Table of contents for August 1, 2023 in Kovels Antique Trader

Various forms of 19th- and 20th-century lighting were on the minds of collectors at Fontaine’s Fine & Decorative Arts sale on May 20. Though the 538 lots offered also included art glass, leaded glass windows, fine silver, porcelain, paintings, furniture, and jewelry, table lamps took six of the top 10 lots. Bidders snapped up nearly 100 lots of lamps and lighting at the auction, including desk, floor, and table models, chandeliers, and shades. It’s likely no surprise that a Tiffany lamp was the top lot — specifically, a daffodil table lamp with a twisted vine base that sold for $60,000. But lights made by Bradley & Hubbard, Handel, Pairpoint and other companies also brightened the day. The primary light sources in the public areas of wealthy homes were initially central…

Sales Reports Magic Memorabilia Abracadabra! Potter & Potter’s Summer Magic Auction, which closed on June 17, enchanted bidders with vintage and modern selections. In addition to featuring props and posters from notable collections—including those of veteran magicians Bill Trotter and Jim Deloach, as well as Ken Klosterman’s Salon de Magie—the sale unveiled selections from shops such as P&L, Abbott’s, Collector’s Workshop and Thayer. One of the sale’s jewels was an Okito checker cabinet once owned by the Argentine magic collector Dr. Hugo Pulgarri. The model, which boasts hand-painted finish and decal work and unique flared feet, sold for $22,800, well above the estimate of $4,000-$8,000. Okito, also known as magician Tobias Bamberg, made these smaller (or club-size) cabinets for live gigs; the prop was known for discreetly switching the locations of…

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 800 dealer booths. All items 20 years old or older. For more info, visit alamedapointantiquesfaire.com. Every first Sunday of the month through May, Palm Springs. Palm Springs Vintage Market, PS Cultural Center at the Camelot Theater, 2300 E Baristo Rd, Palm Springs. For more info, visit palmspringsvintagemarket.com. Every second Sunday of the month, Pasadena. World’s largest flea market at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena. More than over 2 million items offered for sale by more than 2,500 vendors. Shop for rare and unusual, vintage collectibles, antiques, new items, arts and crafts and second-hand items. SH: early birds, 5-9am; regular admission:…

A Wurlitzer Model 71 tabletop jukebox on a stand, made by the Wurlitzer Automatic Phonograph Co. in 1940, sold for $11,000 at Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd., in June. The jukebox is a mechanically functioning and nicely restored example with original toned Catalin inserts and a refinished case and trim. It sits on a restored original Wurlitzer model 810 stand. The wood base is painted with designs that simulated mixed wood inlays. With a long history in the music industry, Wurlitzer dominated the coin-operated phonograph business until the introduction of the 45-rpm record. At that point, Wurlitzer’s mechanism could handle up to 24 records, playing only one side. Seeburg introduced a new mechanism that held 50 records and could play both sides, yielding a true 100-select jukebox. Wurlitzer made many…

Whenever we are asked about what to collect, we always stress that you should collect what you like and what you want to live with. Fortunately, with the incredible diversity of ceramics available, everyone should be able to find an area they will enjoy. No matter your passion, whether it is Fiesta or a prized piece from the great George Ohr, education is your best friend. A good place to start with any ceramic endeavor is at the bottom. Here, when you turn over your piece, you’ll find the maker’s mark, an indispensable bit of information that will help you determine just what you have in hand. Determining authenticity has never been more important, what with an onslaught of reproductions flooding the collecting space. A keen eye can help you…

Escaping the Great Depression, and with another world war looming, Americans were looking for something to make their days cheery and bright in the late 1930s. They found it with Catalin radios. Catalin is an early, clear plastic made from phenol formaldehyde resins developed by the American Catalin Corporation in the 1930s. Catalin could be dyed with solid or translucent dyes that were often brilliant hues of red, green, blue, yellow and many shades in between. By partially stirring the dyes into Catalin resin, a marbleized look with three-dimensional depth was achieved. Catalin radios are spectacular. Hundreds of thousands of the cheerful, tabletop radios were made with this early plastic. By the end of the 1930s, some sold for as little as $15. Most models were offered in several different…

When Marilyn Monroe was a rising star in Hollywood, she famously wore an Idaho potato sack for a series of promotional cheesecake photos in 1951. There are a couple of stories as to why. One is that it was a promotional stunt by Twentieth Century Fox to show the world that the starlet was so beautiful, she could look stunning even in a potato sack. The more entertaining version involves a party at the Beverly Hills Hotel that a 24-year-old Monroe attended. She allegedly showed up wearing a revealing red dress that a newspaper columnist deemed “cheap and vulgar” and said she would have been better off “wearing a potato sack.” Fox’s public relations department had fun with it and Monroe got the last laugh on the catty columnist by…

from the editor  Welcome to the premiere issue of Kovels Antique Trader. We’re delighted to have you with us on this exciting adventure that brings together two proud, pioneering brands to create a monthly magazine that colorfully covers the antiques and collectibles community with vigor, insight and curiosity. As many of you know, earlier this year Kovels sold their assets to Active Interest Media, the parent company of Antique Trader. “It was time to entrust the Kovels brand to a new home,” founder Terry Kovel, 94, said at the time of the sale. “We couldn’t think of a better place than with Antique Trader, a publication like ours that collectors trust and enjoy learning from.” Getting to this point took months and months of planning and work. We’re confident you’ll…

Sales Reports 1970s and ’80s Toys The 1970s and ’80s were golden ages for entertainment geared toward kids, a time when movies and TV shows were dominated by brave superheroes, out-of-this-world sci-fi adventures and action-packed cartoons. To have an amazing time, all you needed was a little imagination—and the kinds of treasures sold at Heritage Auctions’ June 8, Action Figures and Toys Showcase Auction. Although most kids couldn’t wait to put action figures into their play rotation, some of these toys ended up tucked away in their original packaging. For collectors, that’s proven to be lucrative. Take a Boba Fett figure manufactured in 1979 by toy powerhouse Kenner. Released before the Star Wars bounty hunter had even appeared in The Empire Strikes Back, the toy commanded a final sale price of…

DALLAS—Frank Frazetta’s 1976 painting Dark Kingdom (left) sold for $6 million at Heritage Auctions in June, breaking the artist’s own record for original comic book or fantasy art set in 2019. Among the late artist’s most potent and popular works, Dark Kingdom was first used as the cover of Karl Edward Wagner’s 1976 novel Dark Crusade. But the dramatic painting is far better known for its second appearance: as the album cover for Molly Hatchet’s 1979 “Flirtin’ With Disaster,” the band’s second record. “It’s extraordinarily rare whenever an artwork universally considered the best in any genre becomes available on the open market,” said Heritage Auctions Executive Vice President Todd Hignite. “We’re excited — and proud — that today’s record-setting result reflects that status.” Born in Brooklyn in 1928, Frazetta is…