By the mid 1920s Henry Ford was looking to follow up on the massive success he’d enjoyed with the Model T. First produced on 1908, the Model T was considered the first affordable automobile, had been the first car ever produced on an assembly line, and opened up travel to the burgeoning American middle class. With over 16 million units sold, it would eventually be voted the most influential car of all time. Time for snazzy suits! Henry Ford and son Edsel at the launch of the Model A in December, 1927 And yet sales, once so robust, were beginning to flag. Competitors, led by General Motors, had started closing in, offering more powerful engines, new convenience features, and cosmetic customization. Developments Ford considered unnecessary, like electric starters, had shifted in the publics perception from luxuries to essentials. Despite his ...Read More

If this is your first encounter with Lettuce Ware, we'll give you a moment to digest.  Crisp, lifelike leaves curl and glisten in a variety of ceramic forms; tea cups, saucers, bowls, platters, pitchers, napkin rings, etc. (yes, you can seemingly drink chamomile, twirl linguine or pour lemonade out of a head of lettuce) all molded and perfected by the steady hand of artist, Dodie Thayer. Ms. Thayers designs, first started sprouting up in the 1960s at elite luncheons and garden parties in Palm Beach, Fla. Distinguished hosts such as; Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Bunny Mellon and C.Z. Guest were not only setting fashion trends, they were planting seeds for the exclusive, value that would grow with the desire to own these luxurious leaves.  Lot 401, Six Dodie Thayer Lettuce Ware Coffee Cups and Saucers, Estimate $400-$600 In their heyday, collectin...Read More

Who doesn't appreciate a proportionate balance of sophistication and fun? Especially if it comes in the form of an auction! Skinner Auctions on Upcoming Decorative Arts and online Furniture Auctions will focus equally on impressively priced items for the seasoned collector as well as offering attractive, reasonably priced items for those just starting to acquire their tastes. We've pulled together an eclectic selection of anticipated antiques to help slide you across the monetary scale.  Lot 387, Twenty Turned and Carved Butter Stamps, America, 19th Century; Estimate $2,000 - $3,000 Everything is better with butter! This group of twenty, intricately designed butter stamps offers an exciting glimpse into the early American kitchen. What better way is there to learn about a culture, but through its cooking traditions? Featured motifs like; sh...Read More

The practice of collecting coins can be traced back to ancient times. Archeological evidence and historical records dating as far back as Ancient Rome and medieval Mesopotamia suggest that scholars, state treasuries, and even private citizens collected and catalogued old, exotic and unique coins. But why do people collect coins? And what value does a coin hold beyond its intrinsic, or commodity, value? The reasons people choose to collect coins are as varied as the objects themselves. Some numismatists collect coins purely for their historical value, seeing them as relics of the cultures and societies that minted them. Others collect coins as ‘art in miniature’ and prefer coins engraved with dramatic and artful reliefs. But many (if not most) coin collectors choose their acquisitions based on a different metric - market value. The market va...Read More

The shear impressionistic force of Frank W. Benson's sporting artworks make them hard to forget. You are swept so far away, so quickly by their gripping depth, it feels a bit like gazing up at an unexpected solar eclipse. Light strikes first, spreading edge-to-edge across the water like a blanket as expansive as the sky that opens up into infinity. Thin horizons and rising mountain ranges continue on like a looking-glass-world traveling well beyond their paper margins. Benson tucks his passion for the outdoors tightly under the shadow of every birds wing and sinks heavily like a stone around a lone fishermans canoe. We've selected a few of Bensons dazzling works on paper from Copley Fine Art Auctions upcoming Winter Sale catalog, live auction on February 17th to get lost in his great land-escapes.  Lot 37, Frank W. Benson, Sunrise, Etching,...Read More

A reminder of the shadier side of the furniture industry will be on show Saturday, February 18 when a pair of Bernardo Plycraft “Pretzel” Walnut armchairs go under the hammer in Charlottesville, VA. Selling as lot 179 in Bremo Auctions’ Mid-Century Modern & Decorative Arts sale, this famous design was once at the center of a controversy that would eventually show its manufacturer in a less than flattering light. In the 1950s, the Herman Miller Company, led by George Nelson, was working on creating lightweight chairs out of plywood. Their Pretzel chair was designed by Nelsons office in 1952 and produced by a Massachusetts-based company called Plycraft. The chair proved too fragile and costly, so Miller stopped production in 1957.  Lot 179 - the stunning pair of Bernardo Plycraft "Pretzel" Walnut Armchairs But because of the Pretzel, Plycraft...Read More

Copley Fine Art Auctions returns to Charleston on Friday, February 17 for the staging of their much-anticipated Winter Sale. Held in conjunction with the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition, the sale contains over 450 lots covering a wide range of American, sporting, wildlife, and western art. In Charleston, bidders will get a rare opportunity to take home world-class paintings, bird carvings, and antique hunting and fishing collectibles. Decoys are always popular with collectors, and this year’s Copley’s Winter Sale boasts a lineup any catalog would be proud of. Highlights include a stellar selection of works by A.E. Crowell, such as a rare “dust jacket” plover in original paint and emerging plumage. Also set to cross the block is a rare Charles Birch swan (pictured above), one of only a handful of swan decoys by the artist known to exist. Th...Read More

Stick um' up! Don't move a muscle! You might have been making a bank deposit, traveling atop your stagecoach or riding the train to El Paso when you heard those famous words. Either way, the Western frontier in the 19th Century was no place for the fainthearted. States like Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, Montana and many others were terrorized by bandit gangs, outlaws and lone-wolves looking to take the money and run. Cowan's Auctions will be auctioning off (lot 282) A Rare & Important Album Containing CDVs and Cabinet Cards of Wells Fargo Highway Men, Train Robbers & Other Criminals; in their Property of N.Flayderman & Co., Plus Selected Additions Sale on Feburary 21st. I sure hope whoever used this index flipped through it like lightning in a bottle, before their card was drawn. Lot 282, Rare and Important Album Containing CDVs & Cabi...Read More

Ahh, the early days! The sweet, creative, optimism of America's rebellious beginnings based on the principles of freedom, liberty and justice for all. That is what comes to mind when browsing Thomaston Place Auction Galleries; upcoming 2-Day, Winter Feature Auction on February 11th and 12th. The distinctive spirit which rests in the patina of American antiques is that of innocence, nostalgia and revolution. One has to wonder if these early artisans were self-aware of their monumental significance in history or if they were simply noodling around, enjoying the tides of their times. Both catalogs feature important American Furniture, Decorative Arts, Fine Art and Folk Art, amongst other genres and specialty items. Weve selected some exciting pieces that ought to get your imaginations whirling back to a time when Americas explorations also inc...Read More

The February blues are fimiliar to most of us. Christmas and New Year celebrations have been and gone and those sunkissed days of August, lounging by the sea sucking on margaritas seem a million years away. Its time to plan a fightback! Time to wrestle Jack Frost to the ground and put the fun back into life. And what better way to beat the winter doldrums than to get busy adding to your stash of prized collectibles? James D. Julia presents bidders with a golden opportunity to do just that when they stage their 2-Day Winter Fine Art, Asian & Antiques sale on February 9th and 10th. Over 1100 lots are set to go under the hammer, covering a broad range of popular categories including bronzes, fine art, photography, furniture, weathervanes, folk art, historical pieces, fine silver, rugs, Asian art and more. As a great man once said, theres somet...Read More