Innehållsförteckning för July 3, 2019 från Kovels Antique Trader

Still hunting for forks I was looking through some back issues of your excellent magazine and came across your Picker’s List program and I thought might be a few items I could use some help finding. I called my brother and asked if he needed anything. So I’d like to ask your readers for some help. First: In a letter I sent you a while back I was asking if anyone has a “Towle Log Cabin” syrup fork. I have a couple of the spoons, but no one I’ve talked to has even heard of a fork, but I’ve seen it illustrated in Dorothy Rainwater’s collector spoon book. Since I really collect forks, I would really like to find a fork to pair up with my spoon. Second: I have…

I recently had the opportunity to pre-preview the inventory of a local auction in the small town where I live. This auction certainly won’t make the pages of the national trade press either for the uniqueness of the inventory or for the prices achieved but it was impressive in another way. I realized as I walked down the aisles mentally tabulating each piece by date and style (a habit I can’t break) that any history class would benefit from such a stroll whether they were interested in furniture or not. Right there in a single room in a nondescript local auction were examples of pieces that were made during some major periods of American history. The people who initially used these items lived through the historic times whether they realized…

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) – A 150-year-old document that allowed Navajos to return to their homeland in the Four Corners region where Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado meet is destined for a permanent home at the tribe’s museum. Navajos had been imprisoned at a desolate tract of land in eastern New Mexico before signing a treaty with the federal government in 1868. The United States signed hundreds of treaties with Native American tribes as acts of peace and friendship or to end wars, but the Navajos were unique in securing a return to their homeland bounded by four mountains they consider sacred. A Navajo legislative committee is expected to vote Tuesday to accept an original copy of the treaty that was believed to have been lost and is one of…

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – Many items in the Rhode Island archives, including the state’s copy of the Bill of Rights, are at risk of damage because they’re kept in a building that’s not meant for preserving rare, historic documents, according to an assessment released May 28. There isn’t enough space to store or exhibit them properly, and water, light, dust and atmospheric pollution pose a risk to many of the items, according to the report by the Northeast Document Conservation Center. The collection has been housed since 1990 in a rented office building in a flood zone in downtown Providence. An estimated 35% of the collection should be considered a high priority for conservation, the Andover, Massachusetts-based conservation center found. That includes the draft of the Bill of Rights sent…

DALLAS – Heritage Auctions recently announced its total annual sales for 2018 surpassed $826 million, setting more than a dozen world record sales as total online sales increased for the fourth straight year. “Our strategic plan embraces technology, expertise and unrelenting focus on building win-win relationships with bidders and consignors,” said James Halperin, co-founder of Heritage Auctions. “The results have been consistent world records and customer satisfaction across fine art, rare coins and paper money, comic books and comic art, and sports. Heritage remains the industry leader by wide margins in most of those categories, as well as in total online sales.” Nearly 60 percent of 2018 sales – $487,632,348 – was transacted through the internet, an 11 percent increase over 2017, when internet sales revealed a 26 percent increase…

PLYMOUTH, N.H. (AP) – A new exhibit will showcase the grand hotels that once were commonplace in the White Mountains. The exhibit at the Museum of the White Mountains at Plymouth State University opened May 17, and a series of talks and events run through September 12. Featuring paintings, photographs, various artifacts as far back as the 1880s as well as stories of the people who visited and worked at these gracious establishments, the exhibit explores the origins and history of the hotels. Among the highlights will be landscape paintings from residents at several of the hotels including Edward Hill and Frank Shapleigh. A special focus will be on the four surviving hotels: the Omni Mount Washington Resort, Mountain View Grand Resort & Spa, Eagle Mountain House & Golf Club,…

OWINGS MILLS, Md. – Maryland Public Television’s (MPT) flagship original series Chesapeake Collectibles is accepting registrations for its 10th annual taping weekend. The event, during which an entire season of content for the series is recorded, takes place August 3-4 at a new location – the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center on the campus of the University of Maryland in College Park. Collectors are invited to complete their reservations by visiting mpt.org/programs/chesapeakecollectibles/register. The two days of taping for the series’ new season will take place during four sessions – Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon, Sunday morning, and Sunday afternoon, respectively. As in previous years, registration is required for admission to all sessions. To facilitate traffic flow and ensure timely evaluations of items, a limited number of registrations will be accepted for…

MADISON, Wis. — “CAS Collectors,” the club for all those with an interest in the work of Ceramic Arts Studio, announces the 2019 CAS Collectors Convention. This year’s event is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 24, in Madison, Wisconsin. The Convention theme, “The CAS Magical Mystery Tour!” celebrates the magical appeal of Ceramic Arts Studio’s many figurines. CAS creations brightened homes from coast to coast during the 1940s and ’50s, still brighten hearts today, and will continue to brighten collectors’ hearts for decades to come. From 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. on Aug. 24, convention attendees will take in the Wisconsin Pottery Association Show & Sale at the Alliant Energy Center. Later, all will gather at Madison’s Howard Johnson Plaza for the Convention festivities. Activities and décor will pay tribute to the Studio’s…

LARCHMONT, N.Y. — Clarke Auction Gallery announced it is offering choice selections during its auction on Sunday, June 30, beginning at 10 a.m. Expected to lead the auction is an R.J. Horner winged griffin oak dining set in its original patina ($20,000-$30,000) featuring the elaborate carving the New York firm was renowned for in the 19th century. The 10-piece set, which has been in a local estate for over 30 years, includes a griffin table with leaves, six chairs, china cabinet and two servers. Senko Imamura, Clarke’s Asian art and antiquities specialist, said the Asian arts section is especially strong here, led by two paintings by noted artist Qi Baishi (Chinese, 1863-1957), “Squirrel with Grapes” and “Shrimp.” “This sale will feature many items from the estate of Kathryn and Henry…

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit home of President Ulysses S. Grant is being moved from the former Michigan State Fairgrounds to the Eastern Market, where it will be refashioned as a public education and resource center. Sandra Clark, the director of the Michigan History Center, said that the two-story white clapboard house that was built in the 1830s will be renovated and established as a museum to celebrate the nation’s 18th president. “This will not be a traditional house museum,’’ said Clark. “Our hope is to make it a place to explore Grant’s life and the impact he made on Detroit while living here and in his later actions as a Civil War general and U.S. president.’’ Grant lived at the house with his wife, Julia Dent, from April of…

All posters sold during Potter & Potter Auctions’ May 22 Vintage Poster Sale in Chicago. All prices quoted include 20% buyer’s premium.…

Here we are, half way through the year! What do you think of this year’s article selections so far? We’ve received quite a bit of feedback from our Reader’s Advisory Board, as well as “regular” subscribers, and so far the feedback has been positive. Hopefully you’ll be happy with this edition’s selections of news and features, too. With the National Postcard Week coverage in the June 19 edition, we didn’t have much room left for all the antiques and collectibles-related news you’ve come to be accustomed to. This issue’s news articles should “scratch that itch.” There’s even more lined up for the next edition, which is a good thing, since we have a gap between issues coming up. After the July 17 edition, you won’t receive another issue until August…

Q This is a 341.98 carat emerald. There are undiscovered Precambrian critters, the Vail’s are magnificent. It’s not glass; with a magnifying glass you can see other micro critters ... hundreds in this thing, it looks like the critters are at war. It’s unexplainable! It will change science, and make history. It has another surprise truth: Our daughter died the same day we found it. We call it the miracle stone. We went looking for gold to make it better for our families and we found this instead. It has 4 letters in it from the blurriness transpired in the stone in one pic, it’s at the bottom. The letters IRNI, I have no idea what’s going on, it’s there to the eye also. I need your help. We think…

In the 1920s and ’30s a nickel would buy a cup of Joe; but for hobos, Bert Wiegand and Bo Hughes, their daedal coins — hobo-hand-carved-nickels were more valuable than the run-of-the-mill-five-cent piece. Their unique coins might buy a hot meal, or maybe coax a rail line detective to look the other way as they hopped a freight. Today, those special nickels are dearer; they are now valued at $50 to $100 or even in excess of $1,000. A ‘hobo’ nickel is an artistically altered buffalo, or Indian head nickel. The nickel first minted in 1913 with the large profile of a Native American was a natural attraction for those carving their artwork onto a coin. The thickness and malleable quality of the coin provided an excellent surface for the…

Milk Bottles “Producers Dairy Peoria, ILL (flying fighter plane) Keep ‘Em Flying V (Victory) M - (Milk)” – Quart - eBay 5/23/2019 - $42.99 Squat quart – “Men Working Together (Soldier, Pilot, Ship Builder) The Dairy Industry is Endeavoring To Conserve Available Materials” – eBay 5/23/2019 - $49.99 “Our Country Needs Your Cooperation (placard with three stars) Keep Physically and Mentally Alert – Drink A Quart of Milk Daily” Quart eBay 5/23/2019 - $9.99 “V” For Victory (A Row of V’s) Buy War Bonds & Stamps” quart – eBay 5/23/2019 - $124.99 “America (flying fighter plane) First – Always – Last – Buy War Bonds and Stamps” quart – eBay 5/23/2019 - $39.99 “War Bonds For Victory (depiction of Uncle Sam drinking milk) Milk For Strength” – quart - $100-$125…

NEW YORK (AP) – A new museum at the Statue of Liberty is giving visitors another opportunity to explore its history and the impact the iconic structure has had on the world. The 26,000-square-foot museum on Liberty Island is the new home for the statue’s original torch and other artifacts which had previously been in a smaller museum space inside the statue’s pedestal, which is accessible only to the fraction of the more than 4 million annual visitors who manage to get limited-availability statue entry tickets. “We looked at this small museum and thought, wouldn’t it be wonderful to ... move it out to a place where more people could experience it,” said John Piltzecker, National Park Service superintendent of the Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island. The…

CAIRO (AP) – Egypt has tried to halt the auction of a 3,000-year-old stone sculpture of the famed boy pharaoh Tutankhamun at Christie’s in London, while the auction house said its sale was legal. The statue – a brown quartzite head depicting King Tut – is scheduled to be auctioned off in July, and could generate more than $5 million, according to Christie’s. The artifact features King Tut’s full mouth with slightly drooping lower lips and almond-shaped eyes. For many, King Tut is the ultimate symbol of ancient Egypt’s glory. Howard Carter discovered the pharaoh’s nearly intact tomb in 1922 in the Valley of the Kings, located on the west bank of the Nile River in Luxor. The site was packed with the glittering wealth of the 18th Dynasty, which…

DENVER, Pa. – Dan Morphy, president of Morphy Auctions, has announced the Pennsylvania company’s newly formed partnership with Beinfeld Productions, producers of the Las Vegas Antique Arms Show (LVAAS). Launched in 1962 by Las Vegas gun collector and dealer Harry Mann (d. 1962), LVAAS is the oldest continuously operating trade or specialty show in Las Vegas. The annual event is a calendar highlight for antique, vintage and out-of-production firearms enthusiasts, attracting exhibitors from throughout the United States, Canada, the UK, Continental Europe, Japan and China.…

NEW YORK (AP) – A stainless steel sculpture of a rabbit by Jeff Koons has set an auction record in New York, fetching over $91 million. The sale of Koons’ 1986 “Rabbit” at Christie’s May 15 was the most expensive work by a living artist ever sold at auction. The previous record for a living artist’s work sold at auction was set by British artist David Hockney. His 1972 “Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)” brought in $90.3 million at Christie’s last year. The New York Times says Robert E. Mnuchin, an art dealer and the father of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, was the winning bidder for “Rabbit,” which had an estimated sale price of at least $50 million. Christie’s says the sculpture is one of three editions…

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Antique bottle and glass enthusiasts will want to mark their calendars for Thursday to Saturday, Aug. 1-3. That’s when the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors (FOHBC) will hold its 2019 50th Anniversary National Antique Bottle Convention in Augusta, Georgia. The event will be held in the downtown, riverfront Augusta Marriott Hotel and Convention Center. Along with the traditional bottle show and sale there will be field trips, educational seminars, a judged bottle competition, cocktail party and banquet, membership breakfast, displays, bottle appraisals, youth events, raffles and many other activities. General admission is $5 on Saturday. The many events will make for a packed itinerary. People don’t have to be an FOHBC member to attend, but membership is encouraged and available at the show, plus online at www.fohbc.org.…

BOSTON — An assortment of 19 original negatives of President John F. Kennedy sold for $9,492 according to Boston-based RR Auction. The images were taken at the ‘Winter White House,’ the Kennedys Palm Beach residency at 1095 N. Ocean Boulevard, in December 1962 and January 1963. The images were taken by photographer Eddie Johnson, who traveled to the Floridian getaway as the personal assistant of Elaine de Kooning, a celebrated portrait artist recently commissioned to paint President Kennedy’s official portrait for the Truman Library. A total of nine strips, feature 19 images of either JFK, De Kooning, or both, with all but two images featuring the president, who is either captured in a full-length stance or in a seated pose reading or conversing with Secretary of Agriculture Orville Freeman. The…

LAS VEGAS (AP) – The National Atomic Testing Museum in Las Vegas has outgrown its space east of the Las Vegas Strip, according to museum officials, who are looking for a new location to expand the facility’s nuclear testing exhibits. The museum, which opened in 2005 and became affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution in 2011, chronicles the development of atomic weapons and Nevada’s history hosting above-ground tests for the weapons for decades. “The museum has been in the same location for the past 15 years now. We’ve basically outgrown it,’’ Jordan McGee, the museum’s director of education, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We have more stories to tell.’’ The museum’s displays include radiation detectors, a simulator for an atmospheric test blast and pop culture memorabilia from the atomic age. It…

ROUND TOP, Texas – As Lady Gaga puts it: “To be unique, it’s a complicated thing.” Or wonderful. Or amazing. Or a good way to describe Marburger Farm Antique Show in Round Top, Texas: unique among antique shows in the Unites States. On a cow pasture in central Texas, the spring edition brought 350 antiques exhibitors and select artisans together for five days on April 2-6. The fall show opens October 1-5, 2019. “Marburger is unique,” says Panama City, Florida exhibitor David Sheffield. “Why? Because the merchandise is fresh for each show and all this wonderful merchandise gets put out all at once. So many shows have become indoor showrooms, full of the same things each time. Marburger has the flavor of an antiques fair in the south of France.…

AT offers all the favorite topics The milk can on the cover of the June 5 issue made me love your magazine even more. It’s one of my favorite antiques. They’re versatile in that you can display them on their own or embellish them with fresh or faux flowers. The one on the cover is outstanding in structure and design. According to the image in the story, they come in all shapes and sizes. According to the article, they went from utilitarian to home decor. I find them displayed in magazines and books. I didn’t know they came in such divergent images. What fascinated me were the places they came from. Also, the materials they were made from. I didn’t realize they were put under such scrutiny: dimensions, volume recorded,…

Like baseball great Yogi Berra said, “It’s Deja vu all over again.” On May 8 (2019) eBay and LiveAuctioneers.com announced a cooperative effort to “bring unique fine art, antiques and collectibles inventory to millions of buyers.” [https://bit.ly/2X6NeFx] At least that’s the plan. Of course, eBay has gone down this path before: They’ve previously partnered with auction houses Sotheby’s, Invaluable, and Phillips, and mega-retailers Target, Nieman Marcus, Barnes and Noble, and others. Those efforts produced mixed results, and many of those partnerships have been discontinued. Will the LiveAuctioneers partnership prove to be any better, or will it, too, bite the dust? Regardless of the number of listings, sales must be made, or auctioneers will opt out of the process. At first glance, the LiveAuctioneers (LA) and eBay partnership seems to make…

DALLAS – The very first original cover art featuring the beloved comic character Tintin, Hergé’s The Adventures of Tintin Vol. 1: Tintin in the Land of the Soviets, sold for more than $1.12 million by Heritage Auctions on Saturday, June 8, in a sale of European Comic Art held in Dallas, Texas. The remarkable discovery is one of the few known privately owned cover illustrations signed by Hergé, and also the oldest. In addition, the 1930 artwork is the first cover image featuring both Tintin and Snowy, his faithful canine companion. Both the previous owner and the winning bidder do not wish to be identified at this time. “Tintin is a seminal character, who has been loved and admired for generations the world over,” said Joe Mannarino, a director of…

WASHINGTON (AP) – James Bond’s shiny silver sports car – with its JB007 rotating license plate – is the first thing visitors see when they step into the new and improved International Spy Museum that opens Sunday in Washington. After that, it’s as if the history of Hollywood’s famous private eye vanishes in invisible ink, while the stories of real-life spies and modern-day espionage take center stage. The old, cramped museum focused on human collection of intelligence. The new one also offers a window into covert operations, counterterrorism, intelligence analysis, cyber espionage, intelligence failures and even highly debated legal and ethical issues, such as waterboarding. “We’re not playing it safe as a museum,” Vince Houghton, the museum’s curator and historian, said during a sneak-peak tour of the $162 million, nonprofit…

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – Long before he opened Route 66 Motorheads Bar and Grill on Springfield’s southern edge last year, Ron Metzger was among the few keeping Springfield’s Route 66 heritage alive through the purchasing of local memorabilia and telling the stories behind those items. Many of those items now find a home in his Toronto Road restaurant and free museum of Route 66 memorabilia that adjoins it, with much of what he bought coming from the former Bill Shea’s Route 66 Museum. Though a Route 66 history aficionado himself, it was not until he opened his doors and started meeting customers from all over the world that he fully understood the allure of the Mother Road. “Sometimes we forget about it,” Metzger said. “The local residents definitely forget about…

BERLIN (AP) – German authorities are handing over to Israel some 5,000 documents kept by a confidant of Franz Kafka, a trove whose plight could have been plucked from one of the author’s surreal stories. The papers returned May 21 include a postcard from Kafka from 1910 and personal documents kept by Max Brod, which experts say provide a window into Europe’s literary and cultural scene in the early 20th century. They are among some 40,000 documents, including manuscripts, correspondence, notebooks and other writings that once belonged to Brod, which are being brought together again in Israel’s National Library. They had ended up in bank vaults in Switzerland and Tel Aviv, a Tel Aviv apartment and in a storage facility in Wiesbaden, Germany, where police found them tucked among forged…

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – A Walmart heir, a wealthy governor and energy companies profiting from North Dakota oil could fund a big chunk of the private money needed by developers of a presidential library for Theodore Roosevelt in the western Badlands where he hunted and ranched before becoming the 26th U.S. president. It’s unclear how much money might come from the Roosevelt family itself, though at least one descendant lobbied state lawmakers on behalf of the project. Legislators last month approved $50 million to operate the library, but that must be matched by $100 million in private money to build it and fund an ongoing project at Dickinson State University to digitize tens of thousands of Roosevelt’s papers. Roosevelt spent four years on a ranch in the North Dakota Badlands…

LONDON (AP) – A chess piece purchased for a few dollars by an antiques dealer in Scotland in 1964 has been identified as one of the 900-year-old Lewis Chessmen, among the greatest artifacts of the Viking era. Sotheby’s auction house said that the chess piece is expected to bring between $670,000 and $1.26 million at an auction in July. The Lewis Chessmen are intricate, expressive chess pieces in the form of Norse warriors, carved from walrus ivory in the 12th century. A hoard of 93 pieces was discovered in 1831 on Scotland’s Isle of Lewis. It is now held in both the British Museum in London and the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh – but five of the chess pieces were missing. The 3 1/2-inch piece to be auctioned…

LAS VEGAS (AP) – The Neon Museum is preparing to double in size by expanding across Las Vegas Boulevard with a $1-a-year lease for a shuttered cultural center dating to the early 1960s. City officials have approved a plan dubbed “Neon 2020” to expand the popular downtown showcase of vintage signs into the vacant Reed Whipple Cultural Center. The City Council approved the lease Wednesday and a $2.2 million grant to support the move. Reed Whipple closed as an art space in summer 2016. Museum chief Rob Mc-Coy told the Las Vegas Review-Journal it will be renamed Ne10 to highlight neon’s chemical symbol and atomic number, and renovated to host an indoor gallery, neon craft demonstrations, classrooms, offices and storage. A portion of the cultural center parking lot will become…

READING (WYOMISSING) Pa. — Antique and vintage advertising will be on full display when the Antique Advertising Association of America (AAAA), more popularly known as “Quad-A,” holds its 2019 convention in Reading (Wyomissing), Pennsylvania July 24-27. Collectors from all around the U.S. and Canada will meet in fellowship at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and enjoy a busy schedule of activities, which includes seminars, room sales, silent auction, exhibits, banquet meals, games, contests, and more. Of special interest to those unable to attend the entire convention is the free “Public Day” on Friday, July 27. A silent auction will be conducted from 1-3:30 p.m., followed by general sales from 3:30-6 p.m. and again from 7:15-10 p.m. Items spanning the entire field of vintage advertising will be available at all price points.…

LAMBERTVILLE, N.J. – On Sept. 21, 2019 Rago (www.ragoarts.com) will bring to auction a finely curated single-owner collection of Martin Brothers pottery. The 27-piece grouping, which includes more than 20 single, double, and triple bird-form humidors and vessels, represents one of the largest single-owner collections of Martin Brothers ever offered at auction and comes to Rago via UK-based dealer, AD Antiques. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.com. Martin Brothers (1873-1923) was a London-based pottery manufacturer owned and operated by four brothers, Wallace, Walter, Charles, and Edwin, whose productions bridged the gap between the Victorian design sensibilities of the late-19th century and the English studio pottery movement of the early 20th century. Martin Brothers produced stoneware pottery, broadly referred to as Martinware, including bowls, vessels, tiles and…

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 Jul 18-21, Aug 15-18, Sep 18-22, Oct 17-20, 2019 Phoenix. Sweet Salvage Market, 4648 N 7th Ave, Phoenix, AZ; 602-279-2996; info@sweetsalvage.net; sweetsalvage.net. SH: Thurs 10am-9pm; Fri-Sun 10am-6pm Sep 3, 2019 Phoenix. Historical Americana and Pop Culture Collectibles Show/Sale, Mountain View Lutheran Church, 11002 S 48th St, Phoenix AZ 85044; 480-577-9575; https://go.evvnt.com/383227-1?pid=6369…

MILFORD, Conn. – Important paintings from the 19th century through the contemporary era were offered during Shannon’s semi-annual Fine Art Auction on Thursday, May 2, 2019 in Milford, Connecticut. Featuring 230 lots, the auction included quality examples of international fine art including works by Asian, African, Latin, European and American artists. The sale totaled over $2 million with 75 percent of the lots sold. Two exceptional paintings by Le Pho led the sale, both were filled with color and light and featured elegant ladies with flowers. Le Thé (Tea Time) achieved the highest price in the end selling for $100,000. In a similar manner, Harmonie Jaune (Harmony in Yellow) sold for $75,000. Managing partner, Sandra Germain comments, “We had a difficult time deciding which one we liked better and our…

BALTIMORE, Md. - A rare, museum-quality 1966 Grateful Dead “Skeleton and Roses” concert poster brought a world record price of $56,400 in an online auction held May 16 by Psychedelic Art Exchange, with offices in Baltimore and Park City, Utah. The poster had been independently authenticated and graded by Certified Guaranty Company (CGC) as 9.8 out of 10 for condition. The poster was designed by the legendary concert poster artists Alton Kelley and Stanley Mouse. It was used to promote two Grateful Dead concerts – held September 16-17, 1966 – at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco. The famous “Skeleton and Roses” design would later be appropriated by the band as their logo. The Grateful Dead is one of the iconic rock ‘n’ roll bands. The poster was widely expected…