Architect Karl Moser designed the Kunsthaus, which opened in Zurich in 1910. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
GENEVA (AFP) – A Zurich museum on Friday opened the first ever public exhibition of more than a hundred paintings from a private collection, including works by Monet, Matisse, Modigliano, Miro and Picasso.
The Kunsthaus Zurich is hosting 109 paintings taken from the collection of the Nahmad family, Monaco-based international art dealers.
Among the family’s private collection, which Helly Nahmad says runs to 3,000 works, are some 200 oil paintings by Picasso, one of which appears in the exhibition. The show also has seven Modiglianis.
It marks the first time that the family has put part of its private collection on show, said Kunsthaus director Christophe Becker.
The Nahmad family had bought thousands of works over the last 50 years, he told the Swiss news agency ATS.
A Jewish family, originally from Syria, they fled anti-Semitic violence in the 1940s, settling in Lebanon, followed by Italy and Monaco. The family now has two art galleries, one in London and one in New York.
Marilyn Minter (American, b. 1948) ‘Swarv,’ 2005; C-print; Signed, dated, titled and numbered 5/5, 40 inches x 26 inches (image), 50 inches x 36 inches (sheet). Provenance: the artist; private collection, New Jersey. Estimate: $15,000-25,000. Image courtesy of Rago Arts & Auction Center. LAMBERTVILLE, N.J. – On Saturday, Nov. 12, the Rago Arts and Auction Center will hold two auctions of fine art, including a group of paintings from a local Pennsylvania collection passed down directly from the artist to the family and by descent to the present owner, along with many works from private collections throughout the United States.
LiveAuctioneers.com will provide bidding for both the 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. sessions.
19th/20th C. American and European Art: Saturday, Nov. 12, at 11 a.m.
Paintings, works on paper, sculpture and prints in 122 lots: Paintings by Werner Drewes, Jean Jansem, Nicola Simbari, Pedro Angel Gonzalez, Robert Philipp, Hermann Ottomar Herzog, William Gropper, Thomas Rathbone Manley and an exceptional selection of work by the New Hope Impressionists, including a collection direct from the artists to the family selling: Walter Emerson Baum, Giovanni Martino, Alfred Nunamaker, William Langson Lathrop, Robert Alexander Darrah Miller, Harry Leith-Ross, Henry Bayley. Works on paper by Reginald Marsh, Otto Dix, Henry Martin Gasser, Francisco Zuniga, Martha Walter and Andre Lhote. Sculpture by Kees Verkade, Allan Clark, Henry Schoenbauer, Augusto Perez, Dorothea Greenbaum and Boris Lovet-Lorski. Prints by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Rembrandt van Rijn, Paul Gauguin and Armand Seguin, Leonard Tsugoharu Foujita, Martin Lewis, Romare Howard Bearden, Jacob Lawrence and Marc Chagall.
Post-War and Contemporary Fine Art: Saturday, Nov. 12, at 1 p.m.
Paintings, works on paper, sculpture, prints and photographs in 278 lots: Paintings by Michael Corinne West, Maureen Gallace, Mathieu Mercier, David Korty, James Bishop, Sergio Romiti, Julian Lethbridge, Matt Mullican, William Wood, Ed Templeton, Jean Pellotier, Gustavo Foppiani. Works on paper include a selection of images by Raymond Pettibon, work by William Joseph Anastasi, Franz Ackermann and Karen Kilimnik. Sculpture by Evan Penny, Beverly Pepper, Jessica Stockholder, Peter Shelton, Bill Woodrow, Hannah Wilke and Alan Rath. Prints include a selection of Warhols, as well as work by Chuck Close, Frank Stella, Damien Hirst, Paula Scher, Russell Young, Jennifer Bartlett, Willem de Kooning, Sol LeWitt, Josef Albers, Roy Lichtenstein and Robert Rauschenberg. Photographs by Lucien Clergue, Marilyn Minter, Andreas Feininger, William Christenberry, George Hurrell, Annie Leibowitz, Justin Kurland and Catherine Opie.
“I’m proud to say that this sale features many works that are not only fresh to market and rare, but, in many cases, some of the best examples of works by these artists,” said Meredith Hilferty, director of Fine Art at Rago’s. “It’s an impressive group of works that I expect will get a strong welcome from collectors.”
Preview will be conducted Saturday, Nov. 5, through Thursday, Nov. 10, from noon to 5 p.m. and by appointment. The Rago Arts and Auction Center will be open until 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 11. Doors will open open at 9 a.m. the day of the sale.
Rago’s is located midway between New York City and Philadelphia. Directions online at ragoarts.com.
Telephone, absentee and online bidding available for those unable to attend.
Printed catalogs are available for $20 each by calling 609-397-9374 or emailing a request to info@ragoarts.com.
Reginald Marsh (American, 1898-1954) ‘Girls in the Street,’ 1946, tempera on paper (framed), signed and dated, 21 3/4 inches x 30 1/4 inches (sight), literature: ‘American Images: The SBC Collection of Twentieth-Century American Art,’ New York, Harry N. Abrams Inc. (reproduced on page 53, plate 18). Estimate: $40,000-60,000. Image courtesy of Rago Arts & Auction Center.
Werner Drewes (American, 1899-1985) ‘The Flower Bouquet III,’ 1950, oil on canvas (framed); signed and dated, 28 x 20 inches. Provenance: estate of artist; Platt Fine Art, Chicago; Private Collection, California. Estimate: $8,000-12,000. Image courtesy of Rago Arts & Auction Center.
Kees Verkade (Dutch, b. 1941) ‘Total Balance,’ 1984, bronze on wood base, signed ‘K. Verkade 1984’ and stamped ‘Fonderia Venturi Arte 4/6,’ 67 inches high, 79 inches (with base). Provenance: private collection, Pennsylvania. Estimate: $20,000-30,000. Image courtesy of Rago Arts & Auction Center.
William Langson Lathrop (American, 1859-1938) ‘Indian Summer;’ oil on canvas (framed), signed, 22 inches x 25 inches. Provenance: the artist; private collection, Pennsylvania; by descent to present owner. Estimate: $8,000-12,000. Image courtesy of Rago Arts & Auction Center.
Andy Warhol (American, 1928-1987) ‘Paramount from Ads Portfolio,’ 1985, screenprint in colors on Lenox museum board (framed); Signed and numbered 44/190; 38 inches x 38 inches. Provenance: private collection, Philadelphia. Estimate: $15,000-20,000. Image courtesy of Rago Arts & Auction Center.
Art Deco platinum and diamond brooch, lot 754. Image courtesy of Professional Appraisers & Liquidators. CRYSTAL RIVER, Fla. – Fall is here, and thus begins the Florida auctioneers’ “season.” Much like a squirrel that stores its nuts for the winter, auctioneer Charles Fudge has been setting aside antiques, estate jewelry and fine art all summer for his spectacular Oct. 29 auction. Saturday’s sale of more than 750 lot is divided into two sessions one starting at 10 a.m. Eastern and one beginning at 5 p.m.
Fudge’s auction gallery, Professional Appraisers and Liquidators, in Crystal River, is attended by enthusiasts from all over the world because of the option of on-line bidding via LiveAuctioneers.com – in addition to absentee and telephone bidding.
Fudge, a veteran auctioneer of over 40 years, always associates Autumn with one thing – it’s time for him to bring out the treasures he set aside throughout the summer and prepare for his first auction of what Florida auctioneers refer to as the season. His finds from the summer’s hunt come out of storage and are displayed in a manner in which any interior decorator would be proud.
“I always love preparing for our October auctions, because I’m able to sell the cream of the crop from estates I’ve been purchasing for the past six months,” said Fudge. No other auction offers me such lead time, so for October’s auction, I’m actually able to hand select the best of the best from thousands of antiques I’ve obtained during the summer months.”
For the past six months Fudge has been packing away items from the estates he purchases. During the summer months, he is busy searching for the crème de la crème of antiques and fine Arts. His Oct. 29 auction will showcase the fruits of his labor with items such as estate fine jewelry that represents eras ranging from Victorian and Edwardian to the Art Deco and retro periods.
Antique furniture will include, among many others, a 19th century Southern pine two-piece corner cupboard (Lot 97) and a 19th century Louis XV-style lighted curio cabinet (Lot 483), as well as an early 19th century David Cullen tall-case clock (Lot 734); and examples of mid-century modern furniture include Baker (two-door armoire – Lot 708), L. and J.G. Stickley (mission oak slant-front desk Lot #617), Henredon, and two teak wall units (Lots 367 and 368) by Danish maker Domino Mobler. antique and contemporary art includes a large collection of miniature portraits and paintings on ivory, oil paintings by listed artists and carved ivory sculptures.
A fine array of crystal and glassware in the auction includes Steuben, Waterford, Loetz, Moser, Pairpoint, American Brillaint Period cut glass, Victorian art glass including a plated Amberina jack-in-the-pulpit vase, Czechoslovakian perfume bottles, Lalique, Heisey, Carnival and Depression Glass as well as a stunning 38 3/4-inch-tall gladiola vase (Lot 99). The pottery category includes American art pottery such as Weller, Rookwood, Roseville and Hull, and even a piece from North Carolina by Pisgah Forest potters. A stunning lamp (Lot 667) and several lovely vases display the talent of the English potters at Moorcroft, while the Dutch are represented with Gouda Rondo (Lot 565) by Faroga Royal, from Germany a fine Mettlach stein, a lovely soup tureen by Henriot Quimper (Lot 93) hails from France.
Porcelain makers that will cross the block at sale include Meissen, Shelley, Dresden, German Bisque, Lladro, Royal Doulton, Royal Dux, Minton, Nippon, Limoges, Rosenthal, 19th century Chinese Export and many others. A nice assortment of sterling silver including Tiffany, Lunt, C.J. Beeger, Gorham, Steiff, Sampson Mordan and other famous makers will be auctioned at the sale.
Additional lots of note are a velvet-lined slag glass and bronze jewelry box with lift out tray signed Tiffany Studios (Lot 536), and a walking stick or cane with a sterling silver top inscribed with information regarding the 1892 commission of Navy cruiser, the U.S.S. Columbia (Lot 174).
Offerings include several unusual sterling silver items, such as a purse or handbag made by William B. Kerr (Lot 333), a Continental table ornament that depicts a reindeer pulling a sleigh with a cherub at the reins (Lot 338), and, the auctioneer’s pick in this category, an .800 Dutch silver ladle by C.J. Begeer (Utrecht, 1868-1920) in its original fitted presentation box (Lot 340). Begeer’s silver has been exhibited in museums, and auctioned at Christie’s and Sotheby’s.
A complete catalog with detailed descriptions and photographs depicting several views for each item can be found on the company’s website: www.charliefudge.com.
The preview is Friday, Oct. 28 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and prior to both sessions on Saturday, beginning at 8 a.m.
Antique Auctions by Professional Appraisers and Liquidators LLC is located at 811 U.S. Highway 19, Crystal River, FL 34446.
For details contact Antique Auctions by Professional Appraisers and Liquidators LLC by email at webuyit@tampabay.rr.com or phone 352-795-2061 or 800-542-3877.
Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang preparing a gunpowder drawing for the Arts of China Gallery at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts in October 2010. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.
PARIS (AFP) – China’s new clout on the global art market, and its taste for home-grown works, is driving up the price of contemporary Chinese artists – forcing the Western art world to make space at the table for the rising stars.
Last year China became the world’s leading auction marketplace for fine art, after overtaking France, Britain and finally the United States in the space of five years, according to research by Artprice.
And China’s rise as an art hub is flipping the traditionallyWestern-dominated market on its head as wealthy collectors snap up art by their compatriots, fueling a surge in prices for Chinese artists.
“Chinese collectors are basically looking at Chinese art,” explained Barbara Pollack, author of a recent study titled “The Wild Wild East: an American art critic’s adventures in China.”
As a result five Chinese artists currently sit among the world’s top 10 as measured by combined sales at auction, overtaking giants like the U.S. popartist Jeff Koons, ranked third, or Britain’s Damien Hirst, ranked ninth by Artprice.
Taking a broader view, Chinese artists accounted last year for fully 45 of the world’s 100 top-selling art names.
Some of these are established figures, like Beijing-based Zeng Fanzhi, best known for his “Masks” collection of paintings, who was the world’s second best selling artist in the year to June 2011, just behind Jean-Michel Basquiat.
The late Chinese master Chen Yifei is ranked fifth while the gunpowder specialist Cai Guoqiang, who directed the special effects at the 2008 Beijing Olympics ceremonies, takes 32nd spot.
Scanning down the list, however, many names are unfamiliar to the Western eye, such as the painters Wang Yidong and Zhou Chunya – neither of whom enjoys major international renown – ranked seven and 10.
“There are names which are totally fueled by the Chinese market, some of them traditional ink painters, who are almost unheard of in the West,” said Pollack.
Few of these Chinese artists have so far been invited to show at Western art fairs, which remain weighted towards Europe and North America despite growing participation from Asia, Africa and Latin America.
“Some of these artists are outside of our tradition. Others have not yet gotten the museum attention from Western institutions that they clearly deserve, and that is hindering their acceptance in the West,” said Pollack.
Jennifer Flay, president of the FIAC contemporary art fair, one of the top events in Europe’s art calendar, which wrapped up Sunday in Paris, said she was looking to expand the Chinese presence at the event.
“There’s a lot of very interesting art emerging in China,” she said.
Of the 168 galleries present for this edition, however, just one was Chinese.
Shanghart brought along work by eight Chinese contemporary artists, including several who “play on Western concepts for inspiration,” a gallery spokeswoman told AFP at the fair.
From Shanghai artist Zhou Tiehai, for instance, there was a mosaic-like painting depicting French society, and a black-and-white pop-art piece inspired by Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times, alongside a portrait of Mao Tse-tung in front of the statue of liberty, by Yu Youhan.
U.S. heavyweight The Pace Gallery staged an installation at FIAC of work by top Chinese artist Zhang Huan, featuring two giant Buddha heads made from materials recovered after the Cultural Revolution, and an ash painting made with burned temple incense.
And Galleria Continua had a 1999 work by Chen Zhen – Exciting Delivery – a wheel-mounted colossus made of bicycle tires and toy cars, on sale for $1.25 million.
Beyond that the Chinese presence was minimal.
Change is happening faster elsewhere in the West, according to Pollack, who says “every major New York gallery has a Chinese artist at this point,” while U.S. galleries such as Pace and Gagosian have all launched Chinese operations, as has London’s White Cube.
Some in the Western art world, however, appear to be betting that the current surge in prices for Chinese art is temporary.
Artprice’s report suggests “the Asia-Pacific region does not have the critical sophistication of Western demand” but that “this will probably change as art fairs and exhibitions refine Asian tastes.”
In other words, novice Chinese buyers are focusing on the “wrong” type of art, but Westerners will set them right and prices will eventually settle back down.
Pollack dismisses that notion.
“I think we still have a very Euro-centric view of what’s the best of contemporary art,” she said. “And the idea that we are going to teach them taste is very narrow minded.”
China turned over 390 million euros of contemporary art at auction in the year to June 2011, well ahead of the United States with 227 million euros, and auctioneers Christie’s and Sotheby’s are both investing heavily in the region.
“Many people in the West still think of the Chinese art market as a regional phenomenon,” Pollack said. “But the size of it is beginning to prove it can no longer be ignored. This market is only going to grow.”
“The fact Pace and Gagosian and White Cube realize they can’t survive without cultivating Chinese artists shows the power of Chinese taste.”
This 51-inch-high Gothic Revival armchair made in the 19th century seems to belong in a dark castle. It was offered for sale last year by Cowan’s Auctions of Cincinnati. It looks like a chair owned by one of our readers – a chair that’s supposedly haunted because it ‘squeaks’ in the night. Without a ghost, it’s worth about $400 to $600.
We have heard many stories about “haunted antiques” through the years, and we often ask readers to send us their stories.
Clocks seem to be the most likely to be haunted. One reader’s mother bought a modern sunburst wall clock in 1952. It stayed on the kitchen wall. In 1982 her father died, and in 1992 her mother began dating. Whenever the boyfriend came over, the clock would make a “grunting” noise. According to the reader “Mother married and her new husband asked that the clock be thrown out, but I put it in the attic. In 2006 they divorced and I brought the clock into the kitchen. It is quiet now. Mother said she should have listened to the clock.” Several families reported having windup clocks that started ticking or chiming when family members got together weeks after a funeral.
But the strangest story we heard was about an antique glass necklace our reader inherited from her husband’s family. She told us that whenever she wore the necklace, she had an accident involving water – a glass tipped over, a vase broke, a drink was spilled on her, she even fell in a pool. Then one day her mother-in-law commented that it was nice to see her wearing her great-aunt’s necklace. Did she know that her aunt was a survivor of the sinking of the Titanic?
Haunted antiques seem to be more playful than malicious. No one has told us of a dangerous example. Many have suggested that returning the antique to a better condition or a more comfortable place in the house seems to solve the problem.
Do you have a haunted antique? Tell us about it at collectorsgallery@kovels.com.
Q: I bought an old wooden rocking horse for $50 at a garage sale. It’s 27 inches tall and the rockers are 32 1/2 inches long. The horse stands on a platform that has four metal wheels and two wooden rockers. It has a leather saddle and a real hair tail. I’m wondering how I should clean it. Should I use furniture polish?
A: Rocking horses with wheels were popular toys at the turn of the century. When a child was young, the toy could be used as a rocking horse. When the child was a little older, the rockers were taken off the horse and the child could “ride” the horse on its wheels. You can clean your rocking horse with a damp sponge or cloth with a solution of a mild soap and water. Don’t let the wood get too wet and don’t use furniture polish.
Q: When I was a kid in the 1950s, my dad used to smoke Kool cigarettes. I remember he got plastic penguin salt and pepper shakers whenever he bought a few packs. We must have had a hundred of those black and white penguins displayed on shelves in the china cabinet. I don’t think those plastic shakers are worth much, but they sure do bring back memories. Do you think any are still around today? Ours were thrown out.
A: Brown and Williamson Tobacco Co. began making a menthol cigarette called Penguin in 1931. The brand name was changed to Kool in 1933, but penguins remained the symbol for the cigarette brand and were pictured in ads and on advertising items. Several different versions of the penguins were used. Early versions were more realistic than the later cartoon-like penguins. At first the penguin didn’t have a name, then he became “Kenny Kool,” and in 1947 he was named “Willie.” Penguin salt and pepper shakers named Willie and Millie were first offered as premiums in the late 1940s. You could get a pair by mailing in two empty Kool cigarette packs and 25 cents. The plastic shakers were made by F & F Mold and Die Works (Fiedler & Fiedler Mold and Die Works Co.) of Dayton, Ohio, until the 1960s. Plenty are still around. In fact, they are the most common Kool collectible and are not worth very much. Collectors pay more for the original box, even if it’s empty. Value of a pair of Kool penguin salt and pepper shakers without a box: $10 to $15.
Q: I own an 8-inch Lenci doll dressed in a plain blue dress with a closed bottom. The dress zips open in the back and has a long blue cloth handle. The tag on the doll’s back says “Lenci, Torino, Made in Italy.” The only decoration is a pink collar and red bow under the doll’s blond-haired head. I have seen a lot of Lenci dolls, but wonder if this one was designed as a purse. What is it worth?
A: Lenci di E. Scavini, best-known as a manufacturer of felt dolls, was founded in 1919 in Turin, Italy. By 1927-’28, the company had introduced purses among the accessories it started making a few years earlier. The first purses were dressed more elaborately than yours, so yours was probably made later — perhaps as late as the 1950s. In the 1950s, Lenci also made small dolls with bag skirts to hold candy, but these had no handle. If your doll’s head is celluloid rather than felt, that’s another clue that it’s a later Lenci product. Most later Lenci purses sell for $15 to $40. Lenci changed hands during World War II and closed in 2002.
Q: Where can I find glass tops for a stainless-steel percolator coffee pot? I’m desperate to find a replacement top for my coffee pot.
A: You may find replacement glass tops at your local hardware store. You can also order them from Coffee Maker Outlet (800-251-8824), Classic Kitchens and More (717-840-9537), Amazon.com and other sources that you can find online. The glass “knobs” come in different sizes, so be sure to specify the size you need.
Tip: Put ceramic saucers or glass or plastic plant holders under vases of flowers or potted plants. There are also inexpensive throwaway plastic dishes that have a rim and are exactly the right size and shape for a plant.
Terry Kovel answers as many questions as possible through the column. By sending a letter with a question, you give full permission for use in the column or any other Kovel forum. Names, addresses or email addresses will not be published. We cannot guarantee the return of any photograph, but if a stamped envelope is included, we will try. The volume of mail makes personal answers or appraisals impossible. Write to Kovels, Auction Central News, King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019.
CURRENT PRICES
Current prices are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States. Prices vary in different locations because of local economic conditions.
The Cook Is in the Parlour Cookbook, by Marguerite Gilbert McCarthy, 309 pages, Little, Brown and Co., Boston, 1947, $20.
Madame Alexander Maggie Mix-Up doll, dressed as Mona Lisa, green velvet gown with gold braid, long black veil over long brown hair, 1990s, 8 inches, $45.
Prohibition shot glass, image of menacing woman with ax, “Bread Not Booze,” loaf of bread says “Vote Dry,” circa 1917, 2 1/8 inches, $50.
Plastic confetti comb, hinged piece with colored rhinestones and teardrop stones, 1960s, 3 1/2 inches, $55.
Lefton butter dish, figural bluebird, big side-glancing eyes, long painted eyelashes, two pink flowers above left eye, pink face, burgundy bow, 1950s, 4 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches, $135.
Lake View spice tin, cinnamon, image of girl in blue 1920s bathing suit standing by lake with sailboat, white ground, red letters, 4 x 2 inches, $175.
Staffordshire soup tureen, Tournay pattern, blue and white transferware, circa 1885, 11 3/4 x 9 1/4 inches, $190.
Philco cathedral radio, wood case, AM and shortwave bands, four knobs, embossed trademark, 1935, 17 x 12 1/2 inches, $225.
Cotton chenille bedspread, double peacocks center, two shades of blue, red and yellow flowers, 100 x 91 inches, $295.
English oak mule chest, hinged, rectangular top, molded edge, three inset panels over two drawers, ogee bracket feet, 1870s, 36 x 55 x 21 inches, $3,440.
New! A quick, easy guide to identifying valuable costume jewelry made since the 1920s. “Kovels’ Buyer’s Guide to Costume Jewelry, Part Two,” a report on the most popular styles, makers and designers of costume jewelry. The report makes you an informed collector and may get you a great buy. Photos, marks, histories and bibliography. Special Report, 2010, 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches, 36 pages. Available only from Kovels. Order by phone at 800-303-1996; online at Kovels.com; or send $19.95 plus $4.95 postage and handling to Kovels, Box 22900, Beachwood, OH 44122.
Architect Frank Gehry also designed the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, Spain. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – The Abu Dhabi company building a branch of the Guggenheim museum in the Emirati capital said Sunday it has temporarily dropped plans to award a major construction contract, raising questions about the future of the high profile project.
The state-run Tourism Development and Investment Co. said it recalled the tender for concrete work on the Frank Gehry-designed museum because it is reviewing its strategy for handing out jobs to contractors. It didn’t say when it would again seek bids.
The Guggenheim is one of the showcase museums TDIC is building on Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island, a planned cultural district overlooking the Persian Gulf. The island is also slated to contain a national museum, performing arts center and a branch of the Louvre.
A spokeswoman insisted Sunday that the Guggenheim project is still moving ahead, but didn’t provide details.
TDIC has previously said it would open the museum by 2013.
Some preliminary groundwork for the 450,000-square-foot museum has been completed. The construction contract now on hold would have involved major work on the museum’s base and other parts of the building.
TDIC has not released the value of that deal.
TDIC is one of several companies set up by Abu Dhabi to diversify the economy and drive development in the emirate, which borders Dubai to the south.
The money-losing company relies heavily on direct cash infusions from the oil-rich Abu Dhabi government, but it also has turned to banks to fund some of its operations.
TDIC executives traveled to Europe and Asia over the summer to meet with potential investors about the possibility of issuing new bonds, but then put off those fundraising plans.
The Guggenheim project has been a flashpoint for controversy.
In March, more than 130 international artists and writers promised to boycott the museum unless authorities do more to protect workers’ rights at the site. That followed an earlier report by Human Rights Watch that outlined alleged abuses against migrant workers on the project.
TDIC has said it is committed to protecting workers’ rights and has taken on board many of Human Rights Watch’s recommendations.
Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
An assortment of early 20th-century embalming fluid bottles. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
TYLER, Texas (AP) – Just in time for Halloween a creepy book only a librarian could appreciate.
In the case of this particular book, however, no one at the Tyler Public Library seems to be feeling the love.
The 1933 first edition, illustrated copy of Champion Textbook of Embalming by A. O. Spriggs needs a new home, officials said.
It’s up for sale in the library’s third book auction, paired with a 1944 Tales of Edgar Allen Poe, for those who want something a tad unusual for their collection.
The books – as well as a host of others – are up auction until Oct. 31.
“Oh no, no, no, it’s not something we could ever put on the shelves,” Evelyn McLane, programming associate, said. “I think the embalming book came in about a year ago, as a donation.”
Library officials said donated books that can’t find a home on circulation shelves sometimes become undiscovered treasures for others.
In the case of the embalming book, it was immediately clear it needed to go someplace else, far away from unsuspecting library patrons.
“We put the embalming book in the last one (sale), but it didn’t sell,” McLane said. “We paired it with Poe to see if someone would buy it.”
On a 1-to-10 scale of unusual donations, officials peg the book at about a 9.9.
Items recalled as closer to a “10” surfaced in the 1980s: two books with bullet holes.
“Everyone’s a critic, but that was a little extreme,” Librarian Chris Albertson said of the bullet-riddled literature. “We did track them down” to pay for the damages.
The facility once received a collection of astrology books with detailed instructions on fortune-telling, but that topic seems to pale when compared to Spriggs’ embalming book.
The clinical textbook gives instructions on handling cases centered on death by gunshot, poison and freezing, to name a few.
“We have a lot of technical books here,” Albertson said, citing topics such as law, medicine and mechanics. “We’re in the business of trying to put good reading in people’s hands.”
The embalming book doesn’t quite fit into that business model, it seems.
People interested in bidding on the item can see it at the library, 201 S. College Ave.
It’s under lock and key, entitled the “Spooky Lot.”
There are 25 auction lots in all, touching on a variety of interests, including history, classic literature and classic comic characters including Little Lulu and Donald Duck.
Other items include a collection of old Oklahoma newspapers, featuring front pages of historic events in the United States – the end of World War II, the first man on the moon and dropping of the first atomic bomb.
Some newspapers feature sports teams of the 1950s.
A complete “Five-Foot Shelf” collection of Harvard Classics is also up for bid, a name given in references to the size of the grouping.
“You could probably get the equivalent of a Harvard education if you sit down and read them,” Albertson said. “To have a complete set pass through here is kind of unusual.”
There’s also the Official Fonzie Scrapbook, based on Henry Winkler’s character from the 1970s television sitcom, Happy Days, and other stars of by-gone eras.
The library’s “Beautiful Places” lot features a book filled with what appears to be hand-tinted scenes from Yellowstone National Park, suitable for framing.
Books in the lots have been selected based on rarity, nostalgic value and special interest topics.
Special care is taken to advise donors that materials not added to the library’s collection may be auctioned or sold, officials said.
Bid sheets are located next to the display cases and people must have a library card to compete.
Winners will be contacted at the conclusion of the sale, and all proceeds benefit the library’s book fund to help buy new books.
___
Information from: Tyler Morning Telegraph, http://www.tylerpaper.com
Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The 1600s street was unearthed near Santa Fe Plaza. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) – Archaeologists have discovered one of Santa Fe’s earliest streets and a possible plaster pit dating from the 1600s.
New Mexico’s Office of Archaeological Studies recently found the cobbled surface near the existing Santa Fe Plaza, The Santa Fe New Mexican reported.
No one knows the street’s name or where it started and stopped, but it is believed to shadow today’s Otero Street and may have led to Santa Fe’s first parroquia, or parish church. The street does not appear on the first known map of Santa Fe in 1766.
Amid the cobbles were bits of Pueblo Indian pottery, some of it glazed ware from Galisteo Pueblo and other villages from the south, that ceased to be produced in the early 1700s, and types of majolica pottery from Puebla, Mexico, that also were discontinued after the 1600s. That means the road was used during Santa Fe’s first century as a Spanish city.
A 2008 excavation turned up a cobbled surface about four feet below today’s ground level – proof of how much earth has been added over four centuries to what once was a marsh fed by springs around today’s Cienega Street.
A second dig, which began in September and ended last week when the site is to be reburied, has determined that the cobbled surface was a street running generally north-south.
Drury Southwest, a hotel chain that paid for the dig, plans to redevelop the area around former St. Vincent Hospital complex where the cobbled surface was found.
Archaeologists exposed about half of what they believe was its standard Spanish width of 7 1/2 varas, or 21 feet. Although the route of Palace Avenue is believed to have been in existence early in the 1600s, the newly discovered path could be Santa Fe’s first paved street.
“We’re not talking about cobble being placed carefully like they did cobblestone” in Europe and some Spanish colonial cities, archaeologist Jim Moore told the Santa Fe New Mexican. “It just looks like somebody brought in a couple of loads of gravel and dumped them on the road to create a nice solid surface.”
Guadalupe Martinez, an archaeologist on both digs who has handled questions from a never-ending parade of locals and tourists at the site, joked that the finds prove New Mexicans have been throwing their trash on the streets for centuries. “It’s a tradition,” he said.
Another excavation a few yards from the road surface dug into a garbage pit. It may have started out as a hole from excavating earth for adobe bricks, Moore said, but soon was filled with dirt plus bits of pottery, bone, wood, ash and a few metal objects like nails.
One of the most intriguing of the artifacts from this fall’s dig is a piece of Chinese porcelain from the garbage pit. The archaeologists say it may have been made a century before Santa Fe was founded, then was acquired in the Philippines, taken by Spanish galleon to Mexico and hauled by wagon up the Camino Real to Santa Fe.
“It was an heirloom piece when it was brought,” said Patricia Rogers, another archaeologist working on the dig. “It was something highly prized.”
Drury Southwest is expected to keep some of the artifacts to display inside its new hotel.
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Information from: The Santa Fe New Mexican, http://www.sfnewmexican.com
Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Southern Oregon Historical Society owns the former Jackson County Courthouse in Jacksonville, Oregon, but closed the museum in the building in 2006. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Generic license.
MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) – The Southern Oregon Historical Society is selling off items from its vast collection, raising more than $155,000 and surprising some of its most ardent supporters.
The artifacts, none of which had a connection to local history, society officials say, have ranged from a pair of Tlingit beaded moccasins that sold for $854 to a Confederate flag that brought in $51,480.
Historic preservation consultant George Kramer said he hadn’t heard the society was selling artifacts. The Ashland, Ore., resident called it unfortunate but understandable, given the organization’s funding problems.
Dorothy Cotton, a 67-year-old Phoenix, Ore., resident who has donated items to SOHS in the past, said she questions the policy.
“It doesn’t seem right for some reason,” she said.
Artifacts scheduled for sale are vetted through deaccessioning – a lengthy process museums throughout the world use to rid themselves of items that aren’t appropriate to their mission but take up space and resources to manage.
“It’s a lengthy procedure,” said Pat Harper, SOHS interim director. “It takes more time and trouble than keeping the materials.” Deaccessioned items must be approved by the society’s board, she said.
Proceeds are used to care for collections, improve conditions in the collections storage facility, create traveling exhibits or digitize records so the collection is more accessible to the public.
Deaccessioning was an infrequent practice for SOHS until several years ago, when the society began weeding out its collection of items that don’t have any connection with the history of Southern Oregon. Since May 2009, sales have totaled $155,176.
In March, the Historical Society discarded an undated mattress and box spring because they had deteriorated and could attract pests. It also has gotten rid of deteriorated clothing, broken household items and hazardous chemicals, photographing them before their disposal.
Some artifacts have been donated to other museums or to the University of Oregon, which has a natural history museum. A desk used in the Phoenix (Ore.) General Store was donated in December 2010 to the Phoenix Historical Society.
Dozens of other artifacts have been sold at major auction houses such as Bonhams, an international art and antiquities dealer with offices in San Francisco. Examples include an Acoma polychrome jar that sold for $6,710 and a Zia polychrome jar that fetched $3,050. No deaccessioned items were from American Indian sites in Oregon, Harper said. Indian artifacts that are related to a religion or tribal policy could be returned to the tribes but are not sold, she said.
Many of the deaccessioned items could not receive the level of care necessary for their preservation and some have deteriorated, she said.
The society also sells artwork donated specifically to raise funds for SOHS. For example, art donated by Jim Killen and Bruce Killen was kept for three years before being sold in 2010 to benefit the collections department.
SOHS’s policy is to sell the items out of the area rather than locally to avoid any ethical problems.
“We don’t want to sell them to the best friend next door,” Harper said.
Deaccessioned items are listed on SOHS’s website.
The sale of artifacts is helping the Historical Society deal with its financial problems as it survives on a budget of about $400,000 annually.
SOHS used to get its funding under a 1948 levy passed by voters to preserve local history. Ballot measures 47 and 50, passed in the 1990s, consolidated all special levies into Jackson County’s general fund budget, meaning the county had control of the money.
SOHS sued the county on behalf of all the historical societies for their share of the levy, which brought in some $2 million every year. A settlement agreement provided money for a few years but relieved the county of any legal obligation to support the historical societies.
The county did provide a $200,000 loan to SOHS in 2010 as an advance on the sale of the U.S. Hotel in Jacksonville, Ore.
Ben Truwe, a Medford historian and former City Council member, said selling artifacts is a sad situation but, like Kramer, he found it understandable.
“The thing the membership should be concerned about is where does the money go,” he said. “It should go into an endowment, not just pay the electric bill. You shouldn’t sell off your collection to pay operating expenses.”
Kramer said selling a Hopi basket was “a lot better than the county selling the U.S. Hotel.”
“If the county had not hung the Historical Society out to dry by building up its rainy-day funds, this would not have turned into this problem,” he said.
Chuck Eccleston of the Rogue Valley Genealogical Society said SOHS for years accepted artifacts with no connection to local history.
“In hindsight, the society should have never accepted those kind of artifacts to begin with,” he said. “I think the society should have been the Jackson County historical society and the artifacts should have represented Jackson County.”
Cotton believes the sale of any artifacts should be approached cautiously because even something like a Confederate flag could have a strong local connection.
Cotton said she has mixed feelings about a loan she made to SOHS about 30 years ago. It was a turn-of-the-last-century projector and films that belonged to her grandfather, who traveled around Southern Oregon showing movies while trying to sell an “electric belt” that was touted as a cure-all. The projector was last used in 1903.
“He would sell snake oil,” she said. “It was like what you would see in the cowboy movies.”
Cotton failed to renew the contract, and SOHS took ownership of the projector. She said she wished she’d read the contract more carefully.
“I suppose it was my fault,” she said.
Cotton still owns one of her grandfather’s posters and some other memorabilia, including an electric belt, which she now would be reluctant to donate to the Historical Society.
She said when she loaned the other artifacts, she assumed they would be cared for by SOHS. Cotton said she doesn’t know what became of the projector and films she donated. They are not on the society’s list of deaccessioned items.
“Had I thought they were ever going to sell it, I wouldn’t have been happy,” she said.
Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
