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Now showing 2100-2200 of 9822 result(s)
(Show)Venerable Show Goes Online
The Philadelphia Show, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The venerable Philadelphia Show went online via InCollect (www.incollect.com) from May 14 through 28 with 48 of the 60 dealers who had appeared on the April 23 preview party invitation before the actual show was canceled. The online show got mixed reviews from collectors and dealers. ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)St. Louis Shop Files Lawsuit Challenging Closure
Elder's Antiques in St. Louis, Missouri, is a co-plaintiff in a federal lawsuit seeking to reopen after being closed because of the pandemic. The suit seeks a temporary restraining order, preliminary and permanent injunctions, and a declaratory judgment.
In April St. Louis County and City of St. Louis officials issued orders ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Senator Claims Medal of Honor Is Dishonored by Sale in Germany
Private Thomas Kelly (d. 1920) of Company H of the U.S. Army's 21st U.S. Infantry was one of about 112 American soldiers to receive a United States Medal of Honor for his actions in the Battle of San Juan Hill in the Spanish-American War, a distinction he shares with then-Lieutenant ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Hanging with Jeff and Beverley Evans
We are all spending much more time now in our houses and apartments because of COVID-19. To give our readers an idea of what some of their colleagues, fellow collectors, and other readers surround themselves with in their abodes-on the walls, floors, or ceilings-we are introducing this new column-"Hanging with..."-because ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Russell and Doris Evitt's Collection of Historical Flasks and Antique Bottles
Norman C. Heckler & Company, Woodstock Valley, Connecticut
Photos courtesy Norman C. Heckler & Company
"Fresh to market" is an overused term in the antiques industry, but there are times when it is applicable. The term was appropriate for the Norman C. Heckler & Company auction featuring important historical flasks and antique ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Co-Presidents Howell and Kenny Retire from Classical American Homes Preservation Trust
The announcement of the retirement of Margize Howell and Peter Kenny as co-presidents of Classical American Homes Preservation Trust (CAHPT), effective March 31, came as a surprise to the world of antiques and historic preservation.
Howell was the founding executive director of CAHPT and served previously as the curator of the ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Adaptations
The Young Collector
Human beings, we are always being told, are highly adaptable. It is, one hears, a key to our evolutionary success. (Assuming we are still an evolutionary success. We seem to be botching that at the moment.) As usual, the reality is more complex, and although we are highly ... (Read More)
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(Auction)New Kid on the (Auction) Block
Tunick's Auction Gallery LLC, Rockland, Maine
Obviously in this quarantine-plagued economy, there are some changes going on in the antiques and auction world. As of this writing, virtually all in-person auctions have been shut down. Some companies have been nimble enough to quickly adapt to all-online sales for the duration of ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Opening Up
On May 8 Maine Governor Janet Mills announced that retail stores in 12 mostly rural Maine counties would be permitted to open on May 11 with enhanced safety precautions. The opening timeline aligns with neighboring New Hampshire. Good news for dealers with open shops.
Shops in Aroostook, Piscataquis, Washington, Hancock, Somerset, ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)The Whimsical and "Thoughtfully Made" Hit Home Runs
Antique Jewelry & Gemology
Photos courtesy Freeman's
Freeman's May 21 sale of jewelry and watches-which in pre-pandemic times would have been a live sale-was held online, and there were many ways to "attend" the auction. I communicated via e-mail with Virginia Salem, vice president, and department head of jewelry and watches, and ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Pent-up Demand Leads to Strong Showing of Western Americana
Witherell's, Sacramento, California
Photos courtesy Witherell's
Sacramento auctioneer Brian Witherell said his May 21 Western Americana auction featuring Gold Rush items, Western advertising, paintings, bronzes, and Native American arts did better this year than in the past. Usually the auction is promoted at the Old West Show in Grass Valley, California, which ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Sotheby's Prohibition Sale
Sotheby's, New York City
Photos courtesy Sotheby's
Marking the 100th anniversary of Prohibition, which was established by the 18th Amendment and implemented by the Volstead Act, Sotheby's ran an online sale May 7-21, filled with vintage cocktail shakers, flasks, wine bottle holders, ice tongs, pitchers, cups, and fine silver from Alan Bedwell, ... (Read More)
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(Auction)American and European Art
Hindman Auctions, Chicago, Illinois
Photos courtesy Hindman Auctions
After a viral pandemic upended auctions earlier this year, collectors' thoughts turned next to the new normal-whatever that could be. It makes sense that staff at Hindman Auctions in Chicago had to have major worries, even butterflies, before a clutch of previously planned fine ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Online Sale Recalls Farm Sales of the Past
Pook & Pook, Inc., Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Photos courtesy Pook & Pook, Inc.
Pook & Pook's online sale on May 20 was one of those that regularly follow its major catalog sales: material deemed not quite worthy of illustrations in a printed catalog. These sales call to mind the once common farm sales ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Country Americana and Decorative Arts
Garth's Auctions, Columbus, Ohio
Photos courtesy Garth's Auctions
May was different at Garth's Auctions. That's not how Jeff Jeffers, CEO and principal auctioneer, would have wanted it, but with Ohio restricting businesses and gatherings because of the coronavirus pandemic, it's the way things were. The trouble was, May is always a big ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)"A Strong and Continuing Demand"
Antique Jewelry & Gemology
Photos courtesy Brunk Auctions
Brunk Auctions in Asheville, North Carolina, held its two-day "Spring Premier and Emporium Auction" May 15 and 16, and the first day of the sale included 156 lots of antique to contemporary jewelry and timepieces that achieved a 98% sell-through rate, indicating "a strong ... (Read More)
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(Show)Virginia Pickers Takes a Step into the New World
Virginia Pickers Antiques and Collectables Show, Glen Allen, Virginia
The fourth installment of the Virginia Pickers Antiques and Collectables Show was held on its originally scheduled dates at Gilman's Farm in Glen Allen, Virginia, May 15 and 16. As with virtually all antiques events, the fate of the Pickers show had ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Spring Sale Makes $2.5 Million
Bertoia Auctions, Vineland, New Jersey
Spring Sale Makes $2.5 Million
Sometimes you just have to go for it. "At the beginning of March, once we realized everything was probably going to be shut down due to COVID-19, we knew we had to address our spring toy auction slated for May 7 and ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Bidders Undeterred by Pandemic or Remote Format of African Americana Sale
Swann Galleries, New York City
Photos courtesy Swann Galleries
"I am still somewhat dumbfounded that we managed to pull off a strong sale given the circumstances," director of books and manuscripts Rick Stattler wrote in an e-mail shortly after Swann's annual printed and manuscript African Americana sale on May 7. The auction ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Scottish Gold Center Bowl Tops Sale
Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Texas
Photos courtesy Heritage Auctions, HA.com
In the midst of the pandemic and diminishing interest in sterling silver flatware and decorative pieces, at least by young people, Heritage Auctions' sale of fine silver and objects of vertu highlighted bidder enthusiasm and bested sales estimates.
The May 5 sale in Dallas, ... (Read More)
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(Young Collectors)Staying at Home
The Young Collector
We write this in our first week of Ohio's mandatory "Stay at home" order. "Stay at home," Ohio Governor Mike DeWine thinks, and we agree, sounds a good bit less ominous than "Shelter in place," which conjures visions of 1960s elementary school kids crowding under their desks. We ... (Read More)
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(Book Review)In Pursuit of History
A Book Review
"H. Richard Dietrich Jr. loved to collect," writes his son, H. Richard Dietrich III, in In Pursuit of History: A Lifetime Collecting American Art and Artifacts, the book about his father, who was "driven by an abiding love of history" and "a thirst for discovery."
H. Richard Dietrich Jr. ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Modern Native American Art Sells Well at Hybrid Auction
Bonhams, Los Angeles, California
Photos courtesy Bonhams
Ingmars Lindbergs, Bonhams' Native American art department director, called the May 1 auction of modern Native American art Bonhams' "first hybrid sale." He explained: "The shutdown happened four days before our auction, which had been scheduled for March 23. The catalog was out, and we ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Broadway Cooler Sells for $480,000 at Absentee-Only Auction
Crocker Farm, Sparks, Maryland
Photos courtesy Crocker Farm
"It far exceeded our expectations," stated Mark Zipp following his family's absentee sale that ended May 1. The Zipps of Crocker Farm converted what would have been their regular live sale, scheduled for March 21, to an Internet, phone, and absentee auction, which ran ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)New Executive Director for Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center
Beth Twiss Houting will be the new executive director for the Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania. She will begin on May 4.
For the last nine years, Houting has been the senior director of programs and services at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, where she oversaw on-site, online, ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Shrubsole's Terzameron
As the coronavirus takes hold and the world faces these challenging times, antiques dealers wonder what they can do to keep in touch with collectors and not be forgotten. Tim Martin, Jim McConnaughy, and Ben Miller of S.J. Shrubsole, dealers in antique silver in New York City, have come up ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Strange Bedfellows: Samuel Colt's Other Claim to Fame
Who would have thought that the man who started the greatest munitions factory in America also created an innovative company by producing artfully intricate wicker furniture? This is the story about Samuel Colt's pioneering wicker furniture business in Hartford, Connecticut, called the Colt Willow-Ware Manufacturing Company.
Most people know that Samuel ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Shannon's Spring Auction
Shannon's Fine Art Auctioneers, Milford, Connecticut
Photos courtesy Shannon's
The new watchword for auction house websites and ads for antiques shows is "T.B.D." ("to be determined"). Dates and places all depend on COVID-19.
The spring sale at Shannon's in Milford, Connecticut, normally a full-on event with live, phone, and online bidding, became an ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Letter from London, May 2020
With many salerooms facing difficult times, some auctions cancelled, and others held on a "bidding online only" basis, this was always going to be a tricky "Letter" to put together-but here it is.
Many words have been devoted to a sale held last December of an exceptional collection of early English ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Freeman's Americana
Freeman's, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Photos courtesy Freeman's
Freeman's April 28 Americana sale was a slow, tedious online experience and a huge success. Just 160 lots were offered in six and a half hours. The pace was 25 lots an hour on three platforms, LiveAuctioneers, Invaluable, and Freeman's Live. There were a few ten-minute ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Montsweag Flea Market Opening Delayed
According to Gena Kilkenny, the Montsweag Flea Market in Woolwich, Maine, will have a delayed opening. The market was originally scheduled to open on May 6, but that will not be possible. The flea market is "following all emergency legislation" and CDC guidelines. For more information, check the Facebook page ... (Read More)
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(Show)Antiques Dealers' Association of America Online Show
ADA Spring Online Show
Almost immediately after the opening of the ADA Spring Online Show, April 24-27, dealer John Chaski sold to a dealer a sixth-plate daguerreotype housed in a leatherette case. It depicts a portrait of a young girl holding a book, with her doll in a wagon alongside. David ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)"Conserving Our Painted Past" Rescheduled
The legal Center counsel for Painted Wall Preservation's board of directors, with legal counsel Burton Wall Fendelm and administrative assistant Rebecca Migdal, met on Wednesday, March 11, in regard to the COVID-19 threat. As a precautionary measure and to ensure the health and safety of all, the "Conserving Our Painted ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Fine Art and a Chinese Surprise Lead at Potomack
The Potomack Company, Alexandria, Virginia
Photos courtesy The Potomack Company
The reality that many are referring to as the "new normal" has arrived in Alexandria, Virginia. Beginning on April 25, The Potomack Company held a multi-day online-only catalog sale. In one way, The Potomack Company is used to this new normal. For ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Sale of the Down Town Association Collection
Arader Galleries, New York City
Photos courtesy Arader Galleries
Arader Galleries auctioned the collection of the Down Town Association online on April 25. The auction included engravings and lithographs that Graham Arader called "one of the finest collections of 18th- and 19th-century New York City views, scenes, maps, and maritime prints ever ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)"Tutti Frutti" Bracelet Sells for $1.34 Million in Online Auction
Sotheby's dedicated online-only single-lot sale of a circa 1930 Cartier "tutti frutti" bracelet opened on April 24 and concluded on April 28. According to Sotheby's, the bracelet "had never before appeared at auction, having been passed down through descendants of an American family for more than 30 years."
Five bidders chased ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Decorative Arts Trust Extends Deadline for $100K Prize
The Decorative for the Prize for Excellence Arts Trust has extended and Innovation from March 31 to the nomination deadline June 30.
"We are sensitive to the demands on our friends in the field as they tackle essential efforts and address changes to institutional priorities," explained the trust's executive director, Matthew ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Alaska Dealer Charged with Lacey Act Violations and Tax Evasion
Anchorage, Alaska, dealer Walter Earl, 75, owner of The Antique Gallery, was charged on April 23 in federal court for illegally buying and selling walrus ivory and failing to report income to the IRS.
Earl has agreed to plead guilty to three counts of Lacey Act violations and one count of ... (Read More)
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(Auction)American Paintings, Furniture, and Decorative Arts
Doyle, New York City
American Paintings, Furniture, and Decorative Arts
The coronavirus pandemic caused Doyle to offer its twice-a-year American paintings, furniture, and decorative arts auction to an online-only audience. The sale, which closed on April 21, totaled $863,781 (including buyers' premiums) with an 85% sell-through rate. The presale estimate was $637,100/977,750. ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Business Goes On as Usual...Sort of...with the Right Tools
Martin J. Donnelly Auctions, Avoca, New York
Photos courtesy Martin J. Donnelly Auctions
Martin Donnelly must have been a great Boy Scout. When the COVID-19 crisis hit, he was very well prepared. Under ordinary circumstances, his Live Free or Die antique tool auction would have been held in Nashua, New Hampshire, on ... (Read More)
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(Auction)No Preview, No Podium, No Problem: Watches and Clocks Online
Skinner, Marlborough, Massachusetts
Photos courtesy Skinner
In about an hour, it was all over. Even with brief anti-sniping extensions for last-minute bids, nearly 400 lots at Skinner cascaded to their timed closings on the evening of Tuesday, April 14. Bidders for wristwatches, pocket watches, clocks, music boxes, scientific instruments, and cameras had ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Objects Destined for the Philadelphia Show
When word came that the Philadelphia Show had been canceled, it was a blow to the Americana world. The show has long been one of the premier events on the show schedule. Rather than just chalk it up to another COVID-19 cancellation, we asked dealers what they had planned to ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Furniture and Decorative Arts
Skinner, Marlborough, Massachusetts
Photos courtesy Skinner
By March 10, when Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency because of the coronavirus, the writing was on the wall at Skinner in Marlborough. Plan B was required for the American furniture and decorative arts auction. Originally scheduled for April 4, the sale ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Books Received, April 2020
Books Received
by M.A.D. Staff
These are brief reviews of books recently sent to us. We have included ordering information for publishers that accept mail, phone, or online orders. For other publishers, your local bookstore or a mail-order house is the place to look.
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At First Light: Two Centuries of Maine Artists, Their ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Online Design Sale
Freeman's, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Photos courtesy Freeman's
Henry Van de Velde, a Belgian-born architect and founder of Modernism, is not nearly as well known as Charles Rennie Mackintosh, but he probably should be. Born in Antwerp in 1863, he died in Zurich at 94 in 1957. He worked to the end of his ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Letter from London, April 2020
Incorporating a higher than usual number of lots from provincial sales along with the more usual London lots, this month's "Letter" includes a broken and repaired Roman bust that made a fortune for its unsuspecting owners, not to mention a handsome bonus for the saleroom in which it was offered.
A ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Karen and Ralph DiSaia Recipients of ADA Award of Merit
Karen and the late Ralph DiSaia will be the recipients of the 2020 Award of Merit, an annual award given by the Antiques Dealers' Association of America (ADA). Karen DiSaia was shceduled to accept the prize on the couple's behalf at a dinner planned for Friday, April 24, at the ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)"Highly Engaged" Buyers and Over 90% Sold in Hindman's Jewelry Sale
Antique Jewelry and Gemology
Photos courtesy Hindman
Hindman, Chicago, held its March 31 online-only "essential" jewelry sale, comprising 444 lots of contemporary, period, and antique jewelry, exclusively on LiveAuctioneers. I spoke with Kimberly Burt, director of the fine jewelry and timepieces department, who said it had always been scheduled as an online-only ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Design Sale Brings $4 Million
Sotheby's, New York City
Photos courtesy Sotheby's
Sotheby's mid-season design sale was scheduled to be live on March 31, but with social distancing in force in New York City because of COVID-19, it went online on March 24 and concluded at 4 p.m. on March 31 with an impressive $4,037,500 total (with ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Bucks County Artists Database
The Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, has refreshed the Bucks County Artists Database (BCAD), a free online resource celebrating the artistic traditions of Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
With over 400 artists represented in the database, BCAD contains thousands of pages of information and images. The reimagined database is now more accessible ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Country Americana
Garth's Auctioneers & Appraisers, Columbus, Ohio
Photos courtesy Garth's
Garth's Auctioneers & Appraisers went back to the basics for its March 28 sale of country Americana. The material represented a sweet spot for the auction house, but Ohio's stay-at-home order because of the coronavirus pandemic led Jeff Jeffers, Garth's CEO and principal ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Record Price for Aladdin Lamp
Photos courtesy Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates
On March 28 Jeffrey S. Evans &Associates in Mt. Crawford, Virginia, conducted an online-only sale of 771 lots of kerosene lighting, ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Technology Opens Doors Closed by Stay-at-Home Order
Brunk Auctions, Asheville, North Carolina
Photos courtesy Brunk Auctions
On March 26, one day before Brunk Auctions' two-day catalog sale, commissioners in Buncombe County, North Carolina, issued a "Stay Home, Stay Safe" order. By 8 p.m., everyone in Asheville and surrounding communities was to be at home and sheltering in place to ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Oregon Warns of Catfish Scam
The (ODFR) Oregon Division of Finance is warning people about art market catfish scams. (A "catfish" scam lures a victim into an online relationship using a fictional online persona.)
Recently, the ODFR reported that an 80-year-old widower was catfished out of $200,000. An unidentified fraudster stole a Florida woman's identity to ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)American Furniture
A Book Review
The 2018 American Furniture is all about 18th-century furniture. It is a treat for old-time collectors and should inspire a new generation.
Boston Chairs
Erik K. Gronning calls his study of Boston's early baroque seating "Luxury of Choice"and presents the evolution of the comfortable and sturdy Boston chair, with ... (Read More)
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(Young Collectors)Notes from Nashville
The Young Collector
Back in our early days in the auction business, every year in February, and sometimes in October, we would make a trip to Nashville. We see now that we were getting on-the-job logistics training. We would go down with a truck full of deliveries and return with a ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Historical Society Deaccessions Rare Washington Medals and Offers Freedom Box
In a first-page story in the Philadelphia Inquirer on Sunday, February 16, Stephan ... (Read More)
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(Auction)The Collection of June and Larry Greenwald
Treadway Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio
Photos courtesy Treadway Gallery
Tiffany lamps from the collection of June and Larry Greenwald dominated the March 22 auction conducted online and absentee by Treadway Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio. The single-owner auction was a mix of high-quality decorative arts typical of June Greenwald Antiques of Cleveland. From a humble ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Stay-Home Order Not a Problem for Art Auction
Rachel Davis Fine Arts, Cleveland, Ohio
Photos courtesy Rachel Davis Fine Arts
While many industries scrambled to create an online presence amid the COVID-19 outbreak and the closing of nonessential businesses to public foot traffic, those in the auction industry who have made online options available to their clientele for years were ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Americana and Country Americana
Cowan's Auctions, Cincinnati, Ohio
Photos courtesy Cowan's Auctions
This one wasn't normal. No sane individual would have expected it to be. When Cowan's Auctions held a two-day sale of Americana on March 19 and 20 in Cincinnati, Ohio, the doors were locked and the showroom floor was empty. Ohio's statewide stay-at-home order ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Fortuna Navigates COVID-19, Achieves Positive Results
Antique Jewelry & Gemology
Photos courtesy Fortuna
The practices of social distancing and sheltering in place had just gone country-wide in the COVID-19 pandemic when Fortuna held its fine jewels auction on March 19 in New York City. All nonessential businesses in New York City were officially shut down just three days ... (Read More)
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(Auction)California and Western Art
Bonhams, Los Angeles, California
Photos courtesy Bonhams
Scot M. Levitt, vice president and director of fine arts at Bonhams, said plans to postpone the March 17 California and Western art auction or to go online-only were being considered "moment by moment, as the sale was taking place." As it turned out, the ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Spring Sale at CRN Auctions
CRN Auctions, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts
Photos courtesy CRN Auctions
CRN Auctions' spring sale was held on March 15 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. With the coronavirus in mind, staff had rearranged the gallery. Gone were the neat rows of chairs divided by a center aisle. In their place chairs were staggered at angles about ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Hilliard & Co. Enjoys Continued Growth
Hilliard & Co., Madison, Virginia
Photos courtesy Hilliard & Co.
With more than 50 cataloged sales under their belts, Andre and Nicholas Hilliard are seeing sale-over-sale and year-over-year growth at their Madison, Virginia, auction gallery. The most recent auction at Hilliard & Co. was held on March 14 and consisted of more ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Buatta Collection at Stair
Stair Galleries, Hudson, New York
Photos courtesy Stair Galleries
Auctioneer Colin Stair of Hudson, New York, remembers a time, not so long ago, "when the whole of New York was decorated in chintz and floral prints." When he worked in the English furniture department at Sotheby's he often found himself in Mario ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Works by Sally Mann and Edouard Cortes Take First Place at March Sales
Leland Little, Hillsborough, North Carolina
Photos courtesy Leland Little
To heighten enthusiasm the week before his March 13 and 14 sales, Leland Little sent multiple e-mail blasts to his fan base. The reminders were graphic essays prepared by his information technology staff that focused on a few specific lots. Consignor and art ... (Read More)
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(Auction)"Affordable" Bay Psalm Book Fetches $62,500
Swann Galleries, New York City
Photos courtesy Swann Galleries
An auction reporter's lead paragraph usually trumpets a record or at least a higher-than-expected price paid for one object or other. This time, the achievement of an "affordable" price for a famous title is one of the newsiest parts of this account of ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Fairhaven Antiques Festival Resurrected
After an eight-year hiatus, the Fairhaven Antiques Festival will return to southwest Ohio this year. Under the management of Katherine Bovard, the popular event will be held Thursday and Friday, June 4 and 5.
Founded in 1975, the annual show was originally managed by the Fairhaven Dealers Association. Built on a ... (Read More)
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(Show)A New Owner and New Vision for an Old Favorite
Fort Worth Show of Antiques, Art & Jewelry, Fort Worth, Texas
The Fort Worth Show of Antiques, Art & Jewelry has a long history in this Texas city often referred to as Cowtown. A visit to this year's three-day show in March made it clear that this is no swap meet ... (Read More)
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(Auction)"Art & Design" at Toomey & Co.
Toomey & Co., Oak Park, Illinois
On March 8, just before the coronavirus clobbered the U.S., Toomey & Co. held a scheduled "Art & Design" sale that totaled roughly over $1 million. Shortly after the sale, Toomey vice president and senior specialist John Walcher told us that exact results were difficult ... (Read More)
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(Show)Great Country and Americana from Respected Dealers
Country Spirit Antique Show, Arcola, Illinois
A large painted buttocks basket sold early and often during the Country Spirit Antique Show, held March 5-7 at three locations in Arcola, Illinois. In a way, the basket exemplified the overall show; buyers were eager to find something special whenever and wherever they could.
The ... (Read More)
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(Show)A Gathering on the Prairie Antique Show
Arthur, Illinois
Consider what came before. When A Gathering on the Prairie Antique Show opened its doors to a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd at 8 a.m. on Saturday, March 7, at the Otto Center in Arthur, Illinois, Antiques Week in Central Illinois was already a little gray around the temples. At least for ... (Read More)
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(Show)Rural Life Show Draws a Crowd
Rural Life Antique Show, Tuscola, Illinois
Friday morning, an hour before the start of the Rural Life Antique Show, held March 6 and 7 in Tuscola, Illinois, a steady, cold wind sent oak leaves scurrying sideways across Main Street, moving with a sense of urgency. It was several weeks before the ... (Read More)
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(Show)Homesteaders on the Prairie Antique Show
Arthur, Illinois
I've got a tiger by the tail, it's plain to see; I won't be much when you get through with me. Well, I'm a losin' weight and a turnin' mighty pale; Looks like I've got a tiger by the tail.
On the opening day of Homesteaders on the Prairie Antique ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Highlights at Fontaine's
Photos courtesy Fontaine's Auction Gallery
On March 7 Fontaine's Auction and estate auction in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. In a post-sale chat about these four auction highlights, John Fontaine said, "I would say we were happy with the results, as all these items brought over twice the high estimate."
Several objects had been consigned ... (Read More)
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(Show)Good Crowd at the New York Book Fair's Satellite Show Despite State of Emergency
New York City Book and Ephemera Fair
"The attendance was strong for both days," show producer Marvin Getman of Impact Events Group wrote in an e-mail after his sixth annual New York City Book and Ephemera Fair, held in Wallace Hall at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, 980 Park Avenue ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)The Met Acquires David Drake Storage Jar
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has purchased a stoneware storage jar by the enslaved black potter and poet David Drake (c. 1801-1870s). Made at the Stony Bluff Manufactory pottery site in Old Edgefield District, South Carolina, in 1858, the alkaline-glazed vessel is signed, dated, and inscribed by Drake. There are ... (Read More)
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(Show)Book-Love in the Time of Cholera
New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, New York City
Love in the Time of Cholera, Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez's tale of magical realistic romance, published in Spanish in 1985 as El amor en los tiempos del colera, was on my mind as I approached the steps of the Park Avenue ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Passage: Alfred Stieglitz, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Juan Hamilton
Sotheby's, New York City
Photos courtesy Sotheby's
It took a village of Sotheby's specialists to bring "Passage," a sale of art and objects from the personal collection of Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986), to market. Culling expertise from the departments of American art, African and oceanic art, books and manuscripts, Chinese works of art, ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Gun Dealer Tony Wilcox Charged with Larceny
A former Warrenton, Virginia, business owner has been charged following a joint investigation by the Warrenton Police Department and the Virginia State Police. The Warrenton police began the investigation upon receiving a complaint after the business owner moved to another state.
Anthony "Tony" Wilcox, 53, of Leola, Pennsylvania, has been charged ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Ohio Country Antiques Show Changes Owners
The Ohio Country Antiques Show has been sold to promoter Jennifer Sabin. The event will become part of the Heartland family of shows. The change took place in January.
Bruce Metzger of Queen City Shows, Cincinnati, Ohio, founded Ohio Country, which began as an annual event in April 2005. Held at ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Letter from London
This month's "Letter" begins with a return to Madame de Pompadour's boudoir but then moves on to look at such fun attractions as upside-down dinner plates, silver pigs, and a mummified cat.
An ancient lion hunter, a North American Indian chief with the less than flattering title of "Flat Mouth," and ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)$10,000 Reward Offered for Long-Lost Well of the Scribes
A ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Good or Good Enough
The Young Collector
Normally, sitcoms are light, fluffy palate cleansers or heartwarming relatable family stories. We take refuge in one most nights before bed, sort of as a way to rid ourselves of everything else we've heard or read during the day, and we've discovered that The Good Place is a ... (Read More)
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(Show)ADAA's The Art Show 2020
New York City
The 2020 color of the year is classic blue, "a shade reminiscent of the sky at dusk. It's a color that anticipates what's going to happen next," the vice president of the Pantone Color Institute said when announcing the selection last December.
Blue was everywhere at The Art Show, ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Smith February Auction Totals $478,000
William A. Smith, Inc., Plainfield, New Hampshire
Photos courtesy William A. Smith, Inc.
Auctioneer Bill Smith sold to a packed house for his midwinter Americana auction on February 29. Customers were lined up along the edges of the overfull room. A large part of the reason for Smith's success is that he ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Multi-Continent Artworks Pace Thomaston Sale
Thomaston Place Auction Galleries, Thomaston, Maine
Photos courtesy Thomaston Place Auction Galleries
The three-day late winter sale held at Thomaston Place Auction Galleries in Thomaston, Maine, from February 28 through March 1 was packed with historical ephemera, large-scale folk art, jewelry, and esoteric accessories. But it was significant artworks from four continents ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Spring Fox Valley Antiques Show Canceled
The calendar had barely passed January 2020 when the Chicago Suburban Antiques Dealers Association (CSADA) decided to cancel the March 14 and 15 spring Fox Valley Show in St. Charles, Illinois. Fox Valley is thought to be the longest-running antiques show in the country, and the ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Jasper52 February Results
The following are results from Jasper52 (www.jasper52.com), a weekly online auction service. The auction closed on February 27. All prices include the buyer's premium.
This hand-carved eagle-form master mold is an early type. The carving includes foliage, perhaps laurel branches. It is similar to a butter mold and could be used ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Rufus Porter's Curious World
Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, Maine
At age 92, while visiting his son in West Haven, Connecticut, a still vigorous Rufus Porter died suddenly on August 13, 1884. The New Haven Evening Register reported, "The funeral of Rufus Porter, the aged inventor, who died yesterday at the hospital, took place ... (Read More)
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(Fragment)Kochan Joins Morphy Auctions
James Kochan has been appointed to the position of specialist for Morphy Auctions' Americana, early arms, and militaria division. He will also be involved in the curation and cataloging of American manuscripts and fine art.
Dan Morphy, president of Morphy Auctions, said in a press release, "He is one of the ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Riding a Tailwind
The Americana market is gathering strength. That's our conclusion following Americana Week in New York City.
There were lower prices-sometimes far lower-on many exceptional objects that have crossed the auction block recently, and some examples that were not of high merit seemed to go at bargain prices.
Both Sotheby's and Christie's racked ... (Read More)
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(Show)Tribal Textile and Indian Art Shows Get Together
San Francisco Tribal & Textile Art Show and the American Indian Art Show, San Francisco, California
Did combining the San Francisco Tribal & Textile Art Show with the former Marin Indian Art Show at Fort Mason in San Francisco work? "Absolutely," said co-producer John Morris.
"I second that," said Kim Martindale, Morris's ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Americana and Political Sale
Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Texas
Photos courtesy Heritage Auctions
A shotgun with a storied role in the history of America's Old West sold for $375,000 (with buyer's premium) at auction in Dallas. The 10-gauge shotgun used by legendary frontier lawman Wyatt Earp to kill "Curly Bill" Brocius is regarded as a museum-quality relic ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Barridoff Chalks Up Auction Number Five
Barridoff Galleries, South Portland, Maine
The recently reconstituted Barridoff Galleries, South Portland, Maine, is slowly but surely making its mark in the art auctioning world. The firm, which was acquired by new owners in 2017, completed its fifth auction on February 22, bringing in a total of about $400,000 (including buyers' ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Local Objects Popular at South Shore Auction
Willis Henry Auctions, Marshfield, Massachusetts
New England antiques drew collectors and dealers to Willis Henry Auctions' February 22 sale at the DoubleTree in Rockland, Massachusetts, where historical objects from the area were offered. Bidders particularly liked the objects made and used on the South Shore of Massachusetts. Nearby Hingham was a ... (Read More)
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(Auction)Premier Fine Art Auction
Caza Sikes, Cincinnati, Ohio
Photos courtesy Caza Sikes
A 4' tall replica of the Statue of Liberty that had been in some unlikely hiding spots in Ohio for years sold for $106,250 (including buyer's premium) at Caza Sikes in Cincinnati on February 22. The piece is one of eight examples known.
The figure ... (Read More)
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(Show)Madison IS Americana!
Madison Antiques Show and Sale, Madison, Georgia
If there ever were a capital city for southern Americana, it should be Madison, Georgia, especially at the end of February each year. For 19 years the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center has produced the small, invitation-only Madison Antiques Show and Sale, held February 20-22 this ... (Read More)
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(Issue Story)Exhibitions, March 2020
Christine Merrill, Foxhounds in a Kennel, oil on canvas, 42" x 60".
-Through March 6 -New York City
The William Secord Gallery is hosting a show of dog paintings by Christine Merrill in Christine Merrill, The Royal Breeds. The exhibition is a tribute to the breeds owned by the British royal family ... (Read More)
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(Show)A Bouquet of the Best Antiques on Valentine's Day
Heart of Tennessee Antique Show, Lebanon, Tennessee
There are no rules that require antiques shows to be visually attractive, but it never hurts. The fifth annual Heart of Tennessee Antique Show, held this year February 13-15 in Lebanon, Tennessee, was both beautiful and well organized. While the focus is always on ... (Read More)
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