French cameo glass was on fire at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers 20th Century Decorative Arts auction, Thursday, October 23, 2013

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Philip Chasen

My goal is to publish new posts twice a week — Mondays and Thursdays. However, if you don’t see a new post on Thursday, it’s because I was too busy, so please look for a new one the following Monday.

Leslie Hindman Auctioneers held their 20th Century Decorative Arts auction last Thursday, October 23, 2013, with some impressive results, especially for French cameo glass. Much of the French glass was consigned from the Adrienne Krumhorn Trust of Highland Park, Illinois. It was high quality, fresh-to-the-market, and estimated low — red meat for the lions. Even condition problems, which normally are kisses of death, did not deter buyers.

Gallé Crystallerie ewer, Hindman lot #1

The tone was set from the beginning, with lot #1, a 12½” Gallé ewer, with a cracked handle. It soared past its pre-sale estimate of $1,000-2,000 to sell for $8,125, including buyer’s premium of 25%.

Gallé rhododendron blownout vase, Hindman lot #8

Most of the French cameo glass lots at least doubled their high estimates, with many selling for much more. Lot #8 was a Gallé rhododendron blownout vase with a pre-sale estimate of $8,000-12,000. It wasn’t the best example, with only fair color. Regardless of my opinion, the lot doubled its high estimate to sell for $25,000.

Daum Dragonfly table lamp, Hindman lot #28A

The most important French cameo lot of the sale was #28A, a Daum lamp with applied and wheel-carved dragonflies. It had several problems — weak color, a missing dragonfly tail, reproduction hardware, and finally a shortened base. Never mind the problems, don’t get in the way of a moving freight train. This auction was hot and there was no stopping it. The lamp realized $47,500, approximately five times the high estimate of $9,000.

I haven’t raised my prices on French cameo glass, but if other auction houses start having similar results, I will. Let me know what interests you, before that happens. For the complete results of this exciting sale, click here.

Next month we’ll be working from home base, exhibiting at the NYC Pier Show, November 23-24, 2013. The show is under new management, U.S. Antique Shows, which usually portends improvements. It will be our last show of the year, followed by the important Florida shows in January and February.

Fantastic Tiffany Favrile blue decorated vase, just in

Click here to view my new website and look around. We always strive to offer the finest objects for sale on our website and at every show. There are many items for sale, sold items with prices and free lessons about glass and lamps.

The results of the Overland Park Antique Show, October 25-27, 2013

Posted on October 28, 2013 by Philip Chasen

Overland Park International Trade Center

It’s Sunday afternoon at 4:20 PM as I write this blog. The Overland Park Antique Show was a reasonable success, with enough sold and bought to make us want to return next July, on the way to the Denver show.

I had many preconceptions about the show, none of which were accurate. The show is in a modern exhibition facility that permits vehicles to enter. That’s important for a few reasons — first, we’re not subject to the weather; second, we don’t have to dolly the inventory into and out of the building, saving a lot of time; third, security becomes a non-issue.

Bought this rare Tiffany Studios decorated 3-light lily lamp at the show

We decided to exhibit at the show because it immediately followed the Winnetka, IL show and made geographic sense. The show also changed management, which is almost always a good thing. The new promoter, Chris Miller, is a show dealer, so he knows the business from the inside. In the two times since he took over, the show has substantially increased in size, with better attendance. The show seems to be entering a virtuous cycle, where each successive show gets better through a feedback loop of more dealers, better sales and more attendees. Unfortunately we won’t be back for the March show, but we will for the July show.

I’ll give you a little insight into why we left this show with good feelings. Our booth was huge and the rent was low — a rare combination. We were truly impressed with the hospitality of the locals. I can’t tell you how many people came into our booth to compliment us on our display and to thank us for coming. It was totally unexpected and very gratifying. One couple drove up from Dallas, Texas, 9½ hours, specifically to see us. Wow! Thanks. There was lots of interest from knowledgeable people, even if they didn’t make a purchase this time. Maybe next.

Thursday’s blog will cover the very strong Leslie Hindman 20th Century Decorative Arts auction. French cameo glass was ON FIYAH! Next Monday’s post will be from a guest contributor from England.

Next month we’ll be working from home base, exhibiting at the NYC Pier Show, November 23-24, 2013. The show is under new management, U.S. Antique Shows, which usually portends improvements. That will be our last show of the year, followed by the important Florida shows in January and February.

Fantastic Tiffany Favrile blue decorated vase, just in

Setting up at the Overland Park Antique Show, October 23, 2013

Posted on October 24, 2013 by Philip Chasen

We’re just getting started

Today, we started to set up our first show ever in the Kansas City area. It’s the Overland Park Antique Show, to be held at the International Trade Center in Overland Park, KS. It opens to the public on Friday, October 25, at 10 AM and continues until Sunday, October 27, 2013, at 4 PM.

Just bought this rare Tiffany Studios decorated 3-light lily lamp

We’ve got a lot riding on this show. If it goes well, we’ll try again next summer on the way to Denver. If we decide not to return, we won’t make a dedicated trip to Denver. It will also impact our decision to exhibit again at the Winnetka Antiques Show next October, which will be held the week before the Overland Park Antique Show. The results of the show will help us decide how to juggle our show schedule, which changes as we add new possibilities and eliminate laggards. Tune in Monday for the results.

In the meantime, Leslie Hindman held a 20th Century Decorative Arts auction today with French glass, which was ON FIYAH! I’ll cover the results in full next Thursday.

Next month we’ll be working from home base, exhibiting at the NYC Pier Show, November 23-24, 2013. The show is under new management, U.S. Antique Shows, which usually portends improvements. That will be our last show of the year, followed by the important Florida shows in January and February.

Fantastic Tiffany Favrile blue decorated vase, just in

The results of the Antiques + Modernism Winnetka show, October 18-20, 2013

Posted on October 21, 2013 by Philip Chasen

My lovely wife is busy with her iPad

I’m writing this blog at 2 PM on Sunday. As of this moment, the show is not going well, and will probably end with a break even result. It’s definitely not fun. Perhaps a white knight will come before the end of the day and change the result.

Some of the Tiffany glass on display in my booth

The show has been slow, with light attendance each day. The hours were unbearably long, starting with a preview party on Thursday night, followed by 23 hours open to the public, from Friday to Sunday. Some shows have shortened from three days to two days, just for that reason. Shortening the hours of a show forces people to come at the same time and adds a little excitement. It’s also far less stressful and costly to the dealers. I strongly suggest the promoters shorten this show to two days.

Some of the Daum vases on display

I haven’t had much luck transferring my many clients in the greater Chicago area from the defunct Arlington Racetrack show to the Winnetka show. I’m sure it would have gone better if more of them had shown up. The jury is still out as to whether we’ll return next year. We’ll make that decision later.

UPDATE. 5 PM Sunday. The show has closed. No white knight, but we made a couple of sales between 2 PM and 5 PM, so the show turned a small profit. A gentleman also brought in a Tiffany lamp that he may sell to me. If he does, the show will have worked out well.

Next month we’ll be working from home base, exhibiting at the NYC Pier Show, November 23-24, 2013. That will be our last show of the year, followed by the wonderful Florida shows in January and February.

Fantastic Tiffany Favrile blue decorated vase, just in

Setting up at the Antiques + Modernism Winnetka show

Posted on October 17, 2013 by Philip Chasen

Our booth is taking shape

The Antiques + Modernism Winnetka show will open tonight with a preview party (whoopdee doo!). I’ve never been a fan of preview parties, but some are better than others, especially if the food and drink are good. I recall they’re pretty good in Winnetka.

Another exhibitor is putting the final touches on his booth

We moved our booth (again!). Our new location is called an end cap (open on three sides), in a very good location. Last year we were in the gymnasium, that many people never found. Our new booth is a little small and cramped, but still nice.

I hope many of our greater Chicago clients come and visit us at the show, especially since the Arlington Racetrack show is no more. We’ll see how the show goes and report about it in my Monday blog. The show looks great, with a nice variety of high-quality exhibitors. I’ve brought some really fine items that I’ve recently purchased, so I encourage you to come and visit!

Next week we’re off to Overland Park, KS to exhibit at the Overland Park Antique Show in the International Trade Center. The show will be open to the public from Friday, October 25th – Sunday, October 27th. It will be our first time there and hopefully it will go well. If it does, we’ll exhibit there again next summer, on the way to the Denver show, the following week.

Wonderful 12″ Daum rain scenic vase, just in

A Swiss air show adventure at the top of a mountain

Posted on October 14, 2013 by Philip Chasen

If you follow my blog, you know that we were in Parma, Italy to attend a huge antiques fair, at the invitation of the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce Southeast (IACC) and the Fiere di Parma. After the show, we decided to take a side trip to Switzerland — land of the Alps and infinite scenic beauty.

The peak is 30 minutes away. Look for the white porta potties at the top, in the distance

Trying to figure out what to do on our trip, I searched the Internet and found out there would be a Swiss air show nearby on the dates we would be in Switzerland. Did you know Switzerland has an active military? I didn’t. Everyone’s heard of Swiss Army knives, but that was just a name. Why do they need a military? They never fight any wars. They guard the pope, but I didn’t think they do anything else. Seems like a good job to join the Swiss military, knowing you’re never going to fight in a war. However, domestic search and rescue, as well as peacekeeping missions around the world, are part of their job.

The show was scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, October 9th and 10th. The concierge at our hotel called to get information and found out we could go on Tuesday, October 8th. It was a practice day for the show, unadvertised, but still the same show. Great! We went.

The crowd at the peak is awaiting the start of the show

All we would have to do is get to the top of the Axalp mountain. No problem! The road to Axalp was closed on Wednesday and Thursday, but not on Tuesday. So off we drove up a winding mountain road to the Axalp. Everyone was prepared for a crowd, even on Tuesday. We had to pay 12 Swiss francs (CHF) to park. (They don’t use the euro in Switzerland.) Then we stopped for some breakfast in a lovely local restaurant, and proceeded to the chair lift, also 12 CHF each. You see how easy it is to get to the top? They even gave us free Swiss Army caps for the cold at the top and ear plugs for the jet noise. The chair lift was a long ride, so how far could the top be?

The show in underway

We reached the end of the chair lift about 15 minutes later to find we still had a hike of 90 minutes to get to the top. Nobody bothered to give us any details. In the US, trails are usually marked easy, moderate, or difficult. In Switzerland, there are mountains everywhere, so they don’t bother much with trails or markings. You’re Swiss, mountains are a way of life, so get on with it. By the way, what is the next designation after difficult? There was no path, nothing flat, nothing smooth. We were in the clouds at that elevation and the grassy surface was getting muddy, making it even more difficult to climb. After 30 minutes or so, the terrain changed from moderate to steep. We had to stop every few steps to recover because of the altitude and because we weren’t in shape. It was exhausting, with no guarantee there would even be a show. If the fog didn’t clear, there would be no show. I had confidence the overhead sun would burn off the fog by the 2 PM start time. At around 7000 feet, some blue sky appeared and then the weather got better. By the time we reached the summit (which took us 3 hours!!), we had a spectacular view. We were above the clouds, sitting in a mountain meadow, looking at the Alps. There was a concession stand and portable toilets at the top — pretty classy.

Gorgeous!

The announcer (they were set up with loudspeakers) told us we could set our watches for 2 PM, for the first flyby. True to his word, the first jet streaked by at 2:00 PM. The show was underway and it was great fun. The announcer thoughtfully made some announcements in English. After 30 minutes, the fog rolled back in and then it seemed we switched from fog to clear every 10 minutes. The 90-minute show was cut short, but at least we got to see some of it.

Lia is having a tough time on the way down

Now for the good part — going down. If we thought going up was difficult, it was a piece of cake compared to going down. Now we were completely in the clouds. The condensation was dripping from my hair. The path down was even more slippery. Lia fell a few times and was so miserable, she almost cried. One Swiss gentleman saw Lia’s distress and insisted on helping her down the entire climb to the chair lift. I insisted on buying beers for everyone, including the gentleman and his two friends.

We were in the middle of the clouds on the way down

That was it for the mountain, the Swiss air show, and Switzerland. Lia had had enough. She wanted out, so we left a day early to return to Italy. Switzerland is a beautiful place, with great people, but it was time to leave. It’s also very expensive. A New York $20 Thai lunch was $60 in Switzerland.

Now we’re off to Chicago to exhibit at the Winnetka Community House, this Friday to Sunday, October 18-20. The show opens to the public at 11 AM on Friday and continues until 5 PM on Sunday. We recently bought some great items, all of which we’ll have at the show, so please come and visit!

Wonderful 12″ Daum rain scenic vase, just in

Norman Rockwell painting, The Song of Bernadette, to be sold at Heritage Auctions’ Illustration Art Signature ® auction, October 26, 2013

Posted on October 10, 2013 by Philip Chasen

Norman Rockwell’s The Song of Bernadette, Heritage lot #78138

Heritage Auctions’ will hold their Illustration Art Signature ® auction on October 26, 2013. Included in the sale will be Norman Rockwell’s famous painting The Song of Bernadette, which was originally commissioned to publicize the 1945 movie of the same name, starring Jennifer Jones. It is one of Rockwell’s most reproduced works. The painting is expected to be the top lot of the sale, selling for millions.

Jesse Wilcox Smith’s A Child’s Prayer, Heritage lot #78153

Other important artists included in the sale will be J.C. Leyendecker, Jessie Willcox Smith, Stevan Dohanos, Dean Cornwell, Gil Elvgren and Alberto Vargas.

Gil Elvgren’s Lucky Dog, Heritage lot #78071

Gil Elvgren’s works are usually met with enthusiasm and spirited bidding. Lot #78071 will feature Elvgren’s 1958 painting, Lucky Dog, considered by many to be one of his best. It is likely to exceed its pre-sale estimate of $50,000 – $75,000.

For more information on the sale, click here.

Wonderful 12″ Daum rain scenic vase, just in

A visit to the Parma Merchant’s Fair, October 3-5, 2013

Posted on October 7, 2013 by Philip Chasen

Loading in at the Parma show at the Thursday opening

To say the least, this has been a memorable trip, with some nice highs and some unpleasant lows. If you follow my blog, you know that I was invited to attend the Mercanteinfiera Parma (Parma Merchant’s Fair), which included airfare and hotel. It opened to dealers only on Thursday, October 3rd. Basically it’s a unique combination of the Brimfield and Miami Beach shows. As in Brimfield, the exhibitors unload and set up at the same time outside dealers wander about. As in Miami, the show is indoors and opens to the public after the first two days of setup.

Lia is in front of a fabulous garden display at the show

The show is very large, with about 1,000 exhibitors, spread out over three huge buildings. That may sound gigantic, but it’s my understanding the show used to be even larger a few years ago, filling six buildings. I suppose that’s why the fair is sponsoring outside dealers to attend the show. That would be great if an American city were to do the same thing for its big shows, like Miami Beach, but the odds of that happening are just about nil.

An amazing 8′ tall building model, sold at the show

Unfortunately, we had a couple of nasty problems, the worst of which was losing our passports. What grief! We had to spend all day Friday driving to and from the American Consulate in Milan to get emergency passports. That made it impossible to visit the show on Friday. Then amazingly on Saturday, we received a call from the police department in Milan, notifying us that our passports were found. What great news! What terrible timing! If only they had called the day before. Regardless, we were thrilled to get back our portfolio and made whole again. The portfolio contained our passports, some documents and a SIM card for my phone. Phew!

Need a litter for an aristocrat in your family?

Shopping the show was interesting. Our main focus was to buy good quality French glass by Daum or Gallé, but that proved impossible. We did find some Gallé and Daum, but none were the quality or the price we were looking for. Everything I already have in inventory is better quality and priced better than what we found. So what did we buy? A 1960s Pan Am model airplane; a beautifully painted enamel on copper plaque of Leda and the Swan; a wonderful Sandoz ceramic fish; a period glass Coca-Cola tray; and five 1920s German bisque naughty dolls — not what you expect to find in our booth at a show, but different and interesting.

A similar German bisque bathing beauty to the five we purchased

Now for the story of the German naughties. We were running out of time on Saturday, our last day at the show. We found a booth with five 1920s German bisque naughty dolls, with original wigs and clothing. They were all in amazingly good condition, except for minor damage to one. Lia paid $2,000 for a similar one a few months back, so we asked the price. We were prepared to pay $1,200 for one. The dealer said he wanted to sell them as a group. How much, you ask? $550!!! I couldn’t believe it was for the whole group, but it was. Dealers clearly remember every single time they make a score and this was one of them. Lia was on a high for hours. Fortunately for her and unfortunately for me, Lia collects them, so the profit will not be realized for a long time.

Wonderful 12″ Daum rain scenic vase, just in

Philip Chasen Antiques

The blog for chasenantiques.com

Monthly Archives: October 2013

French cameo glass was on fire at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers 20th Century Decorative Arts auction, Thursday, October 23, 2013

The results of the Overland Park Antique Show, October 25-27, 2013

Setting up at the Overland Park Antique Show, October 23, 2013

The results of the Antiques + Modernism Winnetka show, October 18-20, 2013

Setting up at the Antiques + Modernism Winnetka show

A Swiss air show adventure at the top of a mountain

Norman Rockwell painting, The Song of Bernadette, to be sold at Heritage Auctions’ Illustration Art Signature ® auction, October 26, 2013

A visit to the Parma Merchant’s Fair, October 3-5, 2013