Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) – The Museum of the Rockies has sued a Bozeman developer, alleging the failure to pay a $2 million endowment promised in return for the developer using the museum and its top paleontologist, Jack Horner, in a marketing campaign.
The lawsuit was filed Friday in District Court in Gallatin County. It seeks to enforce a 2007 contract between the museum and developer Wade Dokken.
Dokken is the former chief executive of the insurance company American Skandia. He more recently founded the Ameya Preserve, an 11,000-acre luxury development in the Paradise Valley south of Livingston.
The lawsuit claims Dokken used Horner’s name and that of the museum to market Ameya, but never held up his end of the bargain with the $2 million endowment.
“This is not a case of a donor unable to fulfill a pledge, but rather a businessman who took advantage of the Museum’s goodwill to try to sell real estate in a commercial development and then refused to pay,” the museum said in a statement issued by its attorney, James Goetz.
Dokken did not immediately return telephone messages left by The Associated Press.
According to the lawsuit, his marketing efforts on behalf of Ameya included publicizing Jack Horner as the leader of fossil digs at the preserve. Also, Horner’s position at the museum was renamed the “Ameya Preserve Curator of Paleontology.”
In April, Dokken gave notice that he was abandoning Ameya and could not meet the terms of his contract, according to the museum.
Separate from the endowment, Goetz said Dokken gave the museum a total of $120,000 in 2007 and 2008 – part of a pledge to pay more than $1.2 million over 15 years toward the museum’s field research. He said no payment has been received this year.
In 1957 the Museum of the Rockies was born as Dr. Caroline McGill’s gift to the people of Montana. Today, the museum stewards nearly 300,000 objects and 500 million years of history. One of the finest paleontology collections in North America is found under the museum’s roof, along with strong core collections in western history, textiles, Native American artifacts, and photography.
The museum’s permanent exhibitions, which tell the story of development in the Northern Rockies over the past 4 billion years, are augmented by changing exhibits representing various facets of cultural and natural history. Indoor exhibitions are complemented by a fully operational, on-site 19th century farm that helps preserve the state’s agricultural traditions.
The Museum of the Rockies is both a college-level division of Montana State University and an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit institution. Accredited by the American Association of Museums, MOR is one of just 750 or so museums to hold this distinction from the more than 16,000 museums nationwide. The Museum is also a Smithsonian Institution affiliate and a federal repository for fossils. ___
Auction Central News contributed to this report. Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Many advertising signs, like this framed piece for Brotherhood Tobacco, adorned the walls at Judy’s D&G. Image courtesy Dirk Soulis Auctions.ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Judy’s D&G Restaurant – a landmark St. Joseph dining facility that operated continuously from its opening during World War II until its recent closing – will be the object of a three-category, two-firm on-site auction slated for later this month. The building and all of the equipment will be sold on Aug. 20. Two days later, on Aug. 22, Dirk Soulis Auctions will auction the restaurant’s impressive memorabilia collection that once dotted the walls of the dining establishment. Live Internet bidding available through LiveAuctioneers.com.
Most of the memorabilia in the collection came through the efforts of the original owner’s wife, Bessie Glaser, while other items were brought in by the current owners, Pete and Pam Miner, who are now retired from the business.
“This is a nice accumulation of breweriana, advertising items and more, and it should appeal to serious collectors as well as nostalgic locals who just want a remembrance of this great old landmark,” said Dirk Soulis of Dirk Soulis Auctions. “Many pieces would be valuable additions to any collection, especially those relating to the M.K. Goetz Brewing Company, which operated locally, in St. Joseph.”
Auction highlights include a pair of rare Jerry’s Smile self-framed tin signs from the M.K. Goetz Brewing Company (circa 1902), one in very good condition and one in exceptional shape; Goetz calendars from around 1915, porcelain signs, rare paper signs and posters, cardboard signs, tin signs, rare St. Joseph artifacts, and early photographs.
Also scheduled to go under the hammer are vintage movie stills, lobby cards, framed post cards, advertising trays, vintage St. Joseph advertising novelties, boxing memorabilia, reverse-painted signs, candy boxes, petroliana (porcelain gas and oil signs), and other items.
The building housing Judy’s D&G Restaurant was built around the turn of the last century and was operated initially as a saloon, with no food served. Then, in August of 1945, two brothers-in law – Julius “Judy” Glaser and Isy Daynoski (later shortened to Day) – acquired the business and named it Judy’s D & G (Daynoski & Glaser) Restaurant. The two men split in the 1960s, but Judy Glaser remained on.
The Miners bought the business in the 1970s and successfully ran it until 2003, when they sold it to an investor. The couple resumed control of the operations and successfully ran the business for four years.
Dirk Soulis Auctions is based in Lone Jack, Mo., 30 miles east of Kansas City. Most of its sales are held at the Great Plains Gallery, on the north side of U.S. Hwy. 50. The firm is always accepting quality consignments for future sales. To enquire about any item in the upcoming auction, call 800-252-1501 or e-mail dirksoulis@gmail.com.
View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE
One of two Jerry Smiles framed antique tin signs from the Goetz Brewing Company of St. Joseph, Missouri. Image courtesy Dirk Soulis Auctions. Boxing memorabilia, such as this gorgeous photo portrait of John L. Sullivan, will cross the auction block. Image courtesy Dirk Soulis Auctions. The banquet hall of Judy’s D&G Restaurant in St. Joseph, Mo., was decorated with hundreds of examples of antique and vintage advertising. Image courtesy Dirk Soulis Auctions.
HONOLULU (AP) – Gov. Linda Lingle’s office is seeking items from the public for placement in time capsules that are to be opened in 25 years.
The capsules are part of the celebration for the 50th anniversary of Hawaii’s statehood, which is on Aug. 21.
Fifty capsules are to be prepared by the 50th Anniversary of Statehood Commission. Seven of them will contain memorabilia contributed by the public and will be buried on the grounds of the state Capitol.
They are to be opened on the 75th anniversary of statehood, on Aug. 21, 2034.
The other 43 will be distributed to neighboring islands, where they will be stored until the 75th anniversary.
The public can stop by the governor’s office to drop off small items during regular business hours.
Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Pauline Pottery made pieces in the Limoges style. The shape of the scattered flowers and their shaded yellow color resemble the decorations on French pottery. The 8-inch teapot sold for $570 at a Cincinnati Art Galleries auction.
The mark “Haviland Limoges” means fine porcelain to most collectors, but in the 1870s Charles Haviland wanted to expand his company’s offerings. He traveled from Limoges, France, to Paris looking for new ideas and hired Felix Bracquemond to head a new operation in Auteuil, France. Bracquemond soon introduced plates and vases that were not decorated with symmetrical, bordered designs. Instead, country flowers, insects, landscapes and Japanese-inspired patterns were used. Vases were made of a new type of earthenware. It was hand-painted with slip, a thin paste made of white clay and water with added color. Then the vase was dipped in glaze that made the colors brighter and the vase watertight. The finished surface looked like that of an impressionist oil painting. The finished pieces, called Auteuil or Haviland even “Limoges-style” pottery, inspired Rookwood, some other Cincinnati potters and Pauline Pottery in Edgerton, Wis. They made similar vases using their own techniques. The French pottery was made until World War I.
Q: I bought a chest with shelves covered with wire work so my vase collection can be seen. It came from an estate sale and looks like a mid-19th-century English piece, but a paper label on it says “Beacon Hill Collection.” The label has a picture of couples dressed in Victorian clothes walking on a wooded path. Do you know if Beacon Hill is a maker?
A: Beacon Hill furniture was made in the 1950s by a Boston company. It was top-quality and was made with solid mahogany, inlay, brass hardware and designs that copied or were inspired by 18th-century furniture. The company was out of business by the 1980s, but the name Beacon Hill remains important in the world of furniture. It has been a design name and a maker’s brand, and it’s still used by several companies. The label on your chest identifies it as a piece from the 1950s. It would sell for almost as much as the English original it copies.
Q: I have a very old Sorry! board game that belonged to my grandmother. It’s well-used but intact. The label says “Made in England,” and the game includes a card advertising a Sorry! competition in the London Daily Mail. The publisher listed on the box is W.H. Storey & Co., 34 W. 33rd St., New York City. The copyright date is 1932. Can you tell me anything about it? How did it become the game we know today?
A: W.H. Storey & Co. was a British firm with a New York office. It introduced the game of Sorry! (a variation of Parcheesi) in 1932 in both England and the United States. It appears that Storey sold U.S. rights to the game to Parker Bros., which started selling Sorry! under its own name in 1934. Today it’s still a Parker Bros. game, but Parker Bros. is a brand now owned by Hasbro. Your Sorry! game is unusual because of the British manufacturer, but it still wouldn’t sell for much more than $10.
Q: Can you tell me anything about my pewter teapot? I bought it about 10 years ago. It’s marked “S. Simpson No. 1” on the bottom.
A: The mark on your teapot was used by Samuel Simpson, a pewter maker who worked in New York City from about 1845 to 1847 and in Yalesville, Conn., before and after that. His career appears to have spanned the years 1835 to 1852. Prices of antique pewter vary widely depending on condition and workmanship. Some teapots sell for less than $100, others for more than $1,000.
Q: My grandfather’s electric cigar lighter now belongs to me, and I’d like to know more about it. It’s metal and shaped like W.C. Fields’s head. If you push in his red nose, the lighter on the top of his hat heats up. What’s it worth?
A: Your lighter was made by Frankart Inc., a New York City company that mass-produced all kinds of sculptures it sold as lamps, ashtrays, lighters and other decorative household items. Frankart pieces were made of white cast metal spray-painted to look darker. The lighting mechanism in your lighter was patented in 1906, but Frankart wasn’t founded until 1921. Since W.C. Fields was not a major movie star until the 1930s, it’s likely your lighter dates from that decade. It would sell for $300 to $500, depending on condition.
Tip: Dust your bronze, then try the Chinese method of polishing. Rub the bronze with the palm of your hand. This puts a little oil on the metal.
Terry Kovel answers as many questions as possible through the column. By sending a letter with a question, you give full permission for use in the column or any other Kovel forum. Names, addresses or e-mail addresses will not be published. We cannot guarantee the return of any photograph, but if a stamped envelope is included, we will try. The volume of mail makes personal answers or appraisals impossible. Write to Kovels, Auction Central News, King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019.
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CURRENT PRICES
Current prices are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States. Prices vary in different locations because of local economic conditions.
Heintz vase, flared, sterling on bronze, applied leaf & berry design, impressed mark, 3 1/2 x 4 inches, $60.
The Nurses paper dolls, from 1963 CBS-TV Series, color cover photos of stars, two dolls, 52 costumes, Whitman No. 1975, carrying case-style package, $65.
Wrigley’s Spearmint Gum sign, cardboard, blond woman holding large pack of gum, 1920s, 25 x 17 inches, $175.
The Roosevelt Bears: Their Travels and Adventures, book by Seymour Eaton, cover shows Teddy B. & Teddy C., 1906, $295.
Creative Playthings Hobby Horse, molded birch plywood, original blue-painted trim, burned signature, 1960s, 25 x 12 x 19 inches, $360.
Sampler, needlework, spotted deer, curious dog, white swan flapping wings, rolling lawn, pond, trees, Ann Brown, 1788, 12 x 15 1/2 inches, $2,115.
Wave Crest dresser box, swirl pattern in panels of rust, yellow, green and mauve, scrolling medallion of seven storks against setting sun, 7 inches, $2,600.
Staffordshire platter, blue transfer view of New York City, including Governor’s Island, 20 1/2 inches, $5,200.
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