Tom Hoepf, Author at Auction Central News

R.W. Oliver to auction 10-generation ‘time capsule’ estate Sept. 9-12

Last Will & Testament of George Washington. Image courtesy of R.W. Oliver.

KENNEBUNK, Maine – A virtual time capsule of over 2,200 items linking mid-17th century Massachusetts to the end of the Victorian Age in America will be sold at R.W. Oliver’s auction beginning Thursday, Sept. 9, with the bidding to start at 6 p.m. Eastern. LiveAuctionheers will provide Internet live bidding.

Ten generations of family history, beginning with Thomas Green (1606-1667) will cross the auction block Sept. 9-12 at the DUC Convention Center in Worcester, Mass.

Andrew Haswell Green (1820-1903) was proclaimed by his friend President Theodore Roosevelt as the “Father of Greater New York,” had been all but forgotten until most recently, when in February the City of New York announced that it had dedicated 1 1/2 acres of land upon an island on the East River and at the end of 66th Street and $4.5 million for the building of a memorial park in honor of Green.

Green’s extraordinary legacy to his adopted city is a long list of places and institutions that may never have materialized without the vision, persistence and hard work of this man who never sought any personal recognition or gain for all of his 50-plus years of public service. Were it not for Green’s ardent 30-year endeavor to bring the five boroughs together, it may not have been Greater New York City. The final charter of incorporation was signed on Green’s 80th birthday, Oct. 6, 1898.

Called one of the greatest urban acts ever proposed or accomplished, Central Park, under the direction and determination of Andrew Green, the former mostly unusable land (about 830 acres) located in the center of Manhattan was transformed into a virtual country landscape within a city.

Green’s vision was to include a cultural center within this vast area. From this idea sprang the creation of many of the finest institutions in the world: the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the American Museum of Natural History, the New York Public Library and the New York Zoological and Botanical Garden.

Green was also a founder of the Scenic and Historic Preservation Society, and was appointed the State Commissioner for Parks. He strove to develop the United States side of Niagara Falls, which he sensed would easily become commercially developed unless the state acted to save the land area as public parkland. He achieved this goal and directed the development of the area as a protected reservation alongside the great natural wonder.

Tragically, Green was murdered by a deranged assailant waiting outside his home Nov. 13, 1903.

Tuesday evening, Sept. 7, the Worcester Historical Museum will present a gala pre-auction preview of the items that will be offered for sale by Oliver’s. This event will benefit the Worcester Historical Museum and the public is invited to attend only with admission ticket.

Items to be sold have been categorized into the following six sessions: 1. toys, dolls and games; 2. Andrew H. Green collection of Tiffany silver and art glass and other decorative items; 3.Green family vintage clothing fine jewelry, early paisleys and beautiful linens; 4. Andrew memorabilia, the Presidential letters, Frederick Law Olmstead letters, family letters books and photographs; 5. rare stamps and coins; and 6. paintings, furniture, porcelain, glass.

One of the many important discoveries among the myriad family papers is a rare historical pamphlet printed in February 1800 by Isaiah Thomas. The last will and testament of Gen. George Washington was printed shortly after the Washington estate was proved (Jan. 10,1800) and the manuscript last will and testament written in Washington’s hand was recorded at the Fairfax County Courthouse, then part of the District of Columbia, on Jan. 23, 1800. In 1868 the Mount Vernon Ladies Association of Union published the first edition printed for public distribution. This publication, unlike the Isaiah Thomas printing, was presented in an emended form edited to correct the misspellings, punctuation and incomplete sentences of the original manuscript will.

The Isaiah Thomas printing of February 1800 is a virtually identical transcription of the Washington will, which remains at the Old Fairfax County Courthouse. This pamphlet is one of only 13 others known to be extant and all of which are in private institutions.

A rare crewel-work pocket book made by Mary Ruggles, a daughter of Brig. Gen. Timothy Ruggles and Bathsheba Newcomb Ruggles nee Bourne will be sold. The handsomely stitched crewel-work is inscribed “John Green 1760.” Mary Ruggles presented this to her husband, Dr. John Green, as a wedding present.

Found among the estimated 10,000-plus letters was the startling discovery of a neat bundle of autograph letters from United States presidents. The letters had been presented to Andrew Green by his friend John L. Cadwalader. The handwritten note accompanying the nine letters was dated Friday, Feb.26. Letters include two of Thomas Jefferson, one of James Madison, two of Andrew Jackson and one from Elbridge Gerry sent to James Monroe, one from Richard Rush to James Monroe. Also sent was a letter from Gen. William Washington addressed to James Monroe, Minister to the Court of St James, London. This served as a letter of introduction on behalf of his son, William Washington Jr. who was being sent to London to study law at the Temple. Of the two Thomas Jefferson letters, the earliest dated Sept. 23, 1790, was from Monticello and addressed to Col. James Monroe in Charlottesville. The second letter from Thomas Jefferson was dated Jan. 16, 1820 from Monticello and addressed to President James Monroe. The letter implicates a certain unnamed Revolutionary War general, his association as a Whig and as a Republican in 1800.

The saved family letters represent an extraordinary outpouring of thought, surprising candidness and personal observations of their world during the years between 1760 and 1903. Most of the letters are those from the family of William Elijah Green (1777-1865). Green was a prominent and respected lawyer in Worcester, well connected to a wide coterie of personal and business acquaintances. He was a businessman and one of the original incorporators of the short-lived Blackstone Canal.

The auction will offer many early daguerreotypes from the1840s and1850s of the Nathaniel Lord Thompson mansion on Summer Street and several daguerreotypes and early photographs of his family members.Also during Session IV the many early daguerreotypes and photographs of the Green family including four rare full-size daguerreotypes of the original Dr. John Green homestead of 1755 in beautiful cases. Three daguerreotypes of Andrew Green were taken in 1845, 1846-7 and 1850.

Many of the items to be auctioned during this four-day event had been packed and stored prior to the sale of Green Hill in 1905. The intention was to keep them for future family members to enjoy, however the amount of space required to house all the items became impractical. The late Julia T. Green, who was the last caretaker of the family possessions had bequeathed according to her will, the family’s painting of General Timothy Ruggles estate in Hardwick, MA, painted by Winthrop Chandler in 1770, to the Worcester Art Museum. The painting has been on loan there since 1971, and is now part of its permanent collection.

For details visit Oliver’s Web site at www.rwolivers.com or e-mail the auctioneer at rwolivers@roadrunner.com or phone 207-985-3600.

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

Inness Mount Washington painting. Image courtesy of R.W. Oliver.

Blue Washington stamp. Image courtesy of R.W. Oliver.

Circa 1865 gown. Image courtesy of R.W. Oliver.

Tiffany vase. Image courtesy of R.W. Oliver.

Presidential papers. Image courtesy of R.W. Oliver.

Andrew H. Green. Image courtesy of R.W. Oliver.

Green Hill. Image courtesy of R.W. Oliver.

North Carolina farm yields 65-carat emerald

Before being cut the North Carolina emerald rivaled this single emerald crystal from the Coscuez Mine in Columbia, which measures 1 1/2 by 1 1/2 by 1 1/4 inches. Image courtesy of Heritage Auction Galleries and LiveAuctioneers archive.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – An emerald so large it’s being compared with the crown jewels of Russian empress Catherine the Great was pulled from a pit at a North Carolina farm.

The nearly 65-carat emerald its finders are marketing by the name Carolina Emperor was pulled from a farm once so well known among treasure hunters that the owners charged $3 a day to shovel for small samples of the green stones. After the gem was cut and re-cut, the finished product was about one-fifth the weight of the original find, making it slightly larger than a U.S. quarter and about as heavy as a AA battery.

The emerald compares in size and quality to one surrounded by diamonds in a brooch once owned by Catherine the Great that Christie’s auction house in New York sold in April for $1.65 million, said C.R. “Cap” Beesley, a New York gemologist who examined the stone.

While big, uncut crystals and even notable gem-quality emeralds have come from the community 50 miles northwest of Charlotte called Hiddenite, there has never been one so big it’s worthy of an imperial treasury, Beesley said.

“It is the largest cut emerald ever to be found in North America,” Beesley said in a telephone interview from Myanmar, an Asian country rich in precious gems.

The discovery is a rarity for emeralds found not in the rich veins of South America and Asia but in North America, said Robert Simon, owner of Windsor Jewelers in Winston-Salem.

“Most of the stones that have come out have not been gem-quality that I would mount in jewelry,” said Simon, who was part owner of a 7.85-carat, dime-sized emerald found in the same community in 1998 that has since been set in jewelry and sold to a private owner.

Terry Ledford, 53, found the roughly 2-inch-square chunk rimmed with spots of iron a year ago on a 200-acre farm owned by business partner Renn Adams, 90, and his siblings. The rural community of Hiddenite is named for a paler stone that resembles emerald.

“It was so dark in color that holding it up to the sun you couldn’t even get the light to come through it,” a quality that ensured an intense green hue once the stone was cut with facets that allowed light into the gem’s core, Ledford said.

The North Carolina stone was cut to imitate the royal emerald, Ledford said. A museum and some private collectors interested in buying the emerald have been in contact, Ledford said.

Modeling an empress’s emerald is likely to have less influence on the North Carolina stone’s sale price than its clarity, color and cut, said Douglas Hucker, CEO of the American Gem Trade Association, a Dallas-based trade association for dealers in colored gems.

“A 65-carat cut emerald from North Carolina is a big, big stone,” he said. But “once an emerald is cut, it’s subject to the same type of market conditions that any emerald would be.”

Emeralds are part of North Carolina’s mineral claim to fame, though other places in the U.S. also are rich in gems. Maine mines have yielded aquamarine and amethyst, Montana bears sapphires, Idaho is known for star garnets, and Arkansas has diamonds.

It’s not fully known why small, subterranean cavities containing emeralds formed in central North Carolina, said geologist Michael Wise of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, who has studied the underground world around Hiddenite for years.

Emeralds are produced where a superheated fluid carrying the element beryllium migrated through rocks that contain chromium, Wise said.

“This doesn’t happen frequently,” Wise said. “The conditions have to be just right to make an emerald. … It happens to be the case at this particular place.”

Adams said decades ago when his parents owned the farm, they allowed anyone with a shovel to dig for emeralds on the property for $3 a day. Virtually all of it was too full of flaws to be cut into precious stones and was mostly sold to mineral collectors, Adams said.

Ledford said they don’t plan to quit after pocketing the profits from their big find.

“We’ll definitely keep on mining,” he said. “It would be good to know you don’t have to go and could do it for pleasure. You feel like you’ve got to find something to survive but since we found this emerald, once we get it sold, there will be less stress.”

AP-CS-08-30-10 1749EDT

Rare Western photo archive rounded up for Cowan’s sale Sept. 10

Karl Bodmer engraving titled ‘Mato-Tope’ (est. $12,000-$15,000). Image courtesy of Cowan’s Auctions Inc.

CINCINNATI – A rare collection of important Sharp/Hauser Western photograph albums will be offered in Cowan’s Sept. 10 American Indian and Western Art Auction. The 514-lot sale will feature works by Western artists such as Carl Bodmer and Eanger Couse and will include consignments from the Fraser-Douglass collection of American Indian Art. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding.

The leather-bound Sharp/Hauser albums titled Sioux and Apache and Pueblos of New Mexico, estimated to sell for $15,000-$25,000, is the first substantial group of visual material to help shed light on the life of Cincinnati artist John Hauser, a prolific artist of the American West. Until recently, Hauser has been an obscure figure in the Western Art genre, often in the shadow of Joseph Henry Sharp and Henry Farny – powerhouses within the field.

“From the little documentation we have regarding Sharp and Hauser’s journey to the Southwest in 1893, the evidence is compelling that the albums presented here document a part, or all, of this trip, at least from John Hauser’s perspective,” said Wes Cowan.

Cowan’s will offer a collection of engravings by Karl Bodmer that are expected to inspire competitive bidding. The first, titled Noapeh and Psihdja-Sahpa is estimated to sell for $3,000-$5,000. Two others, titled Missouri Indianer, Oto Indianer and Chef der Puncas, are also both estimated to sell for $3,000-$5,000. Even more rare, an engraving with its original coloring, titled Mato-Tope is expected to bring $12,000-$15,000.

Graydon Sikes, director of Paintings at Cowan’s said, “Bodmer was Swiss, and he was the first person along with an American artist named George Catlin to travel up the Missouri river. During the 1830s journey, he painted pictures of American Indian tribes, many whose numbers were diminishing. Bodmer and Catlin’s works were later made into etchings and prints.”

A painting by Eanger Irving Couse, titled Whitman Massacre is estimated to sell for $20,000-$30,000.

“Couse was one of the foremost painters of the Taos society of artists in the early 20th century,” Sikes said.

A pair of Kiowa beaded hide boot moccasins and a Sioux beaded hide cradle, both fourth-quarter 19th century, from the Fraser-Douglass collection, are estimated to sell for $6,000-$8,000 respectively. Fraser-Douglass had a lifetime interest in American Indian Art and taught classes on Native American art and design at the University of Cincinnati. His knowledge on the material allowed him to appraise the collections at the Cincinnati Art Museum and Museum of Natural History.

Eastern Woodlands carved burl pieces are also highlights of the auction. Effigy ladles are a core element in the Woodlands woodworking tradition and exemplify the quiet sophistication that defines their most successful works. An Iroquois figural burl feast ladle is estimated to bring $15,000-$25,000. Personal ladles exhibiting representational and abstract effigies are relatively scarce; feast ladles are exceptionally so.

Danica Farnand, director of American Indian Art at Cowan’s noted, “The burl pieces are early and the ladle is extremely large. They are ethnographic pieces and the woodworking tradition of the Eastern Woodlands style is a true art form in itself.”

A monumental Western mono basket, 12 inches in height and 28 inches in diameter, is estimated to sell for $40,000-$60,000. This impressive basket, woven of deer grass, sedge root and bracken fern root was published in Otis Tufton Mason’s Aboriginal Indian Basketry, Bureau of American Ethnology Report for the year 1902 and George Wharton James’ Indian Basketry, 1903.

“This basket has great provenance. It is fairly rare to have that kind of documented history with an item like this,” said Farnand.

An early Navajo classic serape with great color is expected to bring anywhere from $10,000 to $12,000. The serape is handspun from woven wool in natural white and indigo blue.

Three Sioux carved smoking pipes should also gather interest in the auction. A Sioux catlinite pipe with Sitting Bull provenance is estimated to sell for $1,500-$2,000. A Sioux pipe stem and catlinite bowl is expected to bring $5,000-$7,000 and a Sioux carved puzzle pipe with catlinite bowl is also estimated to sell for $1,500-$2,000.

An Eastern Plains gunstock club is estimated to bring $20,000-$25,000. The club is delicately carved with a serrated butt and a gracefully carved stock.

To learn more about Cowan’s visit the Web site www.cowans.com or call 513-871-1670.

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

Sioux pipe stem and catlinite bowl (est. $5,000-$7,000). Image courtesy of Cowan’s Auctions Inc.

Iroquois figural burl feast ladle (est. $15,000-$20,000). Image courtesy of Cowan’s Auctions Inc.

Monumental Western mono basket (est. $40,000-$60,000). Image courtesy of Cowan’s Auctions Inc.

Sioux beaded hide cradle (est. $6,000-$8,000). Image courtesy of Cowan’s Auctions Inc.

Eanger Irving Couse, ‘Whitman Massacre,’ oil on panel (est. $20,000-$30,000). Image courtesy of Cowan’s Auctions Inc.

Eastern Plains gunstock club (est. $20,000-$25,000). Image courtesy of Cowan’s Auctions Inc.

Navajo classic serape (est. $10,000-$12,000). Image courtesy of Cowan’s Auctions Inc.

Cowan’s Corner: Inside track for Outsider Art

Popeye Reed sandstone Indian bust, sold for $823 at Cowan’s Auctions in May. Image courtesy Cowan’s Auctions Inc.

If you are looking for an attention-grabbing, unusual and unique field to collect, Outsider Art might be just what you are seeking. First coined after World War II, Art Brut or “rough art” was the term used to define art created by those with mental disorders, in solitude and from pure creative impulses, with no interference of social concerns. Over time the definition has broadened, with artists who are outside the tradition of academic art falling under the umbrella of Outsider Art. The genre is characterized by highly original works made by individuals whose inspiration comes from personal experiences rather than formal training. Outsider Art is also referred to as 20th-century folk art, contemporary folk art or self-taught art.

Outsider Art is almost exclusively comprised of sculpture and paintings. Though traditional art mediums such as oil paint, watercolor, canvas, wood and stone are used, much of this art is not created in traditional ways. Artists use found or easily accessible materials such as plastic, cardboard, discarded wood or metal, organic materials such as tree roots and mud, combined with house paint, plaster, or colored marker pens. All can be sources of inspiration and tools for the artists’ creations.

The genre has grown in popularity over the last 40 years, with the works of recognized masters such as William Edmondson, Martin Ramirez, Howard Finster, Sam Doyle and Bill Traylor commanding prices in the thousands. Important public and private collections house pieces by these artists and others, and as such, collectors should be prepared to pay accordingly. Sources known to handle these works, such as collectors, dealers and auction houses, should be consulted when pieces become available for sale. However, this is an exciting field in that despite its popularity, Outsider Art is still available and affordable for just a few hundred dollars.

The key to collecting is study and patience. “Honing the eye,” by viewing works first-hand in museum collections, exhibitions and galleries, is just as important as reading one of the many books written about the field. Having a passion for what you buy and buying the best quality you can afford make collecting a fulfilling experience. Many of these works can be colorful, textural, bold, interesting and mysterious; in some cases this can describe a single piece. Outsider Art will show you many one-of-a-kind perspectives on the world, and the adventures you have while seeking pieces and learning about artists will produce priceless memories.

Wes Cowan is founder and owner of Cowan’s Auctions Inc. in Cincinnati, Ohio. An internationally recognized expert in historic Americana, Wes stars in the PBS television series History Detectives and is a featured appraiser on Antiques Roadshow. He can be reached via email at info@cowans.com. Research by Roxanne Argenbright.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Charlie Willeto rare animal carving, estimated to sell for $2,300-$2,500 in October. Image courtesy Cowan’s Auctions Inc.

Painting by Richard Burnside, estimated to sell for $100-$200 in October. Image courtesy Cowan’s Auctions Inc.

‘Timberwolf’ by Levant Isik, estimated to bring $100-$200 in October. Image courtesy Cowan’s Auctions Inc.

‘Find the Missing Man’ diorama in a bottle, sold for $1,725 at Cowan’s in March 2008. Image courtesy Cowan’s Auctions Inc.

Michaan’s closes 3rd quarter with art and antiques for all Sept. 5

Room-size Navajo rug, wool, 80 inches by 144 inches. Estimate: $4,000-$6,000. Image courtesy of Michaan’s Auctions.

ALAMEDA, Calif. – Michaan’s Sept. 5 auction will offer over 800 lots of fine property from a myriad of estates and private collections throughout the United States. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding. The auction will begin at 10 a.m. Pacific.

This sale will feature diamond and colored gemstones from the early 20th century; Chinese and Japanese works, including a strong selection of jade carvings; a collection of Baroque and Renaissance Revival furniture; contemporary art glass, including Baccarat and Lalique; hand-woven Navajo rugs; fine paintings and works on paper.

Highlights include lot 103: an Oromalia diamond 18K yellow gold bracelet, (estimate: $4,000-$7,000); lot 118: a carved green beryl, diamond, ruby, 18K yellow gold bird brooch, (estimate: $1,500-$2,000); lot 217: ladies Tiffany & Co. 18K yellow gold wristwatch, (estimate: $1,800-$2,500); lot 288: four jade figural carvings, (Estimate: $300-$500); lot 353: a Satsuma bowl with sterling base, (estimate: $300-$400); lot 417: Louis XV-style gilt bronze zebrawood two-tiered side table, (estimate: $3,000-$4,000); lot 419: Louis XV-style gilt bronze marble oval coffee table with goat masks, early 20th century, (estimate: $2,500-$3,500); lot 484: 10 Baccarat France crystal Montaigne Optic wine glasses, (estimate: $300-$400); lot 707, Dutch School (16th-17th century) winter scene, (estimate: $500-$800); lot 754: and a Carl Everton Moon (American, 1879-1948), sepia tone photo, Lolita, with Fred Harvey stamp, 1908, (estimate: $500-$800).

Michaan’s monthly estate auctions are mid-range sales offering affordable quality art and antiques. These exciting auctions have been a resource for beginning and established collectors, interior designers, dealers and savvy buyers in search of unique property to decorate a room or an entire home.

For details call Michaan’s Auctions at 800-380-9822 or 510-740-0220.

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

Amethyst, 14K yellow gold necklace. Estimate: $375-$500. Image courtesy of Michaan’s Auctions.

Art Deco Frank Whiting sterling wedding basket, #9363. Estimate: $800-$1,200. Image courtesy of Michaan’s Auctions.

Two Lalique France perfume bottles: Tresor and L’Air du Temps. Estimate: $600-$800. Image courtesy of Michaan’s Auctions.

Hal Bayard Runyon (American, 1907 – 1933) lifetime portrait of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Hollywood. Oil on board, circa 1930. Estimate: $500-$1,000. Image courtesy of Michaan’s Auctions.

Solidarity banner to be sold at Signature House auction Sept. 4-5

Abraham Lincoln, signed diplomatic treaty between the United States and Salvador, which will sell Sunday. Image courtesy of Signature House.

UPLAND, Calif. – Signature House will launch its fall offering of over 1,300 lots in 16 main categories of autographs, documents, books, art and related collectibles on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 4-5. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.

“We have a wide-ranging and exciting offering this season with a number of highly desirable notables, as well as more specialized selections for those looking for that special piece to enhance their personal collection,” said auctioneer Gil Griggs.

The Judeo-Christian & Antiquities section begins the first day and features signatures from Mother Teresa, Pius XIII, Pope Paul VI and Cardinal Richard Cushing; signed documents from Pope Clement XI, Pope Leo XII and Charles Spurgeon; plus artifacts from St. Vincent De Paul and a sterling Torah pointer.

Samuel Adam’s signature is in the Colonial section, as well as documents from other signers of the Declaration of Independence including Elbridge Gerry, William Heath, Samuel Huntington and an early printing from Benjamin Franklin. The Americana section includes a wide variety of autographs from Geronimo, Red Jacket, Buffalo Bill Cody, Annie Oakley and a complete set of Lewis & Clark journals – a scarce and desirable collection. Signature House will also offer a number of items from both sides of the Civil War: Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, James Longstreet, George McClellan, Philip Sheridan and William Tecumseh Sherman. Also offered are rare medals, photographs and an identified Confederate Remington revolver.

A large Military category is marked by numerous photos, paintings, posters, books, models, documents and relics starting with a rare personal wax seal impression from Napolean. Also included is a secret military conference pass signed by Hap Arnold, a letter from Douglas MacArthur, and heartwarming personal mail from World War II soldiers. Also offered is a large assortment of Axis and Vietnam collectibles.

One of our premier pieces in this auction is the original historic Solidarity Banner from Gdansk, which can be found in Signature House’s Heads of State category. This banner represents the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe, and has been signed by world leaders at the time, including Lech Walesa, Mikhail Gorbachev, George H.W. Bush and Pope John Paul II, and is accompanied by photos and documentation.

Concluding the first session on Saturday will be items from Jurists & Politicians, Science & Technology, and Aviators & Explorers categories. Featured collectibles from these groups include Albert Einstein’s autograph, Thomas Edison letters, Kennedy family memorabilia, Orville Wright’s signature, and a large collection of Charles Lindbergh’s letters, books and photos.

Session 2 on Sunday commences with a superb George Washington financial document, a document with a short note signed by John Adams, a beautifully framed Abraham Lincoln signed document and rare campaign tintype pin and Ronald Reagan’s last public letter while suffering the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

A beautiful autographed book plate from Pablo Picasso starts the Artists section, which also includes items from Maxfield Parrish, Walt Disney and Gutzon Borglum, the sculpor of Mount Rushmore. Enrico Caruso and John Philip Sousa highlight the Composers & Classical Perfomers category, while the Literature section includes such notables as Ernest Hemingway, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Raymond Chandler, Harper Lee and Oscar Wilde.

The Celebrities collection runs the gamot from business leaders to scoundrels, and includes notables such as Walter Chrysler, William and James Fargo, Jay Cooke, as well as Dr. Jack Kevorkian and O.J.Simpson. They will be followed closely by a larger assortment of Entertainment stars of stage and screen – featuring autographs by James Dean, John Lennon, Marlon Brando, Elvis Presley, and the Three Stooges.

The auction will conclude with items from the Sports category, including autographs from players such as Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Mickey Mantle, Muhammad Ali.

The sale begins at 9 a.m. Pacific on Saturday, Sept. 4, (lots 1-531) and Sunday, Sept. 5 (lots 532-1332).

For details call Signature House at (909) 243-9541 or email editor@SignatureHouse.net. View the full- color illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

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

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Solidarity banner, marking the end of Communism and signed by world leaders involved. Image courtesy of Signature House.

Francis II, King of France, document urging speedy justice and accord in Metz. Image courtesy of Signature House.

George Washington, endorsed receipt for gunpowder dated May 21, 1787. Image courtesy of Signature House.

Ronald Reagan, last public letter announcing the onset of Alzheimer's. Image courtesy of Signature House. — Ronald Reagan, last public letter announcing the onset of Alzheimer’s. Image courtesy of Signature House.

Ernest Hemingway, signed copy of ‘A Farewell To Arms,’ circa 1937. Image courtesy of Signature House.

John Lennon, signed Beatles fan club photograph from 1971. Image courtesy of Signature House.

Babe Ruth, darkly penciled signature, circa 1939. Image courtesy of Signature House.

Uniques & Antiques continues tradition in modern design Aug. 31

Albert Wein bronze sculpture, Seraphim as Sentinels, on marble base, signed and numbered '1/6,' 19 1/4 inches high, 11 inches wide, 11 1/2 inches deep. Estimate: $1,000-$1,5000. Image courtesy of Uniques & Antiques Inc.

ASTON, Pa. – Uniques & Antiques Inc. has been conducting modern design sales for 20 years – “Back before the craze,” said co-owner Timothy Aikens. The auction company’s sale Tuesday, Aug. 31, will have a good cross section in 451 lots. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern.

Highlights include an op art Eileen Grey-style folding screen made of metallic painted wood, nine sections of cutout circles and squares, (estimate: $1,000-$1,500); an Ernst Schwadron sofa, rust and gold upholstery, (estimate: $1,200-$1,500); and a Florence Knoll rosewood dining/conference table, 78 inches long by 48 inches wide, (estimate: $1,000-$1,500).

Preauction bidding has been active for an Arredoluce Arteluce Triennale floor lamp with three white cone shades on a tripod chrome base. Marked “Made in Italy Arredoluce Monz,” the 71-inch-tall lamp has a $1,000-$1,500 estimate.

Early bidding through LiveAuctioneers has also been active for several lots of Eames rope edge Fiberglas shell chairs with Zenith labels.

For details call Uniques & Antiques at 800-449-0707 or 610-485-7400.

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

Franco Albini desk for Knoll, X Form legs, glass top with two drawers, tag in drawer, 28 inches high, 48 inches wide, 26 inches deep. Estimate: $1,600-$2,000. Image courtesy of Uniques and Antiques Inc.

Eames rosewood lounge chair and ottoman, black leather upholstery, Style #670, purchased in 1970s. Condition: cigarette burn on chair seat and a scratch to one side of ottoman. Estimate: $1,500-$2,500. Image courtesy of Uniques and Antiques Inc.

C.I.A. Manna Torino Lenci Nel Palmeto ceramic sculpture. Worked for Lenci Ceramic Studios in Torino, Italy. Includes original custom-made lamp base and shade made by Marbro, 24 inches high, excellent condition. Estimate: $600-$1,000. Image courtesy of Uniques & Antiques Inc.

Clowes Woodworking Studio cheval mirror, adjustable on flared wood base, shaped mirror frame, 71 inches high, 23 inches wide, 22 1/2 inches deep. Estimate: $600-$800. Image courtesy of Uniques & Antiques Inc.

Kovels – Antiques & Collecting: Week of Aug. 30, 2010

A duck with a fish in its mouth is the handle on the lid of this majolica sardine box by George Jones, a famous English potter. Although repaired, it sold for $950 at a Michael Strawser majolica auction in Wolcottville, Ind.

The foods we favor have changed as technology has improved. A method of preserving food in glass containers was developed in the late 17th century. Canned food became available by 1813. Fresh salads were not a winter food until the early 1900s, when refrigerated train cars could carry lettuce from California to the East Coast. Peas, beans, corn and more were brought to snowy states during winter months after Clarence Birdseye developed frozen food in 1923.

Sardines kept in brine or oil were popular rarities by the 15th century. Canned sardines were exotic, expensive delicacies served as a soup course at dinner parties as late as the 1860s. Maine sardines were canned by the 1870s. Collectors can find special rectangular covered dishes that were made to hold sardines in the can at a Victorian dinner party. Majolica, glass, silver and porcelain sardine dishes were made. There were also special sardine forks and tongs. By the 1900s, sardines were commonplace and were served as snacks or portable lunches at saloons. Today it is hard to imagine that sardines were once eaten only by the wealthy.

Q: I have a countertop painted tin pantry that includes a clock, several towers with lids, several drawers and a few bins. It is marked “Portable Pantry Company, Cincinnati, Ohio.” Do you know how it was used?

A: You have a kitchen storage unit that was popular in the 1890s but lost favor when kitchens became larger and storage was offered in wall cabinets or large worktables with storage above. The towers held and dispensed flour and perhaps rice. The small drawers held spices, and the bins held bread products. By the early 1900s, the “Hoosier cabinet” was the popular choice for kitchen storage and workspace. An early version was a wooden table with an enameled top used as a work surface. It also had an arrangement of bins, towers and drawers to keep cooking materials organized. Painted tin pantries like yours were made by several companies. They sell for $200 to $500, depending on condition and decoration.

Q: An old friend gave me a porcelain bowl that belonged to her parents. She always called it a “berry bowl.” The bottom is marked with a stylized bird and “MZ Austria” and also with “H & C” inside a crown between the words “Imperial” and “Carlsbad.” Please tell me what a berry bowl is, who made my bowl and when it was made.

A: Berry bowls are small bowls, 3 to 4 inches in diameter, that came in a set with a “master” berry bowl. Most antique sets were made with four or six small bowls. Berries or mixed fruits were served from the big bowl into the smaller bowls. Your bowl was made at a factory owned by Moritz Zdekauer in Altrohlau, Bohemia (now Stara Role, Czech Republic), in about 1909-10. The second mark was used by Hamburger & Co., a New York City importing company in business during the first decade of the 20th century. Many American importers bought porcelain from Europe and then added their own mark to each piece.

Q: We have a small nickel-plated cast-iron stove that’s just 17 1/2 inches high, 23 inches wide and 9 inches deep. The oven door is embossed with the word “Globe,” the shelf on the lower left side is labeled “Globe Range,” and the back is embossed “Kenton Brand.” Except for the six-burner cooking surface and the back, the stove is covered with a vine-like interwoven pattern. We have four cooking utensils and the lid handle that can be used for shaking the grate. The stove was owned by my aunt, born in 1915, who said that her father bought it for her when she was a little girl. Was it manufactured about that time? Is it considered a salesman’s sample or a child’s toy? And what do you think it would sell for?

A: You have a great toy, made by a toy company and meant to be used by a child. Kenton Hardware Co. of Kenton, Ohio, was founded in 1890 and started manufacturing cast-iron toys in 1894. Its toy stoves were introduced in about 1900 and continued to be produced into the 1920s. Your aunt may have received it new as a 5-year-old. Kenton made toy stoves in both a child size, like yours, and in a smaller doll size. They could burn coal, too, so a child could bake a biscuit while her mother made a batch alongside her. That wouldn’t be considered safe today. A stove identical to yours, but without the set of pots and pans, auctioned for just under $2,000 in 2003.

Q: In 1940 my father bought an electric table lamp at a secondhand store. The base is metal and heavy. The shade is made of heavy paper decorated with a ship scene. The lamp has three candle bulbs with separate pull chains. The underside of the base is marked “Pat. App. For, Rembrandt, R8136” I am going to get the lamp rewired and wonder how old it is and what it’s worth.

A: Rembrandt Lamp Corp. was in business in Chicago from at least the 1920s into the 1970s. It later became a division of the Harris Marcus Group. Your lamp probably dates from the 1940s or ’50s. If the shade is in perfect condition, the lamp could sell for more than $100.

Tip: Don’t leave the door of an empty cabinet or bookcase open. The weight may be enough to tip it over.

Terry Kovel answers as many questions as possible through 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 e-mail addresses will not be published. We cannot guarantee the return of any photograph, but if a stamped envelope is included, we will try. The volume 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.

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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.

Mocha-Java Coffee tin, trademark image of chef carrying tray, yellow ground with brown trim, Weideman Co., Cleveland, 3 pounds., 9 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches, $180.

Legras art glass vase, tapered, purple leaves and fruit on textured lavender-amber ground, signed, France, 7 3/4 inches, $230.

Victorian three-tier wire plant stand, semicircular, painted black, scrolling edges, arched skirt, casters, circa 1870, 40 x 42 x 26 inches, $235.

Madame Alexander Kelly doll, hard plastic, Lissy face, rosy cheeks, blue sleep eyes, earrings, blond wig, pink taffeta dress with pinafore, straw hat, 1959, 11 1/2 inches, $345.

Royal Berlin portrait plate, bust of woman with blue headband, surrounded by scrolls and urns, gilt Greek key border, paper label, 9 3/4 inches, $750.

Coin silver goblet, repousse and engraved grape and vine design, twig and bead rim, William Garret Forbes mark, New York, 1773-1830, 6 1/2 inches, $775.

Gee’s Bend quilt, Alabama, cotton, four concentric circles, multiple folded triangles of pink, blue, red and white, black center, early 1900s, 82 x 69 inches, $1,290.

Kentucky sideboard, mahogany, open gallery, three aligned drawers above four paneled cupboard doors, twisted turned columns, ball-turned legs, pear feet, circa 1820, 56 x 77 inches, $1,115.

Masonic high-back chair, globe finials, applied emblem on angular crest, black leather upholstery, U.S.A., circa 1900, 76 inches, $3,055.

Toy Chevrolet sedan, tin, friction, red with yellow top, two doors, New York license plates, Marusan, Linemar, 1954, 11 1/2 inches, $4,600.

A special report from Kovels: Numbers You Need to Know. We have put together a handy report on lists of numbers, dates, facts and clues to the age of your antiques and collectibles. Included are the English Registry Marks on dishes; a U.S. patent design and trademark date identifier; U.S., English and Canadian patent numbers; inflation value chart, furniture periods; government labeling regulations that indicate age; silver price chart; dinnerware shapes and sizes; famous firsts; and lots of other dating clues. The 36-page report is available only from Kovels. Order by phone at 800-571-1555; online at Kovels.com; or send $25 plus $4.95 postage and handling to Kovels, P.O. Box 22900, Beachwood, OH 44122.

PBA Galleries has Beer, Food & Wine book auction on tap Sept. 2

Frederick Accum's ‘Treatise on the Art of Brewing … ’ has a hand-colored copper engraved frontispiece and illustrated title page. The first edition was published in London in 1820. It has a $1,500-$2,000 estimate. Image courtesy of PBA Galleries.

SAN FRANCISCO – PBA Galleries will sell a fine collection of nearly 230 lots of rare books on beer, wine and food at auction on Thursday, Sept. 2, beginning at 1 p.m. Pacific. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding.

The auction, titled Beer, Wine & Food: The Marlene & Doug Calhoun Gastronomical Library, is highlighted by a fine selection of books on beer and brewing from the 17th through 20th centuries. It formed the core of books for a bibliography on beer that Doug Calhoun has written. Also included are significant works on viticulture, food, cookery and domestic economy.

The Calhouns have dealt in old and rare books for over 50 years. While selling at book fairs in England and Scotland, they enjoyed old taverns, pubs and the local beers. It was there Doug Calhoun decided to collect early books on brewing. Marlene Calhoun chose to collect cookbooks.

“It is entirely possible that many of the books in this auction may not appear for sale again,” writes Doug Calhoun in the sale catalog.

Leading lots include Cerevisiarii Comes by William Y-Worth, 1692, a rare early English treatise on the art of brewing (Estimate: $5,000/8,000); Abby Fisher’s Old Southern Cooking, 1881, first edition of the second cook book authored by an African American (Estimate: $7,000/10,000); an archive of account ledgers and other items pertaining to James Alexander’s breweries in Oswego and Geneva, N.Y., in the mid-19th century (Estimate: $5,000/8,000); The Practical Distiller by Samuel M’Harry, published in Harrisburg, Pa., in 1809, one of the earliest American distilling manuals (Estimate: $3,000/5,000); and Edward Barry’s Observations…on the Wines of the Ancients, 1775, a classic text on the history of wine-making through all ages (Estimate: $1,500/2,500).

For details contact PBA Galleries at 415-989-2665.

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

Henderson Lithographing Co., Cincinnati, printed this striking bird's-eye-view of the Centlivre Brewing Co. in Fort Wayne, Ind. The framed lithograph, 24 inches by 37 inches, carries a $500-$800 estimate. Image courtesy of PBA Galleries. — Henderson Lithographing Co., Cincinnati, printed this striking bird’s-eye-view of the Centlivre Brewing Co. in Fort Wayne, Ind. The framed lithograph, 24 inches by 37 inches, carries a $500-$800 estimate. Image courtesy of PBA Galleries.

This original French advertising poster for Diege Gentiane is mounted on linen and measures 47 inches by 31 inches. The circa 1930 poster is estimated at $800-$1,200. Image courtesy of PBA Galleries.

Sir Edward Barry’s ‘Observations … on the Wines of the Ancients and the Analogy Between Them and Modern Wines’ contains an engraved frontispiece. This first edition published in London in 1775 has a $1,500-$2,500 estimate. Image courtesy of PBA Galleries.

The ‘New and True Art of Brewing’ by Y-Worth was published in London in 1692. This rare early work on brewing carries a $5,000-$8,000 estimate. Image courtesy of PBA Galleries.

University of Mich. mounts exhibition Whistler’s mother would love

‘Arrangement in Gray: Portrait of the Painter’ (self portrait, circa 1872), Detroit Institute of Arts. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) – An exhibition of more than 100 prints by James McNeill Whistler at the University of Michigan Museum of Art is the largest collection of the 19th-century American artist’s work to be displayed there in more than 15 years.

Now best known for his iconic painting popularly known as Whistler’s Mother, the artist’s etchings and lithographs drew him renown during his lifetime. The three-month show spans Whistler’s career, and includes prints of scenes from London’s port and Venice’s canals, as well as intimate portraits of family members and himself.

“The themes, effects that he’s moving towards in painting are finding their way into print,” said museum curator Carole McNamara. “His prints, of course, were popular … before the paintings really caught on.”

Stanley Weintraub, the author of 1974’s Whistler: A Biography, noted that the artist had a two-sided career: His prints were commercially accessible while he lived, but relatively few of his paintings were marketable.

“They were among the masterpieces of the time,” Weintraub said of Whistler’s prints.

On Beauty and the Everyday: The Prints of James McNeill Whistler opened Saturday and runs through Nov. 28. Most of the works – and most of the Ann Arbor museum’s Whistler holdings – came from Margaret Watson Parker, whose 1936 bequest to the museum included Whistler’s prints and an extensive Asian art collection.

“She was really quite astute in what she collected,” McNamara said. “A lot of what she collected hinged really around her interest in Whistler.”

That interest brought her in contact with Charles Lang Freer, a Detroit industrialist and the founder of the Smithsonian Institution’s Freer Gallery of Art, which claims the world’s greatest collection of Whistler’s work. Freer collected the work of Americans including Whistler and later expanded his collection to Asian art.

Whistler, who was born in Lowell, Mass., left for Europe when he was 21 and spent the rest of his life there.

Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 1 – also known as Whistler’s Mother – is owned by the Musee d’Orsay in Paris. It was displayed at the Detroit Institute of Arts as part of a Whistler show in 2004.

Parker began collecting Whistler’s works before his death in 1903 and bought collections that became available afterward, McNamara said. The University of Michigan Museum of Art’s Whistler collection includes nearly 200 works by the artist, but they’re rarely shown in large numbers because of their susceptibility to damage from light exposure.

In 1994, the Whistler display at the museum included about 80 highlights. This time, the exhibition is more extensive – filling a large second-floor gallery that was renovated as part of the museum’s $41.9 million expansion and renovation.

“This is exactly the kind of space that Whistler would have loved to have his work shown in,” McNamara said.

___

If You Go …

University of Michigan Museum of Art: 525 S. State St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109; http://www.umma.umich.edu or 734-764-0395. Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, noon-5 p.m.; closed Mondays. Admission is free; $5 suggested donation.

AP-WS-08-25-10 1204EDT

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