Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Vitruvian Man’ drawing, circa 1487. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. OSLO (AFP) – An artist has recreated Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous sketch, Vitruvian Man, in the Arctic ice to draw attention to the ice melt, Greenpeace said Wednesday.
The Arctic ice cap has shrunk to almost the same level as in 2007 when it was at a record low.
An artist specialised in aerial art, John Quigley, traveled to the region on board a Greenpeace ice breaker and reproduced da Vinci’s most famous drawing – depicting a man in two superimposed positions with his arms and legs apart – some 500 miles from the North Pole.
The artwork, which Quigley entitled Melting Vitruvian Man, measures the equivalent of four Olympic-size swimming pools. The man’s two arms and one leg have been cut off, symbolically melting into the sea to illustrate the disappearing ice.
Quigley used copper strips normally used to create solar panels to recreate the 500 year-old drawing.
“Literally climate change is eating into the body of our civilisation,” the artist explained in a video clip published by Greenpeace.
The ice cap has never been as small as it was in August with the exception of 2007, according to the U.S.-based National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), which began its satellite measurements in 1979.
Several forecasts suggest the Arctic ice cap could disappear entirely during the summer months within a few decades.
While that is bad news for environmentalists, the phenomenon could be a boon for oil companies who hope to be able to gain access to oil and gas deposits that are unexploitable under the ice, and to shipping companies which could see shorter shipping routes with access to the Arctic waters.
Important French parcel gilt and gem set jewel casket, with the mark for Paul Rigaux and Pierre Leblanc. Estimate: $20,000-$40,000. Image courtesy of Leland Little. HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. â Leland Little Auction & Estate Sales Ltd. will present more than 700 lots of fine art, decorative arts and fine wine at their two-day Fall Catalog Auction to be conducted Friday, Sept. 16, and Saturday, Sept. 17. The sale will feature property deaccessioned from the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, the North Carolina Museum of History, the New Bern Historical Society, as well as other select estates and collections. Floor, absentee and telephone bidding will be available both days, as well as live online bidding through LiveAuctioneers.com.
Of special note, LLAES Ltd. is under current construction to expand their gallery space by 5,500 square feet, bringing the total square footage to 15,500 square feet. This expansion will offer 2,000 square feet of additional gallery space, a state of the art walk-in wine cooler, and ample storage for consignors. LLAES, Ltd. expects the construction to be completed by December.
The first session on Friday at 6 p.m. Eastern will offer 107 lots of fine wine and will be led by a magnum bottle of La Tache, vintage 2005 (est. $6,000-$8,000). This sale will also feature vintage 1996 Petrus, one bottle (est. $1,200 -$1,500), vintage 1959 Chateau dâYquem, one bottle (est. $1,000-$1,500), as well as vintage 1985 Chateau Margaux, four bottles (est. $800-$1,100). To discuss buying or selling fine wines contact Mark Solomon, Fine Wine Director, at mark@llauctions.com.
Starting at 9 a.m. Eastern on Saturday, LLAES Ltd. will offer over 600 lots of fine and decorative arts. This session will start with an outstanding Confederate and militaria collection. A rare Mendenhall, Jones & Gardner Confederate rifle, made in Guilford County, N.C., (est. $12,000-$16,000) should generate excitement. Other lots of note include a McElroy Confederate foot officerâs sword (est. $9,000-$12,000), a Confederate North Carolina contract forage cap, circa 1860-62 ($4,000-$6,000), and an identified Rhode Island Civil War Gillmore Medal (est. $3,500-$4,500), which was awarded âFor Gallant and Meritorious Conductâ at Fort Sumter.
Fine silver will be strong, as usual, led by an important French parcel gilt and gem set jewel casket with the mark for Paul Rigaux and Pierre Leblanc (est. $20,000-$40,000). Other top lots include a Tiffany & Co. Japanese-style sterling bowl (est. $1,000-$2,000) and a Swedish silver tea urn by Gustaf Mollenborg (est. $4,000-$6,000).
Over 70 lots of Fine American Art will energize the sale throughout the day. Top lots include a series of four bas-relief sculptures of calla lilies by Donald Sultan (est. $8,000-$12,000), an oil on canvas by Francis Flanagan, Monhegan Island, Maine, (est. $4,000-$6,000), and an oil on canvas by Lendall Pitts, Source of Romanche (est. $3,000-$6,000). An unusually fine offering of contemporary American art and photography will also generate excitement, led by an un lithograph by Richard Diebenkorn (est. $4,000-$6,000) and a screen print on paper, pencil signed on the lower left by Andy Warhol (est. $2,000-$4,000).
Sculpture will be well represented at this auction, led by a bronze bird fountain with remnants of gilding by Janet Scudder (est. $15,000-$25,000). This sculpture bears a foundry mark reading âGORHAM Co. Foundeurs,â and was included in a 1919 exhibition of 22 garden sculptures organized by W. Frank Purdy, president of the Art Alliance in New York City. Other fine offerings include a bronze fluid abstract modernist sculpture by Oded Halahmy (est. $500-$1,000) and a 19th century carved wood with gesso and polychrome paint statue of Our Lady of Guadelupe (est. $1,000-$2,000).
American furniture offerings are strong and provide an outstanding sampling ranging from 18th century to modern forms. Top lots include a Southern Federal inlaid serpentine sideboard, circa 1800 (est. $10,000-$15,000), a North Carolina paint-decorated blanket chest, attributed to Alamance County, the first half of the 19th century (est. $5,000-$10,000), a circa 1810 New York Federal linen press (est. $4,000-$8,000), an American Classical secretary bookcase, circa 1820-1840 (est. $4,000-$6,000), a North Carolina country Sheraton sideboard attributed to Guilford County, early 19th century (est. $2,000-$4,000), and a Philadelphia Chippendale armchair, second half of the 18th century, attributed to William Savery (est. $1,000-$2,000).
The jewelry department at LLAES Ltd. has again brought a fine collection of estate jewelry and watches to market, led by an amethyst, turquoise, diamond, and pearl choker consisting of one round amethyst weighing approximately 44 carats (est. $4,500-$6,500). Other lots of note include a platinum and three-stone diamond ring (est. $3,500-$5,500), an antique red coral bracelet (est. $600-$800), and an 18K diamond and emerald link bracelet (est. $1,000-$3,000).
Decorative Accessories, led by a Tiffany Studios collection including a Tiffany blown glass and bronze candelabrum (est. $4,000-$8,000) and a Tiffany Studios 16-piece Grapevine desk set (est. $4,0000-$8,000), will be a highlight of the sale. Other exciting lots include an Alamance County redware plate, circa 1800 (est. $2,000-$4,000), a Navajo Germantown blanket (est. $2,000-$4,000), and a fine ormolu and cut glass chandelier, 19th century (est. $2,000-$4,000).
LLAES Ltd. continues to bring fresh Asian Art offerings to market. Lots of note include a Chinese millefleur bottle vase, 20th century (est. $1,000-$2,000), a large Chinese Famille Jaune porcelain vase, 19th century (est. $1,000-$2,000), and a large Chinese scholarâs brush pot, likely 18th century (est. $600-$900).
To learn more about Leland Little Auction & Estate Sales Ltd. please visit their website at www.LLAUCTIONS.com or phone 919-644-1243.
Tiffany blown glass and bronze candelabrum, signed âTiffany Studios New York 10088â with Tiffany Studios monogram. Estimate: $4,000-$8,000. Image courtesy of Leland Little.
Â
Â
American Classical secretary bookcase, circa 1820-1840. Estimate: $4,000-$6,000. Image courtesy of Leland Little.
Southern Federal inlaid serpentine sideboard, circa 1800, eastern North Carolina. Estimate: $10,000-$15,000. Image courtesy of Leland Little.
Â
Amethyst, turquoise, diamond and pearl vintage choker necklace, consisting of one round amethyst weighing approximately 44 carats. Estimate: $4,500-$6,500. Image courtesy of Leland Little.
Â
Janet Scudders bronze bird fountain with remnants of gilding. Estimate: $15,000-$25,000. Image courtesy of Leland Little.
Nineteenth century hand-painted Meissen reticulated porcelain dresser box: $14,375. Image courtesy of Elite Decorative Arts. BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. â A Meissen hand-painted oval-covered dresser box with incredible reticulated design throughout sold for $14,375 at an estates sale held Aug. 27 by Elite Decorative Arts. The 19th century box was the top lot of the nearly 350 items that changed hands. The auction was held at Elite Decorative Artsâ gallery facility in Boynton Beach.
âWe had a great sale, an amazing sale,â said Scott Cieckiewicz of Elite Decorative Arts. âWe actually saw higher prices realized for some Meissen pieces than what similar lots brought at Christieâs recently.â Meissen, the colorful German-made antique porcelain, is highly coveted among collectors. There were many Meissen pieces offered in the Elite Decorative Arts auction.
A little over 400 lots came up for bid; 60 failed to meet the reserve. About 100 people attended the event live, while online bidding (through LiveAuctioneers.com) attracted over 700 registered bidders and more than 1,000 bids. Around 180 phone bids were also posted. About one-third of the offerings were consigned by a prominent psychiatrist from Deerfield Beach, Fla.
The Meissen dresser box exhibited stunning workmanship, with female busts and figural cherubs throughout the sides and cover. It also boasted finely detailed floral garlands, with scrolled reticulated designs throughout. The interior was a gilded bowl, with a flat floral design to the bottom of the cover. Standing 7 inches tall, the box had undergone some minor repairs.
Following are additional highlights from the auction. All prices quoted include a buyerâs premium (15 percent for in-house and phone, 18 percent for Internet bidders).
The second top lot of the sale was a rare Tiffany & Co. sterling silver Revival urn with figural snake handles ($8,555). One side of the urn showed a depiction of Asclepius, the Greek god of healing, with Greek words. Another Tiffany piece also did wellâa sterling silver and cut crystal pitcher with sterling silver stirring spoon in the Chrysanthemum pattern ($5,750).
Without question, Meissen items were the dayâs top achievers. Two pieces topped the $3,000 mark. One was a figural group depicting a woman sitting in a seat with three children playing cards ($3,894). It stood 8 3/4 inches tall. The other was a cherubic figure depicting two women in dresses standing near a column and urn and bows and arrows, 10 inches tall ($3,304).
A Meissen figural group depicting five cherubs dancing, playing instruments, eating fruit, looking through a telescope and holding a bird, measuring 5 1/2 inches in height, rose to $2,832, and a Meissen figural group depicting two women with cherubs, in a scene with flowers and eggs, brought $2,760. The 9 1/2-inch tall piece showed detailed lace work to the womenâs dresses.
Two Meissen lots fetched identical prices of $2,530. The first was a pair of antique hand-painted figural candlesticks, each on depicting cherubs with fish fin legs holding figural flowers, into which the candles were inserted. The second was a figural depiction of a cherub holding a torch and flower, as an allegory of day. The antique hand-painted piece measured 7 1/4 inches tall.
Another pair of Meissen pieces also garnered identical prices ($2,478). One was a hand-painted figure of a fortune-teller adorned in a pink and blue dress fitted with a bonnet and standing at a pedestal table, shuffling a deck of cards. The other was a figure of a boy in a flamboyant garb, with badminton racket and shuttlecock. The piece stood 6 1/4 inches in height. A Meissen figurine depiction of night, showing a cherub with navy drape and star hallow accompanied by an owl at its feet and mounted on gilt and rocaille shell design plinth, breezed to $2,415. The top selling Royal Vienna lot was a beautiful pair of antique Austrian vases, each one showing hand-painted nymph scenes ($5,074). The circa-1880 vases were artist-signed (Feier).
Two other Royal Vienna pieces worth noting were a magnificent hand-painted portrait charger with a hand-painted scene of a woman with wheat in a long black dress, titled Ruth ($2,530); and a portrait plate depicting a young girl in a pink dress with leaved crown, signed âWagnerâ to the lower right and having stunning gilt work with enameled beading ($2,478).
A hand-painted KPM porcelain plaque, executed circa 1900 in the classical elegance form, depicting the bust of a young woman distinguished with clear outlines and cool colors, framed, made $6,195. Also, a Teplitz amphora portrait vase (Reissner, Stellmacher & Kessel), hand-painted, depicting a woman with a tiara, with beautiful purples and turquoise, hit $5,865. An enchanting Jaeger LeCoultre white caravelle Atmos mantel clock with honeybee design and fitted white leather presentation box, in full working condition, chimed on time for $3,776; and an oil on canvas Cubist presentation of two pierrots (musicians as harlequins), by the Argentine painter Emilio Pettoruti (1892-1971), 30 inches by 24 inches, commanded $3,186.
Elite Decorative Artsâ gallery is located in the Quantum Town Center, located at 1034 Gateway Blvd., Suite 106, in Boynton Beach. A full-time, knowledgeable staff is on hand Monday-Friday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
For information about this and other auctions, call Elite Decorative Arts at either 561-200-0893 or toll-free at 800-991-3340; or email them at info@eliteauction.com. To learn more about Elite Decorative Arts and their upcoming auctions, log on to www.eliteauction.com.
Superior 5-cent Horse Race slot machine and confectionary dispenser, top lot of the sale, $36,000. Morphy Auctions image.
DENVER, Pa. â Just about anyone who collects antique gambling or coin-op machines knew the late Bob Levy. He was such a presence in his field of expertise that he became known throughout the world as simply âthe slot machine guy.â On Sept. 3rd, more than 200 coin-op enthusiasts gathered at Dan Morphyâs auction gallery an hour northwest of Philadelphia to bid on the treasured private collection Levy had amassed over a lifetime. LiveAuctioneers.com provided the Internet live bidding for the high-profile event.
The Levy selection was offered on day two of Morphyâs Sept. 2-3 sale, together with neon signs, mechanical banks and antique advertising. The grand total for the two-day event was $1,836,000, inclusive of 20% buyerâs premium.
âThe sale was a huge success. Our new auction room was bursting at the seams, and we even had to bring in additional chairs to accommodate the overflow,â said Morphyâs CEO Dan Morphy.
A Pennsylvania newspaper columnist, Gene Friedman, also commented on the strong attendance, noting, âI never saw the place so full, and that includes the parking area.â
The Levy session ran five hours and kept attendees riveted to their seats. âMany of the coin op people had never before set foot in our gallery. I found it amazing that they stayed till every last machine was sold. It was a landmark event for the hobby,â Morphy said.
Dr. John Morphy, who is head of Acquisitions & Appraisals for his sonâs auction company, observed: âMany of the successful buyers had been to Bob Levyâs home in the past and tried to buy machines from his collection, but of course they werenât for sale. At the auction, the machines sold for tremendous prices.â
Among those in attendance were members of the Levy family, who remained through the entire second session. âThey were very pleased with the results and wanted to express their thanks to our team,â said Dan Morphy.
The top-selling machine â and top lot of the sale â was a Superior 5-cent Horse Race slot machine. Considered one of Levyâs supreme acquisitions, the gold-medal-winning machine also dispensed confections, which could be viewed through glass windows on the front panel. Estimated at $20,000-$25,000, it crossed the finish line at $36,000.
One of the most ornate of all cast-iron poker machines, a Mills Little Duke poker machine was in working order and retained its original marquee and playing-card reel strips. Against an $8,000-$12,000 estimate, it cashed out at $32,400.
A magnificent Caille Centaur upright slot machine with carved oak cabinet on cabriole legs handily exceeded its estimate, selling for $24,000; while a Mills 5-cent Dewey upright slot machine with original reverse-on-glass façade earned an above-estimate $21,000. Highly sought after by collectors, a Buckley âBonesâ 25-cent dice slot machine enjoyed a hefty payday, selling for $19,200.
The Levy collection included several sports-related vending machines. A Jennings wood-cased 25-cent slot machine that paid off in golf balls well surpassed its $4,000-$6,000 estimate to land a winning bid of $14,400.
Occupational shaving mugs from the 19th and early 20th centuries continued their winning streak as a favorite category in Morphy sales. Among the big winners in the 150 lots auctioned were a mug depicting three basketball players in action near a net and backboard, and an example emblazoned with the image of a street sweeper in snow-white uniform and black knee-high boots. Each achieved $12,600. A mug with a color illustration of a covered âProvisionsâ delivery truck with driver garnered $7,800.
A fine assortment of soft drink advertising items included a 1950 Coca-Cola double-sided figural sign replicating a school crossing guard. It sold within estimate for $5,400; while a mirrored-glass restaurant menu board advertising 5-cent Orange Crush nearly doubled its high estimate at $4,200.
A beautiful array of cast-iron mechanical banks closed out the 1,521-lot sale. Leading the group was a Kyser & Rex Uncle Remus bank in near-mint-plus condition. One of the most popular of all mechanical banks with an African-American theme, it soared past its estimate of $14,000-$16,000 to close at $32,400.
Two dozen figural cast-iron doorstops and bookend sets were entered in the sale. A striking 12-inch Uncle Sam in red, white and blue attire earned a salute, finishing at $11,400 against an estimate of $3,000-$5,000.
âWe were thrilled that so many new bidders attended the auction,â Dan Morphy said. âIn particular, many of the coin op collectors told us they were blown away by the results and that they were very impressed by the way our team handled the sale.â
âIâm sure that Bob Levy, who established our Coin Op and Gambling Machine division, would have been very happy to know that his personal collection generated so much excitement amongst fellow collectors,â Morphy continued. âBob had a very generous spirit. He also would have been pleased that the auction of his machines brought greater exposure to Morphyâs within the collecting field he was so instrumental in developing.â
To contact Dan Morphy, call 717-335-3435 or email serena@morphyauctions.com.
View the fully illustrated catalog, complete with prices realized, online at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
Chemosphere (1958-1960), Los Angeles,Calif. Photo: Joshua White/JWPictures.com. MARQUETTE, Mich. (AP) â An exhibit featuring architect John Lautner is open at the DeVos Art Museum at Northern Michigan University in Marquette. The exhibit celebrates what would have been Lautner’s 100th birthday and will be open until Nov. 13.
Lautner was born in Marquette and graduated from Northern Michigan University. He later studied with famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
DeVos Art Museum Director Melissa Matuscak said Lautner’s success proves that “because you’re from a small town, doesn’t mean that you can’t go on to do incredible things.”
John Lautner (1911-1994) is considered one of the visionary architects of the 20th century. He received a liberal arts degree from Northern Michigan before leaving to study with Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin. He settled in Los Angeles where he became well known for designing innovative structures, particularly residential buildings that demonstrated a true sensitivity to location, space, structure and the wishes and needs of the clients he worked with. Lautner received the Gold Medal of the American Institutes of Architects in 1993.
This is the first exhibition in Lautnerâs hometown and highlights a range of Lautner’s residential architectural styles through drawings, floorplans, models, photography and video. The exhibition will focus on eight of Lautnerâs residential designs that span his career and highlight his ability to create a range of spaces, from intimate to grand. Buildings include Carling (1947, Los Angeles); Hatherall (1958, Shadow Hills, Calif.); Concannon (1960, Beverly Hills, Calif.; Chemosphere (1958-60, Los Angeles); Garcia (1962, Los Angeles); Sheats/Goldstein (1962-63, Beverly Hills, Calif.); Harpel #2 (1966, Anchorage, Alaska), and Marbrisa (1971-73, Acapulco, Mexico).
The exhibition includes sketches, drawings and plans created by Lautnerâs firm, on loan from the Getty Research Institute and the John Lautner Foundation; models created by the Hammer Museum at UCLA and a new model of the demolished Concannon residence created by Hayke Zweede with assistance from Ko Jacobs, Tycho Saariste and Jan-Richard Kikkert; photographs by renowned architectural photographer Julius Shulman and contemporary architectural photographers Alan Weintraub, Zachary Cornwell, Francois Dischinger and Joshua White. There will also be excerpts from two documentary films on Lautner (Spirit in Architecture and Infinite Space) and previously unreleased audio of Lautner discussing his designs, provided by Sprit in Architecture director Bette Cohen.
Jan-Richard Kikkert and Tycho Saariste are practicing architects based in the Netherlands. Since 2007 they have been researching Lautnerâs buildings and developed a course about the architect at the Artez Academy of Architecture at Arnhem. The course included a research trip to Los Angeles with students to view over 80 Lautner buildings in 10 days.
Â
Friday, Sept. 30, 7 p.m. / The Spirit in Architecture: John Lautner
Film screening & discussion with film director Bette Cohen
Bette Cohen is an award-winning filmmaker and film editor. She produced and directed the film The Spirit in Architecture: John Lautner, portraying the life and work of the architect.
Â
Saturday, Oct. 22, 2 p.m. / Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman
Film screening
Narrated by Dustin Hoffman, Visual Acoustics celebrates the life and career of Julius Shulman, the worldâs greatest architectural photographer, whose images brought modern architecture to the American mainstream.
Â
Thursday, Nov, 3, 7 p.m., Marquette Regional History Center / Infinite Space: The Architecture of John Lautner
Film screening
Renown architectural filmmaker Murray Grigor explores Lautner’s dramatic spaces with choreographed camera moves, as Lautner himself provides the commentary, speaking with insight and wit in recordings culled from archival sources.
Â
http://www.nmu.edu/devos
Â
Information from: WLUC-TV, http://www.wluctv6.com
Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
LONDON (AFP) – British artist David Hockney, one of the most influential painters of his generation, is to stage an exhibition of his landscapes from his native Yorkshire, including recent works produced on an iPad.
A total of 151 works will be shown, including giant paintings such as “Winter Timber” (2009), a woodland clearing painted in violet and blue on 15 canvases, films shot while driving through the forest, and drawings made using his iPad.
The exhibition, “David Hockney: a Bigger Picture”, will run at the Royal Academy of Arts in London from January 21 until April 9. Featuring some never-before-seen works, it focuses on the Bradford painter’s home county of Yorkshire in northern England.
The rural theme comes shining through, with many works depicting country tracks or produced at the side of a path.
Using an iPad has brought Hockney new freedom in his country forays.
The 74-year-old can “take it everywhere with him instead of carrying oil paint and brushes and watercolors and color pencils and ink,” one of the exhibition’s curators, Marco Livingstone, said at the press launch Wednesday.
“You could work instantly when inspiration took you. And he can instantly send it to his friends.”
The iPad art is created using the Brushes application, drawn with the finger or a special pen.
They “have their own quality,” Livingstone told AFP.
Once printed out, “they look like sort of paintings but they are on paper. They look like watercolors but the color is more dense. They look like gouache but the color is more transparent.”
Hockney said getting out in the dales and moors of Yorkshire had changed his view on the seasons, particularly winter.
“I thought it was too cold and too dark,” he said during a rare press conference.
“And I realized how beautiful the winter was: it was not black and white, it was not gray, in fact sometimes a lot more colors than the summer.”
Dressed in a gray, double-breasted pinstripe suit and brown shoes, with a black and white hooped tie and polka-dot pocket square, the chain-smoker posed indoors for photographers with an unlit cigarette in his mouth.
He hopes the exhibition will make visitors “watch the spring a little more carefully.”
In 2005, Hockney returned to Yorkshire to live in the seaside town of Bridlington and three new groups of work made since then in his new surroundings are among the exhibition highlights.
The artist has a well-worn approach to finding scenes to paint.
“I drive on a little road, I have a chair in the back, I get it out, I sometimes go and sit places for quite a long time, just looking. I smoke a cigarette; contemplate,” he said.
Often credited as an important figure in international Pop Art — a label he refutes — Hockney is known for his landscapes, portraits and representations of private spaces, such as living rooms, showers and swimming pools.
Admission to the exhibition costs ÂŁ14 ($22, 16 euros).
Click below to view a video of David Hockney speaking at his press conference. Video copyright AFP:
Printed sheets known as broadsides had a low survival rate. This Vermont militia broadside is dated 1807. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers Archive and Heritage Auctions.
LITITZ, Pa. (AP) â In a fledgling nation hungry for men to fight in the American Revolution, conscientious objectors were frequently greeted with scorn and their loyalty was questioned.
As war approached, leaders in Pennsylvania’s Lancaster County sought to ease tensions by urging the growing number of German immigrants with religious objections to war to demonstrate their patriotism by giving as much money as they could afford to the revolutionary cause.
The proposition is spelled out in a July 11, 1775, public notice known as a âbroadside,â which is on display at the Moravian Archives & Museum here. Experts recently confirmed it as the only known English-language copy.
Lancaster played an important role in the nation’s early history. It was the largest inland town in America, said Scott Gordon, an English professor at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. It was the nation’s capital for one dayâSept. 27, 1777, while the Continental Congress was fleeing British troops who had captured Philadelphia. And it was Pennsylvania’s capital from 1799 to 1812.
Gordon stumbled across the broadside while researching another aspect of the Colonial era. Driven by curiosity, he checked authorities on the historical significance of early American publications and confirmed its uniqueness.
The one-page broadside does not alter historians’ understanding of Colonial history, but it adds texture to the record of the fierce debate among colonists over how to deal with the Anabaptists, Quakers, Moravians, and other religious groups that were built on pacifist principles and whose members were moving to Pennsylvania, said Gordon, who also chairs Lehigh’s English Department.
The Moravian Church, which traces its origins to the 15th century in what is now the Czech Republic, calls itself the world’s oldest international Protestant denomination.
Early American policymakers wrestled with the conflicting forces of religious tolerance and wartime patriotism.
âThere’s nothing that’s printed on this broadside that’s brand new,â Gordon said. âIt’s just one of those incremental steps by which this very new, local democracy tried to manage these competing diverse communities.â
The 236-year-old broadside, yellowed but still clearly legible, urges citizens whose âreligious scruplesâ prevent them from bearing arms to contribute toward the ânecessary and unavoidableâ expenses of the larger community.
No contribution amount is suggested, but the notice says the sum should be enough to dispel suspicion that they are using their beliefs as a pretense for not paying their fair share.
âA cause that affects all, should be borne by all,â the broadside warns.
The broadside was published by Lancaster County’s âcommittee of correspondence and observation,â one of many panels local leaders formed at the request of the Continental Congress to keep citizens informed.
The Lancaster County committee published at least 10 broadsides during 1775 and 1776, Gordon said. The notices were posted in public places or read aloud. Most were printed in both English and Germanâup to 400 copies in each language.
A torn portion of the German-language version of the July 11, 1775 broadside is in the possession of the Library of Congress in Washington. But checks with that institution, the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Mass., local collections in Pennsylvania and standard references on historical publications turned up no copy of the English version, Gordon said.
Without fanfare, the Lititz broadside has been displayed in the museum of the shade-dappled Moravian Church Square since the 1970s, according to Dorothy Earhart, who is in charge of tours of the complex.
It is expected to stay there, alongside artifacts that include a Moravian hymnal, drawings of the main buildings, the land grant for the 491 acres that made up the original community and a display of antique women’s bonnets bearing ribbons of different colors that signified whether they were married, single or widowed.
The Moravian church established Lititz as a closed communityâopen only to church membersâon donated farmland in 1756. It began allowing outsiders to buy property in 1855.
The Revolutionary War years were a time when many members began debating the church’s stance on war, said one of the Lititz church’s two pastors, the Rev. Dean Jurgen. The modern church does not take a pacifist stand but leaves the decision on whether to serve up to individual members, he said.
In Colonial times, Earhart said, âWe had people in all phases, from those who were very much opposed to the war and anything to do with it to those who went into the militiaâall colors in between.”
Jurgen and Earhart said the broadside would have been sent to the Lititz pastor and that he would have likely circulated the German-language version among the German-speaking community. They speculated that he simply filed away the English edition, which also could explain its excellent condition.
âMoravians don’t throw anything away,â said Earhart.
Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The double slate used by pupils in the early 1900s is the old-school version of todayâs laptop. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers Archive and Williams Auction and Appraisal Service. CHARLES CITY, Iowa (AP) â Once a teacher, always a teacher.
It’s been 63 years since Arlene Carney put down the chalk for the last time at the Ulster No. 3 School, but once a year she still gives a history lesson. The former educator doesn’t want people to forget what it was like to learn and work in a one-room schoolhouse.
Every Labor Day weekend, Carney resurrects the era during the Cedar Valley Engine Club’s annual Threshers Reunion. The school was moved about two miles north in 1993 to the club’s grounds west of Charles City.
âTeaching is just something I have to do,â Carney said. âI don’t want people to lose this part of history. I make it come alive.â
Carney won’t insist that students sit in antique wood desks, practice penmanship or study arithmetic. Instead, she’ll take visitors on an educational journey before pencil and paper were replaced by laptop computers.
Learning and working in a one-room school wasn’t always easy, Carney said, but it was an experience she and former student Betty Griffin cherish.
Carney taught children through eighth grades from 1943-48, the final two at Ulster No. 3. She was forced to quit when she got married.
The 85-year-old recalls stoking the furnace with coal, wood or corncobs to warm the drafty school, which was built in the late 1800s. Besides teaching, Carney served as custodian, nurse, cook and counselor.
If the school needed teaching supplies or visual aids, Carney was expected to buy them. She made $90 to $95 a month teaching eight to 13 children.
Teachers have it easy today, Carney said, compared to her workload. The school day was 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. from September through May.
âStudents got a good education. I wouldn’t want to trade it for anything in the world. I have so many wonderful memories and friends.â
Griffin, 82, considers her former instructor among her closest friendsâand a great teacher. She helped Carney over the Labor Day weekend.
âShe’s (my) teacher. I still have to do what she says,â Griffin said.
Students had to literally work, at times, to get an education. Griffin remembers walking a quarter-mile or more to a nearby farmhouse to fetch water. Students took turns carrying jugs of water every day.
The bathroom was his and her outhouses. Going in the dead of winter wasn’t fun, Griffin recalls.
âSometimes during Halloween they got tipped over. I never did that,â she said.
Still, the good outshined the bad, and Griffin feels she got a good education. Her eighth-grade diploma hangs on the wall at the school.
Students generally cared for each other, as well. In the one-room setting, older kids often helped younger classmates with their studies.
âWe were family,â Griffin added.
Carney, 17 when she started, wasn’t much older than many of her students but she served as a role model. Griffin’s mother died when she was 12, so she looked up to her teacher.
The mutual respect and love for her students inspires Carney to preserve school memories.
For six decades Carney saved kids’ art projects, which now line the school’s walls. She spent hours organizing books, some dating to the mid-1800s, for display.
A lesson plan from 1947 hangs on the back wall, along with class pictures and historical photos. The U.S. flag has 48 stars.
âI’ll quiz people what two stars are missing,â Carney said. âSome don’t know, so we’re still teaching people.â
Few one-room schoolhouses remain. Floyd County had about 70 spread out in 12 townships.
Ulster No. 3 closed in 1956. Griffin persuaded the previous owner not to burn the building and the Cedar Valley Engine Club to preserve the structure.
Club member Mike Shanks of Nora Springs said Griffin didn’t have to twist too many arms. The school fits in perfectly with the organization’s mission: preserving Iowa’s rural heritage.
The Threshers Reunion is known for working exhibits, from threshing oats to shelling corn. Hundreds of pieces of vintage farm equipment are displayed.
The school, which attracts more than 500 visitors during the show, fits right in, Shanks said.
âIt’s one of our most popular exhibits. Heck, we have one of the original teachers,â he said. âIt’s what country life was all about.â
Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
AP-WF-09-05-11 2104GMT
ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE
The double slate used by pupils in the early 1900s is the old-school version of todayâs laptop. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers Archive and Williams Auction and Appraisal Service.
Peder Mørk Mønsted, âSpring in the Woods near SĂŚby,â 1912, oil on canvas, 49 1/4 x 32 inches. Image courtesy of Schmidt Fine Art Auctions Dresden.
DRESDEN, Germany â Schmidt Fine Art Auctions Dresden will conduct an autumn auction of 17th century to 21st century fine arts and crafts on Sept. 17. The sale will be accompanied by an exclusive selection of jewelry, furnishings, frames and carpets. LiveAuctionceers.com will provide Internet live bidding.
One of the highlights in 19th century painting is an unpublished painting of the late work of the Nazarene-affected historian painter Julius HĂźbner (1806-1882). HĂźbnerâs oil on canvas titled Tempi passati from 1879 reflects a strong personal aspect reaction to his approaching loss of his post as head of the picture gallery as well as his oncoming infirmity and demise. In this composition the artistic accomplishment differs from the famous DĂźsseldorf-based brillance of coloring and conduct, and thus not only emphasizes the private intention but renders this painting unique and especially remarkable. This large work, 57 by 32 1/2 inches, will be called up at a starting price of 8.000 euro ($11,200).
Having studied at the Dresden Art Academy Carl Julius von Leypold (1806-1874) in his first works imitated the successful mystic style of the leader of romantic painting, Caspar David Friedrich. Despite the solid attention paid at him, Leypold soon turned away from this style of painting and, in discovering his own abilities and excellence, engaged in a more refined expression of picturesque architectural motives, neglecting his well-known atmospheric way of painting. An example of his individual style in small format Castel Hill in Snow (circa 1860; oil on cardboard) will be called up at 3,500 euro ($4,900).
In Peder Mørk Mønstedâs Spring in the Woods near SĂŚby (1912; oil on canvas), another large-size example of the sought-after close-up and carefully observed nature scenes of the Danish artist will be put onto the market. Consigned by a collector, this painting reflects a deep affection for the woods and creeks, the wetlands and moors in the artistâs home country. Mønsted was a master of subtle atmosphere which occassionally resulted in images having near photographic tendencies. Called up at the moderate starting price of 15,000 euro ($21,000), this work surely will draw the attention of collectors.
Some rare and excellent works by well-known Dresden artists can be found in the section of 20th century painting. Here the range is quite wide and encloses early modern works as well as constructivist objects. Examples include Otto Hettner Summerly Houses in Spain (circa 1910; oil on canvas) call up 1,800 euro ($2,520); Fritz Beckert The Last Margrave (1916; oil on canvas) call up 3,600 euro ($5,040); Willy Kriegel Still life with a wooden head of Christ as the Man of Sorrows and a vase with wild flowers (circa 1934; oil on canvas, clad) call up 4,000 euro ($5,600); Wilhem MĂźller Diagonal composition in Silvergrey M2â (1967; mixed techniques on wood) call up 4,000 euro ($5,600); Otto Westphal Merry-go-round in Dresden City Park (1921; oil on canvas) call up 1,200 euro (1,680); and Josef Hegenbarth Reclined Greyhound (around 1950; distemper) call up 3,200 euro ($4,480).
Regarding the category of works on paper, bidding is expected to be wide and lively. An outstanding highlight is Edmund Kestingâs collage Two Million Mark, which is likely to have been created around 1923. Although Kesting chose the topic of hyperinflation as a central theme in 1922, the now called up collage is his first to offer a clear political statement. Due to its numerous crosses, the black gouached area in the right part of the collage ressembles a graveyard, constructing a reference to the innumerable victims of monetary devaluation. The peak of the inflation was reached in 1923 and led to lack of food as well as the devastating impoverishment of the middle class and the bourgeoisie. The collage starts at 6,000 euro ($8,400).
Further highlights include a self-portrait by Curt Querner from 1971, watercolor (call up 3.600 euro, $5,040) and two collages by Elisabeth Ahnert (each called up at 550 euro, $770).
The section of sculpture is represented by the wooden statue of St. Nicholas, circle of Tilman Riemenschneider, circa 1510-1520. The saint is depicted as a lean ascetic (call up 8,000 euro, $11,200). Likewise worth mentioning are St. George as the dragon-killer, South German or Tyrol, around 1510 (call up 2,000 euro, $2,800); and the miniature PietĂ , Lower Franconia or Upper Swabia, 1500-1520 (call up 2.000 euro, $2,800).
Collectors of early Meissen china will be delighted by two cups with saucers adorned with gold-etched Augsburg chinoiseries, around 1730 (each called up at 900 euro. $1,260). The bracket clock by the Dresden clockmaker Carl Heinrich Weisse, around 1760 (call up 3,000 euro, $4,200), will surely touch the heart of clock collectors. The court clockmaker dynasty of Weisse was founded in 1756 by Carl Heinrich Weisse and continued for several generations.
Schmidt Fine Art Auctions Dresden is located at Bautzner Str. 6 / D-01099 Dresden, Germany. For more information visit the website www.schmidt-auktionen.de or email mail@schmidt-auktionen.de. The phone number is +49-351-81198787.
Julius HĂźbner, âTempi passatiâ (1879), oil on canvas, 142 x 81 cm. Image courtesy of Schmidt Fine Art Auctions Dresden.
Carl Julius von Leypold, âCastle hill in Snow,â around 1860, Oil on cardboard, 9 1/4 x 13 1/4 inches. Image courtesy of Schmidt Fine Art Auctions Dresden.
Edmund Kesting âTwo Million Mark,â around 1923, collage and mixed-media, 11 12 x 14 1/4 inches. Image courtesy of Schmidt Fine Art Auctions Dresden.
Porcelain cup and saucer, Meissen, around 1730. Image courtesy of Schmidt Fine Art Auctions Dresden.
Rare bracket clock, Carl Heinrich Weisse, Dresden, around 1760. Image courtesy of Schmidt Fine Art Auctions Dresden.
