1995 was a steady growth year in the antique business. Prices rose slightly, and newly-sprung markets infused new players and capital to the business. My top ten story list is combination of things I found interesting and indicative of underlying trends.
10. OLD PHOTOS MAKE THE PICTURE - A small London auction house exceeded their estimate of $1500 when they hammered out an 1850's daguerreotype photo of a girl walking through a large frame for $32,200 on July 6th. Three months later a world record was established for 19th century shots when an early "outdoor" picture of the US Capitol gathered $189,500!
9. KIDSTUFF BRINGS GROWN-UP PRICES - Still wobbly from December 94's whopping $176,000 Steif teddy bear, the market was shelled with $25, 000 Mickey Mouse toys, a $33,000 dollhouse, and $75,100 for "Action Comics" June 1938 No. 1 issue of Superman, in 95.
8. TIFFANY LIGHTS UP STRONG YEAR FOR ART NOUVEAU - 74 superb lamps from a single Texas collection set 10 individual auction records including $1,102,500 for a single lamp, totaling $7,707,457 at Sotheby's NY, on April 22.
7. JURASSIC PARK'S INFLUENCE LAYS NO EGG - A 15" Madagascar Elephant Bird egg, presumed extinct since 1658, hatched for $24,850, April 20, in a London, England gallery.
6. NAUTICAL ART MAKES BIG WAVES - A controversial "deaccessioning" (dumping) of 43 valuable artworks including 30 "Bard" ship paintings by the N.Y. Historical Society, and a record $3,302,500 for a "luminist" ship scene by Fitz Hugh Lane, highlighted artworld 95, as "realism" continues making its comeback.
5. DUTCH COLLECTIONS TOP FOLK ART SALES - May/June Pennsylvania sales showered in $33,000 for a tulip shaped mirror, $211,000 for a folk painted chest, and $36,800 for a punched tin coffeepot.
4. COLLECTIBLES GATHER MORE STRENGTH - An influx of user-friendly books and cable TV shows continue to help expand the antique market. Everything's hot; lighters, marbles, candy dispensers, postcards, etc.. $3,900 was paid for a "graniteware" pan, $8,800 for a "Roseville" jardiniere.
3. HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD! - John Travolta's "Saturday Night Fever" suit danced its way to $145,000, Ian Flemming's gold plated typewriter-$84,000, Frank Sinatra's mailbox sold for $13,800. No wonder the price of movies keeps going up. "Planet Hollywood's" decor doesn't come cheap.
2. AMERICANA MARKET FLEX'S MUSCLE ONCE MORE - Eddie Nicholson, the most colorful collector during the price crazy 80's, dispersed the bulk of his collection in January and fared OK. Some pieces lost ground, however his 1.25 million dollar tea table, purchased in 1986, brought 2.5 million, and the market breathed a sigh of relief. This was part a 30 million dollar January blitzkrieg that spelled revitalization for 95. Major collector shows would report big sales. A delicate square-shaped tea table with a queer iron top would appear at New York's stunning winter antique show and sell for 1.1 million. Small and big auctions houses, generally, faired well in 95. A pair of engraved brass andirons fetched a world record $52,250 in May. A bombe' shaped Chippendale period mahogany chest sold for low-chest record $992,500 in November. Perhaps the most interesting Americana stories were the "finds." No prospecting story surpasses the "Bartley Tea Table." Litchfield County resident, Bill Bartley, a hardworking dealer who struck paydirt, somehow, ferreted out a hairy paw foot, three legged, tea table with a large round carved top, comparable in quality to the furniture suite made at the request of mid 18th century's prosperous Philadelphia merchant John Cadwalader, for a reported $3,000 at a mid-sized New England auction house. It could bring millions when it sells January 27th at Christie's Auction House in New York.
1. LAST YEAR'S BIGGEST STORY will be the issue of next week's column. Yippy-ya-yo-kay-yaa!
Top Antiques Stories of 1995
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