April 23, 2009 - Auction Central News

Bertoia’s debut sale of Kaufman antique toy collection realizes $4.2M

With Jeanne Bertoia looking on, Philadelphia's Fox 29 TV affiliate interviews Don Kaufman for its news cast. Photo by Phil Dutton, courtesy Bertoia Auctions.

VINELAND, N.J. (ACNI) – Long lamented as a bygone era, the days of toy collector kinship were revived with an electrifying spark as a global contingent of buyers convened at Bertoia Auctions on March 19-21 for the debut of the Donald Kaufman auction series.

Built over a period of nearly 59 years, the internationally renowned Kaufman collection’s initial outing rang the register at $4.2 million, setting a house record for Bertoia’s and sending a message of confidence about the toy-collecting hobby that was obvious to all in attendance. Real-time Internet bidding through LiveAuctioneers.com added $341,858.81 to the three-day gross.

“The return of the toy camaraderie we remembered so fondly from 15 or 20 years ago was an inspiring thing to see,” said Bertoia Auctions’ owner, Jeanne Bertoia. “What I heard from all the old-timers was, ‘It’s back.'”

The gallery’s stylishly modern décor, enhanced by vases of fresh orchids, lent a new sense of chic to the auction preview process. Thursday evening previewers sipped wine and noshed on gourmet hors d’oeuvres as they inspected the deluxe toys through floor-length wall-to-wall glass showcases and chatted animatedly in German, French or English with their soon-to-be auction competitors.

Rare and exquisite designs in May 1 Perfume Bottles Auction

1920s Marshall Field A La Page perfume bottle in pearlized white crystal with molded labels, stopper and applied base in coral-red crystal. Small open bubbles are typical to this type of red crystal. First time seen. 4 7/8 inches. $10,000-$12,000

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – On Friday May 1, the International Perfume Bottle Association will host its 19th annual Perfume Bottles Auction in Albuquerque, with an outstanding and varied selection of perfume, cosmetic and vanity items of every price range and taste. All items offered are in fine condition, and collectors can also expect to see some extraordinary surprises. Internet live bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.com

A who’s who of bottle designers is represented in more than 350 perfume lots, including designs by Gallé, Lalique, Schneider, Baccarat, J. Viard, Jollivet, Hoffman and countless others. Included are pre-1900 bottles of gold, silver and enamel; a colorful array of vintage Czechoslovakian crystal bottles, a fine selection of 20th-century commercial bottles, many with original boxes; as well as an elegant grouping of DeVilbiss atomizers made for the 1920s boudoir vanity.

Chronologically, a full range of perfume-bottle production will be presented. There are scent bottles dating from early as 1770 and wonderful examples of contemporary designs such as a Jean-Paul Gaultier 1990s perfume set housed in a cuckoo clock.

$100,000 baseball card ad poster discovered at estate sale

BOHEMIA, N.Y. – There is still treasure waiting out there to be found.

A rare, 1889 baseball card advertising poster with an estimated auction value of over $100,000 has been discovered at an estate sale in upstate New York, and will be auctioned in May by the sports auction house Lelands.

The poster advertises “The Goodwin Round Album,” a nine-page premium album of full-color round baseball card portraits of the leading players of the day. It was available by mail order by sending in coupons packaged with Goodwin Tobacco.

This poster, which is unrestored and in very good condition, is a one of a kind piece, as the two others known are both a different format. One of the two was also heavily restored. The other was once in the collection of super-collector Barry Halper. It was one of only two pieces that hung in his office.

The artwork features such future Hall of Fame players as Cap Anson, Mike “King” Kelly, Charles Comiskey, Mickey Welch, Tim Keefe, Roger Connor, John Ward and “Orator Jim” O’Rourke and Charles Comiskey

Looking for Dutch NYC 400 years after Henry Hudson

Painting depicting New Amsterdam as it looked in 1664. Public domain image, courtesy Wikipedia Commons.

NEW YORK (AP) – New York City is constantly being rebuilt, paved over and reinvented, so it’s not easy to find remnants of the colony of New Amsterdam 400 years after Henry Hudson sailed up the river that bears his name.

But whether you’re sitting on a stoop in Brooklyn, strolling through Harlem or wandering along the Bowery, you are connecting with the city’s Dutch roots. There are place names, statues, and even a 17th century Dutch farmhouse in Brooklyn, all serving as proof of this early chapter in New York history.

“New York City being what it is, it builds on top of everything,” said Russell Shorto, author of The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony that Shaped America.

But Lower Manhattan still bears the imprint of its first colonial settlers. “The Dutch laid out the streets there, and the street pattern is still the same,” Shorto said. “And Wall Street was the northern boundary of New Amsterdam. The Dutch built that wall not to keep the Indians out, but to keep the English out.”

Provincetown museum receives national accreditation

Interior view of one of the galleries within the Provincetown Art Association and Museum. Photo by Anton Grasl. Image courtesy PAAM. PROVINCETOWN, Mass. – The Provincetown Art Association and Museum (PAAM) has achieved accreditation from the American Association of Museums (AAM), the highest national recognition for a museum. Accreditation signifies excellence to the museum community, governments, funders, outside agencies, and to the museum-going public.

AAM Accreditation is the field’s primary vehicle for quality assurance, self-regulation, and public accountability, and earns national recognition for a museum for its commitment to excellence in all that it does: governance, collections stewardship, public programs, financial stability, high professional standards, and continued institutional improvement.

Developed and sustained by museum professionals for 35 years, AAM’s Museum Accreditation program strengthens the profession by promoting practices that enable leaders to make informed decisions, allocate resources wisely, and to provide the best possible service to the public.
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Cleveland museum set to return Italian ancient artworks

Photo by Stu Spivack, courtesy Wikipedia Commons

CLEVELAND (AP) – The director of The Cleveland Museum of Art says museum officials are prepared to hand over 14 artworks to Italian authorities.

Timothy Rub says the transfer of the art, which includes ancient pieces looted or smuggled out of Italy, was scheduled for this week, according to The Plain Dealer newspaper.

Rub and the Italian arts minister agreed to the handover in November. It was unclear which Italian agency would carry the objects back home.

As part of the agreement, Italy has promised to lend 13 objects comparable in quality to the returned antiquities and to cooperate on future exhibitions.

Rub says those works will go on view in Cleveland in 2010, when the museum reopens galleries devoted to ancient art after the completion of a $350 million expansion and renovation.
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AP-CS-04-22-09 0120EDT

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