Abstract painting trumps Southern fare at Case Antiques Auction

A Tennessee cherry Jackson Press with carved pilasters and arched pediment turned $9,080. Image courtesy Case Antiques.
A Tennessee cherry Jackson Press with carved pilasters and arched pediment turned $9,080. Image courtesy Case Antiques.
A Tennessee cherry Jackson Press with carved pilasters and arched pediment turned $9,080. Image courtesy Case Antiques.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – A vivid painting by 20th-century artist Friedel Dzubas upstaged a strong lineup of early Southern antiques to become the top-selling lot at the Fall Case Antiques Auction, conducted Sept. 26.

The 40- by 40-inch acrylic on canvas, titled Malmoe, dated from 1974 and bore the signature of Friedel Dzubas, a German-born painter who settled in New York in the 1940s and became associated with Color Field art in the 1960s. He died in 1994. An East Coast dealer won the painting at $24,175. Prices in this report include the 13.5 percent buyer’s premium.

Other fine art in the sale included a portrait of a Southern belle attributed to 19th-century Nashville painter Washington Cooper, which despite some condition problems sold for $2,837, and a small watercolor of a locomotive by noted train artist Howard Fogg, which brought $1,475. A landscape by one of Tennessee’s premier female painters, Willie Betty Newman (1863-1935), sold for $2156. An early 19th-century portrait miniature of Dr. Hugh McGavock Kent of Virginia brought $1,702, and a portrait miniature of the same period depicting a child in red dress made $1,249.

Early Southern material, a mainstay at Case auctions, was in good supply, with scarce pieces in excellent condition commanding the best prices.

A large North Carolina jug with distinctive glass rutile drip by Daniel Hartsoe (Lincoln County, N.C., 1836-1916) saw spirited bidding before hammering down at $8,172 (est. $2,000-$3,000).

“Of the relatively few marked pieces by Hartsoe which have come on the market, this was one of the best in terms of condition – almost pristine – and the price reflected that,” said company president John Case.

Other Southern pottery highlights included a Sand Mountain, Ala., double-dipped alkaline glazed jug, $3,632 (est. $2,000-$2,200), and a 6-gallon cobalt decorated churn with retailer’s mark for W.R. Elam of Columbia, Tenn., $1,475. A whiskey jug bearing the mark of a Knoxville saloon earned $1,248 (est. $400-$450), and a lot of two mid-20th century Tennessee Iron Mountain stoneware sculptures, one a Japanese-style racing vehicle, hit $1,135 (est. $400-$500).

Leading the furniture was an East Tennessee press in figured cherry with arched pediment and carved pilasters at $9,080. A Federal inlaid slant-front desk, attributed to Kentucky, tallied $7,264. A three-drawer walnut chest with turned feet and inlaid half-crescent and circles on the skirt, signed Knoxville, brought $3,859. A Tennessee two-drawer cherry stand with well-turned legs tripled its high estimate to make $1,816, and a small half-round table in old surface with square tapered legs and hidden drawer drew surprisingly heavy bidding at $1,078 (est. $100-$200). A painted Mid-Atlantic Windsor settee sold for $1,135, and a period Sheraton globe stand with 1960s globe competed to $1,475.

Other strong regional material included a small Kentucky alphabet sampler signed and dated 1811, $908, and a Tennessee long rifle stamped William Beals (working 1850-1870), $3,632. A scarce 1844 Mitchell’s map of Missouri and Arkansas reached $1,248 (est. $700-$900).

An Edward S. Curtis orotone entitled The Maid of Dreams, in original frame with label remnants, made $7,377. An Alaskan baleen basket, made and signed by Marvin Sabvan Peter (1911-1962), brought $1,078, and a carte-de-visite of the 10th U.S. Calvary encampment, Grierson’s Springs, Texas, along with a CDV of three Native Americans soared to $1,362 (est. $200-$300).

A Hawaii Calabash poi bowl, 15 1/4 inches in diameter and with numerous repairs, brought $3,859, while four smaller poi bowls, signed “Kamani,” brought $737 and $794 per pair. Case noted the consignor’s grandmother purchased the bowls from the Iolani Palace in the early 1940s. The winning bidder was acting on behalf of the Iolani Palace, which became a museum in 1978.

Other notable lots included a 1925 Steinway Model M baby grand piano, $10,442; an elaborate late-19th century carved ivory bust of Mary Queen of Scots, which opened to reveal a triptych with a scene from the assassination of Joseph Riccio, $2,610; and an elaborate Rococo-style chased coin silver water pitcher with retailer’s mark for J.E. Caldwell, which descended in a Virginia family, $2,497.

For more information, contact the main gallery in Knoxville at (865) 558-3033 or the Nashville branch office at (615) 812-6096, or visit the company’s website, www.caseantiques.com.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

An abstract acrylic on canvas by Friedel Dzubas (German/American, 1915-1994), titled ‘Malmoe' and dated 1974, sold for $24,175 (est. $8,000-$12,000).
An abstract acrylic on canvas by Friedel Dzubas (German/American, 1915-1994), titled ‘Malmoe’ and dated 1974, sold for $24,175 (est. $8,000-$12,000).

An alkaline glazed jug with glass rutile drip, stamped
An alkaline glazed jug with glass rutile drip, stamped

Edward Sheriff Curtis' orotone ‘The Maid of Dreams,' 1909 signed in negative lower right, retains the original Curtis Studio frame and original title label on back. It sold for $7,377. Image courtesy Case Antiques.
Edward Sheriff Curtis’ orotone ‘The Maid of Dreams,’ 1909 signed in negative lower right, retains the original Curtis Studio frame and original title label on back. It sold for $7,377. Image courtesy Case Antiques.

This coin silver pitcher marked 'J. E. Caldwell, Philadelphia,'sold for $2,497. Image courtesy Case Antiques.
This coin silver pitcher marked ‘J. E. Caldwell, Philadelphia,’sold for $2,497. Image courtesy Case Antiques.

Selling as one lot were three CDV images of Native Americans and a CDV of 10th U.S. Calvary encampment at Grierson Springs, Texas. The lot made $1,362. The unit was formed in Leavenworth, Kan., in 1866 as an African-American regiment. Image courtesy Case Antiques.
Selling as one lot were three CDV images of Native Americans and a CDV of 10th U.S. Calvary encampment at Grierson Springs, Texas. The lot made $1,362. The unit was formed in Leavenworth, Kan., in 1866 as an African-American regiment. Image courtesy Case Antiques.

Signed and dated 1811, this Kentucky alphabet sampler sold for $908. Image courtesy Case Antiques.
Signed and dated 1811, this Kentucky alphabet sampler sold for $908. Image courtesy Case Antiques.

This Sand Mountain, Ala., double-dipped alkaline glazed jug with combed sine wave incising, sold for $3,632. Image courtesy Case Antiques.
This Sand Mountain, Ala., double-dipped alkaline glazed jug with combed sine wave incising, sold for $3,632. Image courtesy Case Antiques.

3 drawer chest TN.jpg<br width=‘J.B. Harlow, Knoxville, Tenn.,’ signed the back of this Tennessee chest of drawers. With its scalloped and inlaid skirt and original brasses, the chest finished at $3,859. Image courtesy Case Antiques.” title=”3 drawer chest TN.jpg
‘J.B. Harlow, Knoxville, Tenn.,’ signed the back of this Tennessee chest of drawers. With its scalloped and inlaid skirt and original brasses, the chest finished at $3,859. Image courtesy Case Antiques.” class=”caption” />

Treasure hunter may be victim of deceased prankster

ST. LOUIS (AP) – An Illinois woman who set out on a treasure hunt for buried gold coins after finding a cryptic note in an antique rocking chair may have been the victim of a prolific prankster who died more than 30 years ago.

With help of a donated backhoe, Patty Henken recently tore up a vacant lot in Springfield, Ill., where a typewritten note signed by “Chauncey Wolcott” – found in an old chair she bought at auction last November – suggested she would find a chest containing more than $250 in U.S. gold coins.

The dig turned up nothing but bricks and old bottles. Henken planned to return Tuesday with the donated services of a man with ground-penetrating radar meant to detect any buried items, but the treasure note’s promise may already be debunked.

An Iowa woman who read news accounts of the hunt said she knows Wolcott’s true identity: John “Jay” Slaven, a notorious practical joker and coin collector who often used a typewriter in his pranks.

Slaven used the pen name “Chauncey Wolcott” and lived for decades at the location where the dig took place, until his 1976 death, according to Betty Atkinson Ryan of Mason City, Iowa. She e-mailed a columnist for the State Journal-Register of Springfield to set the record straight.

Atkinson Ryan told the newspaper that Slaven was her boss in the Journal-Register’s classified advertising department decades ago. She said Slaven often used a typewriter to compose some of his jokes and signed them “Chauncey Wolcott.” The newspaper said archived news articles described Slaven as an actor with a “booming voice” that he used in television appearances, about 50 radio shows and to narrate the annual Illinois State Fair film.

Ryan does not have a listed home telephone number and could not be reached by The Associated Press on Sunday.

Henken’s life got interesting in May when, while prying off the seat of a rickety rocking chair she bought at auction five months earlier, she discovered a small envelope with “Finders Keepers” typewritten on it. Inside, a key was taped to a typed note.

“This DEXTER key (number sign) 50644T will unlock a lead chest,” the note began, before spelling out a location in Springfield – 1028 N. Fifth St. – where a chest containing more than $250 in U.S. gold coins supposedly was buried 12 feet below ground.

The stash, the note claimed, included eight $20 gold pieces, six $10 gold pieces, five $5 gold pieces, three $2 1/2 dollar gold pieces and two $1 gold pieces.

The undated note, signed by a “Chauncey Wolcott,” included a request to contact the Springfield newspaper if the chest was ever found.

It wasn’t.

Henken, of Mount Sterling, Ill., said Sunday that she was disappointed there’s no closure but still was hopeful Slaven may have left something to unearth.

“My friends feel like I was cheated out of finalizing this,” said the 48-year-old Henken, a clerk at the post office in Mount Sterling. “There’s something down there. He wouldn’t play a practical joke without leaving me something.”

That property’s current owners gave Henken permission to tear up the site in search of the supposed booty if they got an equal share of any find. But they pulled the plug on any more digging now that Slaven may have pulled one over on everyone.

“It’s done, other than me fixing up their (torn-up) yard,” Henken said. “It’s been fun, though. I’d do it again tomorrow. I just hope my life isn’t so boring from now on.”

She’s not averse to a copycat caper.

“I fully expect to do something like this before I die,” she said. “But I would leave them something to find, a clue to who I was and not leave them wondering what kind of sick person would make them do this.”

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Museum officials ask, ‘Did Calvin Coolidge use this Lincoln?’

The U.S. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division describes this Lincoln Limousine as the one used by President Calvin Coolidge circa 1924. Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

The U.S. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division describes this Lincoln Limousine as the one used by President Calvin Coolidge circa 1924. Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
The U.S. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division describes this Lincoln Limousine as the one used by President Calvin Coolidge circa 1924. Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
FAIRLEE, Vt. (AP) – Calvin “Silent Cal” Coolidge may have apparently liked the Lincoln.

While flashier Pierce Arrows dominated the White House fleet of vehicles, Calvin Coolidge was the first president to have a Lincoln – an understatedly elegant car fitting for a modest president.

The state of Vermont is now contemplating buying a different car – a 1923 Lincoln believed to have been used by the 30th president – in hopes of displaying it at Coolidge’s boyhood home, now a museum, in Plymouth.

Officials say the car will draw more visitors to the historic site and Vermont and build up the state’s Coolidge collection.

“There isn’t a lot of Calvin Coolidge memorabilia left,” said State Sen. Vincent Illuzzi, a member of the Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation board. The vehicle may be one of the few tangible pieces of personal property that the state can acquire, he said.

But there’s no official documentation that the maroon-and-black passenger sedan, with its whitewall tires, nickel-plated instruments and walnut window trim and steering wheel was in fact Coolidge’s.

An appraiser is still analyzing and researching the vehicle but so far hasn’t found any paperwork linking it to Coolidge or his administration.

“There’s no tangible evidence. There’s a lot of theories but I can’t wave a piece of paper in the air and say this is it,” said Dave Brownell of East Dorset.

“At the end of the day, you got to say, ‘wouldn’t it be nice?'”

The car’s owner, Frank J. Barrett, of Fairlee, Vt., says he learned of the Coolidge link through a magazine article and a previous owner. A 1981 Cars and Parts magazine story featured a 1923 Lincoln whose then-owner said was assigned to Coolidge when he was vice president under President Warren Harding. When Harding died in office in 1923, the car may have followed Coolidge into the White House becoming part of the official fleet; it was later assigned to Coolidge’s secretary of state, Frank Kellogg, the magazine article said. Years later, a U.S. Treasury Department employee bought the car and kept it until the 1970s, Barrett said.

Barrett, who bought the car in 2004, said he called the previous owner and determined by the serial number and other physical characteristics it was the same car.

It’s not unusual that no records exist if the government owned it, officials said.

“The Secret Service, they didn’t keep itemized control over the White House automobile fleet,” said Rick Peuser, supervisory archivist for the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. The Ford Motor Co. and the White House Historical Association also have no evidence.

Just because there’s no documentation, doesn’t mean it isn’t true. But sometimes myths or brushes with fame attach to antique cars, which can be hard to prove, said David Schultz, a car historian in Ohio and editor of the Lincoln Owners’ Club newsletter.

“This comes up all the time. This car was owned by Clark Gable, this car was owned by … ,” he said.

In this case, Lincoln made 1,195 of the ’23, H-129s, it’s most popular closed car that year, which sold for $4,900 new, he said.

Today, the Lincoln Owners’ Club, which covers the earlier Lincolns, has a record of just one – Barrett’s.

State officials aren’t questioning the car’s past. They’re awaiting the appraisal.

“It’s quite likely that it is (Coolidge’s car) from the research that he has done,” said John Dumville, head of the state’s historic sites.

Barrett bought the car from a Texas dealer in 2004 for $25,000 and estimates he’s put at least $50,000 into it.

Depending on the price, Illuzzi envisions acquiring it through a public-private partnership, with the Coolidge Memorial Foundation raising half the money.

If it turns out it the car isn’t connected to Coolidge, the state won’t lose out, said Barrett, a board member of the foundation, who plans to sell it and partly gift it to the museum based on the appraisal.

Officials say the Coolidge-era car would draw more visitors to Plymouth, a preserved village where Coolidge took the oath of office after Harding’s death and is now buried.

“It’s an added dimension,” Dumville said. “People will come to see it because there’s those car people out there that like to see cars, and this is a unique car and not the type of car you usually see romping around Vermont in road rallies.”

___

On the Net:

President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site:
http://www.historicvermont.org/coolidge/CoolidgeTour.htm

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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