Tabla de contenidos para August 2024 en Kovels Antique Trader

Long considered the “crown jewel of unproduced toys” and a “holy grail” object by Star Wars toy collectors, a 1979 rocket-firing Boba Fett prototype sold for a world-record $525,000 at Heritage Auctions May 31. Two years ago, a Boba Fett prototype sold for $236,000 at Hake’s. The 3-3/4-inch prototype figure of the bounty hunter is famous in collecting circles because it was pulled from Kenner’s 1979 Star Wars toy line when its rocket-firing aspect was deemed a choking hazard. The limited prototypes that were made before the project’s cancellation mostly ended up with Kenner employees, with most units believed to have been destroyed. Today, only about 70 of these prototypes are known to exist. Among these, only five are known to be hand-painted, with the record-breaking prototype being one of…

Celebrated for their distinctive aesthetic and one-of-a-kind technique, woodblock prints are a widely recognized and iconic form of Japanese art dating back to the 8th century. Japanese woodblock prints are also known as ukiyo-e, which translates into “pictures of the floating world.” Commonly depicted images include lush landscapes, beautiful women, animals, flowers, heroes and warriors, erotica, historic events and otherworldly creatures. The different artistic periods include: Tokugawa and Edo periods, c. 1600-1868. The Edo period is revered as the classic era of traditional ukiyo-e art. One of the most famous woodblocks created during this period is Katsushika Hokusai’s 1831 print, “Under the Wave Off Kanagawa.” Meiji Period, 1868-1912, which saw Japan’s rapid industrialization and Westernization. During this period, woodblock prints became popular and were widely reproduced. Sosaku Hanga Period, 1904-1940s,…

To list your antiques-related event (show, auction, convention, etc.) for free in Kovels Antique Trader, and on our website, antiquetrader.com, email event information (date, location, contact information, times) at least six weeks in advance to: ATNews@aimmedia.com. Listings will be included on a space-available basis. Kovels Antique Trader assumes no responsibility for any show not listed in our print editions, but it will be listed in our online calendar. ARIZONA Oct 4-5,2024, Prescott. Prescott Antique Show & Vintage Market, Prescott Rodeo Grounds, 840 Rodeo Drive, Prescott, Ariz., 86305. SH: (early bird) 3pm-7pm, Friday; 9am-4pm Saturday. For more info, visit https://www.prescottantiqueshow.com. CALIFORNIA Every first Sunday of the month, Alameda. Alameda Point Antiques Faire, 3900 Maine St., Alameda, CA. The Alameda Point Antiques Faire is the largest antiques show in Northern California, boasting…

DENVER, Pa. - Stunning jewels, art-glass lamps, a Wurlitzer Pianorchestra and a 1906 Amphora vase whose design foretold the future were among the highlights of Morphy’s June 11-12 Fine & Decorative Arts Auction. The $1.53 million sale offered bidders a widely varied choice with prized examples from many of today’s most popular collecting categories. Twenty-five lamps by Tiffany Studios led the colorful parade of antique lighting. In addition to the coveted Tiffanys, there were scores of beautiful leaded and reverse-painted lamps by Handel, Duffner & Kimberly, and Pairpoint. The 72-lot group was crowned by a Tiffany “Peony” table lamp whose shade featured a medley of multicolored confetti glass, blossoms crafted from numerous types of Tiffany glass - including granite-backed reds and highly mottled opalescent whites - against a multicolored background…

GUSTAV STICKLEY (1858-1942), whose name is synonymous with Craftsman furniture, was a visionary American proponent for the Arts and Crafts philosophy in design, literature and life. At the peak of his career, his furniture was sold throughout the country, Craftsman houses built in many areas and The Craftsman magazine widely read. After bankruptcy in 1915, Stickley was largely forgotten until the 1970s, when his importance as a designer was rediscovered by a new generation. The eldest son of first-generation German immigrants, Stickley was born into a family that owned furniture-manufacturing businesses. He found inspiration in the writings of John Ruskin and William Morris and the well-built, hand-crafted furniture and the brotherhood of honest labor they espoused. Stickley’s furniture was a radical departure from the American furniture of the Victorian era.…

“Each flitch, each board, each plank can have only one ideal use. The woodworker, applying a thousand skills, must find the ideal use and then shape the wood to realize its true potential.” - George Nakashima GEORGE NAKASHIMA (1905-1990) believed that every tree had its own soul, and his mission was to find its “living spirit” and give it a second life. During his illustrious career as America’s most important contemporary woodworker, he accomplished that and then some. Working out of his compound in rural New Hope, Pa., Nakashima produced some of the most original and influential furniture designs of the postwar era. In striving to realize a tree’s true potential, Nakashima chose solid wood over veneers and designed his furniture to highlight the inherent beauty of the wood, such…

Originally woven by crewmen aboard Nantucket lightships from the 1830s to 1850s, wooden Nantucket baskets are an icon of the Massachusetts island. After basket making was deemed to be “moonlighting” and banned aboard ships, weavers took their talents to shore and began making them for commercial trade. As the island transitioned from a whaling economy to tourism in the 1860s and after, these attractive baskets became popular keepsakes. Nantucket lightship baskets have four distinctive elements: they are woven on a mold, have solid wood bases, have rattan staves and have cane weavers. The skills and techniques of the early weavers have been passed down through generations of artisans who continue making these baskets today. Known for their stellar craftsmanship and style, Nantucket baskets are highly prized by collectors as decorative…

While declining sales and the Great Depression put an end to Sears Modern Home department in 1940, something new and exciting emerged on the postwar housing landscape. New materials and construction methods defined new homes during the the mid-20th century. An exploding population and prosperity led to a building boom, mostly in single family houses built in the burgeoning suburbs. Although it may have seemed like it, the postwar era of the mid-20th century Mid-century Modern house didn’t just appear overnight; it evolved over time. Here are a few key players who helped usher the style. FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT: With a career spanning 70 years, Wright (1867-1959) was a pioneer in the proto-modern Prairie School of architecture in the years 1900-1914. Lacking historical ornament and motifs, these houses are low…

from the editor Earlier this year, the comic book that introduced Superman to the world in 192%, Action Comics No. 1, became the most valuable comic in the world, selling for $6 million at auction. The 68-page issue is so ridiculously prized that even loose pages of the comic book have sold for as much as $60,000. Not too shabby for a comic that cost kids 10 cents back in the day. Of course, back in the day was the Great Depression, an era so bleak that it seemed it would indeed take a superhero to save us. During the Depression, a dime was hard to come by for a kid - or just about anyone else, for that matter. Times were so tough that Bing Crosby’s recording of “Brother,…

Old Tankard Holds Plenty of Mystery Q: I have a 5 1/2 inch tall tankard that my grandfather found on the Connecticut shore after the hurricane of 1938. The inscription on the front looks like NYBC, June 18 ‘00 First Class. I wondered if it was a boat club or bicycle club, but could never find anything. I would like to return it to someone if there was a club or museum that would like it. Thank you for any advice you might give me. Marge from Bristol, Connecticut A Hi Marge: I have done a great deal of research on your tankard and am sorry to say that I have not been able to identify the organization from which it originated. The engraving appears to be “N. Y. B.…

Stamp collecting is all about the little things. While the famous Inverted Jenny error stamp, which sold for over $2 million in 2023, is easy for a casual observer to recognize, it takes a knowledgeable philatelist with a keen eye to spot a Z grill stamp. A one-cent blue Z Grill stamp considered the “world’s rarest stamp,” just sold at Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries for $4,366,000. It’s not the design or color or year that makes this stamp so unusual. It’s the grill, a pattern of tiny indentations that prevents the removal of the cancellation. In the late 1800s, some people tried to wash the cancellations off stamps and reuse them instead of buying new stamps. To stop losing revenue, the federal government commissioned experiments to prevent this. In…

MARION MOREHOUSE (1906-1969) was one of the first supermodels, gaining fame in the 1920s and ’30s. This photograph of Morehouse by Edward Steichen, who called Morehouse “the greatest fashion model I ever shot,” was for Vogue magazine (1925) and sold for $781 at Heritage Auctions recently. While today’s supermodels are often household names, it wasn’t until Steichen’s photography of Morehouse that fashion models were catapulted into the public eye. Morehouse married poet E. E. Cummings in 1934. They lived together in Greenwich Village until his death in 1962.…