July 12, 2011 - Auction Central News

Festival makes antiquing a year-round sport in South Florida

Unique handmade Bakelite jewelry is always available from Karen Kronimus, Image courtesy of the West Palm Beach Antiques Festival.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The first of this year’s West Palm Beach Antiques Festival Summer Shows on July 2-3 had lots of competition from the Monday national holiday and a crowded local events calendar, but rainy weather gave customers an opportunity for some dry, air-conditioned fun searching out antiques. Festival owners Kay and Bill Puchstein reported good attendance and strong sales among the wide variety of dealers and merchandise on display at the South Florida fairgrounds.

While many of the attendees were regular customers, some were surprised at finding an antiques show operating in Florida in midsummer and not having to wait until the fall to continue their antiques quests.

The Puchsteins’ slogan for two years has been “Everyone knows there is not a lot of antiquing going on during the summer in Florida but we are going to make West Palm Beach a year-round destination for antiques and collectibles.” The slogan is getting around as more people discover the festival.

One of the dealers who will be at the Aug. 6-7 event and really likes the Summer Shows because of a constant stream of repeat customers is Karen Kronimus. Karen has been around the antiques business most of her life. As a child and teenager she attended shows and auctions with her mother who was a dealer. She feels like she was an original American picker going to rural auctions and first scouting out the outbuildings for hidden treasures for her mother.

As a newlywed she did antique shows on her own on the weekends and held a variety of jobs during the week including working in a hardware store and on a thoroughbred horse breeding farm.

Fifteen years ago she had the opportunity to acquire the entire leftover stock of a Bakelite factory that was going out of business. Not really knowing what to do with it but not wanting to miss a chance, she acquired 13 tons of Bakelite stock in the form of raw bars and unfinished inventory like dice without markings and incomplete sets of dominoes and lots of domino blanks.

With her father as an accomplice she set out to drill correct patterns in the faces of the blank dice and insert colorful beads. She also drilled and painted blank dominoes to complete unfinished sets. On the first weekend she set up at a show to sell her Bakelite inventions she sold $11,000 worth of dice, dominoes and poker chips. Those items are now part of the inventory she displays at West Palm Beach along with Bakelite bracelets and other jewelry she and her father make. All of the jewelry is signed by Kronimus or her father so their work will not be confused with vintage Bakelite objects.

There is a lot more to Karen’s booth than Bakelite. She also is a serious postcard collector and dealer with more that 20 boxes of postcards in her booth at any show. She also has 24 showcases of costume jewelry and a staggering array of buttons as well as tables with shelves to display glassware and silver. She estimates she displays over 10,000 items in her booth.

And you can’t miss her. Hers is one of the first tables you see when entering the festival. She feels like she has two chances at customers – coming and going. Often she makes a sale to a customer on the way out when they didn’t find what they wanted inside. Her regular best-selling items are her costume jewelry because she feels people are afraid to wear their real gems in public. She is happy to buy or trade with a customer and is happy to give an informal opinion of the authenticity and value of a customer’s items.

The format for the entire Summer Season will be the two-day affair, Saturday and Sunday, instead of the normal three-day event during the regular season. Summer season show dates will be Aug. 6-7, Sept. 3-4 and Oct. 1-2 with a full day of setup for dealers on Friday, 8 a.m.-7 p.m.

The Puchsteins have lowered dealers’ booth rents for the summer season.

The popular early buyers admission feature will be continued in the summer starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday before the regular show opening time of 10 a.m. Summer Show early buyers admission has been reduced to $10 and is good for both days of the Show. Adult daily admission $7, seniors $6 with a 1$ discount coupon for adult admission available on the website. Anyone under 16 is admitted free. There is no charge for parking at the fairgrounds.

The West Palm Beach Antiques Festival is held at the South Florida Fairgrounds located off Southern Boulevard in West Palm Beach, Fla., 1.5 miles west of the Florida Turnpike and 1 mile east of U.S. 441/S.R.7. For more information contact the West Palm Beach Antiques Festival at (941) 697-7475, email info@wpbaf.com or visit the website at www.wpbaf.com.

ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE

Old W.Va. pottery plant to undergo major cleanup

Tankard from a set that included five mugs, all with images of dogs, produced by Taylor, Smith & Taylor. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com archive and Tom Harris Auction Center.

CHESTER, W.Va. (AP) – A former pottery plant in Chester that’s been mostly vacant for 30 years is being targeted for cleanup and reuse.

The Business Development Corporation of the Northern Panhandle announced Monday that it has acquired the former Taylor Smith and Taylor ceramic pottery plant from Rock Springs Enterprises Inc.

The corporation plans to work with the Environmental Protection Agency and the state Department of Environmental Protection to develop a voluntary remediation plan for the property. The plant closed in 1981.

The second phase of an environmental assessment will be conducted to determine contamination at the site, said Patrick Ford, executive director of the corporation. He expects contaminants to include lead and asbestos.

“Our Board recognized that there is a public urgency at the TS&T site,” Ford said in a news release. “The unchecked deterioriation of this site would result in an immediate threat to the health and safety of the residential neighborhood, in addition to the economic wellbeing of Hancock County.”

Residents have complained about the property for years.

Ford called the site “a longstanding environmental eyesore for the residents of Chester.”

He said the corporation paid $125,000 for the site, which is less than 10 acres.

The corporation plans to involve a task force of community stakeholders in the site’s remediation and planning for future uses.

“A development on this site that includes business and housing will help breathe life back into this community,” said Bill D’Alesio, chairman of the development corporation’s board.

D’Alesio said all the buildings on the property will be razed.

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Indiana man gets stolen guitar back from England

NORTH VERNON, Ind. (AP) – A southern Indiana man has his customized Les Paul guitar back more than a year after it was stolen and eventually ended up in the hands of a collector in England.

Dale Young of North Vernon said a friend was storing the guitar while he was moving in March 2010 and that his friend’s grandson stole it. He later found out that a music shop in California bought the 1978 guitar over the Internet from a store in Greenwood and that it was subsequently sold to a collector from Birmingham, England.

A Jackson County sheriff’s officer who investigated the theft helped track down the guitar’s location, but then it took quite a bit of talking with the collector to get him to part with it, Young said.

“He thought it was worth four or five thousand,” Young told The Tribune of Seymour. “I can’t blame him. It would have been tough. He didn’t know if I was legitimate.”

Young, who believes the guitar is likely worth twice that, said he finally convinced the collector that the guitar belonged to him.

“He stayed true to his word,” Young said. “He sold it back at the price he paid. He didn’t make any profit.”

Sheriff’s Officer Rob Henley said the guitar thief didn’t face criminal charges because he cooperated with the investigation and Young didn’t want to press charges.

Young bought the guitar in 1992 while he was living in Nashville, Tenn., and assembling guitars for Gibson Guitar, then had it customized.

“We just hot-rodded it like you would a car,” he said. ‘There’s probably not another one of these around.”

The guitar has been rarely played, and Young eventually decided he would save it for one of his children as a family heirloom. But he says the theft experience has changed his perspective.

“I don’t want to own anything collectible,” Young said. “There was a lot of worry over that thing. I don’t want anything custom anymore.”

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Information from: The (Seymour) Tribune, http://www.tribtown.com

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Historic Iowa general store set to close

A quaint and locally revered stretch of downtown Conrad, Iowa that includes the Conrad General store, with white lace curtains green awning. Image courtesy of City of Conrad, Iowa.

CONRAD, Iowa (AP) – Janice Juchems and Julie McNair have been proud to carry on the legacy of the Conrad General Store, but their time leading the legendary business is soon coming to an end.

Both women, who are co-owners of the store, have decided to go in a different direction with their careers and have sold the historic downtown Conrad building built in 1894.

“It’s not been an easy decision,” McNair said.

Both women grew up in Conrad and remember visiting the store’s famed candy case, which is still being used. The store has been a one-stop shop in Conrad since it was opened by the Stark Brothers in 1894. For 70 years, the store was owned by the Thorman family and known as Thormans.

“This whole business and building holds a great deal of sentimentality,” Juchems said.

Juchems bought into a partnership 19 years ago and McNair came on 12 years ago. Juchems said to become an owner of the store she admired as a child has been a dream. She loves it when people come into the store for the first time and it brings back memories of their past as well.

“To actually see them look around has been a thrill,” Juchems said.

She has also appreciated the teamwork other businesses downtown have had through the years. Restaurant business gets sent their way and they reciprocate it.

“In a small town you have to work together,” Juchems said.

The store in the past several years has specialized in quilt and sewing fabric but also has supplied cards, candy, jewelry and antiques to the community. In these days of big box stores, Juchems said the General Store was able to thrive by adapting.

“We’ve persevered because we’ve been inventive,” she said.

The official closing date is not known though it’s expected to be later in the summer. The pair will liquidate the inventory in the business and right now have everything at 40 percent off.

It is unclear the direction the new owners will take with the 117-year-old building, which has a prime location on the corner of Main and Center streets.

“You feel like you are letting down the community, but it’s time,” McNair said.

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Information from: Times-Republican, http://www.timesrepublican.com

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Space relics flew on July 10, but moon-flag swatch grounded

Solid-bronze Collier Trophy, Mercury Program, 1962. Auctioned for $15,000 on July 10, 2011. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers archive and Ira & Larry Goldberg Auctioneers.

LOS ANGELES (AP) – It was one small step for man, and one big price that wasn’t quite enough.

A strip of fabric shorn from the American flag before it went to the moon with Apollo 11 astronauts pulled in a top bid of $60,000 at Ira & Larry Goldberg Auctioneers’ sale on on Sunday, but it didn’t meet the auction house’s minimum reserve price of $95,000 and therefore was not sold.

For now it will stay in the possession of owner Tom Moser, the retired NASA engineer who rescued it from the trash in 1969.

“When you’re dealing with a unique item there’s no way to anticipate either value or interest, so it’s really a blind item,” said auctioneer Michael Orenstein. “I would say we established a market.”

Orenstein had earlier expressed hope that the strip from what he called “the most-viewed flag in American history” along with a photo bearing Neil Armstrong’s autograph would fetch $100,000 to $150,000.

Orenstein said sometimes there would be minimal interest in an item then, “I put it in the next sale and it goes wild. That’s the nature of the auction business.”

Other items at the highly successful space-themed auction – which featured Internet live bidding through LiveAuctioneers.com – met or surpassed expectations. Among the items purchased was a Collier trophy – the so-called Oscar of aviation – that was awarded to the crew of 1962’s Mercury 7 mission. It sold to a LiveAuctioneers bidder on Sunday for $15,000 (inclusive of 20% buyer’s premium). Orenstein said the auction enjoyed a 95 percent sell-through rate.

But the hopes were highest for the seven-inch (18 centimeter) strip of red and white fabric on consignment from Moser, the retired NASA engineer who was tasked with designing the moon-bound flag in the weeks before Apollo 11’s 1969 launch.

NASA’s original plans didn’t involve planting a flag on the moon because of a United Nations treaty prohibiting nations from claiming celestial entities as their own, Moser said.

But after Congress slipped language into an appropriations bill authorizing the flag’s placement as a non-territorial marker, Moser was told to design a flag that could survive the trip to the moon and be planted on its surface upon arrival.

With the spacecraft’s tiny interior too cramped even for a rolled-up flag, Moser devised a way to fix an aluminum tube with a thermal liner for the banner on the outside of the vessel, he said.

NASA staff bought an American flag off the shelf of a nearby store and Moser had a hem sewn along its top, so a telescoping aluminum rod could be inserted to hold the banner out straight on the gravity-free moon. (On the moon, the rod didn’t extend its full length; the consequent bunching is what makes the flag look like it’s blowing in the wind.)

Meanwhile, a strip of fabric along the flag’s left side was cut to remove a set of grommets, Moser said.

“It was put in the trash can and I just took it out and said, ‘I’m going to keep that,”’ he said.

Moser said he had Neil Armstrong sign a photo of the flag planted on the moon when the astronaut returned to Earth and he kept the picture and his rescued scrap of flag together in his NASA office until he retired in 1990.

But after hanging onto the photo and flag-swatch assemblage all these years, he finally decided to put them up to auction.

Some space scholars had been unimpressed with the artifact.

Since the remnant itself was never launched, its connection to the moon-bound banner has little significance, said Louis Parker, exhibits manager at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

“That doesn’t give it any more importance than any other piece of fabric that was here on earth,” he said.

But Moser insisted that the piece does indeed have value, since it represents the beginning of an era of space exploration that now has an uncertain future as the space shuttle makes its final voyage.

“The flag is the icon of the whole accomplishment of the United States being first to the moon and of a great accomplishment for mankind,” he said. “Being part of that icon, it has a special meaning.”

View the fully illustrated catalog for Ira & Larry Goldberg Auctioneers’ July 10 auction, complete with prices realized, online at www.liveauctioneers.com/catalog/25411 .

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Associated Press writer Andrew Dalton contributed.

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ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Unflown remnant from the American Flag that was taken to the moon on the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, depicted at left. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers archive and Ira & Larry Goldberg Auctioneer

Newly discovered da Vinci to be exhibited in London

Portrait of Leonardo da Vinci (Italian, 1452-1519) attributed to the artist, Collection of Royal Library of Turin, created circa 1510-1515.

LONDON (AFP) – A rediscovered painting by Italian master Leonardo da Vinci estimated to be worth $200 million (142 million euros) will go on display in London later this year, the National Gallery announced.

Salvator Mundi, which was painted around 1500, depicts a figure of Christ holding an orb and will be shown as part of the gallery’s larger exhibition on the Renaissance master due to open in November.

The recently authenticated oil work was once owned by King Charles I of England and is currently the property of a US consortium of art dealers, who are keen to retain the painting.

“I’ve assured the National Gallery that the painting isn’t on the market and that there are no plans to sell it after the exhibition,” said the New York-based private dealer Robert Simon.

The painting was identified by its brushwork, its quality and the pigments used in its execution.

“None of the students painted like that, none of the followers,” said Martin Kemp, professor emeritus of art history at Oxford University.

“It’s a new Leonardo painting, it’s sensational,” he added. “I’m glad London is seeing it publicly first.”

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Antique-themed ‘Restoration’ wins Czech film festival

PRAGUE (AP) – The Israeli movie Restoration has won the top prize at the 46th International Film Festival in the western Czech spa town of Karlovy.

The film, directed by Joseph Madmony, is a psychological study of characters in the contemporary Israeli society. It examines problems of an owner of an antique furniture restoration shop with his son and business after his business partner dies.

The movie was chosen from 12 contenders for the Crystal Globe by the festival’s grand jury, led by Hungarian director Istvan Szabo.

Saturday’s award also comes with a $30,000 cash prize.

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Amtrak history train to stop in Springfield, Mass.

Amtrak's early years were known as the Rainbow Era, referring to the various colors seen in the rolling stock and locomotives leased from various railroad lines, like this Great Northern EMD F7 locomotive. By mid-1972, Amtrak began buying the equipment it had leased, and in 1975 its official color scheme was painted on most Amtrak equipment. Image licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) – The history of Amtrak is making a whistle-stop in Springfield this weekend.

Amtrak’s 40th Anniversary Exhibit Train is scheduled to visit the city’s Lyman Street station on Saturday and Sunday.

The train is a unique traveling display showcasing memorabilia from Amtrak’s 40-year history.

Items on display include vintage advertising, past menus and dinnerware, and period uniforms. The Exhibit Train also features train-themed kids’ activities at Chuggington Kids Depot, and features characters from the television series.

The exhibit is free to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both days.

The Exhibit Train is touring the country and stopping in various cities.

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Online: The Exhibit Train, /www.amtrak40th.com

ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE

Designer names pop out at Roland’s auction July 16

This Hans Wegner folding chair is one of several Scandinavian modern designs in the sale. Image courtesy of Roland Auctions.

NEW YORK – Roland Auctions’ July 16 sale is sure to have the trendy Hamptons crowd launching their laptops poolside to bid via LiveAuctioneers.com. The reason: stacks of Manolos and racks of vintage designer fashion by Isabelle Allard, Gianfranco Ferré, Jean Paul Gaultier, Karl Lagerfeld, Christian Lacroix, Yves St. Laurent, Claude Montana, to name a few. The icons of modern furniture design are also represented. Among them, Peter Hvidt, Finn Juhl, Orga Molgaard-Nielson, Tommi Parzinger and Hans Wegner.

According to Bill Roland, president of Roland Auctions, the properties  are from estates in the best parts of Manhattan. For instance, the designer fashions come from the estate of a professional shopper who lived – where else? – near Bloomingdale’s. The clothing is in excellent condition in sizes 6 and 8. The shoes and boots are 8, each pair with its own box and each lovingly stored with shoe stretchers.

There are, of course, luxury brand bags for every occasion. And dozens of hats, each well conserved in its own hatbox. The vintage designer items start at Lot 501 and are set to go off during the last hour of the auction.    Custom-made and costume jewelry from that same estate and others is also slated to go off midafternoon. Earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings in all media, from resin to pearls, are in wearable condition. Designer items include jewelry by Miriam Haskell, Guy Laroche and Wendy Gell, whose designs have adorned such celebrities as Oprah, Princess Diana and Michael Jackson.

The collection of Finn Juhl furniture, which comes early in the day at Lots 187 to 200, includes the now famous 1962 Bwana chair with matching ottoman. Influenced by the works of Jean Arp, Juhl is known for chairs with floating backs and seats. Another Finn Juhl offering is a sideboard with five drawers and tambour doors that conceal shelves. There is also a circular dining table with five leaves, a set of eight dining chairs – three of them armchairs – and a sofa with nickel finishings.

The Hans Wegner offering is a classic folding chair with caned seat and back. The Tommi Parzinger items include a steel and brass bed, occasional tables, bench and decorative pedestals.

The strong Scandinavian influence on design is again seen in Flysfors art glass accessories. Outstanding among the items is a large stingray bowl with dark center and lighter edge. A smoky glass pitcher on a clear, bulbous form base is another excellent example of the Flysfors tradition.

Building on the mid-century theme are modern sculptures attributed to Lucile Friedland and taken for the estate of the artist’s family. In counterpoint to the fluid table top sculptures is a bronze sunburst sculpture of dramatic proportions.

More art highlights include a large oil painting by the semiretired French artist, Jean Jolifié-Conin, entitled Market Scene. Jolifié-Conin’s works are in the State Collection of France, and the cities of Paris and Toulouse. Paintings and prints by Erte, Maxfield Parish, Raoul Dufy, Marcel Debut and Miriam Broudy also make their statements.

For details on all the items in Roland’s Auctions Midsummer Sale on Saturday, July 16, please visit www.liveauctioneers.com or visit www.rolandsantiques.com.

For more information, contact Roland Auctions, 212-260-2000 or email info@rolandantiques.com.

Previews for the auction are Thursday, July 14, and Friday, July 15. The Midsummer Day sale begins at 11 a.m. Eastern on Saturday, July 16, at 80 E. 11 St., New York City.

View the fully illustrated catalog and register to bid absentee or live via the Internet as the sale is taking place by logging on to www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Several racks of vintage designer fashions are in sizes 6 and 8. Image courtesy of Roland Auctions.

Modern marble table-top sculptures in Roland Auctions' Midsummer Auction are from the family of artist Lucille Friedland. Image courtesy of Roland Auctions. — Modern marble table-top sculptures in Roland Auctions’ Midsummer Auction are from the family of artist Lucille Friedland. Image courtesy of Roland Auctions.

Leighton Galleries to sell fine estate collections July 21

Audubon quadruped lithograph, 'Chipping Squirrel,' Imperial folio, 27 x 21 inches. Image courtesy of Leighton Galleries.

UPPER SADDLE RIVER, N.J. – On July 21 Leighton Galleries will offer 400 lots including artwork, silver, jewelry, furniture and special collections including coins, sports memorabilia, collectible toys, Swarovski crystal and porcelain figurines – all for sale to the highest bidders. Internet live bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.com.

Artwork in the sale include a collection of more than 40 Audubon prints from a Waldwick, N.J., estate. Quadruped octavo as well as some Imperial lithographs will be offered including American Bison, Cougar, Canada Lynx, Ocelot, American Beaver, Common American Skunk, Chipping Squirrel and Hudson’s Bay Lemming. Birds of America and Birds of Prey will also be offered including Common Cardinal Grosbeak, Pileated Woodpecker, Wood Duck Summer Duck, Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Cape May Wood Warbler. The prints will be sold from single lots to multiple groups and carry estimates from $200-$300 to $400-$600.

Other works include two Jerry Garcia signed offset lithographs Dracula’s Heart and Northern Lights (est. $500-$700 each), an oil on masonite by New Jersey artist George Schwacha Figures on a Tree-Lined Street (est. $300-$500), an oil on canvas by New Jersey artist Edgar Malin Craven Autumn Landscape (est. $150-$200), four sculptures by Israeli artist Frank Meisler (est. $200-$400 each), an oil on board by Gloucester artist David Pollock Rabbi Holding a Torah (est. $200-$300), a still life painting of large size by New York artist Natalie Levine (est. $300-$500), a watercolor by Mexican artist Manuel Lepe Macedo Girl with Flower (est. $200-$300), two Roger Hebbelinck mezzotints Valerius de Saedeleer (est. $150-$250 each), and a color lithograph after Rene Magritte L’Idole by Henri Deschamps (est. $300-$500).

Approximately 40 U.S. coin lots will be offered including Morgans, Eagles, Walking Liberty, Franklins, Kennedys, Washingtons, 10-cent coins, coin sets, some gold coins and a lot of 70-plus uncirculated mint sets from 1963-1989. A small collection of sports memorabilia will include autographed balls and bats by Ted Williams, Roy Campenella and Wade Boggs, and an Astros jersey signed by Nolan Ryan.

Also to be offered in the collectibles category is a large single-owner collection of more than 150 Swarovski crystal figures (1987-2007), most of which are being offered as group lots estimated in the $200-300 range. Other collectibles include Boehm, Cybis, Royal Doulton, Royal Copenhagen, Lladro, and a small group of collectible toys including Ducal models “Marching Bands” boxed sets.

Estate jewelry in the sale includes a 14K fancy link bracelet at 38.6gms. (est. $700-$900), a 14K charm bracelet at 48.9gms. (est. $800-$1,000), several gold groups, and signed costume jewelry lots including Miriam Haskell, Original by Robert, Joseff, St. John and Givenchy, as well as some couture including fur coats and vintage handbags.

Approximately 50 silver lots will cross the block including numerous hollowware and assorted flatware groups, as well as fine china sets including Minton Haddon Hall, Royal Worcester Imperial, Wedgwood California, Copeland Spode Indian Tree, Lenox Essex and Wedgwood Marina. Other items of interest include a rosewood slide box signed Rohde, a Jacots cylinder music box by Mermod Freres, antique colored maps including two maps of the world by Robert de Vaugondy, chandeliers and other lighting, a 12-foot by 18-foot Chinese Kensington rug, and a small collection of clocks including two French wag on the walls.

Fine furniture will include an antique English mahogany tall-case clock with a dial signed John Hansford (est. $1,000-$1,500), a 19th-century German cherry tall-case with a dial marked Hindelang (est. $600-$800), a cherry extension dining table attributed to Jeffco (est. $600-$800), a pair of modern leather armchairs with ottomans by Ekornes (est. $300-$500), a Marcel Breuer Wassily leather chair (est. $200-$300), and a five-piece Heywood Wakefield bedroom suite (est. $400-$600).

The auction is scheduled for Thursday, July 21, 5 p.m. Eastern. It will be held at the Knights of Columbus Banquet Hall at 79 Pascack Road, Washington Township (Bergen County), N.J. Previews are scheduled for Wednesday, July 20, from 5-8 p.m., and on Thursday, July 21, from 1-4 p.m. For information call 201-327-8800 or email info@Leightongalleries.com.

View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

View the fully illustrated catalog and register to bid absentee or live via the Internet as the sale is taking place by logging on to www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

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