Ct110 july 2013 629470

JULY - AUG 2013

EDITION 110

trader 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

A COLLECTING CHALLENGE Bin wine labels & prison peepholes unusual & collectable

THE PRINTED WORD Why savvy collectors know it is irreplaceable

AMERICANA IN AUSTRALIA Easily sourced Politics to folk art to Hollywood

MORE ON TOXICS What are you sitting on?

Buy antique & avoid the allergy effect

Graham Lancaster Auctions

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Friday 16th August 2013 (Panthers Sports Club, Penrith NSW)

Ph: 0418 730 904

Quality Bottles & Stoneware

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Saturday 5th October 2013

View Catalogue & Photos One Month Prior to Each Sale at www.gdlauctions.com.au

(Kelly Park, Werribee VIC) ‘The Towe Collection’ of Antique Bottles

WE AUCTION We are Australia’s leading auction house for: ◆ Australiana, pottery and carnival glass ◆ Advertising signs, tins and pub mirrors ◆ Antique bottles and stoneware Sold $6,650

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◆ Antique Bottles ◆ Advertising Signs ◆ Australiana & Pottery We pay top cash prices for good collectables!

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t is very interesting where objects and artworks long thought to be lost turn up. Our colonial rediscovered finds are cases in point. Tim McCormick highlights the detective work involved in discovering how James Wallis’ album of watercolours with paintings by well-known convict artist Joseph Lycett was found hidden in an old wardrobe in Canada. It is believed to be the most significant pictorial artefact to have been made during the 1810s.

Created around the same time and also featuring the artistry of Lycett, a special presentation piece, known as the Macquarie Collector’s Chest, is also well-preserved having spent a spell in an attic in a Scottish Highlands castle before being repatriated. The chest is an excellent example of a cabinet of curiosity, which housed fascinating displays of specimens and exotic items. A number of interesting European examples are described by Melody Amsel-Arieli.

As well as the British influence, there is a growing appreciation on how Australian culture has often been impacted by America. So it is not surprising that there is a surging interest in Americana here, from movie-related memorabilia through to folk art such as scrimshaw carvings.

Continuing on the theme of cross cultural impact is Eleanor Keene's article on how publications associated with the iconic MGM film The Wizard of Oz, based on L. Frank Baum’s 1900 book, continue to attract collectors as well as readers.

Changing direction to the functional are wine bin labels and prison peep holes. Selling bottled wine and labelling bottles was illegal in the 19th century so bin label signs were needed to identify the liquor in cellars. They were made by such significant potteries as Minton, Spode, Wedgwood and Coalport.

Also from the 19th century are gaol peepholes. Peter Lane follows the trail of collectors of these unusual items from Port Arthur to Pentridge and Fremantle gaols. They are a window into social history and can command high prices, as can cricket memorabilia. After almost 50 years of collecting, cricket expert Ken Piesse continues to find undetected treasures such as an autographed Donald Bradman photograph in a local jumble sale. He offers sage advice on which titles and limited editions are of most value.

Good advice is also given by Roy Williams who details how some lines of furniture made midcentury could harbour health hazards – another reason for collectors to invest in antique and vintage pieces. For some, the idea of collecting glass coloured with uranium may be of concern. This is addressed by John Frith who discusses how uranium glass – or Vaseline glass as it is often knownderives its colour from uranium oxide.

From the domestic to the exotic, our travel feature on the islands of West Papua uncovers some amazing artefacts. Melissa Rimac's visit to this time-frozen sanctuary shows how such places can be a goldmine for collectors, finding a myriad of exciting objects including VOC (United East India Company) embossed coins, cutlery and locks.

So no matter what your interest, Collectables promises fresh and fascinating feature articles from dedicated collectors, experts and journalists – something for everyone.

Eva Jaku

I

CONTRIBUTORS Melody Amsel-Arieli is an Israeli-American freelance writer on art, collectables, genealogy, history and more. Her most recent book is Jewish Lives: Britain 1750-1950 (Pen & Sword).

Dr John Frith is recently retired as a university lecturer in environmental health. He has been collecting Victorian coloured glass for 30 years and his collection includes British, European and American free-blown and pressed glass, as well as Victorian uranium and Vaseline glass.

Christopher Hughes is originally from Canada and is the managing director of The Antique Guild, Brisbane. He is an avid collector of Art Deco sterling silver Damian Kalmar from Kalmar Antiques in the Queen Victoria Building Sydney, has been dealing in antique jewellery, wrist and pocket watches for over 20 years and is a gemmologist and registered jewellery valuer.

Eleanor Keene originally trained as a period costume designer for film and television, earned a Masters Degree in History of Textiles and Dress, formerly headed the Costume and Textile Department for Bonhams UK and now freelances in the auction and textile industries from her Sydney base.

Peter Lane is a respected numismatist and Secretary of the Numismatic Association of Australia He lives in South Australia where he undertakes research on coins, medals and other numismatic objects.

Tim McCormick is an antiquarian book dealer and art dealer in Sydney, with expertise in Australian maps, prints, manuscripts, photographs, paintings and drawings before 1900; and Australian colonial art and ephemera to 1870.

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Joshua O'Donnell is head of operations at Brisbane's The Antique Guild. He has a special interest in 19th century European furniture.

Ken Piesse is one of Australia’s foremost cricket writers and commentators. He is the author of 67 books, his most recent publication is Great Ashes Moments. A cricket collector for 50 years he has a specialist website www.cricketbooks.com.au Michael Preeston is a serious collector of antiques who came across wine bin labels during one of his regular visits back to his home country of England. He became intrigued with them and started to explore their origins and has been collecting them for the last 10 years.

Melissa Rimac is a part Sydney, part mid-north coast based photojournalist who loves sharing her passion for travel, art, architecture and nature. She frequently bemoans the fact that there is simply never enough wall space to hang all the artefacts she collects.

Roy Williams is a noted antique dealer, author and principal of Roy’s Antiques in historic Fitzroy, Melbourne’s oldest suburb. He specialises in 18th and 19th century English, French and other European furniture, hallmarked silver and Imperial Russian silver and icons.

CONTENTS KNOWLEDGE BASE

FEATURE ARTICLES 12

78

Return to Oz The original Wizard publication

The art of the Netsuke:

70

Collecting Americana in Australia

small Japanese

continues to inspire collectors

There's an increasing interest in art and

ornaments comprise

Eleanor Keene

objects made in America

a big tradition

Joshua O'Donnell & Christopher Hughes

SERIES FEATURE: COLLECTING SAFELY 6

SPECIAL INTEREST 18

British bin labels How Minton and Wedgwood

Is your furniture poisoning you?

pottery were amongst the

A good reason to buy

variety of materials used

antique and vintage

Michael Preeston

Roy Williams

30

Indian colonial furniture Local craftsmen

24

Major James Wallis' album The discovery of an Australian colonial treasure in Canada

combined European and

54

Indian characteristics into

Uranium glass

unique creations

From works of art to

Tim McCormick

Melody Amsel-Arieli

everyday domestic objects, uranium was often used as a colorant Dr John Frith

TRAVEL FEATURE 40

58

The original time app: pocket watch cases How fashion has always influenced their design

Exploring West Papua Where amazing artefacts can be found on these exotic islands Melissa Rimac

INVESTMENT AND COLLECTING 36

Australian prison cell peepholes An eye to the past Peter Lane

50 64

Cabinets of Curiosity These curio displays were the forerunners of museums Melody Amsel-Arieli

Cricket memorabilia Which books and cards are gaining most value Ken Piesse

REGULAR FEATURES 47 49 84 82 83 88 94 96

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Frank Lloyd Wright, Architect (1867-1959), ‘Falling Water’, 1935, interior

IS YOUR FURNITURE POISONING YOU? In this edition notable antiques dealer and expert Roy Williams looks at what you may not know about certain lines of furniture made after the mid 20th century

Ekco Model AD-65 radio designed by Wells Coates (1895-1958) manufactured by E.K. Cole & Co Ltd (Southend-on-Sea England), 1934 model, Bakelite case. Courtesy V&A

ell, probably if you are

W

non-toxic materials. Wood, brass, bronze,

reading these pages,

glass and stone provided the principal

your furniture was made

structural materials. Finishing involves

before about 1960, so

shellac (you can’t get more organic than

you may be safe. Your friends and family,

beetle secretions!), beeswax and linseed

however, may be risking their health with

oil. Upholstery comprises jute, coconut

their uninformed choices of furniture.

fibre, horsehair and feathers; covered in

They may be blissfully unaware of the

silk, wool, cotton, linen or leather.

clouds of toxic, and sometimes

arsenic green dyes in paint or upholstery

constantly inhaling.

certainly existed, but have generally not

I first started thinking about this years

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Toxic materials such as lead paint and

carcinogenic gasses, which they are

survived to the present. To a very large

ago, as a few customers would come to

degree the materials and techniques for

my shop to buy furniture, stimulated not

making furniture in wood, metal and

primarily by a love of antiques, but

stone changed very little over the 5000

forced into buying organic furniture

years up until the Industrial Revolution,

through allergies to plastics and other

from about the 1820s. Hence we have

synthetic materials.

long known how these materials react.

Organic furniture and finishes predate the 1840s

Impact of Industrial Revolution on construction methods

Furniture made before 1840 – my stock

With a vastly increased population, on a

in trade – and even up to World War II

planet that has inexplicably remained the

was predominantly made of organic and

same size, furniture manufacture change

has been essential. The

machinery for making plated tubular

developments of the Industrial

steel. Plastics were also developed,

Revolution initially changed the

including both the thermosetting,

methods of construction, rather than

inherently non-recyclable Bakelite,

the materials. Machines were

and the thermosetting plastics (that

expensive and large, so labour was

can be melted down and,

concentrated around the machine,

theoretically, re-used). Logically, but

where previously a craftsman could

to the shock of romantically-minded

carry his hand tools anywhere. Gas

sentimental persons, it was largely

lighting allowed factories to work 24

the need to utilise these wartime

hours a day.

factories in a time of peace that

Specialisation of skills in working

dictated the look of furniture design

machines meant that the worker only

in the 1920s. Hence the chromed

ever turned chair legs, or cut veneer,

tubular steel, plywood and glass

or guided the carving machines, but

furniture that characterised new

no longer engaged in every process

furniture in Europe from the 1920s

of the trade. While this did diminish

onwards.

the quality of design, and often

Manufacturing and design in Australia

production, the change in materials was principally one of proportion, rather than type.

Australia lagged behind terribly due to a poor economy. The collapse of

New materials impacted on design

the real estate boom in 1891 led to a

Iron became more prominent with

after World War II, when for the first

springs and even complete chair

time Australians could buy modern

frames, or entire pieces of furniture.

furnishings. By the middle of the 20th

The industrialisation of the weaving

century the vast majority of furniture

industry in the 1840s, with the

available in Australia was made of

dramatic drop in textile prices,

non-traditional materials.

changed the appearance of furniture and couches, sometimes diamond

Radical design changes and materials post 1920s

buttoned, appeared, with only textiles

While an ancient Egyptian of 5000

visible to the eye. These were often

years ago would recognise with ease

based on Turkish models and are still

furniture made up until at least the

named, exotically: sofa, ottoman,

1920s, after that furniture forms and

divan, etc.

types become radically different.

utterly. Now fully upholstered chairs

At the beginning of the 20th

Table clock, c.1825, made of wood, shellac, gold, bronze, brass, glass and stone

deep recession that did not lift till

Radiograms, cocktail cabinets,

century, however, the materials used

televisions, coffee tables, etc were all

in furniture began to change

new forms. The major new materials

dramatically, with some frightening

in the last century (in addition to

results. The old Egyptian invention of

steel, plywood, and glass), were the

plywood flourished with mechanical

wood substitutes, chipboard and its

veneer sawing and developments in

later refinement, MDF, plastics,

the chemistry of adhesives. The

including plastic laminates simulating

military aeroplane industry of World

wood, marble and other materials,

War I demanded plywood production.

and upholstery foams.

The other, often neglected war

Not all these new inventions would

machine of the Great War, the

prove successful. In the 1970s nearly

bicycle, ensured a boom in

every household would have had a

CollectablesTrader 7

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MODERN UPHOLSTERY Synthetics Modern and contemporary upholstered furniture is, however, more threatening and less easy to avoid. Almost universally furniture will be stuffed with a padding of synthetic latex, or polyurethane foam. Both constantly give off noxious gasses.

Natural latex Natural latex, or rubber, can be made into a resilient foam suitable for upholstery and was used extensively from the 1930s to the 1960s. Natural latex is anti-microbial, naturally Two of a set of 6 Sheraton George III mahogany dining chairs, c.1790, neoclassical design of timeless elegance, features square channelled back, enclosing three beautifully carved splats, the chair rail surmounted by a carved arcaded strip, the legs are square section, tapered and finish with a spade foot. Value: $8250 the set

Hidden toxins in MDF Now just about any table top or cupboard is made of chipboard or MDF. These large dimensionally stable panels are made of shredded or

mould and mildew. It is also biodegradable. This is what you will probably find in original mid-century modern furniture such as

powdered wood, set in a resin.

Featherston chairs.

cabinet made from painted masonite

Medium density fiberboard (MDF)

(compressed fibre board). The doors

constantly exudes formaldehyde as a

Beware of synthetic latex: SBR

were usually a pressed quilted

gas. This can aggravate asthma and

Unfortunately, synthetic latex, also

pattern, and the thin panels slid in

other lung conditions, irritate mucous

known as styrene-butadiene rubber

aluminium channels. Common as

membranes, and cause contact

mud in the 70s, they have almost

dermatitis. Studies on this chemical

completely vanished only a scant 30

also suggest that it is a likely

years later. A triumph of ephemera!

carcinogen, and it should be

Child’s chair by Charles & Ray Eames (USA), c. 1945, moulded colour stained plywood

generally avoided.

natural product. It is derived from petroleum and is, predictably, flammable. Foam can include SBR flame retardants that can themselves be harmful to human health.

On more functional surfaces

Polyurethane-based foam is 2/3

melamine laminate is used.

polyurethane and 1/3 isocyanate.

Fortunately, it appears the toxic

Isocyanates have a harmful impact

formaldehyde and urea in melamine

on health, including, irritation of skin

stays put. Regrettably, furniture that

and nose, difficulty breathing, and

looks vaguely like wood these days is

chest tightness. They include

usually depressing. It is usually

compounds that are classified as

manufactured board covered with a

potential human carcinogens, and are

plastic film printed with a photograph

known to cause cancer in animals.

of a wood such as Cherry. I fear the

Polyurethane foam is very durable

and that the best furniture now is metal, glass, plastic, and stone.

CollectablesTrader

(SBR), has largely replaced the

About melamine

great age of wooden furniture is over,

8

hypoallergenic and resists dust mites,

and will last a very long time in a landfill, as it is not biodegradable.

when soy is present at higher levels it produces an undesirable, burnt smell.

Probably, soy is best left on the plate.

Questions to ask Next time you buy furniture, make sure you don’t just test for comfort and elegance: ask what it is made of.

Naturally, I will encourage you to buy antique furniture: I have a vested interest! However, it is not just aesthetes who abhor antique furniture mummified in polyurethane varnish, stuffed with synthetic foam, or upholstered in vinyl.

A good reason to buy vintage and antique!

Soy foam - also a problem Soy foam! Fantastic! Or perhaps not.

Soy foam is actually made the same way as the polyurethane based foam, with 20% of the mixture being replaced as soy product. So the foam is 20% soy, 33% isocyanates, and 47% polyurethane. Due to the polyurethane content, the foam still requires the toxic flame retardants and the foam contains the same level of isocyanates.

Currently, soy foam also biodegrades at the same rate as polybased foam. The reason for the low percentage of soy content is that

Extra brownie points accrue for buyers of antiques as they are artisanal: handmade, start to finish, by craftsmen with hand tools, before soulless factory mass production.

Extra-vintage furniture has now recycled itself through at least four generations. If it is sourced locally, carbon miles are saved. Antiques arrive in trucks under a blanket, belted safely in. There is no single use packaging such as styrofoam and plastic bags, as with new furniture.

Being primarily concerned here with health and safety, it is of no consequence that antique and vintage furniture costs less than the price of making a new duplicate. Is it?

B3 (Wassily) chair designed by Marcel Breuer (1902-1981), 1925, chromium-plated steel, leather

CollectablesTrader 9

This rare and important ladies’ pocket watch, c.1910 formerly the property of a Russian aristocrat, is by the watch supplier to the Russian Imperial Court, Pavel (Paul) Buhre. Beautifully enamelled, the 18ct gold case is enriched with diamonds. The guilloche enamel is in mauve, the favourite colour of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, and no doubt intended as a compliment to her. The enamel is further enriched with painted flowers, and with a 1911 presentation date within the case, diameter: 3cm. $5,500

G e o rg i a n & C o n t i n e n t a l F u r n i t u r e • Po r c e l a i n

Silver • Ikons • Paintings • Imperial Russian

www.Roys-Antiques.com.au

410 Queens Parade Clifton Hill Vic 61 3 9489 8467

Fyans Cottage COLLECTABLES

LEGACY COLLECTION CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF MOORCROFT 1913 – 2013

170 Moorabool Street, Geelong, Victoria 3220 P: 03 5229 7006 F: 03 5222 3362 E: fyanscottage@bigpond.com.au www.fyanscottage.com.au Hours: weekdays 9.30 am to 5.00 pm Saturday 9.30 am to 1.00 pm. After hours by appointment

RETURN TO OZ a history of the journey The iconic 1939 MGM film The Wizard of Oz, one of the best-known stories in American popular culture was based on L. Frank Baum's charming 1900 publication, one of a canon of 14 Oz books which inspired younger generations and continues to do so through today's collectors

Eleanor Keene

grew up a child of the ’80s; I was about

I

seven years old when the Disney film Return to Oz was released and remember with great excitement going

to see the film, and later having my dad buy me the accompanying film book from the school book club. I think this was the start of my Oz obsession, and so my dad, being the wonderful father that he is, dutifully read to me every night before bed from the collection of Oz books; and when I say books – I mean the whole 14 that L. Frank Baum wrote!

When many people think of Oz they recall the Wizard of Oz and nothing more but the magic that came alive in these fantasy fairytales of a faraway land where animals spoke, people didn’t age and little girls ran the land invoked my imagination.

It was the female leads in the Oz books

that had the power, went on adventure and

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ruled. Growing up in the ’80s, an age of women’s power dressing and empowerment with a feminist upbring and education, I was brought up to believe, like Dorothy and Ozma, I could do anything.

From chickens to prose L. (Lyman) Frank Baum (18561919) led an interesting life giving various ventures ago, before finding his feet as a successful children’s book author. He was 44 years old when The Wizard of Oz first hit the shelves of the bookshops in 1900.

Baum grew up in New York, the son of a wealthy oil merchant and for one of his birthday gifts in his teenage years his father bought him his own printing press, which he used to produce his own little magazines for fun. A little later, he developed an interest in chickens – of all things – which led to his breeding them at the age of 19, after which he took a fascination in the theatre. It would seem his father helped him finance his way into a theatre company, and off he went travelling. All these influences and

CollectablesTrader 13

experiences would later help with his Oz books. His interest in chickens, for instance, led to the character of Billinda the talking hen. On his travels he met his future wife, Maud Gage.

Maud’s mother, Matilda, was a writer and leading suffragette, and it was with her encouragement that Baum wrote down some of his bedtime stories he made up for his sons and published his first children’s book

Mother Goose in Prose in 1897.

Just prior to that, in 1891 the family moved to Chicago, following many failed business attempts by Baum and his badly managing the family business he had inherited. Baum was earning a living as a travelling salesman, selling china and glassware door to door when the success of his first book took off.

He became a member of the Chicago Press Club and met designer, illustrator and cartoonist W.W. (William Wallace) Denslow (1856-1915). They soon became partners, and together financed a book in which Denslow created the eye-catching illustrations and Baum wrote the children’s poetry.

Father Goose was published in 1899 and became a top seller on the children’s book lists.

Rare first editions Off the back of this triumph, Baum decided he would like to have a go at writing a full length fairytale, a story he had been creating in his head for some time. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz went on sale in 1900, but unfortunately didn’t make the sales expected. The publishers went bankrupt in 1902; making this original very first edition run of books of The

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Wonderful Wizard of Oz, published by George M Hill Company, highly collectable. Of the first binding from the first printed edition, it is believed that only ten copies or less have survived, making a copy in good condition worth in excess of $150,000.

In 1903 the book was printed again by publishers Bobbs-Merrill, this time under another title, The New Wizard of Oz. So don’t be fooled if you’re looking at buying old editions, this is the same book as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the title MGM used when they produced the film in 1939 and, subsequently, the one under which the book has been published ever since.

who went onto illustrate the rest of

From book to stage show

the style of the long dress, headdress

Through Baum’s past experiments working in theatre, it seemed like a natural transition to translate the Oz book into a stage show and, between 1901 and 1902, Baum and Denslow worked on this as partners, as they had done with the books. However, this was shortlived as Baum and Denslow soon parted ways after financial disagreements. The stage show opened in Chicago in mid 1902, and from there it went on to open in Broadway at the beginning of 1903.

The actors playing the Tinman and the Scarecrow stole the show and so when Baum finally gave into demands for another Oz book, he wrote of the adventure of these two characters, and not of Dorothy.

Fashion history in fairytale illustrations As Baum had fallen out with W.W. Denslow, his latest publishers Reilly & Britton (later called Reilly & Lee) found a new illustrator John R. Neil,

Baum’s Oz books. I personally prefer Neil’s illustrations which are far more in the romantic, softer and classical style of illustrations at the time than the harder, bolder images of Denslow.

Neil depicts Dorothy in the fashions befitting a young girl at the turn of the century. When Neil first illustrates Dorothy, in Ozma of Oz, she wears a spotted, high neck, long sleeve dress.

The dress is short in length, which was commonplace for children until they became of age, and belted around the hips creating a billowing effect over the belt and indicative of the ladies ‘wasp waist’ fashions of the time. By contrast, and hairstyle of Ozma, the magical child ruler of Oz, is informed by the Art Nouveau movement; an iconic style now recognised in Art Nouveau Parisian posters, made popular by Prague artist Alphonse Mucha.

Ozma's large sweeping robes were fashionable with artists and intellectuals (and wives of) at the time, as a new form of freedom, of movement dress reform – in stark contrast to the corsets at the time.

Later, the original Oz illustrator Denslow went back and re-illustrated all the Oz books, which I am not a fan of; although the illustrations have a charm

of their own, the odd colour plate he uses makes Dorothy look more like one of the Simpson cartoon characters than a charming little girl. However, when MGM looks for inspiration for their depiction of Dorothy, it is this original version by Denslow in her blue chequered dress and long brown hair in bunches that they use.

More than one film Baum toyed with film right from the early stages and in 1910 bought a house in Hollywood, the developing centre for the American film industry.

Many Oz films of varying degrees of success were made before the MGM hit with Judy Garland.

Bedridden with illness in the last years of his life, Baum concentrated on writing and wrote right up to his death in 1919. The last book he wrote and published was The Magic

of Oz, and the following year his 14th Oz book, Glinda of Oz, was published posthumously from his notes.

Many books were written about Oz after Baum's death by different authors but I have never been drawn to read these. Baum was so much a part of his books; it is very touching to read his dedications and letters to the readers at the start of each of his novels, acknowledging the ideas of children who had written to him.

It is a great shame that Baum was not around to witness the success of

I went to see as a child, The Return to

Oz (which was loosely based around the books The Land of Oz and Ozma

of Oz). The new film uses some of Baum’s characters and ideas but is mostly made by the Disney writers to appeal to today’s moviegoers.

This film is pre Dorothy and based on the story of the Wizard and his trip to Oz. Visually it pays homage to the iconic MGM musical hit of The Wonderful

Wizard of Oz on many levels. Disney was clever in keeping enough of the iconic visual references from the first film to bring some correlation and relationship to their prequel. Jazzing it up for today’s audience there is certainly a lot more romance than was ever seen in any of Baum’s books; as can be also said for the Broadway hit musical Wicked. It would be nice to see some of Baum’s original books made into films, as there are so many to choose from, instead of others writing new stories around the idea.

MGM's film hit The Wonderful Wizard of

Notes for collectors

Oz. As film was a media which greatly

Collecting the books today, particularly

fascinated Baum and he enjoyed to

first editions, it is not always easy to

dabble in, it seems only fitting that The

determine what is what. There are many

Wonderful Wizard of Oz, along with

versions and reprints of the Oz books

Gone with the Wind, were the first full

out there. For an in-depth guide I would

length colour films which made film

look at the www.rareozbooks.com

history on their release in 1939.

website. With buying modern reprints, I

My hope is that this latest Oz film –

In my day, my father had to order each book through our local bookshop and have it shipped from America while these days you can order them all online. Alternately, if you fancy a copy with a bit of age but are not worried about the edition, try scouting through the children’s section of any good second-hand bookshop where you should find copies between $20-$50 each.

Acknowledgements Photo credits: Fred Trust from rareozbooks.com; Mark Burgess from Marks Book Barn, Sydney Further reading Allen Eyles, The World of Oz, Viking, Harmondsworth Middlesex 1985

would suggest sticking with the original

Oz the Great and Powerful – will spur

illustrators for their versions: Denslow for

on a new generation of Oz devotees,

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and Neil

like me with the ’80s Disney adventure

for the rest.

Written in dedication to my father and his many hours of bedtime reading

CollectablesTrader 15

Kalmar Antiques where you can hold a piece of history in your hand Specialising in antiques, fine jewellery, watches and objets de vertu

Shop 45, Level 1 Queen Victoria Building, Sydney 2000

Phone 02 9264 3663 Email kalmar@ozemail.com.au You can also visit our website at www.kalmarantiques.com.au

NOW OPEN 4014 Pacific Highway Loganholme QLD 4129 ◊ 2300+ sq m one level antique super centre ◊ Monthly antiques / collectors auctions ◊ French themed Café Eiffel as our entrance ◊ 140+ dedicated off-street car parking spaces ◊ 24 hour on-site security ◊ Great Motorway (M1) visibility and very easy access immediately off EXIT 30

admin@brisbaneantiquecentre.com.au

07 3806 0118

www.brisbaneantiquecentre.com.au

COLLECTING BIN LABELS the original key to cellaring Evoking images of old British wine cellars, the price of bin labels these days can be very sobering!

Michael Preeston ere in Australia bin labels are

H

not greatly appreciated nor understood. In England there are quite a number of

collectors, and competition to find rare and unusual ones is strong. At first glance they may appear rather plain objects – unsophisticated, functional and unadorned – yet they can evoke images from bygone days of the cavernous wine cellars beneath the great houses of Britain, the walls lined with bins stacked high with bottles of wine.

Names such as Lafite, Margaux and d'Yquem from France, Hochs from Germany, Port and Sherry from the Iberian Peninsular and sweet wines from Málaga, Madeira and Marsala.

Late 18th century label for Moselle, the style of the script and the shape of the label indicates the fairly early date An estate made label from the Kentwell Hall collection. Most are specific and some were recycled by turning them over and inscribed on the reverse

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CollectablesTrader

Selling bottled wine was illegal in the 19th century

Above: The top half of this label is unglazed, or ‘in the biscuit’, and has been inscribed, ‘Gordon’s Amontillado, Bottled 1863’

To start at the beginning, in Georgian

Right from top to bottom: An estate made label from the Kentwell Hall collection.

times, in fact right up to 1861, wine merchants in England imported wine in the barrel and bottled it privately, after sale, for the customer. It was illegal to sell wine by the bottle, and the labelling of bottles was also

This label was produced entirely ‘in the biscuit’. Obviously in this case they were continuing to use bin labels right up to 1949 An unusual spelling of the name ‘Marsala’.

On this label the top half has been left ‘in the biscuit’ so that the particular vintage may be added

outlawed. The wine would then be delivered to the various large houses which were adorning the landscape of

Identifying early labels

Britain in increasing profusion, to be

While a vast majority of bin labels

stored in their purpose-built cellars.

were of a lead glazed pottery ware,

The cellar walls were lined with

the earliest ones, which appeared

bricked-in bays, or bins, where the

around 1730, when the practice of

unlabelled bottles would be stacked

binning was first introduced, appear

up. Of the household staff the butler

to have been made of lead with

alone would hold the key to the cellars,

white lettering on the bare metal

which may have led to him being in a

background. Few of these have

state of permanent semi-intoxication,

survived. In around the middle of the

but it did prevent the rest of the staff

18th century, tin glazed earthenware

from pilfering the wine! Above each bin

became the standard. These had

was a nail, or hook, on which was

magenta, or dark blue lettering, on a

hung a bin label that identified the

white, or very pale blue ground.

particular wine in the bin. These were

The standard shape became the

usually, but not always, of a generic

coat-hanger shape, or variations of it,

nature – such as Port, Sherry, Claret,

with the square shoulders giving way

Hock and Champagne.

to the round shouldered shape

CollectablesTrader 19

around the end of the century. They were typically about 12 to 15 cm wide, with a hole at the top to hang on the hook above the bin. By the beginning of the 19th century, many of the well-known factories, such as Minton, Spode, Wedgwood and Coalport, were turning them out in a lead glazed pottery. The lettering was nearly always in bold capitals, so that the elderly valet could read them down there in the cellar by the light of his spluttering candle.

Top: Early 19th century label for Hollands (now known as gin). Top half of the label is unglazed, and the imprint for Wedgwood is on the reverse Above: Early 19th century label. Bucellas is a small vineyard just outside Lisbon. The wine took the fancy of the Duke of Wellington while he was fighting the Peninsular Wars in 1810, and it quickly became popular in London

Practical design feature Another practice was to make the label

Values: what you can expect to pay

with the generic name on the lower half,

Would-be collectors should be

Popular vintages and their labels

while the upper half was left unglazed,

cautioned about paying a

or ‘in the biscuit’, so that the details

premium price for, say, a

The tipple of choice in those days

could be added in pencil, to be changed

standard early to mid 19th

appears to have been Port and Sherry,

later when the bin was emptied and

century label for port or sherry,

as those are by far the most common

replaced with a different vintage.

in creamware with black

labels found today. Spirits were also

What is highly collectable today

lettering – which was the norm

binned in cellars, and labels for Brandy, Whisky, Rum and Hollands (now known as gin) are not uncommon. The variety of names, however, is endless, some very specific, such as Chateau Lafite, Chateau Latour, Chateau Margaux,

The most sought after labels, and therefore naturally the most expensive to acquire, are the early delftware ones, in magenta or dark blue

imprint of Minton or Wedgwood on the reverse. While many labels are unmarked on the reverse, Wedgwood was by far the most common of the makers, and should not

etc, with the year of the vintage.

Also keenly collected are labels

These would have been especially

inscribed Cider, Brown Ale,

ordered, either direct from the factory,

Brown Sherry and Bucellas

or through agents such as Farrow &

Collectors also look for labels

$250 mark for one of these,

Jackson, whose name often appears

with unusual names, wines no

whereas an early delftware one,

imprinted on the reverse, along with

longer produced, specific

in magenta or dark blue, could

the factory name such as Wedgwood

chateaux and vintages, as well

easily command around three

or Minton, for example.

as ones with spelling variations

or four times that price.

and errors.

20

by then – and bearing the

CollectablesTrader

command a higher price.

In England one would expect to pay around the AUD$180 to

Interesting recent discovery Recently, a comprehensive collection of obviously estate made bin labels was recovered from Kentwell Hall in Suffolk. The labels were fashioned in wood, painted white, but now faded

bin numbers and the purpose-made hooks to hang them on. It appeared that in some cellars, old habits died hard!

Further reading Robin Butler, Great British Wine Accessories 1550 − 1900, Brown & Brown, Sudbury UK 2009

to a nut brown, and inscribed in black ink with the varied and interesting wines and spirits cellared there in the mid 19th century. Typical were the Claret, vintage 1858, White & Co. Chateau Lafite, 1/4 Pipe Port, vintage 1854, Coates & Howes, 13 1/2 dozen, Gardiner’s Port, December 1853 and Hollands 1856. It must have been a fine cellar in its day!

Law consigned labelling to history bin

In 1799 The King of Naples bestowed upon Lord Nelson the honorific title, Duke of Bronte.

Nelson was in the habit of buying large quantities of Marsala for the Royal Navy, and the winery changed the name of their product to Bronte in his honour and Spode produced Bronte in labels, of which very few have survived.

This lasted until sometime in the 1840s, when the winery reverted back to the name Marsala.

In 1861, the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, William Gladstone, allowed the Single Bottle Act to be passed in parliament, permitting the sale of single bottles ‘off licence’. Printed paper labels were then introduced and bin labels, like corkscrews today, slowly started the progression to becoming obsolete. It is interesting to note however, that in an 1898 catalogue of Farrow & Jackson they were continuing to offer bin labels,

Top: The reverse of this label is unglazed and inscribed ‘PORT’.

Apparently there was a need, or an order, for a gin label, so it was inscribed ‘GIN’ on the back and glazed. Probably late 19th century, when Hollands came to be called gin Middle: Although fairly crudely made with no maker's imprint on the reverse this is quite an unusual shape for a bin label Bottom: Late 18th century label for Sherry, the style of the script and the shape of the label indicates the fairly early date

BIN NUMBERING – HOW TO AVOID IMITATIONS In large cellars, sometimes a

Wine Accessories 1550 –

system of bin numbering

1900, cautions that on

was adopted, and a cellar

occasions, hotel room

book was kept in which the

numbers, or house numbers,

contents of each bin was

have been offered for sale,

entered against the

purporting to be bin

corresponding number.

numbers. The give-away is

These numbers were

that these will have a hole on

produced in a white glazed

each side, so that they may

pottery, round, about 7 cm

be screwed to a door, wall or

to 8 cm in diameter, with a

fence, whereas a bin label

hole at the top from which to

will have one large hole at

hang it. Robin Butler, in his

the top to hang on a hook.

excellent book, Great British

CollectablesTrader 21

www.aada.org.au

Abbott’s Antiques

Member

The Established Name for Quality Antiques since 1931

Pair of George III mahogany carvers with reeded crest rails and arms, c.1820

Two fine Royal Crown Derby floral painted, enamelled and gilt decorated vases by Desire Leroy, dated 1900 and 1904

Fine George IV mahogany sideboard with 3 beaded concave centre drawers, c.1830 – attributed to Gillows

George III sterling silver crested and embossed coffee pot, London 1761 by Fuller White

19th century mahogany 8 day hour striking bracket clock with twin fusee movement, c.1850

George IV Sheffield Plate crested and scrolled edge soup tureen, c.1825

Pair of Swansea specimen plates with painted floral sprays & moulded borders, c.1814 – 17

19th century patinated bronze Dutch weaver and companion figures signed Geo. Maxim, c.1890

Pair of Grainger Worcester reticulated mask head vases, c.1880 – 89

Max Dupain, Surf Race Start, 1940s, silver gelatin photograph

Fine George III mahogany longcase clock with rosewood cross banding and painted dial with moon phase & calendar by George Monks, Prescot, c. 1810

Max Dupain, Nina Raievska in Thamar, 1937, vintage silver gelatin photograph, signed & dated lower right

Specialising in Fine English 18th & 19th century Furniture, Sterling Silver, Porcelain, Jewellery, Sheffield Plate, 18th century Drinking and Table Glass, Bronzes, Paintings, Art Nouveau and Art Deco

14 Eastern Road, Turramurra NSW 2074 • Tel 02 9449 8889 Visit www.abbottsantiques.com.au for a further selection of current stock

RECORD PRICES ACHIEVED Dump amber Rowland's codd bottle: $20,001 plus commission.

2 gallon Castlemaine Brewery demijohn: $36,265 plus commission.

COMING UP AT ABCR AUCTIONS: Australia's rarest beer bottle, the iconic King & Co beer from Sydney!

Also an amazing range of original paper labels, including beer, wine and aerated water labels.

Along with the usual assortment of the finest bottles and pot lids in Australia, we have something to cater for everyone's needs.

We even have an original set of shop scales from W T Avery.

OUR NEXT ONLINE AUCTION WILL RUN FROM 21-31 AUGUST 2013

View our website at www.abcrauctions.com Registration is free For a free appraisal or to discuss consigning your item or collection, email info@abcrauctions.com or call Travis Dunn: 0417 830 939 or David Bruce: 0407 821 767

unravelling a mystery

MAJOR JAMES WALLIS' ALBUM an Australian colonial treasure discovered in Canada

Follow the clues with Tim McCormick who explains how a collection of watercolour drawings thought lost came to light

Left: Album of original drawings by Captain James Wallis and Joseph Lycett, c. 1817-1818, bound with An historical account of the Colony of New South Wales ‌, published London, Rudolph Ackermann, 1821. Courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library NSW Below: Watercolour view of Port Jackson pasted to 7th endpaper attributed to Joseph Lycett

ur story begins in a small town

O

in the Canadian state of Ontario called London, which is two hours’ drive west of Toronto.

The local chattel auctioneer was called

in by a local solicitor to clear a house and sell anything found to be saleable. The deceased owner with no known family had bequeathed his home to a local charity.

Working his way through the kitchen pots and pans and china vases he reached the bedroom wardrobe and on the bottom shelf, under the shoes, he discovered what was to become the greatest Australian treasure of the decade. Grant Gardner, third generation auctioneer, knew he had struck gold but had no idea as to its value. In June 2011 he placed an advertisement in an English paper announcing the rediscovery of what is now known as The Wallis Album, forgotten for over 150 years. Its reappearance immediately caused a wave of excitement in the world of colonial art.

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CollectablesTrader

Pasted down on 9th flyleaf 9 cut-out watercolours of 10 fish, the sheet inscribed ‘The Fish of New South Wales’

A visual historical record of settlement in Australia

A personal involvement

The album, a collection of previously

London via Toronto. Actually trembling

unknown watercolour drawings of

with excitement (albeit hidden) I was

colonial New South Wales, was

the first Australian to see this artefact

compiled between 1816 and 1818 by

since 1818. The auctioneer enquired

Major James Wallis, commander of

as to what I thought the value was.

the Newcastle penal settlement.

Feigning slight disinterest I expressed

Wallis, an amateur artist, included his

most probably $100,000. It ranked

own watercolours of landscape and

with the most impressive colonial

Aboriginal inhabitants as well as

artwork in my experience.

paintings by the convict artist Joseph

My affair with Major Wallis’ album began in July 2011 with a trip to

After photographing and documenting

Watercolour pasted to 2nd endpaper, each cut-out figure named and inscribed in black ink along bottom margin ‘These figures of Natives are all drawn by Major Wallis 46th Regt. These Natives all sat for their Pictures’

DETECTIVE WORK: FOLLOWING THE CLUES Sale of watercolours in London auction: catalogue entry 1987 How did this treasure end up in London? The first clue as to the album’s existence, unrecognised at the time, was the appearance in 1987 of five watercolours at a

Lycett (c. 1775-1828). The collection

the album, I returned to Australia and

consists of 39 separate works, never

advised the State Library of my findings.

previously seen in public, revealing

A successful fundraising, with help from

life and natural curiosities in the

the New South Wales Government,

three of England – all with a

infant colony.

enabled the Library to bid for the album

Canadian provenance.

The State Library of New South

Christie’s South Kensington sale of topographic pictures: one of New South Wales, one of Madeira and

at its October auction. The honour of

The catalogue noted these were

Wales’ Mitchell Librarian Richard

bidding on behalf of the Library was

the first original drawings by Wallis

Neville notes ‘this remarkable album

given to my English colleagues Maggs

to come to public notice. The New

is a prime document about settlement

Bros and myself.

South Wales view of the Hawkesbury

of Australia and is without doubt the

After a nail biting auction – which

most significant pictorial artefact to

started at $100,000 and quickly rose

views sold between £165 and

have been made during the 1810s.’

to $1.9 million – the album was ours.

£2,000 – a huge premium for his

The underbidder is thought to have

Australian work. The provenance was

been a private Australiana collector

Wallis’ widow to her nephew Lt

from the west.

Colonel Tayler.

River sold for £28,600. The other

CollectablesTrader 25

Detail of 7th flyleaf, watercolour portrait titled ‘Dick’ Watercolour pasted to 12th endpaper of Sydney Cove attributed to Joseph Lycett, written in black ink below ’Drawn by a Convict’

Sale of album of sketches in London auction: catalogue entry 1989

What happened to the album

Art historians did not follow up these

album, he gifted his works to his wife

tantalising clues. In 1989 Christie’s

in 1857. Mrs Wallis then passed the

offered – as the property of a

work to her nephew Lt Colonel Tayler

gentleman and from the artist’s family

in 1866 and also suitably inscribed the

at least $200,000. Wallis inscribed it

– an album of sketches done by Wallis

album. Captain Tayler is presumed to

‘drawn by a convict’.

in India and South America. This

have emigrated to Canada and so

album included a manuscript

According to an inscription in the

The unexpected appearance of

continued the long voyage of the

such a special item of Australiana

artworks, ultimately returning in 2012

gives all art historians hope for future

to their place of origin.

discoveries and hope that they will be the discoverers.

South Wales for £2,860. Once again,

Important record of early NSW

art historians did not follow the clues to

The collection comprises watercolours

the Canadian source. Then travel into

and drawings of Sydney, environs of

the future 22 years and the Canadian

Newcastle, portraits of Aborigines and

source now deceased was revealed.

natural history studies. The Aboriginal

The role of an art historian sometimes

portraits are most striking, naming the

merges with that of the genealogist.

local inhabitants of the Newcastle

Newcastle. Its Aboriginal

Tracing the life of Captain Wallis: collating the album

region. The most impressive

naming is Muloobinba

watercolour is by Joseph Lycett of

(place of edible sea fern).

Using the provenance, now

Sydney Cove which, if offered for sale,

Awaba is the Aboriginal

would command an individual price of

name for Lake Macquarie.

describing two Aborigines of the Newcastle tribe, obviously from the same Canadian source. This album was sold to the State Library of New

confirmed, we know Major Wallis took

The Awabakal and Worimi peoples are recognised as the traditional custodians of the area now known as

sketches whilst on his military postings throughout the colonial empire. He also collected drawings by

Captain James Wallis,

ship on which Lycett

talented convicts in his charge, the

was commandant of the

was transported. When

best known, the forger Joseph Lycett.

secondary penal

Lycett was transferred

Wallis retired from the army in 1826,

settlement at Newcastle

to Newcastle in 1815,

marrying Mary-Ann Beach in 1836, at

from 1816 to 1818. His

after being convicted

first living at Douglas, Isle of Man.

initial association with

for forging banknotes,

While here he collated his art and

convict artist, Joseph

he came under Wallis’

memorabilia and commissioned

Lycett traces to the

patronage and began

albums from the local bookbinder.

General Hewitt, which

work as a legitimate

Major and Mrs Wallis then resettled in

he commanded and the

artist and designer.

Prestbury in Gloucestershire where he died in 1858.

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CollectablesTrader

MITCHELL ROAD ANTIQUE & DESIGN CENTRE

Upper Level 76 Mitchell Road, Alexandria NSW 2015 Open 7 days 10 am - 5 pm P: 02 9698 0907 I E: mitchellroadcentre@yahoo.com.au www.mitchellroad.wordpress.com

Using Howard Products a Victorian lady gets a 60 minute makeover On one of our rare attempts at having a holiday just recently, we were invited by old friends to stay in their beautiful house perched on a hill in the Noosa hinterland with beautiful views from every angle, beaches nearby and a great swimming pool in the forecourt. What a dream! I’ve known these people a long time and they have always collected all kinds of antique bits and pieces. This most recent house of theirs was no different. A large containment area underneath the house was found to be chock full of old chairs, tables and cupboards waiting to be re-finished one day. That came later.

The first thing I saw when we opened the door into the entrance foyer was an imposing Victorian sideboard of huge proportions featuring ornate carvings all coated in very dark and very battered shellac which was in

From this

to this

with this

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CollectablesTrader

desperate need of urgent attention. Here I was dreaming about the pool and the beach but I just knew that I would not be able to relax until that grand old sideboard was given a bit of attention. Just as well I always travel with my Howard Products demo box.

The photos you see in this story were taken

by Sally on her iPhone while I worked. They are not the greatest quality but they illustrate what I was faced with and how I went about quickly giving that dear old sideboard some nourishment and repair. Some of the surfaces were so worn that I really didn’t know whether my trusty Restor-A-Finish would be able to handle it but as you will see it did, well maybe not perfectly, however that’s the point really – Restor-A-Finish was designed to retain patination and deliver a ‘cared for over many years’ look to battered antiques.

This sideboard was just one of many items we restored while having what really was a great break at Noosa. The thing is you can work so quickly with Restor-A-Finish that the sideboard only took an hour or so. On that day we were so keen to get to the beach and see the sights that it wasn't until we got home from our holiday some time later and were checking the photos we'd taken, when we realised that although there were plenty of action shots, we hadn't taken a before and after photo of that lovely sideboard. It's a pity because the difference after the Restor-AFinish treatment was amazing. We'll leave you to imagine just how elegant that old Victorian lady looked when we waved her goodbye.

David Foster Howard Products (Aus) advice@howardproducts.com.au

The Gold Coast Antique Centre is an exciting gallery in Miami with over 25 dealers displaying an ever changing range of rare antiques and collectables. It’s an Aladdin’s cave of treasures including the finest glassware, antique furniture, jewellery, clocks, toys, movie memorabilia and much more.

The Gold Coast Antique Centre is a must see venue located at

2076 Gold Coast Highway, Miami • Phone 07 5572 0522 • Mobile: 0414 338 363 More than a website – shop online @ www.goldcoastantiquecentre.com.au OPEN 7 DAYS 10 - 5 Sun 10 - 4

INDIAN COLONIAL FURNITURE The surviving pieces are a rich legacy of colonial society reflecting the cross influences in taste between the East and West

Melody Amsel-Arieli

Portuguese colonial India rosewood settee made Goa, triple back design, the balloon shaped chair backs have carved and pierced slats, the top of the backs decorated with a richly carved floral pattern. The front and side of the seating in serpentine form, the eight legs are interconnected with stretchers. The Past Perfect Collection, Singapore www.pastperfect.sg

Living under Portuguese rule

etween the 15th and 20th

When Portuguese traders, officials, and

centuries three distinct furniture

priests reached coastal India in the late

styles emerged on the Indian

15th century, they found that most people

subcontinent, each reflecting

socialised sitting on floors of mud and cow

B

the tastes of the successive Portuguese,

dung or mats bolstered with cushions.

Dutch or British ruling powers. Despite the

They commissioned local craftsmen to

complex relationship between the rulers

build elevated breviary stands and ritual

and the ruled, local craftsmen combined

chairs for their chapels, churches,

European and Indian characteristics into

convents and monasteries

unique creations, melding East and West.

Although these pieces retained their western forms, they were fashioned from readily available rich-grained teak, ebony, rosewood, mahogany and satinwood, and often featured lavish Indian ivory, tortoiseshell, or horn inlay. Until 1661, when Portuguese rule ended, many cupboards, chests, settees, cabinets, console tables, and armoires featured richly-carved patterns of lotus flowers, heart-shaped banyan leaves, and palm leaves, as well as embellishments like brass accents, circles studded with ebony and ivory and ball-and-claw, birds’ head, or paw feet.

The Portuguese also commissioned finewood sewing and document boxes. Because officials were required to regularly report on India’s political, industrial, and agricultural developments, writing desks and slopes –

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CollectablesTrader

Life under British rule After the Indian Rebellion of 1857, England’s East India Company (established 1774), passed its power to the Crown. During British Raj (rule), which lasted through 1947, Indian colonial furniture reflected the tastes and needs of British officials, traders and expatriates. Indian rulers too favoured late Georgian, Regency, and Victorian-style formal pieces. Although their settees, cabinets, and chests were often British in form, local craftsmen, known for their carpentry, carving, joining skills and creative imagination, embellished them, as they were wont, with Indian motifs and carvings. Cupboards, for example, often feature sunbursts, a typical motif of the state of Gujarat signifying prosperity, as well as gadrooned edging and foliage.

To accommodate the Indian way of life, many Anglo-Indian settees, sofas and daybeds incorporated lightweight cabinets that feature sloping lids to facilitate arm support while writing – were also indispensible.

Dutch East India Company (VOC) Because commissioning locally-made

Dutch colonial cupboard on stand, late 19th century, made Coromandel Coast, mahogany, inlaid ebony and ivory quatre foils. The legs are in a traditional Dutch style with a bulbous top, tapering, with a ring and ending in a peg foot, whereas on the front legs the bulbous tops are carved. The Past Perfect Collection, Singapore www.pastperfect.sg

pieces was far less expensive than importing ones from home, representatives of the Dutch East

cane, bamboo, rattan (a vine related to the palm tree), or wicker (a process using bamboo, rattan, or straw). Beds, to add to their airiness, were slatted, highly carved, or featured pierced motifs. Many were luxurious four-posters, possibly to accommodate mosquito netting.

also feature simple interiors.

Although their storage trunks,

As British influence in India expanded, its trading company

India Company in India (1604-1825)

fashioned from solid satinwood or

officials or army officers, while ‘under

also commissioned western-style

mahogany planks, may also boast

canvas’ in military camps or on foreign

furniture from local craftsmen. In

brass escutcheons, pierced back

campaigns, sought the comforts of

contrast to the Portuguese, however,

plates, and hinges, their lids, side

home. So many travelled with steamer

they favoured clean, simple lines.

panels, and bases were often edged

trunks filled with especially designed

with restrained bands of ebony. Indo-

comfortable, lightweight, foldable or

characterised by contrasting use of

Dutch chests, on the other hand,

collapsible chests of drawers, liquor

light and dark coloured wood.

along with brass-handled drawers,

cabinets, writing tables, dining tables,

Satinwood and ebony storage boxes,

sometimes include deep inlaid or

and bed frames. Many of these

some featuring decorative bolts and

scalloped wooden decorative

transportables, collectively known as

studs, for example, are divided into

additions to their utilitarian

campaign furniture, are made of

lidded, utilitarian compartments that

rectangular forms, called ‘aprons’.

readily available rosewood, teak,

separate documents from writing

Most also feature traditional Dutch-

satinwood, or mahogany, hard woods

tools. Their cash boxes, with brass

style bulbous-topped, ringed legs that

that withstand the tropical humidity of

bandings, hinges, and escutcheons,

taper into peg feet.

the subcontinent.

The Indo-Dutch style is usually

CollectablesTrader 31

Anglo-Indian camphor secretaire chest, late 19th century made Bombay, the top drawer opens to reveal a secretaire interior fitted with several compartments and drawers, allowing records and office supplies to be neatly stored in one place, the lower section has two deep long drawers and rests on flat bun feet. The Past Perfect Collection, Singapore www.pastperfect.sg

Since games were a favourite evening entertainment, game tables were popular as well. Those designed for playing cards were lined in leather or

Western prototypes Furniture was also made in Asia for the European market. A

looking for a better quality of life than could be offered in England. Upon

harlequin games table given to

resigning from service with the

Christian IV of Denmark was

company some chose to settle in

exactly like the one advertised by

Sydney while others looked to Tasmania.

London cabinet maker Thomas

Among the most popular items imported

Potter in the late 1730s.

into the colonies was campaign or camp

Clive of India, for example,

furniture, but accurately assigning

brought back to England furniture

attribution is difficult. Knowing if the

Collecting furniture made for the West

made at Vizagapatam, a port on

pieces were made in England, India,

the east coast of India. The

China or of local provenance involves

Purchasing antique Indian colonial

furniture drew on European

close examination of the individual items.

furniture, which is valued for its

furniture designs such as Thomas

history, fine materials, and quality of

Chippendale’s The Gentleman and

initially thought to be a local colonial

its workmanship, has become popular

Cabinet Maker’s Director, a copy

made piece has now been reassessed

only within the last decade or so.

of which was remaindered from

and identified as Anglo-Indian.

Although sources may seem finite,

the Calcutta Library in 1785 as

many of India’s stately mansions and

the designs were regarded as out

reattribution of a reeded side table in

palaces remain filled with colonial

of fashion.

the NGV collection to be of Indian or

felt. Others feature polished wood chess or checker boards embellished with horn or ivory scrolled inlay. Some game tables, closed, also doubled as coffee tables.

colonists brought their favourite pieces home. Today, their descendants, less sentimental, are putting them on the market.

CollectablesTrader

In Tasmania, a folding campaign table

Further research has resulted in the

Chinese make, not colonial as

décor. Furthermore, many British

32

furlough from the East India Company

Anglo-Indian furniture and Australia

previously thought. Similarly, a teak

The colony of New South Wales

Tasmania collection is an imported

was an attractive option for officers on

table now in the National Trust of piece of furniture of Asian origin.

What helps to identify Anglo-Indian and AngloChinese furniture?

Furniture historians look to the style and construction rather than the timber. Furniture brought to the colony from India was mainly made of cedar – a timber also readily found in rainforests north and south of Sydney – so this adds to the confusion of identifying furniture of local or

A range of 19th century colonial boxes.

The Past Perfect Collection, Singapore www.pastperfect.sg Anglo-Indian sewing box, early 20th century, hardwood, shell, ivory, veneered interior fitted with two tiers of compartments, storage box fitted with seven small drawers. Estimate US$300500. Skinner Auctioneers and Appraisers USA www.skinnerinc.com Anglo-Indian writing box, c. 1850s, camphorwood, brass mounts, felt-lined interior. Estimate US$600-800. Skinner Auctioneers and Appraisers USA www.skinnerinc.com

Indian make.

Very telling is the eccentric and unusual interpretation of European forms and decoration, such as stylised motifs of carved flowers banding found in furniture of south India, or an exaggerated bulbous swell on legs of a folding daybed.

Items made in India would incorporate brass ferrules, inlaid ebony escutcheons of exotic design, brass inlays. Furniture made with cane was used for humid climates.

Anglo-Indian parquetry games table, central drawer to all four sides, raised on a baluster-form stem with inlaid shapes and applied ebonised medallions set on bracket feet. Estimate US$400-600.

Skinner Auctioneers and Appraisers USA www.skinnerinc.com

Further reading James Broadbent, Suzanne Rickard & Margaret Steven, India, China, Australia: Trade and Society 1788-1850, Historic Houses Trust NSW 2003 Anna Jackson & Amin Jaffer (Eds), Encounters: the Meeting of Asia and Europe 1500-1800, V&A Publications 2004

CollectablesTrader 33

Discovery Corner Established in 1976 and proudly run by the Phillips Family Trading from Brisbane Antique Emporium Member of Queensland Antique Dealers Association

Pair plates made by Spode, c. 1830, hand-painted chinoiserie decoration, diam: 15 cm

French bronze and ormolu mantel clock by Vincent Et Cie, c. 1860, of rococo design, h: 44.5 cm

Meissen cup and saucer, 19th century, gilt decoration, hand-painted hunting scene on black ground

English rosewood library table c. 1850 fitted with two drawers

Pair English rosewood chairs, c. 1865, tapestry upholstery

We specialise in furniture, silver, porcelain, glassware, statuary and Rosentengel furniture Always wanting TO BUY Quality, rarity and presentation are of prime importance

Sèvres porcelain figurines, c. 1870, h: 33 cm

Discovery Corner @ Discovery Junction 794 Sandgate Road, Clayfield. Telephone: 3862 2155. Email: discoverycnr@bigpond.com

Contemporary buttoned back leather upholstered executive chair $1,450

Heavily carved Chinese camphorwood trunk, c. 1930

Late 19th century European walnut semi pedestal desk fitted with five drawers and tooled leather top $1,950

Winifred Jensen, Not far from the Maddening Crowd, watercolour $465

Manhattan range pendant and flush $410

Late 19th century French Henri II style fine carved gilt pillow mirror $2,500

Antique Victorian sewing stand or work table set on trumpet base, embroidery lined interior $3,000

Jon O'Hanlon, Balmain & the Working Harbour, 2002, acrylic on paper set in gilt frame $485

Antique walnut grandfather armchair set on casters and upholstered in diamond pattern studded fabric $750

Chinese camphorwood chest with decorative incised carving, c. 1930s $650

William IV mahogany dumb waiter c. 1840 $3,250

Pair of French walnut marble topped nightstands $1,950 pair

Art Nouveau kauri pine fire surround and grate in excellent condition $2,750

Glebe Antique Centre Phone: +61 2 9550 3199 Fax: +61 2 9550 3833

88-90 Parramatta Road, Camperdown NSW 2050 Two levels of quality furniture, lighting, jewellery, glass, porcelain and general collectables Art Deco French queen size bed head and foot featuring walnut parquetry with gilt bronze ormolu mounts, includes specially made new pillow top biddell spring quality mattress $3,950

Open 7 days 10am to 6pm Email: sales@glebeantiques.com.au Edwardian kauri pine dressing table fitted with bevelled swing mirrors, four drawers $2,250

American 19th century black timber striking mantle clock $600

Check out our up-to-date websites

www.glebeantiques.com.au www.desksofdistinction.com.au

Waterford external wall bracket $295

The largest collection of genuine antique furniture in Sydney

French Louis Philippe style walnut chest of drawers, c. 1860 $3,650 Edwardian kauri pine bookcase, c. 1900 $1,650

Edwardian cedar double pedestal desk with tooled leather top, fielded panels, cupboards to rear, brushing slides and eight drawers including two large filing drawers $3,950

William IV mahogany chest of drawers in good original condition $3,950

Edwardian kauri pine kitchen dresser featuring six sliding doors, three drawers $3,250

Fine quality 19th century French mahogany bookcases fitted with drawers to the base $6,850 each

Mahogany display cabinets fitted with bevelled glass and mirror backs $795 each Australian three door wardrobe with central mirror made in Richmond River cedar, c. 1860 $4,500

australian

PRISON CELL PEEPHOLES Arguably one of the most unusual collecting themes

Peter Lane

eepholes are exceptionally rare

P

on the market. Whilst they are humble, utilitarian and plain, they form an important part of

our convict and criminal past. Those that collect convict relics prize them.

A cast iron peephole formed a part of a prison cell door. The idea was that a guard could peer into a cell in safety. All the guard needed to do was to move the latch sideways

From top: Photograph of Port Arthur guards, 1888.

Courtesy Centre for Tasmanian Historical Studies Port Arthur peephole found in Masterpiece Gallery, Tasmania Inside Port Arthur prison. Source: Wikipedia Port Arthur

36

CollectablesTrader

Pentridge Goal

and put his eye to the hole. A thick

convicts in 1853. Re-offenders

piece of glass in the peephole protected

continued to be sent there until the

his eye from an attack by a prisoner.

prison closed in 1877. The model

The three peepholes illustrated

prison buildings where peepholes

here were used in Pentonville style prisons, the model prison building at

were installed was completed in 1853.

Port Arthur was dreaded by convicts

Port Arthur in Tasmania, Fremantle in

and due to its isolation was virtually

Western Australia, and Pentridge in

impossible to escape. One successful

Victoria. Two housed convicts and all

escapee was Martin Cash, a forebear

date from around the mid-19th

of Pat Cash the well-known Australian

century. They were acquired by a

tennis star. An unsuccessful attempt

private ‘convict relic’ collector over a

to escape was made by an inmate

25 year period.

who disguised himself by wrapping

Based on their online records the

himself in a hide to look like a

National Museum in Canberra and

kangaroo but the half-starved

Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum do

guards on duty tried to shoot him to

not record any in their collections

supplement their meagre rations.

and Museum Victoria has one

When he noticed them taking aim

peephole complete with door, but it

at him, he threw off his disguise

came out of a mental hospital. There

and surrendered.

are however numerous peepholes in

After the prison closed much of the

situ in closed down prisons around

property was put up for auction.

the country however, these are

However, most of the property was

unavailable to collectors.

not sold until 1889. Those who

Pentonville style prison

bought the Port Arthur property

The Pentonville model was based on

began tearing down the buildings and

Jeremy Bentham’s theories. Bentham

the destruction was furthered added

denounced corporal punishment

to by the fires of 1895 and 1897

such as whippings, as it only served

which destroyed the old prison house.

to harden criminals and did nothing

It is believed that it was during this

to turn them from their immoral ways.

era that the peephole first came on

He promoted psychological

the market.

punishment like the silent and

Second find: Pentridge Gaol

peephole dates to this period. In the

In 2001 one was discovered in the

began closing down and public tours

well-known Ian Armstrong antique

began in 1997. In 1999 the site

Port Arthur and its peephole

shop in suburban Melbourne (since

was sold off by the government and

closed). When the topic of peep holes

the area is now a typical suburb with

Port Arthur was named after George

was discussed with the proprietor he

houses, parks and commercial

Arthur the Lieutenant Governor of Van

went out the back and pulled out two,

properties. The dealer acquired this

Diemen’s Land. Convicts were sent

from the then recently demolished

peephole when remnants of the

there from 1833 until the cessation of

Pentridge Gaol.

prison were being auctioned off.

hooded system, however inmates developed mental illnesses. The peephole was part of this system.

Pentridge Gaol peephole initially acquired by Ian Armstrong, Melbourne

Pentridge was established as a stockade in 1850 to house the overflowing Melbourne Gaol prisoners. In the years 1857 to 1864 Pentridge was built into a Pentonville-style prison and the latter half of the 1990s the prison

CollectablesTrader 37

Helpful tips Visit antique shops where Western Australia was the last

finished looking around tell

colonists pleaded with the British

the owners or staff what

Government for them. The colonists

interests you most. Do not

were desperate for labourers. The first

be too precise in what you

felons arrived from England in 1850

are looking for, form a habit

and the last was in 1868.

of asking for anything

The prison was built in the 1850s, and transferred to the colonial government in 1886 for use as a jail for locally-sentenced prisoners. It

made or used in Australia. It is surprising what comes out from under the counter or in the back room.

closed as a prison in 1991 shortly

Fremantle Gaol peephole located in a Fremantle antique centre

after a riot. Fremantle Goal is the best preserved convict-built prison in Australia and is now a tourism hotspot, attracting well over 125,000

Third find: Fremantle Gaol

visitors annually.

that housed transported convicts. The Port Arthur and Fremantle gaols were constructed to hold convicts transported to Australia, whereas

Victoria Street, Fremantle, another

How much are Australian prison cell peepholes worth?

peephole was discovered in a back

Value is based on supply and

Australian prison cell peepholes, they

room. It had been only in the shop a

demand. Supply of peepholes is

would have to be valued at a

few days when spotted. The owner of

almost non-existent. But even rarer

minimum of a few hundred dollars to

the centre stated that the stallholder

are those who collect them. That said

a thousand. If they were put into a

claimed the peephole had come from

they are historically important,

specialist auction who knows what

Fremantle Gaol.

particularly ones used in institutions

they would fetch.

In 2012 at the antique centre in

Photograph of Fremantle Goal, c. 1900

38

ever you go and when

colony to accept convicts. In fact, the

CollectablesTrader

Fremantle Goal

Pentridge was built for home grown convicted criminals.

If one had to put an estimate on

Valentine’s Antique Gallery IMPORTERS OF FINE QUALITY ANTIQUES ESTABLISHED 1947

Impressive French rosewood Louis XV style queen size bed, c.1880, with ornate rococo scrolls, professionally extended for new mattress

Rare 19th century satinwood double bed made by Alex Mackenzie (Glasgow UK), c.1880, with cartouche initials ‘R.D.’ to foot; fine ebonised inlays, newly upholstered head & foot

Fine quality French mahogany Louis XVI style queen size bed, c.1890, with parquetry inlaid panels and quality floral ormolu mounts

Rare Victorian burr walnut arched top queen size bed made by Wylie & Lochhead (Glasgow UK), c.1870, with turned columns to head, bow ends to bracket foot

Please refer to our website: www.valentinesantiques.com.au for a full listing of new stock

Valentine’s Antique Gallery 369 Hargreaves Street, Bendigo, Victoria 3550 Phone: 03 5443 7279 Mobile: 0418 511 626 Fax: 03 5442 9718 Email: peter@valentinesantiques.com.au www.valentinesantiques.com.au

Au s t ra l i an An t i q u e a n d Art Deal e rs A s s oc iat i on

travel feature

FORGOTTEN ISLANDS, FULSOME ART Eyes agog with wonder, Melissa Rimac visits the exotic islands of West Papua and emerges weighed down with irresistible artefacts

he call to prayer ricochets along

T

narrow lanes edged with the stout columns and candy coloured shutters of stately

colonial villas then melds with the sedating clunk of rickshaws and hand-pushed wooden carts. Doe eyed cows are tethered to Dutch East India Company cannons.

As I make my way under a canopy of rain trees towards forts that have stood sentry since the early 1600s, the air is dense with the scent of clove cigarettes.

40

CollectablesTrader

Ambling about Banda Neira, the erstwhile spice trading hub where it

Inviting ports of call Our first port of call after embarking

feels as if the Dutch left last week, it

amid the surreal volcanic backdrop of

strikes me that not only is this tiny,

Rabaul was Wewak, a port city that,

car-free island laden with evocative

like so many in Papua New Guinea,

antiques – in fact, the whole place

has at its heart a bustling market

actually is an antique.

memorable for the bright smiles and

Within moments of stepping off the

technicolour outfits of the local

gangplank of the luxury expedition

women. A shameless bag lady, I

ship the Orion, a small ship that

couldn’t resist purchasing a few

specialises in visiting otherwise

woven bilums.

inaccessible time-frozen sanctuaries, I was ogling reminders of the days

Jayapura – a step back in time

National Geographic. Some men

when spices – such as nutmeg,

After a smooth day at sea – which

wore headdresses fashioned from

which only grew on these volcanic

passes quickly and pleasantly thanks

cassowary feathers, some had

islands and was believed capable of

to the fascinating lectures – we

skullcaps made from shells, one had

warding off the plague – were literally

docked at Jayapura in West Papua.

a hat shaped like those of 17th

worth more than their weight in gold.

Dancers attired in elaborate

century Dutch sailors. Women were adorned in lavishly painted bark.

VOC embossed coins, cutlery and

arrangements of bark, feathers and

locks, Chinese crockery, daggers and

shells greeted us. At a traditional

It would be easy to dismiss the

covetable chests, as well as fetching

Papuan village reached by way of

repeated vibrant displays of dancing

wicker-ware and ocean pearls,

brightly painted timber boats, I felt

and culture as tourist trappings.

competed for my wad of rupiah.

like I’d stumbled into an antiquated

However it soon becomes apparent

During WWII Wewak was a Japanese base destroyed by the 6th Division, Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in the Aitape-Wewak campaign (November 1944August 1945). This was the final Australian military campaign on mainland New Guinea, and now categorised as an ‘unnecessary campaign’ as the Japanese were isolated and strategically irrelevant.

CollectablesTrader 41

that for the locals – who themselves travel great distances to relish the

With their palette of earthy colours,

Irian Jaya Museum, we saw headdresses very similar to that of the

spectacle and the social occasion –

the large paintings on hibiscus bark

dancers’, along with bark paintings akin

these performances are a source of

cloth arranged for sale upon the grass

to those seen in the village. As our guide

huge pride and an opportunity to

reminded me of tapa cloth, albeit with

at this unusually well-curated exhibition

nourish a traditional culture that

striking abstract figures and geometric

space explained the background to the

might wither.

symbols. Though clearly traditional,

weapons, canoes and paintings, it

these works were quite funky, the sort

became clear that in these tribal

as a privilege, the opportunity to glimpse

of thing that could work with all

societies, warfare, ancestor veneration

into vivid, heartfelt expressions of ancient

manner of home décor.

and the need for protection figured

I’ve come to see these performances

lifestyles. It’s something you just don’t

42

see when you’re travelling independently.

CollectablesTrader

Later that afternoon in Jayapura’s

prominently in artistic expression.

As West Papua’s largest city, Jayapura acts as a clearing house for regional art A gloriously diverse range is available for sale near the market, in small, treasurebox styled stores – the sort of places that are all the more fun because you do, quite literally trip over fascinating pieces – are crammed with art from the Sepic, the Baliem Valley and the Asmat tribes, renown worldwide for their spiritually-inspired elaborate carvings.

The easily-carried bark paintings, some neutral toned and almost cubist, others richly nuanced and depicting brilliantly colourful birds of paradise, were too hard to walk past; likewise the jewellery, fashioned from simple materials such as shells and wood into inventive designs.

Between visits to several more unique and remote villages – each regaling with magnificent outfits, headdresses, dancing and impromptu markets selling local handicrafts – along with adrenaline charged shopping episodes, we played castaway on deliciously far flung islands.

We snorkelled on reefs that, as part of the renowned Coral Triangle, are home to more species of coral than

CollectablesTrader 43

Birds of paradise are inextricably linked with Papua New Guinea cultures, chosen as the country’s national emblem. A yellow bird of paradise on a red background sits in the upper triangle of Papua New Guinea’s national flag.

anywhere else on the planet. In what seemed like the middle of the Pacific Ocean at Marpia Atoll, we driftsnorkelled, marvelling at gardens of jewel-lipped giant clams. The fairytale landscape of Rajah Ampat, featuring hundreds of tiny karst islands, brought on audible swoons and appreciation of the fact that such unpeopled, unspoiled places still exist.

But there’s a downside to Paradise.

Coral Triangle Initiative on

On our sea-day en-route to Darwin,

Coral Reefs, Fisheries and

we cleaned the masks and shields

Food Security (CTI)

we’d bought and wondered how we’ll

Regional Plan of Action

carry them all home. As passengers

(RPOA), states that within

compared finds, the Orion’s top deck

the Coral Triangle region

started to resemble a tribal art gallery.

are 76 per cent of all

I couldn’t help but feel a little

known coral species, 37 per

envious. But that’s not entirely a bad

cent of all known coral reef

thing. I now have all the more reason

fish species, 53 per cent of

to return to eastern Indonesia, to

the world’s coral reefs, the

havens such as the Spice Islands,

greatest extent of mangrove

remarkable for their beautiful,

forests in the world, and

narrative-laden ikat textiles.

spawning and juvenile growth areas for tuna and other globally-significant commercial fish species.

44

CollectablesTrader

Open Monday to Sunday 10.30am to 4pm

SALLY BERESFORD 17th - 19th Century Provincial Furniture

BIG & SMALL TABLES

DINING TABLES

EXTENSION TABLES

Sally Beresford/French Farmhouse Tables is now trading in the country. We have a beautiful and historic showroom for our range of artisan made, bespoke tables in hand-selected French timbers. Uniquely crafted locally, using 17th-18th century methods of construction and finish, we can take orders on tables custom made from 1m to 5m. Visit us at Mount Ashby and sit around a French Farmhouse table in the original, restored dairy, and enjoy the view of the vineyard surrounded by grazing dairy cattle.

SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS SHOWROOM Mount Ashby Estate Cellar Door and ‘La Palette’ Cafe 128 Nowra Road, Moss Vale (100m from cnr of Nowra & Yarrawa Rds) p: 02 4869 4144 p: 02 9362 1733 e: info@sallyberesford.com.au Open Thursday to Monday 10am to 4.30pm & By Appointment

www.sallyberesford.com.au

www.sallyberesford.com.au

www.sallyberesford.com.au

Collectables Trader

Congratulations to the winner of Conundrum No. 47

conundrum no.48

Congratulations to the winner of Conundrum No. 47, S. Boulter of Palm Beach, QLD, who wins a one year subscription to the online version of CARTER'S Price Guide to Antiques at www.carters.com.au, valued at $110.

n this Conundrum, we focus on some of the lesser known gemstones and precious materials, used in jewellery manufacture.

Paua is unique to New Zealand, and is a species of abalone (Haliotis Iris). It lives on the rocky shoreline all around the coast, but grows best in the waters of southern NZ. This marine mollusc’s shell is the most colourful of the abalone, ranging in colours from greens, pinks, purples and blues to examples found with crimson tonings.

Greenstone, as it is known in English, is also from southern New Zealand. It is known to the Maori as pounamu and is generally found in rivers in certain parts of the South Island as commonplace boulders and stones, which makes them difficult to identify without cutting them open.

Tiger’s eye or tiger eye is the common name for a variety of quartz that is a golden to red-brown colour, with a streaked appearance.

When polished it has a fine golden lustre. The best stones come from South Africa.

Tahitian pearls are produced in the black-lipped oyster Pinctada margaritifera and are commonly known as black pearls because of their dark colour, although they are not actually black. Black pearls contain various undertones and overtones of green, pink, blue, silver and yellow. Pearls that are truly black are extremely rare.

Moonstone is a semi-precious stone mostly from India and Sri Lanka. This feldspar mineral has a silvery or bluish shimmer on an almost transparent background. Moonstones can be white, clear, gray, a very pale yellow, brownish or green. It was a favourite with Art Nouveau jewellers including René Lalique.

Citrine, a member of the quartz mineral group, is an affordable semiprecious gem and the colour ranges from a pale yellow to brown. Those with a deep golden colour resemble the more costly topaz and are sometimes used as a substitute. Virtually all citrine comes from Brazil.

After reading through the description of each item from 1 to 6 above, your task this month is to write the name of the gemstone under each item.

To recap, the names of the six items are:

I

1

2

3

4

Paua Tiger’s eye Moonstone

5

6

Greenstone Tahitian pearls Citrine

Once you are satisfied with your answers, complete the coupon below and mail it to the address shown.

The first correct entry opened after the closing date for entries will receive a free one-year subscription to Carter’s online price guide to antiques and collectables valued at $110. You must have an email address in order to be able to access the online price guide.

Located on the internet at www.carters.com.au, it includes over 90,000 items.

Carter’s online price guide is fully indexed, making it easier to locate items, and offers affordable access for infrequent or once-only users, as well as being moderately priced for an annual subscription.

Answers to Conundrum No. 47, which asked readers to identify the country of origin of the designer of six items: 1. Britain 2. France 3. Denmark 4. Australia 5. Italy 6. United States

CARTER’S PUBLICATIONS

PO BOX 8464, ARMADALE VIC 3143, AUSTRALIA FAX: 03 9819 4407 EMAIL: info@carters.com.au JOHN FURPHY PTY LTD ABN 37 005 508 789

To enter, write the answer underneath the appropriate picture, complete the coupon below and mail or fax this page or a photocopy to reach CARTER’S by 5 pm Tuesday 13 August 2013. Win a free one-year subscription to Carter’s online price guide to antiques and collectables at www.carters.com.au valued at $110.

Name: ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Address: .........................................................................................................................Suburb or Town: ...............................................................

State: .................Postcode: .................Phone..........................................................Email.........................................................................................

CollectablesTrader

47

Now you can easily find the value of antiques and collectables in the online version of Carter’s Price Guide to Antiques and Collectables.

STEP 1 Enter one or two words applicable to o your general gen area of interest, intere estt, and click c on the Go button. bu utton.

STEP 2 Select the index ind dex item from the disp play that display your matches you ur criteria. criteria.

STEP 3 Click to displ display ay the matching ma items.

Our online price guide comprises over 95,000 items sold by auction in Australia and New Zealand over the last four years, and the price range shown is indicative of the actual auction price. Carter’s price guide is fully indexed, just like a book, making search-and-find easy. Each item is fully described and illustrated.

Subscription rates are: – One week AUD$12.50

– One month AUD$30.00

Go to: www.carters .com.au John Furphy Pty Ltd trading as CARTER’S Publications ABN: 37 005 508 789 info@carters.com.au

– One year AUD$110.00

COLLECTABLES

fairs

** Fairs listed prominently advertise complete details in Collectables Trader or Antiques & Art (NSW, VIC, QLD) Collectors should call and confirm the date, venue, address, hours and entry fees to ensure up to date information before travelling to the listed fairs, as changes may occur after printing

Fair organisers who advertise in Collectables Trader and Antiques and Art NSW, Queensland and Victoria have preference for this free listing, as space is limited.

Please ring 02 9389 2919 to discuss ways to advertise your fair in these magazines or email copy or request for advertising rates to production@worldaa.com

AUSTRALIA JULY **6

Ballarat Collectables Fair, Wendouree Sports & Events Centre, Norman St, Wendouree VIC 03 9585 6567

6-7

Annual Blue Mountains Antiques and Collectables Fair, Blackheath Community Centre, Great Western Highway, Blackheath NSW www.bluemts.com.au

6-7 **12 -14

3rd Annual Charity Nerang PCYC Antique & Collectables Fair, Cayuga St Nerang QLD 0449 997 149 Rotaract Club of Dubbo Antiques & Collectables Fair, Dubbo Regional Theatre & Convention Centre, Darling Street, Dubbo NSW www.dubborotaract.org.au Gala opening Friday, 6pm – 9pm

**19-21

21st Annual Rotary Club of Hoppers Crossing Inc Antiques & Collectables Fair, Werribee Civic Centre, Princess Highway, Werribee NSW 03 9748 6437 / 0408 486 432

19 - 21

Rotary Club of Palm Beach 10th Mid Year Antiques and Collectables Fair, Albert Waterways Community Centre, cnr Hooker Blvd & Sunshine Parade, Mermaid Waters QLD 0411 649 242 www.rotaryantiquesfair.com

20

Pakenham’s 10th Annual Antique Fair, Pakenham Racecourse, Racecourse Rd, Pakenham VIC www.the4cs.org.au 03 5941 1327 $5 valuations by David Freeman

**27 - 28

32nd Annual Doll Fair, Liverpool Catholic Club, cnr Hoxton Park & Joadja Rds 02 4393 9973 www.dollclubnsw.com.au

AUGUST **2 - 4

27th Annual Camden Antique Fair, Camden Civic Centre, Oxley Street Camden NSW 02 4655 8681

www.camdenciviccentre.com.au Verbal appraisals 10am - 3pm Sat & Sun, 2 item limit for small fee; preview Friday, 6pm - 9pm 2-4

Annual Tamworth Antiques and Collectables Fair, Tamworth Town Hall, Fitzroy Street, Tamworth NSW www.tamafair.org.au

10 - 11

Annual Tweed Gold Coast Antiques and Collectables Fair, Tweed Heads Civic Centre, Corner of Wharf & Brett Sts, Tweed Heads 07 5524 8531 www.tweedgoldcoastfamilyhistoryheritageassociation.bravehost.com

**10 - 1 Sept

Gold Coast Quilters Guild Exhibition 2013, The Arts Centre Gold Coast, 135 Bundall Rd Surfers Paradise QLD 07 55816567 www.theartscentre.com.au

**16 - 18

ACT Springtime Antiques and Collectables Fair, presented by Rotary Club of Canberra City, Albert Hall, Commonwealth Ave, Canberra ACT 02 6231 5244 / 0418 631 445

23 - 25

Coffs Harbour Quota’s annual Antique Fair, Exhibition Hall, Coffs Harbour Showgrounds, Pacific Highway, Coffs Harbour NSW 02 6652 5704

**30, 31 - 1 Sept The Lions Club of Berowra’s 3rd Northern Sydney Antiques & Collectables Fair, Berowra Community Centre, Berowra NSW 0424 023 220 free Father’s Day Classic Car Show & free shuttle service to station 0424 023 220 www.nsacfair.com.au **30, 31 - 1 Sept 17th Annual Kyneton Antique Fair, Kyneton Town Hall, Mollison St, Kyneton VIC 0411 208 448 friendsofkynetonmuseum@gmail.com NEW ZEALAND JULY 6

Antiques, Collectables and Crafts Market, Bay View Hotel, 47 Petane Road, Bay View, Napier www.eventfinder.co.nz

13 - 14

The Christchurch Toy Fair, Pioneer Stadium, 75 Lyttelton Street, Christchurch www.thechristchurchtoyfair.org.nz

14

Blockhouse Bay Antique and Collectables Fair, Blockhouse Bay Community Centre, 524 Blockhouse Bay Rd, Auckland 09 445 1227

20

Hastings Great Car Boot Sale Hawke’s Bay A & P Showgrounds, Kenilworth Rd, Hastings www.eventfinder.co.nz

20

The Little Vintage Markets, The Mount Senior Citizens Club, 345 Maunganui Rd, Mt Maunganui, Tauranga www.thelittlebigmarkets.co.nz

20 - 21

Napier DIY Art Deco Weekend Antique Fair, Asher Hall, Presbyterian Hall, cnr Tennyson & Dalton Sts, Napier www.antiquefairs.co.nz

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Waikato Mid-Winter Retro Fair, Chartwell Co-Operation Church Hall, Comries Road, Chartwell, Hamilton http://waikatoretro.co.nz/retrofair CollectablesTrader 49

CRICKET MEMORABILIA still batting above average After almost 50 years collecting, cricket expert Ken Piesse says the thrill of the hunt is just as irresistible – and rewarding aving just returned from

H

Clunes for Australasia’s biggest two-day book fair, my wife Susan expressed amazement

that I’d want to spend the very next

The Bradman Flicker booklets from 1930. Expect to pay $250 each, as these are rare Signed editions of The Terror and Tony Greig: A Tribute are both worth upwards of $50 because of their rarity although recently released

Saturday morning at the local Rotary Club jumble sale.

I tried to explain the thrill of the hunt and that you never know, someone might be disposing of some rare wartime Wisden

Almanacks, the prized ‘bible’ for old cricketers worldwide.

Hidden treasures in sports books I was one of the first there, just after the 8 am opening, and was quickly directed to the sports books. I helped myself to six or eight cricket and AFL football books, including, in as-new condition, a biography of one of Australia’s greatest sportsmen Ron Barassi, which he readily signed for me at a meeting soon afterwards. His signature is truly unique as it finishes with a ‘17410’. Rather than a code of how many times Ron has signed his autograph, it tells of his remarkable playing and coaching record of 17 Grand Finals for 10 premierships – ‘and did you know Ken,’ he loves to say, ‘those numbers add up to 31, my number’.

Wisden Almanacks have been published continuously since 1864 and are believed to be the longest running sports annual.

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CollectablesTrader

Ron Barassi’s unique signature ends in ‘17410’ The signed How to Play Cricket by Don Bradman.

Value: $200

Having a book autographed by an

signature on my frontispiece – and

old champion has always been

that this new addition had been

special. Sir Donald Bradman had

hand-signed by the Don. A $5 buy

signed five of his books for me years

was suddenly worth almost $200.

earlier in Adelaide and they take pride of place on my bookshelves.

This day, at the local scout hall,

Prize buys like this are ever so rare, but will ensure more crazy, interrupted weekends – especially if pre-loved books

SOME TITLES TO LOOK FOR Among those are limited editions from both sides of the cricketplaying world. Tony Greig: A

Tribute 1946-2012 (Sussex Cricket Museum, 2013, £20) has sold

one of the books I bought was The

are part of a local fair!

Don’s How to Play Cricket, the revised

What to consider if collecting cricket books

in a run of 200. Each copy is

So which cricket books are most

Greg’s old Sussex teammates

collectable? Which ones offer the very

including John Snow, the wonder

hardback edition, released in the Queen’s coronation year of 1953. The slim hardback and dust jacket were in excellent order, so like all serious

out just weeks after its release embellished by autographs of

best returns? What should an astute

bowler of the early 1970s. The

book collectors who regard a dust

collector look to be buying? Bradman?

book is based around specially-

jacket often as fondly as the insides,

Warne? Who?

commissioned essays and

added it to my small stack.

Elizabeth, the lovely lady taking the

In a year of back-to-back Ashes

memories of the much-loved Greig

contests, the Test cricket matches

who lost his fight against cancer

money, said had she known that one

between England and its oldest rival

late in 2012.

was there, she would have purchased

Australia, new books abound from

The Terror: Charlie Turner,

it for her son who plays at a seriously

‘ghost’ written autobiographies by

Australia’s Greatest Bowler, was

high club level. I immediately offered

current English wicketkeeper Matt

published in Melbourne in a run of

it to her but she refused, saying I’d

Prior to recently retired Australian

500, the first 100 signed by the

found it and I should keep it.

greats Ricky Ponting and Mike

author Ric Sissons and another

Hussey. Their books were all widely

bowling great from country

the new acquisitions and casually

available, 10,000 and more having

Australia, Alan Davidson, in time

opened the Bradman book. Next to

been printed of each and, while all

for Christmas 2012. The standard

his picture at the front was his

are enjoyable, none are particularly

edition at $35 is good value for a

autograph. This isn’t unusual as often

collectable or likely to rapidly spiral in

hardback. The signed edition costs

the old stars would have their

price – even with a signature gained

$50 and only a few remain. Like the

autograph copied onto the picture

at a launch or a bookshop promotion.

smaller and even-rarer Greig booklet,

That afternoon I thumbed through

before the printing of the book. But

Biographical or autobiographical

this one was totally separate to the

editions printed in more limited numbers

picture. I quickly reached for my

are far more collectable and provide more

original copy of the book and to my

opportunities than the mass-produced

delight found that there was no

titles for pleasurable superannuation.

it’s a good read by one of Australia’s finest social historians Ric Sissons.

CollectablesTrader 51

Books on Shane Warne More recently, looking to the ‘Bradman of bowlers’ Shane Warne – almost all of his books, and those written about him, were also mass produced. Shane Warne: My

Illustrated Career (2006) came in two editions, a standard paperback with R M Davis, Don Bradman’s Pictorial Test Record, 1932-33.

Value: $300 signed R H Campbell, Cricket Casualties. Value: $500

Don Bradman – a big name treasure For those keener on the bigger names, among the most collectable Don Bradman treasures are three English ‘flicker’ books from 1930, The Don’s magic year when he made an unprecedented 974 runs during the five Ashes Tests at an average of almost 140. The flicker books fit into the palm of one hand and are totally pictorial. As your thumb flicks the pages, The Don is depicted flowing into an array of his favourite shots learnt on the concrete wickets of Bowral, his celebrated home town.

For me, even more treasured, is Don

‘flap’ covers plus the more valuable, sumptuously produced leather bound

Many avenues for collectors

limited edition of 1000. The writing

From signed photographs,

may irritate some – Warne wasn’t the

autograph sheets, mini-bats and

finest cricketer to have played the

card sets, cricket collectors have so

game – but the production, complete

many avenues to explore.

with Warne’s original signature

Few have the finances to collect

coupled with some facsimile signed

everything, so it is necessary

photographs beautifully housed in a

to specialise.

hardy slips case, is a classic

A recently-released favourite card

collectable. Released only in England

set of mine was the Heritage set of

at just under £100, copies can still be

Australian Cricketers from 1995-96

bought on the secondary market at

which featured 60 cards, 58 signed

prices upwards of AUD$250 to almost

by Australia’s oldest living Test

AUD$500 – plus post.

players. The only two who didn’t sign were Keith Miller and Leo

The bottom line for collectors is to

O’Brien, then 88, and too ill to

revel in the moment and buy books and

hold a pen.

collectables you genuinely love… and

The O’Brien card (No.1) was

look inside every old Bradman book

withdrawn and replaced by a

you come across!

generic ‘starting’ card. My set includes the original O’Brien. Other

Bradman’s Pictorial Test Record

fortunate collectors were able to

booklet, produced for the Bodyline

have their Miller card (No.12)

summer. It is in good to very

signed by the great all-rounder

good condition and has The Don’s

before he died, in 2004. Their sets

original signature inside.

are worth upwards of $1750.

Rare ABC cricket publication Another treasure from that era is the very first ABC cricket publication – a tiny 28page booklet, Cricket Casualties was produced by the Australian Broadcasting Commission from records compiled by noted statistician R H Campbell in 1933, 12 months before the release of the very first ABC Ashes booklet in 1934. It also is flimsy with paper covers and I have only ever seen one copy – mine.

52

This Leo O’Brien card was withdrawn from the 1996 Heritage set and is worth $75

CollectablesTrader

The limited edition Shane Warne leather-bound book and photo set is worth upwards of $250

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Good assortment of old and collectable books including early editions and rare and interesting topics

Shop 7, Centenary ANTIQUE Centre 29 Centenary Rd Newcastle NSW • Open 7 days: 10 am – 5 pm Just 100 metres from Civic Station

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CollectablesTrader

53

COLOURED URANIUM GLASS used to make a multitude of items It is surprising to realise how many manufacturers used uranium as a colorant in objects from exotic one-off works of art to everyday domestic objects

John Frith

Definition ranium glass is traditionally a

U

translucent yellow or yellowgreen glass that derives its colour from uranium oxide and

fluoresces bright yellow-green under ultraviolet light.

Discovery of uranium and uranium dioxide In 1789 German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth, while experimenting with pitchblende, at the time considered to be a blend of iron and zinc, separated a black powder from the mineral. He thought it was Top: Vase made of free blown uranium glass, yellow base and ruby with opalescent pattern bowl, maker unknown Above: Candlestick made in United States c. 1840-1860, yellow-green non-lead (uranium) glass; pressed in two parts, hexagonal urn shaped socket with a flat top rim joined by a wafer to a base with a hexagonal pen-shaped stem and a flat circular foot, hollow underneath. Courtesy Corning Museum of Glass Left: Covered sugar bowl made in England c. 1840-1860, light yellow uranium pressed glass, ovoid shape with a pattern of elongated diamonds around body set on a circular foot. Courtesy Corning Museum of Glass

54

CollectablesTrader

a new element and named it uranium after the planet Uranus. The uranium elemental metal itself was isolated in 1841 by French chemist EugèneMelchior Péligot who also demonstrated that the yellow precipitate Klaproth produced was not uranium, but uranium dioxide.

Pitchblende, a form of urananite, is the most common mineral in which uranium is found. Uranium oxides make up to 50 to 80 per cent of that mineral, the rest being comprised of lead and thorium oxides, radium, and other rare earth elements. Up to the 1850s the main source of pitchblende was Bohemia after which it became available from Cornwall, and later from America.

Colours Uranium oxide was used to make many types of yellow and green glass.

Different colours were made by addition of other colorants, iron oxide made green, copper and chromium oxides made green, blue and turquoise, manganese oxides made pink, and cadmium and sulphur salts made amber and orange. It was used as a secondary colorant in varieties of multi-coloured shaded glass such as Peachblow, Queen’s Ivory and

Above: Vase made of green uranium pressed glass with an opalescent thumbprint pattern, maker unknown

Below left to right: decorative vases, yellow with opalescent bowl, ruby with uranium green frills, and green uranium with ruby and opalescent bowl

Burmese; in opaque coloured glass such as Custard and Jade glass, in combination with ruby and opalescent, and as applied glass decoration in the many styles of coloured fancy glass.

Colouring glass in the early 19th century It is recorded that in 1831, at the Prague Exhibition, a yellow-green fluorescent glass was shown on the stand of Count Harrach’s Bohemian Neuwelt factory. But Josef Riedel, in his family glassworks in Bohemia, is usually credited with being the first documented glassmaker to use uranium in glass in the 1830s. Riedel produced green and yellow glass beakers decorated with gilding and

CollectablesTrader 55

Uranium glass used to make coloured wine glasses

enamelling which he named

the 1840s, Canary glass was made by

hock glasses and decanters, and

Annagrün (green) and Annagelb

glassmakers such as Hobbs,

many ornamental articles of

(yellow) after his wife Anna. The

Brockunier & Co and the Boston &

glass; but its fascinating

process of extracting the yellow

Sandwich glass Co.

peculiarity is lost, indeed, its

uranium salt from pitchblende was

Apsley Pellatt’s description from his

expensive and much of Riedel’s

1849 book Curiosities of Glassmaking

uranium glass pieces were made for

of the use of uranium in glass stated:

colorization mostly fades, by candle-light.’

In the latter half of the 19th century a

royalty and political figures. The

‘The introduction of toilet and

wide diversity of styles of decorative and

Riedel factory continued to make

smelling-bottles has created a

table glass containing uranium were

uranium glass up until the late 1840s.

demand for light-tinted Glasses,

made throughout Britain, continental

particularly for the beautiful

Europe and America, and remained

and French glassmakers had also

semi-opalescent, yellowish-green

popular until the mid 20th century.

been experimenting with uranium as a

colour; produced chiefly by the

yellow colorant of glass. In 1836

expensive oxide of uranium,

Whitefriars Glassworks of London

mixed with a slight portion of

made a pair of yellow topaz girandoles

copper, and appearing yellow or

that were presented to Queen

light green, just as the rays of

Adelaide by Lord Howe, and in 1837

light happen to fall upon the

they made uranium finger bowls and

unequal substance or thickness

hock glasses that were used at a

of the Glass. This chameleon-like

banquet given by the Corporation of

effect is also produced by

London for the new but as yet

uranium alone, used as the

uncrowned Queen Victoria.

colouring oxide for gold topaz; it

In the early 19th century British

In 1838 the Choisy-le-Roi factory in

has been much in demand for

Further reading A Pellatt, Curiosities of Glassmaking, David Bogue, London, 1849. BiblioLife Reproduction Series D A Peterson, Vaseline Glass: Canary to Contemporary, Glass Press Inc., Marietta, Ohio 2002 B Skelcher, The Big Book of Vaseline Glass, Schiffer Publishing Ltd, Atglen, Pennsylvania 2002 B Skelcher, ‘Uranium Glass’, 1998: www.glassassociation.co.uk/sites/default /files/Uranium_Glass_sample_article.pdf

Paris, France, was producing uranium glass. The Compagnie de Cristalleries

The Vaseline Glass Collectors,

USA) to be Vaseline glass, in

Inc. (VGCI) www.vaselineglass.org

Australia, they call citron or

uses this definition: Vaseline

uranium glass. In the United

chrysoprase, an opaque apple-green

glass is a particular colour of

Kingdom they refer to glass

glass named for its similarity to the

yellow-green glass that is

that has a wispy opalescent

green form of chalcedony mineral.

made by adding two per cent

treatment to be Vaseline glass.

uranium dioxide to the

What they call Primrose

Stourbridge made Canary glass and in

ingredients when the glass

Pearline (a trade name from

1848 chrysoprase. In America, from

formula is made. The addition

Geo. Davidson & Son) is what

of the uranium dioxide makes

USA collectors call Vaseline

the glass colour yellow-green.

glass. In Germany, they did not

Vaseline glass is always

differentiate and call all of it

verifiable by using an

uranglas and it can be yellow

ultraviolet light (blacklight)

or green, as long as it has

on the glass item.

uranium in it and glows under

de Baccarat in Paris released its first uranium glass in 1843 under the name Cristal Dichroide, and later

In 1844 Thomas Webb & Sons of

What we consider (in the Pair of crystal knife rests pressed glass, maker unknown

56

CollectablesTrader

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the evolution of the

POCKET WATCH CASE Long before wristwatches – and indeed iPhones – became the norm for time keeping, pocket watches were the only portable means for telling the time Damien Kalmar n this article some of the various styles

I

and designs of pocket watch cases and how they evolved over the centuries will be examined.

Design dictated by fashion The earliest watch forms were a transition from clocks that goes as far back as the 16th century. These ‘clock-watches’ were fastened to clothing or worn on a chain around the neck, pendant style from the neck. In the 17th century men began to wear watches in pockets instead, spurred along by the introduction of the waistcoat. To fit comfortably in the pockets it evolved into the typical pocket watch shape – rounded and flattened with no sharp edges.

From top: Early pocket watch c. 1820 in tortoiseshell case with key wind and set Art Deco 18 ct and platinum Movado pocket watch, c. 1920 Elgin full hunter 9ct gold lever set pocket watch.

Note the small lever outside the 4 o'clock to pull out to set the time

58

CollectablesTrader

Identifying early designs: the pair case One of the earliest styles of cases was the pair case pocket watch which was most common from the 1700s through to the early 1800s.

plain. These are easily identifiable by the pocket watch having a longer than normal stem when removed from the outer case.

These pocket watches had a key wind and key set movement that were

These were mostly created in

wound from the back and the hands set

sterling silver with a lesser amount

from either the back or the front. It’s not

in gold and were made with an outer

uncommon to find the outer case

case to protect the inner pocket

missing from the pocket watch so, if you

watch, and both cases were usually

are after one of these early examples.

In 1759 Thomas Mudge

escapement in watches. He

(1715-1794) made a watch for

appears to have made some

George III with a lever

3,000 watches and 174

escapement that became the

clocks of all types.

universally adapted mechanism for watches.

In 1764 John Arnold

Above: Minute repeating clock watch by Thomas Mudge (1715-1794) London, c. 1755, movement and dial are housed in triple cases: the two inner cases of gold, pierced and engraved with foliate scrolls and masks; the outer case of leather-covered brass with pierced panels to allow the sound of the bell to escape © The Trustees of the British Museum Below: George Graham (1673-1751)

(1736-1799), a clock maker

George Graham (c. 1674-

working in Fleet Street

1751) invented the deadbeat

designed and made an

escapement in 1715, the

extremely small repeating

mercurial pendulum in 1726

watch that he set in a ring

and modified the cylinder

and presented to George III. Robert Davy, John Arnold and family, c. 1783-1787, oil on canvas © Science Museum Group. Group portrait depicting the watch and chronometer maker John Arnold (1736-1799) examining a chronometer, his son John Roger Arnold (1769-1843, active from 1783 as a watchmaker, and his wife Margaret Arnold (1743/4-1789)

Below: Half quarter repeat gold and enamelled cased cylinder pocket watch by John Arnold, London, 1775, no 254 © The Trustees of the British Museum

CollectablesTrader 59

Half hunter made in 18 ct gold showing both the front cover open and closed. Note the double spade hands for the hour to distinguish between the minute and hour hands when the case is closed

verge and fuse escapements to a relatively thinner lever escapement movement. In addition better ways of protecting the pocket watch from damage as well as dust and other Full hunter 9 ct gold crown wind and set pocket watch, c. 1910, made for Angus & Coote, Sydney

debris were introduced by adding a front hinged cover called the full hunter or the hunter case.

During this time, the open face

Important features to note It is obviously best to get a pair case pocket watch that is complete but do ensure that the hallmarks on both the pocket watch and the case match up and are not a later ‘marry’ between the two.

In addition the case maker’s initial is often found on plain gold and silver cases. Again, where a watch does not have the same initials on the inner and

60

pocket watch was also developed and, as the name implies, this does not have a front cover however it also was just one piece as opposed to the two piece pair case pocket watches.

Both of these cases are commonly found in sterling silver and solid gold cases. Added to this, the late 1800s to the 1900s saw the production of rolled gold or gold filled cases as well

Full hunter The full hunter was produced mainly for when a gentleman was hunting on horseback, and the front cover is opened by depressing the crown, that will reveal the dial. With any of these two there are of course both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage of an open face pocket watch is the ease with which to tell the time, that is, no need to open the top case to view the time. The disadvantage is of course the fact that it is easier to damage the glass covering the pocket watch dial, and these features – that is, protection versus convenience – are reversed for the full hunter pocket watches.

as nickel silver and gun metal cases.

Demi hunter

This was because the higher the

Which leads us on to another form of

outer case, the outer is non-original.

precious metal content, the softer the

pocket watch case; the demi-hunter

Design and mechanical developments

material. Gold filled pocket watches

or half-hunter pocket watch. This style

are well-built to stand ageing but in

of pocket watch gives total protection

The mid 1800s saw a major leap

time, such filled cases may show

of the full hunter pocket watch by

forward in pocket watch movements

patches of brass which can lessen the

having an outer cover, yet still allows

from the larger and somewhat bulky

value of the pocket watch.

the time to be read while this is still

CollectablesTrader

closed by having a small inner circle cut out.

Most demi-hunter cases have additional numbers on the front cover of the case which correspond to the

Pocket watch use peaked in the late 19th century as a wave of investment went into its design and manufacture. Railroads needed

numbers on the dial. Demi-hunter

highly accurate, precision timepieces so their

cases make for a very handsome and

locomotive engineers could maintain strict

elegant pocket watch case and are

schedules, thus avoiding collisions.

much harder to find than the more traditional styles.

Winding mechanisms

Pin set: A similar style is the pin set where, again at the same position

As mentioned earlier, the key wind

but this time just on the outer edge of

and key set is quite straight forward

the case, a small ‘pin’ is depressed

in winding and setting via the key,

and the same process applied as the

and the later pocket watches from

lever set.

Switzerland and America from around the 1880s used a new technology in winding and setting the pocket watches.

Crown wind: This was the crown wind also called the stem wind where

Note: With either of these pocket watches do not ever attempt to pull the crown out to set the time as this will very quickly and easily damage the pocket watch!

the top crown is rotated to wind the pocket watch. The earlier forms of front cover – usually to the left or

Other styles of pocket watches to look for

right of the crown – a small lever is

These include a railway grade, side

pulled out then the crown turned to

wind, fancy cased as well as

set the time; after the lever is pressed

repeating and chronograph pocket

back in, the crown reverts back to

watches to name a few.

these were lever set where, under the

winding the movement.

Above: Gold one minute tourbillon pocket watch by George Daniels (1926-2011), London 1986. The Daniels co-axial escapement is mounted in a steel one-minute, edge-driven tourbillon carriage under a steel and brass balance clock with a free-sprung overcoil balance spring, silver engine-turned dial with polished gold chapter rings gold hands, gold case hallmarked ‘GD’ 1986.Courtesy http://ahci.watchprosite.com.

Daniel’s coaxial escapement has been described as the most important horological development for 250 years, showing that a mechanical watch is equal in performance to an electronic one

Early pair case pocket watch, c. 1810, both in and outside its protective cover

CollectablesTrader 61

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CABINETS OF CURIOSITY the forerunners of museums During the Age of Discovery (1400s-1600s), European seafarers, while on exploring or trading expeditions, bore home not only tales of amazing adventures, but also wondrous man-made and natural artefacts that they discovered along the way

Melody Amsel-Arieli

ecause 17th century collectors

B

described, organised, and displayed their acquisitions subjectively, each cabinet of

curiosity differed from the next. These kaleidoscopes of knowledge – mixing art with artifice and science with superstition – reflected the rich diversity of the Renaissance.

European royalty and many scholars

also acquired curios, displaying them in chambers aptly named ‘cabinets of Top: Anglo-Saxon era, Alfred Jewel. British Archaeology Collection © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford Right: Henry VIII’s hawking glove.

Tradescant Collection © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

wonder’ or ‘cabinets of curiosity’.

The Renaissance notion of a

wunderkammer (literally ‘room of wonders’)

The term ‘cabinet’ originally meant a chamber, rather than a piece of furniture.

Above: Powhatan’s ceremonial mantle.

Tradescant Collection © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

or cabinet of curiosities, housed an often-idiosyncratic array of prized or

Right: Lantern that Guy Fawkes is believed to have been carrying upon his arrest in the ‘Gunpowder Plot’, 1605. British Archaeology Collection © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

exotic collectables. Actual

wunderkammers displayed such rarities

superstition and art with artifice,

compartments, richly decorated

as a horn of the legendary unicorn

delighted, astonished and amazed.

drawers, even miniature chapels.

(invariably the exhibit was a narwhal

Collectors and their cabinets

tusk), carved rock crystal, religious relics, fine porcelain from China and flamboyant glass from Venice.

Sometimes an occasional shrunken head or other ethnographic or natural history specimens were on display.

Anatomical oddities

Ole Worm (1588-1655), a Danish philosopher, physician, and antiquarian, for example, filled his cabinet of

Some of these cabinets – rotating marvels fashioned from exotic woods or inlaid with imported jewels or shells – were collectables in themselves.

tusks, tortoiseshells, skeletons, spears,

England’s first major cabinet of curiosity

and a suspended kayak.

British naturalist and gardener John

curiosity with a hodgepodge of masks,

Neapolitan apothecary Ferrante

Tradescant the Elder (c. 1570s-

Despite their scope, however, they

Imperato (1550-1625) lined his with

1638), while gathering botanical

were not like today’s museums.

books, stuffed birds, gems, fossils,

specimens across Europe, the

Anatomical oddities such as ‘two ears

corals, marbles and minerals. Its

Caribbean, the East Indies, the

of a Thief that was hang’d’ nestled

vaulted ceiling, teeming with shells

Levant and Russia, amassed many

near mythical creatures like ‘two beast

and preserved sea creatures, also

natural and artificial worldly wonders.

call’d Taitons’, zoological marvels such

featured an enormous stuffed alligator.

John Tradescant the Younger (1608-

as the ‘bristly Skin of a Brazilian

Others, like King Gustavus

1662) later added North American

Beast’ and scientific wonders such as

Adolphus of Sweden, displayed

ethnological items such as the

clockworks and distortive mirrors.

smaller collections in elaborate pieces

deerskin ceremonial mantle of Chief

These displays, merging science with

of furniture featuring tiny pigeon-hole

Powhatan, ‘King of Virginia’.

CollectablesTrader 65

Ashmole’s legacy Elias Ashmole (1617-1692), a collector, lawyer, founding member of the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Science, and a neighbour of the Tradescants, financed the publication of a catalogue of The Ark, the Musaeum

Tradescantianum, in 1656. Several years later, the contents were passed to Ashmole by deed of gift.

In 1675, Ashmole donated the entire acquisition, along with his own library of historical, medical and astrological manuscripts, to the Ashmolean Museum © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

their collection in their Lambeth house dubbed ‘The Ark’. Tradescant’s Ark was not only the earliest major English cabinet of curiosity, but was also open to the public. Now common folk, like the aristocracy, could also behold outlandish curiosities, thus it is referred to as England’s first museum.

Curious displays

Excerpt from A Catalogue of All the Chiefest Rarities in the Publick AnatomieHall of the University of Leyden [Leiden], Francis Schuyl, 1727, England, which includes cabinet of curiosity curios

Though father and son held all

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University of Oxford. Like the British Museum in London, the Kunstkamera in Saint Petersburg – established by Peter the Great and the first museum in Russia – and the Museum Boerhaave in Leiden, the Netherlands, which were all seeded by cabinets of curiosity, the Tradescant Collection became the foundation of Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum, formally founded in 1683.

Today the Ashmolean boasts

By 1638, their collection included two

extensive art and archaeological

ribs of a whale, a little bark boat, a

collections from around the world.

salamander, a flying squirrel, a girdle

Over the years, however, most of the

that Turks wear in Jerusalem, a bat as

Tradescant zoological curiosities,

large as a pigeon, a variety of shells

including the head and foot of the last

and stones, the hand of a mermaid,

stuffed dodo bird seen in Europe,

an ape’s head, a dragon's egg, a

deteriorated beyond recognition. Yet

piece of wood from the True Cross,

some of their more stable curiosities –

brightly coloured birds from India, a

including the earliest known pinewood

polished metal mirror, an elk’s hoof

bead calculating frame, an

items of equal importance, they

with three claws, a cup made from a

embroidered doeskin hawking glove

separated the natural from the

unicorn horn, foreign boots and

associated with Henry VIII, three

artificial, then further divided them

shoes, a toad-fish, Indian arrows,

German open-work ivory spheres

into sub-categories such as portraits

lathe-turned ivory, a piece of human

lathed within each other, and an

of royalty, religious relics, animals,

flesh on a bone, a large magnet stone,

ancient copper-alloy lantern set with

plants and minerals. They displayed

and a hatband made of snake bones.

crystals – still exist today.

CollectablesTrader

An Australian cabinet Closer to home and aligning with the more traditional interpretation of a ‘cabinet’ is one of the most significant acquisitions of the State Library of NSW – the Macquarie Collector’s Chest. Presenting an array of wellpreserved natural history specimens and rare painted views of the colony, this beautiful red cedar and rosewood chest was created by a skilled convict cabinetmaker for Governor Macquarie around 1818.

Probably intended as a special presentation piece to celebrate the colony of NSW, the painted panels are one of the most striking features

Their excellent condition is partly

of the chest – some attributed to

due to the insect repellent qualities

famous convict artist Joseph Lycett

of the cedar, but also to the long

(1774?-1825).

period the chest spent in the cool,

The cabinet contains specimens

relatively dry climate of an attic in a

that include collections of NSW

Scottish Highlands castle before

butterflies, beetles, insects and

being repatriated.

spiders, seaweed and algae

Exotic items also form part of the

presented in glass-topped boxes in

collection and include shells,

decorative arrangements.

Solomon Islands artefacts, Toucan

Compartments hold 80 stuffed birds

bills from Central America and dried

of Australian species, including a

Pacific Ocean flying Gurnard (fish).

Tawny Frogmouth, Satin Bowerbird,

From the Hapsburg Kunstkammer, an early 17th century goblet from Goa, India made of Javan rhinoceros horn set on a gold filigree mount © Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna

No doubt, collections of such

Regent Bowerbird and a variety of

specimens and items originating from

kingfishers, parrots and herons as

cabinets of curiosities will continue to

well as smaller specimens. All these

excite and interest generations to come.

birds were found in the Sydney and Newcastle regions in the early 19th century. Some have subsequently become scarce or rare.

Further reading Exotica, The Macquarie Collector’s Chest, State Library of New South Wales, Sydney, 2005

Macquarie’s Chest. Mitchell Library.

Courtesy State Library NSW

CollectablesTrader 67

collecting

AMERICANA IN AUSTRALIA From politics and war to movies, items commemorating American events have always attracted Australian interest Joshua O’Donnell & ChrisTOPHER Hughes

here is an increasing Australian

T

interest in art and objects made in America. This is hardly surprising as both nations evolved from early

European settlement which has been similarly expressed by their artists. As well as confronting grand and diverse landscapes and an indigenous people as depicted in paintings, the parallel histories of both nations are further exemplified through folk art and tributes to military and political events – and of course there is the cross fertilisation through the giant Hollywood movie studios with their representations of American culture and values.

Whale tooth scrimshaw Although the origins of the word are uncertain, the meaning of ‘scrimshaw’ is clear: it refers to any craftwork made on board a ship, usually incorporating the teeth

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CollectablesTrader

or jaw of the whale. Articles made from marine ivory include boxes, rolling

Privateering is the

pins, ladles, canes and umbrella

practice of commissioning

handles and boxes – in fact two of the

privately owned vessels to

earliest scrimshaw works discovered

attack or capture enemy

are tobacco boxes of wood inlaid with

ships during wartime, with

walrus ivory dated 1665 and 1712.

the owner and crew taking

Scrimshaw artistry was popular in

all or a share of the spoils.

the 17th to the 19th centuries among

The HMS St Lawrence –

the many seafaring nations including

outgunned and outmanned

the French, British and Spanish – as

– reportedly lasted 15

well as colonial Australia – which

minutes before

engaged in voyages and expeditions

surrendering to the

that often lasted for years. During the

American schooner, when

many hours of downtime, sailors

the Chasseur approached

engraved designs on bone, tusk or

for close quarters combat.

shell as well as whale teeth.

For the engraving of a whale’s spontaneous design or an illustrated

Silver military presentation gifts

paper, and pricked out with pin-pricks

The United States of America has had

in the tooth itself. These pricks would

an impressive naval history, especially

then be joined up with tiny scratches

in the 20th and 21st centuries,

which would then be blackened and

successfully maintaining a strong

the whole polished with china clay

global presence. With its roots

sponsored by Mrs Cassin Young, the

and whale oil.

present in the Continental Navy of the

wife of Captain Cassin Young who

tooth, a tracing was made from a

Revolutionary War (established in

was awarded the Medal of Honor for

history of such artistry. The scene

1775), the United States Navy had

his valour as commanding officer of

depicted in the scrimshaw pictured is

grown into a formidable force by the

The Vestal (AR-4) during the

of the American privateer Chasseur

1940s. With the surprise attack on

Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in

(also known as The Pride of

Pearl Harbor in 1942, the American

1941. Captain Young later died in

Baltimore) capturing HMS St

war machine reacted swiftly with the

November 1942 at the Naval Battle

Lawrence, another American privateer

production of hundreds of ships.

American whalers have a strong

ship that had been captured by the

The USS Trathen (DD-530) was a

of Guadalcanal. The USS Trathen was involved in over nine

British Royal Navy two years earlier in

World War II era Fletcher-class

engagements, including the battle

the War of 1812, between the United

Destroyer in service of the United

for Iwo Jima in 1945 and the

States and the British Empire.

States Navy. The Trathen was

Korean War in 1953.

CollectablesTrader 71

In March 1965, the USS Trathen made its final voyage to San Diego where it was deactivated and decommissioned in May of that year.

In 1972 it was decided that modernisation costs would be wasted and so the Destroyer was then used for target practice, before being scrapped in November 1973.

The cigar box pictured was

The origins of Gorham

the skills of Lieutenant General

date back to 1831. The

Somervell were an important factor in

company was founded in Providence, Rhode Island and its silver services were used in many White House administrations including those of Lincoln

produced by the American silver

and Grant. Among

manufacturing company Gorham and

Gorham's major trophy

gifted to the USS Trathen by its

commissions are the

sponsor Mrs Young. The box was

America's Cup for

likely made between 1933 and 1941

yachting and the Davis

when Gorham temporarily ceased

Cup for tennis.

dating their sterling pieces.

This sterling silver presentation tray was given to Lieutenant General Brehon B. Somervell from the US Office of the Under Secretary of War

72

in 1943. It was widely recognised that

CollectablesTrader

the success of American military forces during World War II. As construction division chief of the Army Quartermaster Corps, he was a major influence in the planning and construction of the Pentagon. The Pentagon was finished and dedicated on 15 January 1943 and this tray bears the date 15 March 1943 so it may have been offered in recognition of his efforts towards its construction.

This tray also is a fine example of another iconic American institution, Tiffany and Co.

Jane Wyman's silver bowl Jane Wyman (1917-2007) was an American singer, dancer, and academy award-winning actress. She won an Oscar for her performance in

Johnny Belinda in 1948 and received her Academy Award nomination in 1954 for her performance in Douglas

the only ex-wife of a United States

Sirk’s film adaptation of Lloyd

President, having married Ronald

Douglas’ Magnificent Obsession,

Reagan in 1940 before divorcing him

which also starred Rock Hudson. The

in 1948. Artefacts from famous

Motion Picture Council of Greater

figures such as Ronald Reagan have

Cleveland presented this sterling bowl

always been extremely desirable in a

to Miss Wyman in 1954, naming

collector's repertoire. Memorabilia

Magnificent Obsession their Woman’s

associated with presidents have

Picture of the Year.

always been highly sought after, often

Miss Wyman was also known as

fetching high prices at auctions.

A cabinet designed for the White House One of the Antique Guild's prized pieces is this stunning American walnut breakfront. Made in the United States in the late 19th century, this breakfront has an amazing provenance – having once called The White House its home.

Our breakfront enjoyed its stay at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue during the presidency of William H. Taft, who took office for one term in 1909 between Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. President Taft remains the only man to serve both as President and Chief of Justice of the United States.

As the First Family of the White House is permitted to redecorate, many pieces of presidential furniture were auctioned off to the general public. This was common practice right up until 1961, when a law was passed to conserve White House history.

CollectablesTrader 73

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enterprises A selection of English Hallmarked Sterling Silver frames and antique silver available.

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SATURDAY 21 SEPTEMBER 2013 10 AM - 5 PM

SUNDAY 22 SEPTEMBER 2013 10 AM - 4 PM

Admission $8.00 Accompanying children FREE INQUIRIES 0428 446 534 Sydney, interstate and country dealers offering a wide selection of furniture, jewellery, silver, porcelain, lamps, linen, books and many other interesting collectables.

Longines Admiral 10k gold filled, c. 1965 $2295

ALL ITEMS FOR SALE

Gold diamond and jade stick pin $3750

Omega Seamaster 14 ct c. 1960s $1895

Of the three nine piece sterling silver tea sets made by Garrard & Co London in honour of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, this is the only known surviving example. Hallmarked Garrard & Co London 1953/54, weight approximately 11 kilos

&

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Gippsland Antiques & Collectables Fair The biggest display of Antiques, collectables, old wares and things of historical significance in our region Free Antique Appraisals, Refreshments Available

SATURDAY 30 NOVEMBER 9.30am - 5pm SUNDAY 1 DECEMBER 9.30am - 3pm Kernot Hall, Princes Drive Morwell Victoria For inquires call 03 5122 2590

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75

Sale of Redmond Collection of Royal Doulton Part II of the Redmond Estate Doulton Collection is being auctioned on 16 July

by Cordy’s Auctioneers of Auckland as part of its monthly antique and art auction.

This amazing collection, amassed by Doug and Joy Redmond, grew out of Doug’s obsession for targeting quality pieces.

Born in Canterbury, Doug was a door-todoor milkman for many years and did not indulge himself with too many luxuries: he did not have a modern TV, never owned a computer and his house was modest, but he did have a passion – for Doulton china.

Doug’s interest led him to be a founding member of the Christchurch Collectors Club and eventually a life member and patron. A great orator, he was a popular speaker and gave many insightful talks to a wide range of community groups.

Also a passionate researcher, Doug's goal was to obtain good examples of most of the Doulton range. Thus a number of

Left: An impressive Doulton Flambé ‘Sung’ jar, impressed mark for June 1923, signed A. Eaton (act.1889-1932), h: 270 cm, ovoid shouldered shape, painted with a scene of a peacock in flight, factory mark and Noke to base. Est: $5000 Right: Royal Doulton Lambeth jug by Hannah Barlow (act.1871-1913), hallmarked London 1874, h: 270 cm, sterling silver rim, tapering cylindrical shape, the handle and the body adjoining the handle decorated with incised and coloured glazed trefoil leaves, decorated sgraffito to the buff ground of a pastoral scene featuring a herd of 10 goats in an extensive rural landscape. Est: $3500

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CollectablesTrader

‘International Exhibition’ pieces produced by Doulton have found their way into what is arguably New Zealand’s best Doulton collection – notably the ‘Mount Cook and Huka Glacier’ vase, the flambé Omar Khayyam vase, and the Sung ‘Peacock in Flight’ vase.

The Redmonds were also prime lenders to the 1993 NZ Post Royal Doulton Exhibition.

Part II of this collection is being offered for auction by the estate for definite sale, and in many cases the estimates are considerably less than the prices paid.

At the time of going to print, Cordy’s Andrew Grigg mentioned there had been good interest both nationally and internationally, reporting that ‘a couple of Australian collectors have already booked flights’.

Royal Doulton ‘Blue Children’ vase, signed ‘W. Brown’, 110 x 370 cm. The moon vase, set on four gilded floral over blue feet, the same decorated to the narrow side panels and rim, one side painted with a scene of a mother and daughter in garden, the other side featuring a painted scene of a young woman sitting on the quayside with cottages and boats in the background. Est: $2000

Proudly presented by Friends of the Kyneton Museum

Friday, 30 August 5 pm – 8 pm Saturday, 31 August 10 am – 5 pm Sunday, 1 September 10 am – 4 pm

Kyneton Town Hall Mollison Street, Kyneton 3444 Admission: Adults – $7.00; Children – Free

Paul Cholewinski

Floral Embossed China Featuring Carlton Ware - Royal Winton - Shorter and Son at

Camberwell Antique Centre 25-29 Cookson St, Camberwell VIC 3124 Ph: 03 9882 2028 also trading from

Ringwood Antique Market 182 Mt Dandenong Road, Ringwood, VIC 3134 Phone: 03 9879 1686 Mobile: 0412 333 368 paul.cholewinsk@optusnet.com.au

Enquiries: Phone 0411 208 448 Email: friendsofkynetonmuseum@gmail.com

Mid Year Rotary Antiques & Collectables Fair 19-21 July 2013 Fri 19 10am-6pm Sat 20 10am-5pm Sun 21 10am-3pm Albert Waterways Centre, Sunshine Bld Broadbeach Queensland ADMISSION: Adults $10, concession $7, under 17 free Enjoy an extensive array of antiques, decorative art, jewellery, books & collectables of all kinds and the opportunity to buy direct from dealers

Enquiries:

Special feature sales 2013 Aug 2

Vintage clothing, accessories & jewellery Sept 6 Blokey, sport, pubanalia, tools, military Oct 4 Australiana & decorative art Nov 1 Rock, pop & retro & vintage clothing Dec 6 Toys, books & ephemera

Phone Peter 0411 649 242 Email: AntiquesFairChairman@tpg.com.au www.rotaryantiquesfair.com.au

CollectablesTrader

77

knowledge base

THE ART OF THE NETSUKE a Japanese story in miniature Definition netsuke is an ornament once

Narwhal ivory: a popular medium

attached to, and made to be

The art of netsuke carving in ivory evolved

worn on, a man's costume

in the later 18th century. Until WWII, one

during the Tokugawa period

of the materials used extensively by

A

also called the Edo period (1603-1867),

Japanese ivory workers in their production

the final period of traditional Japan. It

was narwhal ivory, a rare species of whale

served as a kind of toggle at the top end

which had only two teeth, of which the left

of the cord passing under the sash that

developed into a cylindrical ivory tusk

bound kimono together and from which

which sometimes reportedly reached eight

hung the tobacco pouch, pipe and keys,

feet in length. Though an excellent colour

or an inro, the Japanese portable

with a fine surface for carving, the tusk

medicine chest. These small ornaments

had a deep cavity and spiral groove

were often made of expensive or rare

extending along its entire length which

materials and served to display wealth,

rendered the material difficult to work with.

taste and social status.

In the 19th century a vegetable ivory obtained from corozo nuts began to be

Made also in wood At first wooden netsukes were made in

used by Japanese ivory carvers and from which they created a variety of netsukes.

great number but gradually the majority were carved in ivory. Until 1868 – when

Beware of fakes

Japan emerged as a modern state and

In the later 19th century, when foreign visitors

men began adopting the western mode of

to Japan and western collectors discovered

dress – all netsukes were authentic

the charm and fascination of netsukes,

specimens, made for use with native

expanding systematic reproduction of old

costume; and therefore made in the

examples and outright forgery caused a flood

correct dimension and shape to fulfil their

of fakes to appear on the market. A type of

intended purpose.

vegetable ivory derived from a species of palm called binroji in Japan was stained yellow to simulate old ivory.

Recognising the signs Indications for collectors to be wary of generally include sharp edges and the absence of signs of wearing by the cord around the sides of the holes. Nor is a signature on the base a guarantee of authenticity.

Carvers to look for

Ikkuan for his mice, Tadatoshi for his

Celebrated carvers of netsukes were

snails and Masamati for his rabbits.

accorded great esteem in Japan. The

Others found inspiration in old prints

artist Shunzan, working at Nara from

by masters, such as Hokusai, while

the end of the 18th century, and

some became accomplished in the

Miwa I, belonging to an earlier

execution of a single design and

generation of Nara carvers, were

produced netsukes that were

artists in wood who endowed the

repetitive in form.

netsuke with the form from which the techniques and styles of later carvers of ivory netsuke evolved. Schools of

netsuke carvers in ivory were

Masters of the miniature

established at Kyoto and Yedo, where

The Japanese are known as masters

in the early stages of development,

of miniaturisation and, just like haiku,

artists derived inspiration from the

bonsai and Zen gardens, netsukes

works of Miwa II and Miwa III, both

allow us to 'see the world in a grain of

supremely talented ivory carvers, also

sand' according to William Blake. The

at Nara. The Miwas taught Ikko and

growing interest in these charming

Gamboun, who also became known

items are evidenced in the results of a

for their high quality work.

recent auction held in London which saw a fine wood netsuke of three

Style and themes

monkeys by Toyomasa achieving £63,650 while a rare, intricately

Carvers drew on a variety of themes

carved ivory netsuke of a hatching

such as nature, folklore, mythology,

turtle by Mitshuiro sold for £39,650.

history, novels, erotica and the grotesque – as well as daily life. The charm of the netsukes lay often in the artist's telling of a story, which was usually in a comic fashion.

Some artists had preferred subjects or their own styles of netsuke carving:

Further reading Charles Platten Woodhouse Ivories – A History & Guide, Douglas David & Charles Limited, North Vancouver, Canada 1976 Adrienne Barbanson, Fables in Ivory: Japanese Netsuke and Their Legends, Charles E. Tuttle Company, UK 1961

Masanao became noted for his fowls,

CollectablesTrader 79

S

ING S O L C DOWN! SALE!

setting a new

standard

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Porcelain, Glass, Lighting, Metalworks, Prints, Victorian, Edwardian & French Furniture, Ephemera, Watches, Statuary

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LET’S TALK A DEAL! NO REASONABLE OFFER REFUSED

1 2 3 4 5

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Gilded standard lamp set on carved base fringed white shade $865 Stunning Tiffany style dragonfly lamp, h:70 cm $850 Captain’s chair made in oak with cast iron adjustment wheel, metal castors to feet, stamped ‘I756F’ $1,250 Sensational French art deco six branch chromed hanging light, c. 1920 $6,950 Boudoir chair made by Pacific Furniture Design & Upholstery, Qld, brocade upholstery with tuft back $595 Pair Louis XV style walnut parlour chairs, c. 1880, with velvet embossed upholstery $2,950 pair John R Hood, Untitled - Parisian scenes, oil on canvas, 53 x 66 cm each, signed $8,500 pair Three seater chesterfield: three available $3,125 each Two seater chesterfield: two available $2,200 each Three seater salon suite with two matching bergère chairs in walnut with lovely silk brocade upholstery $16,000 Chesterfield with matching ottoman $3,750 Noll style three-piece lounge suite, brocade upholstery, feather cushions, fully sprung seats. Large extra cushions for maximum comfort $12,000 John O’Hanlon, Into the Rocks, pastel, 102 x 85.5 cm $2,450 Japan Edo period, warrior fitted out in European suit of armour mounted on papier-mâché armoured horse, set on an oak pedestal base with a marble top, h:175 cm w:90 cm l:88 cm P.O.A.

Silver, Ceramics, Advertising, Clocks, Kitchenalia, Bakelite, Perfume Bottles, Oriental, Costume Jewellery, Cruet Sets

LIMITED FLOOR SPACE / CABINETS AVAILABLE. CONTACT DENISE 02 9550 5554 212–220 Parramatta Rd, Camperdown NSW 2050 Phone 61 2 9550 5554 Fax 61 2 9550 4990 www.camperdownmewsantiques.com Open 7 days 10 am–6 pm Off-street parking

WE BUY, SELL, HIRE AND TRADE

for your LIBRARY over 37 years. In that time he has

pipes and tiles, toilet bowls, hand basins,

become a prolific researcher and writer –

chimney and flower pots; animal utensils

having self published over 80 books.

such as dog bowls, pig and poultry

Ken is to be congratulated for this

Ken Arnold Bendigo Pottery – A Selection of Wares from 1858 – 1990 Crown Castelton Publishers, Bendigo VIC 2013 Hardcover 432 pp.

ISBN 9781875342884

admirable effort in collating such a

feeders; lavatory disinfectant bottles,

comprehensive review of the wares

tobacco and snuff jars.

produced by one of Australia's most

In addition there is a thorough

notable pottery manufacturers which

listing of the pottery's marks, an

unwittingly – but delightfully – extends

essential referencing tool for all

past collecting history into social and

collectors of these wares. However, it

commercial history. Such history

should be noted that although the

encompasses domestic, commercial and

history is complete and detailed, the

consumer worlds, thereby also

pottery mark guide covers a 133 year

documenting the economics of business:

period – up to 1990.

how this enterprise not only survived but

from the main edition present an

business model that catered to the

intricate, detailed record. They benefit

changing demands of society as it

from extensive research resulting in it

traversed through accelerating

being very well-documented; its

industrialisation, world wars and the

illustration with hand-written letters,

Depression as well as different pottery

precise drawings and diagrams as well

styles and techniques.

as many colour and black and white

not just for collectors – beginning and seasoned – but for anyone interested in

82

photographs throughout makes it invaluable as a primary research tool.

A limitation in the book is in the

the history of manufacturing, advertising,

captioning, such as measurements

and marketing strategies as well as

found only in the accurate drawings,

commerce during this period.

and where included are in the original,

The history of this pottery not only

his engaging history of Bendigo

This book and supplement drawn

thrived through evolution and tweaking a

Thus this book and supplement are

Supplement: Bendigo Pottery – Waverley Ware period Crown Castelton Publishers, Bendigo VIC 2013 Softcover 64 pp.

ISBN 9781875342914

troughs, bird baths and fountains, parrot

i.e. Imperial system, with no concession

describes the changes in ownership but

to the metric system under which we

also various orders and lines produced

live today, necessitating the reader going

during different phases – from the

back and forth between the drawings

decorative to the bread-and-butter

and images. At times the placement of

utilitarian, such as vases, crockery, ginger

objects is also a little confusing.

beer bottles, teapots, pudding bowls,

If these works go to reprint, ideally

jugs, bottles, earthenware pipes, water

the supplement would be reproduced

coolers and drain pipes, which also

in a handier format – such as a

incidentally sheds light on other retailers

pocket size. As it is, this supplement

of the time – for example, consumer

also requires care in handling as it is

goods orders placed for Bushells,

not saddle stitched, but stapled.

Sanitarium and Myer.

The chapters following that of the

As pointed out in the introduction, there is no funding or grants – and for

Pottery wares and its

T

history detail the development in

Ken to produce such a monumental

accompanying supplement on

various products including barrels,

work at his own expense is to be

the Waverley Ware period provide a

bottles, demijohns, filters, money boxes

applauded. Hopefully this continuing

detailed record of manufacture of this

as well as Majolica, Parian and

oversight will be addressed in the near

oldest operating pottery in Australia as

Waverley wares. The later chapter on

future, that there will be support for the

well as a charming insight into the social

miscellaneous items is an intriguing

dedicated collectors and researchers

history of the late 19th and early 20th

insight into the multitude of domestic

who take on the task of preserving the

centuries. The author, Ken Arnold, has

demands of the early 20th century.

history of our visual, decorative and

been a dealer and collector himself for

These cover sanitary ware including

applied arts for future generations.

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83

noticeBOARD this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, Bonhams has for sale ‘NOJ 392’ the only special test car remaining in its original form.

The car is estimated to realise between £500,000 and £600,000 at the auction. came up for sale at Coinworks (Vic) and was assessed to be worth in excess of

Collectors invited to Numismatic Conference

$500,000. The firm also had an 1813

The annual conference of the

valued at $250,000.

colonial dump type D/2 for sale which it

Numismatic Association of Australia (NAA) is being held in Brisbane this year. In all there will be 17 speakers, including Walter Bloom from the WA Museum and Gil Davis, editor of the NAA journal. The registration fee of $65 includes all conference materials, lunches, morning and afternoon teas for both days. For more details p: 0439 323 744 e: pnj.lane@bigpond.com

Australia remembers in a 20 cent uncirculated coin The Royal Australian Mint’s Australia Remembers series pays tribute to the Australian Army Chaplains’ century of ministry and pastoral support in their Australian Army Chaplains’

USA Vaseline glass convention

Department commenced in 1913 to

Vaseline Glass Collectors, Inc. (VGCI)

provide oversight of military

is holding their convention at

chaplains. It began with the

Providence, Warwick, Rhode Island

appointment of four Chaplains

from 10-12 October. The venues are

General at the Australian Army

Sandwich Glass Museum & Bedford

Headquarters in Melbourne. Known

Museum of Glass. More at

to members of the Australian Defence

www.vaselineglass.org

latest collectable coin. The Royal

Force as Padre, each chaplain is dedicated to the spiritual, religious, moral and ethical wellbeing of our armed forces. This series has

Restored in Australia – Austin-Healey Special Test Car ‘NOJ 393’, the ex-Works 1953-1955

previously honoured Australian Service Nurses, the Lost Soldiers of Fromelles, War Historians and the Australian Merchant Navy.

by marque specialists Steve Pike of

Bicentenary of the Australian dump

Marsh Classic Restorations to the

Australia’s first official currency,

UNESCO adds gold rush diaries to Australian memory of the world register

start line specification for the 1955 Le

original holey dollars and dumps, have

In May this year UNESCO added

Mans race. The car realised a world

become rare and valuable. An example

three 19th-century goldfields diaries

record £843,000 at a Bonhams

of a Hannibal head holey dollar sold in

from the State Library of Victoria

auction in December 2011. In July at

1988 for $40,500. In 2012 it again

collection to the Australian memory of

Austin-Healey Special Test Car/100S, has been comprehensively restored

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CollectablesTrader

the world register. Combined, the

Museum is running an exhibition that

diaries provide first-hand accounts of

uses objects to re-create what it was

some of the most significant moments

like to live in this time and the NGA is

of the Victorian gold rush, from the

running the prints of Jessie Traill and

discovery gold to the Eureka rebellion.

will be showing the Turner from the

The diaries now add to the other

Tate until September.

significant State Library collections on the Australian memory of the world register: the Port Phillip Association Records and the Minute Books of Pre-Federation

A 127-year-old piece of cake from President Grover Cleveland’s wedding to Frances Folsom, in a Tiffany & Company box. Buffalo History Museum. Courtesy New York Times

Australian Trade Unions.

The works are The Life and Adventures

packaged as party favours are highly

of Edward Snell from 1849 to 1859;

sought after by collectors. A boxed

Diary of Charles Evans, 1853 September

remnant of Prince Charles and Lady

24 -1855 January 21 (formerly known

Diana Spencer’s 1981 wedding cake

as the Lazarus Diary); Diary of a miner

brought US$1,375 at auction in

working on the Ballarat goldfields, 1855

Beverly Hills. A memorabilia dealer in

July 8 - 1856 Jan. 1, author unknown.

Los Angeles sold a piece of Queen

Fantastical walking sticks

Victoria’s 1840 wedding fruitcake for

Mike Gleeson of Giltwood (Vic) has

US$50,000, although it had

turned a near disaster into a design

disintegrated into a powder. Some of

opportunity. A serious injury provided

these consumables have also been

the inspiration to his creating a series

gifted to museums such as the

of handmade walking sticks. One

Smithsonian which now has a

innovation is the incorporation of a

crumbling beige square of Franklin D.

memory stick into the stick, more

Roosevelt’s 1934 birthday cake. The

conventional designs use 100 year old

Grover Cleveland Birthplace in

metal brackets as handles. Mike has

Caldwell, N.J. owns desiccated

decided that proceeds from the sales

fruitcake made for the president’s

will go to the not-for-profit charity

1886 wedding to Frances Folsom.

Cara. For more information

Vintage Chanel for sale on the open market

e: giltwood@hotmail.com

The label Chanel is seen as a timeless representation of all things elegant and luxurious. For collectors of fashion accessories, acquiring a vintage piece from the storied label, with its connotation of old school glamour might be the ultimate investment piece. Occasionally collections come up for sale and recently on the web was a collection of totes and frame bags. Prices started at US$2199 to $2999 – and sold out!

Oddities to collect – baked goods an American obsession

Celebrating Canberra’s Centenary Inaugurated 12 March 1913 Canberra

Return of AAADA fair to Sydney

is in the midst of its centenary

This is the sole prestigious fair event

celebrations. The National Film and

for Sydney and returns to the easily

Sound Archive is hosting events

accessible Royal Randwick

throughout the year, from showing

Racecourse. The fair runs from 22 to

pioneering feature films from the

25 August and is the perfect

archives to new internationally

opportunity to experience

acclaimed releases. The National

the new state of the art

Jessie Traill, Building the Harbour Bridge VI: Nearly complete, June 1931

facilities of Royal Randwick and source a piece for your collection.

Remember, the dealers carry items for all collecting interests and

The New York Times reports that

budgets. More

slices of wedding and birthday cakes

information at

made for celebrities decades ago and

www.aaada.org.au

CollectablesTrader 85

notable producers including Worcester, Coalport and Derby, smaller potteries and recent acquisitions. The exhibition runs until 8 September. More info at

www.geelong.org.au

centre to building artists’ working studios. Importantly, the pottery is continuing to manufacture decorative and functional ceramics.

As well as the more than 40 stalls that make up the antique centre, there is

The Australian Men’s Open Trophy – a feat of silversmithing skill

the Interpretative Museum and for

W.J. Sanders (Sydney) was

potter’s wheel. More information at

commissioned by Tennis Australia to

www.bendigopottery.com.au

budding potters the opportunity to learn the craft of throwing clay on the

make a sterling silver equivalent of the

Celebrating Australia’s oldest public library

perpetual trophy for the Men’s Singles championship. Based on the Warwick vase the trophy took 800 man hours Australian Open. A triumph of many

For wine lovers in Hong Kong

skills this, the first of many planned

The firm of Acker Merrall & Condit

Norman Brookes Champion Cups, was

held a sale in Hong Kong where

presented to Novak Djokovic.

among the many fine wines on offer

and was completed in time for the 2013

were 12 bottles of 1988 Romanée

More on porcelain Geelong Gallery is showing fine porcelain that looks at the development of style and technique in the manufacture of British porcelain.

Conti with an estimate of US$110,000-140,000. Serious wine collectors acquire multiples of a good vintage. Also on offer were 10 cases of 1996 Margaux with an estimate of US$5,000-7,000 per lot.

Drawn from the permanent collection on show are decorated ceramics from

The world’s first public libraries appeared in England in 1850 and in Australia, the Melbourne Public Library (now the State Library of Victoria) was created just three years later, a time when Victoria had just separated from New South Wales and gold was discovered. The original architectural plans for the library drawn by Joseph Reed along with his company’s designs for the Melbourne Town Hall, Royal Exhibition Building and Trades Hall are now on display. Free, Secular and

Democratic, curated by Harriet Edquist,

Bendigo Pottery diversifies

Professor of Architectural History at

Australia’s oldest working pottery has

Archives, runs until 2 February 2014

diversified its operations, from

and forms part of the Dome Centenary

creating an antiques and collectables

celebrations. The free exhibition showing

RMIT and Director of RMIT Design

in the Keith Murdoch Gallery, State Library of Victoria, includes a multimedia reconstruction of Reed’s Intercolonial Exhibition Building and takes visitors Hoffman (Brunswick, Melbourne), jardinière, 1925, earthenware, majolica glaze, 14.5 x 15 cm

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CollectablesTrader

through the building as it would have appeared in 1866 prior to its demolition to make way for the domed reading room, which for a time was the largest building of its type in the world.

From fairytale to prized artwork The original statue Peter

Pan stands in Kensington Gardens, London, and was commissioned by J.M. Barrie himself.

It was erected secretly overnight, appearing one May morning in 1912.

The Epsom in June

Only seven more casts were made of

The Derby originated as a new race in

the work and Peter Pan stands, pan-

Epsom in 1779 and was to be named

pipe in hand, in cities around the

after either the host of the event, the

world where his story is cherished. A

12th Earl of Derby, or his important

bronze study of Peter Pan was offered

guest, Sir Charles Bunbury. Local

for sale by Bonhams in June. Signed by

legend states that the decision was

the artist Sir George Frampton and

made by the toss of a coin. The Derby

inscribed ‘PP’, this study in the image of

has been run at Epsom in the first

the 1912 original has been estimated at

week of June ever since, except

£35,000-£45,000. It has been

during the world wars.

suggested that Peter Pan’s character

native plants, a herbarium of over 7,000 pressed plant specimens and seeds, comprehensive propagation records, and David Gordon’s important botanical library. Today Myall Park Botanic Garden covers more than 130 hectares with walking trails among arid and semi-arid Australian trees and shrubs. It is maintained by a committee of volunteers, with the aim of preserving Australian flora, promoting conservation, education, research and development, and fostering the arts. Situated near Dalby, west of Toowoomba, it is open from 20 January to 20 December. Spring Open Day on 25 August showcases Myall Park Botanic Garden in full bloom, with many other attractions. More at

www.myallparkbotanicgarden.org.au

was based on the author’s brother who died in an ice-skating accident two days before his 14th birthday.

Ipswich Art Gallery hosts valuation day Local residents interested to

Tennis memorabilia for astute collectors When Thomas Black began collecting tennis items they were lower priced and saw less competition in the market than golfing pieces. Even today there’s less tennis memorabilia in circulation to purchase, thereby increasing its value.

He notes that in inflationary times it is hard to give value to various and ever changing pieces of paper, promises and onscreen numbers. Art and antiques are fast becoming the only route into securing a decent investment of money

Thrill of shipwreck exploration in New York

know what their antiques are

A voyage through more than 2,000

by an expert panel of valuers

years of seafaring history is explored

when the Ipswich Art Gallery

through a variety of authentic shipwreck

hosts Treasures from the Attic

treasures on show at Discovery Times

on Saturday, 21 September.

Square in New York City. The finds

Participating expert and

recovered by Odyssey Marine

manager of Lancaster’s

Exploration, Inc., a pioneer in the fields

Antiques Centre in Toowoomba,

of deep-ocean shipwreck and offshore

Sharon Christison, says the panel of

mineral exploration, include silver

valuers assembled for the September

recovered from the SS Gairsoppa

event will be able to answer a range of

shipwreck, 2,000 year old Roman

questions including the age, origin and

wrecks, WWII U-boats and ZEUS,

worth of objects. People should bring

Odyssey’s eight-ton Remotely Operated

along their family heirlooms passed

Vehicle (ROV) which acts as the

down through the generations; the old

archaeologist’s hands and eyes in the

vase on the cupboard that belonged

deep ocean and can descend to the

to a great aunt or the unusual piece of

ocean floor at depths of over 8,000 feet.

jewellery that always lived in the

worth can have them appraised

bottom of Granny’s jewel box. You

and integrity for the future. Today his

Spring day at Myall Park Botanic Garden

never know what you've got.

racquets. Tate, the ‘maker of champions’,

In 1984 Myall Park was recognised as a

coin donation basis and there is a limit of

was a unanimous choice with the top

Botanic Garden. It comprised 90

three items per person. Photographs will

players of his generation as a racquet

hectares planted with thousands of

suffice for larger objects. For more

collection has been valued at over £400,000 and includes two Thomas Tate

designer. The collection is now being offered for sale in London.

Appraisals will be conducted on a gold

information contact the Ipswich Art Gallery on 07 3810 7222.

Collectables Collectables Trader Trader 87 ?

TRADER toys

Peter Brough’s ‘Archie Andrews’ ventriloquist doll made by Palitoys UK, c. 1950, very good boxed condition $375 Antique Toy World Camberwell VIC 03 9882 9997

Renault Floride made by ATC Japan, c. 1960s, l: 25 cm, detachable hard top, almost mint, boxed $550 Antique Toy World Camberwell VIC 03 9882 9997

Meccano Constructor Car, c. 1930s, clockwork mechanism, good condition $475 Antique Toy World Camberwell VIC 03 9882 9997

Matchbox Major Pack M-3 Mighty Antar tank transporter & Centurian tank, c. 1959, almost mint, boxed $265 Antique Toy World Camberwell VIC 03 9882 9997

furniture

English provincial wooden stool, c. 1900, elm seat and turned legs with stretcher $245 Collectors' Cottage Newcastle NSW 02 4389 1922

French Art Deco mahogany queen size bed, c. 1920, rails and slats made in-house $1590 Brunswick Street Antiques Fitzroy VIC 03 9416 3093

English walnut bedside cabinet, c. 1890, mirrored door, Fretwork back and lockable from side, set on brass castors, h:98 x w:44 x 40 cm deep $695 Brunswick Street Antiques Fitzroy VIC 03 9416 3093

Pair of French oak marble-top bedside cabinets, c. 1915, panelled door fronts, on turned and fluted legs with a shelf below featuring a shaped and moulded edge,h:80 x w:40 x 40 cm deep $1200 Nostalgia Antiques Thornbury VIC 03 9480 3745

Restored French queen size bed, c. 1910, with original extended side rails $2950 Seanic Antiques Newport VIC 03 9391 6134

French walnut Louis XVI style bed, c. 1920, original condition, with rails and slats $1350 Brunswick Street Antiques Fitzroy VIC 03 9416 3093

To see more dealer items for sale, visit www.AntiquesPlus.com.au, managed by John Furphy Pty Ltd who also publishes Carter’s Price Guides to Antiques and Collectables, now online at www.carters.com.au

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CollectablesTrader

Venetian rococo style vitrine, c. 1920, decorated in reddish-brown lacquer and chased patterns on cabriole legs, the glazed top lifting with a gilt interior, h:80 x w:83 x 38 cm deep $1500 South Fitzroy Antiques VIC 03 9417 7993

French Napoleon III carved and giltwood serpentine console table, 1860, stretcher and sides with carved scallop shells and water gilding, corners each with a cartouche containing the crest of the Rothschild family, h:89 x w:101 x 54 cm deep $3650 South Fitzroy Antiques VIC 03 9417 7993

A pair of French Louis XVI style salon chairs, c. 1870, re-upholstered in silk celadon satin, h:93 x w:50 x 50 cm deep $2250 South Fitzroy Antiques VIC 03 9417 7993

Edwardian walnut frame settee, c. 1910, re-upholstered with castors, h:79 x w:138 x 65 cm deep $595 Heritage Shed Antiques Hurstbridge VIC 03 9718 2822

Australian cedar apprentice or traveller’s cedar washstand, c. 1890, in original condition, h:13 x w:20 x 10.5 cm deep $275 Neville Beechey Antiques & Fine Furniture Colac VIC 03 5231 5738

Australian cedar extension table, c. 1900, l:116 cm (extended) $550 Brian Andrewartha Antiques & Restorations Hawthorn VIC 03 9897 1807

Australian oak and mountain ash Arts and Crafts bookcase, c. 1910, leadlight doors and adjustable shelving throughout. h:160 x w:107 x 37 cm deep $1295 Brunswick Street Antiques Fitzroy VIC 03 9416 3093

George III mahogany bow front chest of drawers, c. 1800, 74 x 89 cm $1500 South Fitzroy Antiques VIC 03 9417 7993

Australian Edwardian ornately carved mirror back sideboard, c. 1900, fitted with three doors and two drawers h:220 x w:150 x 52 cm deep $2500 Brian Andrewartha Antiques & Restorations Hawthorn VIC 03 9897 1807

To see more dealer items for sale, visit www.AntiquesPlus.com.au, managed by John Furphy Pty Ltd who also publishes Carter’s Price Guides to Antiques and Collectables, now online at www.carters.com.au

CollectablesTrader

89

Australian cedar footstool, c. 1880, bun feet, hand worked cross stitch upholstery, original polish $275 Collectors' Cottage Newcastle NSW 02 4389 1922

Australian oak Federation hallstand, c. 1910, lift up lid storage seat and twin umbrella trays either side, original bevelled mirror, h:193 x w:118 x 35 cm deep $1195 Brunswick Street Antiques Fitzroy VIC 03 9416 3093 Australian coach wood pedestal or palm stand, c. 1910, reeded and carved turned column, h: 99 cm $440 Northumberland Antiques & Restorations Terrigal NSW 02 4384 6464

Australian Art Deco coffee/side table, c. 1935, removable plate glass top, in excellent original condition, diam:56.5 x h: 63.5 cm $295 New Norfolk Antiques TAS 03 6261 1636

French oak studio easel, c. 1910, adjustable canvas ledge and top clamp, on H-frame base, h:198 x w:63.5 x 65 cm deep $1250 Nostalgia Antiques Pty Ltd Thornbury VIC 03 9480 3745

English oak Arts & Crafts palm stand pedestal, c. 1920, h:84 cm $250 Northumberland Antiques & Restorations Terrigal NSW 02 4384 6464

Australian Arts & Crafts Blackwood hall seat, c. 1910, h:190 x w:113 x 43 cm deep $1495 Brunswick Street Antiques Fitzroy VIC 03 9416 3093

Art Deco burr walnut 4-door demi-lune display cabinet, c. 1930, glazed centre doors, adjustable glass shelves, h:111 x w:135 x 38 cm deep $1850 Nostalgia Antiques Pty Ltd Thornbury VIC 03 9480 3745 Blackwood Arts & Crafts style desk made by Dante (Australia), c. 1910, with two drawers and cupboard door above, keys and locks for the desk drawers and cupboards, h:122 x w:117 x 65 cm deep $1450 Brunswick Street Antiques Fitzroy VIC 03 9416 3093

Edwardian kauri pine wall cabinet, c. 1910, with Art Nouveau pressed metal panel set in door, h:66 x w:36 x 25 cm deep $195 Antique Effects Ballarat VIC 03 5331 3119

To see more dealer items for sale, visit www.AntiquesPlus.com.au, managed by John Furphy Pty Ltd who also publishes Carter’s Price Guides to Antiques and Collectables, now online at www.carters.com.au

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CollectablesTrader

Restored Baltic pine cabin trunk, steel bound, c. 1880, h:48 x w:109 x 58 cm deep $550 Antique Effects Ballarat VIC 03 5331 3119

Spanish domed top travelling trunk, c. 1700, decorated with bullion braid retaining original iron carrying handles and gilt brass locks and clasps set on later custom made stand. Formerly in the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria, h:64 cm x w:122 cm x 62 cm deep $4400 South Fitzroy Antiques VIC 03 9417 7993 Australian Art Deco Blackwood and silky oak occasional table, c. 1935, h:53 x w:74 x 43 cm deep $295 New Norfolk Antiques TAS 03 6261 1636

Restored Federation fiddle back Blackwood sideboard, c. 1910, h:160 x w:154 x 52 cm deep $1895 Seanic Antiques Newport VIC 03 9391 6134

Victorian rosewood fire screen, c. 1860, woolwork panel enclosed within a moulded frame, surmounted by a carved and pierced crest and raised on a baluster pedestal supported by three carved out swept legs, h:139.5 x 53.5 x 48 cm deep $1750 Nostalgia Antiques Pty Ltd Thornbury VIC 03 9480 3745

French oak seat and servery desserte, c. 1900, in original condition, table and eight chairs signed G. Roswag, Paris, h: 140 x w:120 x 45 cm deep $1950 Cote Provence North Carlton VIC 03 9347 6656

English Art Deco figured walnut display cabinet, c. 1930, curved sides, raised on a plinth base and fitted with a drawer and glass shelving, h:110 x w:114 x 32 cm deep $1750 Nostalgia Antiques Pty Ltd Thornbury VIC 03 9480 3745 French walnut Louis XVI style bookcase c. 1910, original bevelled glass panels, adjustable shelves, h:209 x w:116 x 45 cm deep $1975 Nostalgia Antiques Thornbury VIC 03 9480 3745

Australian Blackwood display cabinet, c. 1930, original leadlights, fitted with 3 shelves, relief carving on pediment and pie-crust edging, h:125 x w:93 x 37 cm deep $965 New Norfolk Antiques TAS 03 6261 1636

To see more dealer items for sale, visit www.AntiquesPlus.com.au, managed by John Furphy Pty Ltd who also publishes Carter’s Price Guides to Antiques and Collectables, now online at www.carters.com.au

CollectablesTrader

91

English George IV walnut hall chair, c.1820, set on turned and swept legs, 88.5 x 43 cm $495 Nostalgia Antiques Pty Ltd Thornbury VIC 03 9480 3745

Sleigh end bay or window seat made in Piedmont, Italy, hand stitched edge upholstered armrests feather filled loose cushion seat, double sided painted frame, raised on short outwards swept sabre legs, h:82 x w:145 x 69 cm deep $4350 Beechworth Wine Centre VIC 03 5728 1855

Edwardian mahogany piano stool, c. 1910, arched panels to front and back, lift up lid opens to reveal a deep storage area $675 Nostalgia Antiques Pty Ltd Thornbury VIC 03 9480 3745

English rustic mahogany trunk, c. 1830 with metal drop handles h:43 x w:91 x 51 cm deep $795 Patrick Davey Antiques Malvern VIC 03 9822 1830 French King Henry style walnut hallstand, c. 1880, 233 x 120 cm $2450 Nostalgia Antiques Pty Ltd Thornbury VIC 03 9480 3745

Tasmanian oak Art Deco kitchen cabinet, c. 1935, with original leadlights, h:165 x w:133 x 40 cm deep $1145 New Norfolk Antiques TAS 03 6261 1636

Victorian mirror back buffet, c. 1850, carved apex, drawer, two panelled doors, flame mahogany fascia, full length carved corbels, plinth base and key, h:190 x w:87 x 43 cm deep $1975 Furniture Revival Hawthorn VIC

Australian cedar chest of drawers, c. 1870, in original condition, internal cedar construction and cedar knobs, h:142 x w:127 x 58 cm deep $2450 Brunswick Street Antiques Fitzroy VIC 03 9416 3093

English Tudor revival style bookcase, c. 1930, adjustable shelving, h:191 x w:80 x 35 cm deep $1295 Brunswick Street Antiques Fitzroy VIC 03 9416 3093

To see more dealer items for sale, visit www.AntiquesPlus.com.au, managed by John Furphy Pty Ltd who also publishes Carter’s Price Guides to Antiques and Collectables, now online at www.carters.com.au

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CollectablesTrader

English oak trunk, c. 1900, featuring arcaded base set on block legs decorated with carved floral panels, h:56 x w:158 x 56 cm deep $1975 Furniture Revival Hawthorn VIC English Art Deco display cabinet, c. 1940, restored h:127 x w:120 x 33 cm deep $1495 Seanic Antiques Newport VIC 03 9391 6134

English mahogany chest of drawers, c. 1870 $1950 Brunswick Street Antiques Fitzroy VIC 03 9416 3093

French Art Deco walnut occasional table, c. 1935, h:69 x w:81 x 47 cm deep $1195 Seanic Antiques Newport VIC 03 9391 6134

English oak monk's bench or hall seat, c. 1930, 96 x 107 cm $1495 Seanic Antiques Newport VIC 03 9391 6134 Australian oak Federation hallstand with seat, c. 1910, original tin umbrella tray, copper pole surround and hooks, h:200 x w:114 x 32 cm deep $1395 Brunswick Street Antiques Fitzroy VIC 03 9416 3093

Restored English oak Arts & Crafts sideboard, c. 1910, h:183 cm x w:107 x 47 cm deep $1250 Nostalgia Antiques Pty Ltd Thornbury VIC 03 9480 3745 English Edwardian walnut mirrored back sideboard, c. 1900, set on a plinth base, embellished with finials and a broken swan-neck pediment above a base fitted with two drawers above a pair of carved doors, restored $1350 Nostalgia Antiques Thornbury VIC 03 9480 3745

To see more dealer items for sale, visit www.AntiquesPlus.com.au, managed by John Furphy Pty Ltd who also publishes Carter’s Price Guides to Antiques and Collectables, now online at www.carters.com.au

CollectablesTrader

93

Victorian flame mahogany side cabinet, c. 1880, featuring three doors and adjustable shelves, h:84 x w:150 x 42 cm deep $1850 Julian Phillips Antiques Tyabb VIC -03 9770 2323 Queensland maple Arts & Crafts Queensland hallstand, c. 1905, h:178 x w:147 x 44 cm deep $1900 Brunswick Street Antiques Fitzroy VIC 03 9416 3093

French Art Deco sideboard in palisander attributed to Jules Leleu (1883-1961), c. 1940, h:98 x w:230 x 55 cm deep $5000 Nostalgia Antiques Pty Ltd Thornbury VIC 03 9480 3745

Australian handmade child's kitchen dresser, c. 1920, pine and other timbers, 70 x 37 cm $245 Collectors' Cottage Newcastle NSW 02 4389 1922

French marble topped sideboard, c. 1890, plum pudding mahogany panels, fitted with four cupboards, four drawers and cast brass handles. h:101 x w:183 x 50 cm deep $3250 Page Antiques Canterbury VIC 03 9880 7433

ADVERTISING RATES 1/4 page colour $270 1/2 page colour $456.50

Art Deco Tasmanian oak leadlight kitchen cabinet, c. 1938, h:162 x w:106 x 38 cm deep $885 New Norfolk Antiques TAS 03 6261 1636

French oak hallstand with marble top, c. 1890, h:243 x w:110 x 32 cm deep $2400 Nostalgia Antiques Pty Ltd Thornbury VIC 03 9480 3745

Victorian mahogany pedestal desk, c. 1850, old gold tooled leather top, h:75 x w:139 x 75 cm deep $3600 Page Antiques Canterbury VIC 03 9880 7433

Full page colour $830

To see more dealer items for sale, visit www.AntiquesPlus.com.au, managed by John Furphy Pty Ltd who also publishes Carter’s Price Guides to Antiques and Collectables, now online at www.carters.com.au

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CollectablesTrader

TRADER photography

1

3 2

1 Sunbaker, 1937 2 Moonflower, 1982 3 Interior Elizabeth Bay House, 1978 4 At Toowoon Bay, 1985 5 Blue Gum Forest, c. 1940

5

4

Girard Perregaux 9 ct white gold stainless steel case back 17 jewel $2750 Brasac Enterprises 02 9389 2919

One of a set of five framed photographs making up a portfolio illustrating Max Dupain’s versatile approach to a broad range of subjects. They were selected by him for this set of limited edition prints published for the Royal Blind Society and were among his personal favourites. These were produced in the late 1980s.

Set of five framed $2,500. Individual $600 each.

Brasac Enterprises, 02 9389 2919

Cartier gold on sterling silver quartz c. 1990 $1500 Brasac Enterprises 02 9389 2919

Gerrard Perregaux gyromatic, original band, c. 1960 $1295 Brasac Enterprises 02 9389 2919

Longines Admiral 10 ct gold filled, c. 1965 $2295 Brasac Enterprises 02 9389 2919 Gold diamond and jade stick pin $3750 Brasac Enterprises 02 9389 2919 24 Jewel VGOC 31198614 case 168018, 18 ct gold Omega Constellation c. 1971 $3800 Brasac Enterprises 02 9389 2919

Omega Seamaster 14 ct c. 1960s $1895 Brasac Enterprises 02 9389 2919

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95

Antique and Modern Clocks and Watches Repairs and Sales

Family business established 25 years Specialising in antiques & decorative arts CONDUCTING MONTHLY AUCTIONS Next auctions: 18 August 2013 15 September 2013 Dates may change, please refer to website for updates and future sales

Friendly professional service Free quotes Guarantee on major repairs Clocks bought and sold Leigh Fist 493 North Road Ormond VIC 3163

Contact Mark or Megan Stone on 03 5256 1674 or 0418 553 910 16 Grubb Road, Ocean Grove Victoria 3226

Tues – Fri 9 am – 5 pm Saturday 9 am – 1 pm

Catalogues available

03 9578 6960

www.woodlandsauctions.com.au

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Antique Valuations Established 1985

John Rogers, Off Little Bourke Street, 1948, oil on canvas, 50 x 66 cm

How much is this painting worth? $6,000, $8,000, $10,000

David Freeman knows...

David Freeman Antique Valuations is Melbourne’s largest independently owned valuation service. Founded in 1985, we have vast experience with art, antiques, china, collectables and general household contents.

David Freeman Antique Valuations delivers expert valuations, on time, every time, all at extremely competitive rates. Whether you require valuations for insurance, market, family law, company divisions, or deceased estates, David Freeman can help you with experience, total confidentiality and personal service. David Freeman can also advise you on purchasing, disposal, placement and restoration services.

David Freeman is approved to value Australian Paintings and Prints after 1850 for the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program. We can supply you with excellent references from some of our many satisfied clients, if required.

Call David for your next valuation.

Phone: 03 9855 2255 Mobile: 0419 578 184 Fax: 03 9855 2244 344 High Street Kew Victoria 3101 PO Box 21, Balwyn North Victoria 3104 Visit our website: www.aaauctions.com.au

Government Approved Valuer Cultural Gifts Program Australian Paintings & Prints after 1850