Water Jar, Yangshao Culture, Neolithic Period (circa 5000-3000 B.C.), excavated at Baoji, Shaanxi Province, China, 1958. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
WASHINGTON (AP) – Bits of pottery discovered in a cave in southern China may be evidence of the earliest development of ceramics by ancient people.
The find in Yuchanyan Cave dates to as much as 18,000 years ago, researchers report in Tuesday’s edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The find “supports the proposal made in the past that pottery making by foragers began in south China,” according to the researchers, led by Elisabetta Boaretto of Bar Ilan University in Israel.
The pottery found at Yuchanyan “is the earliest so far,” Boaretto said.
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) – A suspect has pleaded guilty to a murder charge in the strangling death of a Fairbanks businessman.
Raymond Jones, 29, pleaded guilty Monday to second-degree murder in the December death of Daniel Frederick, 62, who operated Blondie’s Antiques out of a log cabin in downtown Fairbanks.
Frederick disappeared from his shop, leaving beloved pets behind and unfed. Three current or former soldiers, including Jones, came under suspicion after using Frederick’s credit cards on a spending spree of more than $50,000.
Frederick’s body was found a few days later wrapped in a sleeping bag and buried in snow on the south outskirts of Fairbanks.
Michael Moore, 24, reached a plea agreement last month.
Both Jones and Moore have agreed to testify against the third suspect in the case, Brian Towndrow, 22. He is scheduled to go to trial in July on charges of first-degree murder, robbery, evidence tampering and other charges.
According to prosecutors, the three killed Frederick to keep him from speaking about an incident being investigated by the military. Authorities said Moore pushed Frederick to the ground, Towndrow strangled him and Jones acted as a lookout.
Afterward, Towndrow reportedly tried to clean the crime scene with Windex.
Public defender Jennifer Hite is representing Towndrow. She said in court she is still waiting for the prosecution to turn over evidence, including notes from an interview an FBI agent conducted with her client.
Jones will be sentenced Oct. 12. He faces 10 to 25 years in prison.
Towndrow faces up to 99 years in prison on the murder charge alone.
JERUSALEM (AP) – A man returned a 46-pound chunk of a medieval marble pillar he took from an archeological site in Jerusalem more than a decade ago after suffering pangs of guilt, Israeli authorities announced Tuesday.
The section of column was reported missing in 1997 from a site in Jerusalem’s Old City. Last month, a Christian clergyman in New York contacted the Israeli Antiquities Authority and asked for forgiveness for the member of his congregation who had taken the stone, a statement from the IAA said.
The stone arrived this week along with a note from the man who took it, in which he explained he considered the stone as a souvenir he would use “to pray for Jerusalem.”
LOS ANGELES (AP) – The footballs, jerseys and framed photographs that put O.J. Simpson in a Nevada prison are in the hands of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and headed for the auction block, an attorney for longtime Simpson nemesis Fred Goldman said Monday.
Simpson’s attempt to retrieve the items by leading a handful of cohorts in a bungled stickup of memorabilia dealers in Las Vegas resulted in his being sentenced last year on armed robbery, kidnapping and other charges.
Simpson is serving nine to 33 years but on Monday asked the Nevada Supreme Court to let him out of prison while it decides whether to overturn his conviction. Simpson has said he was attempting to retrieve property that had been stolen from him and never meant to hurt anybody.
The memorabilia items that could clearly be identified as Simpson’s were boxed and shipped from Las Vegas to Los Angeles last week.
“We received a box of memorabilia Friday,” said sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore.
Goldman attorney David Cook said the box’s contents will be auctioned shortly to help satisfy a $33.5 million wrongful-death judgment Goldman and others won against Simpson in 1997.
He said it is difficult to speculate how much the memorabilia might fetch because of the amount of Simpson memorabilia that others offer on the Internet.
The civil judgment against Simpson followed his acquittal in 1995 of charges he murdered his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman, was the son of Fred Goldman.
Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – A Louisville millionaire and an Alabama gun collector he accused in a lawsuit of cheating him by marking up prices on world-class antique firearms have settled their dispute, a federal judge said.
The judge dismissed the lawsuit filed by Owsley Brown Frazier against Michael K. Salisbury in 2004, claiming Salisbury overcharged him by more than $1.5 million for a slew of famous guns.
U.S. District Judge John Heyburn wrote in the dismissal order Thursday that the two parties had reached a settlement. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
Attorneys for Frazier and Salisbury did not immediately return phone calls Monday. A phone call to Salisbury’s home was not returned.
Salisbury, of Owens Crossroads, Ala., befriended Frazier in the late 1990s, and Frazier enlisted him to amass a firearms collection for a Louisville museum Frazier was developing. He traveled the country, finding weapons that belonged to Gen. George Custer, the Apache chief Geronimo and Theodore Roosevelt, according to court records.
But their friendship soured and Frazier, a descendant of the founder of liquor giant Brown-Forman, sued Salisbury, alleging the collector was inflating prices to turn a hefty profit.
In 2006, federal prosecutors announced a criminal case against Salisbury and his wife, Karen Cruse Salisbury, after they were indicted on fraud and money laundering charges. The indictment alleged that in one instance in 1999, Salisbury bought Custer’s Colt pistols for $235,000, but told Frazier that the guns were worth $300,000.
In the criminal trial last year, both were acquitted of all felony charges. Salisbury’s attorneys had argued throughout the trial that Frazier had set up an off-the-books agreement so Salisbury could turn a profit for his efforts.
Salisbury was convicted, however, on two misdemeanor charges of failing to pay taxes and sentenced to two years in prison. A judge is allowing him to stay out of prison while the conviction is appealed.
Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Marlin Firearms Co. advertised its famous rifles in chromolithographs like this one illustrated by Phillip R. Goodwin. It is estimated to sell at Cowan’s for $2,000-$3,000. Image courtesy Cowan’s.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, firearms and supply companies, including Winchester, Remington, DuPont and the Peters Cartridge Co., produced beautiful advertising campaigns, employing artists and illustrators who constitute a roll call for who’s who of American illustrators and painters of sporting art. These companies produced posters and print advertisements, but the calendars they produced were an integral part of their campaigns, with some companies producing them for nearly 50 years. Today, these turn-of-the century advertisements are considered works of art and are highly collectible; the early calendars are generally the scarcest and command the highest prices.
The Winchester Repeating Arms Co. of New Haven, Conn., created some of the earliest advertising campaigns that featured calendars and produced them nearly every year from 1887 through 1934, with a few exceptions. Winchester’s calendars are considered among the most highly prized among collectors due to their quality and the caliber of the artists Winchester commissioned. Frederick Remington (1861-1909), famous for his paintings of the west and his Harper’s Weekly illustrations, was an early contributor to the calendars, rendering illustrations for four calendars from 1891 to 1894. Over the years, Winchester also employed famed illustrator N.C. Wyeth (1882-1945) and sporting artist and Harper’s Weekly illustrator Arthur Budett Frost (1851-1928). Phillip R. Goodwin (1882-1935), a student of Howard Pyle, provided art for several calendars. He produced a painting called “Horse and Rider” that became Winchester’s trademark.
Collectors also highly value calendars made by the Peters Cartridge Co. of Cincinnati, Ohio, which was a major supplier of gunpowder and ammunition for American sportsmen. Peters advertising calendars began in 1897 and were produced until 1931. The calendars featured works by artists such as Gustav Muss-Arnolt (1858 -1927) and Lynn Bogue Hunt (1878-1960), both prolific American artists who specialized in sporting art.
The Remington Arms Co. of Ilion, N.Y., and DuPont Powder Co. of Wilmington, Del., also produced striking advertising. Advertisement calendars from these companies make great additions to a new collection, as they feature art by recognizable American artists but can still be won at auction for reasonable prices. For example, DuPont used many animal portraits by sporting artist Edmund Osthaus (1858-1928).
In 1911, DuPont commissioned Howard Pyle, considered the father of American illustration, to represent the DuPont Powder Wagon for that year’s calendar. The caption indicated the DuPont Powder Wagon carried gunpowder to Lake Erie to Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, which he used to defeat the British fleet. Artists often worked for several companies; Phillip Goodwin, for instance, illustrated for Remington, the Marlin Firearms Co. of New Haven, Conn., as well as Winchester. N.C. Wyeth also produced works for both Remington and Winchester.
Collecting firearms advertising, especially calendars, is an interesting endeavor with plenty of opportunities to find great pieces. There are even trade shows that focus primarily on early firearms advertisements. Today, collectors pay large sums for advertisements that were produced during the late 19th century, but a collection can easily be started for a reasonable amount of money. As one might expect, there are numerous reproductions on the market, so collectors must use caution. Improper metal bands on calendars are a dead giveaway that a calendar is a later-made reproduction.
Wes Cowan is founder and owner of Cowan’s Auctions, Inc. in Cincinnati, Ohio. An internationally recognized expert in historic Americana, Wes stars in the PBS television series History Detectives and is a featured appraiser on Antiques Roadshow. Wes holds a B.A. and M.A. in anthropology from the University of Kentucky, and a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Michigan. He is a frequently requested speaker at antiques events around the country. He can be reached via email at info@cowans.com. Research by Joe Moran.
ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE
Even though all the months of 1908 had been removed, this Peters Cartridge Co. chromolithograph calendar sold for $7,475 in Cowan’s Nov. 7, 2007 Firearms Auction. Image courtesy Cowan’s.Again with the individual months removed, a 1907 Peters Cartridge Co. chromolithograph calendar sold for $5,462 in Cowan’s Nov. 7, 2007 Firearms Auction. Image courtesy Cowan’s. A 1900 Peters Cartridge Co. chromolithograph calendar is estimated to sell for $5,000-$7,000. Image courtesy Cowan’s. In a departure from the sporting theme, DuPont’s 1911 calendar commemorated the centennial of the War of 1812 and the company’s role in winning the Battle of Lake Erie. Illustrated by Howard Pyle, the calendar sold for $1,257 in Cowan’s May 8, 2003 Historic Americana Auction. Image courtesy Cowan’s.
Arie Meaders, matriarch of the White County, Georgia, pottery dynasty created this 8-inch pottery owl, which sold for $16,100. Also by Arie Meaders was an 8 1/4-inch bluebird ($6,440) and a stoneware lidded canister ($3,910). Image courtesy Brunk Auctions.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – It was ironic that Georgians had to travel to North Carolina for a sale of their prized 18th-century country antiques. Brunk Auctions welcomed the delegation of at least 125 Peach State collectors and dealers with a two-day symposium on Georgia antiquities and a sneak preview of the May 30 auction. The 728 lots encompassed one of the finest collections of Georgia furniture, pottery, silver, watercolors and books ever assembled. The auction grossed $1.5 million.
For more than 40 years, Florence and Bill Griffin, both now deceased, traveled their native Georgia searching for primitive, unadorned furniture made from native woods. Bill, a successful real estate attorney, and Florence, a horticulturist and preservationist, created a collection so impressive that it formed the bulk of a major exhibition at the Atlanta History Center in 1983. Twenty-two of the 126 artifacts in Neat Pieces – The Plain Style Furniture of 19th Century Georgia were on the block.
Deanne Levison, an Atlanta antique dealer and friend of the Griffins, was one of the most successful bidders. She returned to Atlanta – and to her clients – with at least 20 lots. She weathered heavy in-house competition to capture the sale’s top lot, a walnut 1810-1830 Georgia cellaret or liquor stand that William Griffin had bought by answering an ad in The Atlanta Constitution. Levison’s last bid was $120,750 (selling prices include a 15 percent buyer’s premium). Bill Griffin noted that the stand descended in the family of James Means, a pioneer settler in Upson County. When the Griffins removed the cabinet from the home, the found Confederate currency strapped to the bottom of the case.
Levison also purchased another Upson County piece, an 1840-1860 paneled sugar box in poplar and yellow pine for $13,800 (est. $5,000-$7,000) and a John Abbot watercolor of a summer sparrow for $9,200.
Born in Great Britain, John Abbot immigrated to Georgia in 1776 and was one of the first to study the flora and fauna of the Savannah River Valley. His 1797 book on Georgia insects in two volumes sold for $57,500. His watercolor of a painted bunting sold to the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts for $20,700. The painted bunting, which measured 16 1/8 inches by 11 7/8 inches, was the top lot among the seven Abbot watercolors in the sale. MESDA, located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and the Georgia Museum of Art in Athens, Georgia, further benefited from the Griffin’s keen eye and passion for documentation.
MESDA bought a grain-painted single-case corner cupboard originally in the Augustus Dozier family of White Oak Plantation in Oglethorpe County for $11,500. The corner cupboard is destined for MESDA’s Georgia Room, a furnished setting that Florence and Bill Griffin helped establish.
The delegation from the Georgia Museum of Art was delighted with their purchases of the portraits of Robert Ransome Billups and his wife, Elizabeth Ware Fullwood Billups, by Edwin B. Smith (active 1815-1832). The circa 1827 portraits were displayed for years in the Eagle Tavern in Watkinsville, Ga. The 30-by-31 1/8-inch oil on canvas portrait of Robert sold for $92,000. The smaller portrait of Elizabeth, 30 1/8 by 231/8 inches, sold for $41,400.
There were 14 Georgia huntboards or “slabs” in the sale. No one recalled a sale with more. Many were truly neat and plain with thick sides and drawers. The top lot among the collection was a fine Georgia river birch huntboard with its original locks from Oglethorpe County, 1820-1840. It brought $29,900. Bill Griffin purchased the huntboard in 1980 and had documented its history back to the great-great-grandfather of Mrs. E.G. McCannon.
The Griffins were avid collectors of 19th- and 20th-century Georgia and South Carolina pottery. At the presale symposium John Burrison, author of Brothers in Clay: The Story of Georgia Folk Pottery, explained that slaves were potters in South Carolina, but not Georgia. Indeed it was the 16 1/4-inch pot attributed to Dave the slave potter of the Edgefield District of South Carolina that led all others. The dated 1851 jar, with a horseshoe mark and the initials “LM” for Lewis Miles, sold for $19,550. The top piece of Georgia pottery was an 8-inch brown and blue glazed owl from the skilled hands of Arie Meaders (1897-1989) that sold for $16,100.
The first published map of Georgia was contained in Reasons for Establishing the Colony of Georgia … , a book published in 1733 by Benjamin Martyn. Rebound in red half leather, it was the top book at $4,370.
Brunk Auctions is located at 117 Tunnel Road, Asheville, N.C. For more information on upcoming sales visit www.brunkauctions.com or call 828-254-6846.
ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE
After an opening bid of $30,000, this 1810-1830 Georgia walnut cellaret or liquor stand reached last call at $120,750. Image courtesy Brunk Auctions.Of the John Abbot watercolors in the sale, Brunk Auctions speculated that the majestic bald eagle would be the top lot (est. $25,000-$40,000). Instead it was the painted bunting that flew to victory. The eagle sold for $17,250; the painted bunting for $20,700. All seven paintings – bald eagle, sparrow hawk, canvasback duck, bunting, summer sparrow, partridge and woodcock – were 16 1/8 inches by 11 7/8 inches and framed. Image courtesy Brunk Auctions.This 1820-1840 Georgia huntboard is the right height, 47 ½ inches, and has the spindly legs adored by collectors. It was by far the most elegant of the 14 huntboards in the sale. Opening bid was $18,000 on a $10,000-$15,000 estimate. It sold for $29,900. Image courtesy Brunk Auctions.Robert Ransome Billups was killed by Indians in 1836. His portrait by Edwin B. Smith hung in the family-owned Eagle Tavern, near Athens, Ga., for years. Bidding began at $20,000 and escalated to $80,000 ($92,000 with buyer’s premium). Image courtesy Brunk Auctions.
Wes Cowan is founder and owner of Cowan’s Auctions, Inc. in Cincinnati, Ohio. An internationally recognized expert in historic Americana, Wes stars in the PBS television series History Detectives and is a featured appraiser on Antiques Roadshow. Wes holds a B.A. and M.A. in anthropology from the University of Kentucky, and a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Michigan. He is a frequently requested speaker at antiques events around the country. He can be reached via email at info@cowans.com. Research by Joe Moran.
