‘You meet the nicest people on a Honda’ in Sonny Kimball’s booth. Image courtesy of West Palm Beach Antiques Festival. WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – You might think West Palm Beach Antiques Festival owners Kay and Bill Puchstein would get tired of reporting their continuing success every month. But they don’t. They are as enthusiastic as ever and it is reflected in the dealers and in the show itself. It has an “atmosphere.”
For the March 4-6 show the Puchsteins reported having over 600 dealers with both the East Expo Building and West Expo Building full and over 100 dealers were set up outside. While the weather was a little breezy it was beautiful and wind did not pose a problem.
Like most antiques shows you can always find some examples of good early antiques, exquisite jewelry and silver, old coins, old postcards and outstanding art, but you never know what else you might find at the West Palm Beach Antiques Festivals. There you can stumble across items like the fully restored 1965 red and white Honda 50cc scooter in Sonny Kimball’s booth, the rare 1965 Fender Stratocaster by Mark Maxwell of New Smyrna Beach, Fla., the full-size folk art archer made of motorcycle parts from Vinny Balanky of Jacksonville, the early teddy bears of Kathleen Maher or the thousands of colorful Bakelite buttons offered by Jeri Berman.
You can also wander over to booth number 38 and visit with Dorothy Loud. Loud, at age 77, is one the most enthusiastic and knowledgeable dealers at the festival. In her former career she was a general contractor for exclusive high-end custom homes in the Chicago area, but the high interest rates of the 1970s put an end to that. Retreating to Florida she took a job that required extensive travel in the state and along the way began to pop in to antiques shops and shows where she found she had an eye for higher-end costume jewelry, really liked it and decided to give it a try.
She started with flea markets and expanded her inventory to include designer purses and items made of fur. She then tried local shows and quickly spread out. These days she does 43 shows a year around the country but she is starting to cut back a little. She has been in place at the West Palm Beach Antiques Festival for over 20 years and plans to stay there.
At the Festival her booth is filled with vintage costume jewelry, Judith Leiber purses and high-end furs including stoles, wraps, jackets and hats. But the most striking thing in her booth is what she calls the “glitzy bling.” You’ll have to see it for yourself. And she is always on the look out for extraordinary and rare items that fit her inventory.
Leiber normally displays several hundred items. Her inventory is pleasingly displayed on shelves, tables and in cases with none of the jumble frequently found in high inventory booths. In her orderly space each piece stands on its own and each piece is conveniently labeled with relevant information. Her little treasures range in price from $100 to $1,500.
West Palm Beach Antiques Festival is held the firstt full weekend of every month at the South Florida Fairgrounds located off Southern Boulevard in West Palm Beach, 1.5 miles west of the Florida Turnpike.
The next show is April 1-3.
‘You meet the nicest people on a Honda’ in Sonny Kimball’s booth. Image courtesy of West Palm Beach Antiques Festival. Early teddy bears are a specialty of Kathleen Maher. Image courtesy of West Palm Beach Antiques Festival.
Walt Whitman signed working manuscript of a poem initially titled ‘Ah, not that Granite Dead and Cold,’ later published as ‘Washington’s Monument,’ $57,750. Dirk Soulis Auctions image.
LONE JACK, Mo. – In the world of antiquarian books and ephemera, it’s a topic of conversation but not necessarily a shocker when a rare manuscript elicits a hefty five-figure sum at a New York or London saleroom. It becomes a major headline, however, when the sale takes place at a family-run auction house in suburban Kansas City. That was the case on Feb. 26, 2011 when auctioneer Dirk Soulis brought the hammer down at $55,000 on a signed, annotated manuscript of an 1885 Walt Whitman poem.
“I could have bought that cheaper at Christie’s!” the buyer in the room exclaimed after winning a prolonged bidders’ battle against the phones. Regardless, the buyer regained considerable ground at the check-out, since Soulis – whose Midwestern sensibility rejects the concept of customer gouging – charges only 5% as a buyer’s premium. That brought the total to $57,750.
The Whitman manuscript – a poem initially titled Ah, not that Granite Dead and Cold and later published as Washington’s Monument – was part of a distinguished, “old time” collection amassed by the late Eugene DeGruson (1932-1997).
“Gene DeGruson was considered a Kansas treasure,” said auctioneer Soulis. “He was an English professor at Pittsburg (Kan.) State University and was on the board of the Kansas State Historical Society. Although he had come from humble origins – his father and grandfather were coal miners – he became a prize-winning poet and leading scholar on Kansas history. He also built a premier collection of 19th-century literature, letters and autographs that included Shelley, Lord Byron and Oscar Wilde. Kansas was the last place anyone would have expected to find this long-hidden collection.”
Soulis said that until a few days prior to the auction, rare book enthusiasts seemed to be keeping their cards close to their vests. “Then all at once they started calling to set up phone lines for the Whitman manuscript. It was one caller’s sense that the lot was going to fly under the radar, but by auction day, we had 17 bidders on the phones and absentee bids totaling $10,000. At that point I knew we were going to see some action – but I don’t think anyone suspected it would even get within $20,000 of its eventual selling price,” Soulis said. “I certainly didn’t.”
Fewer than 50 people were present in the gallery, Soulis said. He observed that phone and Internet bidding are “the mode of the day, especially when it’s a narrow specialty like manuscripts and autographs.”
Two of DeGruson’s brothers, Jim and Walter DeGruson, serve as co-executors of the late professor’s estate. Jim, his wife Rita, and their son Eric were among those in the gallery who watched as bidding for the Whitman manuscript intensified, then boiled down to two competitors – one in the room and one on the phone.
“It didn’t seem that the last two bidders had any particular limits in mind,” Soulis said. “I would be ready to bring down the gavel when one of them would jump back in and the bidding would go up by a few thousand more. The manuscript was such a prize, they were both reluctant to concede.”
While the Whitman manuscript was the clear superstar of the $200,000+ sale, there were many other entries among the 350 lots that easily met or surpassed expectations. An Oscar Wilde hand-written manuscript of the poem Amos Intellectualis, although neither dated nor formally signed by Wilde, sold to a phone bidder for $17,325 (estimate $500-$1,000). Another phone purchase was the 1497 Latin edition of Sebastian Brandt’s Stultifera Navis (Ship of Fools), translated by Jacob Locher and illustrated with 118 woodcuts attributed to Durer. It finished at the midpoint of its estimate range at $12,600.
An archive of personal ephemera consisting of telegrams, photos, research materials and 78 letters signed by Amy Lowell also included a 5-page typed manuscript in which the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet responded to a literary magazine’s negative review of a friend’s book. Estimated at $500-$1,000, the archive sold to a phone bidder for $13,650.
Approximately $75,000 in bids came from remote sources, and 37% of the auction’s contents sold to online bidders, including a 1755 first edition of Samuel Johnson’s A Dictionary of the English Language. The 2-volume set, which took Johnson eight years to complete and was later described by the author as “a most enduring and endearing work,” realized $7,875 (estimate $1,000-$1,500).
On March 27, 2011, Dirk Soulis Auctions will conduct an estate auction containing hundreds of antique and vintage golf clubs, books, bags, trophies and other golf-related collectibles. Subsequent events include an Art Pottery, Glass and Lamp auction on April 2 and an American Art Pottery auction on April 16.
For additional information, call Dirk Soulis Auctions at 816-697-3830 or tollfree 800-252-1501; e-mail dirksoulis@gmail.com. Visit the company online at www.dirksoulis.com.
Stultifera Navis (Ship of Fools), edition of 1497 in Latin as translated by Jacob Locher, with 118 woodcuts attributed to Durer, $12,600. Dirk Soulis Auctions image.Stultifera Navis (Ship of Fools), edition of 1497 in Latin as translated by Jacob Locher, with 118 woodcuts attributed to Durer, $12,600. Dirk Soulis Auctions image.A group lot containing three stereoscopic cards of “Wild Indians of Dakota” (not shown), a cabinet card of the Liberty Bell being transported by rail, and a photo card of The Arkansas Travelers musical group at a radio station was auctioned for $2,310. Dirk Soulis Auctions image.From an archive of Amy Lowell letters and other ephemera, this poem was hand written on University Club of Chicago stationery; archive price $13,650. Dirk Soulis Auctions image.Two-volume 1755 first edition of Samuel Johnson’s A Dictionary of the English Language, $7,875. Dirk Soulis Auctions image.Oscar Wilde hand-written manuscript of the poem Amos Intellectualis, $17,325. Dirk Soulis Auctions image.
A charming pair of George III Rococo giltwood and carved ho-ho birds, circa 1760, in the manner of Thomas Chippendale, standing on rocaille bases, on the stand of Charles Mackinnon at the BADA Fair opening in London on March 23. Image courtesy Charles Mackinnon and BADA. This month’s British Antique Dealers’ Association Fair, better known as the BADA Fair, is one of the most prestigious events in the London art and antiques calendar. If anything is likely to govern the gossip at this year’s event, which opens on March 23, it will surely be the revelation that London is losing its prestigious perch high up on the international art market tree. And that’s official.
London has for decades enjoyed the enviable status of being the No. 2 international art market center after New York. However, yet another benchmark for measuring China’s inexorable economic growth became clear this week when new research confirmed that China has now usurped the U.K. as the world’s second largest art market after America.
Quite how exhibitors at the BADA Fair in London’s Chelsea district will greet this news remains to be seen, but the challenge now is surely not to slip behind any further in the global rankings. Appropriately enough, given the ongoing contest with China, another of the highlights at this year’s BADA fair is a Chinese Kangxi period (1662-1722) blue and white vase, which will be on the stand of Guest and Guest at an undisclosed price.
This Chinese Kangxi period blue and white vase, modeled on a Venetian glass form, will be on the stand of Guest and Guest at the 19th BADA Fine Art and Antiques Fair at the Duke of York’s Square in London from March 23-29. Image courtesy Guest and Guest and BADA.
The research report that broke the unpalatable news of Britain’s sliding status is entitled The Global Art Market in 2010: Crisis and Recovery. It was prepared by the respected art market economist Dr. Clare McAndrew for The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF), which opens in the Dutch town of Maastricht on March 18.
While most of the world’s major economies are still struggling to free themselves from the mire of recession following the global banking crisis, the art market has already bounced back with vigor, according to McAndrew’s research. This is largely because the newly wealthy in developing economies like China and India seek luxury goods in order to demonstrate their success; and art and antiques remain the top commodities in that process of conspicuous consumption.
The global market for art and antiques rose 52 percent from its low point in 2009 to reach a total of $43 billion. The recovery was strongest in the United States and China, with the latter enjoying a 23 percent share of the global market, overtaking the U.K. for the first time. The U.K.’s share in 2010 was 22 percent, five percent down on 2006, largely as a consequence of China’s growth.
If that news were not bad enough for U.K. art market professionals, the report also contained a stark warning. In 2012, the U.K. will be forced to adopt the final clause of the European Union’s Artist’s Re-Sale Rights Directive. This allows a deceased artist’s heirs to benefit from any resale of the artist’s works for 70 years after the artist’s death. This will bring works from the larger Modern art sector of the market within the scope of the directive.
The report noted that Modern and Contemporary Art represents 58 percent of the fine art market as a whole, with the Modern art market accounting for six times the value of the Contemporary art sector. Given that the U.K. is currently the largest European market for Modern art, it is likely to bear the brunt of the levy and thereby lose further market share to China and the U.S., which do not impose it. The United States currently dominates the international market with a share of 34 percent.
While it has been common knowledge that the French art market, centred in Paris, has been declining for some time, the report confirms that the European Union’s share of the global art market in 2010 was 37 percent, a decline of 16 percent from its highpoint in 2003. The Artist’s Resale Rights Levy is often cited as a factor in that decline.
One other interesting finding was that in 2010, 81 percent of the value of the fine art auction market was accounted for by sales of works priced over euro50,000 ($69,487), but these represented only 5 percent of all sales transactions.
So, the emerging economies are clearly making their presence felt in the art market as never before. It is usually the so-called BRIC nations that fall into this category — Brazil, Russia, India and China. However, the Middle East is also pushing ahead as European and North American dealers seek to engage with a wealthy art collecting demographic in those regions.
One of London’s most active and imaginative experts serving these nascent markets is Francesca Galloway, who has been dealing in Indian miniatures, and Islamic textiles for over 30 years. Originally with Christie’s, and later a director of Spinks, Galloway set up her own business in 1992, opening her gallery at 31 Dover St. in 2006.
In April she will be staging a selling exhibition of Islamic Courtly Textiles dating from the 14th to the 19th century.
Considered the luxury goods of their time, Islamic textiles, whether worn as costume or used as interior decoration, were a means of displaying wealth, taste and power. The exhibition includes rare and dazzling examples of silk weaving, embroidery and painted cottons from Mamluk Egypt and Islamic Spain to late Ottoman Turkey and 19th-century Islamic Indonesia.
One of the more spectacular items in the show is an early 17th-century royal chintz floor spread made for the Golconda court, which has survived because it was kept in the treasury of the Amber Palace outside Jaipur. In the early 20th century the legendary dealers/collectors Imre Schreiger and Nasli Heeramaneck took this group of royal chintzes to the United States. Heeramaneck’s private collection of Indian art is now divided between the Los Angles County Museum and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
London textiles dealer Francesca Galloway will show this embroidered cotton coverlet or floor spread, India, Deccan or South India, first half of 18th century at her forthcoming exhibition of Islamic Courtly Textiles. Image courtesy Francesca Galloway. Given the hunger for luxury in the fast-recovering and increasingly global art market, Galloway’s latest exhibition looks likely to attract an enthusiastic audience. It will certainly offer a rare opportunity to experience close up the kind of sumptuous material that one normally only sees in a museum context. Prices range from £1,500-£180,000 ($2,400-$288,700). A sumptuous and unusual Ottoman embroidered wool cover with European influence dating from the late 18th to early 19th century. Wool, silk chain stitch, silver and silver-gilt lamella couched over cotton. On show at Francesca Galloway’s forthcoming exhibition of Islamic Courtly Textiles. Image courtesy Francesca Galloway. Francesca Galloway’s forthcoming London exhibition of Islamic Courtly Textiles includes this Spanish Nasrid silk fragment depicting rampant crowned lions under split palmette leaves, probably Granada, late 15th century. Image courtesy Francesca Galloway.
Another London show worth popping into this month is an exhibition of the work of the internationally renowned Scottish artist Will Maclean. Maclean has won critical acclaim for his intriguing box constructions that use found materials in strange and beautiful juxtapositions. Born in Inverness and the son of a harbormaster, it is perhaps unsurprising that Maclean’s elegant work reflects his abiding interest in the sea, in coastal regions, in maritime travel and exploration.
‘Canada Passage’ by Will Maclean (1994), mixed media construction. Private collection. Image courtesy Fleming Collection. ‘Leviathan Elegy’ by Will Maclean (1982), mixed media construction. Image courtesy Aberdeen Art Gallery. This major retrospective of Maclean’s work is on view at the Fleming Collection at 13 Berkeley St., London W1 until June 4. The show is accompanied by a book on the artist, Will Maclean: Collected Works 1970-2010, published by The Fleming-Wyfold Art Foundation. ‘Nautilus Aground’ by Will Maclean (1998), mixed media construction. Image courtesy Fleming Collection and the artist. ‘Symbols of Survival’ by Will Maclean (1976), bone and pine. Image courtesy Fleming Collection and the artist.
Meanwhile, the swinging critical reception given to the Royal Academy’s current “Modern British Sculpture” exhibition will have done no harm to those enterprising London sculpture dealers who take a more considered and scholarly view of what constitutes excellence in historical British sculpture.
Those sculpture lovers who left the Royal Academy feeling disappointed at the bizarre choice of works on show, had only to wander into the commercial gallery circuit to find a few enterprising London dealers who would restore their faith in the true historical legacy of British sculpture.
Among them is Robert Bowman whose next show at his gallery at 12 Duke Street, St James’s is devoted to what he calls British New School Sculpture. That may sound like another word for contemporary art but in fact it refers to that late 19th-century sculpture movement more commonly termed The New Sculpture, which properly embraces major figures such as Frederick Lord Leighton, George Frampton, Harry Bates, Alfred Gilbert (most famous for the so-called Eros at Piccadilly Circus), and a host of other academically respected if relatively little-known names.
Frederick Lord Leighton (1830-1896) ‘The Sluggard.’ Bronze, rich mid and dark brown patination. On exhibition at Robert Bowman’s exhibition of British New School Sculpture at his Duke Street gallery from April 14. Image courtesy Robert Bowman. Sir Alfred Gilbert (1854-1934) ‘Comedy and Tragedy.’ Bronze, rich, dark brown patination on a marble socle. To be included in London sculpture dealer Robert Bowman’s exhibition of British New School Sculpture. Image courtesy Robert Bowman. Bowman’s exhibition, which opens on April 14, includes a superb and discerning selection of works from this golden period in British sculpture coincides with the Victoria and Albert Museum’s exhibition on the Aesthetic Movement, entitled “The Cult of Beauty,” which opens on April 2 and runs until July 17.
As all these shows make clear, London has much to be proud of and a good deal to help it regain its place in the international art market rankings. The BADA Fair will offer one of the first indications of how much London still has to offer.
Meanwhile, look out for our report of The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) in next month’s London Eye column.
Phenomenal Brooks cigar store figure, circa 1880s, in excellent condition with original paint. Image courtesy of Showtime Auction Services.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Over 1,800 lots of investment-grade antiques and collectibles – to include country store and advertising items from the Earl Hagerman collection, many pieces from the Chesapeake Bay Fire Fighting Museum in Maryland, and more than 100 rare and vintage toys – will be sold to the highest bidder April 1-3 by Showtime Auction Services.
The event will be held at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds. The Friday session will be an uncataloged, live audience-only sale, with around 500 lots in a variety of categories. Saturday will be dedicated to country store and advertising, while Sunday will feature fire fighting memorabilia, antique toys and miscellaneous items.
LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding Saturday and Sunday. Phone and absentee bids will be accepted both days.
On Sunday, a major pressed steel toy collection out of Kansas will cross the block, with over 100 lots expected to generate great bidder interest. Examples by Buddy L, Keystone, Sturdytoy and others will be featured.
“I’m extremely excited about this auction,” said Mike Eckles of Showtime Auction Services. “It will be the best country store and advertising sale we’ve ever held, thanks to the outstanding lifetime collection of Earl Hagerman out of California. The firefighting memorabilia from the museum in Maryland is just outstanding, and the rare, vintage toys are sure to do well.”
The auction will also feature barber shop, candy, gum, soda fountain, Old West, saloon, gambling, coin-ops, music, pedal cars, folk art, tobacciana, petroliana, fine art, automobilia, pottery and glassware.
A printed catalog can be ordered at a cost of $35 by calling (316) 721-5236.
One lot in the sale is expected to bring $50,000-$100,000. It’s a Rock Island Railroad reverse glass sign, made circa 1880 by one of the artists hired by Rock Island to paint the lampshades on the Pullman cars. The one-of-a-kind piece is in near-mint condition and has been in the same family for the past 100 years. The auction will feature 25 vintage reverse glass signs.
Also expected to get paddles wagging is a phenomenal Brook’s cigar store figure from the 1880s, in excellent condition and with most of the original paint (est. $40,000-$60,000). A great companion lot is a Sunset Trail cigar tin, the rare “25” version (est. $3,000-$5,000). Also sold will be a great child’s barber chair with hand-carved horse head (est. $2,500-$4,000).
The fire fighting memorabilia will feature a 1919 La France Chemical fire engine, in service from 1920-1936 and professionally restored to original condition (est. $35,000-$50,000); a T.J. Coolidge horse-drawn fire hose cart from the 1880s, fully restored (est. $15,000-$25,000); and an 1858 fireman’s stove pipe parade hat, leather with painted graphics (est. $3,000-$6,000).
Vintage toys will include a rare 1930 American National Packard toy car (est. $7,500-$10,000); a mechanically intriguing and all-original Buddy L trench digger (est. $5,000-$10,000), one of over 50 Buddy L toys in the auction; and a circa 1920s Gendron pedal car in excellent all-original condition and with the original spare tire cover (est. $12,000-$20,000).
Tin advertising pieces will include a rare Chilled Plow embossed tin sign with incredible color and graphics (est. 10,000-$15,000); an Allen’s Red Tame Cherry die-cut sign with original easel wire (est. $20,000-$30,000); a Ferris Corset tin store display in near-mint condition (est. $20,000-$30,000); and a Log Cabin Coffee tin store bin with original chimney ($6,000-$10,000).
Other advertising signs will feature a Ford Service Department Arrow neon sign, fully restored and in excellent working condition (est. $15,000-$25,000); a Winchester cardboard sign depicting bear dogs and housed in the rare original wood frame (est. $5,000-$10,000); and an Iver Johnson Revolver die-cut two-sided tin sign, in excellent condition (est. $4,000-$6,000).
Lots dedicated to various potables include an oversize Old Prentice Whiskey back bar display bottle with reverse glass label (est. $12,000-$15,000); a leaded, stained glass window advertising Yosemite Lager Beer, very colorful and vibrant (est. 7,500-$12,000); and a Nu-Grape tin die-cut flange sign (est. $1,000-$2,000), one of over 100 soda-related items in the auction.
Coin-ops will feature a fabulous Doraldina Fortune Teller coin-operated arcade machine with wax head, in excellent condition (est. $10,000-$20,000); and a compact Model L Seeburg Nickelodeon 5-cent play, in a beautiful quartersawn oak cabinet (est. $5,000-$10,000). Also to be sold is a rare, fully operational cast-iron Leap Frog mechanical bank (est. $5,000-$8,000).
Lots that were originally meant for motion include a rare 1915 Shaw motorcycle, made by Stanley Shaw in Galesburg, Kan., in excellent condition (est. $15,000-$25,000); a full-body Hein tiger carousel figure, a turn-of-the-century piece with a great look (est. $8,000-$12,000); and a great early cast-iron pull toy featuring a man with a baby on his leg (est. $2,500-$3,500).
Rounding out the day’s anticipated top lots: a salesman’s sample display rack of a dozen walking canes, each one about 18 inches long and detailed same as the originals (est. $10,000-$20,000); a John Deere cast-iron deer head previously mounted outside a dealership (est. $7,000-$12,500); and a Bell Telephone Co. wall sconce lamp in the shape of a bell (est. $1,500-$2,500).
As with previous major Showtime auctions, this one is expected to attract a crowd of around 400-500 live bidders. Internet bidding should also be brisk, with 1,200-1,500 registered bidders competing. Room trading is encouraged, at the venue’s preferred hotel, Weber’s Inn in Ann Arbor. For info and reservations, call (734) 769-2500 or log on to www.webersinn.com.
To consign an item or for auction details call Mike Eckles at 951-453-2415. His e-mail address is mikeckles@aol.com. To learn more about Showtime Auction Services and its upcoming auctions, log on to www.ShowtimeAuctions.com.
Winchester cardboard sign depicting bear dogs, housed in its rare and original wood frame. Image courtesy of Showtime Auction Services.Rock Island Railroad reverse glass sign, made in 1880 and in the same family for 100 years. Image courtesy of Showtime Auction Services.Rare cast-iron mechanical Leap Frog bank in very good original working condition. Image courtesy of Showtime Auction Services.Rare 1930 Packard toy car made by American National, expected to bring $10,000. Image courtesy of Showtime Auction Services.1919 La France Chemical fire engine, served Red Lion, Pa., from 1920-1936, fully restored. Image courtesy of Showtime Auction Services.Gendron pedal car from the 1920s, in excellent condition, with the original spare tire cover. Image courtesy of Showtime Auction Services.Early 1900s molded pressed tin weather vane in the shape of an Indian, 30 inches tall. Image courtesy of Showtime Auction Services.
Located adjacent to the Mingo County Courthouse, the Coal House was home to the Tug Valley Chamber of Commerce. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License. WILLIAMSON, W.Va. (AP) – A Mingo County landmark, a structure built of coal nearly 80 years ago, is about to get an extreme makeover.
The coal walls and the original arched windows will remain.
But nearly everything else was destroyed or damaged in a fire on Columbus Day last fall.
A $200,000 redo is in the works.
“It is the Coal House. It is the city of Williamson’s landmark,” said Leigh Ann Ray, project manager for the Mingo County Commission.
“The sky is not the limit, but the county commission is willing to do what they have to do to put it back and put it back properly.
“It’s really not that massive of a project.”
Ray said visitors still stop to take photos of the Coal House, even with its front entrance boarded up.
“People love this little building,” she said.
Contractors could submit bids for the project until Wednesday.
Ray said she anticipates commissioners will award the bid at a March 25 special session. The county expects repairs to cost about $200,000, with construction starting in early April.
She said the county hopes to wrap up construction by June 16 in time for the Hatfield-McCoy Reunion Marathon.
“We would like to have the Coal House open and ready to welcome the public,” she said.
The fire broke out around 6 a.m. Oct. 11.
Ray said some have made “uneducated guesses” about the fire, blaming faulty electrical wiring, but fire marshals did not pinpoint the true cause. Investigators determined only that the blaze started in the ceiling. No foul play is suspected.
“We’ll never know,” she said.
The fire gutted the structure. The building needs new drywall, flooring, lighting and electrical work. Wood framing is now visible, as are the coal bricks inside the walls. The ceiling also is gone, providing a clear view of the antiquated wiring, roof studs and the underside of the roof. The fire also torched brand-new hardwood flooring that had been donated by the nearby Mohawk Flooring plant. Workers had not installed the flooring, but the supplies were inside the Coal House, adjusting to the building’s humidity and temperature.
The exterior largely escaped damage in the blaze, aside from black smoke debris that now darkens part of the building’s entranceway.
“The fire, structurally, didn’t do much damage,” Ray said.
It did, however, uncover some structural problems. Water had leaked through the aged roof and into the walls over the years, causing some of the framing to rot, Ray said. Now there’s a temporary roof on the building to keep water out.
“The fire allowed us to go in there and see what needs to be done,” she said.
Ray said the Coal House is basically “just a great big room.” It’s 50 feet long and 21 feet across, with a small bathroom on one side of the main entrance and a coat closet on the other side.
It was constructed in 1933 under the supervision of H.T. Hicks, a Welch architect, and D.M. Goode, a Williamson businessman.
The 65 tons of coal used in the construction were mined from the nearby Winifrede seam and donated by five local coal companies.
Crews remodeled the building several times over the years. The main room was partitioned into three smaller rooms in the late 1970s, creating a waiting room and two offices. The high ceiling also was lowered around the same time.
Ray said the county wants to return the Coal House to its original look with hardwood flooring, plaster on the walls instead of wood paneling and period-appropriate light fixtures.
The interior again will be one large room, but with cubicle-style partitions to separate workspaces. Ray said the building’s back wall might be used to display the work of local artists.
The coal inside the walls will receive a special foam covering to prevent oxidation, which can compromise the strength of the bricks. The foam will be the same kind used to make coal mine seals.
The coal on the building’s exterior is protected by the paint and varnish that also keeps it black and shiny, Ray said.
He said the county must abide by State Historic Preservation Office guidelines during construction. That means the Coal House’s windows can’t be replaced with modern windows but must be repaired. The windows’ top arches, which were blacked out with paint at some point in the building’s history, must be cleaned so light can shine through.
She said the preservation office would have liked the county to repair the original roof, but that’s not an option because of the severe damage it sustained in the blaze.
Insurance policies should cover most of the construction costs. Ray said the structure was covered under two separate insurance policies – the county commission’s policy on the structure and the Williamson Chamber of Commerce’s policy for the building’s contents.
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Information from: Charleston Daily Mail,
http://www.dailymail.com
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AP-ES-03-15-11 1101EDT
ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE
Located adjacent to the Mingo County Courthouse, the Coal House was home to the Tug Valley Chamber of Commerce. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License.
Queen Juliana in 1963. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. AMSTERDAM (AP) – From threadbare armchairs to marble mantel clocks, garden furniture to a silver pocket knife, thousands of the late Dutch Queen Juliana’s possessions are going under the hammer in an attic sale fit for a king.
The four-day auction by Sotheby’s started Monday and was stirring interest among serious collectors as well as die-hard Dutch royalty fans of the popular House of Orange.
A total of 1,725 lots gathered from seven royal palaces were being auctioned with the proceeds going to four charities – one chosen by each of Juliana’s four daughters.
“It’s really like a royal attic sale,” auctioneer Mark Grol told The Associated Press. “With paintings to prints, ceramics, silver, furniture. Just basically everything you would find in a palace.”
The sale is intended to clear out unwanted belongings that were left over after Juliana’s estate was divided among her daughters following her death in 2004 at age 94.
Some 10,000 people come on viewing days last week at the Sotheby’s office in Amsterdam, shuffling through a maze of oak tables, mahogany and satinwood chairs, and giant chandeliers. Walls were lined with oil and watercolor paintings.
To underscore the royal provenance, photos showed some of the lots in use at the palaces they came from.
One photo showed Queen Juliana, her husband Prince Bernhard and their four daughters, including present Queen Beatrix, eating breakfast at Soestdijk Palace using a service being auctioned with a presale estimate of euro3,000-euro4,000 ($4,185-$5,580).
Henk Stam, 69, who visited the auction aiming to buy 19th-century chairs, said royalists would push up the prices on some lots.
“As soon as you see a J or W on the underside of a chair the interest increases,” he said, referring to the stamps of Queen Juliana or one of the three Dutch King Williams.
Grol said that only after the first 213 lots were up for grabs on Monday would there would be an indication of how far over the presale minimum estimate of about euro1.5 million ($2.07 million) the auction would go.
He said interest was high not just from the Netherlands, but also from the U.S., Russia and China.
Early bidding was brisk, with a combination of online, telephone and auction room bids pushing up the price of the first lot, a quintessentially Dutch watercolor of skaters on a frozen waterway by Jan Anthonie Langendijk to euro5,250 ($7,309) including buyer’s premium. The estimate was euro1,000-euro1,500 ($1,377-$2,066).
Those in the room wanting to bid were given cards – orange, of course – with a bidder’s number on it.
There appeared to be some royal bargains on offer, with the cheapest lot an oak writing desk with an estimate of just euro25-50 ($35-$70).
“Some items will go for a reasonable price, but we have a lot of interest both from collectors and people who want to buy a souvenir from the royal family who’s very popular in the Netherlands,” Grol said.
Royal fans were likely behind lively online bidding for a pine box with “Z.K.H. Prins der Nederlanden stal Soestdijk,” meaning “His Royal Highness Prince of the Netherlands Soestdijk Stable,” painted on the lid.
The box, which comes up for auction Thursday – the last day of the sale – had an estimate of euro50-euro100 ($70-$140).
One of the top lots, a 16th-century late Gothic guild emblem sold for euro48,750 ($68,000) including buyer’s premium, although that was close to the bottom end of the estimate of euro40,00-euro60,000 ($5,580-$83,690).
One bidder who described himself as a collector and a royal fan said he hoped to buy some antique porcelain.
“I have the same problem as the royal household,” said the man, who declined to give his name. “Where do I put it all?”
Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Stephen Church, standing outside his Church’s China store in Northampton, describes the interest in royal wedding souvenirs as ‘quite staggering.’ Image courtesy of The U.K. Gift Company. NORTHAMPTON, England (AP) – Surrounded by boxes in a rickety old warehouse above the family shop, Joe Church hurries to wrap plates adorned with the faces of Prince William and his bride Kate Middleton for a customer in Australia.
Church’s, a 152-year old china and ornament seller specializing in memorabilia, has plenty of reason to celebrate the upcoming royal nuptials as its cash register chimes with the wedding bells.
“It’s good for the royal couple, it’s good for everyone in the U.K. and it’s certainly good for business,” beams Joe’s father, Stephen Church, in front of a display of goods ranging from heart pillows to look-alike William teddy bears.
But just an hour down the road on a rainy building site outside Cambridge, it’s a very different story.
For Dick Searle, the owner of a small eponymous digger rental service, the royal wedding – and an extra public holiday – couldn’t come at a worse time. As Britain struggles to pull out of an economic downturn that has crippled the building industry, the last thing Searle needs is to pay his staff for a day with no work and leave expensive equipment idle.
“They didn’t ask us about it, did they, and we are having it hard,” said Searle as his crew laid a new driveway in the drizzle. “Good luck to people selling rubbish plates, but for us it’s nothing but bad news.”
While the union of the photogenic young couple is a boon for a select few British businesses, the cold statistics suggest it is actually a drag.
Analysts predict the April 29 wedding and the creation of an extra public holiday will provide a boost of up to 1 billion pounds ($1.6 billion) to the economy, largely through retail sales, hotel room bookings and the hospitality trade.
But each public holiday also typically costs the economy 6 billion pounds in lost productivity – leaving a 5 billion pound shortfall at a time when fears of a double-dip recession weigh heavily.
The Federation of Small Businesses, a leading lobby group in a country where the average business employs just four workers, is worried about the timing of the wedding. The creation of a public holiday to celebrate the event so soon after the Easter break increases the chances of many workers taking extra vacation time – or a few unauthorized sick days – to extend their time off.
That’s an unappealing prospect for many small businesses at a time of rising unemployment, surging inflation and harsh government spending cuts.
“It will be a difficult time for a lot of small businesses that had been looking for improvement at Easter,” said Andrew Cave, the FSB’s chief spokesman.
Still, supporters of the nuptials, led from the top by a congratulatory Prime Minister David Cameron, are hoping that the feel-good factor generated by an extra day off will be worth the inconvenience and lost economic revenue in the longer-run.
“I think it’s more about consumer sentiment,” said Chris Simpson, marketing director at online shopping comparison site Kelkoo. “England as a country gets behind big events.”
“At a time when the headlines seem to be dominated by bad news, the nation is rightly seizing the opportunity to celebrate something positive.”
Cameron was keen for the event to be a public holiday to make it a “national celebration,” providing a bright spot in an otherwise bleak outlook for average Britons.
National holidays were declared to mark the wedding of both Charles and Diana in 1981 and Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee in 2002. One is also planned for the queen’s Diamond Jubilee next year.
The pressure group Republic, which campaigns for an elected head of state, said it was “absurd that the whole country gets a day off for something most people are not interested in.”
“At least 20 percent of the population are opposed to the monarchy, many more simply don’t care about it,” said spokesman Graham Smith.
Among the clear winners are retailers, led by grocers who are banking on a boost to champagne and food sales over the weekend as people celebrate at home or at street parties, and sellers of wedding merchandise like Church’s. More general retailers are also expected to see a small uptick as many people hit the shops on their extra day off.
In research for Kelkoo, the Center for Retail Research forecast the wedding to provide a 530 million pound ($856 million) boost to British retailers as around 4 million locals join the celebration in some way.
Many retailers have been quick to spot the opportunity in the biggest royal event since William’s dad Charles married Diana in 1981.
Within hours of the couple’s engagement announcement on Nov. 16, Wal-Mart Inc.-owned Asda supermarket was selling 5 pound commemorative mugs and Tesco PLC, the biggest retailer in the country, was sewing up versions of Middleton’s royal blue engagement dress.
You can buy anything from tea towels to bargain-basement versions of Middleton’s sapphire and diamond ring – famously first worn by Diana.
The New West End Company, which represents 600 retailers in central London, expects an extra 500,000 tourists over the royal wedding weekend to add some 50 million pounds in both retail and accommodation. Many hotels in the capital are fully booked, leading enterprising Londoners to offer private rooms for rent, with some charging as much as 2,000 pounds ($3,200) for the week.
VisitBritain, the main inbound tourism association, launched a new “Royal Britain” website last week to cash in on the wedding, giving potential visitors tips about where to go, what to see and what to buy.
There’s also plenty of interest – and cash – coming in from people overseas who can’t make it here for the first royal event of the Internet era.
Church’s online site, theukgiftcompany, has taken orders so far in excess of 100,000 pounds – 80 percent of those coming from the United States – and Stephen Church expects to hit seven figures before the big day.
“The level of interest from overseas has been quite staggering,” he said. “This is really going to provide a bridge over the stormy waters that the recession is proving to be.”
Searle still isn’t convinced as he faces the likelihood of shutting down business for an extra week. He has a simple message for the happy couple: “Wills and Kate, I’m not against you, but you should have done what most people do and got married on a Saturday.”
Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
AP-CS-03-15-11 0833EDT
ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE
Stephen Church, standing outside his Church’s China store in Northampton, describes the interest in royal wedding souvenirs as ‘quite staggering.’ Image courtesy of The U.K. Gift Company.
AU.S. World War I medal group attributed to Albert L. Schlesinger, which included a Purple Heart, a Bronze Star, a French Croix de Guerre and French veterans’ medals, sold for $1,840 at a World at War Auction held Feb. 22 by Cowan’s Auctions in Cincinnati. Also, a World War II German SS side cap and M-43 wool cap hammered for $1,380; a lot of four U.S. World War II theater-made Air Corps wings realized $1,380; and an archive pertaining to Vietnam-era U.S. Marine Lt. Col. John Kadlecik hit $1,610. Prices include a 17.5 percent buyer’s premium.
A studio photographer in Nashville, Tenn., shot this photograph of the legendary outlaw Jesse James. Image courtesy of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers. CHICAGO – Jesse James has been an American obsession for over a century. Most of his life, however, remains a mystery. The outlaw left few artifacts behind to help fill in the gaps, which has intensified the demand for all James-related historical memorabilia, especially photographs and signed documents. On April 5 Leslie Hindman Auctioneers will sell the only known signed photograph of Jesse Woodson James.
LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live biddings for the entire auction.
The albumen print portrait, showing James as a young man with his hair slicked back and dressed in a suit and tie, is an iconic image of the outlaw. James was killed by Robert Ford, a member of his gang, at the age of 34. James’ signature is exceedingly rare, with only one other signed item selling previously at auction. The signed photograph in Hindman’s auction is expected to greatly exceed its $20,000-30,000 estimate.
The provenance of the photograph is excellent. It was obtained by Andrew MacKellar, captain of the Cunard Line’s the RMS Queen Mary from 1954 to 1959, from Calvin Tilden Owns, husband of Ethel Rose James (the granddaughter of Jesse James), who confirmed the authenticity of the signed photograph. It was bequeathed to her by Jesse James’ widow, Zee, as part of an inheritance. The photograph has been in private hands since it was purchased from Capt. MacKellar in 1958.
The signed photograph will be a featured in the Americana session of the Fine Books and Manuscripts Auction to be held Tuesday, April 5, starting at noon Eastern at Hindman’s gallery, 1338 W. Lake St. The items will be on display Saturday, April 2, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday, April 3, from noon to 5 p.m., and Monday, April 4, from noon to 6 p.m.
For details contact Mary Williams at 312-334-4236 or marywilliams@lesliehindman.com.
ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE
A studio photographer in Nashville, Tenn., shot this photograph of the legendary outlaw Jesse James. Image courtesy of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers.
Considered the luxury goods of their time, Islamic textiles, whether worn as costume or used as interior decoration, were a means of displaying wealth, taste and power. The exhibition includes rare and dazzling examples of silk weaving, embroidery and painted cottons from Mamluk Egypt and Islamic Spain to late Ottoman Turkey and 19th-century Islamic Indonesia. 
