NEW YORK (AP) – A 16th century Hebrew Bible looted by the Nazis six decades ago was returned to Vienna’s Jewish community Monday.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials turned over the two-volume Bible to two Austrian emissaries during a repatriation ceremony at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Manhattan.
Published in Venice in 1516-17, the Bible once was part of the well-known medieval manuscripts collection of S.H. Halberstam, officials said. In 1908, it was donated to the Vienna Jewish community library.
In 1938, during the annexation of Austria, Nazi soldiers confiscated the Bible in a seizure of the Jewish community’s library, and the Bible later wound up in Berlin.
It was illegally imported into the United States in March, authorities said.
In June, New York auction house Kestenbaum & Co., which specializes in rare books, offered the Bible for sale, according to immigration officials and federal prosecutors. An investigation by immigration officials concluded that it belonged to the library.
The auctioneer had been unaware of its history and withdrew it from the sale.
The Bible includes an Aramaic summary and a series of commentaries by medieval rabbinic figures from the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th centuries.
It was given to Ariel Muzicant, president of Vienna’s Jewish community, and Ernst-Peter Brezovsky, Austrian consul-general.
Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Laburnum leaded glass shades by Tiffany are rarely found in blue. On its cat’s paw base, this table lamp stands 30 inches high. The estimate is $60,000-$90,000. Image courtesy of Bob Courtney Auctions.
MILLBURY, Mass. – For 25 years Bob Courtney Auctions has sold many rare museum quality items, and their Nov. 14 sale will add to the long list of masterpieces. Included are intricately carved Victorian statues and architectural elements to a rare Gustav Stickley chest. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.
One of the wooden carved statues depicts a dancing girl with hand cymbals, a boy playing a flute and a dog howling. Auctioneer Bob Courtney believes it was carved in Italy circa 1880. It is 79 inches high, 32 inches wide and 36 inches deep. It has a natural finish. The estimate on this unique piece is $20,000-$30,000.
The Stickley piece appears, at first, to be a small four-drawer chest, but the oak case hides a safe, which is accessed through a side panel. Only the top drawer opens; the lower three drawers are false. The signed Stickley chest is 30 inches high, 19 inches wide and 18 inches deep. Courtney has the combination to unlock the safe. The estimate is set at $7,500-$12,500.
Another large and important item is a signed Tiffany Studios leaded stain glass window depicting a saint. Designed by Frederick Wilson, Tiffany’s top artist, the window features jeweled columns and layered and painted glass. The window measures 84 inches high by 40 inches wide. The estimate is $90,000-$150,000.
Large in its own right is a 30-inch-tall Tiffany table lamp that has a Laburnum leaded glass shade, which is 22 inches in diameter. Courtney notes that the blue Laburnum shade is rarely found. Supported by an adjustable Cat’s Paw base, the lamp warrants a $60,000-$90,000 estimate.
A tall case clock by Tobey Furniture Co, Chicago, is heavily carved with crisp details. The base has winged griffins, the sides feature beautiful caryatids, and full-figure scholars flank the clock face. Its Whittington & Westminster chimes strike on the quarter hour. The estimate is $45,000-$75,000.
A precisely carved Black Forest tall case clock having an open winged eagle top, a wreath framing the clock face and an ornate branch motif throughout is expected to reach $30,000-$40,000.
Single pieces of Roseville’s utilitarian Autumn line easy to recognize but difficult to find. Courtney’s auction has an-eight piece set, which is estimated at $4,000-$6,000. Introduced by Roseville before 1910, the scarce Autumn pieces have a high-glaze yellow and brown finish and are decorated with decals depicting woodland scenes.
For details phone Bob Courtney Auctions at 508-865-1009.
View a fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet during the sale at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
Amazing detail is carved into this wooden statue that stands 79 inches high. Probably carved in Italy circa 1880, the statue has a $20,000-$30,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Bob Courtney Auctions. The quality and design of this leaded stained glass match that of Tiffany Studios, which is signed on the bottom right. The window measures 84 inches by 40 inches and has a $90,000-$150,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Bob Courtney Auctions. Crisp and detailed carving covers the oak case of this clock produced by Tobey Furniture Co. of Chicago at the turn of the 20th century. It stands 112 inches high and has a $45,000-$75,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Bob Courtney Auctions. Crisp and detailed carving covers the oak case of this clock produced by Tobey Furniture Co. of Chicago at the turn of the 20th century. It stands 112 inches high and has a $45,000-$75,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Bob Courtney Auctions.
Roy Rogers and Dale Evans at the 61st Academy Awards in 1989. Photo by Alan Light. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
BRANSON, Mo. – An open letter written by Roy Rogers Jr., son of legendary stars of American Western films and television Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, confirms that the Roy Rogers Museum will close next month.
The museum, which moved from its original site in Victorville, Calif., in 2003, is one of the most visible landmarks in the country/Western show mecca Branson, Missouri. The tourist attraction contains personal mementos of the Rogers family, including scrapbooks, pictures from the early days of Roy Rogers’ musical group the Sons of the Pioneers, and even Rogers’ taxidermied palomino horse, Trigger, in his famous rearing pose on hind legs.
In his letter to the public, Roy Rogers Jr. expressed his thanks to fans and the museum’s board of directors, whom he said had kept the attraction going for more than 42 years.
“It has been a wonderful ride,” Rogers Jr. said. “After millions of visitors and countless stories of what Roy and Dale have meant to you, the board of directors has voted to close our doors of the museum at the end of 2009.”
Rogers Jr. said the decision to close the museum has come after two years of steady decline in visitors to the museum. “A lot of factors have made our decision for us,” Rogers Jr. said, “the economy for one. People are just not traveling as much. Dad’s fans are getting older and concerned about their retirement funds. Everyone is concerned about their future in this present economy. Secondly, with our high fiscal obligations we cannot continue to accumulate debt to keep the doors open. This situation is one I have not wanted to happen. Dad always said, ‘If the museum starts costing you money, then liquidate everything and move on.’ Myself and my family have tried to hold together the museum and collection for over 15 years, so it is very difficult to think that it will all be gone soon.”
Rogers Jr. plans to continue business as usual with his company, Golden Stallion, which produces a tribute show to Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. “I plan on taking the show to another venue in Branson. We are looking for space now,” Rogers Jr. said, adding that he has plans to take the show, and “the message of Roy and Dale,” on the road.
The museum’s last day of operation will be Dec. 12. Further information can be accessed online at www.royrogers.com.
Scores of bobbleheads were nodding approval to the Minnesota Twins move to Target Field, which will open next season in Minneapolis. Image courtesy of Morphy Auctions LiveAuctioneers Archive.MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The Minnesota Twins threw open the doors to their closets and storerooms Saturday, drawing thousands of fans eager to buy leftover bobblehead dolls and cardboard cutouts.
Popular items went quickly, as fans snapped up everything from bobblehead sets of the 1965 American League champs for $400, to major-league baseball media guides for $1. Framed newspaper pages went for $50, and T-shirts were available for $5.
Ron Miller of Buffalo, Minn., started waiting outside the Metrodome at 4:30 a.m. He managed to score the one item he really wanted: A 30-foot banner noting the late Kirby Puckett’s induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000.
“I’ve been collecting Puckett stuff for 15 years, so this was a no-brainer at $100,” Miller said. “This is the one thing I came here for.”
Centerville, Minn., resident Kevin Peickert bought a life-size cutout of Kent Hrbek for $50. It was worth the 12-hour overnight wait, he said.
“I knew you had to be here early to get the good stuff, because it was going to be gone right away,” he said.
The event was one last chance for fans to snap up leftovers from the team’s 28-year residence in the Teflon bubble, which closed at the end of this season. The Twins open next season at Target Field, on the other side of downtown Minneapolis.
As team staffers packed up for the move, they set aside anything and everything that wasn’t worth taking.
Team spokesman Kevin Smith was amazed by the brisk turnout Saturday.
“I can’t explain it,” he said. “Maybe this is kind of closure for people – we had the last (regular season) game, then the 163rd, then it was all over. It’s one last chance. A lot of the stuff in here really resonates for people. And if you’re a collector, there’s good stuff to be had.”
The sale began at 10 a.m., most of the items piled on folding tables along 15 sections of the Metrodome’s concourse. Within two hours, the pickings had grown slim.
“Not much left but bobbleheads, Homer Hankies and refrigerator magnets,” said Rusty Krentz, who drove three hours from her home in far western Minnesota. “It was worth it, though.”
Among the other deals: a bobblehead of TC, the team’s furry mascot, for $5; logo-emblazoned socks for $4; ball caps and straw hats for $3; and plastic bats for $2.
A bobblehead collection of the entire roster of the 1987 World Series champions went for $350.
Ben Golnik, a political consultant from St. Paul, found that particular deal too good to pass up.
“It’s a serious collectible, and at what, $17 a doll, really isn’t that expensive,” he said.
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Information from: Star Tribune, http://www.startribune.com
Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Wharton Esherick buffet with sculpted walnut top, $335,500. Image courtesy Sollo Rago Modern Auctions.
LAMBERTVILLE, N.J. – Low reserves and reasonable estimates for top property brought Sollo Rago’s Modern Auction of Oct. 24-25 to a total of just over $3,000,000. (All prices include 22% buyer’s premium.) When the final lot hammered, Sollo Rago was 73% sold.
Internet live bidding was provided by LiveAuctioneers.com. “The sale attracted over 200 bidders online and another 200 on the phone, 100 bidders in house and over $1,400,000 in absentee bids,” said David Rago. “Though bidding continues to be more selective than in 2007 and 2008, people know what they want and are certainly willing to spend to get it.”
The economy didn’t keep top designers and tastemakers away from the sale, either. Bidders included Vincente Wolf, Peter Marino, Susan Gutfreund, well-known names from Hollywood and the international art scene, as well as leading dealers from the U.S. and abroad.
The most expensive buy of the day was lot 26, a Wharton Esherick buffet with a sculpted walnut top set upon a curved solid walnut base. The buffet, with seven drawers and a two-door cabinet, sold at the midpoint of its $280,000-$380,000 estimate with a winning bid of $335,500.
Other stand-outs among the furniture in October included lot 23a, a gilt hand chair by Pedro Friedeberg, which sold for $19,520 against an estimate of $3,000-5,000; lot 336, a polished Prism bench by John Lewis which sold for $$32,940 against an estimate of $12,000-18,000; lot 401A, a nine-drawer dresser by Tommi Parzinger, which sold for $28,060 against an estimate of $12,000-18,000; and lot 801, a set of four chairs by Jean Prouve, which sold for $26,840 against an estimate of $10,000-12,000.
The sale featured a fine assortment of decorative arts. Pots by Claude Conover did extremely well, selling for as much as $18,300, far above estimates. A Jun Kaneko vessel, lot 443, did very well, too, selling for $12,810 against its estimate of $4,000-6,000. Lot 624, a Gambone shouldered vase sold high at $5,490 against its estimate of $2,000-4,000. Dan Dailey’s work also sold well, most notably, lot 399a, a sculptural glass vessel for $19,520 against an estimate of $8,000-12,000.
Some of the heaviest bidding of the weekend was for four Alexander Calder tapestries, including lot 53, “Turquoise” which sold for $10,980 against an estimate of $4,000-6,000.
Of the lighting lots, three stand-out: lot 94, a Donald Deskey floor lamp, which sold for $15,860 against an estimate of $3,000-5,000; lot 644, a Venini polyhedron glass chandelier which sold for $$10,980 against an estimate of $3,000-4,000; and lot 901, a desk lamp by Tynell, which sold for $8,540 against an estimate of $3,500-5,500.
The most unusual lot of the sale belonged to Phillip Lloyd Powell and was, in fact, a heavily carved 12-foot door from one of his New Hope, Pa., homes. Entered as lot 342, it sold to a museum collecting Powell’s work, for $54,900.
As of this sale, John Sollo is taking a less active role day-to-day and will continue as a consulting partner specializing in Modern design. David Rago and Suzanne Perrault will head a re-organized department of 20th Century Decorative Arts and Furnishings, holding two sales in January, April and October 2010, inclusive of all the major design movements of the 20th century.
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ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE
Donald Deskey aluminum and black laminate floor lamp, $15,860. Image courtesy Sollo Rago Modern Auctions. Dan Dailey large sculptural glass vessel titled Picture Man, $19,520. Image courtesy Sollo Rago Modern Auctions. John Lewis polished prism bench in cast glass, $32,940. Image courtesy Sollo Rago Modern Auctions.
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) – Military veterans will get free admission to the Owls Head Transportation Museum on the holiday honoring them. Veteran’s Day is this Wednesday.
The coastal museum also plans videos that mark the holiday. One is a compilation of vintage film clips, original wartime documentary footage and interviews with several prominent stars of war years. Another retells the story of the allied invasion of Europe and its victory over Nazi Germany.
Veteran’s Day was originally called Armistice Day in recognition of the end of World War I. Many of the museum’s aircraft were developed for use during World War I.
Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
