Marilyn Monroe, artwork for The Prince and The Showgirl poster, courtesy The John Kobal Foundation.

Marilyn Monroe: A British Love Affair opens Sept. 29 at London’s NPG

Marilyn Monroe, artwork for The Prince and The Showgirl poster, courtesy The John Kobal Foundation.

Marilyn Monroe, artwork for The Prince and The Showgirl poster, courtesy The John Kobal Foundation.

LONDON – Marilyn Monroe’s connection with Britain will be the subject of a new in-focus display at the National Portrait Gallery in September. Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Monroe’s death, the display will celebrate her life by showcasing her links with the UK. Portraits of Monroe by British photographers will be shown alongside rare magazine covers, vintage prints, lobby cards and film stills to put the works in context. ‘Marilyn Monroe: A British Love Affair’ will open on Sept. 29 and run until March 24, 2013.

Monroe arrived in Britain with her new husband, playwright Arthur Miller, on July 14, 1956. She was to appear in The Prince and the Showgirl, based on a play by Terence Rattigan, starring opposite Laurence Olivier, who was also directing the film. Her four-month stay in Britain generated huge press interest, and the display will include little-known images by photojournalist Larry Burrows who worked for Life magazine; and press images of Monroe meeting the Queen, amongst others. Cinematographer on the film, Jack Cardiff, had a private sitting with Monroe for which she arrived nine hours late. Monroe inscribed on one of the dreamy images created with a wind machine and Vaseline over the lens, ‘Dearest Jack, if only I could be the way you created me.’

Throughout the 1950s, British photographers contributed greatly to the vast Monroe iconography. The display will include a selection of these photographs, including Antony Beauchamp’s poses of Monroe in a yellow bikini (1951), Baron’s photographs from a Hollywood assignment (1954) and Cecil Beaton’s photographs taken in the Ambassador Hotel in New York (February 1956).

A selection of British magazine covers on show will plot Monroe’s changing image and progressing movie career. The earliest cover on display will feature André de Dienes’ 1947 portrait of the then-Norma Jeane Baker on cover of Picture Post. Also on display will be a cover of Today magazine from 1961 in which she is pictured alongside Arthur Miller, her husband from 1956 to1961, who scripted her last completed film, The Misfits. A poignant conclusion to the display is the cover of Town magazine published three months after Monroe’s death 50 years ago, featuring an image from her last official shoot with George Barris.

National Portrait Gallery Information:

National Portrait Gallery, St Martin’s Place, London, WC2H 0HE. Opening hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday 10a.m. – 6 p.m. (Gallery closure commences at 5:50 p.m.). Late Opening: Thursday, Friday: 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. (Gallery closure commences at 8:50 p.m.) Nearest Underground: Leicester Square/Charing Cross. Recorded information: 020 7312 2463. General information: 020 7306 0055. Website: www.npg.org.uk

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ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE


Marilyn Monroe, artwork for The Prince and The Showgirl poster, courtesy The John Kobal Foundation.

Marilyn Monroe, artwork for The Prince and The Showgirl poster, courtesy The John Kobal Foundation.

Cecil Beaton photographing Marilyn Monroe by Ed Pfizenmaier, Ambassador Hotel, New York, 22 February 1956 (x40285) © Ed Pfizenmaier.

Cecil Beaton photographing Marilyn Monroe by Ed Pfizenmaier, Ambassador Hotel, New York, 22 February 1956 (x40285) © Ed Pfizenmaier.

Roy Ward Baker and Marilyn Monroe on the set of Don’t Bother to Knock, 1952. Private collection of Nicholas Baker.

Roy Ward Baker and Marilyn Monroe on the set of Don’t Bother to Knock, 1952. Private collection of Nicholas Baker.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower with Chiang Kai-shek, who is wearing what appears to be the medal of the Order of the Blue Sky and White Sun. Also pictured in the 1960 photo is Madame Chiang. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Chiang Kai-shek medal fails to sell at Hong Kong auction

President Dwight D. Eisenhower with Chiang Kai-shek, who is wearing what appears to be the medal of the Order of the Blue Sky and White Sun. Also pictured in the 1960 photo is Madame Chiang. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower with Chiang Kai-shek, who is wearing what appears to be the medal of the Order of the Blue Sky and White Sun. Also pictured in the 1960 photo is Madame Chiang. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

HONG KONG (AFP) – A medal purportedly presented to late Taiwanese leader Chiang Kai-shek failed to sell at auction in Hong Kong on Friday, after the Taiwanese government cast doubt on its authenticity.

The “historically important and unique Order of the Blue Sky and White Sun” had an estimated value of HK$300,000 ($38,700) but failed to attract a single bid, a spokeswoman for Spink London auction house said.

“It was unsold. No one raised their hands,” she said, adding that the medal did not come with a certificate of authenticity.

In Taipei, a defense ministry spokesman said the original medal was buried with the generalissimo, who died in 1975.

“Former president Chiang Kai-shek was awarded three medals, including the Blue-Sky-and-White-Sun medal, and … all three were buried with him at the Tashi mausoleum” in northern Taiwan, the spokesman said. “We don’t want to comment on the authenticity of the medal in Hong Kong. But it’s the obligation of the auction organizers to present a certificate supposed to go with the medal. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen that.”

According to official Taiwanese records, 209 people, including Chiang, have been awarded the medal since 1929 for their contribution to the defense of the nation.

Chiang’s nationalist Kuomintang was China’s ruling party for two decades until it lost a civil war to its communist rivals in 1949, and was driven into exile on Taiwan.


ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE


President Dwight D. Eisenhower with Chiang Kai-shek, who is wearing what appears to be the medal of the Order of the Blue Sky and White Sun. Also pictured in the 1960 photo is Madame Chiang. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower with Chiang Kai-shek, who is wearing what appears to be the medal of the Order of the Blue Sky and White Sun. Also pictured in the 1960 photo is Madame Chiang. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

USS Clamagore SS-343 at Charleston, S.C., in 2003. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Clock is ticking to save WWII-era Navy submarine

USS Clamagore SS-343 at Charleston, S.C., in 2003. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

USS Clamagore SS-343 at Charleston, S.C., in 2003. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. USS Clamagore SS-343 at Charleston, S.C., in 2003. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (AP) – Efforts are being made to save the submarine USS Clamagore at the Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum in Mount Pleasant. But time may be running out for the diesel sub.

The Post and Courier of Charleston reports that an agreement with the Clamagore Veterans Association requires the group to hire an expert to assess the condition of the sub.

If there’s no immediate danger of sinking, Patriots Point will give the group two years to raise $3 million to repair the World War II-era sub. The group has about $30,000 now.

If the group cannot raise the money, Patriots Point will sink the vessel off the coast as artificial fishing reef.

The treasurer of the veteran’s group. George Bass, is optimistic the money can be raised.

Information from: The Post and Courier, http://www.postandcourier.com

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-WF-08-20-12 1226GMT


ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE


USS Clamagore SS-343 at Charleston, S.C., in 2003. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

USS Clamagore SS-343 at Charleston, S.C., in 2003. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. USS Clamagore SS-343 at Charleston, S.C., in 2003. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Five-cent Caille Bros. gum vendor front floor model three-reel trade stimulator with music. Victorian Casino Antiques image.

Victorian Casino Antiques rolls out 1,300 lots for Oct. 12-14 sale

Five-cent Caille Bros. gum vendor front floor model three-reel trade stimulator with music. Victorian Casino Antiques image.

Five-cent Caille Bros. gum vendor front floor model three-reel trade stimulator with music. Victorian Casino Antiques image.

LAS VEGAS – Victorian Casino Antiques will present their fabulous fall auction Friday through Sunday, Oct. 12-14. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding for the entire 1,300-lot sale.

“This is a spectacular sale of quality items including all types of coin-operated devices, gambling, advertising, music, scales, toys, jukeboxes and much more,” notes Dan Sidlow of VCA.

As previous auctions this year have indicated, there will be high attendance and demand for the unique and specialty items from days gone by that VCA is known for throughout the industry, including an amazing collection of both restored and unrestored scales in a variety of makes and models.

The auction of lots 1-300 begins at noon Pacific Daylight Time on Friday. Saturday’s sale begins at 9 a.m. with the auction of lots 301-850. Sunday also begins at 9 a.m. with the sale of lots 851-1300.

For further information contact Victorian Casino Antiques by email at vca@lvcoxmail.com or by phone 702-382-2466.

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


Five-cent Caille Bros. gum vendor front floor model three-reel trade stimulator with music. Victorian Casino Antiques image.

Five-cent Caille Bros. gum vendor front floor model three-reel trade stimulator with music. Victorian Casino Antiques image.

American Express Co. embossed tin sign, in frame, 26 inches by x 35 inches. Victorian Casino Antiques image.

 

American Express Co. embossed tin sign, in frame, 26 inches by x 35 inches. Victorian Casino Antiques image.

Five-cent Pace Mfg. Co. ‘Royal Comet’ club bell console slot machine, circa 1937, in working condition, with key. Victorian Casino Antiques image.

Five-cent Pace Mfg. Co. ‘Royal Comet’ club bell console slot machine, circa 1937, in working condition, with key. Victorian Casino Antiques image.

Pair of signed Tiffany Studios bronze candlesticks, large form, original gold doré finish with removable bobeches. Victorian Casino Antiques image.

Pair of signed Tiffany Studios bronze candlesticks, large form, original gold doré finish with removable bobeches. Victorian Casino Antiques image.

Wurlitzer multiselector phonograph model no. 850 jukebox, circa 1941, ‘Peacock,’ plays 78 rpm records, restored. Victorian Casino Antiques image.

Wurlitzer multiselector phonograph model no. 850 jukebox, circa 1941, ‘Peacock,’ plays 78 rpm records, restored. Victorian Casino Antiques image.

Rare one-cent Regina Gum Vendor musical and gum vending machine, The Regina Co., circa 1906. Victorian Casino Antiques image.

Rare one-cent Regina Gum Vendor musical and gum vending machine, The Regina Co., circa 1906. Victorian Casino Antiques image.

Cassidy played a snake-dancing replicant in the futuristic sci-fi thriller Blade Runner (1982).

The Celebrity Collector: Joanna Cassidy

Cassidy played a snake-dancing replicant in the futuristic sci-fi thriller Blade Runner (1982).

Cassidy played a snake-dancing replicant in the futuristic sci-fi thriller Blade Runner (1982).

Actress Joanna Cassidy (Blade Runner, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Buffalo Bill, Six Feet Under) is a collector of artwork, glass paperweights, ivory letter openers and architectural accent pieces. By the late ’80s she had accumulated so many items she actually opened a shop in Santa Monica, Calif., to sell off her surplus. Called Cassidy’s, the store operated for a few years but the demands of her acting career forced her to shut it down.

Cassidy’s attraction to art was probably prenatal, as she was born into a creative home environment, the daughter and granddaughter of artists. She later went on to major in fine art at Syracuse University (although she did not earn a degree) and is herself an artist and sculptor. Probably her first collection, technically speaking, was butterflies, which she gathered as a child. “For me, color was everything,” she said, “and butterflies were just so beautiful and so perfect in their scale and design. I collected them as natural, colorful wonders.”

With help from her father, young Joanna would frame the butterflies, along with sprigs of milkweed and dried flowers, then sell her creations.

“Those butterflies made me aware of how colors can come together to create art and even make a home come to life,” she said.

As her budding interest in art matured and she entered young adulthood, she began to collect works by artists who fascinated her. One was Michael Moore, who she befriended while a newlywed and model living in San Francisco. He specialized in large landscapes, often with an aerial overview.

“I own several pieces by Moore, including a triptych and a boxed art creation,” Cassidy said. “This was when I was living in an area of San Francisco that was very creative, very artistic and it was the late 1960s, a time of great social change and personal expression. We were all artists in a way, and we would create art and share art amongst ourselves. It wasn’t uncommon to trade and share art pieces, and that is as it should be. After all, we don’t really own art. We are only temporary caretakers. Artwork ultimately gets passed along to others.”

Cassidy also took a liking to the work of artist Leonard Kozianski, while she was in Chicago, on the set of the movie The Package, with Gene Hackman. She owns one of his paintings, titled The House Around the Corner. It’s probably her most valuable and most important work of art. But by far her quirkiest find was also in Chicago, a female “outsider” folk artist, a bag lady who was practically homeless but who created charming studies of people – often women, with a distinct ’40s look and feel. “I found this woman sitting out on a porch step, just painting people, and it was fascinating,” Cassidy said. “I actually befriended her.”

The friendship was delicate, however. The woman was only half-lucid on her best day, and when her daughter died she descended into madness.

“I went and visited her in her little shack of a room, and we talked for a while and she would drift in and out of making sense,” Cassidy said. “I offered to buy some paintings from her, but at the end she said no, none were for sale, and that was that. I do own a half dozen or so paintings by her, however, that I’d purchased earlier, and I cherish them all. She used anything that was available – colored pencils, watercolor, paint if she had it, whatever. Usually it was material people had given her.”

One other artist in Cassidy’s collection is Patrick Nagel, who has painted numerous upper torsos of women for Playboy magazine. He actually painted Cassidy, a head shot rendered from a photograph. “It was absolutely beautiful,” Cassidy said, “highly stylized, which is typical of his work, but he completely captured my eyes, my lips and my very essence. I would love the painting even if it weren’t of me.”

Cassidy has, over the years, also purchased works of art at auction, including pieces from the 1800s and 1900s acquired in London and elsewhere.

The collection of paperweights can be attributed in large part to Cassidy’s upbringing in New Jersey, where the fine sand makes for ideal creations in the state’s glass blowing plants. And all of her paperweights are glass. Again, color is everything.

“I guess I’ve got around 200 glass paperweights, some of them quite large but all of them gorgeous and colorful,” she said. “Some have objects inside them, and not all were made in New Jersey. As I traveled the world I kept an eye out for pieces to add to my collection. Some of them are quite large.”

The ivory letter openers are actually a collection that needs to be discussed in the past tense. Cassidy used to have some, but no longer. They’ve been lost to time, most of them sold at estate sales when she made a move or given as gifts to friends. “They were quite gorgeous,” she remarked. “Some were up to 18 inches long and also served as page turners. I guess I had about 15 of them at one time.” Casssidy described herself as an avid reader who loves how each book has its own smell and feel, but she just recently joined the modern age and bought a Kindle.

The architectural accent pieces aren’t so much a collection as they are a series of personal incorporations into Cassidy’s sense of interior design. It started when she would go out shopping with her young daughter and they’d pick up whimsical objects like wildly colored glass terrariums, old metal flowers, reddish roof tiles (or rooster tiles) and iron disks that she used as still weights in a fountain. The piece de resistance was a pair of church doors – 5 1/2 feet wide by 9 feet tall – that she built into a bedroom wall that opened to a view of a church down the street.

Joanna Cassidy was born Joanna Virginia Caskey in Camden, N.J., not far from Philadelphia, and grew up in nearby Haddonfield, N.J. After attending Syracuse for one year, in the fine arts program, she moved with her husband to San Francisco, where she found work as a model. He was a doctor in residency and for a time Cassidy was the family’s principal breadwinner. The marriage lasted from 1964-1974 and produced two children, a son and a daughter.

After her divorce, Cassidy moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. She has been working steadily ever since. Her resume is long and impressive, both for film and television. In the movies, she is best known as the snake-dancing replicant in the Ridley Scott futuristic sci-fi thriller Blade Runner (1982); her co-starring role in a wacky triangle with Bob Hoskins and a crazed hare in the part cartoon/part fantasy film Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988); and her role as a radio journalist involved with Nick Nolte and Ed Harris in the political drama Under Fire (1983).

On television, she had guest parts on some of the most popular shows of the ’70s and ’80s, including Dallas, Trapper John, M.D., Taxi, Starsky & Hutch, Charlie’s Angels, Lou Grant, Falcon Crest (on which she had a recurring role), Shields and Yarnell, L.A. Law, Diagnosis Murder, The District and Boston Legal. She scored big with the critically acclaimed (but short-lived) sit-com Buffalo Bill, co-starring Dabney Coleman (1983). For her work on the show, she won a Golden Globe award. Cassidy has also been nominated for three Emmy awards, a Saturn Award and Screen Actors Guild Awards.

In recent years, Cassidy had a standout role in the successful HBO series Six Feet Under, in which she played “Margaret Chenoweth,” the acerbic, amoral and self-obsessed psychologist mother of “Brenda” and “Billy.” She is currently a series regular on two shows: as Jason Priestly’s mother in the comedy Call Me Fitz (seen on Canadian HBO) and as Dana Delaney’s mother in the CSI-like dramatic series Body of Proof, on ABC. She is still dedicated to her artwork (painting and sculpting) and enjoys playing golf. Cassidy lives in the Los Angeles area.

Fans of Joanna Cassidy may visit the star online at www.joannacassidy.org.


ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE


Cassidy played a snake-dancing replicant in the futuristic sci-fi thriller Blade Runner (1982).

Cassidy played a snake-dancing replicant in the futuristic sci-fi thriller Blade Runner (1982).

Stylized acrylic on canvas rendering of Joanna Cassidy herself, by noted artist Patrick Nagel.

Stylized acrylic on canvas rendering of Joanna Cassidy herself, by noted artist Patrick Nagel.

Large oil on canvas depiction of Depression-era men by a California artist named Troika, done circa 1980s.

Large oil on canvas depiction of Depression-era men by a California artist named Troika, done circa 1980s.

Joanna Cassidy in 1974, around the time she arrived in Los Angeles to launch her film career.

Joanna Cassidy in 1974, around the time she arrived in Los Angeles to launch her film career.

Cassidy played a radio journalist involved with Nick Nolte and Gene Hackman in Under Fire (1983).

Cassidy played a radio journalist involved with Nick Nolte and Gene Hackman in Under Fire (1983).

Paper pressed painting (1 of 10) by the late female Cuban artist Belkes, done circa late 1990s.

Paper pressed painting (1 of 10) by the late female Cuban artist Belkes, done circa late 1990s.

Carved man with cross, given to Cassidy by her daughter, purchased at an antique market in Europe.

Carved man with cross, given to Cassidy by her daughter, purchased at an antique market in Europe.

Joanna Cassidy was a model before becoming an actress. She is a Golden Globe Award winner.

Joanna Cassidy was a model before becoming an actress. She is a Golden Globe Award winner.

Cassidy purchased this important work by Leonard Kozianski while in Chicago, filming The Package with Gene Hackman.

Cassidy purchased this important work by Leonard Kozianski while in Chicago, filming The Package with Gene Hackman.

Stylized rendering of a horse by Cuban artist Carlos Estevez; at left front is a sculpture fashioned from African money.

Stylized rendering of a horse by Cuban artist Carlos Estevez; at left front is a sculpture fashioned from African money.

Large rendering of a woman with yellow background by a Chicago outsider artist who Cassidy befriended.

Large rendering of a woman with yellow background by a Chicago outsider artist who Cassidy befriended.

Anheuser-Busch (St. Louis, Mo.) Bock Beer pre-Prohibition lithograph with beautiful imagery of elves and goat, est. $25,000-$45,000. Morphy Auctions image.

Morphy’s to auction Grenke beer can, breweriana collection, Sept. 21-22

Anheuser-Busch (St. Louis, Mo.) Bock Beer pre-Prohibition lithograph with beautiful imagery of elves and goat, est. $25,000-$45,000. Morphy Auctions image.

Anheuser-Busch (St. Louis, Mo.) Bock Beer pre-Prohibition lithograph with beautiful imagery of elves and goat, est. $25,000-$45,000. Morphy Auctions image.

DENVER, Pa. – The convivial atmosphere of a century-old corner tavern welcomes visitors to Morphy’s southeastern Pennsylvania gallery in the run-up to the big Sept. 21-22 sale of Adolf Grenke’s breweriana and beer can collection. More than 40 years in the making, the approximately 4,000-piece Grenke collection will be sold in its entirety and without reserve over the course of the two-day event. Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.com.

At the core of the remarkable single-owner collection – which also includes 400 beer taps and a selection of advertising signs, artwork and promotional items – are some 500 antique and vintage beer cans, many of which are exceedingly rare. “A few key examples are expected to exceed $50,000 each,” said Morphy Auctions CEO Dan Morphy.

A former plastics industry executive and president of an elevator company, Grenke became aware of beer cans as a collectible in 1972 after his wife took their two young sons to an educational lecture sponsored by the parks department in his suburban Chicago neighborhood.

“The fellow making the presentation was a Meister Brau salesman. He was there to encourage kids to collect beer cans and even handed out sample cans,” Grenke recalled. But it wasn’t until later, while on a family vacation in Texas, that Grenke himself caught the collecting bug.

“We were on our way to the Alamo when one of my sons spotted beer cans on the side of the road near a golf course. I was all dressed up, but we pulled over, and soon I was in the mud pulling up beer cans right along with my sons,” Grenke said with a laugh.

After a few years of collecting and watching the prices escalate on vintage cans, Grenke joined the BCCA and Worldwide Beer Can Collectors, which he knew would open doors to a much wider network of collectors through club meetings and conventions. He became known as a serious buyer who would pay the price to own the rarest cans, but ironically, he only rarely drank beer.

Grenke’s collection includes many cans chosen for inclusion in top reference books because they were the best of all known examples. “Adolf was always a condition collector,” Morphy said. “Whenever a new book on beer cans was in the works, invariably the author and photographer would end up at Adolf’s home.”

Grenke’s favorite cans include a rare Apache Export can from Arizona – a very desirable low-profile cone-top can with Native American imagery. It is one of only five or six known and is expected to make $25,000-$35,000 at auction. Grenke also favors an olive drab Peter Hand Meister Brau can that is the only known example of its type. “During World War II, Meister Brau sent their beer overseas to US soldiers,” Grenke said. “As far as anyone knows, this is the sole survivor.” It is estimated at $12,000-$18,000.

Morphy’s enlisted the services of noted breweriana expert Dan Morean of www.breweriana.com to appraise and catalog the beer can portion of the sale. Morean, who has bought and sold some of the most important beer can collections of the past few years, said the Grenke collection is “the first major beer can collection to be auctioned other than on eBay – and not that many major ones have hit eBay, either.”

Collectors look for rarity, appealing graphics and superior condition. Many cans in the Grenke collection meet all three criteria, Morean said. The only known example of an ultra-desirable Gibbons Bock low-profile cone-top can is estimated at $30,000-$50,000. Two different Krueger Bock cans ($15,000-$20,000; $18,000-$23,000 respectively), a National Bohemian ($20,000-$45,000), a Peter Doelger Bock “instruction” beer can ($15,000-$28,000) and a Rheingold Pale Double Bock Beer flat-top beer can ($14,000-$24,000) are also poised to finish in the top 10.

The Grenke collection includes spectacular 19th and early 20th-century signs, like the gold-framed 1886 Bock Beer Maid lithograph with two actual checks from the brewery, est. $15,000-$25,000; and an Anheuser-Busch Bock Beer elves and ram lithograph, possibly the only extant example, estimated at $25,000-$45,000.

A corner sign from Buffalo’s Iroquois Brewery is conservatively estimated at $20,000-$40,000. “The last one that appeared at auction was made of composition and sold for $55,000. This sign, which is made of porcelain, is expected to fly,” said Morphy.

A prized sign advertising Chicago Bock Beer depicts two rams dressed as humans in suits, sharing a mug of beer. Estimate: $12,000-$18,000. Additional highlights include signs for Edelweiss Beer and Lion Beer (Cincinnati), with other desirable lithographs and signs representing Wm. J. Lemp, F&M Schaefer, Olympia and other breweries.

A special attraction within the antique advertising section is the 40+ illuminating reverse-on-glass, porcelain-enameled signs made by Gillco, Philadelphia. Gillco signs are coveted by breweriana collectors because of their outstanding quality and the fact that manufacturing runs were so low – sometimes limited to only 10 to 25 signs per design. “Some signs were even one of a kind,” Grenke said.

The top-estimated Gillco sign in the auction advertises Tally-Ho Beer and is twice the normal size of signs this company manufactured. Its image is of a horse-drawn Tally-Ho coach with well-dressed, top-hatted passengers. “It previously belonged to a beer can collector in California who has since passed away. No one I know has ever seen this sign before. It might be a prototype,” Grenke said. The sign is estimated at $8,000-$12,000.

Other Gillco signs advertise Tannenbaum Beer, Old Town Lager, Lowenbrau Munchen, Atlas Prager Beer, Pabst Blue Ribbon and Trommer’s White Label Malt and other brands. Approximately one dozen are light-up “bullet” signs with beer bottles on the front. Yet another, which features an image of three horses jumping a fence, may well have been a salesman’s sample, as no particular product is shown on it.

An excellent assortment of beer tap knobs will be offered, as well as a selection of trays, knobs and “smalls,” including promotional buttons, watch fobs, match safes and pocketknives. Breweriana expert Les Jones, who cataloged the items, explained that the smalls were company giveaways or given to customers at bars, while others might have been employee items or mail-in premiums.

Also included in the collection is arguably the finest known assemblage of pre-Prohibition beer glasses from breweries in Chicago and other Illinois cities. Each of the 200 glasses had the name of a brewery or type of beer acid-etched onto its thin, fine glass, so relatively few survived over time, Jones said. A grouping of pre-Prohibition brewery or beer-branded steins will also be sold.

Dan Morphy remarked: “This collection is absolutely intact and unpicked, and everything is a condition 9, 9½ or better. Everyone who has come in to the gallery and viewed the collection has commented on how ‘clean’ everything is. That’s what really sets this collection apart from anything else out there.”

Both sessions of Morphy Auctions’ Sept. 21-22, 2012 auction of the Adolf Grenke Breweriana and Beer Can Collection will commence at 9 a.m. Eastern Time. Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.com. For information on any item in the sale, call Serena Myers at 717-335-3435 or e-mail serena@morphyauctions.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 IMAGE OF NOTE


Anheuser-Busch (St. Louis, Mo.) Bock Beer pre-Prohibition lithograph with beautiful imagery of elves and goat, est. $25,000-$45,000. Morphy Auctions image.

 

Anheuser-Busch (St. Louis, Mo.) Bock Beer pre-Prohibition lithograph with beautiful imagery of elves and goat, est. $25,000-$45,000. Morphy Auctions image.

A very cool side of the building turned snow-capped mountain. Street art by unknown artist, Reykjavik, Iceland. Photo by Kelsey Savage.

Reading the Streets: Reykjavik street art, Part 2

A very cool side of the building turned snow-capped mountain. Street art by unknown artist, Reykjavik, Iceland. Photo by Kelsey Savage.

A very cool side of the building turned snow-capped mountain. Street art by unknown artist, Reykjavik, Iceland. Photo by Kelsey Savage.

Just off of Laugardalur Street in downtown Reykjavik is a little park behind a hostel that appears to serve a mix of the city’s younger crowd with backpackers and random travelers like myself that stumble upon it while shopping. It seemed no matter how many times I walked by over the course of my visit, something was happening in the small area.

While listening to a disc jockey spin from a makeshift stage and drinking a Viking beer, you can check out some incredible and diverse examples of Reykjavik street art. The vibrant original work blends perfectly with the diverse group enjoying the midnight sun in late July. Although even the everlasting sunshine could not dispel the cool air enough to avoid the necessity of the ubiquitous Icelandic wool sweaters worn by about half the people.

While the location doesn’t perhaps contain the best examples of what might appear in other corners of the city, the collective quality makes a huge impression and enhances the setting, reflecting the same mix of people mingling in the grass.


ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE


A very cool side of the building turned snow-capped mountain. Street art by unknown artist, Reykjavik, Iceland. Photo by Kelsey Savage.

A very cool side of the building turned snow-capped mountain. Street art by unknown artist, Reykjavik, Iceland. Photo by Kelsey Savage.

A capped seal with a fish tattoo stands sentry over the impromptu DJ party. Street art by unknown artist, Reykjavik, Iceland. Photo by Kelsey Savage.

A capped seal with a fish tattoo stands sentry over the impromptu DJ party. Street art by unknown artist, Reykjavik, Iceland. Photo by Kelsey Savage.

The city’s young crowd gathers at the small park to make the most of the summer sun. I wonder what the park looks like in the winter when the city gets about four hours of sunlight a day. Street art by unknown artist, Reykjavik, Iceland. Photo by Kelsey Savage.

The city’s young crowd gathers at the small park to make the most of the summer sun. I wonder what the park looks like in the winter when the city gets about four hours of sunlight a day. Street art by unknown artist, Reykjavik, Iceland. Photo by Kelsey Savage.

While some individuals socialize, others are building a patio. Street art by unknown artist, Reykjavik, Iceland. Photo by Kelsey Savage.

While some individuals socialize, others are building a patio. Street art by unknown artist, Reykjavik, Iceland. Photo by Kelsey Savage.

Amateur botches restoration of 1910 painting of Christ

MADRID (AFP) – An elderly woman’s catastrophic attempt to restore a century-old oil painting of Christ in a Spanish church has provoked popular uproar, and amusement.

The well-intentioned but ham-handed amateur artist, in her 80s, took it upon herself to fill in the patches and paint over the original work, which depicted Christ crowned with thorns, his sorrowful gaze lifted to heaven.

Her work done, the “restored” figure looks somewhat like a monkey with fur surrounding a pale face and a child-like drawing of eyes, a cartoon-style nose and a crooked smudge for a mouth.

Titled Ecce Homo (Behold the Man), the original was no masterpiece, painted in two hours in 1910 by a certain Elias Garcia Martinez directly on a column in the church at Borja, northeastern Spain. The scene is widely depicted in Christian art.

It showed its age, too, with humidity in the Iglesia del Santuario de Misericordia gradually eating away at patches of paint.

But the new version has become a national joke, reminiscent of fictional film character Mr. Bean’s comic attempt to restore Whistler’s Mother after he sneezes on it and mistakenly wipes off the face.

“The explanations she gave were incoherent: she said she had been restoring it for years and had to give up before completing it,” said Borja deputy major and culture official Juan Maria de Ojeda, responsible for the church.

Social networks and online news sites were deluged with comments by users, many of whom created their own versions of the restored work incorporating the faces of King Juan Carlos or Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

On his Twitter account, film director Alex de Iglesia joked: “Let her finish it for the love of God.”

The town hall has not yet decided whether to sue over the botch job, which was performed a month ago but has only now hit the headlines in the Spanish press.

“It would be different if it was vandalism,” said the town hall’s De Ojeda. But “she was not trying to denigrate the dignity of the place,” he added.

A team of art restoration experts – professionals this time – will evaluate the damage to see if the work can be restored to its original state, he said.

“More important than the value of the painting itself, is the fact that an uncontrolled action like this can take place,” fretted Manuel Gracia Rivas, head of a Borja heritage study center, Cesbor, who first sounded the alarm over the impromptu restoration.

 

 

The weather was gorgeous and the collectibles were inspiring at this year’s spring show, said Marburger Farm management. Marburger Farm image.

Marburger Farm Antique Show, Oct. 2-6, promotes family fun

The weather was gorgeous and the collectibles were inspiring at this year’s spring show, said Marburger Farm management. Marburger Farm image.

The weather was gorgeous and the collectibles were inspiring at this year’s spring show, said Marburger Farm management. Marburger Farm image.

ROUND TOP, Texas – Three young girls lined up at the frozen lemonade stand at the Marburger Farm Antique Show. Dressed head to toe in Magnolia Pearl cowgirl attire, they each carried a small purse with their own saved-up money. Nearby their mothers and grandmother shopped in concert, part of the family rhythm that has become a phenomenon at the twice-yearly Marburger Farm show in central Texas: multiple generations shopping for antiques together at their favorite market.

On Tuesday, Oct. 2, through Saturday, Oct. 6, the Marburger Farm Antique Show in Round Top will welcome shoppers from across the U.S. and around the world. Among the thousands of designers, store owners and collectors will be families shopping together.

“I always see family groups at Marburger Farm,” says Kentucky exhibitor Tricia LeTempt of Red Door Antiques. “Each generation buys different things, but they are creating time to have this experience together at Marburger.”

Just back from shopping in England, LeTempt will offer ironstone, industrial lighting from an old European factory and a collection of French rosaries in silver and mother of pearl, as well as American garden and farmhouse antiques.

“Marburger Farm is our favorite show,” show says shopper Maggie Castleman who leads her tribe of daughters, daughter-in-laws and granddaughters into the 43-acre show with over 350 exhibitors. “Marburger is big so that we all can look for different things, but it’s also easy,” says Castleman. “Everything is in one place. It’s relaxing. It’s fun for us to wander up and down those aisles together.”

While Castleman collects vintage jewelry (Marburger exhibitor Virginia Pierson in the Silver Dollar Saloon is a favorite), the next generation buys to decorate their homes. Daughter-in-law Laura Castleman has brought along her girls and their cousins for six years. “They want to be with their grandmother in the environment that she loves. The girls shop for charms, for antique doll clothes and for vintage cowgirl boots.” Laura Castleman once brought her husband along too. “He fell in love with a dining room table that is now in our house,” she says. What else is in the house from Marburger Farm? Well, chairs for the table from one show, a hutch from another, a Marburger coffee table, lighting and a huge piece over the mantel from Marburger artisan exhibitors Sundie and Brad Ruppert of Vintage Sculpture from Iowa.

Sundie Ruppert looks for the Castleman clan at every Marburger show. “It’s fun to see the children shopping at Marburger Farm,” she says. “With their purses and boots and hats, they remind me of me. I grew up going to shows with my parents.” The Rupperts will alight in Texas with sculptures and re-claimed furniture, covered edge-to-edge with paint, bottle caps and other vintage embellishments. Recalling yet another family of Marburger shoppers, Sundie Ruppert remembers selling a life-size Indian maiden sculpture to a shopper who now collects their work. “Then her daughter came and surprised her mother for Christmas with one of our big flashing arrows. It hangs in their kitchen at the beach.”

Exhibitor Julie Harris of Missouri also sells to family groups with her inventory of antique and vintage college memorabilia, trophies and sporting equipment. “Sometimes I’ll have three or four generations all wanting pennants and photos from the University of Texas, A & M or other Texas schools—I save those up for Marburger. I’ll have antique paperweights and the framed vintage banners, swimsuits and sports uniforms that families use to decorate their kids’ rooms, dens and man caves.” Harris will also offer a collection of antique trunks, some large enough to use as tables and kitchen islands.

At the fall 2012 show, Marburger Farm will debut its own man cave. “Bring your husbands and dads,” says show co-owner Ashley Ferguson. “For football season, we’re turning the Marburger Bingo Hall into an air-conditioned man cave with a big screen TV. And it’s just across from the Blacksmith Bar.”

A more formal setting at the show can be found in the booth of Massachusetts exhibitor Cora Brown. “I’ll set a table for 12 with fine French and English china and crystal,” says Brown who also brings Continental porcelain and furniture. “A mother and daughter who share the same Wedgwood china pattern always come by to see what I have put back for Texas. Customers in Texas have a broader imagination than in other places. They really know how to use antiques.”

And they also know how to wear them. Vintage clothing expert Steven Porterfield dipped his toe into the last Marburger show with a tiny booth. Now he will offer 30 feet of the antique and vintage fashion that has made him a costume source for television shows such as Mad Men and Downton Abbey, as well as a longtime appraiser on the PBS series Antiques Roadshow. In addition to wearable clothing, shoes, hats and handbags from the Civil War era to the 1960s, Porterfield promises to bring quilts, jewelry and a collection of dolls. Multiple generations will have plenty to buy and enjoy, with dolls ranging from early bisque French and German rarities to a collection of 1958-60s Barbie dolls.

Many Marburger Farm exhibitors also represent multiple generations who have loved antiques. Oriental rug specialist Azra Bastani of Atlanta grew up in the rug business started by her grandfather. She shops in Europe for Persian and Turkish carpets made from the 1880s through 1930s, in a large range of sizes and colors. “I’m bringing a huge inventory to Marburger Farm,” she says. “Trust is very important in the rug business and I go the extra mile to earn the trust of my Texas customers.”

Another third generation exhibitor is Michael Berry of San Jose, Calif., who carries silver flatware and hollowware. “My grandfather’s store,” says Berry, “had a sign that said ‘Old Things Not Found Elsewhere.’ That’s what I try to offer.” Berry will bring sterling serving pieces, hand-hammered Arts and Crafts-era silver and over 1,000 sterling napkin rings which draw in families with children and grandchildren. “Sometimes at Marburger we have families coming in for each child to pick out their own napkin ring. They look for figural napkin rings with animals and for those engraved with monograms, initials and names.” They also look for Michael Berry Jr., age 1, who presides over his parents’ booth, happily welcoming other children into the world of “old things not found elsewhere.”

The Marburger Farm Antique Show opens for all ages on Tuesday Oct. 2, with early buying from 10 a.m. through 2 p.m. for $25 for adults, free for children 15 and under. Regular $10 admission begins Oct. 2 at 2 p.m. One admission is good all week, with the show running on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturday, Oct. 6, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Parking is free and dogs on a leashes are always welcome. Advance tickets and group tickets are available.

Among special events at the fall show will be book-signings with celebrity designer Rachel Ashwell. A longtime Marburger Farm shopper, Ashwell will offer her newest book, Shabby Chic Inspirations and Beautiful Spaces, on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons from noon to 3 p.m. near the Gulf Warehouse.

Antiques, vintage and artisan exhibits will include American, French, English, Continental, mid-century modern, industrial, architectural, fine art, jewelry, silver, western, garden, textiles, early Texas and more. Benefit booths will support the Brookwood Community near Houston and Dwell with Dignity of Dallas.

See information on vendors, special events, the Marburger Farm mobile app and blog, travel, maps, lodging, on-site shipping, media and the full-service Marburger Cafe at www.roundtop-marburger.com or call Ashley Ferguson at 800-947-5799.


ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE


The weather was gorgeous and the collectibles were inspiring at this year’s spring show, said Marburger Farm management. Marburger Farm image.

The weather was gorgeous and the collectibles were inspiring at this year’s spring show, said Marburger Farm management. Marburger Farm image.

Marburger Farm's 350 dealers bring some great treasures to Round Top, Texas.

Marburger Farm’s 350 dealers bring some great treasures to Round Top, Texas.

People come from around the world to shop at Round Top. Marburger Farm image.

People come from around the world to shop at Round Top. Marburger Farm image.

Piazza del Popolo, Rome, Italy, where the wall collapsed. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Heat wave blamed for collapse of historic wall in Rome

Piazza del Popolo, Rome, Italy, where the wall collapsed. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Piazza del Popolo, Rome, Italy, where the wall collapsed. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

ROME (AFP) – A section of wall dating back to the early 19th century overlooking one of Rome’s most historic squares – Piazza del Popolo – crumbled on Wednesday due to the heat wave that is sweeping Italy.

Rome mayor Gianni Alemanno visited the area where 30 feet of wall have been damaged on a winding road with panoramic views over the Eternal City that connects the square to the Villa Borghese park on top of the hill.

The road has been closed to traffic and Alemanno promised the damage would be repaired “in the coming days” and cost around 300,000 euros ($374,000).

“This is a direct consequences of the extreme climate,” Umberto Broccoli, the administrator of Rome’s cultural treasures, told reporters.

“First there was snow, then a very rainy winter and now a very dry summer.”

The wall was built as part of a vast project by neoclassical Italian architect Giuseppe Valadier (1762-1839) to create a panoramic promenade in the center of Rome and includes the famous Pincio terrace in Villa Borghese.


ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE


Piazza del Popolo, Rome, Italy, where the wall collapsed. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Piazza del Popolo, Rome, Italy, where the wall collapsed. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.