Collectables Trader 97

MARCH – APRIL 2011

97TH EDITION

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A u s t r a l a s i a ’s l e a d i n g a n t i q u e s a n d c o l l e c t a b l e s m a g a z i n e

Pop culture:

COMIC COLLECTABLES the iconic Batman: a gothic superhero

AUST $9.95 NZ $13.95

Investment plus: collecting

NUMISMATICS Follow the auction trail

What makes

ARABIA PORCELAIN so collectable?

Identifying makers & marks

AUSTRALIANA

Australia’s racing history in silver Grace Seccombe’s ceramics

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Batman: a Gothic Superhero John Harrison From Finland: Arabia porcelain in Australia Hans Werker World War I medals of James Woolwright Peter Lane Postcards offer limitless collecting possibilities Rob Ditessa The art of furniture restoration Patrick O’Leary Collecting early typewriters Martin Howard Precious Amber Melody Amsel-Arieli A hot collectable: children’s lunch boxes Suzy Bender

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SPECIAL FEATURE: THREE AUSTRALIAN ARTISANS 16

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Appreciating Grace Seccombe’s ceramics Mavin Hurnall & Megan Martin Australia’s early racing history recorded in silver: The Junius cup Rathicca Chandra William Howitt: woodcarver of distinction Dr Dorothy Erickson

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INVESTMENT AND COLLECTING: AUSTRALIAN NUMISMATICS 55 62

The history of square coins A numismatic auction reviewed Peter Lane

TRAVEL FEATURE 58

Exploring Singapore’s heritage Dr Margaret D McNiven

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OUT & ABOUT

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REGULAR FEATURES 42 43 45 76 79 80 82 87 88

Online magazines Conundrum Collectables fairs Recent books for collectors Collectables subscription Bulletin board Marketplace: buy and sell Advertising rates Advertisers’ Index

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WIN conundrum enter our prize draw See page 43

COLLECTABLES Trader 3

Batmania: Collecting the Dark Knight

A GOTHIC SUPERHERO While he may not have been the first American superhero, Batman is still arguably the most popular, complex and interesting of the many icons of comic books’ pop culture landscape, as well as one of its most collected

JOHN HARRISON

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REATED IN 1939 BY ARTIST Bob Kane (with some help from writer Bill Finger), Batman first appeared in the pages of Detective Comics #27 and was influenced more by film noir crime movies and classic pulp magazines like The Shadow and The Spider than the usual fantasy/science-fiction based comic books that were beginning to flood the stands around this time.

THE STORYLINE Its hero is a brooding millionaire

6 COLLECTABLES Trader

playboy who disguises himself as a bat in order to strike fear into the criminals he swears to fight after witnessing the murder of his parents as a young boy. This dark tone of the Batman comics is lightened up somewhat by the arrival of his teenaged partner Robin, the Boy Wonder in April 1940.

Ensuring that the stories remained vibrant and entertaining was the increasing roster of unique, colourful villains who were being dreamed up to combat our heroes. The colourful role call included such iconic characters as The Joker, Catwoman, The Penguin, Mister Freeze and The Riddler.

From Finland to Australia

ARABIA PORCELAIN

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Kilta (later called Teema), in production since 1953. Designer: Kay Franck. The second most popular earthenware set.

Renamed Teema in1980 with small changes in colours and models

The uncluttered, clean and practical lines of Scandinavian designs appeal to Australians

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Fennia, produced 1900-1923.

Designer unknown. The patterns follow Finno-Ugric themes. Limited production of these vases makes them very rare and very expensive

12 COLLECTABLES Trader

HANS WERKER

HISTORY OF ARABIA

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In 1874 the Swedish ceramic company Rörstrand Pottery (est.

1772) founded the Arabia Finland ceramic company to penetrate the Russian market with their high quality ceramic products. They founded the company in Helsinki because at that time, Finland was a duchy of Russia (1809-1917). Strategically, it was easier to sell ceramics from Russia to Russia than from Sweden to Russia.

The company prospered until there was a downturn in trade in 1905 due to a revolution precipitated by Russia’s defeat in the RussoJapanese War (1904-5). By the 1917 Russian Revolution, there was no longer a viable Russian market.

S NOT UNUSUAL TO FIND that Australian homes have at least one piece of bone china or stoneware made by the Finnish pottery factory Arabia.

These pieces are often unrecognised as collectable and of value.

To help readers understand why the company’s early table and kitchen ware designs are held in high esteem internationally I am going to look at the early years of the company. Knowledge of the origin of these ceramics is often lost, particularly if items have been handed down by parents or perhaps grandparents.

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WILLIAM HOWITT (1846-1928)

A woodcarver of distinction

DOROTHY ERICKSON

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Held in the highest esteem by his fellow artists, Howitt had an insatiable urge to carve and was one of the finest wood carvers in Australia

OODCARVER EXTRAORDINAIRE William Howitt was born 7 July 1846 at Winton near Manchester in the United Kingdom to William Howitt, mechanic and his Spanish wife Betsy Brahma. The young Howitt studied art in Nottingham, Liverpool and London in the early1860s.

By 1866 he was employed on the restoration of ecclesiastical interiors and carving decorative elements for ships interiors. In 1886 his exhibits in the Indian and Colonial Exhibition in London earned him a bronze medal.

It is conjecture whether he met members of the Australian contingent exhibiting at the show, which might have prompted him to leave England. Whatever the motivation, together with his wife Isabella and young family of four children, they migrated to Melbourne aboard the Lusitania arriving in August 1888. Here he readily found work.

COMMISSIONS For five years Howitt had a project of commissioned furniture for St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral where he made the reading desk and pew

30 COLLECTABLES Trader

ends. Particularly striking are the bishop’s throne and the pulpit designed in the Gothic style by Joseph Reed. The pieces took seven months to carve in situ from Tasmanian blackwood. He carved the models from which were cast the bronze coats of arms on Princes Bridge.

Other ecclesiastical fixtures were a pulpit for the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St Peter and St Paul.

In 1893 he carved a reredos and altar for the church of Holy Trinity in Kew. The latter featured carved panels of the Last Supper and Christ washing the disciples’ feet.

Doors carved by Howitt were displayed to architects by the Victorian Conservator of Forests, G S Perrin who also wrote an article for the first issue of Arts & Crafts: an Illustrated Australasian Magazine of Arts, Handicrafts and Sanitation (October 1895). Titled ‘Australian Timbers for Use in the Higher Decorative Artistic Work, Cabinet Making, Fittings, Dadoes etc., with a List of the General & Species Suitable for Railway, Building, Engineering and Harbour Construction works’ Perrin pays tribute to Howitt’s skill and also illustrated is an elaborately carved long case clock made from blue gum for S J Browne’s home, Kyelah.

A COLLECTOR SHARES HIS PASSION FOR POSTCARDS Coming under the banner of cartophilia, this is an area of collecting that is limited only by imagination ROB DITESSA

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A Joyous Christmas greeting postcard, c. 1906

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IKE MANY OF OUR READERS, Eric Panther has been a collector all his life, starting as a schoolchild amassing cards from cereal boxes, and later collecting trading cards in the 1940s. The catalyst for concentrating on postcards came from a box of miscellaneous items that his wife Joyce, also an avid collector, bought at a church fete in the late 1970s, filled with numerous fascinating postcards. Eric estimates their collection now holds between four and five thousand cards.

Keen to share his knowledge and enthusiasm, Eric has held the office of President of the Australian Cartophilic Society on and off for 22 years since joining in 1980. The

word ‘cartophilic,’ he explains to Collectables was coined in the 1920s from a combination of Greek and Latin meaning ‘lover of cards.’

Unfranked or unused cards are generally in better condition. As there are no rules about collecting, one collector might favour a postcard with a corner missing, whereas another will only collect those in pristine condition.

PUTTING THE PAST INTO PERSPECTIVE Postcards were a revolution, allowing short messages to be sent efficiently, costing less than a letter and sparing the cost of an envelope. On the first day of issue in Britain in 1870, half a million postcards passed through the London postal centre.

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history in silve e’s ceramics Grace Seccomb

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WELCOME TO THE INTRUIGING WORLD OF COLLECTING Collectables is published bi-monthly with each edition bringing fresh insights and fun collecting themes. Discover the latest collecting craze; explore the quirky and traditional collectable; learn how best to start a collection. There are tips on preserving and caring for valued possessions. Read the diary and plan a visit to a fair.

More to read • Book reviews • Memorabilia • Trader: Buy & Sell

AVID COLLECTORS Sharing their prize collections with readers

REMARKABLE LEGACIES What makes for extraordinary craftsmanship? An art historian explains

TIPS, TRENDS AND SHORTCUTS Words of wisdom from collectors who share their valuable insights that can only be gained by years of collecting

HERITAGE AND HISTORY Medals are special and memorable – whether for bravery under fire, sporting, services to community – each is unique.

A collecting journey that takes the reader from local to global

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IDENTIFYING 20TH CENTURY CERAMICS Learn why Finnish pottery is so highly valued by experts