May 2014 - Page 8 of 19 - Auction Central News

Kovels Antiques & Collecting: Week of May 19, 2014

A lithographed poster showing two baseball players competing in an 1884 championship game in Boston sold for $15,000 at an Bonhams auction in New York City last month.

BEACHWOOD, Ohio – Baseball may have been first mentioned in the United States in 1791, when city officials in Pittsfield, Mass., banned playing the game near the town meeting house. Years later, a group of “experts” decided that the game was invented by Abner Doubleday – a decision that is now considered a myth.

Organized baseball started in the United States in 1857, with the formation of the National Association of Base Ball Players – 16 teams from New York – but the first professional teams were listed in 1869.

Any baseball memorabilia from the 19th century is rare. Last month a poster for a championship game in Boston between the Philadelphia Keystones and the Boston Unions in 1884 was auctioned by Bonhams in New York. The poster shows a batter and catcher in proper uniforms as they played on a site that is now Copley Square in downtown Boston. It sold for $15,000.

Q: I own a Victorian gentleman’s dresser that’s about 70 inches high and 42 inches wide. It has a tall dressing mirror on one side and a smaller shaving mirror on the other side. The dressing mirror pulls out about 9 inches on an extension mount and rotates about 70 degrees in either direction. “Peerless Adjustable Mirror” is stenciled on the back, where there’s also a label with six 1890 patent numbers. One of the brackets is embossed “Pat’d Jan. 14, 1890.” Can you give me any information about this piece?

A: A dresser like yours was pictured in an ad in an 1891 newspaper. It didn’t have the shaving mirror, and was advertised as a “lady’s dresser.” The ad claimed that the Peerless Adjustable Mirror was the only adjustable mirror made, and it could be adjusted to 16 different positions. A Jan. 14, 1890, patent was one of several patents granted for adjustable mirror supports in 1890. It was granted to David Heald and Charles H. French for “new and useful improvements in mirror supporting and adjusting devices.” The tall dresser with the unusual mirrors has very little storage space. The 21st-century buyer wants drawers. Because of its limited usefulness, your dresser is not worth more than $400.

Q: I have a Lalique “Champs Elysees” bowl shaped like two oak leaves. The leaves are frosted, and the base and connecting part are clear. The bowl is 7 1/2 inches high and 18 inches wide, and weighs 21 pounds. How much is it worth?

A: Rene Lalique (1860-1945) began making Art Nouveau glass in Paris in the 1890s. Lalique glass still is being made. Pieces made by Rene were marked with the signature “R. Lalique.” Those made from 1945 until 1977 are marked “Lalique France.” Newer pieces include the letter “R” in a circle. Your bowl is worth about $1,000 to $2,000. The pattern still is being made.

Q: I have a complete 65-piece set of dinnerware that includes place settings for eight and several serving pieces. The dishes have a wheat pattern in the center and a wide yellow border with gold trim. They’re marked “Century Service Corporation, Alliance, Ohio” around a triangle. The words “Semi vitreous dinnerware” are written inside the triangle. Underneath the mark are the words “Autumn Gold.” Many people tell me the set of dishes I have is worth money. What do you think?

A: Autumn Gold is the name of your dinnerware’s pattern. The dishes were made by Homer Laughlin China Co. and distributed by Century Service Corp., one of several companies owned by Cunningham and Pickett of Alliance, Ohio. Cunningham and Pickett was founded in 1935. It distributed china, glassware, silverware and other items made by other companies. Homer Laughlin made dinnerware for Cunningham and Pickett from 1938 until 1969. You often can find dishes in your pattern for sale online. A five-piece place setting of Autumn Gold sells for about $30, a vegetable bowl for about $20.

Q: I have a teapot that reads “Made in Occupied Japan” on the bottom. Other marks on the bottom look like the letter “G” surrounded by the letters “C” and “U.” I have been unable to find any information about the teapot or its marks. I would like to know who made the teapot and what it’s worth.

A: The mark on your teapot stands for “UCAGCO.” It was used by the United China & Glass Co., an importer located in New York and New Orleans. The company was founded by Abe Mayer in 1850 and originally was called Abe Mayer & Co. The “UCAGCO” mark was first used in the 1930s. UCAGCO was the first company allowed to import goods from Japan after the end of World War II. Items marked “Made in Occupied Japan” were made between 1947 and 1952. The company was later sold to Sammons Enterprises. Your teapot is worth $20 to $30.

Tip: Rhinestone jewelry can be gently cleaned. Use a makeup brush or a cotton swab to remove dust from any crevices. Be careful not loosen the stones. Spray some glass cleaner or denatured alcohol on a soft cloth, not on the jewelry. Rub gently. Do not rinse. Water damages the backing on rhinestones.

Take advantage of a free listing for your group to announce events or to find antique shows, national meetings and other events. Go to the Calendar at Kovels.com to find, publicize and plan your antiquing trips.

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.

Coalbrookdale platter, flowers, gilt scrolls, rococo scalloped rim, lobed, footed, circa 1825, 8 1/2 inches, $80.
Royal Bayreuth toothpick holder, shell shape, footed, 3 inches, $150.
Baseball pennant, Brooklyn Dodgers, batter, felt, cranberry, yellow, 1940s, 22 inches, $165.
Bronze pen rest, tiger head, two wells, Continental, 7 x 4 1/2 inches, $290.
Komical Kop toy car, “Beat It,” cop at wheel, tin lithograph, windup, Marx, 1920s, 7 3/4 inches, $325.
Tiffany Favrile glass vase, green, gold, long neck, leaf-and-vine design, 6 inches, $430.
Venetian glass sculpture, aquarium block, two fish, suspended seaweed, Gino Cenedese, 1960s, 6 3/4 x 9 1/4 inches, $440.
Elephant toy, carved teak, articulated, signed Kay Bojesen, Denmark, circa 1950, 5 x 2 inches, pair, $530.
Apothecary cabinet, pine, 18 drawers, black knobs, Continental, circa 1900, 20 x 52 inches, $885.
Currier & Ives print, “A Good Chance,” two men in canoe, frame, 29 x 35 inches, $3,075.

Ralph and Terry Kovel, syndicated newspaper columnists, best-selling authors, avid collectors and national authorities on antiques, hosted the HGTV series “Flea Market Finds with the Kovels.” Watch the Kovels’ HGTV shows to become an expert on almost anything you see at a flea market. DVD sets of Seasons 1 and 2 (12 episodes each, plus a DVD of the final episodes of Seasons 1-4) are available online at Kovelsonlinestore.com for $59.90 plus $4.95 postage; by phone at 800-303-1996; or mail your check to Kovels, P.O. Box 22900, Beachwood, OH 44122.

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Artist Robert Morris to cut ribbon on glass labyrinth May 22

An overhead view of the Robert Morris 'Glass Labyrinth.' Image credit: Chris Smart.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A bright orange ribbon surrounding the newly installed glass labyrinth on the southeast section of the Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art will be cut by internationally recognized artist and Kansas City native Robert Morris in a public ceremony on Thursday, May 22 at 6 p.m. Morris designed the labyrinth, which is a permanent installation.

“It is fitting that we begin our celebration of the Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park with this exciting new museum commission that has been made possible through the generosity of the Hall Family Foundation,” said Julián Zugazagoitia, director of the Nelson-Atkins. “Through the years, this oasis of green space has continually evolved as a place of both activity and quiet inspiration in which visitors can enjoy an incredible collection of art. This interactive and contemplative labyrinth sets the stage for an exciting future.”

The installation of Glass Labyrinth begins six months of celebrations of the 22-acre Sculpture Park that will include family activities, educational programs and special events.

“We have lots of fun activities for the whole family planned this summer and fall to celebrate the Sculpture Park,” said Adam Johnson, head of Public Programs. “In July, we partner with Kansas City Parks and Rec to host Kansas City’s Big Picnic. Both the museum and city encourage visitors to embrace this great space as the heart of Kansas City by inviting them to bring a picnic to share with friends and family. There will be food trucks and picnic baskets for purchase, art activities, contests, free Blue Bell ice cream – everything that makes summer, and the Sculpture Park, so special.”

The story of the Sculpture Park began in 1986, when the Hall Family Foundation learned of an extraordinary opportunity. Wichita-based real estate and oil investor George Ablah had decided to sell his extensive collection of sculptures by the English artist Henry Moore. The Foundation purchased 57 works by Moore –monumental sculptures, maquettes and working models, drawings and tapestries. In 1989, 10 bronzes from the former Ablah collection joined Moore’s Sheep Piece (on loan from the City of Kansas City) and Relief No. 1 (from the museum’s collection) in the newly created Henry Moore Sculpture Garden.

The idea of creating an outdoor museum – a place for people of all ages to experience the relationship between art, architecture and nature – was central to the Foundation’s decision to acquire this cache of master works by Moore. It also had been the vision of the original planners of the Nelson-Atkins.

In 1990, the Hall Family Foundation engaged Martin Friedman, director emeritus of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and the inspiration and guiding light behind the Minneapolis Sculpture Park, to serve as its art advisor. Friedman’s collaboration with the Nelson-Atkins would continue for 20 years with early signature results like Shuttlecocks by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen and culminating in the commissioning of Roxy Paine’s Ferment.

“Of course, the Shuttlecocks forever changed the landscape and immediately became an integral part of the Sculpture Park and Kansas City when they were installed in 1994,” said Jan Schall, curator of modern art at the museum. “And the Bloch Building itself is a sculptural work of art, with its elegant, light-filled galleries.”

The 2010 installation of Ferment brought crowds of onlookers to the Sculpture Park’s hillside, some bringing picnic lunches as they watched huge steel limbs being hoisted into the air. Today it is one of the most photographed works in the Sculpture Park.

“This is a seminal moment for the Nelson-Atkins,” said Schall. “It’s a time to pause and reflect on this journey we began 25 years ago, and to celebrate everything the Sculpture Park means to the community.”

The clear glass labyrinth is heavier than it appears; the 62-foot by 62-foot by 62-foot, 7-foot-tall labyrinth weighs more than 400 tons. An entire team of community partners provided engineering, construction and installation.

Activities Celebrating 25 Years: The Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park

– Sunday, July 20: Picnic in the Park, 5–8 p.m.

– Thursday, Aug. 7: Teacher Appreciation Night, 4–7 p.m.

– Sunday, Sept. 21: Plains in the Park, Plains Indians Artists of Earth and Sky, noon–4 p.m.

– Saturday, Oct. 11: Bark in the Park, dogs welcome 1–4 p.m.

Hofman’s yellow duck makes Va. debut in Norfolk

Florentijn Hofman, who created the 40-foot-tall 'Rubber Duck,' is a 37-year-old Dutch artist known for large-scale urban installations. Image courtesy of Chrysler Museum of Art.

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) – A giant yellow duck is bobbing in Norfolk’s waterfront.

The 40-foot version of a bathtub toy is the work a Dutch artist, Forentijn Hofman. It made its second U.S. appearance Saturday.

Hofman dreamed up the Rubber Duck in 2001 while working on his graduate art degree. He was commissioned to build it for an exhibition in France, and he went big – 85 feet.

While he has scaled back his inflatable art, Hofman’s Rubber Duck has migrated the globe. The big yellow attraction has visited China, England, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil.

Hofman told The Virginian Pilot he was inspired by the artist Christo, who has behind many large-scale art projects.

The duck was brought to Norfolk by the Chrysler Museum of Art. It’s here through May 26.

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Information from: The Virginian-Pilot, http://pilotonline.com

AP-WF-05-17-14 1622GMT

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Historic Carter’s Grove plantation in Va. heading to auction

Plantation house at Carter's Grove near Williamsburg, Va. Image by Melissa Wilkins. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (AP) – A lovingly preserved vestige of Virginia’s plantation past is up for sale, offering a centuries-old brick-and-mortar link to the first European settlers.

Carter’s Grove will be listed at $14.9 million at an auction scheduled for Wednesday. The dot-com entrepreneur who purchased it lost his fortune and fell deeply into debt. It’s being sold by order of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

The property includes an 18,700-square-foot mansion that is listed as a National Historic Landmark, a caretaker’s house, stables and 400 grassy acres that slope to more than a mile of frontage on the James River.

The plantation house is considered among the finest examples of Georgian architecture in Virginia and among the best in the U.S. It features dazzling brick and fine wood flourishes by Old World craftsmen that have survived more than 250 years since after its construction.

“The symmetry of the structure, the balance, the architectural details of the building elevates it to a higher status,” said Matt Webster, director of architectural preservation at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. “Very rarely, if at all, do you find a plantation with its holdings.”

Then there’s the history.

The perch above the James where the plantation rises like a wedding cake has been occupied by Native Americans dating back to 6,500 B.C. Ten years after Europeans established Jamestown – five miles upriver – settlers carved out Wolstenholme Towne on a bluff overlooking the river where the plantation came to be located. The settlers eventually were wiped out by Indians.

By the early 18th Century, the land was among the 300,000 acres owned in Virginia by the wealthy Robert “King” Carter. He died in 1732, leaving the property to his daughter, Elizabeth. Her son, Carter Burwell, had the mansion built.

Work on the main plantation house began in 1750 and was completed five years later, with help from some leading craftsman of the era. Scholars considered the exterior brickwork among the finest in the United States.

Visitors are greeted by a grand staircase and bannisters carved out of black walnut. The landings are completed in an intricate parquet design, the work of a joiner brought over to the New World from England.

Notches along the rail have long been part of the mansion’s lore. It has been said that they were purportedly made by a British general hacking at the rail with his sword as he rode his horse up the stairs to stir troops who had occupied the second floor.

Webster scoffs at the claim. The origin of the notches is not known.

George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were among the famous visitors to the plantation.

Carter’s Grove, of course, was the exception in its day. Only the ultra-rich – the 1 percenters of the Colonial period – lived amid such luxury.

Calder Loth, senior architectural historian with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, said Carter’s Grove represents a “conspicuous example of conspicuous consumption.”

“The majority of people were living in essentially shacks or the most humble kind of abodes, many of which were not meant to be permanent structures,” Loth said. He worked with Colonial Williamsburg to secure state easements on the property to ensure it would never be subdivided and that the historic integrity of plantation house would be maintained.

Today, few plantations of Carter’s Grove stature remain in Virginia. Some were lost in the Civil War or to fire, while others have simply fallen into disrepair or have been bulldozed for subdivisions.

Carter’s Grove was a gift to Colonial Williamsburg from the Rockefeller Foundation in 1969 and was open to tourists until 2003.

The mansion fell on hard times in 2007 after Halsey Minor, who made his fortune in technology, purchased the property from Colonial Williamsburg. His dream was live part-time there and to create a thoroughbred farm.

But Minor never lived at Carter’s Grove and the site fell into disrepair from neglect. More than $600,000 in repairs restored the landmark for sale.

“We have had inquiries from some foundations, some institutions, but mostly from well-to-do individuals who see the property as a unique piece of American history,” said Stanley J. Samorajczyk, the trustee overseeing the sale. “It can’t be replicated.”

Proceeds of the sale will pay off creditors, among other expenses.

Loth said he was disappointed that Minor’s financial collapse left Carter’s Grove wanting for repairs.

“I just hope the next owner is very carefully vetted,” he said.

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Steve Szkotak can be reached on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sszkotakap .

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Online:

Colonial Williamsburg: http://www.colonialwilliamsburg.com

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Studebaker museum exhibit shows hometown then and now

This circa 1910 photo shows workers preparing Studebaker automobiles prior to shipping on the company’s Main Street rail dock. Studebaker buildings #47 and #48 are visible in the background. They were torn down in the late 1980s. Image courtesy of Studebaker National Museum.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) – It’s a moment frozen in time: One day in 1911, the new horse-drawn Studebaker delivery wagon of South Bend grocer George Sommerer sits in front of his grocery store at 534 E. Colfax Ave.

Flash forward 103 years: That same two-story brick building, now housing the Circa Arts Gallery and Junk Evolution shops, is shown today.

“Then and Now,” a photo exhibit now on display at Studebaker National Museum, allows museum visitors the chance to virtually “stroll” the streets of South Bend’s past, glimpsing urban scenes and landmarks of long ago, the South Bend Tribune reported.

Paired with each of the historic images is a present-day photo of the same scene, shot by local photographer Matt Cashore.

The 17 early images are taken mainly from the Studebaker Corp. archives photos, many of them marketing photos taken by the company showing new Studebaker vehicles on South Bend’s streets. Most of those images date from the early 1900s.

Sometimes the difference between then and now is stark.

The early images show a bustling industrial city, with many more houses, shops and other businesses in the downtown area. The present day photos show many more parking lots and vacant spaces.

A 1932 photo includes an Italianate home and a row of small businesses just north of the Michigan Street viaduct, where the Transpo transfer center lot now stands.

A 1910 photo shows a pickup baseball game in progress near Prairie Avenue and Chapin Street, where Studebaker later built its foundry. That land was cleared several years ago, and the present day photo shows vacant land at the spot that is now part of Ignition Park.

Local residents are familiar with the row of stately historic houses along Northshore Drive west of the Michigan Street Bridge in Leeper Park. In a 1910 image in the exhibit, a horse-drawn street sweeper is shown on the familiar-looking bridge. But there are few houses yet along that stretch of Northshore visible in the background.

Another horse-drawn wagon is shown in front of 212 W. Colfax Ave., which still stands and now houses Travelmore travel agency. The undated early photo says the building originally was the house of South Bend Mayor William C. George, but was remodeled in 1906 to become the offices of the Home Telephone Co. and later served as Elbel Brothers Music Store.

The exhibit allows visitors to get a glimpse of South Bend’s past, and perhaps plan for the future. “Then and Now” continues through Sept. 5.

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Information from: South Bend Tribune, http://www.southbendtribune.com

AP-WF-05-14-14 1456GMT

ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE

Although the rails have been removed, the elevated dock located just west of the 700 block of South Main Street remains today. With the nearby buildings gone, the former Studebaker Body Plant and Administration Building are visible in the background. Image courtesy of Studebaker National Museum.

South Bend Home Telephone at 212 E. Colfax Ave. This building was originally the home of Mayor William C. George and remodeled in 1906 for the telephone company’s use. It remained in use by the telephone company until 1947. Image courtesy of Studebaker National Museum.

Today 212 E. Colfax Ave. is occupied by a travel agency, but the building looks much the same. Image courtesy of Studebaker National Museum.

Newly acquired Dutch masterpiece on display at Kimbell

Jacob van Ruisdael, (Dutch,1628/29–1682), 'Edge of a Forest with a Grain Field,' circa 1656, oil on canvas, 41 × 57 1/2 inches (104.1 × 146.1 cm). Image courtesy of Kimbell Art Museum.

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) – The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth has put its newly acquired landscape by a Dutch master on display.

The 17th century painting by Jacob van Ruisdael titled Edge of a Forest with Grainfield went on display Friday. Ruisdael is considered one of the greatest landscape painters. Ruisdael expert Seymour Slive calls the painting “a world-class masterpiece.”

Earlier this year the museum purchased the painting from Oxford University’s Worcester College, which had the work since 1811 when an alumnus donated it.

The painting, measuring about 3 feet by 5 feet, depicts billowing clouds above a scene featuring a stream with a forest on one side and a field on the other.

The Kimbell has put the work in an antique Dutch gilt frame.

AP-WF-05-16-14 0505GMT

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Pearlware jug tops $4,887 at Jeffrey Evans ceramics sale

The English Staffordshire pottery pearlware large harvester’s dated jug was painted in typical Prattware and inscribed under the spout ‘Thomas Mafsey Heaton Norris 1800.’ The jug sold for $4,887.50, well above the $2,000-$3,000 estimate (Lot 1).

MT. CRAWFORD, Va. – The Deike Collection of English pottery, the Prus Collection of flow-blue pottery and the ceramics library of Steve & Mimi Levine of Alexandria, Va., formed the backbone for the May 6 ceramics auction at Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates. Despite being a small, highly focused auction, the unreserved sale attracted 1,735 bidders from 34 countries, with many items selling for multiples of the original estimates.

LiveAuctioneers.com provided Internet live bidding.

In the first section of the auction, devoted to items from pottery collectors and authors George and Mickey Deike’s collection, a large harvester’s dated jug, inscribed “Thomas Mafsey Heaton Norris 1800,” sold for $4,887.50, far above the $2,000-$3,000 initial estimate.

A circa 1785-1800 charger dish painted with a large rural landscape, sold for $1,725, over the $300-$500 estimate. Two Staffordshire pottery animals realized very strong prices. A Ralph Wood the Younger-type figure of a stag sold for $4,025, over the $600-$800 published estimate; and a figure of a squirrel painted in bright Prattware hues, sold for $3,335, 10 times more than the estimate.

The Deikes’ Peafowl wares were much admired and did extremely well, too. A domed-cover coffeepot, painted with a colorful peafowl standing on berried branches, circa 1780-1790, sold for $2,415 (estimate: $300-$500). Many of the pieces offered in the auction were illustrated in the Deikes’ 2005 book, Feathers and Foliage – The Life and Times of the Pearlware Peafowl.

Joyce and the late Greg Prus collected flow-blue wares for decades, particularly items printed in the Amoy and Scinde patterns. A rare Alcock reticulated serving dish in the Scinde pattern, circa 1840-1860, sold for $1,035 (estimate: $200-$300), while a ewer and basin in the same pattern sold for $920 (estimate: $300-$500). One of the more unusual lots, a pair of Doulton vasiform kerosene lamps, printed in the Watteau pattern, sold for $805 (estimate: $300-$500).

Mother-son antique ceramics dealers Mimi and Steve Levine retired from business in 2013. They specialized in selling Meissen porcelain, Russian porcelain and figural groups. Mimi had kept her reference library in excellent condition, and the books she sold in the auction were much sought after by collectors and members of the trade, anxious to get copies of volumes on rare topics or signed by authors. David Sanctuary Howard’s “Chinese Armorial Porcelain,” in a 1974 first edition, sold for $862.50, one of many of the book lots to surpass its estimate.

Prior to the auction, Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates held its first ceramics seminar with attendees from as far away as Florida. After the auction, Jill Fenichell, vice president and head of ceramics and educational programming, said, “I am thrilled with the auction results. George and Mickey Deike have been collecting for nearly 45 years, and it’s exciting to see the reception that was accorded items from their home. Not only were private collectors and dealers bidding, the George Washington Foundation bid on several items and were successful on the great shell-edged platter marked ‘A. King’ to the underside.”

Jeffrey S. Evans added, “Our detailed catalogue descriptions, dependable condition reports and outstanding photography instill confidence in our bidders around the world. This combined with offering all lots unreserved and with very conservative estimates brings strong interest and energy to our auctions which translate into excellent results.” He went on to add, “The inclusion of educational events with specific sales has proven very poplar and demonstrates our commitment to furthering scholarship and learning in our specialties of Southern decorative arts, ceramics, and American glass.”

The next ceramics specific auction will be held on Oct. 21 and features 19th and 20th Century wares including the second annual Teapot Extravaganza.

For further information, e-mail info@jeffreysevans.com or call 540-434-3939.

Click here to view the fully illustrated catalog for this sale, complete with prices realized.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

The Ralph Wood the Younger-type hollow-bodied figure of a stag, circa 1770-1800, sold for $4,025 (estimate $600-$800). It was in very good condition with a minor horn repair (Lot 66).

This Staffordshire pottery figure of a squirrel was one of the most sought-after of the animals in the Deike collection. It sold for $3,335 (estimate: $200-$300) (Lot 75).

The George Washington Foundation of Fredericksburg, Va., purchased this J. Heath Staffordshire pottery pearlware platter. Price realized: $192 (Lot 89).

Scinde pattern rare flow blue two-handled serving dish indicated the strength of bidding for the Prus collection. The dish sold for $1,035 (estimate: $200-$300) (Lot 145).

Expert picker’s new guide reveals more trade secrets

Cover of the new 'Picker's Bible, 2nd Editon.' Krause Publications image.

IOLA, Wis. – From killer yard sale finds to abandoned storage unit bounty, hidden treasures abound for those skilled in the art of picking. Now you can turn your curiosity and passion for the undiscovered and undervalued into profits with Picker’s Bible, 2nd edition the insider’s guide to picking like the pros.

This hands-on, how-to guide by professional picker Joe Willard presents easy-to-follow professional advice including where to find the good stuff, how to negotiate the best price, indicators for when to buy and when to walk away, where to look for hidden treasures, tips and tricks of picking insiders, how to flip your finds for the most money, and the basics of today’s most popular trend – industrial picking.

“Sophisticated shoppers that spend large amounts at antiques stores and collectibles malls don’t realize that there was a picker somewhere that found their items,” writes Willard in the introduction to the book. “It is the pickers who find and rescue much of what would have been lost forever in the dump. It’s the pickers who help drive the interest and market for emerging collectibles.”

Whether you brake for yard sales, flea markets, thrift shops, estate sales, or even the neighbor’s discarded junk, Picker’s Bible will help you find what everyone else is missing.

For more information visit www.krausebooks.com/pickers-bible-2nd-edition.

About the Author

After retiring as a vice president/general manager, Joe Willard has made his living picking antiques and industrial goods for the past 15 years. While he is attracted to “guy stuff” – tools, cameras, radios, and anything with grime – he is always on the lookout for treasure in other people’s trash.

About Antique Trader

Antique Trader, a division of F+W, is dedicated to serving antiques, collectibles enthusiasts with trusted content, industry news and pricing information. Today, the Antiques & Collectibles division includes books, ebooks, periodicals, and online destinations AntiqueTrader.com and our online shop KrauseBooks.com. The F+W portfolio offers books, ebooks, magazines, ecommerce sites, education, conferences and events, serving nearly 20 enthusiast communities. www.fwmedia.com.

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Mechanical marvels lined up for Heritage auction May 28

Restored 1928 Ahrens-Fox N-S-4 fire truck, fully equipped, 24 feet long. Estimate: $100,000-$140. Heritage Auctions image.

DALLAS – A fully restored Ahrens-Fox N-S-4 fire truck, originally ordered by the Biddeford, Maine, Fire Department in 1928, is expected to bring more than $110,000, on May 28, as the highlight of the Reid Museum Collection of Mechanical Models, offered as a Heritage Gentleman Collector Auction in Dallas.

LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.

“There is a powerful presence to the vehicle,” said Nick Dawes, vice president of Special Collections at Heritage Auctions. “Ahrens-Fox has long since been considered the Rolls Royce of Fire Trucks and, like a Rolls, holds a combination of mechanical and artistic majesty that is a perfect legacy of Glenn Reid.”

This historic Ahrens-Fox is being offered for sale for the first time since being acquired by Reid, who served as a volunteer fireman in his youth and maintained a lifetime respect for historic fire equipment and his firefighting brethren. Born in 1931 in Detroit to a father who was chief engineer in the early days of General Motors, Glenn was destined to have oil in his blood and grease under his fingernails.

Like many young boys of his generation, he received a Lionel train set as a gift from his father. Unlike many, however, Reid turned the gift into a life-long passion for the art of the mechanical object, mastering subtleties of engineering as a young man, ultimately developing his skills into a manufacturing company and his passion into a museum dedicated to fueling future generations with the wonders of engineering.

The Glenn Reid Museum Collection of Mechanical Models includes a fascinating selection of live steam model trains and steam engines, some designed as toys but many made as engineering samples or commercial display models, hand-built to the highest standards of precision. A few models representing the dawn of flight as well as a world-class collection of mechanical scale-model automobiles from the early 20th century – many hand-built by the world’s finest makers – also figure prominently in the collection.

Among the gems are superbly detailed unique replicas of Reid’s favorite historic automobiles – a 1904 Mercedes Simplex and a 1913 Mercer Runabout by Fine Art Models of Michigan – a delightful hand-built Stanley Steamer, several powered models including a 1957 Ferrari race car, and a remarkable collection of vintage German driving school instructional models, all superbly restored.

Reid’s love of trains is evident in the selection representing railway history. His eye for detail and authenticity glints in some of the finest 1.8 scale models ever built, mostly limited editions by leading companies such as Fine Art Models of Michigan and Aster of Japan, makers of the highest quality live steam model locomotives of modern times.

During military service Reid served as an engineer and later acquired detailed military models including one of the M5A 1 Stuart Tank he worked on and the most impressive model of a classic Jeep that Heritage specialists have ever seen.

Rounding out the collection is a fine selection of ship models curated to illustrate four centuries of maritime trade and industry. Among the most poignant are two superbly detailed scale replicas of America’s most ill-fated vessels, the USS Arizona – the famous battleship sunk by the Japanese in the Pearl Harbor attack – and the freighter Edmond Fitzgerald, which rests today at the bottom of Lake Superior.

“This collection appeals to anyone with a passing interest in the history of engineering or transport, and of course those of us who never grew up” said Dawes. “Glenn Reid’s legacy continues in this powerful collection, the collectors who will care for the various parts of it once it crosses the block and in the young people who will benefit from the generosity of the Reid Family Foundation.”

All proceeds from the auction go to the Reid Family Foundation, dedicated to continuing Reid’s passion for local youth development under the guidance of Reid’s daughter, Sheri Reid Grant.

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

Exhibition scale model DMG 1904 Mercedes Simplex by Fine Art Models, 2005, 11 x 20 1/2 x 8-1/2 inches. Estimate: $4,000-$6,000. Heritage Auctions image.

Scale model M5A1 Stuart tank by Fine Art Models, 1999, 11 x 22 x 14 inches. Estimate: $3,000-$5,000. Heritage Auctions image.

Scale model 1943 Willy's Jeep with trailer and anti-tank gun by Fine Art Models, 1996, jeep dimensions: 9 x 16 x 8 inches. Estimate: $1,200-$1,800. Heritage Auctions image. — Scale model 1943 Willy’s Jeep with trailer and anti-tank gun by Fine Art Models, 1996, jeep dimensions: 9 x 16 x 8 inches. Estimate: $1,200-$1,800. Heritage Auctions image.

Scale Model battleship USS Arizona by Fine Art Models, 1995, case dimension: 14-1/2 x 42-1/2 x 11 inches. Estimate: $1,800-$2,400. Heritage Auctions image.

Scale Model freighter Edmund Fitzgerald by Fine Art Models, case dimension: 12 x 67 x 11 inches. $3,000-$5,000. Heritage Auctions image.

Philadelphia Museum of Art to display Frank Gehry renovation plan

East Terrace aerial mockup: View of the museum’s East Terrace, Rendering © Gehry Partners, LLP

PHILADELPHIA – On July 1 the Philadelphia Museum of Art will unveil the comprehensive plan that Frank Gehry has created for the renovation and expansion of its home on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The exhibition “Making a Classic Modern: Frank Gehry’s Master Plan for the Philadelphia Museum of Art” will offer a first look at a design that renews one of Philadelphia’s greatest landmarks.

The plan also reorganizes and expands the building, adding more than 169,000 square feet of space. Included in this exhibition, which will remain on view in the Dorrance Galleries until Sept. 1, will be large-scale models, site plans, sections and renderings. The project will ultimately transform the interior of one of the city’s most iconic buildings, enabling the museum to display much more of its world-renowned collection.

“Making a Classic Modern” will introduce visitors to the various ways in which Frank Gehry and his creative team have addressed the challenges and opportunities of updating this historic facility. The building is in need of substantial renovation, reorganization and expansion to meet current and future needs.

The master plan encompasses the full breadth of the museum, from the east entrance with its iconic “Rocky steps” facing Center City to the west entrance overlooking the Schuylkill River. Although he is best known for the expressive, sculptural forms of buildings such as the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, and Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Gehry has taken an approach to this project that is dramatically different and virtually unique.

Gehry’s design focuses on the transformation of the interior of the museum through the renovation of beloved spaces such as the Great Stair Hall and major improvements to how visitors will enter and move through the building. The design also calls for the creation of a significant amount of new space for expanded educational activities and the display of the museum’s extensive holdings of American, Asian and modern and contemporary art in new galleries created both within the existing building and underneath the East Terrace.

On view will be carefully detailed large-scale models, architectural drawings, photographs and videos that will enable visitors to explore the history of the building. The exhibition will also include works of art, many of which were acquired during the last decade, to demonstrate how this project can make it possible for the museum to display much more of its collection. The new galleries are among the most prominent features of Gehry’s plan.

“We began by studying the character of this wonderful building—its DNA, so to speak. It is rare to have the bones of the existing building show you the way to expand it,” said Gehry. “From there, we used the significant assets that the original architects gave us to create a strong entry sequence and circulation pattern that connects the new galleries to the existing building in a way that makes the new galleries seem like they have always been there. My goal is to make the building feel like one coherent design statement.”

Given the prominence of the museum’s main building as a landmark, minimal changes have been proposed for the exterior by Gehry Partners and OLIN, the noted Philadelphia firm specializing in landscape architecture, planning and urban design. These changes include the redesign of the plaza in front of the west entrance and the landscaping of a substantial portion of the area now used for parking on this side of the building; the integration of skylights and sunken gardens into the East Terrace to bring natural light into the new galleries that have been proposed; and the addition on the northeast and southeast corners of the building of stair enclosures that will be simple in form and clad in the same sandstone used on the exterior in order to be as unobtrusive as possible.

By contrast, many significant changes have been proposed for the interior, yielding an increase of 124,000 square feet of public space, including 78,000 square feet of gallery space throughout the building. Other changes address access and circulation through the varying “ground” levels of the facility. At present, visitors enter the museum on the first floor through the east entrance and the Great Stair Hall or on the slightly lower floor through the west entrance and Lenfest Hall. The Gehry design will open new spaces to explore, such as the Forum and new galleries under the East Terrace.

Among the interior changes are:

– The renovation of the two principal public entrance spaces in the Museum: Lenfest Hall and the Great Stair Hall.

– The creation of a new public space, or Forum, immediately below the Great Stair Hall in the center of the U-shaped museum building. The Forum will dramatically improve circulation on this floor and open up the east-west axis at the center of the building, enabling visitors to reach the new galleries and adjacent public spaces that Gehry Partners have proposed be built below the East Terrace.

– The relocation of a variety of back-office functions to add nearly 23,000 square feet of new gallery space within the existing building; the creation of a new 10,000-square-foot Education Center; and the development of new visitor amenities, including a restaurant, café, and spaces for the Museum Store.

– The creation of 55,000 square feet of new space for the presentation of special exhibitions and works from the collection in galleries underneath the East Terrace. Ranging in height from 24 to 28 feet, with a vaulted ceiling supported on slender columns, these new galleries will be among the largest and most spacious in the entire Museum. Open in plan and filled with natural light, they will provide an ideal setting for the display of modern and contemporary art.

– The reopening of a public entrance on the north side of the museum. Closed to the public since the 1970s, this monumental arched entrance adjacent to Kelly Drive will be renovated to provide access to a grand vaulted corridor – part of the original design of the building – that runs 640 feet from the north to the south side of the building. This walkway will provide access to the new galleries through a long, vaulted arcade and will intersect with the new Forum directly below the Great Stair Hall, thus providing access to the entire building for visitors entering on this level.

– A new 299-seat auditorium equipped for lectures, performances, and public events, to be located underneath the northwest terrace of the main building and directly accessible from the new public entrance facing Kelly Drive.

– The adaptation of the center portion of the top floor of the U-shaped museum building to create meeting and event spaces, and the replacement of the brick in the pediments with glass to provide dramatic views of the city and Fairmount Park.

ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE

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