Man’s Rolex Oyster watch. Government Auction image.
TEHACHAPI, Calif. – Government Auction’s auction on Sunday, April 28, will feature emerald jewelry, antique gold coins, designer handbags and Rolex watches worthy of an ancient Egyptian ruler or modern-day trendsetter. The auction will begin at 5:45 a.m. Pacific time, and Internet live bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.com.
Cleopatra was perhaps the first celebrity ruler associated with the enigmatic emerald. The Egyptian queen had a fascination bordering on obsession with the brilliant green stone and even owned an emerald mine. To those in ancient Egypt, the stone represented wealth and power, and was the symbol of fertility. Cleopatra’s hoard of gemstones has never been found, but her association with the rare gemstone endures. A piece that the last pharaoh surely would have coveted is a 14.97-carat emerald with 10.25-carat diamond necklace. This stunning piece is composed of 14K yellow gold. It is a drape motif that is sure to be the crowning touch of elegant evening wear. The 18-inch necklace features 20 graduating emerald and diamond bezel pendants supported by an emerald and diamond lattice with numerous prong- and bead-set round brilliant-cut diamonds. The piece is topped off with matching yellow gold links and a concealed box clasp with twin safeties.
Another piece Cleopatra would have been proud to add to her collection is a 12-carat emerald and diamond ring. The ring is composed of 14K white gold, with the featured large emerald set within a diamond lattice gallery supported by diamond set shoulders and completed with a 2 1/2-millimeter wide band. There are approximately 28 prong- and bead-set diamonds in the ring weighing 1.70 carats.
In keeping with our theme of powerful and sophisticated women, a designer bag reported to have been owned by Chris Jenner of Keeping with the Kardashians is also featured in this auction. The Louis Stewart line is fast becoming the latest trend and is popular with the celebrity set due to the company’s product quality and style. Louis Stewart is a designer who worked for Louis Vuitton before launching his own brand. This brand has not made it to the stores yet, but is receiving high visibility from celebs such as Rhianna and Nicki Minaj. The Louis Stewart handbag featured on April 28 is black patent leather with a small crystal bling lock and the Louis Stewart logo is displayed on a front silver badge.
Also offered for auction in the coin category is a highly sought-after piece—an 1894-S $20 U.S. Liberty Head gold coin. The Double Eagle, as the coin is also known, was minted from 1850 during the height of the California gold rush until 1907. Of all the U.S. gold coins minted before 1907, the Double Eagle had the highest gold content, almost one full ounce of pure gold. Designed by James B. Longacre, the coin weighs 33.43 grams and is composed of 90 percent gold and 10 percent copper.
Another collectible coin for auction is the 1925-D $2.5 U.S Indian Head type gold coin. The Indian Quarter Eagle, as the coin is also known, was minted in Denver. Designed by Bela Lyon Pratt the coin features an incuse, or sunken, design of an American Indian with full feather war headdress on the obverse and the American eagle on the reverse. The piece is 18mm in diameter, weighs 4.18 grams, and is comprised of .900 fine gold and .100 copper.
An exceptional Rolex Oyster Perpetual wristwatch is an auction highlight in the elite timepiece category. This man’s watch is crafted in stainless steel with silver sunray finish dial, steel hour posts and band.
Additional auction highlights include a 5.00-carat princess-cut diamond, Chanel sunglasses, Louis Vuitton leather bag, Formula 1 Hublot Watch and much more.
For additional information on any lot in the sale, call Debbie at 661-823-1543 or email info@governmentauction.com.
View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
One of three carved-wood pedestals replicating contortionists, this one being 4ft tall. Ross Art Group image.
NEW YORK – The heart-stopping whoosh of a roller coaster on its downward trajectory, the sugary smell of cotton candy and salt water taffy, the sideshow barker’s incessant chant to “step right up and see the strangest sights on earth.” All played their roles in creating indelible memories for the millions of people who visited Coney Island over the last century.
While the golden era of New York’s most beloved amusement park has come and gone, relics of Coney Island’s colorful history and photos of its amazing cast of performers move back into the spotlight in “Sideshow,” an exhibition running May 2-25 at The Ross Art Group’s Manhattan gallery. Sideshow’s featured collection belongs to Dr. Robert M. Lerch, a New York City physician and longtime collector of the bizarre and unusual. The exhibition chronicles roughly the first 50 years of Coney Island – whose first enclosed amusement park area opened in 1895 – with additional pieces from other early 20th-century carnivals and circuses.
The “backbone” of the show, said Ross Art Group’s owner, Mickey Ross, is the collection of 28 original architectural drawings and blueprints that conceptualized Coney Island carnival rides and structures.
“The drawings were created by amusement park ride inventor and manufacturer William F. Mangels (German/American, 1867-1958) and depict such classic rides as the ‘Whip,’ Loop roller coaster, and carousel horses with a mechanical function,” Ross said. Like all other items in the exhibition, the architectural designs will be available for purchase.
One of the most remarkable inclusions in the collection is the assemblage of circus photos by itinerant photographer Edward J. Kelty (American, 1888–1967). The grouping includes a number of Kelty’s inimitable 11 by 20in panoramic shots of performers known collectively as “the Congress of Freaks.”
“Kelty had a fascination for human oddities and spent 20 years following and photographing circus troupes. Once a year, the entire Ringling Brothers ‘Freak Show’ cast would gather for a group shot. It was a big event,” said Ross. “The pictures include every imaginable type of performer – sword swallowers, snake charmers, bearded ladies, fire eaters, and ‘giants and midgets,’ plus aerialists and clowns.” Kelty’s Congress of Freaks photos, which originally were sold to the performers themselves as mementos, are highly sought after by today’s collectors.
Other iconic photos featured in Sideshow were taken prior to the end of World War I by Arthur S. Mole & John D. Thomas. Their technique consisted of mustering thousands of people to form aerial views of iconic symbols, such as The Statue of Liberty or Uncle Sam. Most of the photos’ participants were army troops who took part with the US Government’s permission.
Robert Lerch’s fascination for Coney Island memorabilia, arcade machines and quirky figural folk art dates back to his 1960s childhood in New York City, when he was introduced to the vast archive of pioneer collector, author and historian Frederick Fried.
“I spent most of my youth living with my grandparents on West End Avenue. A kid I used to play with who lived two stories above us was Frederick Fried’s son. I spent endless time in that apartment, which was so full of stuff it was barely navigable. I remember it like it was yesterday,” Lerch recalled. “Being around so many fascinating curiosities – from carnival objects to cigar store figures – had a profound effect on me.”
In fact, the Fried collection not only inspired Lerch to set off on a 40-year quest for the offbeat, it also eventually ended up, in part, in his own personal collection. “When Mr. Fried died, his daughter inherited his collection. I later acquired a portion of his Coney Island archive, which was considered the ultimate of its type, through a person who knew his daughter,” Lerch explained.
Selected highlights from the 75-piece Sideshow exhibition include:
• Coin-op machines, including “Witch,” a rare 1st-quarter 20th century 3-wheel slot
• Cast-iron amusement park jester head and four clown shooting gallery targets
• Three antique carved-wood contortionist figures on pedestals
• Circa-1920 coin-op baseball trade stimulator, one of perhaps three known
• Pair of 21in tall cast-iron Coke bottles, 1923, from Atlanta bottling plant’s fence
• Game that creates figure of pig with successive rolls of dice
• Rare French carnival knock-down figures
• Circa-1920 electric trade stimulator of chirping, moving birds in formal wedding attire
• 17 x 6in salesman’s sample of metal-trimmed glass coffin
• Circus and other posters, including an original for the Belgian release of the 1932 film “Freaks”
• Polychrome-painted convex carnival mirror
• Carousel memorabilia and figures including carved camel
• Unconventional vending machine that delivers a piece of pre-sealed cake
• Anatomical aluminum model of pig with hinged opening for view of internal organs
Sideshow – Exhibition and Sale featuring the collection of Dr. Robert M. Lerch (email manmoon6@aol.com) with other select additions will be held May 2-25 at the Ross Art Group’s gallery, 532 Madison Ave., 4th Floor (entry on 54th Street), New York, NY 10022.
Exhibition hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday. May 2nd opening-night hours are 5-8 p.m., and as a special added attraction, several performers from Coney Island USA’s Sideshows by the Seashore will be there at the gallery to entertain, pose for pictures and help raise awareness that Coney Island is back in business following the devastation of Hurricane Sandy. The performers include Leo the Human Gumby (contortionist), Insectavora (tattooed lady and human blockhead), and Scott Baker (magician and master of many sideshow feats). Additionally, sideshow banner painter Marie Roberts, who grew up around many famous sideshow performers, will be on hand to speak with the press about Coney Island’s unique history.
Dr. Robert Lerch has pledged to donate the sale proceeds from one of his rare Coney Island photographs to the nonprofit Coney Island Museum.
For additional information call 212-223-1525 or email sales@rossartgroup.com. Online: www.rossartgroup.com.
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ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE
One of three carved-wood pedestals replicating contortionists, this one being 4ft tall. Ross Art Group image.Original poster promoting the Belgian release of the 1932 film ‘Freaks,’ which was renamed ‘Barnum’ for that market. Ross Art Group image.Very rare cast-iron clown-shape carnival targets. Ross Art Group image.Animated, electric-powered store window display of birds in bridal attire. Ross Art Group image.Edward J. Kelty (American, 1888–1967) panoramic photo of Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey ‘Congress of Freaks.’ Ross Art Group image.Mole & Thomas ‘Human Statue of Liberty’ photograph formed by 18,000 officers and enlisted men at Camp Dodge, Des Moines, Iowa. Ross Art Group image.Mole & Thomas ‘The Living Uncle Sam’ photograph formed by 19,000 officers and enlisted men at Camp Lee, Virginia. Ross Art Group image.Extremely rare Jennings witch with black cat 3-reel slot machine from 1st quarter of 20th century. Ross Art Group image.Original architectural plan delineating the track for Coney Island’s famous Loop roller coaster. Ross Art Group image.
Marc Chagall – ‘The Butcher,’ brush and ink drawing, circa 1930. Fairhead Fine Art image. Fairhead Fine Art will be holding its next auction on April 29 at 12:30 p.m. PDT. The sale titled “20th Century Masters: Mixed Media,” features original works on paper as well as ceramics by leading School of Paris artists.
Among the drawings of particular interest are four wash, brush and ink / pencil and watercolor on paper works, 1908–1930, by Marc Chagall. All are signed by the artist and each one of them is sold with a photo-certificate from David McNiel, the artist’s son.
Another work that has caught our attention is a mutiple by Salvador Dali, titled Tristan & Isolde. It is a lithograph, 1972, in black on white-surface Rowlux with color added, covered with transparent and with blue, gold and red opaque Rowlux. Never before has anyone created a mixed media limited edition in this format. Dali was so pleased with the results that he designed a certificate with a melting clock and signed 500—one for each in the edition. It is the only time Dali signed a certificate for each numbered work of art. The work depicts a surrealistic golden chalice against an unusual landscape, made all the more unique by use of unconventional Rowlux material. The background is composed of a dimpled surface, similar in appearance to mother of pearl. The chalice itself appears to be of shimmering satin-like gold iridescence. The liquid shimmers with hues of violet. Dali’s signature is at lower right, and the lithograph is printed on the inner surface of a clear, ribbed plexi cover.
Pablo Picasso is featured heavily in the sale with a number of signed works, including an ink on paper drawing of a Mr. B. Cymermann, dated 1954. A certificate by Maya Picasso, daughter of the artist, accompanies this work and is dated Jan. 4, 2010.
All works are guaranteed as described and fully documented (where appropriate) with catalogue raisoné references and authenticity certificates.
For additional information about the auction, call Niall Fairhead on +442084552700 or email nfairhead@images-art.co.uk.
View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
Nineteenth century Simon Halbig doll. ATM Antiques & Auctions image. CRYSTAL RIVER, Fla. – ATM Antiques & Auctions holds its inaugural auction on Wednesday, April 27, beginning at 6 p.m. EDT. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.
Charles Fudge, former owner of Professional Appraisers & Liquidators, has passed the gavel to his eldest daughter, Amy Stalker, owner of ATM. She will hold her first auction consisting of antiques, collectibles, bronzes, art glass and jewelry.
Some items of note are Remington bronzes, (lots 145, 146, 278, 280 & 282) such as The Mountain Man, Rattlesnake and Scalp.
A large selection of art glass is represented in the inaugural sale including rare colors of Cambridge such as Azurite and Helio as well as hard-to-find pieces of artist-signed Fenton art glass.
Antiques include a Simon & Halbig doll in a glass dome display case, antique furniture and a folk art horse. Collectibles include several pedal tractors. Many of the collectibles are by ERTL. A cast-zinc fountain by J.W. Fiske as well as cast-iron garden furniture will be offered, along with cast-iron doorstops and pantry stops, one by Hubley. Jewelry is included as well and includes vintage and antique items including gold, diamonds and gemstones.
New owner and auctioneer Amy Stalker, says “I am so excited to have this opportunity to keep an antique auction going in the family. My father, Charlie Fudge, has been an amazing teacher over the last six years and I hope to build to his level of expertise under his guidance and make him proud.”
For details about the auction, phone 800-542-3877.
View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
Toy automaton of boxers, lever controls activate figures, possibly a prototype, est. $3,500-$4,500. Bertoia Auctions image. VINELAND, N.J. – Bertoia Auctions’ May 3-4 ‘Toy Picks’ auction features the pick of the crop in dozens of popular collecting categories. In addition to a vast array of vehicles, European clockwork toys and comic character favorites, the sale lineup also includes dollhouses and miniatures; trains, steam engines, banks and Part I of the late Bill Bertoia’s superb collection of occupational shaving mugs, which will be auctioned during the second session. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live-bidding services for the sale.
The late Bill Bertoia (1950-2003) was a leading light and indisputable expert in the field of antique toys and cast-iron banks, but few realized he was an advanced collector of occupational shaving mugs.
Although Bill’s mug collection would have been welcomed at any major American art museum, it was never publicly exhibited. A very personal collection amassed over a 15-year period, it was displayed with pride in the antique-filled home Bill shared with his wife, Jeanne, and children Michael and Lauren.
On Saturday, May 4, Bertoia’s will auction Part I of Bill’s shaving mug collection. Approximately 50 mugs will be offered, ranging from pristine examples of more-common mugs – conservatively estimated at $100-$200 – to rare, highly desirable mugs in the $5,000 range.
Bertoia Auctions co-founder and owner Jeanne Bertoia said her late husband regarded shaving mugs as “one of the greatest forms of Americana…He was fascinated by the hand-painted images of various occupations, many of which no longer existed.”
Jeanne recalled that no matter what he collected, Bill was a stickler for quality, condition and originality. “He was very particular when buying toys and banks, and he took the same approach with his mugs. He especially liked mugs with images of people engaged in their work, and hand-applied details, like gilt trim and a person’s name,” Jeanne said.
Every mug in Bill’s collection was a source of enjoyment to Bill, but he had a few special favorites, Jeanne said. “He was very proud of his mug that showed a stockbroker with ticker tape (est. $2,500-$4,000), but I think he was most excited with the mug he bought at an auction in South Jersey that has an image of a distinguished man in a derby hat, walking two very grand Boston terriers ($2,000-$3,000).”
Bill Bertoia’s occupational shaving mug collection covers a broad variety of themes: automotive, horse-drawn, nautical, storefronts, sports. Some of the more unusual mugs include: lunch wagon, $3,500-$5,000; clothing store, $800-$1,200; barrel stake truck, $1,000-$2,000; chefs at work in a busy kitchen, $1,000-$1,500; marble arch cutter, $1,000-$1,500; dump truck, $1,000-$2,000; delivery wagon builder, $800-$1,200; and horse-drawn hearse with open curtain. $800-$1,200.
German and French wind-up toys will keep the keys busy during Bertoia’s preview. An outstanding collection of Lehmanns, many of them boxed, has been consigned by a longtime Bertoia Auctions customer. “Quality and condition are evident throughout this collection,” said Bertoia’s auctioneer, Michael Bertoia. “The owner always stepped up to the plate to pay the price for the best examples.”
The Lehmann collection includes many autos, including a rare, yellow 12-inch Baldur; two motorcycles – a boxed Echo and a Halloh with litho’d box lid – a Heavy Swell, Ski Rolf and Ikarus. A boxed Masuyama and an equally desirable Man-Da-Rin with its rare and beautifully lithographed original box also occupy top slots in the collection.
Alongside the Lehmanns are several scarce French-made Martins, including a Gendarme and a Parisian gentleman in top hat with cane and cigar. “This is only the second time we’ve seen this particular toy,” said Michael Bertoia, referring to the wind-up gentleman.
Forty European penny toys are entered in the sale, with themes that cross several categories, including transportation and people. Among the colorful tin novelties to be auctioned are a double Irish mail cart, sledding boy, skier and Chinese man with parasol.
Several impressive toy boats will sail toward new harbors on auction day. Among the coveted Marklins are a restored 46-inch first-series Battleship Maine, a second smaller-size (32-inch) first-series Battleship Maine in all-original condition, and an especially attractive 20-inch first-series Battleship Sperber. Additionally, Bertoia’s fleet includes several other battleships, cruisers and boats by Carette and Fleishmann.
Early hand-painted cars include an all-original red Alfa-Romeo No. 2 racer by CIJ, a yellow 4-door Marklin Torpedo open car, and a Bing steam-driven Spyder. Around 10 other French automobiles by Citroen and JEP also join the auction selection. Other European toys include two exquisite Ferris wheels attributed to Doll et Cie.
The auction also features the Tom Palumbo pressed steel collection, comprising 40 to 50 vehicles primarily by Sturditoy. “What makes this collection so attractive is the fact that the toys are 100 percent original,” Michael Bertoia noted.
The large assortment of European and American trains and accessories includes both live steam and clockwork examples. Leading the group are a very early Volt-Amp loco and tender; a gauge 1 Marklin 1021 steam-outline loco and tender with cast-iron frame, a Carlisle & Finch suspension bridge, and many Marklin trains and cars. Of special note are Marklin’s gauge 1 Pabst Blue Ribbon and Schlitz advertising cars, and a well-detailed chicken transport car with functional cage doors. Rounding out the railroad bounty are productions by Bing, Schonner, Carette and Knapp; as well as a train station by Marklin.
Between 80 and 100 cast-iron banks will be waiting to show off their tricks. Standouts include a circa-1889 Kyser & Rex mechanical Globe Savings Fund bank, a Lighthouse and Girl in Victorian Chair (both semi-mechanicals); and several excellent still banks – a small Boston Statehouse, Ives Palace and rare Arcade Eggman.
Bertoia’s is known for offering fine figural cast-iron doorstops, all personally vetted by Jeanne Bertoia, a renowned doorstop authority. The selection Jeanne has prepared for the May auction incorporates florals, people, animals, houses and whimsical shapes. A few Fish designs are included, e.g., a Deco Messenger and Rhumba Dancer. Also in the mix are clowns, a Rabbit Pushing a Wheelbarrow, and a Lobster.
Cast-iron automotive collectors will find many excellent racers, motorcycles, taxis and work vehicles waiting to exit Bertoia’s garage. Around 40 horse-drawn cast-iron toys have been consigned, as well. Three Dent productions – a fire engine, horse carriage and hook & ladder – exhibit near-mint condition and are believed to have been originally purchased at the Dent toy factory by legendary collector the late Covert Hegarty.
Just in time for spring cleaning and redecorating, Bertoia’s sale features 65 lots of miniature furniture, including designs from Gottschalk and Rock & Graner; plus 20 upscale dollhouses and room boxes, most by top German makers.
Approximately 150 country store and advertising items add early American charm to the auction list. There are several salesmen’s samples, around 20 glass showcases, advertising signs, apothecary jars, and tea and coffee bins.
Bertoia’s Toy Picks Auction will begin at 12 noon Eastern time on Friday, May 3; and 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 4, 2013. To contact Bertoia Auctions regarding any item in the sale call 856-692-1881 or e-mail toys@bertoiaauctions.com.
View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
Lehmann ‘Primus’ tinplate clockwork roller skater, German, circa 1915, est. $7,000-$9,000. Bertoia Auctions image.
Gottschalk blue-roof dollhouse in Victorian style, 40in to top of weathervane, est. $8,000-$10,000. Bertoia Auctions image.
Occupational shaving mug with lunch wagon motif, ex Bill Bertoia collection, est. $3,500-$5,000. Bertoia Auctions image.
Occupational shaving mug with stockbroker motif, ex Bill Bertoia collection, est. $2,500-$4,000. Bertoia Auctions image.
Occupational shaving mug with depiction of gentleman with two Boston terriers, dated 1917, ex Bill Bertoia collection, est. $2,000-$3,000. Bertoia Auctions image.
Buddy ‘L’ oil truck, pressed steel, circa 1929, 25in long, est. $1,200-$1,500. Bertoia Auctions image.
Arcade Bullet Racer #7, cast iron with nickel figures, 1932, 10½ in long, est. $2,500-$3,500. Bertoia Auctions image.
‘Stop Telling Women to Smile,’ New York, photo via fazstreetart.tumblr.com.
NEW YORK – Last fall residents of Bed-Stuy, Clinton Hill, Bushwick and Williamsburg in Brooklyn began to notice a different kind of street art, this time with an activist bent, among the colorful tags, murals and wheatpastes that generally grace neighborhood walls. The posters, by teacher, oil painter and illustrator Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, put in images and words what many women wish they could say out loud to men who cat call them on the street: “My name is not Baby.” “Women are not seeking your validation.” “Stop telling women to smile.”
Each poster has a gray and white charcoal portrait of a woman above those statements, giving a face to their powerful demands. The portraits are just as direct as the statements, with the barest hint of gray shadows illuminating the otherwise sharp features of the subjects. There’s no abstraction here, in the messages or in the images.
The posters disappeared when the weather got colder. As Fazlalizadeh told the New York Times, cold weather is not a friend to wheatpaste. Fortunately, just as the warmer weather has returned so have the posters, most recently on the corner of Tompkins Avenue and Halsey Street in Bed-Stuy. The posters were also displayed at Fresthetic, a gallery in Williamsburg, in an exhibit called “Stop Telling Women to Smile.”
Of course, no one exhibit is going to stop street harassment on its own, but it’s nice to see an artist, and a female one at that, using the positive force of street art to combat the negative presence of street harassment.
ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE
‘Stop Telling Women to Smile,’ New York, photo via fazstreetart.tumblr.com.Stop Telling Women to Smile,’ New York, photo by Robert Stolarik via the New York Times.‘Stop Telling Women to Smile,’ New York, photo via fazstreetart.tumblr.com.
ABBA in 1974, taking part in AVRO’s TopPop (Dutch TV show). From left to right: Benny Andersson, Frida Lyngstad, Agnetha Fältskog and Björn Ulvaeus. Courtesy AVRO. Images from Beeld en Geluidwiki are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
STOCKHOLM (AFP) – Fans of the legendary Swedish disco group ABBA can hardly wait: in just a few weeks, Stockholm will open the doors to the world’s first museum dedicated to the iconic foursome.
After ABBA The Movie in 1977, the Mamma Mia musical and movie, and a 2010 traveling museum exhibit, the world’s first permanent ABBA museum will open in central Stockholm on May 7.
“We’re going to offer visitors a unique experience,” museum director Mattias Hansson tells AFP, revealing that they may even get a chance to speak live with a band member.
After months of construction, the modern, blond wood building in the leafy Djurgaarden neighborhood is nearing completion.
As opening day looms, convoys of trucks roll up to the site to deliver the furnishings and items that will make up the collection: flamboyant sequined costumes, gold records, and recreations of their recording studio and dressing rooms, among other things.
Workers bustle to finish what will be a temple to the creators of some of the biggest hits of the 1970s, including Voulez Vous, Dancing Queen and Waterloo, the song that won the band the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest and thrust them onto the international scene.
Through the museum’s big windows, passersby can catch a glimpse of a large main room. Few people have been authorised to enter the premises, as organizers are intent on keeping things under wraps until the official opening.
But they have let slip a few details.
For example, fans who have dreamt of becoming the fifth member of the band will be able to appear on stage with the quartet and record a song with them thanks to a computer simulation.
And in another room dedicated to the song Ring, Ring, a 1970s telephone will be on display. Only four people know the phone number: ABBA members Agnetha Faeltskog, Anni-Frid (Frida) Lyngstad, Benny Andersson and Bjoern Ulvaeus, who may occasionally call to speak live with museum visitors.
“It was Frida’s idea … so of course she’ll call,” says curator Ingmarie Halling.
The museum will naturally pay homage to ABBA’s music.
“We have to have the best isolation in the world to be able to play different music in each room,” Hansson jokes.
But he doesn’t expect visitors to flock to the museum to hear the group’s hits, since fans already know them by heart.
Rather, they will get to relive the band’s active years and get a sense of their lives behind the scenes.
ABBA last appeared on stage together in 1982, and split a year later.
They have repeatedly refused to reunite.
“We will never appear on stage again,” Ulvaeus said in a 2008 interview with Britain’s The Sunday Telegraph.
“There is simply no motivation to regroup. Money is not a factor and we would like people to remember us as we were,” he said.
After the split, the band members each went their own way and they’ve rarely appeared in public together—in 2008, they attended the Stockholm premiere of the movie Mamma Mia—so getting all four involved in the making of the museum is a coup.
Halling—the band’s stylist from 1976 to 1980, an era she describes as “fun and magnificent”—has been instrumental in collaborating with them.
“They’ve lent us lots of stuff and I call them to tell them my ideas and they say, ‘sure, go ahead,'” Halling explains.
As the person behind some of their glitzy and flamboyant costumes, Halling has made sure that many of their outfits are included in the exhibit.
Visitors will also be “able to experience how the ABBA members’ lived their
lives,” she says. The four will recount their own side of things in the museum’s audio guide.
The group dominated the 1970s disco scene with their catchy melodies and kitsch dance routines.
But their popularity has grown over the years beyond those seeking a little nostalgia from a bygone era.
The 1999 musical Mamma Mia, and the 2008 film of the same name starring Meryl Streep, brought their music to a whole new generation of fans who weren’t alive in the 1970s.
The group has sold some 378 million albums worldwide, outdone only by Elvis Presley and the Beatles.
“Our office is right next to Benny Andersson’s. When I tell people in other countries that, and that I pass him on the street sometimes, people are like: ‘No! Really? He walks in the street just like that?'” says Jeppe Wikstroem, an editor working on a book of previously unpublished ABBA photographs.
The museum’s website says it expects to attract a quarter of a million visitors in 2013.
“It’s very exciting,” says Micke Bayart, a 45-year old who headed the band’s official fan club in the 1980s.
“ABBA is part of Sweden’s musical history, it’s only right that there be a museum dedicated to them: they deserve it,” he said.
Tickets for the museum—which cost 23 euros, or $30—are almost sold out for the first few weeks, going primarily to tourists from abroad, museum director Hansson said.
Those who can’t get their hands on a ticket will have to be content with a glimpse of some of the band’s costumes on display at the arrival hall of Stockholm’s Arlanda airport.
ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE
ABBA in 1974, taking part in AVRO’s TopPop (Dutch TV show). From left to right: Benny Andersson, Frida Lyngstad, Agnetha Fältskog and Björn Ulvaeus. Courtesy AVRO. Images from Beeld en Geluidwiki are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
