NEW HAVEN, Ind. (AP) – Cabooses generally haven’t been seen as the last car of freight trains for many years. The crew members they used to house and the jobs done by those crews have been taken over by technology, said Kelly Lynch, vice president of the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society.
LAHAINA, Hawaii – Pop artist Ruby Mazur will debut his latest work, Rock-n-Roll Last Supper, a massive 5-by-12-foot oil on canvas, as part of his latest exhibit at Hawaii’s Holle Fine Art gallery at 839 Front Street in Lahaina on the island of Maui, opening on Friday, Feb. 26.
MONROVIA, Calif. – On Tuesday, March 2, John Moran’s will offer selections from the Alan Schneider Collection of American and European art glass and furnishings from the late 19th and 20th centuries featuring Tiffany Studios, Handel, Pairpoint, Daum Nancy, Majorelle and Galle among other notable makers. Bid absentee or live online through LiveAuctioneers.
MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. – Some collectors collect one type of thing they are passionate about while others have room in their hearts – and homes – for more than one collection. For decades, a Brooklyn couple collected vintage radios and phonographs, Roseville pottery, Asian porcelain, blue and white china, Gone With the Wind lamps and much more, filling their home. The kitchen was a veritable sea of whimsical and kitschy red items from cherry-red bowls to pots and even the toaster oven. Their home was chock-full of the antiques they loved, and the living room, for example, looked like a Victorian parlor on steroids with red velvet chairs and a large cathedral radio. The home was tidy and neatly organized, however, with everything in its place.
After their deaths, the couple’s collection is now going to new homes with the first grouping of highlights from their collections crossing the block at the Benefit Shop Foundation Inc. at a Red Carpet auction on Wednesday, Feb. 24, at 10 a.m. EST. The couple had so much that items are still being cataloged and their estate will spill over into a March auction here also. Absentee and Internet live bidding is available through LiveAuctioneers.
“They collected everything under the sun and never threw anything out,” said Pam Stone, owner and founder of the Benefit Shop Foundation, Inc. “You could describe this as a curated kitsch collection, featuring vintage radios from the 1920s through the 1980s.”
Radios are an iconic piece of Americana and before the age of television, families would gather around the radio to hear music and stories, the news of the day or follow their favorite sports team. Indeed, the vintage radios here come in all forms with tubes or transistors and made of different materials from Bakelite and Catalin to wood. Spanning decades and styles, radios prominently featured range from small tabletop models to larger cathedral-style models and even one that looks like a fireplace mantel. Many are from companies that once were industry leaders but are now history footnotes, such as Zephyr, Crosley, Majestic and Sentinel.
Highlights include an RCA Victor fireplace radio, having intricate wooden detail and measuring 50 by 60 by 25 inches, that comes with accessories and fireplace tools (est. $500-$1,500) and a vintage Zenith Stereophonic record player and radio console table (est. $200-$2,000) built into a cabinet, offered with several vintage records, 32¼ by 45 by 20 inches.
Radios made with Catalin are highly desirable and perhaps none are more iconic than a FADA Model 1000, which debuted in 1941, epitomizing the Art Deco streamlined design of this era. Crossing the block here will be not one but two FADA Model 1000 Bullet radios in butterscotch and red that are among the top design icons of the 20th century and highly prized by radio collectors.
Other sought after vintage radios in this auction include a Crosley 10-136E (est. $100-$600) from 1950 made of Bakelite in an ebony and gold case, 13 by 7 by 7 inches; an RCA Victor 9X572 tube radio, circa 1949, 9¾ by 12½ by 8½ inches; a Mighty Majestic Monarch of the Air shortwave radio in black Bakelite (est.$200-$500), Model 55, 8 by 10 inches, made by Majestic in 1937-39; and a Crosley American Overseas 66TC wooden tube radio ($200-$500), 1940s, 16 by 10 by 8 inches.
Artwork is a staple at the Benefit Shop Foundation. This auction boasts fine etchings, bronzes and contemporary art. On offer are two signed lithographs by Keith Haring, one depicting a figure riding a fish ($200-$800), 26/150 edition, and a limited edition litho of two dancing figures holding up a heart ($200-$600), 19/250, measures a 14½ inches square as framed.
Fine art standouts estimated at $1,000-$3,000 include two 17th century grand scale Piranesi etchings, depicting figures standing among ruins, inscribed in Latin and Italian, each 34⅛ by 43¼ inches, as well as several bronze sculptures: a signed Emmanuel Villanis bust of a woman, inscribed Iris, 21⅝ inches tall, and a signed Bill Hunt pelican sculpture, Skimming the Waves, that is 9 inches tall.
Roseville pottery was another field well collected by the Brooklyn couple and highlights feature a 15-inch Freesia floor vase (est. $100-$250), a Poppy basket vase/planter (est. $100-$200), 8½ inches wide; and a Magnolia centerpiece vase (est. $200-$500), 16½ inches high.
A late addition to the auction and still being unpacked is a collection of Lord and Taylor’s perfume bottles, all salesman samples, and animatronic puppets from the store’s window displays. These will be sprinkled into several auctions, from February through April.
Rounding out the auction will be a 2000s La D de Dior diamond watch featuring mother of pearl ($2,500-$10,000), a pair of Hazorfim Bugatti sterling candlesticks ($1,000-$2,000), 16 inches tall, and a pair of antique French mirrored wall sconces by Carlos de la Puenta ($1,000-$3,000) having two S-curved brass arms, each 18½ inches high.
For details contact the Benefit Shop Foundation at 914-864-0707.
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BEACHWOOD, Ohio – A small collection of paintings attributed to the Indian artist Purkhu of Kangra (active circa 1780-1820), two paintings by the Indian artist Badri Narayan (1929-2013), and a 17th century Shah-nameh (or Book of Kings, Iran’s central literary work) are all part of Neue Auctions’ online-only fine art and antique auction that will be held Saturday, Feb. 20. Bid absentee or live online through LiveAuctioneers.
MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. – Charleston Estate Auctions’ Feb. 28 sale contains a large group of 18th and 19th century fine Chinese antiques, fine and vintage jewelry, American and European fine art, art glass, American and English sterling silver, fine porcelain, antique American and other furniture, and sports trading cards. Included is a large group of Canton ware and other porcelain from the estate of Dr. Fraser Wilson of Charleston S.C. Bid absentee or live online through LiveAuctioneers.
LOS ANGELES – Julien’s Auctions held its Cold War Relics Auction Featuring the KGB Espionage Museum Collection on Feb. 13. The event offered nearly 500 of the rarest and most important artifacts from the U.S., Soviet Union and Cuba during the Cold War-era ever to be assembled and offered at auction. Absentee and Internet live bidding was available through LiveAuctioneers.
WILTON, Conn. – An exceptional handwritten presidential address signed by Thomas Jefferson and directed to the Cherokee Nation in 1806, a spectacular document written and signed by Albert Einstein regarding his theories on gravity and relativity, and a letter handwritten and signed by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 concerning the transportation of troops by rail during the Civil War are just a few of the expected top lots in University Archives’ online-only auction of rare manuscripts, autographs and books slated for Wednesday, March 3. Absentee and Internet live bidding is available through LiveAuctioneers.
CRANSTON, R.I. – An online-only Fine Art & Antique auction that’s loaded with 345 lots of paintings, decorative arts, fine furniture, jewelry, silver, Asian arts and collectibles, pulled from prominent estates and collections all across New England, is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 25, by Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers. The auction has a start time of 6 p.m. Eastern time. Bid absentee or live online through LiveAuctioneers.
MOUNT CRAWFORD, Va. – The Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates Winter Americana Auction contains a wide range of material and will include everything from rare advertising and holiday collectibles to country furniture and folk art. The large auction will take place over three days, Feb. 25-27. Bid absentee or live online through LiveAuctioneers.