Category Archives: Martin Brothers

The market in Martin Brothers stoneware is alive and well

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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.

An incredible Martin Brothers stoneware Starman

Very few people are neutral about Martin Brothers stoneware — they either love it or hate it. Those who love it put their money where their mouths are. More than a few people have put together multi-million dollar collections.

Wonderful Martin Brothers spoon warmer

One of the greatest collections ever assembled was by the California team of Harriman and Judd. They amassed some of the finest and rarest of all Martinware items, including a really great pair of birds depicting the 19th Century English politicians Disraeli and Gladstone. After Judd’s passing in 1999, the collection was sold at Sotheby’s New York over the course of a couple of years, as the collection was too vast to sell in one sale. Prices were strong at the sales until the October, 2001 sale, shortly after the 9/11 attacks.

A Martin Brothers two-faced jug

Since then, the market has done very well, with prices doubling, tripling and quadrupling for the best items. As expected, items in perfect condition bring a premium over those with restoration. However, restored items can still be valuable, depending on the item and the amount of restoration.

A very rare Martin Brothers double bird

Tobacco jars in the forms of birds, with removable heads, are the most collectible, but spoon warmers, vases and many other items are also highly desirable. The more “grotesque” the item, the better.

I’ve got several collectors who are looking to add to their collections, so I’m buying. Do you have anything for sale? Please send a photo to philchasen@gmail.com. I’ll get back to you promptly and let you know if I’m interested.
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Rare Le Verre Francais Lézards vase, 11½ inches tall

Look around my website. There are many items for sale, sold items with prices and free lessons about glass and lamps. I regularly add Tiffany vases, lamps and desk accessories, as well as French cameo glass by Galle and Daum Nancy and Louis Icart etchings. Here’s the link. chasenantiques.com

The results of the Whitman Coin and Collectibles Expo, Baltimore, MD, March 22-24, 2012

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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. This Thursday’s blog will be about the booming market in Martin Brothers stoneware.

My booth

The Whitman Coin and Collectibles Expo was held at the Baltimore Convention Center, March 22-24, 2012, but many dealers left on the 24th, as we did. It’s was a coin show, but dealers were allowed to bring additional items, under the category of “collectibles”. We exhibited there because some of the coin dealers are our clients.

The view of the show floor from my booth.

It’s not the first time we’ve exhibited at a coin show. The others were modestly profitable, so we thought we would give this one a try. Unfortunately it was a complete bust. There was interest from some of the dealers and also the public, but almost no sales. Two of the main coin dealers I hoped would buy from us never even attended the show. We wound up making one tiny sale on the last day, but we would have been much better off never coming. I think we’ll stick to traditional antique shows from now on.

Speaking of which, our next show will be at the Arlington Park Racetrack, in Arlington Heights, IL, April 13th to April 15th. I’ll be bringing some of the best Tiffany Studios table lamps I’ve had in years. In addition, I’ll have a great selection of French cameo glass, a small collection of Martin Brothers ceramics, fabulous American Illustrator paintings, a number of Icart etchings that I just acquired, and assorted wonderful odds and ends. Don’t miss the show. There’ll be something for everyone.
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Rare Le Verre Francais Lézards vase, 11½ inches tall

Look around my website. There are many items for sale, sold items with prices and free lessons about glass and lamps. I regularly add Tiffany vases, lamps and desk accessories, as well as French cameo glass by Galle and Daum Nancy and Louis Icart etchings. Here’s the link. chasenantiques.com

The Chicago Summer Antiques Show starts this week and the Baltimore Summer Antiques Fair starts next week

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The summer show season is in full gear. In July and early August, we exhibited at the Redondo Beach Antiques Show and the Pasadena Antique Show in California. In mid to late August, we’ll be in Rosemont, Illinois, for the Chicago Summer Antiques Show and then Baltimore for the Baltimore Summer Antiques Fair. Since I have less time to write about the interesting things happening in the antiques world, I am posting new blog entries once or twice a week — Mondays and Thursdays. 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.

A wonderful Martin Brothers face jug. One of the many new items I am bringing to the shows.

This week we’ll be exhibiting at the Chicago Summer Antiques Fair, which takes place at the Rosemont Convention Center in Rosemont, IL. It’s adjacent to O’Hare Airport, so it’s quite convenient if you want to fly in to visit the show. It’s not a big show, but it’s very nice quality, so it’s surely worth a visit if you live anywhere in the Greater Chicago area. The show opens this Friday, August 19, at noon and continues until Sunday, August 21, at 5 PM. I’m bringing the largest and best selection of Tiffany, Handel and Pairpoint lamps that I’ve brought to any show in many years, including a gorgeous Tiffany Studios 7-light lily and a super Tiffany Studios 20″ diameter Arrowroot. Additionally, I’m bringing a deep selection of the finest in French cameo glass by Daum Nancy and Emile Galle, and American glass by Tiffany Studios, Quezal, and Steuben. I will also have a great selection of American ceramics by Rookwood, Grueby, Van Briggle and others, as well as an amazing collection of Louis Icart etchings, including some extremely rare ones, including Mardi Gras, Melody Hour, Miss America and others.

A very rare Tiffany Studios 7-inch diameter blue Favrile counterbalance table lamp

The following week, the whole antiques world moves to Baltimore for the biggest and best show of the summer. The Baltimore Summer Antiques Fair is not only huge, but super high quality, with some of the best antique dealers in the country, some of whom exhibit at very few shows during the entire year. Thousands of buyers travel to this show from all over the world, including many from Europe and Japan. If they can travel to Baltimore from Japan, you can travel to the show from anywhere.

A view of a small portion of the exhibitors at the Baltimore Summer Antiques Show

Not only is the show exciting, but the downtown area of Baltimore has undergone an a complete revival in the twenty years since I’ve been doing the show. It’s almost unrecognizable from what it used to be. There’s lots to do at the Inner Harbor, the National Aquarium, the Maryland Science Center, Harborplace and the Gallery, cruises on the Inner Harbor, Little Italy, etc., etc. And don’t forget to eat crabs at world-famous Obrycki’s of Baltimore.

The Baltimore Aquarium at night in the Inner Harbor

Very rare Louis Icart etching entitled Mardi Gras

Check out my new acquisitions. I just listed quite a few Tiffany, Handel and Pairpoint lamps. I also listed some very rare Louis Icart etchings including Miss America and Mardi Gras; a gorgeous Daum Nancy pink floral vase; several fine Daum vases; a Daum lamp; several Galle vases; and several more Tiffany Favrile vases. Soon I’ll be listing a wonderful Tiffany Studios 7-light lily lamp with beautiful shades and a fine patina. Also coming soon will be several wonderful European ceramic items by Clement Massier, Zsolnay and Amphora. Here’s the link. chasenantiques.com

Martinware does well at Skinner’s European Furniture & Decorative Arts sale, July 9, 2011

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Lots of interesting things have been happening in the antiques world recently. Since I have a bit more time to write about them during the spring and summer, I will be posting new blog entries twice a week, instead of once — Mondays and Thursdays for the next few weeks. So make sure you come back often and tell your friends about my blog!

Skinner’s held their European Furniture & Decorative Arts sale on Saturday, July 9, 2011. In among the diverse offerings were two lots by the Martin Bros. of London & Southall, England. Works by the Martin Brothers have been popular and highly sought after for decades. What’s interesting is that the earlier items from the 1870s and 1880s are fairly undesirable in today’s market. Why, you may ask? Because they’re not “grotesque” — a big compliment in the world of Martinware. Early stoneware items were, for lack of a better word, ordinary. They mostly depicted realistic looking flowers and birds. At some point in the mid to late 1880s, the brothers started producing wares that were strange and zany with fantastic creatures. They also created bird tobacco jars with wonderfully eccentric faces. These are the types of grotesque items that today’s collectors eagerly seek.

Martin Bros. ewer with fish decoration, Skinner's lot #64

Skinner’s lot #64 was a Martin Bros. ewer from 1884, with fish decoration. The decoration shows the direction that they would begin to take a few years later. In this example, the fish are realistically depicted. As a result, I assumed the lot would not do well, but it did. Realistically estimated to sell for $2,500 – $3,500, it reached $4,148, including buyer’s premium.

A later Martin Bros. vase with 'grotesque' fish decoration, not in the Skinner's auction, but illustrated for comparison

Rare miniature Martin Bros. bird jar -- Skinner's lot #65

The next lot, #65, was a rare miniature bird tobacco jar, with removable head, only 3½” tall. It more than quadrupled it’s pre-sale estimate of $1,200 – $1,800, to sell for $9,480, including buyer’s premium — impressive for such a tiny example, but not surprising.

For the complete results of the auction, click on the following link. Skinner’s Decorative Arts results.

Rare Louis Icart etching Miss America

Check out my new acquisitions. I just listed a very rare Louis Icart etching, entitled “Miss America”, plus a gorgeous Daum Nancy pink floral vase; a rare Tiffany Studios desk lamp in the Spanish pattern; several fine Daum vases; a Daum lamp; several Galle vases; and several more Tiffany Favrile vases. Soon I’ll be listing a wonderful Tiffany Studios 7-light lily lamp with beautiful shades and a fine patina. Also coming soon will be several wonderful European ceramic items by Clement Massier, Zsolnay and Amphora. Here’s the link. chasenantiques.com