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

Fantastic Find Earlier this year, Justin Miller of Los Angeles found an intriguing chair on Facebook Marketplace and decided to take a flyer, buying it for $50. The chair turned out to be a rare high-back wing chair by a famous Danish designer. It sold recently for $107,950 (including premiums) at Sotheby's. “I'm not a furniture expert by any means,” Miller said on a TikTok post when he found the chair. “But I have a good eye and I can tell when something is really unique.” The chair, which came from a home in Beverly Hills, Calif., was created by Danish furniture designer Frits Henningsen. It is likely only one of 50 or so examples known to have been built, according to Sotheby's, who sold the chair in its “Important…

While the rest of us celebrate Halloween on October 31, Mark Ledenbach, one of the world's leading authorities on collectibles centered on the spooky holiday, celebrates Halloween every day. Ledenbach, who has collected and studied vintage Halloween memorabilia for about 35 years, is so respected in the field that he's often referred to as “The Dean of Halloween.” His groundbreaking book, Vintage Halloween Collectibles, has enjoyed three editions and is considered the bible of the hobby. Ledenbach's expertise has made him a person in demand as the holiday approaches. He's appeared on “The Martha Stewart Show,” as well as an expert appraiser on an episode of “American Pickers.” We recently reached out to Ledenbach regarding some on his favorite Halloween items from his 5,000-7,000-piece collection. He offered the following for…

Auction Highlight ARNE JACOBSEN (1902-1971) was an architect and designer who approached his work from both perspectives, making major contributions to Functionalism and Danish Modern style. With its organic, sculptural form, the Egg chair is recognized as an iconic furniture design both in Denmark and around the world, with many considering it Jacobsen's principal design. The development of the chair was based on a new technological approach. Instead of a steel frame and wood, the chairs were shaped in a hard foam material that was then padded and upholstered. Jacobsen experimented with plaster and, like a sculptor, he used these malleable materials to work out the characteristic shape of the Egg, creating a design with a harmonious sculptural expression that immediately earned it a central place in design history. This…

The first American porcelain was made in the 18th century. Few factories stayed in business for long until the late 1800s. By then, there were several American companies making porcelain. Many made utilitarian items like tableware and toilet sets, but some made fine hand-painted decorative pieces, too. Around the mid-20th century, American porcelain production declined as imported porcelain became cheaper (and decorative porcelain fell out of fashion). Here are some American companies that made decorative porcelain that were active in the 20th century. Dates shown are when the company was in business. Most companies have used more than one mark. Jonathan Coxon and Walter Scott Lenox established the Ceramic Art Company in 1889. They made porcelain that resembled the yellowish, pearly Belleek made in Ireland and decorated it with realistically…

The classic disaster movie, The Towering Inferno, was the highest-grossing film of 1974 and won three Acad-emy Awards. It was a brawny blockbuster of a film, by far the best of the mid-1970s wave of disaster movies. The star-studded vehicle featured Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, William Holden, Fred Astaire, Richard Chamber-lain, Robert Wagner and Faye Dunaway, among others. It was three hours long and made the audience happy they didn't live in a 135-story high-rise. Directed by Irwin (The Poseidon Adventure) Allen, The Towering Inferno is an example of Hollywood blockbuster moviemaking at its finest. Original poster artwork for the film by John Berkey (left) sold for $350,000 at Heritage Auctions recently. You can see how the artwork was used in the finished movie poster above.…

Tom Johnson seems like a good guy. Accommodating, generous with his time and possessing a sense of whimsy that's almost impossible to resist, Johnson is disarmingly nice. He played trombone in the University of Minnesota marching band, has a rescue dog named Lucky Lu and, at his Naples, Fla., home, has placed a huge purple Dino—the pet dinosaur of Fred and Wilma Flintstone—near the pool that plays “Meet the Flintstones” to entertain guests and golfers alike. Seriously, how do you not like this guy?!! But there's a dark side, sort of. The co-founder, CEO and president of Ruby Lane, Johnson is the first to admit he started his company, the world's largest curated online marketplace for quality vintage collectibles and antiques, 25 years ago for purely selfish reasons. “In 1998,…

Danger lurks. It always does when you're a kid standing alone on an October evening just this side of Halloween, at the corner of Jackson and Eighth Street. I'm not far from my house, but right now I'm definitely not close enough either. My buddies have long ago peeled off for home, safe and secure, after our Friday night vampire movie fun, leaving me on my own for the first time in the darkness with an over-stimulated imagination. The muted glow of the streetlight provides a smidgen of safety before the dash home. The ads for the white canvas PF Flyers I'm wearing promise my tennis shoe's “magic wedge” will help me run faster and jump higher. Good thing, because I know for a fact, I'll need all the speed…

As a lover of adornment, I have a few pet peeves. One big one is misidentifying jewelry components as Gripoix glass. Gripoix (pronounced gre-pwuh) is a term misused repeatedly. And when I say repeatedly, I can't add enough overs to over and over to convey the problem. This is likely a monkey see, monkey do situation for many novice sellers. They see brightly colored cabochon stones in jewelry and think it's Gripoix glass because someone else called it that. Other times, I feel quite sure the sellers are educated enough to know better and do some keyword stuffing to try to get more eyes on their goods and make a sale in a competitive market. Either way, it's an issue widely found across the internet, so it never hurts to…

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. Antique Trader assumes no responsibility for any show not listed in our print editions, but it will be listed in our online calendar. 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…