The Hot Bid

RECORD! A Caille Double Slot Machine Commanded $420,000 at Morphy Auctions in 2017

UncategorizedAugust 3, 2021April 3, 2021

What you see: A nickel and quarter “slant front” double Venus musical slot machine, made with an oak case circa 1905 by Caille Bros. Estimated at $400,000 to $600,000, it sold for $420,000 at Morphy Auctions Las Vegas and set several auction records, including records for any antique double slot machine and a record for any machine by Caille.

The expert: Dan Morphy, president and founder of Morphy Auctions.

First, let’s talk about the Caille Bros company, and what its reputation was when it made this Caille double slot machine. They began in the late 1800s, and were known for producing very well-made, dependable machines. They were all hand-built. Caille had the reputation for building the best at the time. [The company appears to have gone out of business in 1937.]

Why are Caille gambling machines still collected today? They stand out now because they were known for making machines that had great eye appeal and great mechanics. They spent a lot of time perfecting their machines, so they’re more scarce than [those of] other makers.

And how is “Caille” pronounced? It seems like there’s no one way to say it... I’ve heard everything–kale, cowlee, kaylee. Most coin-op guys say “kaylee.”

This Caille slot machine is described as a “double”. Could you explain what that means here? There are two slots, two machines in one. [This model accepts nickels in one slot and quarters in the other.] Doubles obviously cost more to make, and were probably made for the most prominent saloons and gambling halls.

I understand this Caille double slot machine is one of three of its type that survive. Do we have any idea how many might have been made? And is this the sort of thing that would have been listed in the Caille catalog and produced only as orders came in? It would have been a special order for the most part. It was top notch, and difficult to make. If I had to guess, they may not have even made a hundred. A lot were destroyed over the years.

Destroyed? They were against the law [in many places]. They [the police] didn’t want to haul them off. They were heavy. They took them to the parking lot and destroyed them. They would burn them–pile them up and light them on fire.

Have you seen the other two Caille double slot machines of this type? How do they compare to this one? They’re all very similar, and all have had a similar level of restoration work. They’re over 110 years old–they’d need refinishing, and the castings and the springs would have to be maintained. I don’t want to belittle the other two, but if I’m not mistaken, this is one of the most original and complete examples known.

And I take it this model is an especially desirable Caille double? It’s considered to be a Holy Grail of upright slot machines. It’s probably the most attractive double ever.

The Caille double slot machine is described as “musical.” What sort of music does it play? You get one play [one song] for a nickel and three for a quarter. It plays classical music. I don’t know the tunes offhand.

So it was kind of like a jukebox? It played music while you gambled? A press of the lever would trigger the music box and make the wheel go round. The music would continue to play even after it was being operated.

Would it play the same music for each slot machine, or did the nickel side play one tune, and the quarter side played different tunes? I believe there was only one music box in the center [of the oak case]. It was a metal cylinder, like a regular tabletop music box, and it was triggered by either one of the machines, the nickel or the quarter.

How would the music mechanism know whether the player had inserted a nickel or a quarter? It depended on the side you played. The right gave you three plays, and the left gave you one. You pushed down a lever [on the corresponding side] to make it work.

How would this Caille double slot machine have been used? It was made for public consumption. They went to higher end saloons and most likely, country clubs. They were expensive back in the day, compared to regular, run of the mill machines.

What can we tell, just by looking, how difficult this Caille double slot machine was to make? The mechanics of the machine were standard, but the oak case, the tin lithographic wheels, the iron castings were better than anything else on a regular machine. Especially the iron castings–they were much more elaborate, and much more work went into them. From the coin receiver to the handles, it was fancier.

What’s your favorite detail on this Caille double slot machine? The overall look of the front of it. It has a slant front to it, which is unique. I don’t know of any other machine produced like that. The tin wheels are beautiful. The styling of the iron castings are special. There’s a great look to them, great eye appeal.

Was Caille the only manufacturer that got this elaborate with the iron castings for its gambling machines? They didn’t put them on other machines. This particular model had all the bells and whistles. And it’s also a very well-made machine. These were workhorses, made to last.

Yes. This is a good place in the conversation to point out that, then as now, angry losers would take their frustrations out on these slot machines… [Laughs] You’ve got a bunch of drunks hitting it, punching it, and it’s getting a lot of use. Gambling is gambling.

Do we have any clues as to why this particular Caille double slot machine survived in such good condition? If I’m not mistaken, it was only in two families, and it wasn’t moved around a lot. It was always revered as something special. Therefore, it lasted.

Do we have any idea where the Caille double slot machine was first installed? That I don’t know.

But it wouldn’t have gone to a robber baron’s mansion, yes? It would have been commissioned for a public venue? When it was first produced, yes. But I believe it descended through the families. Whoever owned it originally [might have run a] saloon or a hall.

The Caille double slot machine was sold in working condition. How important is that? If it didn’t work, would it be worthless? It’s all reparable. Guys have been doing restorations and repairs on these from the day they were made. It’s almost a lost art. A dozen guys could take apart and rebuild this entire machine, but not a lot of younger guys could fill their shoes. The number of guys who know these machines will decrease with time, unfortunately.

What is the Caille double slot machine like in person? It’s a beautiful piece. It has great detail, great color, great eye appeal, great presence. Even when it was in the consignor’s house, among the rest of his collection, it stood out.

Did you play the Caille double slot machine? Yes.

What was that like? It was fun! [laughs] A nice, smooth-running machine.

And the 2017 sale at Morphy’s was the first time one of the three known musical Caille doubles went to auction? It was the first public auction, to my knowledge.

How did you set the $400,000 to $600,000 estimate? It is hard to establish estimates for pieces that are unique. But I looked at what standard doubles sell for. They go for a range of $80,000 to $120,000. This machine is 50 times more rare than those others.

What do you recall of the auction? It sold in Las Vegas. We had a good crowd that day, 120 to 170 people there. There were three to four people bidding up to the $150,000 range. At the end, it was two guys, going head to head.

The Caille double slot machine notched a world auction record for its make and model because it was the first to sell at auction. What other records did it set? Is it a record for any Caille machine? Yes. And I don’t know of any [other] doubles that have brought over $200,000.

How long do you think the record will stand? I don’t know. Hopefully, we’ll break it next year [laughs].

What’s out there that could break the record? The same machine, or one of the other two. Now if a true triple [an antique gambling machine that features three conjoined slots rather than two] came up, it would probably bring more money. An original triple should bring $400,000 to $500,000. I don’t believe a triple has ever been to auction.

Why will this Caille double slot machine stick in your memory? Because of its eye appeal, its originality, and because I know how rare it is. I’m in a great position–I get to see lots of private collections. It [this machine] is just not out there.

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Ahead of the October 2017 sale in Las Vegas, Morphy Auctions produced a short video about the Caille double slot machine. It features several closeups on its choicer details and shows the machine dispensing coins, but does not include audio of the machine playing music.

Images are courtesy of Morphy Auctions.

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The Hot Bid: On Hiatus

UncategorizedApril 13, 2021July 21, 2021

Update, July 20, 2021: Between now and early August, I am publishing the last few stories on auction records I had written and banked.

Once those go live, The Hot Bid will return to hiatus.

I am still thinking about how best to revive it and keep it going. I would like to do so. Thanks for your patience!

Original post below:

I have accepted an associate editor position at LiveAuctioneers. Hooray!

As of today, I’m placing The Hot Bid on hiatus with the intent of reviving it in some form at a later date.

This is not goodbye. This is not the end. This is a pause, that’s all. The Hot Bid will be back.

Sending a hearty and full-throated THANK YOU to everyone who subscribes, reads, and shares The Hot Bid. More will come in the future. Watch this space.

Jo Schirra’s Charm Bracelet–A String of Nine Space-flown Charms–Could Command $55,000 (Updated April 26, 2021)

UncategorizedApril 9, 2021April 26, 2021

Update: Jo Schirra’s charm bracelet sold for $55,000.

What you see: Jo Schirra’s charm bracelet. She was the wife of Wally Schirra, who was an astronaut during the early days of the American space program. RR Auction estimates the charm bracelet at $45,000 to $55,000.

The expert: Bobby Livingston, executive vice president at RR Auction.

How did this bracelet with space-flown charms come to exist? Wally Schirra, like most astronauts, would bring tokens and souvenirs into space for friends and family. Wally gave these charms to his wife, Jo, who created the charm bracelet.

Did all the spouses of the Mercury Seven astronauts receive or create bracelets with space-flown charms? No, not all of them assembled something like this. All the Gemini and Mercury astronauts were allowed to carry coins and other things on missions. The astronauts themselves had to buy them and distribute them as souvenirs.

What was astronaut Alan Shepard’s role in helping Jo Schirra create this bracelet with space-flown charms? He provided her with a piece of Freedom 7. He only went up briefly [15 minutes in all], so there were no souvenirs, but he brought her a piece of the cylinder assembly of the heat shield release mechanism from Freedom 7 and provided her a letter of authentication (LOA).

Was the Freedom 7 charm the first that Jo Schirra added to her space-flown charm bracelet? I don’t know the chronology of when she received it, but that’s the first mission [represented], for sure. She certainly got the others in chronological order.

When would she have started assembling the bracelet? At the start of Project Mercury, in 1958? More like 1961. Kennedy was president.

I’d like to talk about at least a few of the space-flown charms in more detail. I understand that one is made with a Liberty Bell 7 dime? Very famously, Gus Grissom brought Mercury dimes with him on his mission [Mercury-Redstone 4]. When he returned, he had to splash down, and the capsule almost sank. One of the things pulling him down was the two rolls of dimes. [Laughs]. These ones, he was able to keep in the pocket by his ankles.

…and one of the space-flown charms is a tiny Robbins medal? I didn’t know they made them that small. This was for the first manned Apollo mission. It was the first created–serial number one. Even if it was not flown, the serial number one makes it the first Robbins medal. But it was flown, and flown by Wally Schirra.

Wow. The astronauts had to buy these, and they were government workers, not making any money.

So the Robbins medals would have tried their budgets? I don’t know. I do know the gold ones were more expensive than the silver ones. Wally had to splurge on this to get it for his wife.

Not hugely expensive, but expensive enough to make them stop and think. Right. They couldn’t buy ’em all, and they couldn’t bring tons. There were not many made. There were 255 [space-flown] Apollo 7 Robbins medals in gold and silver.

There are nine space-flown charms on this bracelet: one for each of the six Mercury missions, one for Apollo 7, and one for Freedom 7. That makes eight. What does the ninth charm represent? It’s a flown 18k gold love medal by Lyonnais jeweler Alphonse Augis. It has a French phrase that translates to “More than yesterday, less than tomorrow.” Engraved on the back is “February 23”, which is the wedding anniversary of Wally and Jo. It’s a very, very personal love medal.

Who designed these charms? Jo Schirra? It was Cecelia “CeCe” Bibby, a famous graphic designer who painted logos on the Mercury capsules. She was the only other one who had a charm bracelet like this, and she donated it to the Smithsonian Institution.

Do all of the charms have inherent value? Yes. They’ve all flown in space, so they all have inherent value. And they’re relics of one of the great achievements of mankind.

Is this the first time Jo Schirra’s bracelet of space-flown charms has gone to auction? Yes.

I imagine that with Jo Schirra having passed in 2015, and the bracelet debuting at auction as a whole, that will help guard against it being broken into individual pieces in the future. Because it’s been kept together… it tells the story of Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo 7. They’re all there, together, all the flights on one chain. It’s a remarkable artifact. We see individual charms come up, but to have these in a bracelet, gifts from an astronaut, lovingly placed on her wrist, it shows the closeness of the married couple.

What is Jo Schirra’s charm bracelet like in person? What eludes the camera? Like most charm bracelets, it’s not a gigantic piece to hold in your gloved hand. It’s cool to look at, but they’re small charms.

Do you have a favorite charm from the bracelet? We’ve worked with a lot of these guys. I knew them when they were alive. Design-wise, it’s the Sigma 7.

Did you try on Jo Schirra’s charm bracelet? No! [Laughs] No, no, no. It would be inappropriate.

Can you give me a notion of how it might feel on the wrist? It looks substantial. It is a bit substantial and clunky, but I don’t think it was difficult to wear on the wrist. It’s not overwhelming. It’s beautiful, a conversation starter.

Do we have any idea how often Jo Schirra wore this charm bracelet? Was it a daily-wear item, or did she save it for special occasions? I don’t know. I know it was lovingly given to her daughter, Suzanna, when Jo passed away. Her daughter is the consigner. You know from seeing films and reading books about the astronaut program that the wives would gather to watch the launches together. You can imagine Jo Schirra wearing this and with each successive launch, adding a charm. It represents the success of her husband launching into space.

What condition is Jo Schirra’s charm bracelet in? And does condition really matter when we’re talking about an item with such strong sentimental value? Typically, condition matters on coins and collectibles. This has an age patina, as you would expect. There’s a beauty about it in its natural state as a charm bracelet. As a historical piece, it stands on its own. It’s not for a coin collection. It would be a tragedy to take it apart and encapsulate it.

Have you ever had anything quite like Jo Schirra’s charm bracelet? Is there anything out there that’s even close? I’ve never really had anything like this, which covers the entire space program. It’s very, very unique. It’s greater than the sum of its parts, and it’s such a personal item. The Robbins medal does elevate it.

Why will this piece stick in your memory? Because of its uniqueness, and the way it was lovingly assembled. It tells the story of the Mercury program and Wally Schirra’s career. It’s all there on that bracelet.

How to bid: Jo Schirra’s charm bracelet is lot 3007 in the Space Exploration and Aviation sale at RR Auction taking place on April 22, 2021.

How to subscribe to The Hot Bid: Click the trio of dots at the upper right of this page. You can also follow The Hot Bid on Instagram and follow the author on Twitter.

Images are courtesy of RR Auction.

Bobby Livingston spoke to The Hot Bid previously about Dave Scott’s Apollo 17-flown Robbins medal, as well as the Bulova chronograph that Scott wore on the surface of the moon during Apollo 15. He also talked about a ring that Clyde Barrow made in prison to give to his girlfriend, Bonnie Parker.

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A Daum Glass Vase in the Rare Prairie Pattern Could Fetch $18,000 (Updated April 15, 2021)

UncategorizedApril 6, 2021April 15, 2021

Update: The Daum glass vase sold for $17,000, hammer price.

What you see: A circa 1900 Daum glass vase, painted in the Prairie pattern and rendered in a bulbous stick form. It stands a little over 12 inches tall. Jaremos estimates it at $12,000 to $18,000.

The expert: Bruce Orr, founder of Jaremos, which is located in Flower Mound, Texas.

How is the word “Daum” pronounced? [Laughs] It depends on if you’re American or French. Here, it’s “dom”. In France, it’s more like “dome”.

Who, or what, was Daum? Is it still active? Two brothers, August and Antonin Daum, ran a cameo-decorating company at the turn of the century. It was in competition with Émile Gallé, and it was contemporary with Tiffany Studios in the United States. The company was strong until 1913, when World War I shut the factory down, and it ended up being used as a field hospital. After the war, the brothers were too old to continue. One of their sons took over. Daum has been a continuously producing glass house for 130 years.

Does it still make art glass? It still does some. In the 1980s, it did a series with Salvador Dali. Daum is to France what Steuben was to America, as far as stemware.

And the “Nancy” in the title of the lot listing–that is the town in France where Daum is based? Yes. Gallé was the primary glass-maker in Nancy. Daum came second. But in 1904, Gallé died, so it lost its leader a little early. Daum has more appeal to Americans than Europeans because it’s pretty. Americans buy pretty. Americans have always gone pretty. Europeans like technique.

Was there a golden age of Daum art glass? There’s an argument based on whether you’re a fan of Art Nouveau or Art Deco, but 1900 to 1913 is considered the high point.

Do we have any notion of how many pieces of art glass Daum produced during its golden age? I’m sure the records are out there somewhere, but any number I could give you would be a guess. Daum was a big operation. It had 100 artists at one point, decorating the glass.

The lot notes describe the vase as having “iconic Prairie décor”. Was “Prairie” a specific line of art glass that Daum produced? Yes. This is a guess on my part, but it was not popular in its day, compared to the Daum Winter scenes. I might see one Prairie piece for every 100 Winter pieces. Because of that, Prairie is desired by collectors.

Do we know how many Prairie pieces Daum made, and how many survive? No, but I can tell you that over the last 15 years, eight have sold publicly that I know of.

Would this be the only Daum glass vase you’ve seen that’s in the Prairie style and has a bulbous stick shape? It’s the only one I know of.

How many different shapes did Daum offer in the Prairie line? There could have been 30 to 40 different ones. Most of the time with Prairie, they’re small.

The lot headline calls this Daum glass vase “rare”. What makes it so? Is it purely the Prairie decoration, or does its unusual shape play a role? It really wouldn’t make a difference what shape it has. It could be an ashtray and it would still get attention. This is one of the better ones I’ve seen as far as the shape. That should help it, but it’s the decoration that makes it rare.

Does this bulbous stick form vase show up only in the Prairie line, or do other pieces of Daum take this form? Other Daum pieces have this shape.

What can we tell, just by looking, how difficult this Daum glass vase was to make? As far as the enameling–and again, I don’t mean to downplay it–the decoration itself is not difficult to do. It wouldn’t have been that complicated. The difficulty is in getting the shape. When you consider that they were all hand-blown pieces, that’s saying something.

What challenges would the bulbous stick form pose to the glass-blower? Just the consistency. It’s difficult to do it consistently, but Daum, they were masters.

In looking at the shape of the Daum glass vase, it almost revels in its inability to function. Was it explicitly designed never to be used to hold flowers? Oh, come on! You could put one flower in it! [Laughs] I don’t think it was meant to be used. Tiffany, Gallé, and Daum were always made for the affluent of the day. It was always strictly a decorative piece.

What condition is the Daum glass vase in, and what condition issues do you tend to see with the bulbous stick form pieces? Anybody can crack or chip these. Once that happens, it takes 90 percent of the value out of the vase. The decoration can wear, and it’s usually worn by exposure to the sun. This one is very clean. On a one to ten scale, it’s about an 8.5. It has pretty strong decoration and not a lot of wear on it at all.

So the sun is the number one enemy of a piece like this? That, and if the owner is a klutz.

What is the Daum glass vase like in person? The delicate flowers on the bottom–I took a shot of the vase laying down so you could see it–I don’t know how you paint this on a piece of glass. The trees have definitive branches and the wildflowers are very delicately done. It doesn’t take a super artist, you just have to have the time to do it.

As we speak on March 25, 2021, the Daum glass vase has been bid up to $5,500 with the auction almost three weeks away. Is that meaningful at all, this far out? Yeah. It tells you there’s interest. Normally, most [lots] come close to two or three times their presale estimates. In my last sale, I had a Tiffany red flower form that was at $5,500 with three weeks to go, and it ended up doing $19,200. [The link reflects the Tiffany piece’s hammer price, or the price before the premium and attendant fees are added.]

What is the world auction record for a piece of Daum art glass in the Prairie style, and what is the record for any Daum piece? The overall record was set in December 2006 at Christie’s by a glass gourd piece that sold for $156,000. The record for a Daum piece in the Prairie style belongs to this same piece, or an identical version of this piece. It was offered in the same 2006 Christie’s auction, and sold for $28,800.

Why will this Daum glass vase stick in your memory? It’s the only one I’ve ever had. You remember the pieces that are really, really rare. When you have pieces this special, it’s exciting.

How to bid: The Daum glass vase is lot 0206 in the Spring Art Glass 2021 auction scheduled at Jaremos on April 14, 2021.

How to subscribe to The Hot Bid: Click the trio of dots at the upper right of this page. You can also follow The Hot Bid on Instagram and follow the author on Twitter.

Images are courtesy of Jaremos.

See the website for Daum, which is still active and still making art glass.

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A Pair of Ted Williams Cleats, Worn During His Final At Bat, Could Sell for $63,000 or More (Update, April 4, 2021: They Did!)

UncategorizedMarch 26, 2021April 4, 2021

Update: The Ted Williams cleats sold for $70,745. Hooray!

What you see: The cleats Ted Williams wore during his final at bat of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career on September 28, 1960, at Fenway Park. SCP Auctions estimates them at $50,000-plus.

The expert: Mike Keys, chief operating officer of SCP Auctions.

Who was Ted Williams? He was a Red Sox great and one of the best hitters in MLB history. He played 19 seasons with the Red Sox, primarily in left field. He had a tremendous career and was a Hall of Fame player.

Lots of baseball players enter their final career at bat without knowing it. How well-telegraphed was this event? Had Ted Williams announced he would retire at the end of the 1960 season? He had announced his retirement on three different occasions–in 1951, again in 1954, and in 1960. He had had injuries in the early 1950s, but 1960, that was it. People knew it would be his last at bat. He came up in the eighth inning. It was not likely he’d get another at bat, and it was his last game.

So it’s September 1960. No internet, no smart phones. Is Fenway Park full? In 1960, the Red Sox were not the best team. There were 10,454 fans in the stands.

Was that its capacity? I don’t believe so. [Keys is correct. Baseball Almanac says Fenway’s capacity was 33,368 at the time.]

What happened during Ted Williams’s final at bat? How did it go? The first pitch, he took for a ball. A lot of sluggers watched the first pitch anyway then. The second pitch was a high fastball. Ted Williams swung really hard at it. There was no doubt he was swinging for the fences. The third pitch he hit for a 440-foot home run.

That is a long home run, like you only see in the Home Run Derby contest in the All-Star Break. Or Mike Trout. But yeah, he nailed it.

So the crowd goes nuts. Then what happens? He runs the bases very humbly, very business-like, with his head down. He shook the catcher’s hand and got into the dugout quickly.

How do we know these are Ted Williams game-worn cleats, and how do we know he wore them during his last major league at bat? It ties in to Jim Carroll. He and Ted Williams were friends going back to at least five years prior to the home run. Carroll would cruise around town in Ted’s Cadillac and shepherd him around. After the game, Carroll was there to take Williams to the airport. The provenance is Jim Carroll. [Carroll wrote a letter of authenticity for the cleats in 2007 that reads in part: “After the game, Ted started to take off his cleats and uniform to take a shower. Ted cantankerously threw his cleats in a barrel nearby. I sheepishly went to grab them and figured what a great collectible these would make. The equipment manager Jonny Orlando for the Red Sox turned and said “Hey, what are you doing”, Ted then turned around and stated, “No, that’s okay, let the Bush (my nickname to Ted) have ’em.”] They were originally sold in 2007, in a joint auction with SCP and Sotheby’s, and Carroll wrote the letter at that time. Other attributes of the cleats check out–the Spot Bilt tagging, the number 9 inside the tongue.

What did the Ted Williams cleats sell for in 2007, when SCP and Sotheby’s joined forces on that auction? $51,000.

I’ve seen any number of game-worn baseball jerseys that predate 1970, and a few pairs of pants. This is the first pair of cleats I can remember. How rare are vintage game-worn baseball cleats, generally? They don’t come around that often. In 2019, a pair of Babe Ruth cleats sold for $72,000, and had provenance from the Ruth family. Other than that, none have come up for sale. There are more jerseys out there than cleats. Unless they’re from a player like Ruth or Williams, or from a significant game, you don’t see cleats pop up. And game-worn jerseys are easier to authenticate. There aren’t too many cleats authenticators out there. That’s not really a thing that’s done.

Let’s talk about the condition of the Ted Williams cleats and how condition works when we’re talking about game-worn clothing. How do you assess a piece for which you want to see some wear, but not so much that it looks like it’s been dragged behind a bus? You do want a lot of wear on some game-worn items. You don’t want them to look like they were run through a wringer. You want dirt and creasing and evidence he was running around in them. With these ones, in particular, you can see dust and dirt speckling off, still. You can assume it comes from Fenway. It’s still there. They’re well-made leather cleats. They’re by Spot Bilt, a manufacturer of cleats back then. The tagging inside is vintage, everything about the cleats is vintage.

Did I hear you say the Ted Williams cleats have Fenway dirt in them? There’s some dirt in the nooks and crannies of the seams. Not big chunks–dust. We can assume it’s from Fenway.

What are the Ted Williams cleats like in person? What eludes the camera? They’re just special in person. You can see the little grains of dirt and dust, and looking at the cleats part is interesting. They have six spikes coming out of the soles, and they look welded on. It’s really cool to have them in front of me on my desk. You can feel the difference. There’s an aura about these items when they come around.

What is your favorite detail of the Ted Williams cleats? I love the spikes. You can also see the stitching at the bottom of the shoe. These things were just made differently.

What size are the Ted Williams cleats? Size 9 to 9 1/2. That’s Ted’s size.

That’s convenient, seeing as that was also Ted Williams’s number. [Laughs]

Have you tried them on? They don’t fit my feet, but we wouldn’t put them on, the same way we wouldn’t swing a Babe Ruth game-used bat. We’ve put on jerseys before, but we haven’t tried on the cleats.

Well, they’re leather. That’s an organic material. Who knows when and whether they’ll crack? And they’re an old artifact. Since 2007, they have had shoe horns inside that have kept their shape.

So when you were figuring out a presale estimate for the Ted Williams cleats, you looked to the results from when they sold in 2007? It’s based on itself because there’s really no comparables out there. They’re one of a kind. There are no other Ted Williams last home run cleats out there. $51,000 was a big price at the time, and it has already reached that price.

Whoa, you’re right. We’re speaking on March 19, 2021, I’ve just refreshed the lot page, and they’re at $53,594. With the premium, they’re over $63,000.

How meaningful is that–it’s more than two weeks before the auction ends, and they’ve already exceeded the price they fetched the last time they were auctioned? We’re excited about it, of course, and we hope it keeps going, but it’s really a crapshoot. Sometimes, at auction, you see something reach a number and sit there and never move from that bid. Sometimes things go absolutely crazy toward the last day. But we’re glad the cleats are where they are now.

What’s the world auction record for a pair of game-worn baseball cleats? It’s a pair that Michael Jordan wore while playing in minor league baseball for the Birmingham Barons. They sold for $93,000 in May 2020. To my knowledge, his are the highest priced game worn baseball cleats. Michael Jordan kind of owns the shoe world.

Do you think these Ted Williams cleats could set a new record? If they beat $93,000, we’ll be ecstatic. They’re already halfway there. They could certainly get there.

Why will these Ted Williams cleats stick in your memory? Because I don’t know if I’ll ever see them again. They probably won’t come up for sale again [in my career]. I hope whoever wins really cherishes them and takes good care of them.

How to bid: The Ted Williams cleats are lot 43 in the Winter Premier Auction 2021 at SCP Auctions. It opened on March 17, 2021 and closes on April 3, 2021.

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Images are courtesy of SCP Auctions.

See Ted Williams’s final at-bat in full at the YouTube channel of David Marlin, who filmed it and later donated his camera to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

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A 1932 Marx Brothers Movie Poster Could Sell for $50,000 (Updated March 28, 2021)

UncategorizedMarch 19, 2021March 28, 2021

Update: The Marx Brothers movie poster sold for $40,800.

What you see: A Marx Brothers movie poster for their 1932 film Horse Feathers. It’s a three-sheet poster, which measures 41 inches by 80 inches. Heritage Auctions estimates it at $25,000 to $50,000.

The expert: Grey Smith, director of vintage movie poster auctions at Heritage Auctions.

Who were the Marx Brothers, and where were they in their career in 1932, when Horse Feathers was released? They were really known for their stage work prior to the early 1930s. They were recruited in New York by Paramount to do an adaption of a play they were in called The Cocoanuts. The Marx Brothers weren’t primarily physical comedians–it was all verbal banter, puns, and plays-on-words that attracted the audience. They did this movie and Duck Soup and then MGM picked them up. Most Marx Brothers fans love the Paramount films because they were more loose, less…

Well, they were pre-code–made before the Hays Code. Right. The Paramount films were more loosely concocted stories, all over the place. MGM buttoned them up and gave them a more direct narrative. When they made Horse Feathers, they were at the peak of their popularity in the early part of their career.

The poster touts “The 4 Marx Brothers”. Who’s the other guy off by himself? That’s Zeppo, in the lower right. The fifth Marx Brother, Gummo, never appeared in the films. Zeppo was the straight man to the other three brothers. He didn’t continue to the MGM years.

Do we know who did the portraits on the Marx Brothers movie poster? We do. The man who did them was Sam Berman, an artist working for Paramount. He did a number of images of the Marx Brothers for the poster campaign.

It’s funny how the design layout of the poster plays right into how most people remember them–“Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and… that other guy, what’s his name…” Exactly right. In marketing this movie, they played up the three crazy ones, but they needed to show the other brother. I don’t want to say he’s an afterthought, but there he is.

How rare are vintage Marx Brothers movie posters? Original Marx Brothers material is really pretty scarce. There was quite a demand for many years. I suggest that it was college students who found them in the 1950s and 1960s, who found the fun of those films. They really became popular in those years and the posters were probably sought after and they scooped up whatever they could find.

And that’s how this Marx Brothers movie poster might have survived? College students who ran campus film clubs would ask the distributor to send along any old posters they had kicking around, so they could advertise it? I can only believe that is the case. Local television stations needed product to fill their airwaves and were showing older films constantly. The Marx Brothers were part of that. Their verbal banter, their appearances, and their movements were really fascinating. Young adults discovered them, and it probably led to a run on their films. It’s a guess, but it’s a fair one to make–their posters are desirable.

The appearance of each Marx Brother seems to have been codified by 1932, judging by the Horse Feathers poster. How did the brothers’ recognizability help sell the movie? By this time, their fourth movie with Paramount, their images were pretty iconic. They were really well-known in their screen personas, and they immediately translated to the poster in exaggerated cartoon form. Everyone knew by looking [at this poster that Horse Feathers] was not a serious romantic drama. They could see what it was.

The lot notes describe this Marx Brothers movie poster as “exceptionally rare”. What makes it so? We sold another copy of this one last year for $66,000. The only difference is this copy is in a little bit better condition than the copy that was previously sold, and that other copy was autographed by Groucho. He wrote his name next to his head.

And that’s it? Those are the only two copies of this version of this Marx Brothers movie poster? They’re the only two copies I’m aware of. It’s a coincidence that this one appeared so soon after [the first one sold in March 2020].

Ok, let’s pretend I’m walking to the movie theater to see Horse Feathers. Where would I see this long, skinny Marx Brothers movie poster? Is it in a case outside the theater, or is it displayed inside? Both. It could be outside the theater, in a case, and they put them inside the theater. The most common movie poster is the one-sheet. Three-sheets [which this poster is] and six-sheets are more rare. They’d get used and abused more than a one-sheet. They [the people who ran movie theaters] would take three-sheets and six-sheets and cut out the Marx Brothers’ heads for a display of their own making. This paper was very inexpensive and totally expendable.

What is this Marx Brothers movie poster like in person? What eludes the camera? When people come here to view a poster, they say, “Wow, it’s so much brighter in person,” and it usually is. The photographs are good, but it’s not like seeing it in person. It’s just much more vibrant.

What’s your favorite detail of the poster? The caricatures are wonderful, especially Harpo, whose eyes are wide open.

Sam Berman seems to have given Harpo Marx red hair, though. I wonder why? We don’t know. Bear in mind that none of these films are in color. The studio provided the artists a number of stills from the film, and they used them to create images for the poster.

The Marx Brothers movie poster is described as being in “Very Fine, minus” condition. What does that mean? It’s just saying the poster is very presentable. Very Fine minus means there’s very little, if any, paper loss, and very minor wear to the paper.

As we speak on March 9, 2021, the Marx Brothers movie poster has been bid up to $12,500. Is that meaningful, given how far away in time the auction is? Not really. I don’t think so. I tell people all the time that people don’t get involved in bidding until the week before, and really [get involved] when it comes down to the auction block. I have seen posters come to the block with a $10,000 bid and when it’s all over, they sell for $355,000. That’s not unusual. Now that auctions are so immediate and many have access to bidding in real time, people will wait and keep their cards close to their chest until the auction goes live.

Comedy is ephemeral. Horse Feathers is close to being a century old. The Marx Brothers have been dead for decades. Why do they persist? Why are we still talking about them today? The only way to explain it is to go watch a few of their films. They had a unique and really quick banter. It’s sort of like asking what people find enchanting about Charlie Chaplin–City Lights is one of the best films created. It’s incredible.

Why will this piece stick in your memory? I see a lot of good material come through our auction house. I see posters as tangible pieces of cinema history. This poster is a very, very significant piece of cinema history. Fifty years from now, people will look at the auction catalog and think, “Wow, you could buy that for that price.” I think demand will continue to be significant. Museums and institutions will want them.

How to bid: The Marx Brothers movie poster is lot #86138 in the Movie Posters Signature Auction held at Heritage Auctions on March 27 and 28, 2021.

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Image is courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

Grey Smith has appeared on The Hot Bid many times, talking about a 1929 Russian movie poster for Battleship Potemkin, a lobby card from the 1932 film Freaks,  a unique Japanese movie poster for The Seven Samurai and a 1934 poster for the nudist film Children of the Sun. 

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A Pair of Albert Paley Doors Could Command $50,000 (Updated March 23, 2021)

UncategorizedMarch 12, 2021March 24, 2021

Update: The Albert Paley doors sold for $18,750.

What you see: A pair of entrance doors fashioned in 2004 by Albert Paley, with glass elements by Martin Blank. Hindman estimates them at $30,000 to $50,000.

The expert: Hudson Berry, director and senior specialist for the Modern design department at Hindman.

Who is Albert Paley? He’s one of the nation’s leading and most influential blacksmiths. He was instrumental in the revitalization of the craft, which had declined with the closures in the American automobile industry in the 70s and 80s. Paley’s sculptures can be seen all over the world, and he has made architectural contributions to numerous institutions across America. Through his work as an educator at the Rochester Institute of Technology, he has continued to inspire and foster the careers of the next generation of international blacksmiths.   

Where was Albert Paley in his career in 2004, when he made these doors? And is he still active? The Springborn doors were conceived during his apex. He would have been 59 or 60 years old at the time of fabrication. He’s still fully active as an artist and designer.

How often has Paley worked with Martin Blank? How often have the two worked together on sets of doors or gates? The two artists have a multi-decade history of collaboration. Most take the form of sculpture, but it’s unlikely that they’ve worked on many doors together. Glass incorporated in functional kinetic design on an architectural scale poses obvious challenges, and requires an instrumental key ingredient: an imaginative and open-minded client!  

How do these doors show how Paley has evolved since creating the Renwick Portal Gates in 1974? What do the two sets of doors have in common, aside from their fundamental purpose, and how do they differ? While there are obvious threads that connect the Portal Gates and the Springborn Doors, such as nods to the Art Nouveau and Arts & Crafts masters, the Springborn examples showcase Paley’s evolution as a designer. There is an incredible sense of rhythm and motion to the Portal Gates, but they also feel relatively restrained when considered alongside his later works. In the Springborn doors, we see much harder angles in dialogue with almost fabric-like elements placed atop jagged edges, while also incorporating a true sense of depth. All of which, in conjunction with Blank’s glass elements, creates harmonious tension more like that seen in Paley’s public works, with the overall design of the doors transcending the materials themselves.

What can we tell, just by looking, about how difficult these doors would have been to make? I’d say even in the hands of a master blacksmith such as Paley… extremely difficult. While we don’t know how long it took from commission to completion of the doors, Paley is said to have spent 3,800 hours over the course of seven months to complete the Renwick Portal Gates commission. Of course, the Springborn commission came 30 years later in Paley’s career, but it’s still an incredible display of virtuosity and material intelligence. Paley has a reputation for raising the bar with each project, and the Springborn doors are no exception.

How much input did the Springborns have in the design and appearance of the doors? I can’t speak to the level of collaboration or involvement the Springborns had with the overall look or specific details of the project, but we know from researching their relationships with other artists in the collection that their standard practice was to let them have total creative freedom.

The lot includes the original proposal drawing from Paley. How rare is that? Do most Paley works that come to auction lack their design drawings? The majority of Paley’s works that include proposal drawings are commissioned by larger institutions. In this instance, we are thrilled to have access to the original proposal, which would only come to market under a very specific set of circumstances.
 

What are the Albert Paley doors like in person? What aspects elude the camera? Depth and scale, for sure. While we have an incredible photography department here at Hindman, an image on a smartphone just can’t replicate the presence of two seven-foot sculptural steel doors. And the tactile experience can’t be understated. The textures of the various materials are incredible, and an integral part of the experience. The steel presents as warm brown, with a rust-like appearance, but is actually quite smooth to the touch, similar to Blank’s glass elements. The internal glass isn’t simply frosted, it’s got an incredible pebbled texture intersected with inset vertical soft waves that seem to mimic rain on a window. If these were backlit, the effect would be almost cinematic. You could only imagine coming home to these on a daily basis, an interaction that would likely never get old. 

What is your favorite detail of the Albert Paley doors? To me, the doors are a holistic experience. Having assembled them and spent some quality time with them, I still think of them as chamber music or an ensemble cast–the interchange of the two mediums is so intertwined that choosing a single favorite detail starts to dismantle them. 

Is the door design meant to be purely abstract, or are there colors, details, or other features woven in that have special meaning to the Springborns? Unfortunately, we didn’t have access to the Springborns’ correspondence with the artist on this particular project.

Could you talk about how well the Albert Paley doors work as a functional, integrated piece? Sadly, due to COVID-19 restrictions, I was unable to experience the doors in situ. But their construction is extremely robust, with every detail exquisitely crafted and tooled. Even the doorknob is a small sculpture unto itself! The doors also include all of the necessary hardware to facilitate full functionality once they arrive at their new home. I can only assume they are truly gratifying to open and close. 

I see that the doors are not mirror images of each other, but they share some shapes in common… I find the dialogue of symmetry juxtaposed with asymmetry to be the most compelling element of the design, and it changes depending on how close you are to the doors. That dialogue can also be seen as a recurring theme in Paley’s work. For me, this is Paley alluding to his adoration for artists such as Hector Guimard, Louis Majorelle, Louis Comfort Tiffany, and Louis Sullivan.

What did Paley and Blank do to ensure that the glass elements would be robust enough to serve as part of a functional set of front doors? They’re extremely well-engineered. The glass elements are held in place with a series of rubber gaskets and adjustable hard rubber setscrews to ensure that the glass isn’t compromised with regular use. And while the glass is hollow, it’s also quite thick-walled, and it’s less nimble than it appears. 

How often do pieces by Albert Paley come to auction? Using LiveAuctioneers for metrics, and with the inclusion of the pieces in the Springborn Collection–as of March 2021, we are currently at 429 works, going as far back as 2003.

What is the world auction record for a work by Albert Paley? It’s a sculpture from 2013, titled Harlequin, which sold for $55,000 at Rago in 2018 as part of The Albert Paley Archives Part 1 auction. Of course, we hope the Paley works from the Springborn Collection will sit in the top percentile of achieved prices, if not setting new auction records themselves.

With these Albert Paley doors estimated at $30,000 to $50,000, a new world auction record for the artist could be set. What’s your opinion—could it happen? Could this lot do it? Yes. Given the importance of the client and how rarely Paley’s architectural private commissions come to market, the potential is certainly there for these to break and exceed any previous auction results. 

Why will these Albert Paley doors stick in your memory? Glenn Adamson wrote in his catalog essay for this lot: “Art-curious visitors to the home of Robert and Carolyn Springborn didn’t have long to wait. They were greeted right at the entrance by one of the collection’s most spectacular works”. That sums up the gravity of the Springborns as collectors and patrons. These doors truly served as the grand overture to the collection as a whole, setting the stage for surprises to come after you entered the home.

How to bid: The Albert Paley doors are lot 37 in The Springborn Collection of Contemporary Craft, a sale taking place at Hindman on March 23, 2021.

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Images are courtesy of Hindman.

Albert Paley has a website.

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An Apothecary Trade Sign Could Fetch $2,000 (Updated March 11, 2021–Nice!)

UncategorizedMarch 5, 2021March 11, 2021

Update: The apothecary trade sign sold for $6,500, more than triple its high estimate. Nice!

What you see: A lighted apothecary trade sign, covered with colored pieces of glass and dating to the 1920s. Cowan’s Auctions estimates it at $1,000 to $2,000.

The expert: Ben Fisher, director of Americana for Hindman. [Hindman and Cowan’s merged in 2019.]

What, if anything, do we know about who might have commissioned this apothecary trade sign? I would say maybe it was commissioned from a specific shop. I believe it’s late 19th century in inception. There are ads from the late 19th century from Travis, McLewee & Ferry in New York, and this sign looks almost identical to the trade signs made by that company, which specialized in artistic gas fixtures.

Where does the circa 1920s date for this apothecary trade sign come from? It’s based on an invoice provided by the consigner.

Does the appearance of the sign point to a 1920s date? Admittedly, the electrification of the sign is confusing. I’m 99 percent certain it was fitted for gas [originally].

I see that the apothecary trade sign is meant to look like a mortar and pestle, but what is that cone-shaped metal thing full of holes sticking out of the top? What does that do? It’s almost an exhaust or a chimney, a manner of expelling the smoke that the gas flame would have emitted. It’s really built into the cover. It’d be difficult to remove without replacing or altering the cover.

It started out as a gas fixture and at some point, the sign was converted to electricity? I’m not sure what the original gas element looked like. I think it would have been easy to convert it to electricity in the 20th century and in any period since then. My assumption is [the conversion took place in] the last quarter of the 20th century.

So it morphed over time. It was updated so it could continue to be used for its purpose. How many people do you know who have a gas line running through their kitchen? The sign had to be changed in order to be used. It’s a cool thing. Not a lot of these illuminated apothecary signs exist.

I think of antique trade signs as being two-dimensional, or flat. Setting aside cigar store figures, is it unusual to come across a sign like this, which is three-dimensional? I don’t believe so, no. I do see a lot of two-dimensional signs, but there are loads of three-dimensional signs. Carved barber poles are 3-D objects. Shoemakers’ signs, hat-makers’ signs, they all have three-dimensionality to them. This is remarkable in its rarity and condition. It’s not remarkable for being a 3-D trade sign from the 19th century.

How does the apothecary trade sign work? Do all the lights go on at once, and off at once, or do they light up as individual, graduated bands? It has a single lighting element, one bulb. You turn it on and all the beads [the glass elements] light up. Some light up more than others, but you turn it on, and every bead is illuminated.

How many glass pieces, or beads, are there on this apothecary trade sign? It has 195. They are glass, but they’re all secure. Some have tiny chips on the edges of their interiors, but there are very few of them.

Is the sign solid? It’s hollow.

What can we tell, just by looking, about how hard the apothecary trade sign would have been to make? I’d say the most difficult part of the process was creating the glass inserts. They either molded these beads out of glass, or made the shape of the bead and hand-cut it to facet it. As for the metal, I don’t think it was very hard for a competent metalworker to fashion.

Does it have a patina or pattern of wear that hints that it spent some or all of its life outside, or was it displayed indoors? It probably lived part of its life outside. When Paul [Paul Bentley, the consigner] acquired it, it had certainly been restored and cleaned up, but there’s oxidation that suggests exposure to the elements. I’m fairly certain that at some point, it lived outside, but definitely not all its life.

I think I see glass beads in white, blue, amber yellow, and red. Did I get all the colors, or did I miss any? You got them all. The late 19th century business card indicated that the gas fixtures company was able to make glass of ruby, crystal [white], and emerald color.

Ah, this apothecary trade sign doesn’t have any emerald beads. That’s disappointing to me, in that I think emerald is a more interesting color. But red, white, yellow, and blue aren’t bad either.

The provenance information on the lot page says “American Garage, Los Angeles, California”. What does that mean? American Garage is an antiques shop in Los Angeles. It’s temporarily closed [due to COVID-19 restrictions]. The consigner bought the sign there in 2010.

Has the apothecary trade sign been rewired for LEDs (light-emitting diodes)? It just has one central lighting element in the center. You can use any household light bulb to attach to it. It has a very simple solution.

What is the apothecary trade sign like in person? What aspects elude the camera? The scale of this is really something to be desired. It’s 29 inches tall–a large and very charming thing. I don’t know if you get that if you don’t see it in person.

Is 29 inches kind of petite for a trade sign meant for outdoor display? Other examples of these signs can be as small as 20 inches.

How many other examples are you aware of? More than a dozen? There are very few others. Certainly less than 20.

What’s your favorite detail of the apothecary trade sign? The thing I like most about it is the colored dots of light it leaves on the wall when it’s illuminated. There’s something very whimsical about it. Put it on a shelf in the corner and multiple walls will show polka dots on them.

Like a disco ball? Sort of. It’s funny–if you put it on a rotating platform, there would be a disco light aspect to it. I would love to see it lit with a flame to see how light reacts to it. Imagine being on a street and passing under it as colored lights dance on the ground.

Did the makers of the apothecary trade sign know it would cast little dots of multi-colored light when it was illuminated, or was the effect a happy accident? I would love to think they had the forethought, but it might be how it turned out.

What condition is the apothecary trade sign in? It’s in good condition. It operates, it functions. Given the changes to how it functions, some might be concerned, but electricity might be the only way to preserve what its purpose is. Also, it’s been cleaned. There’s no verdigris and the very little oxidation that exists suggests that it’s been outside.

Would the sign be worthless if it didn’t light up? It’s certainly a sculptural, wonderful thing to look at. If it didn’t function, fewer people would bid on it. Even if it was sold unelectrified, someone who is capable could convert it to electricity.

About that–as of February 25, 2021, the day we’re speaking, the apothecary trade sign has 62 watchers and has drawn four bids, the largest of which is $850. Is that meaningful at all? I tend to follow the numbers on LiveAuctioneers, and how many watchers and bids there are before a sale. Usually, it’s a good indicator of how it will perform.

Have any identical or similar apothecary trade signs come to auction? There was one that came up 20 years ago at Morphy’s. It sold for $2.000. I think this one is comparable.

What’s the world auction record for a trade sign? Putting aside traditional Samuel Robb [cigar store Indian] figures, it was an elephant-shaped boots and shoes sign for John M. Dyckman, which sold in October 2019 at Sotheby’s for $56,250.

Why will this piece stick in your memory? This is probably the only one I’ll ever get to handle. I’ve been doing this for 12 years, and I think it’s the only one I’ve seen in my career.

How to bid: The apothecary trade sign is lot 0015 in the American Folk & Decorative Arts auction at Cowan’s Auctions on March 9, 2021.

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Images are courtesy of Cowan’s Auctions. Images of the late 19th century advertisement are courtesy of Ben Fisher.

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A Vintage Jumbo NFL Bobblehead Could Fetch $25,000 (Updated March 12, 2021)

UncategorizedMarch 2, 2021March 12, 2021

Update: The jumbo NFL bobblehead sold for $19,600.

What you see: A jumbo NFL bobblehead, made in the early 1960s and styled as a player for the San Francisco 49ers. Huggins and Scott estimates it at $15,000 to $25,000.

The expert: Bill Huggins of Huggins and Scott.

The lot notes say the jumbo NFL bobblehead was distributed by the Otagiri Mercantile Company. What do we know about the company? Is it still in business? As far as I can tell with our research, it is not. It’s a company out of Japan in the 1950s, when these bobbleheads were mostly made. Then it kind of went away. I didn’t find out what else they might have made.

So it pretty much disappears by the 1970s? I believe so, or the dolls weren’t being produced by then.

Why might the Otagiri Mercantile Company have wanted to make jumbo NFL bobbleheads for the 14 American football teams that existed in the early 1960s? At that time, the NFL wasn’t anywhere near as dominant as it is now, and the first Super Bowl was years away. What convinced the company that it could turn a profit off these toys? I’ve been doing this for 40 years now, and have sold several of the jumbo NFL bobbleheads. The story among hobbyists is these were promo dolls sold at airports in the United States, probably in the 14 cities that were home to the teams. They [the airport stores] would put the big bobblehead up, and little bobbleheads around it, and you could buy the little ones.

So the jumbo versions were display-only? Yes, I believe the big ones were not designed to be sold. I think they were designed to be eye-catchers for the little guys.

These jumbo NFL bobbleheads stand about 15 inches tall. Is that what qualifies them as “jumbo”–being 12 inches tall or taller? Yes. The regular ones were about five to six inches tall.

Do we have any notion about how many of these jumbo NFL bobbleheads were made, and how many survive? The lot notes say the company might have produced as many as five jumbos per team. Five is a guess. Very few were produced, and very few survive. I’m in the Baltimore area. We’ve sold half a dozen of the Colts ones, but that’s the area we’re in. They were very, very regional. I think this is the first San Francisco 49ers one we’ve ever handled.

I see an NFL logo on the bobblehead’s left foot. Did the Otagiri Mercantile Company get the league’s permission to use it, or not? I think they just stuck the logo on. Today, if you were to reproduce a logo owned by a team without permission, you’d get sued real quick. Nobody cared back then. Probably, the league was happy that somebody was promoting the sport.

The jumbo NFL bobblehead has the words FORTY NINERS written on its chest. Did the team not have a logo then? I’m not really sure, but the red and silver coloring of the uniform is consistent with the 49ers colors.

Do the jumbo NFL bobbleheads look basically the same–same face, same pose, but different colors of uniform and helmet? Yes, and I believe the numbers on the backs of the players are always double zeroes.

How might these jumbo NFL bobbleheads have been made? They probably poured ceramic material into a mold of some sort. It hardened, and then it was painted.

Painted by human beings? I would think somebody painted them individually. When you get the smalls, they’re a little bit different in the painting. You can tell they’re not rolled out on a factory assembly line.

And the jumbo NFL bobbleheads are 100 percent ceramic? Yes. Today, bobbleheads are made out of hard plastic. You can throw them against the wall and they won’t break. These, they’re very fragile. You drop ’em, you have a pile of dust.

How did these toys manage to survive at all, given that they were made in such small numbers, from a highly breakable material, and were never meant to be sold? I don’t know. When the promotion ran out, whoever ran the gift shop or the hobby store might have given them to someone, or taken them home. [The world auction record for any bobblehead belongs to an early 1960s jumbo Yankees bobblehead from the same Japanese company. It sold for $90,000 at Heritage Auctions in October 2019.]

What is the jumbo NFL bobblehead like in person? What aspects elude the camera? The crudeness of how it was made. If you held it in your hand, you could tell it’s very fragile.

What condition is the jumbo NFL bobblehead in, and what sorts of condition issues do you tend to see with these oversize vintage toys? We’ve found indentations on the shoulders and flaws at the backs of the heads, where there are hairline cracks from people pushing the head down to make it bob. This one is described as being in “near mint” condition. That’s very rare to find, based on what they’re made out of.

Why will this toy stick in your memory? For the size of it. It’s so unique, compared to thousands and thousands and thousands of other bobbleheads that we sell all the time. We see so few of the big ones. It’s rare to find a jumbo at any time.

How to bid: The jumbo NFL bobblehead is lot 937 in the Winter Auction held at Huggins & Scott. It opened on February 26, 2021 and continues until March 11, 2021.

How to subscribe to The Hot Bid: Click the trio of dots at the upper right of this page. You can also follow The Hot Bid on Instagram and follow the author on Twitter.

Images are courtesy of Huggins and Scott.

Bill Huggins appeared on The Hot Bid previously to discuss a 1903 World Series program printed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

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A Circa 1905 Double Ferris Wheel Toy Could Sell for $15,000 (Updated March 8, 2021–WOW!)

UncategorizedFebruary 26, 2021March 8, 2021

Update: The Mohr & Krauss double Ferris Wheel toy sold for $115,000–more than seven times its high estimate. Wow!

What you see: A Mohr & Krauss double Ferris Wheel toy, dating to circa 1905. Bertoia Auctions estimates it at $10,000 to $15,000.

The expert: Auctioneer Michael Bertoia of Bertoia Auctions in Vineland, New Jersey.

Who were, or what was Mohr & Krauss? Mohr & Krauss was a German manufacturer out of Nuremberg. There’s not a ton of info about the company itself. This is actually a steam-powered toy. Steam engines were the focus of the company, and it made steam accessories, such as this.

How does the double Ferris Wheel toy work? The entire structure rotates at the top, and the inner wheels rotate as well. At the bottom rear of the toy is a double flywheel that spins a pulley run by a steam engine. You have to have a live steam engine to run it. It’s a steam engine accessory.

Does the toy come with a steam engine? It does not.

If you wanted to operate the double Ferris Wheel toy, how would you do it? You can hand-crank it, or have an auxiliary engine of some sort.

What, like a two-stroke engine, or a lawnmower engine? Probably a battery-powered engine. All you need is a circular spinning engine or a pulley connected with a rope or a wire.

You said that Mohr & Krauss made steam engines and steam accessories, and this toy is considered a steam accessory. What else falls under the heading of “steam accessory”? An example would be a water fountain that uses a steam-driven flywheel to spritz water into the air. Windmills were popular. Any carousel or amusement-type wheel could be a steam accessory.

Is this double Ferris Wheel toy unique? This is the only one I’ve personally seen. Reportedly, two other examples are known. One is in the United States, and I don’t know where the other is. Sotheby’s had one of the others in the 1980s, I don’t know which.

Are the other two identical to this one, or do some of the details and colors vary? The only illustration I’ve seen is in black and white, but they very well could be different.

Why would Mohr & Krauss make a huge, delicate toy such as this? What convinced them they could turn a profit on it? That’s the big question mark here. Unless it was a special order or made as a commemorative… I can’t imagine the time, the labor, the materials it took to make it. It’s very large, and very ornate and intricate. To solder and assemble it had to take hours. It would have been a very expensive toy.

How expensive would it have been? Probably five to ten dollars in 1905, equivalent to the annual wage of the factory worker who would make the toy.

How big is this toy? About two feet from the base to the top of the tower. When it rotates, it spans about 36 inches.

Who was the audience for this double Ferris Wheel toy? Was it children, or was it really for a deep-pocketed adult? I think the audience was the parents as much as the children. We are talking about a toy powered by a live steam engine that burns alcohol. Obviously, you had to have a parent involved to play with it for the child.

The steam engine that powered the toy was driven by alcohol? That’s how the steam engine was fueled, by alcohol.

Might this have been a kind of show-off piece, maybe made for display at a World’s Fair or in the front window of a fancy toy store? It could have been, absolutely. You mention shop windows–Aaron and Abby Schroeder [the husband and wife who built the collection that comprises the auction] unearthed this in a small Pennsylvania town. There was a barber shop with large bay windows, and in one of them was this toy. They stopped and stayed overnight. Aaron got a haircut, and Abby carried out the double Ferris Wheel.

But we don’t know where the barber got the toy? We don’t.

Are the figures and the Ferris Wheel seats cast as one piece, or are the figures loose? They are removable. It’s impressive that they’re still intact and original to the toy.

And it has everything it ought to have–everything it would have left the factory with in the early 20th century? I believe so. The whole toy is quite delicate. Normally, bits and pieces that hang off a toy are the first to break off, such as the flags, or the even more delicate pair of lamp posts at the front. But they’re still intact and preserved.

About those flags at the top–it looks like one is a French flag and I can’t tell what the other country is supposed to be… I assume they’re decorative. There are times when a toymaker uses country flags for a specific market. I wouldn’t wager that to be the case here. They may have been [colored with what was] leftover from what they used to paint the gondolas.

What can we tell, just by looking, about how difficult this double Ferris Wheel toy would have been to make? The hardest part was probably keeping it all level and visually balanced. It was made by hand and soldered and pieced together. To make it uniform and parallel is tricky and impressive. And it has to be level for it to function and move.

How does something this large and fragile survive so well for 120-odd years? It’s a testament as to why so few are known. It’s miraculous for it to have survived in such good condition. The missing paint is a product of the age of the toy. When Abby bought it, it had 100 percent of its paint. Temperature and humidity changes caused the paint to start to lift and flake off. That’s very common in antiques [antique toys].

What is the double Ferris Wheel toy like in person? It has a very commanding presence. A lot of that has to do with the size of it. Artistically, it has an elegant beauty. You want to look at it at a slight angle. Not only is it tall and wide, it’s deep. As you look at it from different angles, your attraction grows.

What is your favorite detail of the double Ferris Wheel toy? The negative space. The fact that it’s so ornately assembled, but with so much open air space, gives it a very attractive look. The framework of the wheels and the tower are not flat pieces of metal. They criss-cross. The Eiffel Tower is a good comparison–if you look at it dead on, it’s a triangle, but if you look at it at an angle, you see how deep the structure is, and how much intricacy there is in the assembly of it.

As we speak on February 23, 2021, the double Ferris Wheel toy has 41 watchers online and has drawn a single bid of $5,000. Is that at all meaningful? Not as of yet. When the toy is an example of this caliber, collectors hold their cards close to their chests and demonstrate their willingness and their desire in the heat of the moment at auction.

Why will this piece stick in your memory? A toy of this size is often crudely assembled or manufactured. This toy is put together artfully, not thrown together the way many toys of the time were. This had something more along the line of the Rolls-Royce treatment. It was constructed in refined style.

How to bid: The Mohr & Krauss double Ferris Wheel toy is lot 0364 in the Schroeder Collection I sale scheduled at Bertoia Auctions on March 6, 2021.

How to subscribe to The Hot Bid: Click the trio of dots at the upper right of this page. You can also follow The Hot Bid on Instagram and follow the author on Twitter.

Image is courtesy of Bertoia Auctions.

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Michael Bertoia has appeared on The Hot Bid before, talking about a Jackie Robinson doll with its box and accoutrements, and a vintage Tremendous Mike robot toy with box that went on to sell for $11,000.

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A Thomas Hart Benton Lithograph Could Sell for $15,000 (Updated March 5, 2021)

UncategorizedFebruary 23, 2021March 5, 2021

Update: The Thomas Hart Benton lithograph sold for $18,750.

What you see: The Race, a 1942 Thomas Hart Benton lithograph based on his oil painting titled Homeward Bound. Swann Auction Galleries estimates it at $10,000 to $15,000.

The expert: Todd Weyman, vice president at Swann and director of prints and drawings.

Who was Thomas Hart Benton, and where was he in his career in 1942? He was an American painter, and with Grant Wood and John Steuart Curry, was a leader in the American Regionalist movement, which focused on scenes of everyday life in America. In 1942, Benton was at the top of his career. He became well-known for murals he painted in 1933 for the Century of Progress exhibition in Chicago and another set in 1932, the Arts of Life in America murals, which were for the Whitney Museum in New York. They’re now at the New Britain Museum of American Art. And in 1934, he was featured on the cover of Time magazine on one of its earliest color covers. That got him mass recognition.

How prolific was he as a printmaker? He made 93 documented lithographs between 1929 and 1974.

This Thomas Hart Benton lithograph is based on an oil painting by Benton titled Homeward Bound. Do we know anything about how he came up with the idea for the image? There’s a quote by him which is not an explanation for why he painted it, but it’s about a study for the painting, in which he says, “Common enough scene in the days of the steam engine. Why did horses so often run with the steam trains while they now pay no attention to the diesels?” The quote gives insight into why he did it–a glimpse of a bygone era. I thought it was about horse versus machine, but the quote shows how we romanticize the past and this view of the American West, which was vanishing.

Did Benton’s approach to printmaking differ when he was translating a painting into a print, and when he was creating an image that would debut as a print? No, it doesn’t differ. It’s standard in that aspect. The majority are derived from his paintings and drawings. When you look at his lithographs from 1929 through 1974, they’re technically and stylistically similar, though they were produced over a 45-year span. There’s virtually no alterations to the style or the technique. After he appeared on the cover of Time in 1934, Benton was approached by a fine art publishing company in New York, Associated American Artists (AAA), which had the idea of democratizing art collecting. It was a mail order publishing outfit. You’d pay a dollar or two dollars and pick a lithograph.

So Associated American Artists was kind of like Columbia House, which promised a bunch of records for a penny, that sort of thing? Yes. The general idea was to make art affordable for the masses. Associated American Artists approached well-known artists like Benton to give oomph to their venture. Benton was associated with AAA for most of his lithographs. They weren’t really original things. The art was made previously to pulling and submitting it to AAA for a lithograph. Because he was better-known, AAA lithographs by Benton might be $2, and those by lesser-known artists might be $1.

How hands-on was Benton in the creation of his lithographs? Did he hand off the artwork and stay away until it was time to correct the proofs, or did he do more than that? He was fairly well-involved. He worked with the lithographer to create the image. He drew the lithograph on the lithographic stones, and sometimes on a zinc plate.

The print run for this Thomas Hart Benton lithograph was 250. Is that a pretty typical edition size for Benton? That is typical, because Benton worked so frequently with the AAA. 250 is the edition size for most of the editions issued by AAA.

How well does the image exploit the advantages that lithography has to offer? I’d say it makes very full use of lithography. The main two points are the fluidity of the drawing and the tonal nuances–they are the touchstones of lithography. You don’t see Benton produce prints in etchings. Lithography suits his work. Another point is his painting style is colorful, and he never worked in color lithography. It would have been available, but not with AAA. Benton never sought it out, and he never hand-colored lithographs, which other artists sought to do.

So Benton was really more interested in painting. I think that’s it, and that color lithography is more work. For Benton, his work went into painting, not printmaking.

Can you talk a bit about how the darks and lights come across here–the tonal nuances? In Benton paintings, as in his lithographs, there’s strong chiaroscuro, the play of light and dark. He used it to create a mood that’s present in his oils. It harkens back to the modern art movements that he would have seen while studying in Paris between 1909 and 1912: Fauvism, Synchromism. It comes out in his paintings.

How much did George Miller, the printmaker who translated Benton’s images into lithographs, add to the quality and the impact of the lithographs? Tons. George Miller was a genius printer. Benton could not have been lined up with a better lithographer.

What is the Thomas Hart Benton lithograph like in person? What I take away from it is how rich the ink is and how it stands out on the sheet. It’s not terribly thick–it’s more of a sheen against the whiteness of the paper. When you photograph it, it becomes matte and flat. It loses something.

What’s your favorite detail of the lithograph? The shadow of the horse in the pond in the foreground, just how the light catches the horse and creates the shadow in the water. I think that’s cool. I also love the clouds in Benton’s work. Jackson Pollock was a student of Benton’s. If you block out the ground and look at the clouds in the upper half of the lithograph, you get the start of abstract expressionism.

We know how many lithographs of The Race were printed. Do we know how many survive? Based on what we see, it’s likely that most of the edition of 250 is around. Benton was a famous artist. This print would have been carefully preserved.

How often do you see this Thomas Hart Benton lithograph come up at auction? I see at least one a year. It’s not such a scarce image.

What condition is the lithograph in? It’s in excellent condition. It has full margins. A side note on AAA prints in particular–AAA sold them matted and framed as well. It was standard practice to paper-tape the back of the lithograph to the front of the matte. When people removed the prints from the frames, they’d cut it from the matte and remove half an inch off the margins. With AAA prints, collectors ask, “Does it have full margins or not?” Frequently, they do not. When an AAA print has full margins like this one does, it’s definitely a boost.

There are five other Thomas Hart Benton lithographs in the auction. How does The Race compare to them? This is less of a static image. It has more of the feel of a frame from a motion picture reel. That’s probably part of why collectors are drawn to this image. It puts it over other lithographs that feel more posed.

Was Benton a movie-goer? Might he have been thinking cinematically when he executed this image? Not only would he have had it in mind, he did promotional lithographs for the 1940 film The Grapes of Wrath, commissioned by 20th Century Fox.

The Grapes of Wrath set by Benton–those were purely lithographs? Not paintings first? Yes.

What’s the world auction record for The Race, and for any Thomas Hart Benton lithograph? For The Race, we do have the world auction record, set in November 2015. It was $37,500. We had the overall world auction record for a Benton lithograph until two years ago. The current record of $45,000 was set in January 2019 at Kamelot Auctions by a lithograph from 1936 called Jesse James.

Why will this image stick in your memory? The image itself is a rendering of a bygone era, this nostalgia for the American old West, with the combination of the galloping horse and the steam engine. It’s gripping, and there’s something iconic about it.

How to bid: The Thomas Hart Benton lithograph of The Race is lot 161 in the 19th & 20th Century Art sale taking place at Swann Auction Galleries on March 4, 2021.

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Todd Weyman has appeared on The Hot Bid before, talking about a 1977 Mixografía Rufino Tamayo print, a Howard Cook print that depicts the Chrysler Building and a print of M.C. Escher’s Night and Day.

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Image is courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries.

A Girl Skipping Rope Mechanical Bank Could Sell for $90,000 (Updated March 1, 2021)

UncategorizedFebruary 19, 2021March 1, 2021

Update: The girl skipping rope mechanical bank sold for $73,800.

What you see: An antique mechanical bank in the form of a girl skipping rope. Morphy Auctions estimates it at $60,000 to $90,000.

The expert: Collector Bob Brady, consigner of the girl skipping rope mechanical bank.

This mechanical bank was made by the J. & E. Stevens Company. Did it have a good reputation as a maker of mechanical banks? Also, when did it go out of business? J. & E. Stevens was the largest mechanical bank manufacturer. It was probably responsible for 50 or so of the mechanical banks that are out there. They made some of the best action mechanical banks and they made banks that were extremely colorful. Before World War II, they were out of the business of making mechanical banks. I believe what happened is the cost of manufacturing became prohibitive.

The lot notes for the girl skipping rope mechanical bank don’t give a date. Do we know when the bank was in production, and when this example might have been made? The patent was approved in the late 1890s. It was probably manufactured until the 1920s, maybe a little into the 1930s. There were variations in production styles on the girl skipping rope. There’s color variations on the girl’s dress–blue, brown, and yellow dresses are out there–but the main part of the bank stayed the same. The rope was originally cast iron, but because they had problems with the rope, they ended up casting it in brass. On this one, the rope is cast iron.

Did J. & E. Stevens invent the girl skipping rope form of mechanical bank, or did they see it elsewhere, put their own spin on it, and popularize it? This was their design and their manufacturing. No one else tried to replicate the girl skipping rope.

Do we have any idea how many girl skipping rope mechanical banks were made? Did J. & E. Stevens keep production records? I don’t know anybody who had ever had those kinds of records for J. & E. Stevens.

How many examples of the girl skipping rope mechanical bank survive? There might be, oh, possibly less than 100 in varying conditions. Maybe 15 to 20 are original, without repairs. This example is the second-best I know.

What makes this one the second-best example you’ve seen? Basically, the number of chips on the bank. I’m comparing all-original banks. It’s just the wear. Other factors that come into play is there’s a lot of red on the bank. If it came into contact with daylight, the red would turn to a light, faded pinkish color, or it goes back to the base, prime color, which is white. That’s pretty much only on red. The other colors survive well.

While I haven’t seen a ton of mechanical banks, most of the ones I’ve seen feature animals, or groups of men, or people with animals, or a boy–not an individual girl. Is it unusual for a bank to showcase a girl, as this one does? There are a few other girl-type banks, but their actions aren’t nearly as drastic as on the girl skipping rope.

How does she work? The coin gets put in the bank in the green area just below the squirrel. It sits there until the motion starts, then it falls to the bottom of the bank, where it’s stored. There’s a lever at the level of the girl’s feet if she’s standing up straight. [In the above photo, it looks like a doorknob, and it’s at the level of her knees.] That starts the girl swinging. As it makes a 360-degree rotation, the girl’s head looks left and right, and her feet move forward. She jumps the rope three or four times, but in examples I’ve operated, I’ve seen as high as 20.

I see that the girl skipping rope mechanical bank comes with a key. What did it do? The bank had a difficult mechanism in it. It had to have a strong enough spring to rotate a flywheel that was six inches in diameter. It had a bit of weight to it. You had to turn it 270 degrees, three-quarters of a turn, to lock it into position and activate it. Even an adult could have trouble turning the key. And if the key slipped off, the spring-loaded mechanism could break internally.

And that’d be the end of the bank. Pretty much. People like myself try to stay away from repaired banks. I strive for the best condition imaginable.

The bank is made entirely of cast iron. How much does it weigh? Probably about four pounds. A young girl who had one was probably an exception.

Who were mechanical banks made for? Who was the target audience? Were they made for children, to encourage them to save money, or were they actually enjoyed by adults? I’ll tell you what appealed to me when I saw them. I grew up poor. These banks imply thrift. And you’ve got the action associated with it, and this has the best action of any of the banks. It’s a pretty intricate working bank. I think the reason why J. & E. Stevens had a girl on it was it was aiming at a female market. But I think girls and boys would find it equally desirable.

What makes the girl skipping rope mechanical bank so beloved among collectors? And how much of it has to do with its action–how it moves? It’s such an appealing bank and a desirable bank. Everybody strives to have a girl skipping rope. Its popularity and its availability is such that it’s an expensive bank to own. I’d say it has the most elaborate movement, and there’s the symbolism–the girl skipping rope is the logo of the Mechanical Bank Collectors of America. They thought enough of that bank to pick it as their logo.

So the girl skipping rope is literally the symbol for mechanical banks? [Laughs] It’s kind of the tip of the spear for mechanical banks. If someone has a girl skipping rope, they’ve had 50 or 100 banks before getting to that level. Unless you’re an heir to Nike, you’re not going to buy one of these early in the collecting cycle.

The figure on the girl skipping rope mechanical bank is wearing a dress that’s a lot more dull in color than the rest of the bank. Why? Is a beige-colored dress closer to what little girls actually would have worn when the bank was new? Generally, I would say yeah. I wasn’t around in 1890, but it was an acceptable style of the time.

The mechanical bank has a squirrel on it. Do we know why? Was it the mascot of J. & E. Stevens or something? [Laughs] I’m purely speculating, but they were probably looking for some animal a girl would be familiar with. It probably could just have easily been a rabbit.

What coins does the bank accept? Pennies on up to quarters? Yeah. I’ve never tried a quarter. Generally, I never put a coin in. I just operate it.

How do you operate it without putting a coin in it? You can release the spring by pushing the lever down [the gold doorknob-like thing sticking out of the colorfully-painted structure that lines up with the girl’s feet or knees, depending]. That operates the bank. I can also move it manually by putting my fingers on the rope and rotating it.

How do you get the coins out? Do you turn it upside down and take off the bottom plate? You can use a screwdriver on the little Swiss lock on the bottom of the bank. There’s nothing sophisticated about it.

The mechanical bank is described as being in “near mint” condition. What does that mean? It means it’s all-original, no repairs, no repaints, nothing done to it. It’s the way it looked 125 years ago. That’s what people strive for.

This example of the girl skipping rope mechanical bank comes with its original cast iron key. How rare is that? It’s very rare to have its original key. They do make reproductions, but they’re not nearly as good.

When did you get this mechanical bank? I bought it in 2007, at the Stephen and Marilyn Steckbeck sale at Morphy’s. At the time, it was the biggest mechanical bank collection to come to auction.

Would the sum you paid in 2007 represent a world auction record for a girl skipping rope mechanical bank? To the best of my knowledge, that was the record.

How does your mechanical bank collection make you happy? Also, why sell it now? Mechanical banks are true American antiques. Only so many were made. What’s left are the survivors. I enjoy seeing the shapes of the banks and knowing what their actions are. They represent savings and my undergraduate degree, which was in mechanical engineering. I look at my mechanical banks every day. I’ve got them showcased throughout the house. I’m only selling them now because I’m 78 and my kids never took an interest in them and my wife has terminal cancer. And they hold special memories for me. I’ve met people from all over the world through collecting, types of associations I’d never have if not through collecting mechanical banks. Some of my best friends are actively involved in bank-collecting.

Why not delay the sale until COVID-19 is no longer a concern, so you can enjoy seeing your friends gather to bid on your collection? I did my will, which is pretty important with my wife’s condition. Also, Morphy’s has an option–it has a theater auction room. Morphy’s can seat 75 people in that room with face masks and the required spacing needed in Pennsylvania. And they’ve gotten to the point now where you can do so much online. We have the best of both worlds.

Have you decided yet if you’ll be there in person for the sale? [Laughs] I’m not sure. It’s going to be hard. It’s a big part of me. I have decided if I do go, I’m going to sit up front, to be away from any of the interactions.

How to bid: The girl skipping rope mechanical bank is lot 1070 in The Bob and Judy Brady Mechanical Bank Auction, scheduled at Morphy Auctions on February 27, 2021.

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A 1651 Copy of The Discovery of Witchcraft by Reginald Scot Could Fetch $12,000 (Updated March 1, 2021)

UncategorizedFebruary 9, 2021March 1, 2021

Update: The 1651 copy of Reginald Scot’s The Discovery of Witchcraft sold for $9,000.

What you see: A 1651 second edition, second issue of The Discovery of Witchcraft by Reginald Scot. Potter & Potter estimates it at $7,000 to $12,000.

The expert: Gabe Fajuri, president of Potter & Potter.

Who was Reginald Scot? He was an English gentleman of some station in that era, a landowning gentleman near Ashford in Kent. I believe he was a member of Parliament.

Do we know why he published The Discovery of Witchcraft in 1584? The story people have latched onto is he was a freethinker, and able to see the big picture. He held the Calvinist idea that it was all the work of God, not witches or spells or magical forces–that the things people were witnessing were accomplished by natural means.

So it was a debunking book? That’s a way to put it. The thing that the magic community latched onto for a century or longer was he said, “This is not sorcery, this is magic.” But it’s not all magic tricks. I believe one, maybe two chapters are about magic tricks. Magic is a focus, but it’s not the bulk of the work.

We should also stop briefly and point out that Reginald Scot uses the term “juggling” in the book, but “juggling” would have been another word for “magic” back then. Exactly.

Who was Reginald Scot’s audience in 1584? Who did he write The Discovery of Witchcraft for? I suppose it was his peer group. Not only were books a luxury item in 1584, but how many people could read? Books were not commodities the way they are today. I imagine he wrote it for people with a similar or adjacent educational background. Only an educated, moneyed group of people was able to buy the book and read what it was describing.

I notice that the lot notes describe the Discovery of Witchcraft as “perhaps the most influential work in the English language on the history of conjuring” and does not call it the first book of its kind in English, as I’ve read elsewhere. Is it in fact not the first English-language book that details how to perform specific magic tricks? Recent scholarship would say it gets too much credit for being that. I say it deserves credit for recording tricks that are truly classic. The tricks are elementally the same, centuries later, as they were when Scot described them. He talks about picking up a rope, cutting it in half through the middle, and restoring it. I have a friend who performs the rope trick in a Las Vegas show every day. You could perform the tricks described in the book and make a good living.

So, Reginald Scot describes the tricks well enough in The Discovery of Witchcraft that a modern reader could learn to do them by relying on the book alone? If you can get past the “s”s rendered as “f”s, yeah, you can do the tricks based on the descriptions.

The magicians’ community frowns on those who share the secrets behind the performance of a magic trick. Might that attitude have prevented magicians from writing down and printing detailed descriptions of tricks before Reginald Scot published The Discovery of Witchcraft in 1584? Mentorship has always been a tool for teaching magicians how to perform. It was probably common at that time, and there’s a better chance magicians learned that way as opposed to reading. With Scot, probably no one told him not to write the tricks down, because it had never been done that way–they hadn’t been published in a book.

Do we know where Reginald Scot got his source information? I don’t know, and I wish I did. It’d be wonderful to say he watched an itinerant conjurer, sat him down with a glass of beer, and got the info. Some version of that story is likely.

But we don’t have any evidence that Scot performed any magic tricks himself? Not that I’m aware of.

But he was able to describe the magic tricks in a way that others could read what he wrote, learn how the tricks work, and perform them accurately, which is a skill unto itself. Absolutely. He must have been a smart dude.

What magic tricks appear in The Discovery of Witchcraft? Tricks with cards, tricks with coins, tricks with rope, even tricks with living humans. The image that people have latched on to is the decapitation of a man, where the body and the head are separated from each other, and the head’s on a plate and talking and interacting with someone. It’s a fairly diverse assortment of tricks, and they’re good tricks.

I understand there’s a discussion of gimmicked knives. Does that have to do with the decapitation trick? There’s one here that goes through your arm–“to thrust a knife through your arm and to cut half your nose asunder”. Another is about “to thrust a bodkin into your head and through your tongue”–a bodkin is like an ice pick. You can buy these tricks today.

I’m under the impression that if you’re building a first-rate library of books on magic, you need an antique copy of The Discovery of Witchcraft. Correct? Yes. That’s been true for at least a century, probably longer.

How was The Discovery of Witchcraft received on its first publication in 1584? I’m not a scholar of the reception, but I know that King James was not enamored of exposing these things and ordered the books burned. I haven’t done the research to verify that story, but the books are scarce. The first edition is not the rarest of books, but in all the years I’ve been doing this, I’ve sold three.

Is the 1651 second edition just as scarce? Some say the edition in the auction is the scarcest of the editions. Someone who called me said there were four. I’m hesitant to say there’s four of anything, but this second edition, second state is more difficult to locate than the first edition.

How many copies of the second edition have you handled? Only two, so about the same number as the first edition.

Did the contents of The Discovery of Witchcraft change in any significant way between 1584 and 1651? Not that I’m aware of, but I’m not a scholar of the editions. I know the type was reset, and it’s a different printer.

Has anyone done a census of antique copies of The Discovery of Witchcraft? I have a running count in my head of where the copies are, but there’s no formal census.

Do you know how many copies of the first edition exist, and how many of the second? I don’t. I can say with a fair amount of certainty that the third edition is still scarce but more readily available.

What’s the world auction record for a copy of The Discovery of Witchcraft? We had it for three weeks in 2015 when a first edition sold for $45,000 and change. Then Christie’s sold one for $68,750.

What condition is the book in? The binding is attractive and the pages are generally clean and bright and easy to read. It’s not like it’s missing words.

It has all its pages? Yes, it’s been collated. I believe the binding is later. It’s a classic full leather binding, and it’s not overdone, either. Some turn books into trophies. In 1651, they wouldn’t have done it that way.

What is the book like in person? It fits in your hand nicely. It’s not compact, but it’s easy to hold. It’s unassuming, in a way. It’s well-kept, and showing signs of its age.

Do you have a favorite plate or illustration? Probably the decapitation. I guess I’m a sucker for magic tricks.

How to bid: The 1651 copy of The Discovery of Witchcraft is lot 118 in Select Secrets: Rare & Important Magicana, an auction taking place at Potter & Potter on February 27, 2021.

How to subscribe to The Hot Bid: Click the trio of dots at the upper right of this page. You can also follow The Hot Bid on Instagram and follow the author on Twitter.

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Image is courtesy of Potter & Potter. 

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Gabe Fajuri has appeared on The Hot Bid many times. He’s talked about a replica demon’s head card trick device created by the late Rüdiger Deutsch; a group of Diane Arbus photographs owned by their subject, albino sword-swallower Sandra Reed; a vintage Harry Houdini postcard from the magician’s personal collection, an oversize Alexander: The Man Who Knows poster, a Daisy and Violet Hilton poster from the conjoined twins’ vaudeville years, an impressive talking skull automaton that went on to sell for $13,200, a magician automaton that appeared in the 1972 film Sleuth, a rare book from the creator of the Pepper’s Ghost illusion,  a Will & Finck brass sleeve holdout–a device for cheating at cards–which sold for $9,000, a Snap Wyatt sideshow banner advertising a headless girl, a record-setting stage-worn magician’s tuxedo; a genuine 19th century gambler’s case that later sold for $6,765; a scarce 19th century poster of a tattooed man that fetched $8,610; a 1908 poster for the magician Chung Ling Soo that sold for $9,225; a Golden Girls letterman jacket that belonged to actress Rue McClanahan; and a 1912 Houdini poster that set the world record for any magic poster at auction.

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A Pair of Jess Heisler Duck Decoys Could Fetch $30,000 (Updated February 22, 2021)

UncategorizedFebruary 5, 2021February 22, 2021

Update: The Jess Heisler pair of sleeping duck decoys sold for $28,800.

What you see: A pair of sleeping mallard duck decoys by Delaware River region carver Jess Heisler around 1920. Copley Fine Art Auctions estimates the pair at $20,000 to $30,000.

The expert: Colin McNair, decoy specialist for Copley Fine Art Auctions.

Who was Jess Heisler? Where was he in his career around 1920, when he made this pair of decoys? Jess Heisler is remembered as one of most competent early decoy makers from the Delaware River region, where he was perhaps the most talented disciple of the early master John English. He lived and worked just south of Trenton, New Jersey. During his life, he was highly regarded not only for decoys but also for exceptional boats, perhaps the region’s finest. I’ve heard he was also skilled with vintage furniture restoration.  

How prolific was he? Estimates of his output are between 1,000 and 2,000 decoys. That said, most years only see a small handful of his carvings cross the auction block, really just a few in original condition. 

Did Jess Heisler both carve and paint his decoys, or did he only carve? Did he have assistants? Jess was a one-man operation, carving and painting all of his own decoys. This one-man operation is very typical for the Delaware River carvers.

The lot notes describe the Jess Heisler duck decoy pair as “exceedingly rare”. Why? First, they are mallards, which are far less common than his black ducks and other species. Secondly, the sleeping pose. It only seems to appear two or three times in a decade. Third, they are a pair–most of his rigs have been broken down to singles. Capping it off, they are from his golden period, and they survive in virtually ideal condition. 

Did Jess Heisler sign his work? If not, how do we know the pair is by him? Like most makers, Heisler did not sign his work. That said, his craftsmanship and nuance of style practically act as a big John Hancock for anyone familiar with the decoys of the mid-Atlantic region. Paired with that, his presence was very much alive when the decoy collecting community began taking notes in the 1950s and 1960s.  

Do we know anything about how this pair of Jess Heisler duck decoys came to be—why he might have made it? While we do not know the history of this specific pair, we can make some deductions. I would bet they were made for a wealthy sportsman. This is because they were barely used, they are in a special pose, and they are of an uncommon species.

The Jess Heisler duck decoy pair dates to circa 1920. Do decoys start to become more decorative and less functional around that time? Or would these work perfectly well in the wild? It’s more complex than that. Heisler pretty clearly seems to be going far beyond what was needed in order to impress more than just the ducks. He was trying to impress a wealthy client with those long thin tails, sharp raised wing tips, and that fine featherwork on the hen. So, they were 100 percent honest working decoys that also had the hunter in mind. 

Why carve duck decoys that appear to be sleeping? This topic has been the subject of intrigue for as long as decoys have been in play. While we don’t know Heisler’s logic, we do believe that he was the originator of this sleeping pattern. One theory is that resting birds help make the rig [the string of decoys placed on the water] look at ease and invite passing birds. Who knows if that works, but as a hunter, I can assure you it is harder to break a head off of one of these sleeping decoys than a regular decoy. 

Do we know how many sleeping duck decoy pairs Jess Heisler did, either of mallards or of any other species of duck? I looked back over a quarter-century of auction reports and this pair represents one half of all known Heissler sleepers. And they are the two finest. 

You say Jess Heisler is believed to have invented the sleeping duck decoy form. This pair dates to circa 1920. Does that make it an early Heisler take on the sleeper? If so, does that make the pair more interesting to collectors? Or does the timing not matter? To clarify this point, Heisler did not invent the sleeper in general. Albert Laing is the earliest known maker of sleepers, and his date back to the antebellum period. Heisler appears to have originated this variation of the sleeper. I’d place these in the early to middle golden period of his carving arc, so timing is a factor, and these benefit from that.           

Is it rare to see an intact pair of male-female duck decoys, or do pairs tend to stay together through the decades? This Winter Sale catalog has hundreds of single decoys that began their lives in rigs ranging from six to 200-plus birds. Today rig mate pair numbers appear to have just bounced off an all-time low, and the pendulum is swinging back towards the rejoining of pairs and sometimes larger rig groupings, especially with shorebird decoys. I love it. Decoys were intended to be seen en masse. 

Does the provenance tell us if this pair has stayed together since they were made? Or were they ever divorced and reunited? The provenance suggests they’ve always been together, which is highly probable in this instance.

What can we tell, just by looking, about how difficult the pair of duck decoys would have been to make? For example, how difficult is it to get the two to look nearly identical, aside from sex-based markings? This is actually a fairly elaborate duo. Having handled and X-rayed these, I can tell you the bodies are made from three joined pieces of wood with watertight body seams. The inside of the body is hollow, which adds layers of work and complexity to the construction. The heads are fitted to the body with a scribe-line inlay around an edge of the bills. From the photos anyone can make out the elaborate and stylish wing tip and tail carvings with some carved feather detail… and then again that hen’s painted feathering! I could go on, but Heisler seems to have casually created a highly complex and functional pair that work perfectly together. 

What is the pair of duck decoys like in person? What aspects elude the camera? Their hollow bodies make them super light. Their undersides have chamfered lead pad weights, which allow them to almost hover above a surface. In the hand they have a lovely dry surface. And while one hand embraces a round and compact head and breast the other is literally on edge with the tactile contrast of the wing tips and tail. Our photographer did a great job, but they only get better in person, I assure you. 

What is your favorite detail of the pair of Jess Heisler duck decoys? Like any successful sculpture, they only succeed as complete form. With that established… I… I do love Heisler’s exaggerated take on John English’s raised wing-tips and protruding tail. 

What condition is the pair in? Do they show signs of having been used by a hunter? They were definitely used, but not too much, and only in freshwater. They have what I consider to be a Goldilocks level of light gunning wear, just enough to build character and tell a story and not so much as to distract. 

What is the world auction record for a Jess Heisler duck decoy? According to the Decoy Magazine Year in Review for 2020, the Heisler record is $36,800. That was for a pintail in 2007. This sleeping pair could break that on a good day. We’ll know soon enough. Copley smashed the record for the entire Delaware River region a couple years ago, hammering down a John English decoy at a quarter million, so that helped make some room. 

Why will this pair of Jess Heisler duck decoys stick in your memory? Well, for me, decoy memories can be made where excellence meets rarity. To illustrate the rarity–while cataloging, I flipped through every single page of the leading book on the Delaware River region decoys and found exactly zero sleepers like these.

How to bid: The pair of Jess Heisler duck decoys is lot 0121 in The Winter Sale 2021, offered by Copley Fine Art Auctions on February 19 and 20, 2021.

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Images are courtesy of Copley Fine Art Auctions.

Copley Fine Art Auctions is on Twitter and Instagram.

Colin McNair has appeared on The Hot Bid to talk about an Elmer Crowell preening black duck decoy, an Ira Hudson flying black duck, and an Earnest-Gregory dovetailed goose decoy.

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An Edward Millman Fresco Detail of a WPA Post Office Mural Could Sell for $5,000 (Updated February 5, 2021)

UncategorizedJanuary 29, 2021February 5, 2021

Update: The Edward Millman fresco detail sold for $2,860.

What you see: A fresco detail by Edward Millman of a mural panel he painted on the walls of the St. Louis post office for the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Swann Auction Galleries estimates it at $3,000 to $4,000.

The expert: Harold Porcher [pronounced Por-SHAY], director of modern and post-war art at Swann Auction Galleries.

Who was Edward Millman, and what made him a good choice for the St. Louis post office mural project? He was a lifelong teacher, skilled in all media–tempera, oil, fresco. His skills with fresco made him one of the leaders to get the mural project for the WPA.

Had Edward Millman done WPA projects prior to this one, and had he worked with artist Mitchell Siporin before? He had worked with Siporin in 1938 on a post office in Decatur, Illinois, and had done other murals himself for the Century of Progress International Exposition in Chicago in 1933.

I understand that Edward Millman went to Mexico and trained under Diego Rivera. How, if at all, does Rivera’s influence show up in this fresco detail and in the finished mural panel? With this panel and the fresco detail, his style is more closely aligned with [Mexican muralist] José Clemente Orozco. What Millman took from Rivera was learning the difficult technique of fresco painting and the high-contrast, limited-detail forms that translate well to fresco. Rivera limited his visual language so it could be read from afar and directly. Millman took that in his education.

What do we know about how the St. Louis post office mural project came to be? That post office was constructed under the New Deal and completed in 1937. Artists submitted images to compete for the job. Edward Millman and Mitchell Siporin were competitive because they had experience in fresco, and this job called for fresco work. Both had gone to Mexico to study mural-painting with José Clemente Orozco.

I looked at the website The Living New Deal, and I think I see the panel from which the fresco detail came–I think it’s from the far right of panel seven. Is that correct? Yes. Three large mural panels were done by Edward Millman and three by Mitchell Siporin. There were also two small mural panels, one by each artist.

What’s going on in the Edward Millman fresco detail? What do we see here? I believe it represents the early Missouri pioneers, and the struggle to go into new territories.

Are the figures settlers who are trying to build a house? They’re moving materials. It almost seems allegorical, but it feels more literal than allegorical. I think he’s trying to be more straightforward and show pioneers. One is carrying wood on his back, and it almost comes across as Christ on the cross.

How did Edward Millman and Mitchell Siporin physically do the mural work? Did they paint the frescoes during business hours, as people did their errands below their scaffolding, or did they paint when the building was closed? Thematically, the artists worked together by agreeing to tie the composition together with a ribbon of blue in the background, which represents the river. I would speculate that they worked like any other government employee, putting in daily shifts during working hours, if not nine-to-five. I found a black-and-white photo of them on the scaffolding during work hours.

This WPA post office mural is notable for depicting Native Americans and Black people as part of the story of the creation of Missouri. Do we know how the mural was received when it was unveiled? Was it controversial? I could find no articles on the public reaction at the time, which leads me to believe there wasn’t outrage or pushback from the people of St. Louis. And it has survived. It hasn’t been painted over or covered with other panels. I don’t think there was a huge positive or negative reaction. That’s my sense.

How is this Edward Millman fresco detail typical of his work, and how is it atypical? Subject-wise, I find his work veers toward the hardships and tribulations of working-class Americans. This is one of his more Cubist works in general. He moved away from Orozco-type images as he progressed. His style became more figurative later.

What can we say about the color palette Edward Millman chose for the fresco detail, and for that particular section of the mural? I believe he was, again, following the color palette of work by Orozco. In general, the panel has a wider range of colors, with blues and greens. This detail has darker tones–dark reds, burnt oranges.

Edward Millman painted this fresco detail in tempera on Masonite in 1942, possibly after the mural panel was finished. Why might he have done this? Maybe he painted it for a class, as a teaching tool? I have two thoughts. The inscription at the bottom right of the fresco detail [was maybe] added as a historical document to say the year in which the mural was completed. The second possibility is it was done earlier in 1942 and the mural was completed after. Maybe he was working out that portion of the composition.

I don’t claim to have comprehensive knowledge, but I’m trying to think of any other time I’ve seen an artist make a detail of a fresco in a different medium, and I’m coming up empty… I agree. These [multi-year fresco mural] projects had to be well mapped-out. Why do a detailed rendering of a mural section in another medium? It’s puzzling. My theory is he was working out the details of a mural section. He might have used it as a reference to do the rest. Thematically, all the panels follow the same concept–three groups of figures, with one group at the left, one at the right, and one in the center. He may have needed to work out the colors and the forms, and only chose this one section to do that.

Did Edward Millman render any other fresco details from the St. Louis post office mural in tempera? Have any of those come to auction? I’ve found no other examples of studies having been sold for this particular project for either artist. Maybe scholars will dig deeper and bring attention to other examples.

What’s the provenance of the Edward Millman fresco detail? Does it come directly from his family? He retained it until his death in 1964. It was bought from the family by a collector in Boston.

What condition is the Edward Millman fresco detail in? The paint and the panel are in great shape. There are hairline scratches in the pigment that expose the white underpainting.

What is the Edward Millman fresco detail like in person? It translates very well in the photo. It uses heavy contrasts and lots of shadow and light. There aren’t a lot of subtleties that are lost.

What is your favorite detail of the Edward Millman piece? Often, when you see studies from a larger composition, it doesn’t feel complete. This holds up as a composition on its own. It’s complete, though it’s a detail of something larger.

What’s the world auction record for a work by Edward Millman? It was a 1941 oil on canvas, titled Flophouse and showing two men, one reclining and one seated. It sold in June 2015 for $24,000. Stylistically, it’s different from the work we have, but compositionally, it’s similar.

Why will this piece stick in your memory? In Edward Millman, you see an artist who’s mastered several techniques. I attribute that to his being a teacher. Not all artists are great technicians. Millman was always learning by creating examples for his students. In that sense, I believe teachers are better technicians than most artists.

How to bid: The Edward Millman fresco detail of the WPA mural is lot 184 in The Artists of the WPA, a sale taking place at Swann Auction Galleries on February 4, 2021.

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A Complete Edward Penfield Golf Calendar from 1900 Could Fetch $12,000 (Updated January 28, 2021)

UncategorizedJanuary 26, 2021January 28, 2021

Update: The Edward Penfield golf calendar from the year 1900 sold for $5,250.

What you see: The June/July page from an Edward Penfield golf calendar for the year 1900. Swann Auction Galleries estimates it at $8,000 to $12.000.

The expert: Laura Polucha, a cataloger in Swann’s illustration department.

Who was Edward Penfield, and why would he have been chosen to illustrate this golf-themed calendar? He was probably among the most famous and prolific illustration artists of all time. He’s credited with bringing the phenomenon known as the “poster craze” to America. In 1899 and 1900, he was working as the art editor for Harper’s, which was one of the largest magazine groups in New York, and he was actively taking freelance projects. That’s how the calendar came to be. His association with [publisher] R.H. Russell started in 1896.

Do we know if Penfield played golf? It’s certainly conceivable. It was a very popular activity of the time. But Penfield’s health was known not to be strong, even in his youth. It’s possible he played golf vicariously through these images. He produced his first golf calendar for Russell in 1899, and it was so popular that Russell asked for another one in 1900. That’s the version we have in our auction.

How different are the illustrations in the two Penfield golf calendars? They’re nearly identical except for the cover and the illustration for February.

Why might R.H. Russell have wanted to print and market a golf-themed calendar in 1899 and 1900? What convinced the publisher that it would sell? Golf really started to emerge as a popular pastime in the 1890s, which was a period of profound change in the country. There was more leisure time and more recreational opportunities for the middle class. The calendar would have appealed to players and to the general public.

Do we have any idea how many copies of the golf-themed calendar were printed, and do we know how many survived? I can’t speak to how many were printed in either year, but the 1899 and 1900 calendars are very rare, especially in complete form. This is the only 1900 calendar we could find that appeared at auction in the last 20 years.

So the Penfield golf calendars were subject to being broken up? A lot of dealers would break them up because the illustrations have stand-alone appeal as single sheets.

What details in these illustrations mark them as the work of Edward Penfield? His style is characterized by the use of large, flat shapes, and large, flat areas of color, and simplified figures with bold outlines. The style translates well to the posters he was producing.

Would Edward Penfield have hand-colored the illustrations, or provided a color guide, or would someone at R.H. Russell have chosen the color palette for the calendar? Edward Penfield was heavily involved in the printing process. He really liked rich, multi-color effects. His process began with him sketching the subject and the layout and then making a master drawing in ink, using a pen and a brush to add watercolors. Once he had the master drawing, he laid down tracing paper on top, using a different piece of tracing paper for each color. That would be his maquette [original artwork]. It was not uncommon for him to stay with the pressman until the desired effect was achieved.

What sorts of effects would Penfield attempt? There was the splatter effect, where one plate would cover up some area of another to produce a new hue where they overlap. In the September illustration, you can see in the area at the lower right how the green of the grass lays on top of the yellow and orange of the sand to create a darker green color.

What is the Penfield golf calendar like in person? What doesn’t come over on camera? When examining it with a close eye, you can see the impressions are very deep in the thick stock of the paper. It’s well-colored.

What is your favorite illustration from the Penfield golf calendar, and why? I’m drawn to the November/December page, primarily because of the couple’s fashion. My favorite detail is the hosiery throughout the illustrations, which is fantastic. I’m a fashion historian and a fashion fanatic, and it attracted me. In the early 1900s, there were advances in high-speed knitting technology that lead to a wider availability of hosiery in brighter colors and patterns. Penfield had an eye for patterns. Here, I love the gentleman smoking a pipe and wearing socks with orange interlocking circles at the top. Hers have a bold diamond print. If you look closely, you’ll see her socks don’t quite match. I find that so charming and fashion-forward for the time. She wouldn’t get away with that off the golf course.

Do we know if slightly mismatched socks like hers were actually available for purchase in 1900, or if Penfield had the illustration colored and printed that way simply because he liked it? It’s hard to say for sure. I haven’t heard about a trend for mismatched socks [in 1900]. I have a hunch it was Penfield’s decision.

The thing that jumped out at me in looking through the illustrations is the depictions of the players. There are a few solo men, and a few solo women. The couples are always one man and one woman. The cover shows a mixed group, but we never see a foursome, and we never see an all-male group–not once. Why might Penfield have done this? Was the sport of golf this co-ed in America in 1899 and 1900, or is Penfield just drawing the figures he wants to draw, reality be damned? This is a fascinating observation. What’s really interesting is the February illustration for 1899 showed two men playing together. It was replaced the following year by a man and a woman playing together. It’s interesting that that was swapped out. Women gradually participated in more sports in the 1870s, and by 1900, women commonly played sports like golf and tennis. Though they were barred from entry at many golf courses in the U.S., some did allow women. Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Long Island allowed women in 1891 and was so popular, it installed a nine-hole golf course for women two years later. They couldn’t participate in tournaments, as far as I know. It was a genteel pastime, like croquet.

What condition is the Penfield golf calendar in? Overall I’d say it has really good, strong impressions, and the colors are bright and vibrant. It has punch holes at the top, which were placed by the publisher. It has the typical age wear you see in things like this.

Do we know anything about how this particular copy of the Penfield golf calendar managed to survive so well? I’m guessing that calendars are even more vulnerable than posters to being thrown out, because they’re literally date-stamped… Some are so visually appealing, they make you want to keep them around. I have a few calendars I haven’t parted with. It speaks to the enduring appeal of the images.

This question might be a little odd, and please call me out if I’m wrong. But it looks like the man in the January illustration and the woman in the March/April illustration appear together, as a couple, in the November/December illustration… do you see what I see? I agree that the April golfer is the same woman in the November/December illustration, but January… I’m bouncing between them, and his hair looks slightly different from the November/December man. It’s a sweet thought, but I can’t confidently get behind it. The man looks different.

Do prints, paintings, illustrations and other artworks that depict golf have an automatic, built-in audience? I’m guessing this calendar might not draw as much interested if its theme was, say, curling. In general, it’s been my experience that golfers have a fervent love of the sport and gravitate to artwork with a golf theme. What makes the calendar special is you don’t need to be a golfer to appreciate the artwork. It’s designed to have mass appeal.

What’s the world auction record for a Penfield golf calendar, and for any work by Penfield? A complete 1899 Penfield golf calendar–nine sheets, plus the cover–sold in February 2020 at a different auction house for $21,600. It appears to be the most expensive Penfield sold at auction also.

Why will this piece stick in your memory? I’m a cataloger for illustration art. I typically handle original art. This sale, overall, has been really unique for me. I’ll remember the calendar as one of the stars of a robust and respected collection. [The auction showcases the Dick McDonough collection of golf illustration.] I’m eager to see how it does.

How to bid: The Penfield golf calendar from 1900 is lot 272 in the Illustration Art sale taking place at Swann Auction Galleries on January 28, 2021.

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A 1968 Hot Wheels Store Display Could Fetch $50,000 (Updated January 31, 2021)

UncategorizedJanuary 22, 2021February 1, 2021

Update: The 1968 Hot Wheels store display sold for $36,300.

What you see: An exceptionally rare and unusually complete 1968 Hot Wheels store display. Van Eaton Galleries estimates it at $30,000 to $50,000.

The expert: Joel Magee, consigner. He is also known as The Toy Scout, and has appeared on the TV show Pawn Stars.

How did this 1968 Hot Wheels store display come to be? Why did Mattel make it? This was the very beginning of Hot Wheels. Matchbox had dominated the industry for literally decades. When Mattel made Hot Wheels, they took it to the next level. Everything they wanted, they put into the cars. They made these gorgeous store displays which were unheard of at the time. They looked like a dealer showroom. When the kids saw that, they went crazy. No marketer had made something so elaborate for a toy.

Mattel realized they had to go big or go home if they were going to compete with Matchbox, and this is what they did? They literally created a piece of art to sell these toys. Nothing had really been done before at that level.

So, this Hot Wheels store display is pretty much how the world was introduced to Hot Wheels? Exactly. There were a lot of commercials on TV, but from a point-of-sale situation, it was everything. You were not able to not notice the display. Mattel just made it look so cool, you couldn’t resist.

Did every toy store get a Hot Wheels display of this level of quality, or was it reserved for FAO Schwarz and other high-end venues? The stores had to put in a big pre-order to get the display, but pretty much everybody got it.

What makes this 1968 Hot Wheels store display extremely rare? Mattel sent one display per store. Most were thrown away. Some displays were cut open so they could take the cars and throw the rest away. A few people saved the displays and took them home. This one is even rarer because it has a fold-out flap that advertises Hot Wheels accessories. Only three examples still have the flap.

And someone at Mattel would have had to personally assemble each display before shipping it to a toy store? They put them together like a puzzle. It’s lithograph on card, and it took a lot to put this together. Each car had to be hand-tied down, two straps per car. Mattel spared no expense in making these displays.

What else adds to the Hot Wheels store display’s rarity? It has toys in colors that were not used in the main product line. The watermelon pink Mustang only came in store displays. That adds excitement and allure to the set. It highlighted 16 cars, but not every display had exactly the same cars. Some had a chocolate brown Camaro. This display doesn’t have one.

Do we know why this Hot Wheels store display doesn’t have a chocolate brown Camaro? I don’t think it was intended at the time. I think they [Mattel] pretty much said, “We’ve got a bunch of cars over here, OK, take these,” and later, they made a different decision during production. The two specific [rarities unique to variants of the 1968 Hot Wheels store display] are the chocolate brown Camaro and the watermelon pink Mustang.

Does this 1968 Hot Wheels store display have all 16 toy cars that it came with originally, or have some been replaced over the years? All 16 in the display are original to the set.

The toy cars in the display are called “Redline” cars. Why? There are red lines on the tires. They’re like whitewalls, only they’re red. They’re considered the premium Hot Wheels cars, and they were made between 1968 and 1976. Then Mattel shifted to black-wall tire cars. That’s where old-school collectors stop.

Do we know how this particular Hot Wheels store display survived? It was acquired from a local hobby store in Cleveland, Ohio in 1968. A father had pestered the store owner because he wanted it for his son. One day he came in and the display was gone. He asked where it was and the owner said “I put it behind the counter. I didn’t forget you.” The father got it for the price of the 16 cars, so, he paid 59 cents times 16. [That would have been $9.44 in 1968 money, which translates to roughly $71.34 in modern dollars.]

Does the Hot Wheels store display come directly from the family? I bought it from them myself. They enjoyed it for many years, then they put it away in a closet. Fast forward 50 years, and they realized, “Oh my God, this is a life-changing moment here.”

What condition is the 1968 Hot Wheels store display in? Everything is in its original place. The plastic cover, which is an acetate-type material, tends to shrink over time, but amazingly enough, I knew a Mattel employee who had a few covers. So this has a new cover, but it’s 50 years old.

What is the Hot Wheels store display like in person? Mattel painted the cars with what they called Spectraflame paint. The best way to explain it is it glows. It’s like they take on a new life. It’s one of the things that makes people crazy for them–they’re mesmerized by how beautiful they are. [Magee later explained that Mattel stopped using Spectraflame paint on Hot Wheels cars around 1973 or 1974.]

How large is the Hot Wheels store display? It’s about two feet long by about one foot deep. It has a commanding presence. Mattel really went out of its way to make it look like the ultimate showroom. They spared no expense. The buildings and scenery in the back added to the mix.

What’s your favorite detail of the display? In my opinion, it’s the three-dimensional look to it. Mattel designed it so it doesn’t look like it was printed on a flat background. They gave it depth. They could have just stuck a few cars on bases, but instead, they put them on round platforms that do move–they’re on a rivet, they can swivel.

How many of these 1968 Hot Wheels store displays have you handled? I’ve been doing this for 35 years. I’ve handled four.

How does this example compare to the other three? This one has the flap. The flap is the big deal. The others had their flaps torn off.

Why does that front flap on the Hot Wheels store display tend not to survive? The cardboard probably got weak, and tore off, or someone tore it off intentionally. I just know that only a few have the flap.

The 1968 Hot Wheels store display carries an estimate of $30,000 to $50,000. What percentage of its value belongs with the display itself, and how much belongs to the toy cars? Between 90 and 95 percent of the value is in the display. The cars, you can get, except for the brown Camaro and the pink Mustang. The display, you can’t.

It seems like sales of Hot Wheels cars mostly happen in private, not at auction. How does that affect the estimate for this display? Very rarely does one of these come up for sale. I figure it will settle around $50,000 to $70,000 this time. Again, it’s all about quality, rarity, and desirability, and this has all of that. It’s the Holy Grail of Hot Wheels.

What’s the likelihood that this 1968 Hot Wheels store display will set a new world auction record for Hot Wheels toys? In my opinion, it will absolutely set a new record. I can’t imagine it won’t set a new record, just based on all the other stuff that’s going on. COVID-19 has changed the situation. Everyone is at home and researching different hobbies, and they want something fun that’s an investment. Hot Wheels are just skyrocketing. There are Hot Wheels that sold for $2,000 or $3,000 that are going for $5,000 or $6,000 now.

How to bid: The 1968 Hot Wheels store display is lot 0633 in A Celebration of Pop Culture–Day 2, taking place at Van Eaton Galleries on January 31, 2021.

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Van Eaton Galleries is on Twitter and Instagram. 

Images are courtesy of Van Eaton Galleries.

Joel McGee, aka The Toy Scout, has a website and is on Twitter.

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Everything She Touched: The Life of Ruth Asawa (THB: Shelf Life)

UncategorizedJanuary 12, 2021December 21, 2020

What you see: Everything She Touched: The Life of Ruth Asawa, by Marilyn Chase. $29.95 (Hardback). Chronicle Books.*

Does it fit in my purse? No. It’s a hardback and it’s just slightly too big to fit.

Cut to the chase. Should I buy this book? Yes, especially if you have no idea who Ruth Asawa was.

Ruth Asawa was traditional in many respects, but she was not conventional.

Moreover, she knew she was not conventional. She knew she didn’t really fit anywhere, she accepted that fact early and firmly, and she never let it trouble her.

That fundamental self-acceptance and lack of doubt seems to be key to Asawa’s success as an artist. At least, that’s what I get from Everything She Touched. Ruth Asawa was unique, spectacularly so. She got what she wanted because she knew what she wanted, and she stuck with it even if her wants didn’t match the 20th century white male artist’s definition of success.

What she wanted, even more than she wanted art-world renown, was a large family. Asawa was the middle child of seven, and she was determined to have six children of her own, even though she suffered from ghastly bouts of morning sickness. (Ever the pragmatist, she met her goal by birthing four children and adopting two.)

Asawa’s works–the wire sculptures and public fountains for which she is best known–didn’t take primacy in her mind, either. The book states that when her daughter Aiko asked her what she considered her most important legacy, she responded “the schools”, referencing her decades-long campaign to improve art education for K-12 students in San Francisco, California. (With reluctance, she allowed the art-centric alternative high school she established and championed to bear her name.)

The book, which is the first major biography of the artist, lays out the facts of her life crisply in chronological order. She and her parents and siblings suffered the injustice of internment in camps during World War II because of their Japanese ties, and the U.S. government arrested and held Asawa’s father, Umakichi, apart from them over concerns he might be involved with a Japanese ultranationalist group. (He wasn’t.)

The author, Marilyn Chase, manages the trick of relaying the positive aspects of Ruth Asawa’s camp years without implying the experience was a good thing. She also captures the bitterness Asawa felt upon learning, three years into her studies, that the teachers’ college she attended in Milwaukee, Wisconsin denied her a student-teacher position–which she needed to complete her degree–over fears for her safety as a person of Japanese ancestry.

Running headlong into that racist barrier ultimately led Asawa to North Carolina to attend Black Mountain College, an experience that changed her life, and her art, for the better. But, again, the author takes care to avoid suggesting that the college’s act of discrimination, veiled in paternalism, should be forgiven because things turned out fine in the end. Chase lets it stand alone and apart as an incident of rank bigotry, one of many Asawa faced as a Japanese-American woman in the 20th century.

In reading the many pages on Ruth Asawa’s experience at Black Mountain College, I grew annoyed that I didn’t really know her before picking up Everything She Touched. Her classmates included Robert Rauschenberg and Ray Johnson. Merce Cunningham taught her modern dance. She knew R. Buckminster Fuller as “Bucky”, and he designed her wedding ring. (It’s pictured on page 70, and, frankly, I’m jealous of it.)

Asawa also forged a deep, decades-long connection to Josef Albers, who taught at Black Mountain and saw her potential almost immediately.

Albers wasn’t the only one. In the 1950s, Asawa and her art received coverage in Time, Vogue, and other big-deal publications (though the language quoted from the stories shows that critics and editors didn’t know how to regard her; because she took family friend Imogen Cunningham’s advice to make art under her maiden name, the articles invariably describe her as “Miss Asawa”, a term that has the unfortunate effect of erasing the existence of the family that meant so much to her).

Asawa also earned the ripest of plums: representation by a New York City gallery. That relationship, with Peridot Gallery, ended when she literally outgrew the space. Its ceilings were only so high, forcing Asawa to size her hanging wire sculptures to fit its dimensions. Leaving the gallery meant dropping off the New York City radar. Others more desperate for fame and fortune would have reduced their artistic visions to fit inside the white-walled box. Not Asawa. The West Coast resident plowed ahead, raising children and making art on her own terms.

In performing the task of describing her life story, the book overlooks a thing or two. The Japanese concept of gaman, or endurance with dignity, appears early, as does Asawa’s long-held belief that “crying doesn’t help”. As a grown woman and a mother, she transmitted these values to her children, and she took this approach to her art; in the passage about her wedding ring, the book notes that Asawa’s fingers were often bound with masking tape because of cuts and scrapes inflicted by the wires she wove. But the potential downsides of this stoic philosophy–and come on, they had to exist–go unexplored. There’s brief, general discussion of how she made her wire works, but not much beyond that, and no details about the creation of any specific wire work.

Ruth Asawa’s story could have slipped away, but it did not. Long after his death, Josef Albers helped her one last time by indirectly bringing her to the attention of someone who could raise her profile. When Asawa’s family contacted Christie’s about selling a study in green from the Homage to the Square series that he gave her as a gift, Jonathan Laib took the call. He realized Asawa must have meant a great deal to Albers to favor her with such a standout piece.

Laib kept asking questions of the family, and saw the chance to bring Asawa her due. The Albers study sold for $116,500; with Laib’s help, Asawa’s works brought much more.

Laib directed a national spotlight at her starting in 2010, a time when the public was ready and eager to embrace tales of artists who are neither white nor male. Still, Asawa’s rediscovery was not inevitable. The cover of Everything She Touched sums up the conundrum she poses. It’s a color photograph, taken by Imogen Cunningham in 1951, posing Asawa behind, and partly obscured by, one of her hanging wire sculptures.

Ruth Asawa has always been here, hiding in plain sight. Her work and her brilliance persist whether we see her or not. Everything She Touched lets us see her in full.

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Original Peanuts artwork by Charles Schultz–Eight Character Portraits Created for a 1953 Promotional Brochure–Could Command $100,000 (Updated December 11, 2020–NEW RECORD!)

UncategorizedDecember 8, 2020December 11, 2020

Update: The original Peanuts artwork by Charles Schulz sold for $288,000–a new world auction record for original Peanuts artwork, set less than a month after a different Heritage Auctions sale broke the previous record.

What you see: Original Peanuts artwork by Charles Schulz, created in 1953 for a promotional brochure. Heritage Auctions generally doesn’t assign estimates to its lots, but when asked, it gave a $50,000-$100,000 range to the group of character portraits.

The expert: Jim Lentz, director of animation art for Heritage Auctions.

How well-known was the Peanuts comic strip in 1953, when Schulz created these eight portrait panels of its main characters? The comic strip and its characters were in their infancy, having only come to market in 1950.

Why would Charles Schulz or his newspaper syndicate have wanted to make this promotional booklet in 1953? Who was the target audience? It was created to introduce these relatively new comic strip characters to new cities, and to get people to buy newspapers and follow the strip. Schulz didn’t do this. His newspaper syndicate [United Feature Syndicate] did.

But the syndicate would have gone to Schulz and asked for supporting artwork for the brochure, yes? It would have said, “We need artwork for a brochure to introduce Charlie Brown and the new Peanuts characters to the growing newspaper audience.” Charles Schulz would have worked hand-in-hand with the syndicate to provide artwork to promote the strip.

Do we know why Schulz chose these eight characters to showcase? Also, how do these depictions reveal where the strip was in its evolution in 1953? I see that Schroeder’s habit of playing the piano has been formalized, but Snoopy still looks very much like a dog, and Linus hasn’t yet acquired his blanket… These were the main Peanuts characters at the time, with several just being introduced. Not all the characters had been introduced by 1953. Pigpen arrived in 1954, and Woodstock in 1970.

How was the original Peanuts artwork rediscovered? Do we know how it left the possession of Schulz? It would have been retained not by Schulz, but by the syndicate. It was most likely given out by someone as a gift. There is no definitive answer as to when, just how, possibly.

Had you been on the lookout for this group of Peanuts character portraits, or did its existence come as a surprise? One is always on the lookout for anything and everything drawn by the hand of Charles Schulz. This is one of the single biggest surprises of Schulz artwork I have seen, and it’s some of the earliest artwork of the characters seen outside of a published strip. A 1950 daily Strip just sold at Heritage for $192,000.

This original Peanuts artwork dates to 1953, which is early in the strip’s run. Why do Peanuts collectors tend to favor original artwork with the earliest possible dates, rather than later strips that feature the characters as we have come to know them? In the early days, few people knew of Charles Schulz and these characters. As the strip grew in popularity, and television specials and movies began, Schulz’s artwork was much more well-known and the audience became huge. Scarcity is the factor. Their was no guarantee this strip would take off to global proportions back then.

Are the drawings on eight individual pieces of paper, or four drawings on two sheets, or some other configuration? They’re individual drawings, all framed in one common frame.

What is the artwork like in person? Are there aspects or details that don’t come across in the images? It is spectacular. You can tell the personalities of each in some small way, just by Schulz’s quaint depictions of each character: Charlie Brown with the baseball glove, Schroeder at the piano with the Beethoven head, Linus with building blocks.

What is your favorite detail from this collection of original Peanuts artwork? The TV antenna on Snoopy’s dog house. I just like the mid-century Modern feel of an old TV antenna. It seems to disappear in future depictions of the dog house.

The collection of original Peanuts artwork is described as being in “very good” condition. What does that mean in this context? There are no folds, no tears, and the ink still vibrant.

While these character portraits are original Peanuts artwork by Schulz, they are atypical—they’re not daily or Sunday strip art. Have you seen anything else that’s comparable to this group? Peanuts calendar art, perhaps? The key is it’s “published” art, meaning it was used for something very specific, and not done for fans or for reference. It was for a very early promotional piece to introduce Charlie Brown and the Peanuts characters to an emerging audience. Key also is the time, 1953 to 1954, when these characters were still being fleshed out.

As of November 30, 2020, the collection of original Peanuts artwork had been bid up to $25,000. Is that at all meaningful? What’s meaningful is where it ends up. It is one of the most viewed pieces in an auction of over 2,000 pieces as of November 30, but the auction is still almost two weeks away.

On November 20, 2020, Heritage Auctions reset the record for any piece of original art by Schulz with an exceptionally early daily strip featuring Shermy and Snoopy. What are the chances that this group of character portraits will meet or beat that sum? I never venture any auction guess. I just know it’s a special piece in Schulz and Charlie Brown and Peanuts history. 

If this lot breaks the record for original Peanuts artwork, Heritage Auctions will have broken that record twice in less than a month. How rarely does that happen? What would that say about the nature of the record-breaking Schulz art, and what would it say about the market for original Schulz art? Heritage has a long track record with setting record prices for Schulz artwork. It is all on HA.com in our archives. Every piece ever sold with prices realized is there. The significance is that we have a global audience to present this important art to.

You say the audience is global—has this always been true, or has the global aspect grown over time? It’s been true since the strip received global distribution and since the television specials and the animated movies went global. We just had A Peanuts Movie released in the last few years to rave reviews. It also was a global release.

Why do you think the appetite for original Peanuts artwork is so strong now, twenty years after the last strip ran? You know it’s the holidays when A Charlie Brown Christmas comes on television each year. You know its Halloween when It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown comes on. The strips, the books, the television specials are rarely dated, with timeless messages of hope and joy.

Why will this piece stick in your memory? It’s a piece that no one even knew existed. And each portrait showcases how Charles Schulz wanted to present his characters to the world.

How to bid: The collection of original Peanuts artwork from 1953, featuring character portraits of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, and five others, is lot #98273 in the Animation Art Signature Auction taking place at Heritage Auctions from December 11 through December 13, 2020.

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Heritage Auctions is on Twitter and Instagram.

Images are courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

Jim Lentz has appeared on The Hot Bid four other times, talking about a circa 1940s Disney “model drawing” of Mickey Mouse as the Sorcerer’s Apprentice from Fantasia; a Rocky and Bullwinkle scene cel signed by Bullwinkle voice actor Bill Scott to Rocky voice actor June Foray; a vintage Kem Weber-designed Walt Disney Studios animation desk that sold for $13,145; and a Walt Disney-signed original animation cel from Song of the South that fetched just under $9,000.

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A Protona Minifon Mi-51 Watch–Actually a Cold War-era Concealed Recording Device–Could Sell for About $300 (Updated December 9, 2020)

UncategorizedDecember 4, 2020December 9, 2020

Update: The Protona Minifon Mi-51 sold for £466.60, or about $600.

What you see: A Minifon Mi-51 concealed recording device by Protona, a now-defunct German company. The watch and its wire survives, but its recording device and carrying case do not. Fellows estimates it at £140 to £200, or $187.50 to $268.

The expert: Kes Crockett, a horologist and a cataloger in the watch department at Fellows.

What do we know about how the Protona Minifon Mi-51 watch came to be? Why did Protona make it? Protona was a company that manufactured covert recording equipment. Originally, it was called Monske & Co., and it appeared after World War II, in 1951. It was based in Hamburg, Germany, and it closed its doors in 1967.

Was the Protona Minifon Mi-51 watch made for sale to the general public, or was it aimed at a niche audience? I should stress–I’m a watch specialist rather than a surveillance specialist. But because of the way the watch was designed and the way the wire was hidden, I believe it was designed for intelligence agencies.

So the Protona spying device watch wasn’t a novelty item–this was serious, legitimate spying equipment? I looked back at the original advertisements and press releases for it, and it cost $289.50, which works out to $2,800 today.

That price would scare off the hobbyists, that’s for sure. It was a specialist piece of equipment. To us, it may not look impressive, but it was an important piece of technology. I don’t know if it’s the first or one of the first battery-driven devices, but it’s certainly very portable, compared to things that came before. It’s a serious piece of kit.

Was Protona alone in making a spying device that looks like a wristwatch, or did it have competitors? There were three to four other companies making specialist recording devices, but I wasn’t able to find any other making a watch-based one. It’s important to say Protona was not a watch manufacturer making a recording device, it was a recording device company that made a recording device hidden in the shell of a watch.

The materials I have date the Protona Minifon Mi-51 watch to the 1950s, but is it possible to narrow it down to a specific year? It was difficult to find the answer to that. Because the company did not become Protona until 1952, we can say it’s after 1952.

Do we know anything about the production run for the Protona Minifon Mi-51 watch, and do we know how many might have been shipped to America? I wasn’t able to find any production numbers, but I did find something that said an order for “120,000 machines”–whether it was for the specific Protona Minifon Mi-51 watch or the watch and other products isn’t clear–but 120,000 were ordered by an American company in the early 1950s. Certainly a lot were sent to America at that point in time.

I imagine, given the nature of which American entities might need 120,000 recording devices hidden inside wristwatches, the paperwork for the order doesn’t specify where it ultimately went. It doesn’t specify, but with that number, I have to imagine it was one of the agencies. Interesting bit of trivia: Jack Ruby, the assassin of Lee Harvey Oswald, apparently owned one.

How did the Protona Minifon Mi-51 watch work when used as a concealed recording device? First, we only have the watch and the wire. The recording device is another part of the product. The microphone wire [that attached to the watch] would go up your shirt sleeve and into the recording device. There were no controls on the watch at all. They were all on the recording device.

Where did the wearer conceal the recording device? In the images I’ve seen, it’s in a carrying bag on the shoulder, or under the arm, between the arm and the chest, where it can be hidden under clothing.

How good was the quality of the sound picked up by the Protona Minifon Mi-51 watch? It was good quality. The watch had holes around the back of the case that allowed sound to get to the microphone more effectively. I think it was designed to pick up conversations between you and someone else you were speaking with. The further away you were, the worse the sound would have been.

So this device was ideal for one-on-one work, like infiltrating the Mob. Exactly.

And the wire went from the watch, up the shirt sleeve, and into the recording device? Absolutely right. You wanted your cuffs in place or you’d be exposed.

But if you were paranoid enough to teach yourself to look for wires coming out of a watch in the early 1950s, you could bust a spy who wore this. The watch doesn’t function at all. There’s not only a wire coming out of the case, it’s stopped at 7:25. Any observant person would notice you were wearing a broken watch.

It’s worth mentioning at this point that the first James Bond movie debuted in 1963. Spies and spying devices weren’t part of popular culture when the Protona Minifon Mi-51 watch was new. Exactly. It looks obvious to us now, but at the time, people would not have noticed this sort of thing.

What were the limits on the recording device? How much audio could it capture? Depending on the spool size, it was half an hour up to two hours of continuous conversation. You couldn’t sit there for 24 hours and hope to pick something up.

The button to start recording was on the device, not the watch, so you always lost a little time reaching under your clothes to turn it on, and you couldn’t rely on the watch to help you figure out how much time was left on the tape, because the watch didn’t work… You’d have to ask what time it was, or you had to have a good sense of time in your head. It’s quite nerve-wracking.

I realize the Protona Minifon Mi-51 watch was used for spy work, and spies are… not forthcoming. But is there any proof this type of concealed recording device was used during any notable incidents? Protona was still trading as a company until 1967, and there was another company that repaired [Protona devices], so it must have been fairly useful. But I wasn’t able to find specific cases where people used it.

What is the Protona Minifon Mi-51 watch like in person? Are there aspects that the camera doesn’t pick up? At first glance, it looks like a watch, especially from six feet away. The case is the same proportion and size as a normal watch. But once you start looking more closely, you notice the winding crown doesn’t turn, and the dials are purely decorative.

If the little dials on the watch face worked, what would they do? They’re chronograph dials. They’re for timing things like a stopwatch. The dial at 9 am would count the number of seconds, and the dial at 3 pm would have counted every minute up to 30 minutes. The large red hand in the middle of the face is the chronograph second hand. If it worked, you’d press the button at the top right of the case and it would start moving.

Have you worn the Protona Minifon Mi-51 watch? I’ve tried it on, but I’m not able to test the eavesdropping function. That’s why I can’t be more helpful about that. As far as aesthetics, it looks like a standard watch if you don’t see the wire. If that didn’t give it away, the perimeter holes all the way around the back of the case would. If it was a real watch, it’d never have that. If you saw the holes, you’d know it’s not what it seemed.

Do we know how or when the watch and the wire parted ways with its recording device and storage case? We don’t have that part of the item, unfortunately, and we have very little information on it.

Is it possible to plug the wire into a different period recording device and enable it to work? I’m not sure. I’m not an electrical specialist. I’m not able to tell you if the jack at the end of the wire is able to fit into any [other devices]. I’m not able to test it, so I can’t say if it’s in working order. The buyer should assume it’s not in working order. If it is, it’s a pleasant surprise.

What condition is the Protona Minifon Mi-51 watch in? Good condition. There’s no moving parts, so it’s not going to wear the same way that a 1950s watch might. There’s some aging to the dial and the hands, and some scratches on the case, but there’s no big dents. It looks like it would have come with a green or brown zip-up satchel that fit everything. Inside was the recording device, in its own separate case. The satchel appears to have been made of artificial leather. Because of that, I don’t think many cases survive.

Is it fair to assume that Protona would have subcontracted the production of the watch parts of the device to a different company? It’s much easier for a spy equipment company to make a watch then it is for a watch company to make a recording device. Because the watch has no moving parts, it’s not hard to manufacture. Assuming the company was without any watchmaking expertise, it’s not going to make the dial or the case unless the project was so secret they couldn’t outsource them.

How often do Protona Minifon Mi-51 watches come up at auction? This is the first one we’ve seen at Fellows. One sold last year at another house, and I found a couple more sales in 2005 and 2011.

So they’re not common at auction, but not rare? Well, they aren’t watches, but they look like watches, so they can sell in a watch auction. But they may not find their way to watch auctions. They could appear in military auctions, or gentleman’s auctions. Certainly with one American company ordering 120,000 from Protona–that’s a very big number. If there were 120,000, you’d expect to see them more often than this. There are watches limited to 1,000 that we see more often than these.

As we speak on December 1, 2020, the Protona Minifon Mi-51 watch has been bid up to £135. Is that significant at all? There are seven days to go for this auction. The fact that it’s got interest is encouraging. I hope to see enthusiastic bidding as the end of the auction approaches.

What’s the world auction record for a Protona Minifon Mi-51 watch? The highest record I was able to find was from a 2005 Christie’s Geneva sale, when a complete set sold for 1,800 Swiss Francs [roughly $2,000 or so].

Why will this piece stick in your memory? It shows how far technology has advanced in seven decades. I think a smartwatch could do what it does with ease now, and would be able to tell the time as well. But at the point that this was made, it was seen as cutting-edge.

How to bid: The Protona Minifon Mi-51 watch is lot 433 in the Online Watches & Watch Accessories sale held by Fellows through December 8, 2020.

How to subscribe to The Hot Bid: Click the trio of dots at the upper right of this page. You can also follow The Hot Bid on Instagram and follow the author on Twitter.

Fellows is on Twitter and Instagram.

Images are courtesy of Fellows.

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A 1970 Wadsworth Jarrell Painting Could Command $150,000 (Updated December 10, 2020: RECORD!)

UncategorizedNovember 20, 2020December 10, 2020

Update: The Wadsworth Jarrell painting sold for $125,000, setting a new world auction record for the artist.

What you see: Subway, a 1970 Wadsworth Jarrell painting. Swann Auction Galleries estimates it at $100,000 to $150,000.

The expert: Nigel Freeman, director of Swann’s African-American fine art department.

Who is Wadsworth Jarrell? He’s a living artist who turns 91 on November 20. He’s best known as a painter and a founding member of the AfriCOBRA movement in Chicago. [The group’s full name is “the African Commune Of Bad Relevant Artists”.] His work from the late 1960s and early 1970s is rising in stature and prominence.

Is Jarrell still working? I don’t know how much he’s painting at this moment, but he continues to paint and be active. He’s had a wonderful, long career.

Where was he in his career in 1970, when he painted Subway? By 1968, he had been living and working as an artist for quite some time. With the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X and the growth of the Civil Rights movement, a lot of artists became more socially active. Jarrell was one of the founding members of AfriCOBRA, a group of artists who decided they wanted to reach a larger audience, and who felt that art should not be reserved for the gallery scene. AfriCOBRA brought these artists together, and they made a lot of strong artwork that culminated in a 1970 exhibition at the Studio Museum in Harlem that really put them on the map.

Was Subway a part of that show? This artwork was not, but AfriCOBRA continued to do group exhibitions. In 1968, he cofounded AfriCOBRA, and by 1970 and 1971, he was reaching a peak with AfriCOBRA exhibitions.

Is AfriCOBRA still around? Not really, no, but many of the artists are still alive.

How does Jarrell’s experience with AfriCOBRA shape what we see in Subway? The AfriCOBRA movement wanted to depict art that everyday people could relate to. They did figurative subjects, not abstraction. They wanted to speak to social and political consciousness, and they wanted to show that art could change peoples’ lives with positive images. The AfriCOBRA style used bright colors, images of people without complex compositions, direct messages people could understand, and the artists brought themselves to their work.

How did Jarrell bring himself to his work? There’s a wonderful variety of things in his paintings. There’s the “coolade colors”–artificial colors not necessarily found in nature, but were bright and vibrant and got peoples’ attention. The floating letters, the “B”s, are representative of black power, blackness, and beauty. They permeate his paintings. The text [in his work] is sometimes explicit. It could be from a speech from Malcolm X or more subtle floating Bs, but there’s a message in his work. Subway fits right into the AfriCOBRA ethos and it’s typical of Jarrell’s work at the time.

I understand the letter referenced another b-word of the time that appears in AfriCOBRA’s name: Bad. Could you explain what “bad” meant in this context in 1970? It meant something good. But the Bs were more about blackness and beauty. They were positive signifiers. If you look at other paintings of Jarrell’s from this time, such as Revolutionary, they have Bs floating through the painting. The visual representation, along with the colors and the shapes, give the work a positive vibe. It’s not just a handsome portrait or a bustling subway scene. The floating letters became a device in his paintings for good things happening in the community–it’s in the air.

So the Bs sort of capture the spirit of the community, and the sense that things were changing for the better? I guess it’s the opposite of Edvard Munch’s The Scream and the anxious, nervous energy that emanates from that painting. Subway is the flipside of that.

Is the Chicago subway stop in the Wadsworth Jarrell painting identifiable? I don’t think it is. There’s nothing in the painting that says it’s this stop or that stop.

Did Jarrell include portraits of himself, his wife, or his friends in the painting? The artist might have done these things, but not that I’m aware of. What is specific in the painting is the details in the subway posters, the references to political campaigns that were going on at the time. It’s as if Trump or Biden posters were up today. But Subway is not about a specific group of people. It’s about part of everyday life in Chicago, going to work, going to school. It’s a great subject for an AfriCOBRA painting.

So it’s fair to say that this Wadsworth Jarrell painting is a good representation of his work in the early 1970s? The colors, the composition, the floating letter device–all those things make it typical of that time.

How often do Wadsworth Jarrell paintings come to market? He’s had about 18 works at auction in the last ten years. His market has been slowly developing. He had a breakthrough in 2016 when we sold a painting of his from 1973. It was untitled, but a title was attributed to it later. It was estimated at $25,000 to $35,000 and it sold for $97,500. It was the first significant painting from his prime AfriCOBRA period at auction. That’s why we’re excited about this painting. It has the potential to change his market.

If Subway sells for its low estimate, it will automatically set a new world auction record for the artist, yes? Correct.

What makes this Wadsworth Jarrell painting likely to break the record? It checks all the boxes. It’s a work of his from that moment, it’s a great subject, a good size. Given the current interest in his work and the scarcity of these paintings at auction, we expect it to do well.

What is this Wadsworth Jarrell painting like in person? There’s a life and a character and a wonderful energy to his work that you have to experience in person, but the representation in the catalog is a pretty good one.

What’s your favorite detail of the painting? I like the composition of the figures. I like how he shows people relaxed and talking, and I like how your eye goes around to look at each one. There’s no prominent figure. I see something new and different in the painting every time I look at it.

What does Subway and the record-setting Wadsworth Jarrell painting have in common, aside from having been painted around the same time? They share the same kind of energy, with the floating letters and a lot of busy-ness. The 1973 painting has two saxophone players back to back. It’s a bit more abstract in its colors and patterns. This has more of a feel of city life and the subway.

With Subway, it seems to me that Jarrell is putting as much as he can in the composition without overcrowding it. He definitely pushes it. But there are quiet spaces in the painting. Subway is a little different in that you can identify the place. A lot of his paintings focus on the message and the people.

Why will this Wadsworth Jarrell painting stick in your memory? It’s a great painting with a lot of qualities we look for in his work. I enjoy seeing the subway scene and seeing all the thought he put into it. It’s not just a subject, it’s the message.

How to bid: The Wadsworth Jarrell painting is lot 73 in the African American Art sale taking place at Swann Auction Galleries on December 10, 2020.

How to subscribe to The Hot Bid: Click the trio of dots at the upper right of this page. You can also follow The Hot Bid on Instagram and follow the author on Twitter.

Swann Galleries is on Instagram and Twitter.

Nigel Freeman spoke to The Hot Bid previously about an early piece by David Hammons, an Irene V. Clark painting from the Johnson Publishing Company collection, an Elizabeth Catlett sculpture that went on to set a new world auction record for the artist; an Emma Amos mixed-media work that ultimately sold for an auction record for the artist;  a set of Emperor Jones prints by Harlem Renaissance artist Aaron Douglas, a story quilt that Oprah Winfrey commissioned Faith Ringgold to make about Dr. Maya Angelou, an Elizabeth Catlett painting, and a Sargent Johnson copper mask. 

Image is courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries.

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A Ralph Cahoon Painting of Sailors and Mermaids Dancing and Flying Kites Could Sell for $50,000 (Updated November 21, 2020)

UncategorizedNovember 17, 2020November 21, 2020

Update: The Ralph Cahoon painting sold for $37,500.

What you see: Wedding Dance, a circa 1960s oil on masonite painting by Ralph Eugene Cahoon Jr. Eldred’s estimates it at $30,000 to $50,000.

The expert: Joshua Eldred, president of Eldred’s and head of its fine arts department.

Who was Ralph Cahoon? He was a noted artist who lived here on the cape. He and his wife worked in Cotuit, Massachusetts for several decades.

Was he self-taught? He married a woman named Martha Farham, and her father was an artist who did a lot of furniture decorated in the Pennsylvania Dutch tradition. The only training I know he received was through his father-in-law. He started his career painting used antique furniture with folky-inspired scenes and slowly started to incorporate whimsical nautical scenes.

When did Ralph Cahoon move from painting furniture to actual paintings? He was painting furniture in the 1940s and switched in the mid- to late 1950s. Joan Whitney Payson, a socialite, was responsible for the switch. I don’t know that she discovered him, but she was one of his early backers. She encouraged him to move from furniture to two-dimensional work, and she helped expose him to wealthy clients who bought his art.

How prolific was Ralph Cahoon? Very. I would say he made thousands of paintings. There’s no catalog raisonné for him, but a book of prices will be printed in a year or two, and the Cahoon Museum in Cotuit, which is in his former house, has all his journals and records.

Is Wedding Dance a typical Ralph Cahoon painting? It’s a consistent scene, and a popular subject. We’ve handled a fair number of Cahoons, and we’ve seen this at least ten or 12 times in different forms.

How often do mermaids appear in Ralph Cahoon paintings? It’s more usual to have them than to not have them. It’s one of the key things in his work. If there are no mermaids, the Cahoon painting brings less money.

Why was Ralph Cahoon so into mermaids? I don’t know. There are some underwater scenes with mermaids, but most are on land, with them all doing silly things. It fits into the whole sailor narrative, though. They’re attracted to the mythical creature of the sea, which distracts them.

How are the mermaids depicted in this Ralph Cahoon painting? I don’t generally read much into them. I think his motivation is fun and whimsy. His paintings are not overly deep.

This Ralph Cahoon painting is described as “Chinese-influenced”. Does that imagery come up often in his work? It pops up now and again. Some paintings emulate the imagery of China Trade School paintings of the 19th century.

Do we know why Cahoon might have painted this? We believe it was painted for one of his first shows at the Vose Gallery in Boston. The Vose Gallery was a very early proponent of his work and gave him one or two dedicated shows in the 1960s. The family story of the consigner is it was bought in the 1960s at that gallery.

Is this landscape in the painting 100 percent fanciful, or do any features of it–say, the tea house, or the harbor–correspond to places in the real world? I think it’s 100 percent fanciful. It’s possible the backdrop is Canton, but it’s not a slam dunk.

What is the Ralph Cahoon painting like in person? Are there aspects that the camera doesn’t capture? It’s lovely, the colors are strong, and it has a very strong presence. He used an antique varnish to make it appear as if it’s a 19th century work.

What is your favorite detail of the painting? The kites, partly because they’re fun and partly because I haven’t seen them in a Cahoon painting before. They’re a wonderful Asian design, and it’s fun to see something new and different.

Is it possible to guess why he might have included kites that look like this? He probably did it because it pleased him. It could be similar to Chinese export paintings he saw in person, or in an image. He based some works off of 19th century prints.

What condition is the Ralph Cahoon painting in, and what condition issues do you tend to see with his works? I rarely see a Cahoon with significant condition issues. He painted almost exclusively on masonite, which is not prone to tears.

As we speak on November 10, 2020, the painting has been bid up to $13,000. Is that meaningful at all? Not particularly. I’d say half the lots in the auction have bids. It really doesn’t tell you much, other than two people are interested in it. Some bid as a bookmark and come back later.

What’s the world auction record for a Ralph Cahoon painting? Was it set at Eldred’s? It was set with us, in August 2010, by A Shocking Incident at the Boston Public Garden. It sold for $207,000. It was very different from Wedding Dance. It has Swan Boats, mermaids and sailors, and the State House in the background. The Swan Boats are an iconic image of Boston. A collector had to have it.

How do Cahoon paintings make you feel? I think they’re fun. You don’t have to be a Ph.D to understand them. They’re lighthearted, and they don’t try too hard. They’re pleasing.

How to bid: The Ralph Cahoon painting Wedding Dance is lot 727 in The Fall Sale: Day II, which takes place at Eldred’s on November 20, 2020.

How to subscribe to The Hot Bid: Click the trio of dots at the upper right of this page. You can also follow The Hot Bid on Instagram and follow the author on Twitter.

Eldred’s is also on Twitter and Instagram.

Image is courtesy of Eldred’s.

Josh Eldred has appeared on The Hot Bid three other times, talking about a Joseph Whiting stock portrait of an unknown sea captain, an Antonio Jacobsen schooner portrait, and a record-setting painting by Cape Cod artist Harold Dunbar.

The Cahoon Museum of American Art has a website.

Would you like to hire Sheila Gibson Stoodley for writing or editing work? Click the word “Menu” at the upper right for contact details.

A Vintage Penguin Cocktail Shaker Could Fetch $3,500 (Updated November 21, 2020)

UncategorizedNovember 10, 2020November 21, 2020

Update: The penguin cocktail shaker sold for $4,375.

What you see: A penguin cocktail shaker designed by Emil Schuelke for the Napier Company in 1936. Rago Arts and Auction estimates it at $2,500 to $3,500.

The expert: Megan Whippen, senior specialist at Wright.

Who was Emil Schuelke? There really isn’t much known about him aside from the fact that he was American, he was born in 1901, and died in 1986. This penguin cocktail shaker is probably what he’s best known for.

Do we know how the penguin cocktail shaker came to be? We do have some information. What’s wonderful about this particular design is we have a patent for it. We also know it was launched at Hammacher Schlemmer for the 1936 Christmas season.

What was Emil Schuelke’s involvement with the penguin cocktail shaker? Did he render a prototype? He’s always been credited as its designer. We don’t know of the existence of a prototype.

Was the penguin cocktail shaker an instant hit with the public? That’s hard to say, but it was one of Napier’s most successful cocktail shaker designs during this time period. It was discontinued in 1941. [The Napier Company largely ceased to exist after it was sold in 1999.]

Do we have any idea how many penguin cocktail shakers Napier made? Unfortunately, we do not.

Was the penguin cocktail shaker a stand-alone piece, or did it come with matching cups and a serving tray? The patent in 1936 was only for a shaker. Stand-alone cocktail shaker designs weren’t uncommon in the 1930s and there was precedent for them in Napier’s designs.

What makes the penguin cocktail shaker such a powerful example of commercial design? It has a wonderfully whimsical and playful shape, and it’s streamlined and modern and ultimately a functional piece of design.

I’m impressed by how neatly Emil Schuelke translated the shape of a penguin, which is an exquisitely streamlined bird in the water but comical on land, into a cocktail shaker. The beak becomes the spout, and then there’s the feet… the only departure is the handle. The functional part of it is what makes it cool. It’s a wonderful zoomorphic figure, a nuanced animalistic design, but in the end, it needed a handle. It doesn’t all play into the design paradigm.

This example is silver-plated. Did Napier make other variations on the form? There are examples in gilt silver plate. The one at the Dallas Museum of Art has that–the beak and wings are gilt silver. And there was an example done for the 1939 World’s Fair that’s in the Royal Collection.

What is the penguin cocktail shaker like in person? I haven’t held this one, but I’ve had a model for a number of years. It’s very sleek and modern, and it has a nice weight in the hand. Because it’s a plated silver object, it’s a bit heavier than other cocktail shakers. It’s a functional work of design, meant to be used.

What’s your favorite detail of the penguin cocktail shaker? When you see it in person, it’s very sleek and modern, but you see the whimsy in the feet. It’s a functional element that makes sure the cocktail shaker stands upright, and it’s a little bit playful.

What condition is the penguin cocktail shaker in? It has a little light wear from use, from twisting it to take the top off to put in liquor and ice. Otherwise, it’s in very good condition.

Do contemporary collectors of vintage cocktail shakers treat them as sculpture, or do they generally intend to put them to work? There are people who view them as sculpture, but as we come back into an era when we appreciate cocktails, collectors view vintage cocktail shakers as objects to be used.

How often do penguin cocktail shakers come to auction? I see about one a year. It was something produced in larger numbers. It was not a one-off piece, and you have an end in 1941.

Did Napier ever re-issue the penguin cocktail shaker? Other people have issued homages or replicas, but not Napier.

Are fakes a problem? Vintage penguin cocktail shakers are usually marked and stamped, and you see age to the plated silver. Something created recently doesn’t look like this, and it feels different in the hand.

What’s the world auction record for a penguin cocktail shaker? That’s hard to answer. One of the top prices achieved was in the United Kingdom. An example sold for £5,250 (roughly $7,000) at Christie’s in 2013.

Does the penguin cocktail shaker hold its value well? Prices have remained strong. The Cooper Hewitt has a wonderful example and uses it in some of its marketing material because it’s a 1930s icon.

It seems as if the penguin cocktail shaker has become emblematic of the cocktail shakers of the period. Why do you think that is? It has a wonderful whimsy to it. It’s hard to forget a penguin serving a beverage. And major institutions have examples of it–you see it more frequently when you go to museums.

How to bid: The penguin cocktail shaker is lot 717 in Object & Home Day 2, an auction taking place at Rago Arts and Auction on November 20, 2020.

How to subscribe to The Hot Bid: Click the trio of dots at the upper right of this page. You can also follow The Hot Bid on Instagram and follow the author on Twitter.

Rago is on Instagram.

Images are courtesy of Rago/Wright.

Megan Whippen appeared on The Hot Bid previously to discuss a chair by George Hunzinger.

Would you like to hire Sheila Gibson Stoodley for writing or editing work? Click the word “Menu” at the upper right for contact details.

A Woolsey Bunny Figure Could Sell For $6,000 (Updated November 15, 2020)

UncategorizedNovember 6, 2020November 15, 2020

Update: The Woolsey bunny figure sold for $9,700.

What you see: A Woolsey bunny figure, created from wood and bottle caps between the 1960s and 1980s by Clarence and Grace Woolsey. Slotin Folk Art Auction estimates it at $4,000 to $6,000.

The expert: Steve Slotin of Slotin Folk Art Auction in Buford, Georgia.

Who were Clarence and Grace Woolsey? They were farmers in Iowa, very rural, isolated, and living off the land. They had cattle and crops and that was it. Though they came from families that had lots of kids, they had no children.

Where did they get the idea to make art out of bottle caps? They were children of the Great Depression, raised in a time when people made arts and crafts from discarded items. During World War II, bottle caps were gathered for metal drives. After the war, they were still collected. The Woolseys collected bottle caps and the townsfolk helped them. They first made a little church out of bottle caps, to resemble the one they went to. Then Grace encouraged Clarence to make bodies [wooden structures] to attach the bottle caps to. He didn’t have power tools–just jigsaws and pocket knives. He started making fanciful figures, and she would decorate them.

And that’s how they divided the labor–he built the frameworks, and she added the bottle caps? He would whittle the solid wood structure. She applied the caps. The caps were nailed into the structures or she’d punch holes in the caps and string them on wires.

How prolific were the Woolseys? They made about 400 pieces. Out of that 400, a lot are teepees, churches, and wagons, but it was the figures that captured the imagination. Some call them bears, or bunnies, or aliens, though they’re not really bears or bunnies or aliens. They’re totally original, not like anything anyone has seen or done before.

So other people made things out of bottle caps, but there’s everyone else, and then there’s the Woolseys? In the folk art world, you’ll come across bottle cap baskets and snakes. The Woolseys took that idea and went to a whole different stratosphere with their art. They took the craft and made it into a personal art form.

Grace Woolsey was the one who fostered the idea? She was the one who originally said “Let’s do something”. They were in Iowa, and they didn’t even have working heat. In winter, they’d be snowed in for weeks at a time. That’s when they started making things from bottle caps. From there, it blossomed into an art form. They took something other people would have thrown away and made something beautiful and original out of it.

After a while, the Woolseys launched a tourist attraction that they called the Caparena. What was that? Clarence did rodeos and circuses when he was younger. The Caparena was a cross between a circus and a rodeo, but with bottlecaps. It was a whole environment he set up. You’d spend 25 cents to see it, but it didn’t get many visitors. This was a period when the cattle in the area outnumbered the people. Clarence got sick after he put the Caparena together. It wasn’t up for very long when he was no longer able to take care of it. The figures were put in his brother-in-law’s barn.

Where was Grace Woolsey during all of this? The Caparena was their idea, but Clarence got sick, and then she got sick. They died within a year of each other in the late 1980s. The figures stayed in the brother-in-law’s barn for years.

How was the cache of bottle cap art rediscovered? After it went into the barn, it disappeared, and no one paid it any mind. Then the brother-in-law moved or left and everything in the barn was sold in 1993. One guy bought all the art for $100. It hit the folk art market and things snowballed quickly. Other folk art dealers and antique dealers–everyone who saw them–fell in love with them.

You said earlier that the Woolseys made about 400 pieces. How many of those are bunny figures? Do we have a count? No, but in 30 years, I’ve sold a total of 32 Woolseys. Of those, 16 were bunny figures.

Do we know how many bottle caps went into this Woolsey bunny figure? There’s a couple of thousand on this piece.

Can we say how much work this Woolsey bunny figure represents? We can only guess at all the time they put into building a thing like this. They had no TV, and they had their evenings free. Whatever time was available was spent on this.

Was this Woolsey bunny figure part of the Caparena? Do any period photos of the Caparena survive? I don’t believe there were any photos of the Caparena installation, so it’s hard to know if this piece was exhibited. I’m inclined to believe that all of the pieces they created were displayed.

What role does Tom van Deest, whose name appears in the provenance for this Woolsey bunny figure, play in the story of the Woolseys? Is he the person who paid $100 for the whole group of works at the 1993 sale? I don’t know if he bought them or was responsible for buying them from the person who got them, but he was in on it very early. He did follow-up research and tried to learn more about them so the story wasn’t lost. He was very important to getting the word out.

What is this Woolsey bunny figure like in person? What aspects or details don’t come across on camera? You don’t get the details–all the work that goes into stringing every bottle cap to make circles around the arms, the legs, the body. It’s very fun-looking, very enjoyable. You see it and it makes you happy. It really has a personality to it.

The Woolsey bunny figure’s face is engaging… It’s got eyes, and a little button nose, but no mouth. It also has short, stubby arms and protruding ears. It’s really cute.

What’s your favorite detail of the Woolsey bunny figure? By far, it’s the antenna, or the rabbit ears, on top of the head. It’s hilarious. The whole face is fun and it’s kind of alien-looking.

What makes them hilarious? Try to think about anybody now making a figure of a bear or a rabbit or an alien–you’d never get this idea. It’s a really strange, bizarre way to approach it. It’s really unique.

Have you held the Woolsey bunny figure? Yes. It’s thousands of bottle caps attached to wood, so it’s got weight to it. It’s a good example, and it stands up by itself, though the feet are way too big for the body.

What condition is the Woolsey bunny figure in? It is what it is. Some of the bottle caps are rusty, probably because they were rusty when the Woolseys got them. There’s no reason to do any kind of restoration. Its age and its patina is what makes it wonderful, what makes it fun and folky.

What’s the world auction record for a Woolsey bunny figure? Was it set with you? We have the world auction record. We got $10,200 for a bunny figure in 2007. [The link reflects the hammer price, without premium.]

Why will this Woolsey bunny figure stick in your memory? It’s a great example–what you look for when you look for examples of the Woolseys’ work. It’s nice to have one as nice as this. For folk art collectors, it’s exactly what you’re looking for. This is truly an American art form. The Woolseys were in the heartland, and they were very isolated artists. There were no European masters, no outsiders telling them what to do. And it’s a story of something lost and then found. To have something lost and then appreciating it is what this field is all about.

How to bid: The Woolsey bunny figure is lot 0106 in the Self-Taught, Outsider, and Folk Art sale scheduled for November 14, 2020 at Slotin Folk Art Auction.

How to subscribe to The Hot Bid: Click the trio of dots at the upper right of this page.

Images are courtesy of Slotin Folk Art Auction.

Steve Slotin previously spoke to The Hot Bid about a Sam Doyle painting on tin roofing material that went on to command $17,000; a work on paper by Minnie Evans that later sold for $8,000; and a sculpture by Ab the Flag Manwhich ultimately sold for $1,200.

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A Coelacanth Fossil Could Fetch Almost $65,000

UncategorizedNovember 3, 2020November 2, 2020

What you see: A coelacanth fossil from Painten, Germany. Summers Place Auctions estimates it at £30,000 to £50,000, or $38,800 to $64,700.

The expert: Rupert van der Werff, director of Summers Place Auctions.

Why is a coelacanth fossil a big deal? The coelacanth is quite a famous animal. It was known from examples in the fossil record that are more than 400 million years old. In 1938, one was spotted in a fish market in South Africa. Since then, living specimens were caught, and the coelacanth became a cause celebre in the world of natural history.

A cause celebre in the world of natural history? How so? It’s a crossover animal. It’s believed the fish derived from amphibians, because of the fact that its fins are so short and muscular and not designed for actual swimming. It walked as much as it swam. It gives insight into the emergence of an important group of animals in our current world.

How do we know this fossil is a coelacanth? By its general makeup and appearance, and by where it was found on the fossil record timeline. Coelacanths are pretty unique. It has quite a bony skeleton. Its skull is pretty massive and its fins are pretty short and stocky. It’s not a terribly streamlined animal. It’s a bit of a plodder and [lived] toward the bottom of the sea.

The lot notes describe this coelacanth fossil as “impressive”. What makes it so? For its completeness and its size. This is quite a big specimen, as far as coelacanths go. [It measures 46 centimeters, or 18 inches, in length.]

Is it possible to tell how old the coelacanth was, or what its sex was, by examining the fossil? I don’t believe so. Coelacanths are rare. More T. rexes have been discovered than coelacanths. There’s not that much knowledge to bear. I couldn’t tell you if it’s an adult, or tell you its sex, and I don’t think anybody could.

What can we reasonably tell about the coelacanth fossil just by looking at it? It’s complete. It wasn’t attacked by a predator. As far as I can see, there’s no signs of it being diseased or unhealthy. Exactly what it died of, I can’t say.

Living coelacanths have been caught. Do they look a lot like this coelacanth fossil? Yes. It’s a successful design for what it was doing. There was no need for it to change.

This coelacanth fossil came from Painten, Germany. Where is Painten? It’s an hour away from Munich, in Bavaria. The rocks are composed of really fine sediment. It’s pretty phenomenal stuff for fossils. You couldn’t hope for more. The fine sediment produces the best resolution as long as the conditions are compatible.

When was this coelacanth fossil found? In 2017, which is one of the reasons why it’s such a good specimen. Modern techniques for preparing fossils are so much better than the older ways of doing it. You can really reveal what lies within the stone.

I imagine we should probably stop here and explain that it’s not as if the coelacanth fossil was hanging around, exposed, just waiting for someone to stumble on it. How was it recovered? An expert paleontologist knows what layers of a quarry are likely to yield fossils, and pays particular attention to those layers. If the expert sees an anomaly in a layer, that’s possibly a fossil. They collect the rock around it and work on it later with fine dental tools, hoping that something is in there and they got it all. It’s like searching for treasure.

Is that area of Germany a known source for coelacanth fossils? In terms of numbers, I don’t know. I know the big ones are jolly rare. The availability of fossils in general fluctuates. Some are always rare, and this fits that category. If coelacanths were more common when they were alive, more would have been found by now.

What is the coelacanth fossil like in person? I suppose it almost has an attitude. It does have a bit of a character to it. It looks almost sad. It’s quite unusual to be captured in a lump of stone, but to me, it has an emotion attached to it.

Kind of an Eeyore sensibility? Yes. It looks a bit like it knew it was the end. Resigned might be another way to put it.

Was this coelacanth fossil found alone, or were there other coelacanth fossils near it? And are coelacanths, living or fossilized, found alone, or in schools? Usually alone. Maybe that’s a reason why it looks sad.

Have you held the coelacanth fossil? It’s quite a big plaque–probably 50 or 60 pounds–so it’s quite heavy. You wouldn’t hold it up to admire it for very long. But I’m an enthusiast for fossils. To get my hands on something as exciting as this is a real treat.

Does it feel rough, or smooth? Pretty smooth, because the particles it’s composed of are so tiny. It’s almost like holding something made of plaster of paris, or chalk.

What is your favorite detail of the coelacanth fossil? Probably its skull, because it does really convey a sense of emotion, which is unusual in a fossil.

What’s the world auction record for a coelacanth fossil? Was it set with you? I don’t know. I very much hope it will be set by us at the next auction. We sold a few Indonesian ones three or four years ago, but they were smaller, and relatively more common specimens. This one deserves to go on to make a lot of money. It really is a tremendous specimen. I think this is the first German coelacanth ever to be offered at auction. I didn’t find reference to someone offering another.

You called the Indonesian specimens “more common”. What does “more common” mean when we’re talking about something as rare as a coelacanth fossil? Common as in I’ve seen four or five. We’re still talking about something very rare. This coelacanth fossil is the only one of this sort I’ve had the pleasure of handling.

Why will this coelacanth fossil stick in your memory? Fossils, because of their nature, are pretty neutral in appearance. But this one does appear to convey a sort of emotion.

How to bid: The coelacanth fossil is lot 65 in the annual Evolution Auction offered by Summers Place Auctions on November 24, 2020.

How to subscribe to The Hot Bid: Click the trio of dots at the upper right of this page. You can also follow The Hot Bid on Instagram and follow the author on Twitter.

Rupert van der Werff appeared previously on The Hot Bid speaking about a near-complete Dodo skeleton that set a world auction record.

Summers Place Auctions is on Twitter and Instagram.

Image is courtesy of Summers Place Auctions.

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A Group of Seven Tiffany Windows Could Command $250,000 (Updated November 11, 2020)

UncategorizedOctober 30, 2020November 11, 2020

Update: The set of Tiffany windows sold for $705,000–almost twice its high estimate.

What you see: Angels Representing Seven Churches, a set of Tiffany windows created by the famed studio in 1902 for a Swedenborgian church in Ohio. Freeman’s estimates the set at $150,000 to $250,000.

The expert: Tim Andreadis, department head of 20th century design at Freeman’s.

Today, Tiffany Studios is best known for its lamps, but it also supplied custom windows for churches. Could you talk about its work in this realm? From 1870 into the early 1900, ecclesiastic work represented a substantial part of the business. Churches have a lot of money and they have wealthy patrons who are interested in supporting church projects. Tiffany Studios capitalized on that.

Who within Tiffany Studios created the religious windows? Was it the same team who created the lamps? Yes and no. Lamps and ecclesiastic commissions were separate departments in the Tiffany organization. But Clara Driscoll, who’s documented as designing lamps, did work in the area of windows. Interestingly, the process for making a Tiffany lamp and a Tiffany window are similar.

How would a Tiffany window have been made? People who were trained in the arts would create watercolor design drawings, which would be scaled up to a full size watercolor drawing and a full size drawing with outlines in black, suggesting where the leading [the metal matrix that holds the glass in place] would be. A separate group of individuals would select the glass. Tiffany Studios stocked between 200 and 300 tons of glass to pick from, in different colors and textures. They would organize the window using wax to set the pieces. Then it would be carried to a separate department, the glaziers’ department [for finishing]. If the windows were figurative, the faces, hands, and sometimes the feet of the figures were painted by trained artists. That was the only paint used. All the other effects were achieved through the glass itself or how the glass was arranged within the design.

The Tiffany Studios department that made the lamps was staffed by women. The glaziers’ department was mostly male. Was the Ecclesiastic department more mixed? I don’t know. I know a number of women in the firm selected glass that was being used, and they contributed in significant ways to the designs.

What kind of reputation did Tiffany Studios have in 1902, when they made these windows? They were certainly in full flight, to continue the angel metaphor. By 1910, thousands upon thousands of churches all over the United States, and some in Canada, had Tiffany windows.

This set of Tiffany windows has the title Angels Representing Seven Churches. Did the set always have that name, or did the name come later, after the church they were made for was demolished? Tiffany gave the name to the windows.

Is there any period documentation between Tiffany Studios and the Church of the New Jerusalem in Cincinnatti, for which the windows were made? I believe there is at least one letter between the folks at a Swedenborgian church in Ohio who commissioned the windows as a gift for the Cincinnati Swedenborgian church.

Do we know which seven churches the angels in the religious Tiffany windows represent? Each corresponds to cities that existed in Asia Minor. All are mentioned in the Bible in the Book of Revelation. Emanuel Swedenborg started the Swedenborgian religion, and it talks a lot about angels.

Where were the seven Tiffany windows placed? In the church’s nave? I think that’s correct. Behind the altar. I’m not sure how much it mattered to the congregation, but I’m sure some knew they were Tiffany windows.

I’d like to talk through why the angels look the way they do. In the Bible, angels have no gender, but these seven–at least some of them seem to be male, and some seem to be female. In the literature I’ve read about this specific set of windows, the angels are referred to as genderless, but I find myself wanting to refer to them as males or females based on their facial features. When you look at other angels Tiffany did, they’re almost always gendered, and very often female.

But this group of angels shown on the Tiffany windows is more mixed? It’s more mixed, or there seems to be an effort to make the angels androgynous. In the Biblical references, they aren’t gendered. They represent the church, and the church is genderless. It’s a quandry, because it’s hard not to look at the figures and not see male or female features.

It seems that all seven angels on the Tiffany windows share two details in common: red-orange wings, and a blazing star above their heads. Do we know why those details are there? Do they have any theological significance beyond the obvious, or are they there just to graphically unite the group? The motifs were definitely chosen to unite them, and to show that none was more important than the others.

And the Bible verses at the feet of each angel–those are from the Book of Revelation? They are taken from the Book of Revelation. I don’t know if they are verbatim or adapted.

How do these religious Tiffany windows show the firm’s mastery? First, there’s the overall design. The figures are beautifully rendered in the composition, in the style of dress, and in the way that each relates to one another. All the elements incorporated in the window are carefully designed to best illustrate that particular angel. Two, the glass reflects the firm’s penchant for richly saturated hues and a color palette that was arresting to the viewer. The feather glass not only suggests the texture of the wing, but the shading along the wing in deeply saturated striated reds and vibrant golden yellows makes each feather its own special element. Tiffany was able to paint in glass–to create all that rich texture and subtlety.

It also jumps out at me, when looking at this group of Tiffany windows, that each is a singular work of art, and they work as a group equally well. Absolutely. Each angel stands on its own artistic merit. Each is as extraordinary as the next, but there’s inherent balance.

What are the dimensions of these Tiffany windows? They’re 96 1/2 inches tall and 22 inches wide.

How much does each weigh? It takes two guys to lift one. Each is probably a good 250 pounds.

How many pieces of glass are in any one window? There’s probably 500 to 1,000 pieces of glass in each window and that’s probably an underestimate. Each wing probably has 100 or so pieces in it.

How much work does each Tiffany window represent? Given all the hands involved in their creation, Tiffany needed at least two months to produce a window like this.

Why were the Tiffany windows removed from the church? My understanding is an interstate was coming through the neighborhood where the church stood. They [people involved with the church] had enough sense to want to keep the windows rather than let them be destroyed. I don’t know how the windows were taken, but they existed in crates in a number of local garages for a decade or two while they were trying to figure out what to do with them.

What happened next? The windows hung around Cincinnati until a Swedenborgian church in Pennsylvania planned to create a chapel with them in the 1970s or 1980s. I don’t know the whole story, but the chapel never came to pass. They [the leadership of the Pennsylvania church] put the windows in a barn. Around the year 2000, the retiring pastor said to the new pastor, “Oh, by the way, we’ve got these windows in the barn, you should be aware of them.” The new pastor saw that the barn needed repairs to its leaky roof. That prompted him to reach out to Tiffany scholars. It took about a year and a half to restore the windows.

So the seven Tiffany windows were stored in peoples’ garages for a decade or so? And then they were stored in a barn for about as long? It’s remarkable to think about. The windows could easily have been separated or damaged or completely disappeared. Because they just left them alone, they managed to survive.

The Tiffany windows have been restored. How original are they? Substantially original. More than 90 percent. Only a handful of panels could not be restored and were replaced. By and large, they’re preserved as they were.

What are the Tiffany windows like in person? Stunning. Extremely striking. They’re very imposing because they stand at almost life size. The glass itself is brilliant, especially in the presence of all seven when they are lit. Perhaps they took them for granted in the church, but when you view them together outside a church, their radiance and their sense of majesty is amplified.

What aspects or details of the Tiffany windows don’t quite come across in the photos? The three-dimensionality of the glass, and the accoutrements the angels have–the crowns, and the jewels on the crowns. Big chunks of glass were used to suggest rough-cut jewels.

What is your favorite detail from these Tiffany windows? The Pergamos window shows the angel holding a big chunk of opalescent glass, probably eight to ten inches in the round. It’s meant to be a particular glowing white stone that’s referenced in the Book of Revelation. It’s a big, rough, faceted piece of glass. Light comes through it at different areas, magnifying that element of the window.

The Tiffany windows are, of course, made of glass. Are they fragile? Unless they sustain damage that isn’t treated, they’re very sturdy within the lead matrix. The window is not going to spontaneously fall to pieces.

How did you install the Tiffany windows for display at Freeman’s? Was that a logistical challenge? Luckily, it was very easy for us. The windows have been on tour to more than 15 museums. Prior to the tour, they had wooden, free-standing light boxes custom-built for them. The boxes can be maneuvered however you want–you can display the windows in an arch configuration, or side by side. The boxes will be made available to the winning bidder so the windows can be displayed within them.

How often do religious Tiffany windows come to auction? And how often does an intact set come up? Maybe once or twice every few years you see a window or two. They’re not on the market with any great frequency. I can’t say I’ve ever seen a set like this come up. It’s rare to have a full surviving set for any one specific commission.

Does that imply that religious Tiffany windows were retrieved and then, erm, divorced for individual sale? I do think they got split up. Churches with multiple windows saw them scattered to the winds. It’s rare to see them stay together in any great way.

Are Tiffany windows more likely to be saved from doomed churches, and more likely to survive than religious windows made by other workshops? Maybe and maybe not. I can’t say if Tiffany windows survived at a higher rate. Many of these things were removed, damaged, or lost. And a good number of churches still have their original Tiffany windows, but I don’t know the exact number.

The original buyer of these Tiffany windows was a church. Who buys religious Tiffany windows now? They appeal most to private collectors who are specifically drawn to Tiffany windows. They’re a very committed and devoted group, and they’re different from collectors of Tiffany lamps. Some like scenic or floral windows, and some like figurative or angel windows. But we haven’t ruled out the possibility that an institution or a church might be interested in this group.

How did you set the $150,000 to $250,000 estimate for these Tiffany windows? What comparable items have sold at auction? Not a lot. Other figurative Tiffany windows have sold individually for $60,000, $70,000, $80,000, but we haven’t seen a set that’s remotely comparable to this.

What’s the world auction record for a religious Tiffany window? I believe it was The Stream of Life, which sold at Sotheby’s in 2016 for $2.6 million. It was three windows, but a full composition.

Why will this group of Tiffany windows stick in your memory? Not only because it’s Tiffany and it’s angel imagery, it’s the fact that they’ve had an amazing journey from the church to the garages to the barn, and then they went on tour. They touched so many lives in the church they were in, overseeing ceremonies. They remained hidden for decades, then they were brought into the light and shared again in a museum setting. Now they are ready to have their next life with a forever home, where they might be shared with new generations of viewers. It’s a privilege to be part of that cycle.

How to bid: Freeman’s is offering the set of Tiffany windows in a single-lot auction on November 10, 2020.

How to subscribe to The Hot Bid: Click the trio of dots at the upper right of this page. You can also follow The Hot Bid on Instagram and follow the author on Twitter.

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Tim Andreadis previously spoke to The Hot Bid about the Thunder Table, an impressive one-off piece Wharton Esherick made for the Hedgerow Theater, a Phillip Lloyd Powell double bed, a George Nakashima Sanso table with Conoid chairs, which sold for $187,500; an Albert Paley coffee table that commanded $8,125; and a Wharton Esherick sculpture that set a world auction record for the artist.

Learn more about the set of Tiffany windows at the In Company With Angels website.

Images are courtesy of Freeman’s.

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A Demon’s Head Card Trick Device Could Fetch $6,000 (Updated November 1, 2020)

UncategorizedOctober 27, 2020November 1, 2020

Update: The demon’s head card trick device sold for $13,200, easily doubling its high estimate.

What you see: A demon’s head card trick device replica created circa 2000 by the late Rüdiger Deutsch. Potter & Potter estimates it at $6,000.

The expert: Gabe Fajuri, president of Potter & Potter.

Who was Rüdiger Deutsch? He started out as a pastry chef in Germany. When he met his wife, Ute, he became a photographer, because that was her family business. He was not a professional magician though he appeared on numerous European shows in the 1980s with his wife as Bellchini XIII. He took all the props he collected and used them in the act. He put it together with style and panache. It was kind of surprising how good it was. The tricks really worked.

So his magic collection was a working collection? They weren’t just museum pieces. He put them to use in the show. If he couldn’t find an original trick [device], he made it. A lot of things in the auction are things he constructed based on photographs, catalogs, descriptions, and occasionally, the item itself.

Do we know how Rüdiger Deutsch came to build the demon’s head card trick device? I don’t know specifically, but it’s modeled on pictures in a classic book of Victorian magic called Hoffman’s Modern Magic, from 1876. One of the most fascinating and interesting illustrations in the book are the demon’s head. The cover of the auction catalog is kind of an homage to the way the demon’s head is pictured in the book.

Do we know how long it took him to build the demon’s head card trick device? No.

Did he work alone, or did he have assistants? He had his limitations. He would hire someone to do something he was unable to do. When he needed help, he got it.

Was the demon’s head card trick device part of the routine Rüdiger Deutsch performed on European television in the 1980s? Not this piece, no. I’m sure he demonstrated it, but in what venue, I don’t know. But it set Rüdiger apart in many ways–he could use these things, and he did. He was an entertainer, a performer who put these pieces to work. A lot of collectors buy pieces with no intent of performing with them. Rüdiger was not that guy.

How far back does the principle behind the demon’s head card trick device go? Is it as old as card tricks themselves? No, I don’t think it’s as old as card tricks. The first reference is in Hoffman, but the devices were built years before that.

How common were devices such as this demon’s head card trick device in the late 19th century? They were available for purchase in catalogs of the Victorian era. Dealers offered the items for sale, but they were built to order. They were one of the more expensive things in those catalogs. They were kind of like automata in that way.

Did the devices take other shapes, or were they usually in the form of a demon’s head? Typically, yes, they were a demon or a satyr’s head. I know of one built as a teddy bear, which is just bizarre.

How would a magician use it in his or her act? The cards are chosen and returned to the deck. The magician puts the whole deck in the mouth of the figure. The demon looks around, moves his jaw, and spits out one of the chosen cards. When another person from the audience says, “I picked one too, where’s my card?” it pops out of his head.

How does the demon’s head card trick device work? It’s activated with levers at the bottom of the base, at the back. Different control levers operate the eyes, the mouth, and the release of the card. There are other versions that are controlled by clockwork. This is manually operated–it’s manual in the sense of pushing a button or pulling a lever to operate it. This is kind of like a glorified, creepy, masterful ventriloquist’s figure in some ways.

What advantage does this demon’s head card trick device give to a magician? Why use this instead of doing card tricks without an expensive device? It offers you a different type of presentation, a different type of entertainment than someone just finger-flinging. It’s the difference between a reading of Hamlet on the street versus going to the Globe Theater and watching the Royal Shakespeare Company–bare bones versus all the bells and whistles.

This demon’s head card trick device is described as a “faux automaton”. Is that because it has no clockwork? Correct, and it’s operated by a human being.

What is the device like in person? It’s imposing, but also, on close examination, it’s readily apparent that it’s the work of someone who really knew what they were doing, in terms of the painting, the finish, the fabric, the mechanism. It’s a sight to see. You’re not going to buy it at Target for a Halloween display. It’s really something special.

How does Deutsch’s circa 2000 replica compare to demon’s head card trick devices that date to the late 19th century? In some ways, it’s better. There’s less to go wrong. You don’t have to be so nervous about handling it. If it was Victorian era, it could triple or quadruple in price.

I don’t want to say it’s beautiful, but… it’s charismatic. It’s charismatic, magnetic, certainly attractive. It’s evident that a true craftsman who took pride in his work made it. The guy who took over Rüdiger’s photo studio from him said that he searched forever for German newspapers that were contemporary to the era [to use in the papier-mâché].

Just how exacting was Deutsch in creating this replica? Rüdiger did it the way they used to. This is a guy who never used a Phillips head screwdriver because Phillips head screwdrivers weren’t invented until the 1930s. He didn’t buy an 1876 lathe to turn metal, but it’s close to what they’d have during that era. The device shows a level of detail that’s not on mass-produced items.

What’s your favorite detail on this demon’s head card trick device? The paint. Every strand of hair is painted in, within reason. It brings it to life. It sounds strange, but it’s true. And it also brings the illustrations in Hoffman’s Modern Magic to life. It looks like the book almost exactly.

Why will this piece stick in your memory? Because it looked better in person when I went to Germany to pack up the collection than I would have expected when I saw the pictures. The aesthetics, the quality of construction, the condition exceeded my expectations. It’s a superior object.

How to bid: The demon’s head card trick device is lot 1 in The Magic Collection of Rüdiger Deutsch: Part II, a sale taking place at Potter & Potter on October 31, 2020.

How to subscribe to The Hot Bid: Click the trio of dots at the upper right of this page. You can also follow The Hot Bid on Instagram and follow the author on Twitter.

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Image is courtesy of Potter & Potter. 

Gabe Fajuri has appeared on The Hot Bid many times. He’s talked about a group of Diane Arbus photographs owned by their subject, albino sword-swallower Sandra Reed; a vintage Harry Houdini postcard from the magician’s personal collection, an oversize Alexander: The Man Who Knows poster, a Daisy and Violet Hilton poster from the conjoined twins’ vaudeville years, an impressive talking skull automaton that went on to sell for $13,200, a magician automaton that appeared in the 1972 film Sleuth, a rare book from the creator of the Pepper’s Ghost illusion,  a Will & Finck brass sleeve holdout–a device for cheating at cards–which sold for $9,000, a Snap Wyatt sideshow banner advertising a headless girl, a record-setting stage-worn magician’s tuxedo; a genuine 19th century gambler’s case that later sold for $6,765; a scarce 19th century poster of a tattooed man that fetched $8,610; a 1908 poster for the magician Chung Ling Soo that sold for $9,225; a Golden Girls letterman jacket that belonged to actress Rue McClanahan; and a 1912 Houdini poster that set the world record for any magic poster at auction.

Would you like to hire Sheila Gibson Stoodley for writing or editing work? Click the word “Menu” at the upper right for contact details.

A Gold Eid Mar Coin–THE Most Desirable Ancient Coin–Could Fetch $500,000 (NEW RECORD! Updated October 29, 2020)

UncategorizedOctober 23, 2020October 29, 2020

Update: WHOA! The gold Eid Mar coin sold for £3.2 million, or about $4.2 million, setting a new world auction record for any ancient coin.

What you see: A gold Eid Mar coin, dating to 42 B.C.E. (Before Common Era). Roma Numismatics Limited estimates it at $500,000.

The expert: David Vagi, director of ancient coins at Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC).

The Eid Mar has been described as “the most famous ancient coin of all”. Do you agree? I do. Typically, with coins, you have a cultural or a national interest–Americans want American coins, Indians want Indian coins. Ancient Greek and Roman coins transcend nationalism. In that sense, the Eid Mar jumps out as the most famous ancient coin.

Do we know the story of how and why the Roman government chose to commemorate the assassination of Julius Caesar on gold and silver coins in 42 B.C.E? At that point, Rome was gearing up for civil war between competing factions. One carried on Caesar’s cause and included Mark Antony and Octavian. The other included Marcus Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus. In the Senate, there was sympathy for both parties.

So the Brutus and Cassius side had this coin made, I’m guessing. Why? The faction led by Brutus and Cassius was gathering a great army to go to war with the other faction. When trying to defend their cause, they had to appeal to the sympathies of soldiers and Senators. There were many who considered Caesar a tyrant and were glad to be rid of him. With this coin, Brutus doubled down on what got him to this stage to begin with.

So this coin acted kind of like a political lawn sign does today? It advertised and boosted a political cause? This is an attempt by Brutus–a very blatant attempt–to make the case that Caesar’s assassination was not only good for Rome, it was justifiable. It’s a peek into the mind of Brutus. The stakes were life and death. He went with the justice of his cause.

Let’s talk about the iconography on the gold Eid Mar coin. I see two daggers on the reverse side. Why two daggers, when a big group of Senators stabbed Julius Caesar to death? It isn’t necessarily recorded anywhere, but the natural conclusion is one dagger represents Brutus and the other represents Cassius, who were the ringleaders of the plot to murder Caesar.

The designer of the gold Eid Mar coin has placed between the daggers an image of a cap that was given to Roman slaves who have gained their freedom. Nothing subtle about that… It’s such a clear, bold statement linking the act with the result of the act.

This side of the coin features the words “Eid Mar”, which is a shortened form of the date of the assassination of Julius Caesar–the Ides of March, aka March 15. Why include the date? The incident was notorious enough that the designer didn’t really need to include it. Everyone understood the context. The date was just a design choice. I would have loved to have been in the room when they made that choice.

Why does the other side of the coin, the obverse, show a profile of just Brutus, and not Brutus and Cassius? The two leaders of these armies, which were eventually conjoined before the Battle of Philippi, struck their own coins. If you’re paying soldiers, you want to put your face on the coins. There was no overlap between Brutus’s and Cassius’s coinage. The Eid Mar coin is of Brutus’s design, and is the most spectacular of them. It’s of Brutus, by Brutus, and for Brutus.

So Cassius’s coins were not as evocative? No coins of Cassius directly allude to the murder of Caesar. They speak to local conditions rather than the act that got them there. Brutus’s coin is as blunt and as straightforward a message as could be delivered. It’s really a masterpiece in that respect. It’s very fortunate that Brutus undertook this coin, but in the end, it didn’t save him. [Brutus killed himself in October of 42 B.C.E. after losing the second Battle of Phillipi.]

The Eid Mar coin represents Brutus pushing all of his chips onto the table, then? This is evidence that Brutus was not backing down. He’s saying, “I did it, I did it for the right reasons, and you should support me because of that.”

Is the Eid Mar coin a better-looking coin than most ancient coins? Not necessarily. I would say its strength is not in its artistry. It resonates because of its historical importance.

How would the gold Eid Mar coin have been struck? Typically, coins of this era were struck by hand. The die would be engraved in reverse. They’d take two of these dies, put a blank piece of metal between them, and hammer it several times.

How did the striker know when to stop? Experience. Gold coins of narrow diameter took fewer strikes than a copper coin. With something like this, they’d get away with two or three hammer blows.

Do we have any idea how many Eid Mar coins might have been produced in 42 B.C.E? Unfortunately, we don’t have any surviving records. In warlike circumstances such as this, they would have struck coins based on what they could provide. They probably turned every bit of metal–gold or silver–into coinage to pay the soldiers and suppliers.

So it’s not like Brutus swung by the Roman Mint and placed an order for 100 gold Eid Mar coins and 10,000 silver Eid Mar coins. No. Under other conditions, coinage was planned out and targets were met. These were struck under field conditions. They did whatever they could. With this, it was get it, melt it, strike it.

How much gold is in this Eid Mar coin? Its purity is extremely high. It’s very close to 100 percent pure. There’s some copper and trace elements in it. It weighs a touch over eight grams, which is about $500 in melt value.

How much purchasing power did a gold Eid Mar coin have in the world of ancient Rome? There’s very limited info on this subject. It’s known that in the time of Augustus, a soldier’s annual pay was 225 silver denarii, and there’s 25 denarii per gold aureus. It’s [a soldier’s annual pay in silver seems to be] equivalent to nine gold coins a year. This was an unusual and expensive coin. The average person in the Roman Empire and the late Roman Republic would never handle gold coins. They were for larger payments.

When Mark Anthony and Octavian later assumed power, did they deliberately target the Eid Mar coin for removal from circulation? We don’t know for sure if that happened in this particular case. Coins were melted for all sorts of reasons, and sometimes, they circulated for well over a century. One of the gold Eid Mar coins that does survive is quite worn, and some of the silver ones are worn almost absolutely slick. But there probably was some effort to reduce the coins in circulation, if only to melt them and strike coins in their own image.

To what extent, if at all, has the Eid Mar coin served to burn the memory of Caesar’s assassination into the collective consciousness? Has it helped keep that historical event alive? The sparking of the Renaissance in Europe was promoted strongly by the discovery of ancient coins. When antiquarians studied these coins, getting an Eid Mar was the ultimate prize. There’s something about having an object speak directly to a moment in history. The coin gives it context, meaning, and a tactile reality–here’s the proof of the history, the proof of what you read about. And it inspired Shakespeare. It’s hard to dismiss the coin’s impact on why the assassination is still a memorable occasion. [The Wikipedia pages for the assassination of Julius Caesar and Brutus prominently show photographs of silver Eid Mar coins.]

Do you mean that the gold Eid Mar coin is, in and of itself, historical evidence? Without this coin, one might be able to introduce a scholarly concern about how the assassination was described. But if you get this type of evidence, it’s very hard to dispute that it did occur and Brutus took credit for it. Coins help us have confidence in certain statements. Without a coin to back it up, it’s easy to assume something is exaggerated for political gain.

How did this gold Eid Mar coin emerge? I have no idea. Our role at NGC Ancient doesn’t have to do with the buying or selling of coins. I made no investigation into that.

According to what I have here, this gold Eid Mar coin was sitting, largely unnoticed, in a European collection until now. So it’s a previously unknown example of THE most desirable ancient coin, in its rarest metal form, in something close to mint condition. I assume that alarm bells went off in your head when you got word of this? When you hear that, as you describe it, I assume I need to be very careful. Ancient coins have been collected systematically and aggressively for 500 years. The possibility exists of a coin, even of this stature, being around without being brought to the notice of anyone in the business.

Did you examine the gold Eid Mar coin before it was encapsulated? I have to sign off on it as the director of the department.

What details or clues convinced you, as you looked at this coin, that it was the genuine article? [Laughs] It’s so funny. There’s an initial gut reaction you have, a visceral response, the instant you see a coin. You’re extremely wary, or quite pleased. From the second I saw it, it rang true. Then I looked for any reason to contradict my initial reaction. One way to look at it is as if it were any other gold coin of Brutus or Cassius. We’ve had quite a number of both over the decades. If it was another Brutus or Cassius type, would it give us alarm bells? The answer is no. It really did perform extremely well. There was literally nothing we could find about this coin that raised concerns.

How much experience do you have with handling ancient coins? My business partner, Barry Murphy, and I have over 60 years’ experience. We’ve looked at over five million ancient coins, and looked at them very clinically. Is it something real? Is it altered? That’s always been the principal focus. This coin fits in perfectly for where it should be–a field-mint issue of Brutus from 42 B.C.E. It’s everything we could expect.

Have you seen either or both of the other two gold Eid Mar coins in person? I’ve seen one of the other two.

I take it you’ve examined dozens of silver Eid Mar coins. Absolutely. Between Barry and myself, we’ve handled 30 to 35 of the silver ones. And we see a lot of counterfeits. What’s most important to know is what should it generally look like? There are so many aspects to determine authenticity, and it’s so easy for a forger to mess up on one. With this coin, we did not encounter any of those.

What is the gold Eid Mar coin like in person? It’s wonderful, and in the holder [the plastic encapsulation], it’s equally wonderful. It doesn’t take anything away from it–it showcases it, honors it. And it makes it possible to take the coin and hand it to somebody else. What people don’t know about coins is if you drop them or rub your thumb across them and you have slightly rough fingers, you can change their appearance. Gold is a soft metal! With the holder, you can reach a broader audience that poses no potential harm to the coin.

The gold Eid Mar coin is described as “mint”. What does “mint” mean when we’re talking about something that’s more than 2,000 years old? It has no observable wear from circulation. That doesn’t mean it isn’t dinged here or there, or hasn’t been cleaned. If it was in a mint state when it was buried, and it wasn’t affected by disruption or acid in the soil, it can come out absolutely perfect. There weren’t any banks in this period. People buried their coins. Then they died, or forgot about them, or were unable to retrieve their treasure. That’s how ancient coins survive in a mint state.

What’s your favorite detail of the gold Eid Mar coin? I’m a fan of Brutus as a historical figure, and I love the portrait on the Eid Mar coin. It captures what I perceive to be his personality.

How does the portrait capture Brutus’s personality? He was a very motivated individual. He had a sense of destiny and was very committed to his cause. To plan a coup, he had to have very strong political convictions. It may be my imagination, but I see it in the portrait. I see the intensity and the laser-focus of his ambitions. This is not an idealized portrait. It’s extremely individual. I could stare at it for hours.

I’d like you to walk me through the grades that NGC applied to the gold Eid Mar coin. You gave it five out of five on “Strike”. What does that mean? On a five-point scale, a five is not necessarily literally perfect. Everything about this coin was done by hand–it was hand-struck, it was melted by hand, the dies were cut by hand. You rarely get what, in a modern coin, would be described as perfection. A five out of five means that for what it is, it’s close enough to perfection.

The gold Eid Mar coin gets three out of five on “Surface”. Explain? “Strike” affects everything up to when the coin left the die. “Surface” covers things that happen after it leaves the mint. There can be circulation wear, or damage. This falls pleasantly in the middle of the range, very typical of coins of this era.

And “Fine Style” means what? It has to do with whether or not the engraver of the dies was inspired. This was carved by a gifted artist on a good day who produced a wonderful work of art in relation to the coin art of the period.

Why will this gold Eid Mar coin stick in your memory? It’s truly one of the highlights of my career. This is the coin everyone dreams of handling. Being given the responsibility to make a determination about it was an honor. When you’re evaluating a coin, you try not to let emotions enter the equation on any level. You try to do a scientific job. Now that it’s out of our possession, I can sort of allow myself to put my guard down and soak in the pleasure of the coin and reflect upon how and why it’s the most important Roman coin we’ve ever handled. That did not hit us initially. We had to keep it at bay.

Only after it left the NGC building you and your colleagues could enjoy the experience of having handled it? Correct. There are two towers of emotion: assuming it’s not genuine and it’s too good to be true, and wanting to believe. I had to shelve my emotions completely. But I have images of it, and the memory of holding the coin. When it actually sells, I’ll be there in spirit.

How to bid: The gold Eid Mar coin is lot 463 in Roma Numismatics Limited‘s Auction XX, which takes place on October 29 and October 30, 2020.

How to subscribe to The Hot Bid: Click the trio of dots at the upper right of this page. You can also follow The Hot Bid on Instagram and follow the author on Twitter.

Images are courtesy of the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC).

The Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) is on Twitter and Instagram.

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A Triple Caille Slot Machine–One of the Rarest Vintage Coin-op Machines–Could Command $300,000 (Updated November 1, 2020)

UncategorizedOctober 20, 2020November 1, 2020

Update: The triple Caille slot machine sold for $246,000.

What you see: A Caille (pronounced Kay-lee) Brothers Triple Centaur musical upright machine, built between 1898 and 1905. Morphy Auctions estimates it at $200,000 to $300,000.

The expert: Tom Tolworthy, chief executive officer at Morphy Auctions.

Who would have bought a triple Caille slot machine when it was new? Who was the target market? They were directly available to shop owners, and to operators who were in the business of putting out machines. In some cases, they were sold to saloons, cigar stores, or restaurants.

I’m guessing a triple Caille would have been much more expensive than a single. Do we know what they cost when they were new? Pulling it out of my memory, you could buy a Caille triple for $125. [That’s roughly equivalent to $3,700 in modern dollars.] If you look at early photos of cigar stores and saloons, you see one slot machine, not two or three. Caille triples were probably purchased by places that had a strong clientele and could afford to pay extra.

What advantages did a triple Caille offer over owning a row of single slot machines? Whoever operated a slot machine needed a license. If they had three machines, they needed three licenses. With a triple, you needed only one license. And they could give the consumer more options. With three individual slots, you have the capability for a nickel, a quarter, and a half-dollar slot.

Do we have any clue about how many triple slot machines the Caille company made? No, there really isn’t. There might be 20 standard Caille single upright slots today. Triple Cailles, there might be two known. Of all the total uprights, less than ten percent are doubles or triples.

Only two triple Caille slot machines survive? Eight triples are known to exist. Two are Cailles. The others are by Mills. There probably weren’t many triples, even in their heyday, though a lot of them got destroyed during Prohibition.

I see the measurements given in the lot notes [62 1/2 inches by 70 1/2 inches by 19 inches], but what does this triple Caille slot machine weigh? I’d guess 250 pounds.

Ah. So it’s difficult to move a triple Caille fast, even if someone tips you off about the police coming to raid your place. The fact that they survived at all is a mystery to us collectors. I’ve seen pictures of federal agents smashing up machines with sledgehammers, and they’re known to have dragged them to the water and sunk them.

What sorts of things have to happen to allow these vintage slot machines to survive to the present? In several instances, the machine goes from a shop or saloon to a family member’s house. I know specifically of several slot machines that came out of a basement in Omaha that had been there since 1906.

So this triple Caille slot machine might have idled in a basement at some point between the turn of the last century and, say, the 1970s? That’s my best guess. I know of others that have been found in buildings that were locked up for several generations, sitting there from the teens or 20s until the 50s or 60s, that were found and moved into collections. They had to have been tucked away where someone was not going to notice them.

Would these late 19th and early 20th century machines have been pulled from service eventually for falling out of fashion? Things were a bit more utilitarian back then. There were advances in gaming technology over time, but not in this period.

How original is this triple Caille slot machine? Has anything been replaced or restored? One of the back doors might be new, and all three of the locks on the back doors are replacements. Aside from that, it appears to be all-original.

The lot notes say the triple Caille slot machine comes with its original keys. Is that rare? And does it make the machine even more interesting to collectors, or is that irrelevant when we’re talking about something that’s as rare as this piece? Having its original keys is pretty unusual. The more original it is, the more collectors appreciate it. It does create value.

How does the triple Caille slot machine work? There are six slots at the top that all correspond with a color on the wheel, and different odds appear on the wheel. If you bet on white, there’s a ten-to-one chance of a payout. You could bet on one color or bet on them all, but if you bet on them all, you wouldn’t make any money.

Let’s say I’ve loaded a coin in the top slot. What happens next? The triple Caille has three big handles on the front. You crank one toward the floor to make the wheel spin. It’s all mechanical, no electrics. Once you play it, it auto-engages the music. You get to hear a little tune. There’s also a witness window on the top slots. It’s not your coin that gets played–there are five coins before yours in the slot. If you hit the jackpot, they [the venue owner] can see if you played a slug or not.

How does the spinning wheel come to a stop? It’s a random set of actions in the mechanism. Think of a wheel in the back, but it has teeth. At some point, one of six levers will fall and connect to the teeth on the wheel and stop it. The lever is connected to the color of the coin slot that was played.

So the wheel with teeth is kind of like the wheel on the Wheel of Fortune television game show? Exactly, but it’s a bit more aggressive. The lever doesn’t slow it in its tracks, it stops the wheel right there.

The Caille company called this triple slot machine model a Centaur Jackpot. Do we know why? Is there centaur imagery on the cabinet or the castings? There is some centaur imagery on the castings, but it might not be noticeable in the photos. Caille made a Centaur single. When they built a triple with three Centaur mechanisms, they called that a Centaur.

This triple Caille features a nickel-quarter-nickel arrangement. Do we know why? Whoever operated it knew their customers. They could order the triple Caille with whatever coin heads they wanted. They had more customers who could afford nickel slots than quarter slots.

Does the triple Caille slot machine play more than one song? It actually plays longer than the wheel spins. A single play gets you part of a song.

Would we recognize any of the songs it plays? Likely you wouldn’t. I was playing it for someone the other day and I didn’t recognize the tune.

What is the triple Caille slot machine like in person? It’s an impressive piece of furniture. It has oak cabinetry made by craftsmen. There’s detail in the legs and the castings. When you’re there and putting your hands on it and touching it, it’s a completely different feeling. It’s a massive piece and impressive to see.

What’s your favorite detail of the machine? The originality of it. The mechanism shows some oxidation, but it’s [the cabinet has] got its original varnish and original finish. I also like the music, because of the value of music as an option. Music boxes have been added to machines to increase their value. The music box shipped in this machine when it was bought–I can tell by the way it was mounted inside, and by the way it operates. It’s great to see an original music box of that age.

Have you played the machine? What was that like? There’s nothing electric about it–it’s mechanical. It clanks and clunks and makes noise. When you play today’s slots, you accumulate your winnings and bring a receipt to the payout window. With this, when the coins come out, you hear it. It’s a whole different feel.

Vintage triple slot machines have been faked in the past. Aside from a correctly mounted music box, what other clues tell us this triple Caille is genuine? Of the eight triples known, four are believed to be faked. That doesn’t make them worthless, but they’re not triples. What’s faked about them, generally, is the cabinet. When someone fakes one, they build the cabinet and get three [genuine period] mechanisms to populate it.

What condition is this triple Caille in? It has not been refinished. There are some dings in the cabinet, and there are places where the nickel plating has been rubbed thin, but that adds character. If it had been restored, or had recast parts, we would have put it in the description.

Does the upcoming sale represent the first time a triple Caille slot machine has gone to auction? No. There was one in a Witherell’s auction earlier this year. [The Caille Triplet Musical Upright sold for $217,800 against an estimate of $100,000 to $250,000 in January 2020.]

Why will this triple Caille slot machine stick in your memory? Because the last time I saw it, I was at Mel’s house [collector Mel Getlan, who consigned the machine] in 1996, when he was still living in New York, and I played it for four hours. [Laughs]. It’s really nice to see it again. There’s something whimsical about standing in front of a machine and playing it, and wondering who owned it before us, and were they as excited to play it as we are. Whoever buys it, I hope it brings them the same joy it brought to Mel. It’s a spectacular piece.

How to bid: The Triple Caille is lot 1110 in the Coin-op & Advertising sale taking place at Morphy Auctions from October 29, 2020 through October 31, 2020.

How to subscribe to The Hot Bid: Click the trio of dots at the upper right of this page. You can also follow The Hot Bid on Instagram and follow the author on Twitter.

Tom Toleworthy appeared on The Hot Bid earlier in 2020 to discuss a pair of 1928 Princess Doraldina fortune teller machines that were offered in the same auction.

Images are courtesy of Morphy Auctions.

Would you like to hire Sheila Gibson Stoodley for writing or editing work? Click the word “Menu” at the upper right for contact details.

A Walter Lang 100-Blade Knife Could Sell for $7,000 (Updated October 28, 2020)

UncategorizedOctober 16, 2020October 28, 2020

Update: The Walter Lang 100-blade knife sold for $5,500.

What you see: A Walter Lang 100-blade Exposition knife, No, 227, created circa 1960. Skinner estimates it at $5,000 to $7,000.

The expert: Jonathan Dowling, a specialist in the clocks, watches, and scientific instruments department at Skinner.

Who was Walter Lang? What do we know about his family’s company? He was the fourth generation of a knife-producing family in Germany. Pius Lang started the company in 1852, and in 1889, he showed an 100-blade knife at the Paris Exposition. They say Walter Lang pushed the family to enter the global marketplace. The company is still going.

Do we know why Walter Lang made this 100-blade knife in 1960? Was it for the 1964 World’s Fair? No, I think he just continued to make these. He made 50-, 100-, and 200-blade versions with mother-of-pearl sides and polished stainless steel blades.

I take it he didn’t make this 100-blade knife on his own–he had assistants? I’m under that assumption as well. I think it’s similar to fine watchmaking, with certain people produce certain blades.

Do you have a list of all 100 blades and their functions? No, I can’t find one. [Laughs] When I was researching it for the auction catalog, I went to the Pius Lang website. They don’t have it.

Ok, but how do they account for 100 different blades? I’m thinking after you get past the most popular two dozen, things get a bit too specific or obscure… I think there’s a lot of repetitive pieces, whether they’re different sizes or shapes. [The lot notes mention the following implements: Pliers, nippers, scissors, tweezers, files, a cigar cutter, a leather punch, a corkscrew plus other bottle and can openers, a bone saw, a wood saw, a mustache comb, an ear wax spoon, a fork, a scalpel, a bone toothpick, and a barbed hoof cleaner.]

So this Walter Lang 100-blade knife is not a one-off? In my research, I found that 400 100-blade knives were produced by Walter Lang. I think they date to the 1960s, but the information I could pick up was vague.

The lot notes say the 100-blade knife, when closed, measures almost five inches long. How much does it weigh? It weighs 935 grams, or a bit over two pounds.

Was it meant to be functional, or was it a stunt piece? I think it’s a pure stunt, but the precision and the quality of the blades is impeccable. There are a couple of saw blades on it. I would not try to cut down a tree limb with a saw blade, but you definitely could. It took 35 minutes to open all the blades on one side.

Thirty-five minutes! Did it take the same amount of time to open the blades on the other side? Give or take, yes. I’d call it a good hour to do it without cutting yourself.

If you did cut yourself when opening the knife, I’m sure there’s a surgeon’s needle on it somewhere that you could use to stitch up the wound. [Laughs] It’s a conversation piece, for sure.

Can you comfortably carry the Walter Lang 100-blade knife? Did you try putting it in your pocket and walking around with it? I did not, no. It’s stainless steel and mother-of-pearl, which is hard to damage, but it’s not ours. Any scratches or scuffs could potentially hurt it.

The bit with the mother-of-pearl is called the “grips”. I take it that’s where your fingers are supposed to rest? Yes. It’s claimed that the mother-of-pearl is from stock set aside by Pius Lang.

What is your favorite blade on the knife? It’s the mustache comb. [Laughs]

Why? This thing is two pounds. The mustache comb is just shy of two inches long. To have a two-pound object in your hand at the right height to comb your mustache…it’s a challenge.

Who was the target market for the Walter Lang 100-blade knife? Or did he do it just because he could? I believe that 100 percent. It’s not a functional piece, its a “Wow” piece.

What is the Walter Lang 100-blade knife like in person? This is craftsmanship at its best. The polishing of each blade, each instrument, is astonishing. No corners were cut with this. The lock and hinge each instrument is on makes a nice click when you open it. It’s pure quality, like fine Swiss watchmaking.

What does it feel like to hold the Walter Lang 100-blade knife in your hand? Is it clumsy or awkward? No, it’s very well-balanced. It’s not top-heavy or bottom-heavy or left-heavy or right-heavy. There’s nothing really I can compare it to.

I imagine that’s how Walter Lang shows his mastery, yes? This thing could have been an absolute mess, but it’s merely ludicrous and still functional. Yes. [Laughs]. I’d be so curious how it evolved over the last 50 years–what the layouts were, what came with the piece, and what happened over that time frame. It’s a work of art.

What condition is the Walter Lang 100-blade knife in? There’s no tarnish or scratches. There’s a few surface scratches on the mother-of-pearl, but there’s way to tell with the naked eye. I think a lot of people buy them as curiosity objects, open them once, and shut them.

How often do Walter Lang 100-blade knives come to auction? We had one in June 2012 that sold for $7,110. So this is the second one I’ve seen in person.

Why will this piece stick in your memory? Being able to experience an object like this–we called it a once-in-a-lifetime experience in 2012, but now it’s twice in a lifetime. I thought I wouldn’t see another, but here we are.

How to bid: The Walter Lang 100-blade knife is lot 1346 in the Clocks, Watches, & Scientific Instruments online sale at Skinner, taking place between October 19 and 27, 2020.

How to subscribe to The Hot Bid: Click the trio of dots at the upper right of this page. You can also follow The Hot Bid on Instagram and follow the author on Twitter.

You can follow Skinner on Twitter and Instagram.

Images are courtesy of Skinner.

Jonathan Dowling has appeared on The Hot Bid twice previously, talking about a scarce and remarkable crainiometer and unique mid-century model airplane that ultimately sold for $11,070 at Skinner.

Would you like to hire Sheila Gibson Stoodley for writing or editing work? Click the word “Menu” at the upper right for contact details.

Reminder: A Wharton Esherick Table Made for Hedgerow Theatre Could Fetch $250,000

UncategorizedOctober 13, 2020October 6, 2020

Back in March 2020, The Hot Bid posted a story on the Thunder Table, a magnificent unique piece that Wharton Esherick made in 1929 for the Hedgerow Theater.

It was meant to go to sale at Freeman’s Auction a few weeks later, but COVID-19 intervened.

The auction was ultimately rescheduled for October 28, 2020.

Given the unusual hiccups that have postponed the sale, I felt it best to post a reminder with a link to the original story:

A Wharton Esherick Table Made for Hedgerow Theatre Could Fetch $250,000 (Updated September 8, 2020)

A Futuristic Concept Car by a Brilliant Unknown Maker Could Fetch $75,000 (Updated October 15, 2020)

UncategorizedOctober 9, 2020October 15, 2020

Update: The futuristic concept car sold for $30,000.

What you see: La Shabbla, a futuristic concept car designed by the late John Bucci. Everard Auctions & Appraisals estimates it at $50,000 to $75,000.

The expert: Amanda Everard of Everard Auctions & Appraisals.

Who was John Bucci? He was an Italian-American who grew up in an area of northern Italy that became part of Yugoslavia after World War II. He immigrated around 1959 and found ultimate freedom after coming to America, but he didn’t have a car. He built himself the car of the future, which would get noticed. He drove it around Chicago.

He didn’t have money for a car, so he built one instead? Did he not realize that it would be more expensive to build one? I don’t know him, but I talked to people who did. Bucci had a magnetism about him. He was also an electrical engineer. His mind was always working. His widow said his motto was “nothing is impossible”. If he didn’t have it, he’d create it.

La Shabbla apparently means “sword”. Do we know why he gave his futuristic concept car that name? He chose it because the car’s aerodynamic form could cut or slice through the air. That was the thinking behind it.

Did Bucci have any experience making futuristic concept cars before starting work on La Shabbla? No, he had no experience, but he was an electrical engineer. He was very outgoing, and he would learn as he went.

And he did this alone? No assistants? As far as I know, yes.

How long did it take him to finish this futuristic concept car? I asked his widow that, and she didn’t know exactly. He immigrated in 1959 and La Shabbla was in its first custom car show in 1962, so it took at least that long–a couple of years.

Do we know why he chose to build La Shabbla on a Fiat chassis with an Abarth 750 engine? Because it had a potent engine and a compact size.

So Bucci bought a car to make a car… I guess buying a car like everyone else does wasn’t satisfying for him? This was the car of his imagination and his dreams. He couldn’t buy it off a lot. He was the center of attention. He got all the looks.

While we’re calling La Shabbla a futuristic concept car, it doesn’t really fit the strict definition of a concept car. It was never meant for mass production, and never meant to influence car designs that might go in to mass production. It was always for Bucci’s use alone. Yes? That’s correct. His widow said it identified him as an American. It was his American dream.

He designed the body of the futuristic concept car out of fiberglass. Was fiberglass a novel material in the early 1960s? Or was it well-established by then? It was invented in the late 19th century and was used in car design starting in 1949, but not for production cars until later in the 1950s. Bucci liked it because it was resilient and lightweight.

How does La Shabbla show Bucci’s mastery of fiberglass? I don’t think he mastered it. He trained himself, essentially. It’s certainly a slick form, very futuristic. If you look at films from the era that look into the future–1950s space films–it has that look. I always think of the Jetsons flying cars when I see it.

How did Bucci manage to wrangle permission to show his futuristic concept car at the 1964 World’s Fair? My assumption is he was seen driving around Chicago or it was seen at one of the custom car shows. General Motors (GM) executives talked to him and wanted him to work for them, but he wanted to remain independent. The executives got him a pass for the 1964 World’s Fair. He drove the car from Chicago to New York. I assume he drove it alone. He was a very determined individual.

What happened once he brought his futuristic concept car to the fair? He wanted to drive it on the actual fairground. He wanted a photo op with the globe behind it. He asked for a pass and was told no. Day two, he was told no. Day three, the guy [in charge of fairground permissions] said, “I don’t know who you know, but here’s your pass.” He took shots with the globe behind him. He knew it would be a timeless thing.

Where within the 1964 World’s Fair was his futuristic concept car displayed? In the Transportation Pavilion, in the Cavalcade of Custom Cars.

A period article from 1964 says La Shabbla was “valued at over $250,000”. Did that number come from Bucci? It came directly from Bucci. He was a self-promoter. He thought his blood, sweat, and tears was worth $250,000.

What happened to Bucci’s futuristic concept car after the 1964 World’s Fair ended? It stayed with him the whole time. He stored it for a while, and when he got a new studio in Chicago, he displayed it there. [Bucci died in February 2019.]

Is La Shabbla drivable? No, not currently.

What is the futuristic concept car like in person? It’s so sleek, like a real-life Jetsons vehicle–the car of the future in a nostalgic kind of way. It’s a very sleek, very sexy car.

Have you sat in it? How could I not? I couldn’t resist. It has amazing woven blue leather bucket seats. Very comfortable.

Does it still have its engine? It has an engine, but we have not turned it on. It probably hasn’t been turned on for a long time.

What features does the futuristic concept car have? Were any of them novel or innovative for their time? It has retractable headlights and a retractable V-shaped steering wheel. The passenger side windshield goes up and down. And it has an 8-track tape reel on the passenger side.

What is your favorite detail of La Shabbla? The seats. They’re just so sexy, like Bottega Venetta woven leather. And they’re eye-catching. The blue pops with the color of the car.

Did Bucci design La Shabbla without doors, or did it have them and lose them over time? It was designed with no doors.

Did he give the futuristic concept car a hard top or a removable dome? No. It was a sunny day car. [Laughs]. It needs a garage.

Does it have an odometer? It does not appear to have one.

How did you set the estimate for this futuristic concept car? [Laughs] It’s clearly hard to set a value on a one-of-one car by an unknown designer. I spoke to colleagues in the collector car field and developed a gut feeling on what it will bring. Concept cars at auction are mostly made by manufacturers, so they get high-flying prices. I would love for this to do that, but I don’t know that an unknown designer can bring that. There’s not a huge amount known about him, and there should be.

Why will this futuristic concept car stick in your memory? For me, it’s always about the story. I never knew John Bucci, but I feel like I do through his artwork and the cars I’m selling for the family. His widow said she felt the car defined him. That’s what will stick with me–optimism and possibilities and a dream coming true.

How to bid: The futuristic concept car is lot 0020 in Concept Cars & Art from the John Bucci Estate, a sale taking place at Everard Auctions & Appraisals on October 14, 2020.

How to subscribe to The Hot Bid: Click the trio of dots at the upper right of this page. You can also follow The Hot Bid on Instagram and follow the author on Twitter.

Everard Auctions & Appraisals is on Instagram.

Images are courtesy of Everard Auctions & Appraisals.

Would you like to hire Sheila Gibson Stoodley for writing or editing work? Click the word “Menu” at the upper right for contact details.

A Vase by Contemporary Native American Artists Nancy Youngblood and Russell Sanchez Could Command $25,000 (Updated October 13, 2020)

UncategorizedOctober 6, 2020October 13, 2020

Update: The Youngblood Sanchez vase sold for $16,000.

What you see: A vase by contemporary Native American ceramic artists Nancy Youngblood and Russell Sanchez, co-created in 2008. Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery & Auction estimates it at $15,000 to $25,000.

The expert: Mark Sublette, founder of the eponymous gallery and auction house in Tucson, Arizona.

Let’s start by introducing each contemporary Native American ceramic artist. Who is Nancy Youngblood? She is a Santa Clara potter. She began as a young girl, and she comes from a great lineage of pottery-making.

And who is Russell Sanchez? He’s one of the great Pueblo potters from San Ildefonso, a different pueblo from Youngblood, but close to where she grew up. He and Youngblood are considered masters of the Pueblo pottery world. They’re two of the most decorated living Pueblo potters. She has won Best of Show at SWAIA [the Southwest Associaton for Indian Arts, which hosts the Santa Fe Indian Market in Santa Fe, New Mexico every August], and he has won Best Of his division.

Where were Youngblood and Sanchez in their careers in 2008, when they collaborated on this vase? They were at the top of their game, as they are now.

Do we know how the Youngblood Sanchez vase collaboration came about? I don’t, but dealer Charles King has represented both of them. My guess is he thought, “Let’s put two of the best potters together and see what comes up.” What they are is in the same league, which is the best. [Laughs]

So it was a contemporary Native American art dealer, and not the artists, who probably came up with the idea to collaborate? I’m sure it was, and I’m sure it was an easy pitch. It’s a natural. Potters have, historically, worked together. Usually it’s family members working together. This vase is a little different, because the artists are from two different tribes.

Is this Youngblood Sanchez vase part of a series of works they did together, or is it a one-off? My guess is this is the only one. I’ve never heard of another. Both are masters of the trade. They don’t need to work with anybody. They did this to see what would happen. It’s beautiful. That’s why it’s at auction.

Native American pottery seems to be female-dominated. The few pots I’ve seen that represent the joint efforts of a woman and a man have been the work of a wife-and-husband team. Does that fact make the Youngblood Sanchez vase unusual? Yes. I would say it’s very unusual. The only other pairing I know of is Tammy Garcia [a Santa Clara Pueblo sculptor and ceramic artist] and Preston Singletary [a Native American glass artist from the Tlingit community in the Pacific Northwest]. Those two are at the top of their field, too. Aside from that pairing and this one, I’ve never seen another.

Do we know how this Youngblood Sanchez vase was made? We can look at the pot and tell who did what. Nancy would have done the ribs on the pot. Russell is known for sgraffito, the etchings on the pot. I don’t know who fired it, but they probably did it together, outdoors, over a fire. My guess is each polished the part they did, with Nancy doing the ribs and Russell doing the neck.

I see two thin parallel lines of material on the lower neck of the Youngblood Sanchez vase. What, exactly, do I see, and who would have been responsible for that contribution? Those are heishi beads, from Russell. Heishi are generally shell beads.

How do the two artists’ styles complement each other in this vase? Both are known for working black-on-black. Nancy usually only works in black or red. Russell is more attuned to using lots of different slip colors. [A slip is a mixture of water and clay that can be used like paint.]

Is there a narrative or traditional theme expressed on this Youngblood Sanchez vase? The jar itself is a water jar. The two pueblos of the artists have long histories of making water jars. Then they’ve taken the elements of what they’re known for–Russell with his sgraffito and heishi, Nancy with her ribs, and the scalloping at the very top of the jar. They’ve worked from the basis of history and tradition, though they are from two different pueblos.

Both Youngblood and Sanchez signed the vase on the bottom of its interior. She used letters, and he used graphics. Do we know why? Russell changes his script every so often, when he feels like it. Sometimes he’s a rafter. He was a world-class white-water rafter. That’s what that is. He’ll sign his name too. It just depends on where he is in his life.

What is the Youngblood Sanchez vase like in person? One of the hardest things to appreciate is how finely polished it is. You look at it and you don’t see any flaws at all. If you like the black-on-black sheen in the picture, you will love it in person.

How does each artist approach the polishing of their ceramic pieces? Do they rely on assistants for that part of the process? They’re the only ones who can do the polishing. I’m sure he did the upper third, and she did the lower two-thirds. To get into those little grooves, she’s using little rocks that have been handed down through the generations.

Why does she use rocks to polish her ceramics? First, it comes from tradition. They’ve [her pueblo] been doing it that way for a thousand years. The rocks–if you’re not absolutely perfect with the pressure on the wet clay, you’ll leave little grooves. This looks perfect. You can’t see how perfect the finish is.

I imagine doing things the old-fashioned way places a natural limit on how many pieces Youngblood and Sanchez could make together. Yes. Polishing slows down the process, that’s for sure.

What is it like to hold the Youngblood Sanchez vase? Any Native American pot, not just that pot, has the sense of a continuation of the culture–watching your mom or your aunt, and helping them. You can tell how much effort is required to get to this point. When you hold the pot, you hold tradition, culture, and personal effort all at once.

This Youngblood Sanchez vase appears to be unique. How did you set the estimate? Did you look at auction prices for Youngblood and Sanchez and average them? Yes, exactly right. Russell Sanchez works have sold in the $40,000 range, and the same is true for Nancy. Both artists are highly desirable. When they do the Indian Market [the Santa Fe fair mentioned above], they sell out in a few hours.

Who do you think will win the vase–a Youngblood collector, or a Sanchez collector? Is there a great deal of overlap between the two? Yes and yes. If you’re a Nancy Youngblood fan, it’s hard to believe you’re not a fan of Russell Sanchez as well. This vase is going to be on your hit parade for sure. It’s hard to come by.

As we speak on September 28, the Youngblood Sanchez vase has received enough bids to meet its $8,000 reserve, well ahead of the October 11 auction. Does that matter? I think it does. It means people are watching. If you want something of this rarity, you need to be aggressive and on top of this. If it sets a record, that wouldn’t surprise me.

The Youngblood Sanchez vase will automatically set an auction record for a collaboration by both artists, but could it set new auction records for each artist as well? It’s possible. In auctions, you occasionally have one shot at a rare piece in your collecting career. This may be that piece if you’re a contemporary Native American pot collector.

Why will this Youngblood Sanchez vase stick in your memory? I’m a fan of both, and I’ve known both artists for 30 years. I considered taking this piece home and putting it in my own collection. It’s definitely selling. And it’s the rarity–having something this rare and unique and beautifully made.

How to bid: The Nancy Youngblood Russell Sanchez vase is lot 0292 in the Rare Early Native, Western Art, Photography sale taking place at Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery & Auction on October 11, 2020.

How to subscribe to The Hot Bid: Click the trio of dots at the upper right of this page. You can also follow The Hot Bid on Instagram and follow the author on Twitter.

Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery & Auction is on Twitter and Instagram.

Images are courtesy of Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery & Auction.

Earlier in 2020, Sublette interviewed Russell Sanchez for episode 115 of his video podcast, Art Dealer Diaries.

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An Unheated Tourmaline That Weighs 100.59 Carats Could Command $1 Million

UncategorizedSeptember 29, 2020September 27, 2020

What you see: An unheated “Paraíba-type” tourmaline from Mozambique, weighing in at 100.59 carats. Heritage Auctions estimates it at $700,000 to $1 million.

The expert: Craig Kissick, director of nature and science for Heritage Auctions.

How was the tourmaline discovered? It was mined in Mozambique in 2001. A really large rough was pulled out that weighed 262 carats. The person who acquired it was looking for top-quality rough material.

Is Mozambique known for its tourmalines? Yes, especially for gem “Paraíba-type” tourmalines. Tourmalines are a prolific type of mineral also found in Brazil, California, and Afghanistan. There are quality examples from each area.

This large unheated tourmaline is described as “copper-bearing”. What does that mean? Does the presence of copper affect the appearance of the stone’s color? Absolutely. Copper-bearing tourmalines have a gorgeous bluish-green hue. That’s what sets them apart. “Paraíba” is a word for the purest form of copper-bearing tourmalines of this color from Brazil.

What does the phrase “Paraíba-type” mean? The GIA (Gemological Institute of America) can refer to any copper-bearing tourmaline as Paraíba, but old-school people in the business call them “Paraíba-type” or “Paraíba-like” if they’re not from Brazil. There are people who will pay an unlimited amount of money if they get a true Paraíba from Brazil.

And this stone, called the Jena Blue, is believed to be the largest unheated tourmaline? That’s very, very important. We do believe it’s the largest unheated tourmaline gemstone in the world.

Why is it important that it’s unheated? It’s a purity standpoint, and a value driver. There are purists out there who want no enhancements. So much material is enhanced. This is among the small percentage that is not.

But how would heat treatment improve a natural tourmaline? Heating essentially juices the visual attributes of the stone. It will often brighten or intensify the color.

What’s the next-smallest known unheated tourmaline? This is a very casual answer, but in my experience, people looking for 20-carat or 30-carat examples have enough trouble finding them. You normally see five carats. For most people, that’s a plenty big stone, fine for a ring.

Why is this unheated tourmaline called the Jena Blue? The collector prefers to be anonymous, but my understanding is the Jena Blue is some sort of contraction of two of his grandchildrens’ names.

The stone is described as “flawless”. What sorts of flaws can appear in a tourmaline? Because of how it grows, in long, columnar crystals, tourmaline is not an inherently clear material. It’s more likely to be translucent than transparent. You’re not going to hold up a tourmaline and be able to read a book through it.

This unheated tourmaline has what’s called a “native cut”. Why was that cut chosen, and how does the cut enhance the qualities of the stone? The piece was required to be cut before it left Mozambique, and it has not been recut. They [the original owner] wanted to end up with a stone that was over 100 carats. It pains me to say it, but could you recut it and come up with a visually nicer and smaller stone? You could. It was cut for yield, for the largest stone possible.

The chosen cut has a lot of facets to it…The faceting around it gives it a little sparkle. Because of the size of the stone, there’s sort of a large window in the top that allows you to see through it. Because it’s so clear, it almost washes the color out. If this stone were smaller or more included [afflicted with inclusions, a type of flaw] it could be bolder, and it could have more richness in it.

About 162 carats were discarded in cutting this unheated tourmaline. Do we know why the gem-cutter chose to dispense with so much of the rough? I don’t know the answer, but my educated guess is that with a big chunk of rough, only a certain area is gemstone material. It could have been highly occluded. It could have been damaged, or cracked. Some is lost to get down to the finished product.

What is the Jena Blue tourmaline like in person? It’s huge. I don’t say this to downplay it at all, but when you compare it to a typical gemstone, it’s cartoonish. If you were of a mind to make it into jewelry, it would be comical. And it’s very clear. To me, it’s a little more clear than colorful in person.

What is it like to hold the Jena Blue tourmaline? [Laughs] It’s scary, because you don’t want to drop it or hurt it. It’s kind of like holding a baby.

How well does it fit in the palm of your hand? I’m six-foot-five and 275 pounds. If your hand was 20 percent smaller than mine, and if you cupped your hand so it’s concave as opposed to flat, it would cover the palm of your hand. It’s gonna nestle in there just fine. But people tend to want to handle it with two hands, because they’re nervous about it.

Is the Jena Blue tourmaline heavy? No, it doesn’t feel that heavy. It’s probably a bit more than a golf ball, weight-wise. That being said, if you put it in a pendant around your neck, it’s not going to be everyday jewelry.

How did you set the estimate for the Jena Blue tourmaline? Are there any direct comparables on record? It’s a hard comp. We’ve got a precedent in that material like this can go for one million or north of that. But it’s so singular, it’s hard to know what the market is.

Is there a world auction record for a tourmaline? I’m guessing that stones such as this tend to sell on the private market, and not at auction… I don’t know the world auction record. I really couldn’t answer. Nobody sees stuff like this very often. It’s so singular, there’s not much to compare it to.

So when the Jena Blue tourmaline sells, it might automatically set a world auction record for any tourmaline? That’s very well possible. I think there probably are million-dollar-plus Paraíba-type examples out there, through gem dealers. You virtually never see 100-carat-plus tourmalines at auction, so there’s not much of a sales record.

Who would comprise the market for the Jena Blue tourmaline–natural history collectors, or people who might want to fashion the stone into jewelry? I think a natural history collector. If someone fashioned it into jewelry… it’s too big. It’s like Flava Flav’s clock. You can see it coming from a mile away. I want to believe the attributes that were important to the original collector will drive the day. There’s a lot of stones in the auction catalog that you could make into jewelry. The Jena Blue doesn’t strike me as that.

Why will the Jena Blue tourmaline stick in your memory? To me, it’s the singular nature of the stone. As a collector, I always enjoy anomalies. There aren’t other tourmalines like it out there. This is a one-time thing. It’s an incredible item. Personally, I’m more into dinosaurs than gemstones, but even I can’t deny it’s something.

How to bid: The large unheated tourmaline is lot #72111 in The Jena Blue Collection of Gemstones & Minerals Signature Auction, taking place October 5, 2020 at Heritage Auctions.

How to subscribe to The Hot Bid: Click the trio of dots at the upper right of this page. You can also follow The Hot Bid on Instagram and follow the author on Twitter.

Heritage Auctions is on Twitter and Instagram.

Image is courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

Craig Kissick has appeared on The Hot Bid twice, discussing a large specimen of crystallized gold as well as a matched set of bull mammoth tusks.

Heritage Auctions filmed a 360-degree video of the Jena Blue tourmaline and posted it on its YouTube channel.

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A Karl Benjamin Painting Could Fetch $50,000 (Updated October 19, 2020)

UncategorizedSeptember 22, 2020October 19, 2020

Update: The Karl Benjamin painting sold for $37,500.

What you see: Laguna Seascape II, a 1954 work by the late Karl Benjamin. Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) estimates it at $30,000 to $50,000.

The expert: Clo Pazera, specialist at LAMA.

Who was Karl Benjamin, and how does he fit in with mid-century California artists? He was a key part of the hard-edge movement, a term coined by Jules Langsner. He put together The Abstract Classicists. Benjamin was in the show, and it was the birth of hard-edge painting.

How prolific was Benjamin? I know a catalog raisonné on him is underway. Do its authors have a notion of his productivity? I’m not sure about the number of works he produced in his lifetime, but I’m sure it’s a hefty number.

It seems that Benjamin took an unusual path to becoming an artist, in that it wasn’t his primary goal. Could you talk about how his career evolved? He had studied at Northwestern and joined the Navy in World War II. Then he moved to the west coast and started teaching at an elementary school. That led him to his interest in the fine arts. He went to Claremont Graduate School for art. It was a good move, because it had a thriving art scene in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. That’s probably why his career took off. He had his first solo show in 1954 though he had only been painting for four years at that point.

The Karl Benjamin painting you’re offering, Laguna Seascape II, dates to 1954. Was it in that solo show? It was! The Karl Benjamin estate has a copy of the original checklist, and the painting has a label from the show on the back. It’s great to have confirmation it was in the show.

So that 1954 exhibition was Karl Benjamin’s breakthrough? Yes, and he was obviously building up to it. 1954 to 1955 was when he started to really move into the style he became best-known for. You see his style start to crystalize. He does semi-representational pieces and starts moving into fully abstract pieces.

Are early Karl Benjamin paintings prized by collectors though they don’t match the fully abstract aesthetic of his later work? Benjamin is one of the rare cases where his early works are very desirable and sought after.

This is a small question, but I wanted to ask it. This Karl Benjamin painting is called Laguna Seascape II. Do we know where Laguna Seascape I is? I don’t know. We’ve offered a work by him called North of Santa Barbara Coast II, and the checklist for the 1954 show had both I and II, but it only had Laguna Seascape II. It’s possible that Laguna Seascape I is out there. I don’t know where.

Is the seascape in the Karl Benjamin painting a real, identifiable place in Laguna Beach, California, or is it his own invention? It’s interesting, because he never lived in Laguna Beach that I’m aware. His parents lived on the Santa Barbara coast. I don’t know what interest Laguna Beach had for him. I’m not sure what the significance was.

Are Karl Benjamin paintings of abstract landscapes relatively rare? They are relatively rare because he did move into pure abstraction pretty quickly. He only did landscapes for seven or eight years, and he was fully abstract for four decades.

Could you talk about the use of color in this Karl Benjamin painting? In his early works, the color is much more muted, which makes sense if he’s trying to do a seascape. He used bright Pop colors later in his career.

What is the Karl Benjamin painting like in person? Are there details that the camera doesn’t capture? There’s much more of a painterly quality to this piece, almost a pebbly texture to it, which you see in his earlier works. I don’t know how he got the texture on the pieces. His later style is more flat and perfect. A lot of hard-edge people put a lot of varnish on top [of their works] to give them a sheen and obscure the brushstrokes. That was the hard-edge look.

How has the Karl Benjamin painting market changed over time? The J. Paul Getty Museum’s Pacific Standard Time initiative was a major boost to California artists. Karl Benjamin certainly benefitted from the increased exposure it provided. It was a city-wide initiative with various exhibits about artists who were active from 1945 to 1980. One of the main exhibits had a really beautiful piece by Karl Benjamin. That helped his career. Since then, his market has been pretty steady.

Does this sale mark the first time this Karl Benjamin painting has come to auction? Yes. Early in his career, before he was well-established, he did a lot of exchanges for artwork, or gave pieces to his friends. This person [who first owned it] was a colleague of Benjamin’s. The painting has been exhibited, but it’s never been offered.

What’s the world auction record for Benjamin? Was it set at LAMA? It was set with us. It was a piece from a similar period, a 1955 work offered in 2013. It was estimated at $20,000 to $30,000 and realized $71,875.

Was the record-setting Karl Benjamin painting an abstract landscape, like this one? It was untitled, and had a similar color pattern. I don’t think it’s a landscape, but it was more when he was moving into pure abstraction.

Could this Karl Benjamin painting set a new record for the artist? The 1955 untitled piece was a great piece, but so is this. It really depends.

Why will this Karl Benjamin painting stick in your memory? It is very evocative of the seaside, that sort of calm you find with the sea. There’s just something about it that’s therapeutic.

How to bid: The Karl Benjamin painting is a featured lot in the Modern Art & Design Auction taking place at LAMA on October 18, 2020.

How to subscribe to The Hot Bid: Click the trio of dots at the upper right of this page. You can also follow The Hot Bid on Instagram and follow the author on Twitter.

Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) is on Twitter and Instagram.

Image is courtesy of Los Angeles Modern Auctions.

Clo Pazera appeared on The Hot Bid before, talking about an iconic Julius Shulman image of the Stahl house, aka Case Study House #22, and an untitled Ed Moses abstract. 

Karl Benjamin’s estate has a website.

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Diane Arbus Photographs Owned by Albino Sword Swallower Sandra Reed Could Together Command $80,000 (Updated September 29, 2020)

UncategorizedSeptember 18, 2020September 29, 2020

Update: Lots 233 and 234 sold for $6,000 each. The circa 1965 group photo, lot 231, fetched $12,000.

What you see: A gelatin silver print of albino sword-swallower Sandra Reed (right) and her sister, Doreen, taken in 1970 by Diane Arbus. It and three other images from the same session come directly from the estate of Sandra Reed. Potter and Potter estimates each at $10,000 to $20,000.

The expert: Gabe Fajuri, president of Potter & Potter.

Do we know the story behind how Diane Arbus and Sandra Reed met? Did Reed know who Arbus was? I don’t know the story behind that, but I’m sure it’s chronicled. Obviously, Arbus had a fascination with sideshows, circuses, and unusual people. It’s a hallmark of her work. Joe, who works for me, could relate it better. Johnny Fox (a sideshow performer whose collection Potter & Potter sold in November 2018) had Arbus photos that Sandra Reed had given him. When Joe was doing the research on the photos, he found Reed’s phone number and called her. She had a vague recollection of the photo session, but it wasn’t like, “Oh, by the way, I’m the sword-swallower in the pictures by Diane Arbus”. Again, I’m speaking for Joe, but [I get the sense that it was] “Oh, I remember a lady came to the fairground and took pictures”.

Is it possible that Reed never realized the significance of having posed for Diane Arbus? The photographs in this auction were Reed’s property. She’s deceased. She died last year. The family consigned them.

Do we know how the Arbus photos came to Sandra Reed? Would Arbus have sent them to her? That’s speculation. Her kids are so far removed [from Reed’s time as a sword-swallower], they have no memory of it.

So we know these photos belonged to Sandra Reed because they come directly from her family? They’re not stamped by her, but they’re clearly from the session and they’re clearly from Reed’s collection. We also have Reed’s scrapbooks from her time on the shows [they comprise lots 236 and 237], and her traveling trunk, with her name on it. I really wanted the swords in the Arbus photos, but I can’t locate them.

Do we know how the photo session for the Arbus sword-swallower photos came about? Was it planned, or spontaneous? I don’t know, but her work is well-documented. I know that the large prints of Sandra Reed are some of her most iconic works. She took many different shots.

Many of the Arbus sword-swallower photos you’re offering include Sandra Reed’s sister, Doreen. Do we know why Doreen happened to be there? To me, that says they were both on the show. I think they were both albino.

Even though Doreen is not wearing a costume, and Sandra is? Right.

The auction includes a fifth Arbus photo, a group shot taken in 1965 at Huber’s Museum. What does it say about Arbus that she returned to these subjects so regularly? It’s clearly a big part of her life’s work. Obviously, she was interested in chronicling people who you did not see on the subway. Or if you do, you stare at them. There’s one guy in the Huber’s Museum photo who’s still alive, and performs as an Elvis impersonator and an escape artist. Mario Manzini. He’s up front, with dark hair, crouching, and in chains. If you ever need an Elvis who can escape from handcuffs, he’s your guy.

The two Arbus sword-swallower photos that you offered as one lot in the 2018 Johnny Fox sale sold for $28,800, and a record for a sideshow item at auction. Did that sale lead to the consignment of the four photos you’re offering now? One thousand percent, absolutely. It’s how Reed’s family found us.

What was your reaction to the 2018 sale? You had estimated those Arbus sword-swallower photos at $1,000 to $1,500, so I imagine it was a surprise. I thought they could get there, but the condition of the photos were less than great, and they were small. I estimated them conservatively. They had all the hallmarks of the potential to do very well–never before at auction, and the auction had a lot of buzz around it, because everybody knew Johnny.

How do these four Arbus sword-swallower photos compare to the two that set a record in 2018? These are much larger, and they have fewer condition issues. I put a higher estimate on them, but there’s no reserve. If you have $5,000, you can have a Diane Arbus photo, assuming no one else bids against them. And you can see three different versions of kind of the same photo–a distant shot, a close-up, and a medium-length shot. I can see someone wanting to buy all three for that reason.

None of the four Arbus sword-swallower photos show Sandra Reed with her sword. One of the two that sold for a record in 2018 did. Do you think that will matter? I don’t think so. Some of Arbus’s great photos of her have nothing to do with swords.

What are the Arbus sword-swallower photos like in person? Are there aspects that don’t come across on camera? You’ll never have the same feeling as holding them in person. They’re the real thing.

But these are gelatin silver prints. I’m under the impression that those types of photographs have a silkiness to them– There’s that, but it’s not about the texture, it’s about the history. It’s a physical object, touched by a great photographer and touched by and owned by the subject of the photograph. Those are the things that speak to me. They’re imposing because of the story they tell and the people who interacted with them. They don’t carry physical weight, but they carry historical weight.

How much of the $10,000 to $20,000 estimate for each Arbus sword-swallower photo comes from the fact that Sandra Reed, the person shown in all four, owned them? It might not be half, but it’s certainly 25 percent of it. If you’re a photo collector, I’m not sure if you give a shit, but I certainly would. For me, that’s fantastic. Boy, is that a selling point.

Did the 2018 Arbus sword-swallower photos go to a sideshow memorabilia collector or a collector of Diane Arbus photographs? Neither. I don’t know them to be an Arbus collector, but I know them to be an art collector.

Why will these four Arbus sword-swallower photos stick in your memory? The serendipitous nature of it, whatever word you want to use that describes happenstance–the nature of getting the consignment like this. It’s like a giant puzzle that gets unassembled and reassembled, and we end up putting it together in surprising and potentially profitable patterns.

How to bid: The four Diane Arbus photographs from Sandra Reed are lots 232 to 235 in the Potter and Potter auction; the 1965 Arbus group portrait is lot 231. All appear in the Circus, Sideshow & Oddities sale taking place on September 26, 2020.

How to subscribe to The Hot Bid: Click the trio of dots at the upper right of this page. You can also follow The Hot Bid on Instagram and follow the author on Twitter.

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Image is courtesy of Potter & Potter. 

Gabe Fajuri has appeared on The Hot Bid many times. He’s talked about a vintage Harry Houdini postcard from the magician’s personal collection, an oversize Alexander: The Man Who Knows poster, a Daisy and Violet Hilton poster from the conjoined twins’ vaudeville years, an impressive talking skull automaton that went on to sell for $13,200, a magician automaton that appeared in the 1972 film Sleuth, a rare book from the creator of the Pepper’s Ghost illusion,  a Will & Finck brass sleeve holdout–a device for cheating at cards–which sold for $9,000, a Snap Wyatt sideshow banner advertising a headless girl, a record-setting stage-worn magician’s tuxedo; a genuine 19th century gambler’s case that later sold for $6,765; a scarce 19th century poster of a tattooed man that fetched $8,610; a 1908 poster for the magician Chung Ling Soo that sold for $9,225; a Golden Girls letterman jacket that belonged to actress Rue McClanahan; and a 1912 Houdini poster that set the world record for any magic poster at auction.

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RECORD! Stack’s Bowers Sells a 1794 Silver Dollar for $10 Million

UncategorizedAugust 25, 2020August 3, 2020

What you see: A 1794 “Flowing Hair” silver dollar, described as a “unique superb gem specimen”. Stack’s Bowers auctioned it in January 2013 for just over $10 million and a world auction record for any coin. [Since writing this story, news broke that the coin would go to auction as part of the Bruce Morelan collection in Las Vegas in October 2020.]

The expert: Vicken Yegparian, vice president of numismatics at Stack’s Bowers.

What is the 1794 flowing hair silver dollar, and why is it considered one of the rarest and most valuable American coins? It’s America’s first silver dollar. It’s important for that one simple reason. It predates everything our currency stands for today.

How many 1794 flowing hair silver dollars are known to exist? Estimates range between 135 and 150. Undocumented ones still come out of the woodwork on occasion, but that’s the best guess on how many survive.

And how many 1794 flowing hair silver dollars are believed to have been produced? Records say 1,758 pieces were made.

How were they lost? Were they melted down? Actually, that’s a pretty good survival rate for coins from that era. People recognized what they were back then, and saved them.

And I take it it’s called the “flowing hair” silver dollar because the woman shown in profile on the coin has flowing hair? Exactly. If you look at designs for coins from the mid-1790s period, they show the personification of Liberty. They’re all patterned after the Libertas Americana medal in Paris at the Paris Mint. She has the same flowing locks, but with a liberty cap behind her.

Why was the 1794 flowing hair silver dollar created? What need did it meet? It was a necessary coin for the economy, and for the needs of civic coinage. It’s the product of money as a sovereign right. America was starting to flex its muscles, and what does a sovereign state do? Make its own money.

So issuing the 1794 flowing hair silver dollar was just as much about announcing America’s arrival as a country as creating money for its citizens to use? It was a tool for building our reputation? It’s all of that–making our mark in international waters, so to speak. Establishing a mint was one element of nation-building. When they [the U.S. Mint] started, they decided to start with the silver dollar, because the silver dollar was obviously bigger. It’s weightier and more impressive in the hand.

What would $1 in 1794 be worth in 2020 dollars? How much spending power did this coin represent when it was new? It was a very good amount of money. Talking in terms of inflation, it’s worth $25 today.

How much silver is in the 1794 silver dollar? Just over three-quarters of a troy ounce of silver, or .4735 ounces troy of silver, net.

And that’s important, because the government promised there’d be a specific minimum amount of silver in its silver dollars, yes? Exactly. The weight of coppers was stipulated within a certain range, but silver was much more stringent. The Mint was a fledgling, low-budget operation when it launched. It didn’t have the scientific standards we have today. Back then, if it made an underweight silver dollar, it’d scrap it. If it was over, it’d be filed down to the right weight. This coin had very few adjustment lines, but they’re common on all 1794 silver dollars and 1790s coinage.

How many 1794 silver dollars has Stack’s Bowers handled? Many of them. We’ve been in business since the 1930s. There’s a book documenting all known 1794 silver dollars. At least 75 in that book have passed through our doors–two-thirds of the known pieces traded through Stack’s Bowers or its predecessor.

This example is believed to be the first silver dollar ever struck in the United States. What evidence supports that claim? Before you strike a production run of coins, you test the example in a softer metal. The Smithsonian has a copper version. It’s in the same die state as this piece.

We should pause and explain how coins are physically produced… Stamps that make money are called dies. They’re heavy pieces of iron, with the design at one end. There’s one die on the top, and one on the bottom, with the metal between them. You activate the press and stamp the coin.

The lot notes say the coin shows “prooflike reflectivity in the fields”. What does that mean, and why is that important? Does it support the idea that it could be the first silver dollar ever struck in the United States? The overall surface quality has a prooflike appearance. That describes the reflectivity of the surfaces. It’s mirrorlike. That’s a quality of the die and its ability to impart that surface. That quality diminishes with each strike of the coin. This coin is very well-struck, very well-impressed. All the detail is fine and very visible.

So a coin with prooflike reflectivity is kind of like a print from an early state? That’s a good comparison, but coins are a little bit different. They go from a very reflective finish to a frosty and lustrous surface. Frosty and lustrous is not undesirable, just different.

What other clues support the notion that this 1794 silver dollar might have been the first to be struck? This coin was specially made from specially prepared dies. It didn’t go into a bag with other pieces. They [whoever struck the coin] might have wanted to present special coins to somebody. We don’t know who made it or who saved it, but someone put it aside, and someone saved it for it to have been in such perfect condition.

So we can say this 1794 silver dollar was among the earliest struck, for sure, but we can’t definitively prove it was the first? Today, each die has a serial number and we record the number of strikes. None of that existed in 1794. They had to jury-rig a press to make a coin this big. But we can say beyond a reasonable doubt it was among the first strikes, and among the first prepared. They polished the die to a glossy state so it would create a glass-smooth surface in the metal and impart a glass-smooth surface to it.

Do any other 1794 silver dollars come close to this one? Nothing. Nothing.

The 1794 silver dollar is described as being “Specimen-66”, as graded by the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS). What does that mean, and why is that important? That’s a very high grade for a U.S. coin. Anything remotely near it in silver dollars is huge. The scale is from one to 70. A grade of 67 is super-high. For this coin to be a 66 is a big deal. And it’s a big coin. It’s much easier to hurt a larger coin. If you drop a silver dollar on the ground, you can get a big dent in the edge. To have a 1794 silver dollar that’s so well-preserved and flaw-free relative to its peers… it’s a big deal.

The lot notes also describe it as a “unique superb gem specimen”. Could you break that phrase down and explain it? “Unique” means it’s the only specimen or specially struck 1794 silver dollar that we know of. “Superb” is an old term used in numismatics for over 100 years, from before numeric grading of coins. “Gem” is the best one on the tray. Calling it a “superb gem specimen” is gilding the lily.

What had to happen between 1794 and now for the coin to survive in such good condition? Someone had to forget about it and let it sit in a family collection for 200 years, or be really cautious in its handling. It’s a miracle that it’s survived this well. It’s indicative that it was specially made and specially saved.

Why didn’t Stack’s Bowers sell this 1794 silver dollar as a single lot in a stand-alone auction? It was part of a collection, so we kept it as such.

Have you seen this 1794 silver dollar or any other 1794 silver dollars out of their plastic capsules? By the time I saw it, it had been encapsulated for a while. I have held other 1794s, before they were certified. Getting a chance to hold it in its raw state is almost impossible. But even one that’s beat up and well-worn is very cool.