CHICAGO – Wright will present Design, its highly anticipated biannual auction, on Thursday, March 27, beginning at noon Central. Composed of over 400 lots, the auction will feature works by some of the 20th century’s best-known designers including Pierre Jeanneret, Paul Evans, Greta Magnusson Grossman, George Nakashima, Tommi Parzinger, Gio Ponti and Karl Springer.
LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.
Contemporary designers represented in Design include Roy McMakin, Michael Graves and Damien Langlois-Meurinne. The sale also includes contemporary designs from a Muriel Brandolini interior and works by the Chicago-based architects Don Powell and Robert Kleinschmidt.
Outstanding in the sale is the Madrepore table and set of four armchairs designed by Gio Ponti and Piero Fornasetti (estimate: $70,000-$90,000). “The table and chairs represent the apex of the collaboration between two Italian masters,” said Michael Jefferson, Wright senior vice president. ”The refinement of the furniture design by Ponti is enhanced by the exquisite detailing and embellishment that is classic Fornasetti.”
Also significant in the Design auction is the Rudder coffee table by Isamu Noguchi (estimate: $20,000-$30,000). This design is among the most experimental of the postwar era, and was produced by Herman Miller only briefly. The biomorphic, avant-garde Rudder series proved commercially infeasible, but is now considered iconic of 20th century design.
Other extraordinary works include a striking Argente cabinet by Paul Evans (estimate: $30,000-$50,000), a pair of floor lamps by Philip Johnson (estimate: $20,000-$30,000), and a set of six Cantu Baixa chairs by Sergio Rodrigues (estimate: $20,000-$30,000). More accessible lots in design include Joe Colombo’s signature Elda chair (estimate: $2,000-$3,000), a pair of 1-2-3 System lounge chairs by Verner Panton (estimate: $2,000-$3,000) and a marble-top coffee table by Alexander Girard (estimate: $3,000-$5,000).
George Nelson & Associates birdcage wall clock. Gray’s Auctioneers and Appraisers image.
CLEVELAND – Celebrating the beginning of spring, Gray’s Auctioneers and Appraisers will offer an eclectic auction of fine art, furniture and decorative arts on Wednesday, March 19, at 11 a.m. Eastern. Live online bidding is offered by LiveAuctioneers.com.
Highlights include a collection of mid-century modern pieces, most notably lot 263, the iconic George Nelson & Associates Birdcage Wall Clock, and a collection of artworks by Salvador Dali. Featured lots from this collection include lot 58, an 18K gold bas-relief sculpture, Lincoln in Dalivision, and lots 57A and 57B, two 19-foot-high theater curtains. These curtains were commissioned for the Brooklyn High School Auditorium, circa 1950-1954. They are vat-dyed and hand-printed from Milton Schiffer’s, Schiffer Prints, Stimulus Collection, and titled Spring Rain.
Gray’s will include a whimsical collection of Americana, and a singular collection of Shaker furniture and decorations. Lot 213 is a 19th century Shaker maple rocking chair with a splint seat in fine condition. Lot 117 is a 19th century cast-iron mechanical bank, “I Always Did ’Spise a Mule,” manufactured by the J&E Stevens Co.
This auction features over 350 diverse lots of paintings, furniture and decorations. Gray’s is quickly becoming known for their almost monthly auctions filled with a rich diversity of offerings, which always include noteworthy artworks and this auction is no exception. Lot 7 is Emile Gruppé’s The Lobster Dock. Purchased from the artist in 1970, this vibrant, dynamic painting captures a bright spring sky above the eponymous lobster dock, with seagulls surfing the breezes and a sailboat riding a wave in a bright blue Cape Ann inlet. Lot 14 continuing the ocean theme, is by noted Swedish artist, August Hagborg, who painted lively coastal scene filled with figures at work and play, with storms clouds gathering above a lighthouse and sailing ships bobbing on a gusting sea.
The auction also features a collection of Japanese woodblock prints and a selection of Chinese paintings on silk, paneled screens and decorative items.
Condition reports will be provided upon request.
Gray’s Auctioneers and Appraisers conducts live auctions every month, accepts consignments daily and offering complimentary valuations for the community every Friday by appointment. For more information contact Serena Harragin at 216-458-7695, or by email at serena@graysauctioneers.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.
George Nelson & Associates birdcage wall clock. Gray’s Auctioneers and Appraisers image.Emile Albert Gruppé (1896-1978), ‘The Lobster Dock,’ oil on canvas. Gray’s Auctioneers and Appraisers image.August Hagborg (1852-1921) ‘Coastal Scene with Figures,’ oil on canvas. Gray’s Auctioneers and Appraisers image.After Salvador Dali (1904-1989), ‘Spring Rain,’ vat-dyed hand-printed theater curtain. Gray’s Auctioneers and Appraisers image.Salvador Dali (Spanish, 1904-1989), ‘Lincoln in Dalivision,’ solid 18K gold bas relief. Gray’s Auctioneers and Appraisers image.Cast-iron mechanical bank ‘I Always Did ’Spise a Mule,’ late 19th century. Gray’s Auctioneers and Appraisers image.Shaker maple rocking chair with splint seat, 19th century. Gray’s Auctioneers and Appraisers image.
Monumental cobalt blue pottery sculpture by Jun Kaneko (Japanese, b. 1942-), deaccessioned from the collection of the Ann Norton Sculpture Garden in West Palm Beach, Florida. Est. $17,000-$25,000. Palm Beach Modern Auctions image. WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – A formidable lineup of celebrities has made headlines at Palm Beach Modern Auctions (PBMA) over the past year, from the late Steve Rubell and his glitzy Studio 54 clique to fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld. On Saturday, March 22nd, however, the focus will turn from collections associated with pop-culture personalities to the superstars of modern and contemporary art and furniture design. In their 470-lot auction, PBMA will showcase such eminent names as Henry Moore, Piero Fornasetti, Vladimir Kagan, and Phillip & Kelvin LaVerne. Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
“We’re very excited about the selection in this, our last winter sale of the year,” said PBMA auctioneer Rico Baca. “The art category is very strong, and we’ll be offering a second grouping of sculptures from the estate of New York sculptor Larry Mohr.”
There was great interest in the five Mohr estate artworks consigned to PBMA’s November 2nd auction, Baca said. An accomplished sculptor whose figural and abstract works are held in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Georgia Museum of Art and the Herbert F. Johnson Museum at Cornell University, Mohr (1921-2013) left much of his personal collection to art institutions.
“Bidders on the Mohr sculptures in our November auction were very competitive. Now they’ll have a second chance,” said Baca.
In the March 22 sale there are seven Mohr works of bronze, copper or silver. Each is modestly estimated at $1,000-$2,000. Although of a smaller scale than those sold in November, they are nonetheless quintessential Mohr designs, some featuring interesting interlocking segments that render a feeling of movement. “I could certainly envision them on a Kagan buffet,” Baca noted.
Speaking of Vladimir Kagan (b. 1927-), Lot 234A is a superb outside-the-box example of the German/American furniture designer’s work. The lot consists of a Model No. 175F abstract walnut and black leather contour rocking chair with matching ottoman. The duo will cross the auction block with a $5,000-$8,000 estimate.
Four creations by Piero Fornasetti (Italian, 1913-1988) are included in the sale: two mirrors, an umbrella stand, and Lot 144, a rare and whimsical lollipop-form graphic floor lamp with the face of the beautiful Italian opera singer Lina Cavalieri (1874-1944). Standing 75 inches tall, it carries a presale estimate of $10,000-$15,000.
Another premier lighting entry is Lot 104, a Serge Mouille (French, 1922-1988) “Simple” floor lamp. Designed from enameled metal and brass and having an adjustable shade with an aerodynamic attitude, the lamp is an ultra-sophisticated expression of understated design. Estimate: $10,000-$15,000.
Lot 22, a rare Phillip (1907-1987) & Kelvin (b. 1937) LaVerne freeform Odyssey II cocktail table stands on double bronze pedestals with a patinated bronze, pewter and enamel surface etched with scenes from Homer’s The Odyssey. Having the trademark look of the revered American designers, the table was purchased directly from the LaVernes’ gallery in 1967. At the time of the purchase, Phillip LaVerne told the consignor that only one other freeform Odyssey cocktail table had been made – for shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis. Odyssey II is estimated at $20,000-$30,000.
Described by Baca as “an object of lust for years,” Lot 435 is a monumental cobalt blue pottery sculpture by Jun Kaneko (Japanese, b. 1942-) shaped as an irregular sphere. For many years, the sculpture has been part of the collection at the Ann Norton Sculpture Garden in West Palm Beach.
“We’ve always admired this work by Kaneko and, over the years, had made no secret of the fact that we would love to auction it on behalf of the sculpture garden. We’re thrilled that they’ve now chosen to deaccession the piece, which is quite a major artwork, in more ways than one,” Baca said. “It’s 65 inches high, 65 inches wide and 48 inches deep. It’s also very heavy. After it was made, it took a full year for it to dry.” Before the sculpture could be delivered to the auction center, it had to be lifted by crane and placed onto a flatbed trailer. When it arrived, it was removed by a forklift and positioned inside the building. “It’s the first thing you see when you walk inside,” Baca said. The sculpture is expected to make $17,000-$25,000 at auction.
The top-estimated artwork is Lot 166A, a Henry Moore OM CH FBA RBS (English, 1898-1986) bronze titled Mother and Child with Tree Trunk. Signed and numbered 6/9, the 9in high by 9.5in wide sculpture comes with provenance from Galeria Freites, Caracas, and a subsequent private collection. It is referenced in Henry Moore Complete Sculpture, 1980-86, Vol. 5, No. 770, by Alan Bowness, and carries a $60,000-$80,000 estimate.
From the same consignor comes Lot 256A, a Fernando Botero (Colombian, b. 1932-) pencil-on-paper still life titled Nicaragua Banana. Artist-signed and dated 1973, the 20 by 36in (sight) artwork is accompanied by a letter of authenticity from Marlborough Galleries Inc. Its estimate has been set at $25,000-$30,000.
Lot 181, a painted wall sculpture of constructed form is dated 1997 and titled Windows On The World. Measuring 31 by 54.5 inches, it is signed by artist Patrick Hughes (English, b. 1939-) and retails a label on verso from Angela Flowers Gallery PLC, London. “We expect this work to do very well, since Patrick Hughes is very collectible in South Florida.” Estimate: $25,000-$30,000.
Aptly titled Small and Beautiful: The Issue of Scale, Lot 188 is a painting on canvas by Sam Francis (American, 1923-1994). In bold shades of yellow and cobalt blue with green and black accents, the 5.5in high by 8.5in wide painting retains a gallery label from Eaton Fine Art Inc., Florida. It is entered in the sale with a $25,000-$35,000 estimate.
Also worthy of note is Lot 75, a Tom Wesselman (American, 1931-2004) lithograph of a nude, signed and numbered 19/75. The 40 by 30in work is estimated at $5,000-$7,000.
Palm Beach Modern’s March 22 auction will be held at the company’s exhibition center at 417 Bunker Rd., West Palm Beach, FL 33405, commencing at 12 noon Eastern Time. Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.com. Preview 10-5 Mon.-Fri. during the week prior to the sale; or from 9 a.m. till noon on auction day. Contact: 561-586-5500, info@modernauctions.com.
Monumental cobalt blue pottery sculpture by Jun Kaneko (Japanese, b. 1942-), deaccessioned from the collection of the Ann Norton Sculpture Garden in West Palm Beach, Florida. Est. $17,000-$25,000. Palm Beach Modern Auctions image.
One of seven smaller-scale metal sculptures coming to the auction from the estate of Larry Mohr (American, 1923-2013). Est. $1,000-$2,000. Palm Beach Modern Auctions image.
Phillip (1907-1987) & Kelvin (b. 1937) LaVerne freeform Odyssey II cocktail table, 1967, bronze pedestals with patinated bronze, pewter and enamel surface etched with scenes from Homer’s ‘The Odyssey.’ One of only two made. Est. $20,000-$30,000. Palm Beach Modern Auctions image.
Tom Wesselman (American, 1931-2004), lithograph of nude, 40 x 30in, artist-signed and numbered 19/75. Est. $5,000-$7,000. Palm Beach Modern Auctions image.
Serge Mouille (French, 1922-1988), ‘Simple’ floor lamp, enameled metal and brass. Est. $10,000-$15,000. Palm Beach Modern Auctions image.
Piero Fornasetti (Italian, 1913-1988), lollipop-form graphic floor lamp with face of Italian opera singer Lina Cavalieri, 75in tall. Est. $10,000-$15,000. Palm Beach Modern Auctions image.
Henry Moore OM CH FBA RBS (English, 1898-1986), bronze titled ‘Mother and Child with Tree Trunk.’ Signed and numbered 6/9, 9in high by 9.5in wide. Est. $60,000-$80,000. Palm Beach Modern Auctions image.
Patrick Hughes (English, b. 1939-), ‘Windows On The World,’ painted wall sculpture of constructed form, 31 by 54.5in. Est. $25,000-$30,000. Palm Beach Modern Auctions image.
Sam Francis (American, 1923-1994), ‘Small and Beautiful: The Issue of Scale,’ 5.5 x 8.5in. Est. $25,000-$35,000. Palm Beach Modern Auctions image.
Vladimir Kagan (German/American, b. 1927-), Model No. 175F walnut and black leather contour rocking chair with matching ottoman. Est. $5,000-$8,000. Palm Beach Modern Auctions image.
Fernando Botero (Colombian, b. 1932-), ‘Nicaragua Banana,’ pencil on paper, artist-signed and dated 1973, 20 x 36in (sight). Est. $25,000-$30,000. Palm Beach Modern Auctions image.
A gladiator and a maiden surrounded by a design of columns and drapes are shown on this Burgen, Schverer & Cie vase. The 9-inch vase was offered at a 2013 James Julia auction in Fairfield, Maine.
BEACHWOOD, Ohio – Cameo glass is popular with collectors. Galle, Thomas Webb, Mount Washington and Daum are well known, but some smaller companies that worked at the same time are almost unknown. Burgun, Schverer & Cie (son) was founded in 1711 in Meisenthal, France.
The company always made top-quality glass and survived by changing methods and designs to attract new customers. It made blown glass, watch glass, eyeglass lenses and tableware. By the 1860s, it was famous for its understanding of glassmaking. Emile Galle was an apprentice there before he left for his father’s company, and the two companies had a working arrangement for about 10 years. In 1895 Burgun, Schverer & Cie produced cameo glass by the new and less expensive method of painting layers of colored and clear glass and then carving them. It also made other art glass, including enameled and gilt vases, often with silver mounts. Burgun, Schverer & Cie won many awards for its glass, and in 1901 it became a public company.
It is now called Verrerie de Meisenthal. Its glass has long been marked with a hard-to-understand emblem that includes the Cross of Lorraine, a thistle and the letters BS & C on a banner. Look for cameo glass by Burgun, Schverer & Cie. It may be overlooked by those with less information about the glass’s quality and mark.
Q: I have four bentwood chairs that came from an old seminary. Underneath the seats there is a label that reads “J.S. Ford Johnson Co., New York, N.Y., 33 E. 47th St., Chicago, Ill., San Francisco, Calif.” They were patented in March 1910 and are in good solid condition. Can you tell me something about the history?
A: J.S. Ford Johnson Co. was founded in 1867 by John S. Ford and Henry W. Johnson. The company started out in Columbus, Ohio, moved to Indiana a year later and moved to Chicago in 1872. The company made Mission furniture, including some pieces similar to Stickley furniture. It was one of the largest manufacturers of chairs in the United States. The company went bankrupt in 1913 and was sold. Your set of bentwood chairs is worth about $600 if the chairs are in excellent condition.
Q: Is a rectangular yellow planter marked “Cookson 923” of any value?
A: Gerald Cookson founded Cookson Pottery Co. in Roseville, Ohio, in 1945. Garden ware, planters, vases and florist ware were produced. Cookson’s molds were made by Ungemach Pottery, another Roseville company, and the glazes were applied at Cookson Pottery. Cookson’s son took over the business in 1966. The business was sold in 1982 but continued to operate until 1995. Value of your planter: about $20.
Q: I have a pewter stein marked “F & M” over “N.” It’s 11 inches tall and has raised decorations of classical figures picking grapes from a vine. Can you tell me who made it and what it’s worth?
A: The mark was used by Felsenstein & Mainzer, a pewterer in Nuremberg, Germany. The company was founded by Simon Felsenstein and Sigmund Mainzer in 1886. Gebruder Bing bought the company in 1918 and made Felsenstein & Mainzer products until the 1930s. Felsenstein & Mainzer steins have sold at auction recently for $85.
Q: My Brownie Target Six-20 camera is in excellent condition, never used, with the original box it came in. The camera is metal and the front is black and white with vertical lines. I’d like to find out how old it is and if film still is available. And how much is the camera worth?
A: Eastman Kodak Co. made the Brownie Target Six-20 from July 1946 until May 1952. The front of your camera is known as the Art Deco face. The camera originally came with a roll of 620 film. The film was discontinued in 1995, but rolls may be available from sources for out-of-production film. You can also use a roll of 120 film rewound onto a 620 spool, which is larger than a 120 spool. It takes two 620 spools to do this and must be done in a darkroom or darkbox so that no light touches the film. You can buy spare 620 spools online. The camera originally sold for $3.50. Today it sells online for $10-$25 without a box and $15-$40 with the original box.
Q: When I was rehabbing our garage, which was built in about 1917, I found a large piece of colorful cardboard in the old insulation. It looks like it was an advertising sign or perhaps the side of a breakfast food box of some kind. There’s a child’s face on it with the phrase “Toddy builds health and strength.” Can you help identify the ad? Does it have any value?
A: Toddy was a brand name for a “meal in a glass” sold by a Buffalo, N.Y., company named Maltop Inc. The milk-based drink, apparently meant for children, was heavily marketed in the eastern United States and Canada in the late 1920s, so your garage may not be quite as old as you think it is – or it was insulated a decade after it was built. The drink was sold in cans in grocery stores. Your cardboard piece may have been the side of a carton that once held Toddy cans. The most common Toddy-related collectible is a mixer-style drinking glass embossed with the brand name and a child’s face. The glasses sell for $10 to $20 online. Your ad would sell for only a few dollars. Why not frame it and hang it in your garage or kitchen as part of your house’s history?
Tip: Don’t wear jewelry while in a swimming pool. Chlorine makes it dull. If you are in the ocean, the glimmer of metal may attract unwanted fish.
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CURRENT PRICES
Current prices are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States. Prices vary in different locations because of local economic conditions.
The Mike Roy Cookbook, No. 2, Los Angeles radio host & chef, “Everyday Recipes,” 147 pages, 1969. $10.
Tiffany glass bowl, cobalt blue iridescence, lobed, scalloped rim, marked L.C.T., 3 x 8 inches, $325.
Satsuma vase, women in garden, embossed gold, cylindrical, 36 inches, $450.
Bucket bench, blue paint, arched apron, cutout slab ends, New York, 1800s, 23 x 44 inches, $815.
Danish silver tankard, embossed flowers, Jacob G. Fabritius, 8 1/2 inches, $960.
Milliner’s head, papier-mache, blue eyes, black, cream paint, circa 1850, 15 inches, $1,070.
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A gladiator and a maiden surrounded by a design of columns and drapes are shown on this Burgen, Schverer & Cie vase. The 9-inch vase was offered at a 2013 James Julia auction in Fairfield, Maine.
SINGAPORE – From May 10 to July 20, 2014, Singapore’s Center for Contemporary Art will host the critically acclaimed exhibition “No Country: Contemporary Art for South and Southeast Asia,” as part of the Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative. The exhibition was first presented in New York at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum last year before its recent showing at the Asia Society Hong Kong Center.
The exhibition will feature 19 paintings, sculptures, photographs, videos, and mixed-media works by 16 artists and collectives from 11 countries, including Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and the United Kingdom. Through these works, “No Country” invites audiences to engage with some of South and Southeast Asia’s most challenging and inventive artists, including Tang Da Wu, who currently lives and works in Singapore.
The Center for Contemporary Art presentation will mark the debut of two works from the Guggenheim UBS MAP Purchase Fund not previously shown as part of “No Country:” Loss by Sheela Gowda and Morning Glory by Sopheap Pich. The exhibition also features individual video installation rooms for works by Amar Kanwar and the Otolith Group.
In spring 2012, a committee of five experts in South and Southeast Asian art nominated candidates from which Singaporean curator June Yap was selected as the first curator appointed in the Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative. Yap has been an independent curator since 2008, working with artists throughout the region. In 2011, she organized an exhibition of the work of Ho Tzu Nyen for the Singapore Pavilion at the 2011 Venice Biennale. In 2010, Yap curated “You and I, We’ve Never Been so Far Apart: Works From Asia for the Center for Contemporary Art” in Tel Aviv for the International Video Art Biennial.
Lt. Daniel J. Kern and German conservator Karl Sieber examining Jan van Eyck’s ‘Adoration of the Mystic Lamb,’ also known as the Ghent Altarpiece (1432). Thomas Carr Howe papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Photo courtesy of Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. PARIS (AFP) – France will on Tuesday return three paintings seized by the Nazis to their rightful owners, just the tip of an iceberg in a country where nearly 2,000 such artworks remain unclaimed.
All works of art identified as having been stolen by the Nazis are kept in French museums that are required to report them and put them on display in the hope that the previous owners, their heirs or assignees will spot and claim them.
Culture Minister Aurelie Filippetti will return the three paintings – Mountain Landscape by Flemish artist Joos de Momper (1564-1635), a Portrait
of a Woman oil canvas dating from the 18th century and a Madonna and Child painting – in an official ceremony.
Mountain Landscape belonged to Baron Cassel van Doorn, a non-Jewish Belgian banker who had homes in France and whose possessions were confiscated by the Nazis in December 1943.
The painting had been housed in a museum in the eastern city of Dijon.
The Portrait of a Woman canvas was kept in one of the wings of the famed Louvre museum in Paris, and could be the copy of a portrait of an 18th century actress by French artist Louis Tocque.
The artwork belonged to art dealers from Berlin, and was auctioned off in January 1935 as part of the public sale of Jewish goods.
The last painting was seized in June 1944 in the southern French city of Cannes by the Nazis, and is claimed by the great-granddaughter of a banker who owned the artwork.
So far, France has only managed to return 70 pieces of art that were seized by the Nazis to their owners.
ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE
Lt. Daniel J. Kern and German conservator Karl Sieber examining Jan van Eyck’s ‘Adoration of the Mystic Lamb,’ also known as the Ghent Altarpiece (1432). Thomas Carr Howe papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Photo courtesy of Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, seen in April 2006. Also in view is the Fannye Shafran Planetarium. Image by Andrew DeFratis. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License. CLEVELAND (AP) – The Cleveland Museum of Natural History is moving toward a major renovation project.
Museum officials say they’ll break ground on the $125 million project in two years.
Plans call for the museum to tear down about half of its existing space and then add new construction.
The Plain Dealer in Cleveland reports that the area that houses the museum’s collection of dinosaurs and prehistoric life will be rebuilt.
Museum Director Evalyn Gates says the final designs are still evolving. She says one goal is to change the museum drab appearance on the outside.
One other change will be the addition of a parking garage.
Copyright 2014 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
AP-WF-03-09-14 1333GMT
ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, seen in April 2006. Also in view is the Fannye Shafran Planetarium. Image by Andrew DeFratis. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License.
G.I. Joe figure in G.I.-type foot locker, with accessories, including boots, guns, dog tags and canteen. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and Stephenson’s Auctions. ATTLEBORO, Mass. (AP) – G.I. Joe, a military action figure aimed at American boys, was born in the mid-1960s, just as the Vietnam War was beginning to gain momentum.
Last month, Joe, the brainchild of Pawtucket-based Hasbro, celebrated his 50th birthday. But for a 50-year-old, the pose-able man of action turned cultural icon is still looking pretty good.
With millions of figures and toys sold and being featured in starring roles in comic books, on TV and in the movies, G.I. Joe still qualifies as Real American Hero – and a toy-selling phenomenon.
“Joe stood for everything that was meant to be good: Fighting evil, doing what’s right for people,” said Alan Hassenfeld, the 65-year-old former CEO for Hasbro whose father, Merrill, oversaw G.I. Joe’s development in 1963.
G.I. Joe has been reinvented several times over the years. He started out as a 12-inch-tall hunk in khakis based on the ideas of toy designer Stan Weston.
In the 1980s, Joe was downsized to a 3 3/4-inch figure whose mission was to combat imaginary enemies from Cobra, an evil terrorist organization. This year, Hasbro plans to release a special, 50th anniversary Joe in the smaller size through Toys R Us stores along with new items in its line of related building sets.
G.I. Joe also became the star of his own TV show and later the basis for blockbuster Hollywood films.
Don Levine, then the company’s head of research and development in the 1960s, is often credited as the “father” of G.I. Joe for pushing the toy through design and development.
Levine, who served in the Army during the in Korean War, said he got the idea for the moveable figure as a way to honor veterans.
But, Levine knew a soldier figure would be a hard sell. It took several years before the project received Hasbro’s full backing.
“Most boys in the ’60s had a father or a relative who was or had been in the military,” said Patricia Hogan, curator at the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, N.Y., home to the National Toy Hall of Fame. “Once you’ve bought Joe, you need to buy all the accessories and play sets and add-ons, which was great for business.”
A major concern early on was whether boys would accept a toy in the form of a pose-able male figure – in other words, a doll.
So, Hasbro thought up another term for their product.
“G.I. Joe wasn’t a doll,” said Ron Rudat of Attleboro, a designer who worked on accessories for the original G.I. Joe in the early 1970s and later helped spur Joe’s revival in the 1980s. “We called him an action figure.”
Introduced in 1964, Joe remained a popular toy through most of the 1960s until opposition to the war in Vietnam caused parents to pull back from military-related toys – and Joe in particular.
Hasbro responded by introducing “Adventure Team” G.I. Joes that were less overtly military.
Faced with declining popularity, the original G.I. Joe was discontinued later in the 1970s. But, a comeback was just around the corner.
The inspiration turned out to be a firefight from a time long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away.
“Star Wars resulted in toy figures that were very popular at the time,” Rudat said. “Hasbro was very impressed by that.”
Rudat, who by that time was a key toy designer at the company, remembered how a chance event seemed to reignite enthusiasm for G.I. Joe.
“I was working on a truck and presented it at a marketing meeting in green camouflage colors,” he said. “That started a lot of people thinking.”
Not long after, Hasbro decided to try a resized Joe that would be smaller and more affordable than the original 12-inch figure, but with more characters, accessories and enemy figures.
Rudat, whose father had served in World War II and who was raised to revere those who served their country, was delighted.
“They asked me to design figures, and I remember thinking, ‘Great, that’s right up my alley.’”
The company first tried a modest line of Joes and accessories in case the new, downsized soldier bombed. But he didn’t. He was a hit.
Rudat ended up designing more than 100 figures for the new line, plus sophisticated accessories like an assault boat. He also invented the logo for the evil Cobra organization, the original of which hangs framed in his home.
Along with the movies, comic books and TV, G.I. Joe has inspired a legion of diehard fans and collectors. Many of the more devoted enthusiasts gather each year at the GIJoeCon, an annual convention held by the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club.
G.I. Joe was elected into the Toy Hall of Fame in 2004.
Rudat, who was hired by Hasbro right out of art school, no longer works for the company. But, he remains proud of his role in helping revitalize G.I. Joe and for the care and authenticity that he and others put into crafting the legend.
“We did a lot of research on what a modern soldier would wear, what kinds of tools he would use,” he said. “We even went to the Army’s Natick labs and saw the new helmet they were designing before it was issued to the troops.”
Today, Rudat works in his home studio surrounded by books, pictures and military uniforms and accessories dating back to the 1850s. There’s also a case for his father’s World War II decorations from the Marine Corps, a treasured keepsake.
“In designing accessories, I got a lot of ideas from things the Marines used,” he said.
A talented artist from childhood, Rudat continues to paint stunning landscapes and still lifes in oils and acrylics, which he exhibits and sells at local galleries.
Rudat and other Hasbro veterans starred in a recent DVD documentary on G.I. Joe created by Rudat’s video artist son Tristan. More information about Rudat and the film, Code Name: Blast Off, can be found at the movie’s Facebook page.
Copyright 2014 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
AP-WF-03-07-14 1652GMT
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G.I. Joe figure in G.I.-type foot locker, with accessories, including boots, guns, dog tags and canteen. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and Stephenson’s Auctions.
A statue at the Karnak Temple at Luxor. Image by Merlin-UK. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
CAIRO (AP) – Egypt has announced that a team of European archaeologists have found a nearly 2-meter-tall alabaster statue of a pharaonic princess, dating from approximately 1350 B.C., outside the southern city of Luxor.
Minister of Antiquities Mohammed Ibrahim said in in a statement Friday that the statue was once part of a larger statue that was nearly 43 feet tall and guarded the entrance to a temple.
Ibrahim says the statue is of Iset, the daughter of Amenhotep III, and is the first found that depicts her without her siblings. Archaeologists uncovered the statue next to the funerary temple of Amenhotep III, who was worshipped as a deity after his death.
Copyright 2014 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
AP-WF-03-07-14 1828GMT
ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE
A statue at the Karnak Temple at Luxor. Image by Merlin-UK. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
1961 Chevrolet Corvette, original, unrestored survivor consigned to Morphy’s October 11, 2014 auction by its original owner. Morphy Auctions imageDENVER, Pa. – Already an established force in the sale of antiques, art and quality collectibles, Morphy Auctions has opened a new division to handle the auction of antique and classic cars, motorcycles and other vintage vehicles.
Dan Morphy, president and founder of Morphy Auctions, said the move into antique and vintage cars was a natural transition. “There’s a tremendous amount of crossover between buyers of antique firearms, toys and advertising – three of our core categories – and those who collect classic cars,” Morphy said. “Many of our consignors have expressed the desire to consign their automobiles and motorcycles to us, and now we have a division dedicated exclusively to handling those consignments.”
“Our first auction will take place on October 11, 2014, after the October Hershey and Carlisle car shows,” Morphy continued. “We’ll be conducting the sale at our Lancaster County auction facility, which is an easy drive from both shows.”
Many of Morphy’s existing employees have a strong interest in cars and motorcycles, however specialists are being hired for the automobile and motorcycle division.
The new division welcomes all motor vehicles of interest to today’s collectors, whether they’re luxury cars of the Art Deco era, popular muscle cars of the 1960s or classic motorcycles. These sales will follow the Morphy Auctions guideline of offering “fresh to the market” items. Morphy said he is offering “very attractive terms” to potential consignors, and cars are already rolling in.
“Each of our sales will be high-quality, well-produced events,” Morphy said. “Our second auction will be offsite and is scheduled for 2015 in Las Vegas. Going forward, in addition to an annual Pennsylvania-based sale, we will host one remote sale per year, always at a location that car and motorcycle collectors enjoy. As the division continues to grow, so will the number of auctions each year.”
For additional information or to discuss consigning an antique or vintage car or motorcycle, call Dan Morphy at 717-335-4569 or email dan@morphyauctions.com. Online: www.MorphyAuctions.com.
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1961 Chevrolet Corvette, original, unrestored survivor consigned to Morphy’s October 11, 2014 auction by its original owner. Morphy Auctions image
