Home/Luxury/Kovels Antique Trader/March 11 2020/In This Issue
Kovels Antique Trader|March 11 2020Appraiser Winding up Long Road TripPart educator, part appraiser and part showman, Mark F. Moran has charmed and informed audiences at community events involving appraisal of antiques, collectibles and decorative arts throughout the Midwest for the better part of a decade. After traveling more than 300,000 miles, 2020 will be his last year of appraisal programs. We recently caught up with him at the Marathon County Library in Wausau, Wisconsin.For more information on Moran and his work, visit: www.markfmoran.com.Photo courtesy of Joaquín Morales (dragon by Warhammer)…1 min
Kovels Antique Trader|March 11 2020Gallery bringing Paris to New YorkNEW YORK — An exhibition of Parisian street scenes by 20th-century French artist Antoine Blanchard (1910-1988) is on display at Rehs Galleries featuring examples of Blanchard’s work dating from the 1950s through the 1970s, with views of Place Vendôme, Place de la Concorde, Notre-Dame, Théâtre du Vaudeville, the Arc de Triomphe and many others.Blanchard, whose real name was Marcel Masson, was born in a small village in France just after the turn of the century. From an early age, Blanchard exuded artistic talent and in those formative years, he spent time watching his father work as a carver in his small carpentry and furniture shop, according to Rehs.Antoine would begin his studies in drawing at Blois, continuing on to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Rennes, where he was awarded the school’s…2 min
Kovels Antique Trader|March 11 2020Pop Art painting sells for almost $30 millionLONDON — It was a thrilling night in London as Sotheby’s recent Contemporary Art Evening Auction saw a selection of iconic and powerful works go under the hammer, achieving a sale total of more than $120 million.Foremost among them was David Hockney’s sumptuous portrayal of Californian living, The Splash, which sold for $29,839,424. One of the defining works of the Pop Art movement, the vibrant luxury of its blue skies and carefree poolside ephemerality are today etched in the fabric of contemporary cultural imagination. This was the third highest price achieved for a work by Hockney at auction, and eight times the price achieved when the work last appeared at auction in 2006. Hockney’s 30 Sunflowers will also lead Sotheby’s Hong Kong Contemporary Art Evening Auction in April.According to Sotheby’s,…2 min
Kovels Antique Trader|March 11 2020Old Soul Makes Vintage New AgainFamily heirlooms and treasures stored in attics and basem*nts are Brandi Rockwell’s specialty.Her online/home-based business, Old Soul Millennial, is headquartered in Panora, Iowa, a small lake community about an hour’s drive west of Des Moines. Tourists flock to the area year-round to enjoy outdoor recreation on Lake Panorama, as well as the Raccoon River Valley Trail.A native of Panora, Rockwell, 28, also works as a breastfeeding consultant and cares for her two young children.“I’m kind of a free spirit, so set business hours are hard for me, and with home schooling, I need flexible hours. Selling online helped a lot so I could keep the kids home with me,” she explained.She has been drawn to throwback fashions, décor and music since she was a little girl.“I’ve been thrifting before thrifting…8 min
Kovels Antique Trader|March 11 2020A toast to Irish things we loveFor a relatively small island nation, Ireland has had a big impact on the world. From Guinness and Riverdance to U2, James Joyce and Irish stew, many great things have come out of Ireland.People who claim Irish descent also make up more than ten percent of America’s population. With such a huge number of Irish living in the U.S., cultural influences are everywhere and none celebrated moreso than St. Patrick’s Day, observed annually on March 17, the anniversary of the saint’s death in the fifth century.The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over 1,000 years. Today, people of all backgrounds celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, especially throughout the United States, Canada and Australia, with parades, green rivers, corned beef and cabbage and lots of beer.In honor of…2 min
Kovels Antique Trader|March 11 2020Ten Things That Made Our Day1 One of America’s most prolific actors was born Doris Mary Ann Kappelhoff on April 3, 1922, in Cincinnati, to Alma Sophia (Welz), a housewife, and William Joseph Kappelhoff, a music teacher and choir master. Her parents divorced when she was a child. Day lived with her mother.2 While performing for a local radio station, she was approached by band leader Barney Rapp who felt her last name, Kappelhoff, was clumsy and unappealing. He convinced her to change her name to Day after one of the songs in her playlist, “Day by Day.”3 Day cited Calamity Jane (1953) as her personal favorite of the 39 movies she appeared in.4 Day, who was married four times, briefly dated Ronald Reagan – who she co-starred with in Storm Warning (1951) and The…2 min
Kovels Antique Trader|March 11 2020As Irish as Paddy’s PigIT WAS AN innocent question.Am I Irish? Mrs. Kitzhaber, my fifth-grade teacher at St. Paul Catholic School, gave me a smile that could have melted a late-winter snow.“Oh Paul,” she said, “you’re as Irish as Paddy’s pig.”Now I wasn’t sure being compared to a pig was a compliment or not, but if Mrs. Kitzhaber said it, well then, it must be so.She was a grand woman, Mrs. Kitzhaber. You would have liked her. She walked with purpose and taught with the passion of the driven. She had 40 kids in her class. Hers was a tight ship. She only had to tell us something once.Problem was, I was a lollygagger. A dreamer. A goof ball. But I was also Irish and Mrs. Kitzhaber had a soft spot in her heart…2 min
Kovels Antique Trader|March 11 2020LiveAuctioneers reports record-setting yearNEW YORK — LiveAuctioneers, the world’s leading online marketplace for exceptional fine art, antiques and vintage collectibles, reports record results in 2019. This continues a year-over-year pattern of growth that remains unrivaled in the industry.“LiveAuctioneers empowers auction-house partners to realize the highest hammer prices on arts and collectibles with the least amount of pre-auction and post-auction effort. In 2019, LiveAuctioneers delivered the winners on more than 800,000 lots as well as the valuable underbidders on millions more lots. Our industry-leading mobile apps — with personalized algorithms and nearly 5 of 5 stars on the App Store — attracted 76% more traffic than any other live-bidding platform,” said Phil Michaelson, CEO of LiveAuctioneers.“Additionally, as compared to 2018, there was 40% growth in the adoption of LiveAuctioneers Payments solutions, which help auctioneers…2 min
Kovels Antique Trader|March 11 2020Cabbage Patch KidsRecalling the Christmas of 1983, I remember my sister sitting patiently after each one of our presents was opened, until she broke down in tears when she didn’t receive her most treasured gift: a Cabbage Patch Kid.My mother had tried for months, yet we simply couldn’t afford to pay more than retail for the toy. However, my sister had even already constructed a name for her Cabbage Patch Kid—Kimberly Ann Bellomo—but it seemed that she was doomed to be a pariah in her school; the only young girl without a Cabbage Patch doll.All seemed very grim that cold, winter’s morning, until my mother, waiting with a grin on her face, pulled out the package. Never have I seen my sister so excited; never have I witnessed a smile plastered on…3 min
Kovels Antique Trader|March 11 2020Joy Through Superior DesignDEARBORN, Mich. – During an impressive career spanning more than 50 years, designer Michael Graves clung to the belief that design could lead to change in people’s day-to-day lives. From small-scale kitchen products to immense buildings, there is a common thread that runs through his work: accessible, aesthetic forms that possess a sense of warmth and appeal.Many connected with Graves, who died in 2015 at age 80, through his work with Target, the Minneapolis-based retailer. Debuting in 1999, Michael Graves Design brought to market more than 2,000 products across 20 categories including kitchen electrics, gadgets, cleaning supplies, home décor, storage and organization, and more.The groundbreaking 15-year partnership with the retailer transformed mass merchandising strategy, elevated consumer expectations for design, made Target a design destination and elevated design to the center…3 min
Kovels Antique Trader|March 11 202040-year collection of corkscrewsLAS VEGAS — Las Vegas resident Michael Papay has collected corkscrews for over 40 years. His amazing collection of more than 2,300 of them, dating from the 1,700s, is currently offered for sale on eBay for $250,000 or best offer.The world-wide collection includes corkscrews from the USA, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, England, Canada, Russia, Portugal, and many more countries, and includes items such as vineyard knives, corkers, wooden grape harvesting back pack,wine bottle locks,wine decanters, great original newspaper article of a duel in 1882, prints such as Corkscrew Man, and a great grape press.One of the highlights of Papay’s collecting years was an appearance in February on the popular show Pawn Stars. Rick Harrison loved a number of corkscrews that Papay brought into the shop and purchased a handful.…2 min
Kovels Antique Trader|March 11 2020Federal-style linen cabinet could be worth hundredsQ I hope us that someone can help identify this cabinet and what it was used for. I know it is about 1870-90 Edwardian, with all hand-cut dovetails. I just don’t know what it was used for. The drawers make it look like a linen press, but I have never seen one like this before.David ValloneA When referring to furniture, the term “linen press” refers to a much taller piece of furniture consisting of a cabinet over drawers. It is often constructed in two pieces with the top half comprised of two doors concealing shelves and the lower half a chest of drawers. They are usually 6-1/2 to 7 feet Dr. tall Anthony CAVO . J.I would call your piece a clothes press or a linen cabinet. It is a…3 min
Kovels Antique Trader|March 11 2020High schooler’s lost purse found after six decadesNORTH CANTON, Ohio — A purse lost by a girl 63 years ago has been found in the wall of a school in Ohio.Chas Pyle, a custodian at North Canton Middle School in Ohio, found the red purse wedged behind a locker while carrying out maintenance work last year.After investigating its contents, the school identified the purse’s owner as former student Patti Rumfola and in a Facebook post last month that went viral, the school showed off the contents.Rumfola, who lost the item in 1957, died in 2013 but the school was able to get in contact with her children to return the purse and give them a glimpse into their mom’s life as a teenager.The school said in the Facebook post: “Thanks to the investigative work of many of…2 min
Kovels Antique Trader|March 11 2020Platinum dominates red carpetLOS ANGELES — Awards show season recently culminated with the 92nd Annual Academy Awards, where the world’s most famous celebrities walked the red carpet in an array of couture gowns and jewelry that complemented all of the razzle-dazzle.One of the big trends was platinum jewelry that included a lot of vintage pieces. Since Hollywood stars tend to set the trends in clothing and jewelry for the coming year, expect platinum jewelry to be on point.According to celebrity stylist Micaela Erlanger, who selected platinum jewelry for presenter Sigourney Weaver, “For a night as glamorous as the Oscars, I chose brilliant jewelry with megawatt sparkle. Sigourney Weaver’s earrings set in platinum added extra shine making the star stand out on the red carpet, similar to Gal Gadot, Charlize Theron and Greta Gerwig…3 min
Kovels Antique Trader|March 11 2020Byilding Castles In SpainExin castle kits were manufactured by the Exin Brothers in Barcelona, Spain. The first line of castles debuted in 1968. Now known as the Blue Series, these castle kits came in vertically oriented hexagonal boxes with illustrations of the castles depicted against a blue background. There were four sets of increasing sizes in this series, numbered 0 to 3.More than one type of castle could be built with each set, with four different castles being possible with set 3. Besides all the limestone-colored building blocks, the drawbridges and windows, the castle kit inventory included a few charming figures, such as a ghost and a witch.Of the Blue Series, set 0 had 266 parts, set 1 comprised 305 pieces, set 2 had 601 parts, and set 3 was made up of…6 min
Kovels Antique Trader|March 11 2020Jumpsuit campaign pays homage to iconic Rosie the RiveterNEW YORK — In celebration of National Women's History Month in March, Cotton Incorporated is unveiling "Rosie Reborn," a new campaign inspired by the iconic Rosie the Riveter to honor the strides women have made in the workforce over the past 75 years.Using denim from the original 1940s-era "Rosie" jumpsuits, Cotton Incorporated joined forces with designers Emily Current and Meritt Elliott of the womenswear brand, THE GREAT., to reimagine a new line of modern-day jumpsuits for the barrier-breaking Rosies of today.“Cotton is the can-do fiber and embodies the versatility of women in today’s workforce,” says Kim Kitchings, senior vice president of Consumer Marketing at Cotton Incorporated. “Authentic cotton denim has been a uniform of sorts throughout history: the original Rosies during World War II, the rock-and-roll rebellion of the 1960s…1 min
Kovels Antique Trader|March 11 2020DAY DreamsShe was the girl next door. Or more likely, the girl you dreamed about living next door.Freckled faced with an upturned nose, blue eyes, blond hair and with an angel’s voice, the eternally perky Doris Day appeared in 39 films from 1948 to 1968, most often playing the wholesome and virtuous girl just out of reach. She was the rare movie star who was adored by men and women alike.“She was a good girl,” said Norman Jewison who directed the actress in The Thrill of It All (1963) and Send Me No Flowers (1964). “She wasn’t snide. She wasn’t too smart. She brought a kind of an honesty and a freshness. And she was also strangely sexy.”And then in 1968, at age 46, as the movie landscape was changing forever,…6 min
