Four of nine different marriage/wedding lamps to be offered in Jeffrey S. Evans’ March 27 auction. Image courtesy Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates.
MT. CRAWFORD, Va. – The future for glass at auction is clear – not to mention colored, striped and spotted. Renowned glass and Americana authorities Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates have announced dates for their 2010 specialty auctions to be held in conjunction with LiveAuctioneers.com.
The buying opportunities are set to begin on March 27 with a one-day cataloged auction of important kerosene lighting featuring the 30-year collection of noted lighting author J. W. “Bill” Courter of Calvert City, Kentucky. More than 300 especially choice selections from the Courter collection will be offered, as will part two of the lamp collection of Charles and Jane Knox of Copake, New York. Auction Central News will be running a detailed preview of this sale in the near future.
Other upcoming sales for 2010 include a Variety sale (April 23), Early Glass & Lighting (May 22), Americana & Fine Antiques (June 26) and two Antique Sewing auctions (Aug. 28 and Dec. 4).
Jeff and Beverley Evans have provided expert services to collectors, institutions, estates and the trade for more than 30 years. Jeff Evans is the former president and senior auctioneer of Green Valley Auctions, Inc. (1979-2008) and the head of GVA’s specialty/catalogued auction division (1995-2008).
Effective January 1, 2009, Jeff and his wife/business partner Beverley withdrew their catalogued auction division from Green Valley Auctions and launched their new company, Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates, Inc. A newly constructed state-of-the-art auction gallery was completed in June 2009. From their new facility located just across the parking lot from the old location, the Evanses continue to conduct the quality catalogued auctions of Americana and fine antiques that brought national attention to Green Valley Auctions over the years.
Their leaping-stag company logo is inspired by the decoration found on the circa-1800 Shenandoah Valley of Virginia hanging cupboard that brought the highest bid price in the history of Jeff Evans’ cataloged auctions. Boldly painted by Johannes Spitler in red, white and blue, and featuring a six-point buck bounding diagonally across the door panel, the cupboard achieved a record price for American painted furniture when it sold on Nov. 13, 2004 for $962,500.
The fully illustrated catalog for Jeffrey S. Evans’ March 27 auction will be available to view soon at www.LiveAuctioneers.com, where visitors may also sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet during the sale. For additional information call Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates at 540-434-3939 or e-mail info@jeffreysevans.com. Visit the company online at www.jeffreysevans.com.
Ansel Adams photographed ‘Half Dome and Moon’ at Yosemite National Park in 1960. Image LiveAuctioneers Archive. FRESNO, Calif. (AP) – The son of legendary photographer Ansel Adams is suing the Fresno Metropolitan Museum to keep the now-defunct museum from auctioning off six of his father’s prints.
Adams’ son, Michael, filed a lawsuit Monday in Fresno County Superior Court to keep the board from selling his father’s prints, including Moon and Half Dome and Clearing Storm.
Museum officials are selecting auction houses to sell what they can of the Met’s collection to pay off its creditors. The museum closed in January because of financial troubles.
Michael Adams is requesting an injunction to stop the auction, which he says would violate a donation agreement made years ago. His lawyer, Melody Hawkins, declined to comment Thursday.
A bankruptcy attorney for the museum says they are trying to work out a solution with Adams.
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Albert Einstein was 42 when this photo was taken during a lecture in Vienna in 1921. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons. JERUSALEM (AP) – The original manuscript of Albert Einstein’s groundbreaking theory of relativity, which helps explain everything from black holes to the Big Bang, went on display Sunday in its entirety for the first time.
Einstein’s 46-page handwritten explanation of his general theory of relativity, in which he demonstrates an expanding universe and shows how gravity can bend space and time, is being shown at the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Jerusalem as part the scholarly association’s 50th anniversary celebration.
“We wanted something unique that would have global significance, and fortunately we could have access to a manuscript that has never been seen in its entirety before,” said the academy’s president, Menahem Yaari.
Einstein was one of the founders of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
He contributed the manuscript to the university when it was founded in 1925, four years after he was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics. His will bequeathed the rest of his papers to the university upon his death in 1955.
The university is lending the manuscript to the academy for the anniversary celebration.
First published in 1916, the general theory of relativity remains a pivotal breakthrough in modern physics.
“It changed our understanding of space, time, gravitation, and really the entire universe,” said Hanoch Gutfreund, former president of the Hebrew University and current chair of its academic committee for the Albert Einstein Archives, a complete collection of Einstein’s papers.
“I refer to it as the Magna Carta of physics,” Gutfreund said. “It’s the most important manuscript in the entire archives.”
Despite its central place in the canon of Einstein’s work, the original manuscript has never attracted as much attention as the man himself.
According to Gutfreund, museums around the world have been content to display only a few pages of the manuscript at a time, as part of larger features on the personal and professional accomplishments of perhaps the modern era’s most influential scientist.
That is partly because the contents of the general theory, especially in the original German, remain a bit obscure for nonscientists.
It took Einstein eight years after publishing his theory of special relativity – in which he came up with the famed equation E=MC2 (squared) – to expand that into his theory of general relativity, in which he showed that gravity can affect space and time, a key to understanding basic forces of physics and natural phenomena, including the origin of the universe.
But exhibit organizers say the significance of Einstein’s pages of careful script, diagrams, and perfectionist’s scratches will not be lost on casual viewers. They say the display will present the manuscript in the context of the theory’s legacy – which includes everything from modern space exploration to commercial satellite and GPS technology and present-day attempts to create a universal explanation of the forces of nature, a quest that started decades ago and stymied even Einstein himself.
“The greatest challenge at the frontier of physics is to make progress on these issues, the ideas that Einstein developed, discarded, and the errors he made,” Gutfreund said. “People will be able to appreciate this even if they’re not able to understand the contents.”
The manuscript will be on display until March 25, overlapping with the 131st anniversary of Einstein’s birth on March 14.
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced.
CLEVELAND (AP) – A cash-strapped historical society sold antique cars and other rare artifacts to pay off debt, embittering many supporters who say the sales have been shrouded in secrecy, The Plain Dealer reported Sunday.
The Western Reserve Historical Society won’t go into much detail about what it has sold or even how much it money it has received, the newspaper said.
That secrecy hasn’t pleased former donors, including B. Scott Isquick, who was angry last year when the society sold a 1949 Indy race car that he had donated. The society also sold the only surviving “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” car of novel and movie fame.
Isquick said he and his friends are finding other museums to support.
CEO Gainor Davis defended selling the artifacts to bring down bank debt that reached $7.2 million at its height. The society’s revenues are back on track, she said.
The Plain Dealer, which reviewed auction sales and records obtained from former society members, said the organization has about $2.6 million remaining in debt. Most of its financial problems are left over from failed expansion efforts in the 1990s, when previous society officials sought to build a grand transportation museum at the city’s Burke Lakefront Airport.
Sales of many items, such as guns, Indian artifacts and furniture, have been kept private and quiet, the newspaper said.
Cowan’s Auctions in Cincinnati has sold American Indian art and artifacts for the society since 2002. The society defended the sale of approximately 400 lots at the time, saying that its mission was to serve as a repository for significant collections relating to the history or northern Ohio. It considered its Indian art, much of it donated prior to 1942, as an “orphaned accumulation.”
A search of Web sites of auction houses turns up numerous artifacts attributed to the Western Reserve Historical Society, including a rare early type of mechanical machine gun called the Gardner Gun, Confederate money and Eskimo-carved figurines.
Davis said the society has been advised by auction houses not to release the list of items since it would likely hurt sales. However, the auction houses regularly tout the society’s ownership when highlighting the items’ provenance.
For the sake of the donors and their heirs, it is difficult to publicly discuss what items are being sold, Davis said. It’s a sensitive topic.
“We’d rather not slap them (donors) in the face with it,” Davis said.
Officials hope a balanced budget and a new financial plan will persuade the Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission to issue a $2.8 million grant, which will help the society pay for badly needed roof, electrical ceiling work and other upgrades.
Irving Jensen Jr., a former board member, said the society is on the road to recovery.
“They had to get the debt down, they had to save the institution,” he said.
Jensen recently bought a 1928 Rolls-Royce that he donated to the society in the 1970s, partly because he worried the organization would sell it, and partly to help the society. He supports the society’s latest artifact sales, he said.
“Your duty is to preserve, not to dissipate,” he said. “But sometimes you have to make choices you don’t like.”
___
Information from: The Plain Dealer, http://www.cleveland.com
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced.
Vermont native Thomas Waterman Wood (1823-1903) began his career painting portraits. He did this portrait of little Sallie Anderson in Hackensack, N.J., in 1854. Skinner sold the 17- by 14-inch oil on canvas for $1,600 in 2006. Image courtesy Skinner Inc.MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) – Experts say a 19th century painting that once hung on a wall in a committee room of the Vermont Statehouse could be worth $1.5 million.
The painting called The Quack Doctor shows a traveling patent medicine salesman stopped with his wagon on Montpelier’s State Street. Only a line of ducks beneath the wagon and the child who notices them seem to be in on what he is up to.
The painting was done by Montpelier painter Thomas Waterman Wood. It is owned by the T.W. Wood Gallery, which loaned it to the statehouse.
The Barre-Montpelier Times Argus says the work had been hung in a committee room, but it now in the legislative lounge, where it is believed to be less likely to be damaged accidentally.
___
Information from: The Times Argus, http://www.timesargus.com/
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced.
This colorful 19th-century cup and saucer is copied from the famous Meissen Swan set of the 1730s. It sold recently at a Skinner auction for $593.
Great designs are often copied. The china used in the White House by President Lincoln, President Hayes and others were made in sets for White House dinners, and copies with a different back stamp were immediately sold to the public. More copies of these famous sets of china have been made in recent years. One of the most famous sets of dishes made in the past 300 years is the Swan set created by the Meissen factory in 1735. Each white piece was made with low raised figures of swans and cattails in a lake and a flying crane. The original set had a colored overglaze design only on the rim, a few scattered flowers and Count von Bruhl’s family coat of arms. He was the factory director and ordered the 2,200-piece set for his family’s use. Copies were made in the 18th and 19th centuries. But the copies were not as plain. The raised bird and cattail design was decorated in natural colors so a finished plate looked like a picture. The rim kept the raised pattern, but it was not decorated. A modern white set of the dinnerware is available today. A new cup and saucer costs $289. A 19th-century cup and saucer with colored decoration auctioned in February for $593. An original set of candlesticks from the 1730s sold last year for more than $19,000. There will be no complete Swan sets made at Meissen again, because during World War II soldiers used some of the molds for target practice.
Q: Many years ago, I bought a wooden rocking chair at an estate sale. The bottom is stamped “Buffalo Chair Works, Buffalo, N.Y.” Has my rocker grown in value?
A: It’s probably worth more than you paid for it “many years ago,” even when you consider inflation. Today, depending on its condition, it could sell for $600 or more. Buffalo Chair Co. was a subsidiary of Edwin Sikes & Co., a furniture manufacturer established in Buffalo in the mid-19th century. Buffalo Chair Co. was founded in 1875 and went out of business in 1919. So your chair is close to 100 years old at least.
Q: We have a piece that we think is ivory or bone that has a drawing of two big ships, some canoes and other things on the front. On the back it says, “The Whaler Indian off Tahiti.” It is about 7 3/4 inches long. Can you tell us anything at all about it?
A: The Indian was a whaling ship that operated out of London in the early 1800s. You have a reproduction of a piece of scrimshaw. Scrimshaw is bone, ivory or whale’s teeth carved by sailors and others for entertainment during sailing-ship days. It was made as early as 1800, but there are many reproductions, fakes and modern pieces made on bone, ivory or plastic.
Q: Do you have any information on the Tykie Toy Co.?
A: Tykie toys are Bakelite “crib toys” that were made in Piqua, Ohio, from the 1930s until about 1952. The first toys were made by Sarah and Richard Grosvenor for their son, Michael, when he was teething. Michael’s nickname was “Tykie.” The family lived above Richard’s father’s machine shop. Eventually the company had several employees and the toys were sold at Marshall Field’s, Saks and other stores. Various characters were made, including Baby Bunny, Boppy Bear and Eppie Elephant. A children’s book of stories about the Tykie characters was published by the company in 1946.
Q: About 13 years ago, I bought a 73-inch floor lamp from my grandparents’ estate. My grandparents bought it in the late 1960s, but I have no idea how old it was then or what they paid. Cast into the bottom of the lamp base is the phrase “1968 L & L WMC 8884.” Please give me some information about the maker.
A: The initials in the mark stand for “Loevsky & Loevsky White Metal Castings,” a corporation that was in business in Carlstadt, N.J., from about 1937 until at least the 1970s. The lamp was probably new when your grandparents bought it. The first number in the mark, 1968, could be the year it was made. The second number may be a model number.
Q: Do you think beer can collecting will ever come around again? I have many, many cans.
A: Beer can collecting has been strong for a long time among a dedicated group of collectors. In fact, it started just a short time after the first can was made to hold beer. That happened on Jan. 24, 1935, at the G. Krueger Brewing Co. plant in Richmond, Va. The best way to find other collectors is to join a collectors club. Visit the Web sites of the Brewery Collectibles Club of America (BCCA.com) and the American Breweriana Association (AmericanBreweriana.org). Each publishes a magazine for collectors. The record price for a beer can, according to our files, is $19,000 for a 1941 flat-top Clipper Pale Beer can. It sold on eBay in 2002
Q: I bought three plates at a garage sale about 25 years ago. They’re stamped “Crest-o-Gold,” “Sabin” and “Warranted 22K.” One of the plates has a picture of the Last Supper on it, one has a picture of Jesus in the center and one has a picture of Mary in the center. Can you tell me something about the plates?
A: Sam Sabin and his brother-in-law, Leonard Berkowitz, founded Sabin China Co. in McKeesport, Pa., in 1939. The company bought white china, decorated it and sold it to retailers. Souvenir plates, banks, cookie jars and glassware were sold by Sabin. The company was sold to Mount Clemens Pottery of Mount Clemens, Mich., in 1967. The McKeesport property burned down in 1979 and the remaining equipment was moved to Mount Clemens. Production ceased at Mount Clemens in 1987.
Tip: If you buy an old cloth doll, put it in a closed box with an insect strip for 48 hours to kill any insects in or on the doll. But be sure the strip does not touch the doll.
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.
Need more information about collectibles? Find it at Kovels.com, our Web site for collectors. Check prices there, too. More than 700,000 are listed and viewing them is free. You can also sign up to read our weekly Kovels Komments. It includes the latest news, tips and questions and is delivered by e-mail, free, if you register. Kovels.com offers extra collector’s information and lists of publications, clubs, appraisers, auction houses, people who sell parts or repair antiques and much more. You can subscribe to Kovels on Antiques and Collectibles, our monthly newsletter filled with prices, facts and color photos. Kovels.com adds to the information in our newspaper column and helps you find useful sources needed by collectors.
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.
Radio bank, hard plastic, knobs turn, speaker opens to remove coins, made in Canada by Reliable, circa 1950, 4 x 1 3/4 x 2 3/4 inches, $75.
Continental silver-plated cigarette case and holder, rectangular, engraved with leafy scrolls, circa 1925, 6 1/2 x 3 1/8 inches, $85.
Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. calendar, paper, motoring scene, circa 1912, 7 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches, $200.
Handwerck doll, child, bisque socket head, open mouth, ball-jointed composition body, vintage clothing, circa 1885, 21 inches, $288.
Lunch box and Thermos, Ludwig Von Drake, Ludwig hanging from Matterhorn, studying worm with magnifying glass, Aladdin, 1962, $325.
Evening dress, black wool with camisole top, lined, button-up back, pleated skirt, Galanos Maison Blanche label, 1960s, size 4-6, $720.
Copper weather vane, full-bodied rooster, copper tail, traces of red on comb, second half of 19th century, 21 inches, $999.
Kew Blas cache vase, green feathers on white surface, ruffled rim flares to reveal iridescent gold, engraved mark, 5 1/8 inches, $2,070.
Pub table, fruitwood and oak, round top, four square supports, X-form stretcher, boot-form feet, mid-19th century, 30 x 46 x 44 inches, $2,160.
Lady’s Rolex Oyster wristwatch, yellow gold, perpetual date window in 3:00 position, sweep second hand, $2,880.
The best book to own if you want to buy, sell or collect: The new full-color Kovels’ Antiques & Collectibles Price Guide, 2010, 42nd ed., is your most accurate source for current prices. This large-size paperback has more than 2,500 color photographs and 47,000 up-to-date prices for more than 700 categories of antiques and collectibles. You’ll also find hundreds of factory histories and marks and a report on the record prices of the year, plus helpful sidebars and tips about buying, selling, collecting and preserving your treasures. Available online at Kovelsonlinestore.com; by phone at 800-571-1555; at your bookstore; or send $27.95 plus $4.95 postage to Price Book, Box 22900, Beachwood, OH 44122.
