2012 Midwest Antiques Forum in Cincinnati

March 15, 2012 in Auctions & Events, Miscellaneous Antiques by admin | No comments

We’re so excited about the second Midwest Antiques Forum, to be held in Cincinnati, Ohio May 4-6, 2012! We have a great lineup of speakers, including Wes Cowan, who will be talking about the amazing sand bottles of Andrew Clemens, and Ian Simmonds, who will speak on the wonders of Midwestern glass. I can’t even begin to do the slate of speakers justice here, so visit www.midwestantiquesforum.com and see what we have planned. You can also find our complete schedule there with speakers and panelists, along with information about accommodations at Cincinnati’s Airport Marriott, which is the forum’s home base this year. More importantly, you’ll find registration forms and you’ll want to register now to save – $245 for early registration!

Also, if you’re an appraiser, remember that we’re offering continuing education credits to members of ISA, ASA, and AAA. It will be a great time to connect and learn along with your colleagues.

If you’ve got questions send an e-mail to info@midwestantiquesforum.com or give us a call at the Prices4Antiques office at 937.426.7573. Can’t wait to have so many wonderful scholars in the same room discussing Midwestern decorative arts, so please make sure you join us!

-Hollie Davis, Senior Editor, p4A.com

National Treasure: A John Townsend High Chest

February 22, 2012 in Auctions & Events, Furniture by admin | No comments

1756 John Townsend highboy

1756 John Townsend high chest of drawers

Normally, I don’t use this space to write extensively about “traditional” antiques, preferring instead to steer away from the stereotype of expensive old furniture, which people can and do safely assume that we have, in order to highlight the diversity of the objects we cover, which aren’t nearly as obvious. But every now and then a piece of furniture that is so quintessentially representative of the modern antiques market comes along and I would be remiss not to share it. That’s the case with the 1756 Newport, Rhode Island high chest of drawers by John Townsend that sold last month at Sotheby’s New York. It fetched a staggering $3.5 million, which, by the way, is not the world record price for a piece of American furniture sold at auction, although that distinction belongs to the Townsend-Goddard school of craftsmen as well.

Of course, people often wonder why anyone would pay such a price for a piece. A look at the auction cataloguing on the record helps explain. (I really encourage anyone reading to just take a moment to click through and look at the breadth and depth of the description – it highlights not only the extensive research that is done by auction houses when an object warrants it, but also how much information is mined from careful examination of an object.) This piece is special for a number of reasons. First, it’s from the workshops of the Townsend-Goddard families, an 18th-century furniture-making dynasty that is widely considered to be the makers of the finest furniture ever made in America, and possibly of some of the finest furniture ever made in the world, in terms of craftsmanship, attention to details, and proportions.

A detailed view of the two proper right cabriole legs on this high chest terminating in carved ball and claw feet with open talons

A detailed view of the two proper right cabriole legs on this high chest terminating in carved ball and claw feet with open talons

Also, it’s one of only five pieces known that is signed by John Townsend. Then there’s the fact that we have the provenance, the chain of ownership, all the way back to 1756, which is an incredible history in its own right. The high chest also exhibits a number of the key features associated with the Townsend-Goddard school, including the carved shell and “open talons” on the ball-and-claw feet, pictured above. (“Open talons” mean that the foot, carved from a solid piece of wood, has toes that are so delineated that they have openings or gaps between them and the ball of the foot – it’s a delicate detail that shows an incredible level of attention to decoration and skill.) For these reasons, among others, this piece truly is an American masterpiece, an American treasure.

-Hollie Davis, Senior Editor, p4A.com

Reference & Further Recommended Reading:

To search the Prices4Antiques antiques reference database for valuation information on hundreds of thousands of antiques and fine art visit our homepage www.prices4antiques.com

Presidential Campaign Pinback Buttons

February 17, 2012 in Ephemera by admin | No comments

James Cox & Franklin Roosevelt jugate button rarity from the 1920 presidential campaign

James Cox & Franklin Roosevelt jugate button rarity from the 1920 presidential campaign

Presidential campaign and political memorabilia comes in a variety of shapes and sizes, but few items are as popular as presidential campaign pinbacks.

The History of Campaign Buttons and Badges
The first campaign buttons may be from around 1824 in the form of medals. These metal discs had holes punched in the top, and were worn on a string around the neck. In 1860, the invention of the tintype made Abraham Lincoln campaign badges possible.

During the 1896 race between William McKinley and William Jennings Bryan, celluloid buttons made their first appearance. These pin back buttons consisted of photographs and slogans printed on paper and covered with a thin layer of clear celluloid whish was held in place with a metal ring. The year 1916 saw the introduction of the tin lithographed button. This type of button was made by printing an image directly on a piece of tin and stamping out the circular form.

Most Collectible Presidential Buttons
Values for campaign buttons and Badges range from a few dollars to a few thousand dollars, based upon age and condition, popularity of the President, and the historical importance of the election. According to Ted Hake, renowned collector of political memorabilia, and founder of Hake’s Americana & Collectibles Auction, the most collectible U.S.

Presidents include:
Abraham Lincoln
Theodore Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Harry Truman
John Kennedy
Ronald Reagan
Richard Nixon

Reproduction Political Buttons
Many, many campaign buttons have been reproduced over the years, and since tin lithography and printing techniques haven’t changed that much in terms of the appearance of the finished products, both sellers and buyers should be wary of spending or expecting large sums for buttons unless their provenance can be verified.

-By p4A Contributing Editor Susan Cramer.

Reference & Further Recommended Reading:

To search the Prices4Antiques antiques reference database for valuation information on hundreds of thousands of antiques and fine art visit our homepage www.prices4antiques.com

Antiques of the Week: Lamps

February 10, 2012 in Antiques of the Week, Lighting by admin | No comments

Loevsky & Loevsky art glass table lamp

Loevsky & Loevsky art glass table lamp

Nothing drives away a cold, dark night like the warmth of lamplight, and if you’re interested in antique lighting, you certainly have plenty of options! At Prices4Antiques, we’ve seen searches for oil lamps, table lamps, floor lamps, hanging lamps and even bicycle lamps, and over the past week, the most popular lighting objects have been a Badger Brass Company bicycle safety lamp, a Loevsky table lamp with water lily art glass shades, a Hinks and Sons cut crystal oil lamp, an elaborate Aesthetic Movement floor lamp from Hollings & Company, and a Danish Modern copper pendant light designed by Jo Hammerborg. There are so many beautiful options to choose from at auction, so get out there and let your light shine!

Reference & Further Recommended Reading:

To search the Prices4Antiques antiques reference database for valuation information on hundreds of thousands of antiques and fine art visit our homepage www.prices4antiques.com

 

Bird by Bird: Boehm Porcelain Figurines

February 7, 2012 in Pottery & Porcelain by admin | No comments

Boehm Black-Capped Chickadee bird sculpture

Boehm Black-Capped Chickadee bird sculpture

I love Boehm birds. They remind me of my mother, a biology teacher, who would spend her snow days birdwatching in her thick red bathrobe, a cup of instant coffee cooling in one hand, Dad’s Minolta camera with telephoto lens in the other, hunched on the wood floor by the sliding glass door, watching and snapping (and hissing at every interruption). I think of her whenever I see Boehm birds, like the chickadee here, at sale.

Not everyone would admit to liking them. To put it in book terms, to much of the antiques marketplace, hand-painted porcelain figures of almost any kind are sort of the equivalent of Beverly Lewis or Lilian Jackson Braun books. In fact, I think the stereotype would suggest that you’d find bird figurines on shelves next to the complete Cat Who series. But in reality, most lines of hand-painted figurines have impressive histories, and Boehm is no exception. Edward Marshall Boehm (pronounced “Beam”), founded Boehm Porcelain in 1950 at the age of 37, after studying animal husbandry and working for almost a decade as a farm manager. He died in 1969, but in that short time, he established a reputation for incredibly detailed, beautifully painted porcelain, a reputation that was rewarded when a section of the Vatican Museums was named in Boehm’s honor in 1992. (Generally, the galleries and wings of the Vatican Museums are named only for popes or royalty.) Over the years the company has produced birds, flowers, animals, and more, in addition to larger commissioned works.

Of course, works produced when the company was still under Boehm’s oversight are the most valuable, but most of the pieces carry significant resale value, and while at first glance, they might seem like objects likely to be found on a great aunt’s piano, Boehm figurines can be found in the finest museum collections all over the world, so never judge a book or a Boehm figurine by its cover!

-Hollie Davis, Senior Editor, p4A.com

Reference & Further Recommended Reading:

To search the Prices4Antiques antiques reference database for valuation information on hundreds of thousands of antiques and fine art visit our homepage www.prices4antiques.com

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