach Convention Center, June 6-8, 2019. Entitled “Tyrants of the Tiber,” the exhibit features a portion of the extensive Tyrant Collection (www.TheTyrantCollection.com), described as the world’s most valuable rare coin collection in private hands. “There has never been such an extensive exhibit of exquisite, ancient Roman gold coins in Southern California,”…

LOS ANGELES (AP) – A federal judge in Los Angeles ruled April 30 that a Spanish museum that acquired a priceless, Nazi-looted painting in 1992 is the work’s rightful owner, and not the survivors of the Jewish woman who surrendered it 80 years ago to escape the Holocaust. Although U.S. District Judge John F. Walter criticized Baron Hans-Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza, the German industrialist whose name now graces the Madrid museum where the painting by Camille Pissarro hangs, for not doing all of the due diligence he could have when he acquired it in 1976, he found no evidence the museum knew it was looted art when it took possession in 1993. Under Spanish law, he ruled, the painting is legally the museum’s, although he also criticized Spain, calling its decision to…

EAST DENNIS, Mass. – If you were late to Saturday’s session of Eldred’s two-day Spring Sale April 5-6, you missed a few of the day’s most exciting lots, notably a portrait of a Mongolian man attributed to Russian artist Alexandre Yakovlev, just the ninth lot to cross the block that day, which sparked a flurry of bidding and soared past its $4,000-$6,000 estimate to sell for $72,000. The diverse sale, held at the firm’s headquarters in East Dennis, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod, also included historic and political ephemera, Sporting Art and important sculpture. The auction session kicked off with four Albrecht Durer (Germany, 1471-1528) etchings, all of which also sailed past their combined $9,100-$12,800 presale estimate to sell for a $40,040 total. Also coming in the day’s first twelve lots…

DALLAS – A pair of paintings by iconic American artist Newell Convers Wyeth combined to sell for more than $1.1 million, leading Heritage Auctions’ American Art Auction to a record $7,294,250 in total sales with a sell-through rate of 90 percent by value. The final total for the sale, in which auction records were established for eight artists, was the largest ever for American Art in Heritage Auctions’ history. Multiple bidders lifted the result for Newell Convers Wyeth “I am Sir Launcelot du Lake, King Ban’s son of Benwick, and knight of the Round Table,” The Boy’s King Arthur: Sir Thomas Malory’s History of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table interior book illustration, 1917 to $615,000 to claim top-lot honors. This illustration by Wyeth, the patriarch of…

DALLAS (AP) – The more than 70 years of fashion created by the famed House of Dior is examined in an exhibit in Dallas that features almost 200 dresses. “Dior: From Paris to the World” opened May 19 at the Dallas Museum of Art. The exhibit profiles the Parisian fashion house’s founder, Christian Dior, along with subsequent artistic directors, who include Yves Saint Laurent and John Galliano. The show also explores Dallas’ link to the fashion house’s history: Christian Dior visited the city in 1947 to receive luxury retailer Neiman Marcus’ award for distinguished service in fashion. That was the same year Dior presented his first collection, which became known as the New Look.…

Q I have a question for one of your experts. The frames of these photos are marked Holmes, 289 Broadway. In my research I have discovered a Silas A. Holmes, pioneer American photographer 1839-1860. Apparently he produced photographs as well as daguerreotypes. He patented the stereoscopic camera in 1854 as well. Can you please tell me if the pictures are by Holmes, and the approximate value. Sincere appreciation! — D.S. A D.S. has asked about her “photographs” which are in frames marked Holmes. The frames are actually preservers, which were thin frames of malleable brass placed around the plate mat and cover glass of a cased photograph to hold them securely. They were introduced in 1849 when Holmes was active as a photographer. These have value in their own right…

1718: Thomas Chippendale, English furniture maker, baptized in Otley, Yorkshire, England 1850: Pat Garrett, American Western lawman who became renowned for killing Billy the Kid, is born in Chambers County, Alabama 1917: 10 million US men begin registering for draft in World War I 1927: Johnny Weissmuller, who would portray Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan character in a dozen movies, sets 100-yard and 200-yard free-style swim records 1933: President Franklin Roosevelt takes the United States off the Gold Standard. 1968: Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy is assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.…

NEW YORK – Swann Galleries’ sale of Illustration Art on Tuesday, June 4 is set to offer original works by favorite illustrators from literature, theater, advertisements, and more. Mead Schaeffer’s frontispiece and dust jacket design for the 1922 reissue of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick leads the sale with an estimate of $25,000 to $35,000. In the midst of a Melville rediscovery in the 1920s, Schaeffer was commissioned by Dodd, Mead & Co. to produce illustrations for a series of classic novels. His dramatic illustration of Ishmael and Ahab in the crow’s nest propelled his long career and aided in the revival of interest in the author. Frederic Remington’s depictions of the American frontier are highpoints alongside Schaeffer, with a pen and ink illustration for his story A Scout with the…

Before traveling any distance we recommend that you verify event dates. To list your antiques-related event (show, auction, convention, etc.) for free in Antique Trader, send event information (date, location, contact information, times) at least six weeks in advance to: AT Calendars, C/O Antique Trader Editors, 5225 Joerns Dr., Suite 2, Stevens Point, WI 54481 or email to ATNews@fwmedia.com. Listings will be included on a space available basis. Antique Trader assumes no responsibility for any show not listed. ARIZONA Jun 2, 2019 Prescott. Prescott Antique Show & Vintage Market. Historic Prescott Rodeo Grounds 840 Rodeo Dr. Prescott AZ. 3 buildings plus outdoor exhibit areas. Quality antiques and collectibles, architectural and barn relics, 50s/60s and Mid-Century Modern, vintage fashion, furniture and decor, funky stuff and lots of trendy items. 60 vendors.…

LONDON (AP) — A drawing of a bearded, pensive-looking man owned by Queen Elizabeth II is a portrait of Leonardo da Vinci, a royal art adviser said May 2 on the 500th anniversary of the artist and polymath’s death. Martin Clayton, head of prints at the Royal Collection, said the sketch was made by one of Leonardo’s assistants shortly before his death on May 2, 1519. Clayton said “the elegant straight nose, the line of the beard rising diagonally up the cheek to the ear” and other details strongly resemble the only other known portrait of Leonardo done in his lifetime, by Francesco Melzi. Clayton said “there are strong indications that this too is a depiction of the artist.” The portrait will go on display alongside about 200 drawings from…