January 6, 2014 - Auction Central News

Furniture Specific: Desperate measures

For touch-ups you don’t need the professional marker (left) sold by Mohawk. Regular markers from the office supply store will work just as well. The little pots of metallic wax do wonders for gold frames and brass hardware.

CRYSTAL RIVER, Fla. – One of the interesting things about dealing with furniture, especially older and antique stuff, is that whenever you seem to need something, it simply isn’t available. You have to admit that replacement handmade screws are not on the hardware store shelf and Home Depot doesn’t carry that hard-to-find spring for a broken 19th century lock. But there is an amazing source of supplies and materials that have direct applications to and benefits for furniture in a most convenient location – your home.

Now is the time for all the restoration professionals and home workshop experts to take a hike. You already have all the right stuff and you will turn up your nose at my ideas. I’m talking to just ordinary folks who need just a little bit of something or a quick way out of a minor jam. You can figure out a lot of ways to “make do with what you’ve got” when your next paycheck – or family peace – depends on your ability to complete a restoration or repair job with materials on hand or readily available on Saturday afternoon. Crisis creates creativity.

One of the most useful furniture touch-up tools is already probably in your kitchen or desk drawer. Every professional furniture touch-up artist has in his bag of tricks a selection of colored markers. They usually have exotic names like “Auburn mahogany,” “Country pine” and “ Weathered oak,” and the professional will guard those with his life, not letting you see them and more importantly not letting you smell them. Why? Because they are just expensively blended and specially manufactured felt tip markers. You probably already have one in black that you bought at the office supply store or the grocery checkout aisle. The other colors that are applicable to furniture touch up are there too. You just have to look for them because they don’t carry the names of commercial wood products. Need to camouflage a small ding in a walnut chest? Try a plain old brown marker. Too brown and not quite red enough? Add a little from the orange marker or the red one. With a little practice you can learn to blend and overlay the colors. The solvent in these markers is compatible with most furniture finishes and the color will adhere nicely to both background finish and raw wood.

Speaking of solvents, you have one of the most useful solvents for organic materials in your pantry – white vinegar. Commercial vinegar is dilute acetic acid, 4 percent to 8 percent in solution, which is an excellent solvent for organic compounds like white school glue and yellow wood glue. Vinegar placed in a mustard squeeze container or a syringe barrel without the needle can be the key to many furniture projects. When squeezed under a layer of buckling veneer and worked around with a long blade the vinegar will slowly dissolve the glue holding the veneer, whether it’s white glue or even hide glue. Eventually you will be able to remove the old veneer and prepare the surface for a new application – after cleaning it with more vinegar. It will also dissolve the glue that holds in the old spline when you need to recane the kitchen chairs. After cutting out the old cane just pry up one piece of the spline and squeeze in some vinegar. As it dissolves the glue you can easily lift a small section of the spline out of the groove and start on the next section with more vinegar. It takes some time but it works. Vinegar also helps when you need to reglue the recalcitrant chair that is too loose to sit in but not loose enough to completely take apart and reglue. Drill a small hole (3/32-inch) into a sticky joint and use the syringe to inject vinegar into the interior of the joint. Eventually the glue will give up and the joint will open.

Another common household chemical is the key to mold and mildew removal. Mold and mildew are actually fungi that grow on the surface. For them to prosper they need a source of spores, moderate temperature, some moisture and a nutrient base. Human habitation provides all the necessary ingredients. The nutrient base is on most surfaces we encounter on a daily basis and we also thrive in moderate temperatures and humidity so just wiping away the mold and mildew won’t work. It will be right back because you didn’t kill it and the air is full of more spores. Remember it is a living organism and physical removal like dusting will not stop it. Neither will wiping it with furniture polish or oil or any of the other common remedies. You have to kill it (disinfect it) with bleach. A capful of household bleach in a quart of warm water is the magic bullet. Wipe the entire affected area with the bleach solution, allow it to stand for just a few minutes and then dry off the surface. The mold and mildew will be gone, never to return and the finish of the furniture is unharmed. Neat trick.

If you run out of interesting and useful items in your pantry go to the local art supply store. Walk down the oil paint aisle and look at all the wonderful tubes of paint that come in just about any color you can imagine. A tube of “burnt umber” for example will probably match your dark mahogany table perfectly and a little bit of artist’s oil paint on your finger tip can touch up the worn edge of just about anything. The thin line of paint you apply will dry as hard as a rock in day or two. Raw umber has a slightly greenish cast to it and is useful for old dark oak while raw sienna has a yellow tone that works well on light maple and lighter oak. The names may sound a little strange to you but that’s how they name things in the art world so it may behoove you to obtain and study a color chart with those names. For your purposes here, buy the cheapest tube of oil color that you can find. You are not painting a Mona Lisa. You just need the right color.

Also in the art supply store you will run across little pots of colored metallic wax under names like “Decorator’s Gilt,” “Rub’n’ Buff” and “Pot o’ Gold.” These little pots of color can be used to touch up that gold mirror frame that has a couple of missing flakes. They can also be used to highlight and brighten up dingy brass hardware without spending hours with a polishing cloth. Just gently wipe a very small amount of gold or brass colored wax across the face of a Hepplewhite oval pull and look at the contrast. Allow it to dry for a few minutes and buff with a soft cloth to seal the wax. This is not a substitute for good care of your brass hardware but it will certainly liven things up in a hurry for an impending event like a dinner party. There are other brand names that do the same job. Just look around while you are in the store.

One last item in the art supply shop you might want to take a look at is the selection of china markers, the soft, wide-tip dry markers that you unwrap the paper from the barrel to expose the core. These, like felt tip markers, come in a wide range of colors and they are easily blended together to create a color. They are especially useful when trying to hide a quick repair project that included having to patch a hole with wood filler of some sort. Of course the filler is never the right color and it doesn’t take a stain like the surrounding wood so you have a real problem. In a pinch you can use these china markers to blend in a background color so the patch doesn’t look like a yellow sign. Then use a darker, sharpened china marker to draw in the grain pattern on the patch to match the rest of the piece. Don’t work too hard on this piece of artwork because the grain pattern will not look natural. Just let yourself go and be “artistic” and the right grain will appear at your fingertips. Of course this type of color application will wipe right off with any type of contact so you have to seal it in, preferably with a spray sealer of some sort since it is a fragile application of color. You may find what you need right there in the art store or you may have to go to craft store. You are looking for some spray acrylic that will dry instantly, bond to almost anything and doesn’t smell as strongly as spray lacquer smells.

All of these tips are more or less desperation measures but when in a pinch …

Send comments, questions and pictures to Fred Taylor at P.O. Box 215, Crystal River, FL 34423 or email them to him at info@furnituredetective.com.

Visit Fred’s newly redesigned website at www.furnituredetective.com and check out the new downloadable “Common Sense Antiques” columns in .pdf format. His book How To Be a Furniture Detective is available for $18.95 plus $3 shipping. Send check or money order for $21.95 to Fred Taylor, P.O. Box 215, Crystal River, FL, 34423.

Fred and Gail Taylor’s DVD, Identification of Older & Antique Furniture ($17 + $3 S&H) is also available at the same address. For more information call 800-387-6377, fax 352-563-2916, or info@furnituredetective.com. All items are also available directly from his website.

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Tribal and fine art to be offered at Beaux Auctions, Jan. 25

Diego Rivera (México 1886-1957) watercolor. Beaux Auctions image.

MIAMI – Important and rare treasures will be featured in the first sale of 2014 for Beaux Auctions, its fine art and artifacts auction taking place on Jan. 25. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.

Beaux Auctions has the unique privilege of bringing to auction excellent specimens from the Suarez Museum Collection. Headlining this sale is the only taxidermy albino alligator in existence. Albino alligators have an estimated survival rate of only 24 hours in the wild due to their sensitivity to direct UV radiation and because their white color makes camouflage impossible. This animal was pen-raised and died of natural causes. It is an adult male, 91 inches long. Although this animal is priceless, an estimate of $100,000-$150,000 has been placed on it.

The other main feature from the Suarez collection is an African lion ranked No. 1 by Safari Club International among collectors. This is an excellent museum-quality lifelike mount and has been estimated at $60,000-$80,000. There are several other outstanding animals from the collection that will also come up for auction. This is the first time specimens from the Suarez Museum Collection have appeared at auction.

The auction also includes a collection of African antiques, most importantly a rare 19th century Chokwe African mwana pwo mask. It is a ceremonial mwana pwo (meaning: perfect young woman ready for marriage) chikunga ritual dancing mask of the south Congolese Chokwe people. In the Chokwe tradition, these were prized ceremonial masks donned by male dancers as a symbolic caricature of a beautiful young woman, adorned with tattoos, earrings and an elaborate coiffure, to honor the founding female ancestor of the lineage. This mask is estimated at $40,000-$60,000. There is a second superb Chokwe African mwana pwo mask in the sale, from the first quarter of the 20th century. This mask has an estimate of $15,000-$20,000. These are two exceptional masks.

Beaux Auctions is known for having a strong fine art component, and this sale is no different. Danza afrocubana by Cuban artist Mario Carreño will be up for auction with an estimate of $30,000-$35,000. An original watercolor by Mexican artist Diego Rivera, one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, is estimated at $20,000-$40,000. Wifredo Lam, one of the most sought-after Latin American artists today, is also represented in the sale. Figura by Lam has been estimated at $20,000-$30,000.

Works of art by Joaquin Torres Garcia, Carlos Cruz Diez, Jeff Koons, Henry Moore, Salvador Dali, Jean Dubuffet and Alexander Calder will also be featured in this auction.

Pre-Columbian pieces, ivory, and antique European documents will also form part of the inventory for this January sale.

For additional information on any lot in the sale email info@beauxauctions.com or call 877-572-1708.

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

Taxidermy American albino alligator. Beaux Auctions image.

African lion, adult male. Beaux Auctions image.

Superb Chokwe African mwana pwo mask. Beaux Auctions image.

Rare 19th century Chokwe African mwana pwo mask. Beaux Auctions image.

Rare large Pre-Columbian Colima Shaman guardian figural funerary vessel. Beaux Auctions image.

Kovels Antiques & Collecting: Week of Jan. 6, 2014

A painted iron cutout of a sailor holding a telescope makes an unusual weather vane. It may have been meant to be Admiral David Glasgow Farragut. Blue, white, yellow and black paint remains on both sides. Photo courtesy of Cowan's Auctions Inc.

BEACHWOOD, Ohio – If you can’t afford a rooster or running deer weather vane, or any other 19th-century weather vane made by an important company, you might be able to find a homemade example. Most folk-art collectors consider all weather vanes, commercially made or homemade, to be folk art.

Prices are highest for the most elaborate 3-D vanes by known makers. Homemade vanes often are cut from sheets of iron to look like silhouettes of deer, men, animals, birds, cars, trains, Indians, flags or occupational examples, like a photographer with a camera or a sailor with a telescope. It is difficult to date a homemade weathervane. Collectors pay the highest auction prices for good design, unusual subjects, good paint and old patina. Bullet holes, missing paint and dents don’t seem to lower the value if the cutout is unusual, perhaps a 1930s car or a large and artistic whale. Some homemade vanes sell for thousands of dollars, but others might turn up at your local yard sale or flea market. Whirligig weather vanes, often of wood, also are going up in price. Horses, roosters and eagles are the most popular shapes today and, unfortunately, often are the most reproduced.

Always look in the backyard, in the garage and up at the roof when going to an estate or house sale. Buyers often overlook outdoor folk art.

Q: Years ago, I was given a very heavy glass vase. It’s 6 inches high by 4 1/2 inches wide and is made of black cased glass within clear glass. The etched mark on the bottom is “Kosta 1556/046.” I’m wondering what the vase is worth.

A: The Kosta glassworks factory in Sweden dates back to 1742. Its name is a combination of the last names of the two founders, Koskull and Stael. Kosta manufactured only window glass, glass for light fixtures and drinking glasses until the late 1890s, when it hired its own designers and started making art glass. Glass artist Vicke Lindstrand (1904-1983), who had previously worked at Orrefors, was Kosta’s artistic director from 1950 to 1973. During Lindstrand’s tenure, model numbers starting with a “1” were “production vases” made in large quantities. The number 1556 on your vase probably is the model number. Kosta merged with Boda and Afors in 1976 and became Kosta Boda, so it’s likely your vase was made before 1976. In 1989 Kosta Boda merged with Orrefors and was renamed Orrefors Kosta Boda. Then, in 2005, the company was sold to the New Wave Group, which closed the Orrefors factory and today uses only the Kosta Boda label. While your vase may not be rare or extremely valuable, it still is a good piece of Swedish art glass.

Q: Could you tell me the value of a set of dining-room furniture made by American of Martinsville? The walnut set, which was purchased new in 1942, includes a table, six chairs, sideboard, china cabinet and hutch.

A: American of Martinsville was founded in 1906 in Martinsville, Va. It made only bedroom sets until the 1920s, when it introduced dining-room sets. The most valuable American of Martinsville vintage dining room sets today are in the Danish Modern style, which didn’t become popular in the United States until the 1950s. Still, if your set is in good shape, you could sell it locally (so shipping costs aren’t involved) for several hundred dollars.

Q: I have two child-size glass root beer mugs from the 1960s. They are each 3 inches high. One is stamped “A&W Root Beer” with a circular design. The other has a red printed design that says “Dog n Suds” and pictures a dog holding a tray. I remember my dad getting me a kid-size root beer in them. Do you think they’re worth something?

A: The first A&W drive-in restaurant opened in Sacramento, Calif., in 1923. The company name is based on the initials of the owners, Roy Allen and Frank Wright. The first Dog n Suds opened in Champaign, Ill., in 1953. Most advertising glasses from restaurants and fast-food chains don’t sell for much money because they were issued in large quantities and are easy to find. If a mug’s design is unusual and the mug was issued in limited quantity, it might be of interest to collectors. Common glasses like yours sell for as low as $1 to $5.

Q: We are looking for information about an item that’s hanging on a wall in a restaurant in Doon, Iowa. It’s a semicircular piece of wood about 48 inches long. The ends are 24 inches apart. It’s marked “Louden’s Patent, Oct. 30, 1895.” It looks old. What is it and what was it used for?

A: It’s a singletree, which also is often called a “whiffletree” or “whippletree.” It was used to hitch the traces of a horse’s harness to a plow or other implement. William Louden (1841-1931) held several patents for improvements to farm equipment. He invented a hay carrier in 1867 and founded Louden Manufacturing Works in Fairfield, Iowa, a year later to manufacture hay carriers and other farm equipment. From 1906 to 1939, the company, by then named Louden Machinery Co., also designed barns. Louden Machinery Co. was sold in 1956 and its farm equipment was not made after 1965. Singletrees don’t show up for sale very often. When they do, they usually sell for under $50.

Tip: Look carefully at a piece of cut glass before you buy it. Edges should not be ground down into the pattern, and pieces should have no chips or other damage.

Need prices for your antiques and collectibles? Find them at Kovels.com, our website for collectors. You can find more than 900,000 prices and more than 11,000 color photos that help you determine the value of your collectible. Study the prices; it’s free at Kovels.com/priceguide. Kovels.com also has lists of publications, clubs, appraisers, auction houses, people who sell parts or repair antiques, show lists and more. Kovels.com adds to the information in this column.

Terry Kovel and Kim Kovel answer questions sent to 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 photographs, but if a stamped envelope is included, we will try. The amount 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.

Baseball pennant, St. Louis Browns, Brownie, yellow and brown felt, 1940s, 11 x 28 inches, $60.
Arranbee Nanette doll, plastic, blond wig, walker, purple dress, box, 15 inches, $70.
Cut glass ice-cream tray, Wallace pattern, Quaker City Cut Glass Co., Philadelphia, American Brilliant Period, 14 x 7 inches, $100.
Hires Root Beer mug, “Health and Cheer,” man raising hand in toast, Mettlach, circa 1900, 5 inches, $120.
Cinnabar snuff bottle, inlaid stone, Chinese, 20th century, 2 3/4 inches, $175.
Sterling silver bowl, wide repousse flower border, Kirk & Sons, circa 1930, 9 inches, $180.
Potter & Mellen pin, 14K yellow gold, gemstone cluster, peridot, topaz, tourmaline, citrine, 1 x 1 inches, $265.
Fraktur, watercolor and ink, heart, birds, tulips, scalloped border, Lydia Miller, 1810, frame, 17 x 12 inches, $34.
Cane, wooden, bird handle, carved, painted, Schtockschnitzler Simmons, circa 1900, 32 inches, $650.
Sheraton chest, cherry, four drawers, Sandwich glass knobs, carved apron, backsplash, 46 inches, $1,320.

New! The best book to own if you want to buy or sell or collect – and if you order now, you’ll receive a copy with the author’s autograph. The new Kovels’ Antiques & Collectibles Price Guide, 2014, 46th edition, is your most accurate source for current prices. This large-size paperback has more than 2,500 color photographs and more than 35,000 up-to-date prices for more than 700 categories of antiques and collectibles. You’ll also find hundreds of factory histories and marks, a report on the record prices of the year, plus helpful sidebars and tips about buying, selling, collecting and preserving your treasures. Available for $27.95 plus $4.95 postage. Purchase online atKovelsonlinestore.com ; by phone at 800-303-1996; at your local bookstore; or mail to Price Book, Box 22900, Beachwood, OH 44122.

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Will Rogers museum to exhibit Charles Banks Wilson works

Charles Banks Wilson offset litho print of Will Rogers. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Dirk Soulis Auctions.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – A permanent exhibit of works by artist Charles Banks Wilson is set to open by next month at the Will Rogers Memorial Museum in Claremore.

The exhibit will feature various portraits Wilson created of Rogers. Wilson, who died last May in Arkansas at age 94, was just a boy when he first saw Rogers at the Coleman Theatre in Miami, Okla.

That encounter led to Wilson’s lifelong fascination with the American humorist. One of Wilson’s portraits of Oklahoma’s favorite son is on permanent display at Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.

But Rogers wasn’t Wilson’s only subject. Wilson also created portraits of other famous Oklahomans, including Cherokee Indian Sequoyah, Olympic gold medalist Jim Thorpe and Congressman Carl Albert, among others. Several of the portraits adorn the state Capitol.

AP-WF-01-03-14 1850GMT

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Model 1850 sword likely belonged to Confederate soldier

A fine example of a model 1850 U.S. foot officer's sword. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Ivey-Selkirk Auctioneers.

FLORENCE, Ala. (AP) – More light has been shed on the owner of an old Civil War sword stored in a vault in a government building and on the sword itself.

The sword was discovered in the early 1970s when one of Florence’s oldest brick houses was being restored for use as an office. The sword was hidden between the floorboards of the house on Pine Street, wrapped in a cloth. It was later placed in the vault in the License Commissioner’s office in the Florence-Lauderdale Government Building. There it sat in obscurity until a few people took renewed interest in it.

“It is a French-made, cheaper version of the model 1850 U.S. foot officer’s sword,” said Wayne Higgins, curator of Pope’s Tavern museum and a retired history teacher. “The French exported a lot of these to both the North and the South just before the war.”

The sword likely belonged to William F. Karsner. His parents built the Federal cottage in 1828, which was where the sword was found.

Because the sword can be identified with the person who carried it during the war, Higgins said the blade’s value is much higher.

Research done by Lee Freeman, of the Florence-Lauderdale Public Library’s Local History and Genealogy Department, has revealed a wealth of information about Karsner.

Karsner was born in 1831 in Florence, and served as sheriff of Lauderdale County for at least two years, from 1856-58. Freeman learned Karsner moved to Louisville, Ky., where he and two of his younger brothers worked as sales clerks.

When the Civil War began, and Alabama seceded from the Union early in 1861, Karsner returned.

“By April 28, 1861, Karsner was back in Florence, and he enlisted on that date in Irish native and Florence attorney Capt. Robert McFarland’s Company H, 4th Alabama Infantry,” Freeman said. “His name appears in the Florence Gazette roster published on Wednesday, May 1, 1861.”

Karsner was elected third lieutenant of the company.

The unit, then known as the Lauderdale Volunteers, left Florence on April 28, 1861, for Dalton, Ga., Freeman said. On May 7, the unit went to Lynchburg, Va., where they were designated Company H of the 4th Alabama. The 4th Alabama took part in the first major battle of the war, First Manassas, in July.

“The 4th became the first regiment from Alabama to participate in a major battle in this war,” Freeman said.

In fact, the 4th Alabama became one of the most storied regiments of the war, taking part in the Army of Northern Virginia’s battles at Second Manassas, Seven Pines, Sharpsburg, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, The Wilderness and Cold Harbor. Freeman said his research shows Karsner was present for these battles.

He was promoted to captain in July 1862, just two months before being wounded at Sharpsburg. He was later admitted to a hospital in Richmond, Va., in 1864, Freeman said, though the cause is not clear.

Karsner surrendered with the survivors of the 4th Alabama when Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Courthouse in April 1865.

After the war, Karsner married in Tuscaloosa and settled there for the remainder of his life. He was a farmer and later an auctioneer. He died in 1889.

Higgins believes the sword was hidden under the floorboards to prevent it from being taken by occupying Union troops after the war. He said Confederate weapons and paraphernalia were prized by Union troops, and more importantly, anyone associated with the Confederate army was forbidden to have weapons, he said.

Higgins said one of Karsner’s younger brothers served as a home guard during the war, though he was only a teenager.

Freeman’s research revealed that two other brothers served in the Confederate army. George W. Karsner was a member of Roddey’s 4th Alabama Cavalry, and was captured at Selma in 1865. John S. Karsner was a sergeant in the 16th Alabama Infantry, he said.

Higgins said he would like to have the sword on display at Pope’s Tavern, where the 4th Alabama’s flag is displayed.

___

Information from: TimesDaily,http://www.timesdaily.com/

AP-WF-12-30-13 1938GMT

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Banksy’s Sundance murals vandalized in Utah

Dreweatts & Bloomsbury sold this Banksky painting in December 2013 in London for $291,326. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Dreweatts & Bloomsbury.

Dreweatts & Bloomsbury sold this Banksky painting last month in London for $291,326. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Dreweatts & Bloomsbury.

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) – Police released surveillance photos Friday in hopes of identifying the person who vandalized two works there by famous graffiti artist Banksy.

Park City police released images of a shadowy figure who appears to be tampering with one of the murals about 3:30 a.m. on New Year’s Eve.

The owner of one of the businesses where one of the murals was located has offered a $1,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction, police said.

Brown spray paint was found on a mural that depicted a young boy with a pink halo and angel wings kneeling to pray behind a can of pink paint. The clear protective covering over the image had been shattered.

The second piece, of a cameraman stooped to shoot video footage of a flower, was not defaced, but the covering had been cracked.

A motive for the vandalism is unclear, and it’s not known whether the mural of the boy can be restored.

The unauthorized art first appeared in 2010, around the time Banksy was in Park City for the Sundance debut of his documentary, Exit Through the Gift Shop.

The works initially prompted outrage by people who considered them unwelcome graffiti, according to Alison Butz, executive director of the Historic Park City Alliance. But the city has come to embrace the murals. The alliance features the work prominently on its website, and the images are among the most-photographed sites in town, police Sgt. Jay Randall said.

The elusive Banksy, who uses the name as a pseudonym, is known for silhouetted figures and spray-painted messages that show up in unexpected places.

His works have been sold at auction for as much as $1.1 million apiece.

Police said it would be difficult to put a price on the Park City murals because they weren’t sanctioned art. A judge would likely assign a value to the paintings for purposes of prosecution, Randall said.

AP-WF-01-03-14 2346GMT

Casket company owner plans funeral museum in Va.

A Limoges shaving mug decorated with a horse-drawn hearse with driver. The mug is signed and dated 'A. Riedel 8/09.' Image courtesty LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Dan Morphy Aucitons.

CHATHAM, Va. (AP) – A Chatham man plans to open a funeral-service museum along Main Street early next year.

Simpson Funeral Museum will open in February and be just the second of its type in the country, said Bill Simpson, a long-time funeral director and casket manufacturer. The other, National Museum of Funeral History, is in Houston.

The museum in Chatham will feature a history of funerary services dating back thousands of years, replicas of caskets from different eras and of those for world-famous figures including U.S. presidents, European government officials and celebrities.

“I acquired antiques from funeral homes from my travels around the country,” Simpson, 68, said during an interview at the museum’s future location at 16 S. Main St. in Chatham, next to Pino’s Pizza and Italian Restaurant.

Simpson, owner of Mastercraft Casket Co. in Graham, N.C., chose an appropriate location for the museum. The building, constructed in 1895, housed a funeral home from 1898 to 1947. Simpon’s mentor, Kenneth Scott Sr., bought the business in 1944.

Two years later, Scott began building the existing Scott Funeral Home in Chatham, where Simpson got his start in the business in 1963. He was an “ambulance jockey” (funeral homes provided ambulance services then) and a funeral assistant.

“Mr. Scott was like a father to me,” said Simpson, who studied at the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science.

Simpson’s business – which he’s had for 34 years – deals in exclusive handmade, custom-built caskets, constructing those for the rich and famous around the world.

“Through my 50-year career, I’ve accumulated numerous funeral antiques,” he said.

The museum will be a non-profit, with entrance free to the public. Simpson’s business will support it and lease the building to the museum for $1 a year. A board of directors will also raise money for it.

Visitors to the museum, when it opens, can expect to experience the history of mortuary practices. It will cover 4,000 square feet and, if successful, the second floor – also 4,000 square feet – will open to the public, Simpson said.

Holbrook Enterprises in Pittsylvania County is renovating the structure, which has its original ceilings and hardwood floors.

The exhibit will include an 1876 horse-drawn hearse and a 1941 Packard hearse in mint condition. It will also feature replicas of caskets for Presidents Kennedy and Reagan, and for legends including John Wayne and Elvis Presley.

Caskets from the Revolutionary War and Civil War eras will also be on display.

A mural will feature funerary practices from 5,000 years ago in ancient Egypt – including mummification of pharaohs. Another mural on the opposite wall will show a collage including Arlington National Cemetery, the Tomb of the Unknown Solider and little John Kennedy Jr. saluting his father’s funeral procession.

Simpson plans to have two openings for the museum, one for the public and another for funeral home directors.

“The town has been good to me, the good Lord has been good to me and the business has been good to me,” Simpson said. “I just wanted to do something for the town.”

AP-WF-01-02-14 2251GMT

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Works by top photographers at Clars auction Jan. 11-12

On Sunday, Jan. 12, Clars will offer the extensive photography collection of David C. and Sarajean Ruttenberg of Chicago. Pictured here is ‘Revenge of the Goldfish,’ 1981, cibachrome print, 30 x 40 inches by Sandy Skoglund (American, b. 1946). Clars Auction Gallery image.

OAKLAND, Calif. – Clars’ will host their first sale of 2014 on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 11-12, with an exceptional selection of fine art, decoratives and furnishings, Asian offerings and fine and estate jewelry. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding on Sunday.

Of particular note will be the life-long collection of photography from David C. and Sarajean Ruttenberg of Chicago. Ruttenberg was a premier real estate developer and an avid art collector, but he was also deeply committed to Chicago itself, spearheading movements to redevelop and renovate historic neighborhoods and properties that remain the core of the city’s culture. He and his wife, Sarajean, were responsible for developing the many important gallery districts that thrive today throughout the city. The Ruttenbergs began collecting photography in the 1970s, eventually amassing a collection of several thousand works by some of the finest photographers from around the world.

On Sunday, Jan. 12, Clars will offer this vast collection featuring the works of Berenice Abbott, David F. Barry, Wynn Bullock, Judy Coleman, Stephane Courturier, Imogen Cunningham, Edward Curtis, Jan Dibbets, Walker Evans, Louise Faurer, Neil Folberg, George Hurrell, Nathan Lerner, Barbara Morgan, Rhondal McKinney, Wright Morris, Tetsu Okuhara, Douglas Prince, Sabastiao Salgado, Aaron Siskind, Neal Slavin, Sandy Skogland, Paul Strand, Jerry Uelsmann, Andre Villers, Weegee, William Wegman, Brett Weston, Gary Winogrand, Jay P. Volke, Max Yavno and many more.

From an important Reno, Nev., estate, will be a large collection of art glass including Lalique, Murano and Lundberg Studios and an impressive collection of 25 lots of Burmese silver bowls. Also to be offered will be 18th and 19th century Meissen plates including a Kaikemon decorated example and a set of 12 German hand-painted porcelain cabinet plates, late 19th century, form the Franz Xavier Tallmaier Studio (estimate $4,000 to $6,000).

In furniture, the highlights will be an Aesthetic sideboard attributed to Herter Brothers, New York, circa 1880, and a French ladies writing desk having Sevres-style porcelain plaques will be offered.

The Saturday session will feature an outstanding selection of Hermes and Gucci scarves, handbags and leather accessories. Also on Saturday, a large collection of vintage lunchboxes, vintage pharmaceuticals bottles and American art pottery will be offered.

Weighing in at approximately 150 to 200 pounds will be a large collection of silver bullion including U.S. Morgan Dollars, Peace Dollars, Franklin and Kennedy half-dollars and pre-1964 coins.

The Asian category will offer a selection of ceramics including 18th century Chinese export porcelain teapots, Famille Rose enameled vases and jars, along with monochrome pieces as well. As for jades, there is a pair of belt hooks carved with dragons, a small ornament with a child mounted on an elephant, and various toggles of zoomorph and plant form. In addition, there will be snuff bottles including jade, agate and inside painted glass bottles.

Jade and timepieces will highlight the jewelry category in January. For the gentlemen, a large jadeite (24.7 x 17mm) and 18K gold ring will be offered as will two rare wristwatches, the first an Audemars Piguet jump hour 18K gold rectangular watch, circa 1929 and a circa 1947 Rolex stainless steel chronograph watch.

For the ladies, the highlight will be a beautiful pair of jade centered 18K yellow gold earrings surrounded by diamonds.

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

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

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