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ANTIQUE OF THE WEEK

I picked up this bronze of a high wheeler bicycle last summer right before I was to leave for the National. It's one of the most exciting bronzes I've ever seen. That excitement is generated foremost because the sculptor S. Bechho, inscribed the date 1885 next to his signature. Moreover, the quality of the casting confirms it's period. "Period" meaning  it's original, produced during the time it represents. So it's not a cute nostalgic piece made to represent old time bicycling....it's the real deal produced when high wheel's were actually used.  Which was a relatively short time. The "high wheel", also called the "penny farthing" and the "ordinary" was a link in the evolution of the bicycle, and was only popular from about 1870 to the late 1880's. They were hazardous, riders were prone to falling off them. The next generation bicycle was called the "safety", and they were essentially the bicycle of today. 

The way I came into it was unusual. I was at the 49'er western antiques show in Grass Valley California, and ran into Chuck Morganstein of Woodchuck Antiques in San Francisco. Chuck knew I liked sports sculpture, and told me about this bronze, and that he sold it at the Hillsborough Antiques Show to two ladies before the show opened. Chuck said they spotted it right as he pulled it out of the box. He described it and it sounded fantastic, but all I could do is go shucks I wish I'd have gotten it, and that was it. Then a few months latter I saw it on GoAntiques.com. I figured it had to be the same one and emailed the seller. They confirmed they got it from Chuck. I had to swing hard, but the gal's worked with me, and I got it. Even after we made the deal it was a logistics scramble. The Gals lived in Las Vegas, and were going to be doing a show in Redondo Beach California near Los Angeles. Picking it up in person is way better than risking damage in shipment. The only thing was I was going to be in Chicago for the National when they'd be in Redondo. My buddy John Buonaguidi's sister lives the next town over in Manhattan Beach, and was kind enough to pick it up and hold it till I was down in L.A. for the Glendale show. I remember when I came to pick it up. I had bought it based on photos only, never seeing it in person. Buying an expensive piece like this is a little bit of a gamble. But when I unwrapped it, I was more than pleased. It looked even better than I thought it would. Below more shots of it.

Baseball bat 

perfume bottle

click photos

c1890 Lacrosse stick pin

3 3/16 inch by 3/4 inch

Back with pin closed

Close in of basket

Back with pin open

Engraved to 

B. A. Norman, 

 Ogdensburg, N.Y.

above 

9 inches tall

c1930 BRONZE FOOTBALL KICKER  STATUE

This is one of the nicest football sculptures I've ever seen. It is unsigned. I imagine it was produced and  sold by a fine gift store like Tiffany's

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below 

c1915 SILVER PLATE AND GLASS BOX WITH ROWING MOTIF LID. MADE BY WMF -GERMANY

2 3/4" tall x 4 1/2" deep x 6" wide

click photos - click photo - click photos

Galvano cast 

runner trophy 

statue 16" tall, c1930

c1930 American Silver Plate Statue of Polo Player, 11" tall

c1870 Advertising Handkerchief with sports theme

c1910 Sweet Ore Trousers Advertising Poster, 37" tall x 30" wide

c1910 Cloth Pillow Cover with polo scene litho, 20" x 20"

c1880 Lawn Tennis Cigarettes Advertising Sign, American, 20" wide x 16" tall

c1920's Framed Basketball Team Photo, 41 1/4" wide x 9 3/8" tall 

32" tall x 25" wide

c1910 football poster by Joseph Leyendecker

1869 CURRIER AND IVES LARGE FOLIO PRINT 

"THE BEAUTIES OF BILLIARDS"

35 1/4 inches wide by 29 1/4 inches tall , framed

IF ANYONE HAS SEEN ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF THIS PLAQUE, OR HAS ANY INFORMATION ON IT'S BACKGROUND PLEASE CONTACT ME VIA THE COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS FORM ON THE HOME PAGE, THANKS - CARLTON

Yesterday I got back from a three day ski trip at Lake Tahoe. When my friends dropped me off at my car in Sacramento, it was Sunday afternoon about 5:00PM. I figured while I was in the area I'd run thru the Antique Trove Mall in nearby Roseville, since it closed at 6:00PM.  I'd been thru the store many times over the years, but had only made one other sports find there, a circa 1930's boxing gloves box. P1, P2, P3, which I sold on eBay. The same booth I got that at, had this football plaque. I wasn't expecting to find anything, so it shocked me when I saw it. I really looked it over carefully, but it looked to be real. So I took it up to the front desk to ask if any discount was available. They looked up the dealer and read the note out loud: no discounts, do not call. No problem, I snipped off the price tag and handed it to the clerk...game over. It was coming with me discount or not. The players appear to be from around 1900, based on the reeded pants, and that half the players aren't wearing head gear. The opposing teams wear blue and red jerseys, which could represent one of the most famous football rivalries of the era, Harvard and Yale. The relief sculpting of the scene is in what's referred to as "high relief". High relief is the term for relief work that juts out an inch or so, as opposed to relief work that sticks out just enough to impart the needed definition. Relief sculpture is also referred to by the French term "base relief" (pronounced - "ba relif") The arm of the player getting tackled sticks out about 1 1/4 inch. In 18 years it's the only example I've seen. I'm not sure what to make of it, but I think it's c1900. Though it's possible it could have been an advertising piece done later. I think it's more likely something a student may have done as an art project. The art quality seems like that of an amateur, but it's not bad. Pretty ambitious really for an amateur. It's signed G.M. Bailey. The average joe probably wouldn't be too impressed, but in the context of art, it's a very rare  and early example of American football sculpture.

This is one of the rarest Vienna sports bronzes. I'd never seen another, so when I came upon it at the Hillsborough Antiques Show last Sunday, it stopped me in my tracks. And of course, nothing great is cheap these days, so I really had to bite the bullet. The gal selling it knew what she had, and her asking price was enough to choke a couple of reindeer. I saw a rare tennis Vienna bronze at this same show in 2003 from a different dealer that was asking $1,695.00 . That was cheap compared to this. It was Sunday, the last day of a four day show. The dealer, Muriel Peterson of Sammamish, Washington said she'd only had it out of the case three times to show people over the whole four days of the show.  She said she'd gotten it at the Atlantique City Show from Richard Wright, the famous doll dealer and expert that is on the Antiques Road Show. She said Richard had gotten it out of an estate somewhere, and that he regularly saves things for her, so it hadn't been seen. Antiques dealers are very conscious about having fresh things that haven't been seen. Doesn't mean jack to me though. If it's something I want, that's all that matters! For anyone new to this site, probably my biggest hot button is antique sports sculpture. I've lived and breathed it 18 years, so I know what's important, and what's not. As a collector, one of the funnest things is finding something you've never seen. This is a perfect example. Even though Soccer's not my bag really, it's just a great piece. Plus I figure I might be able to use it for a trade some day if I come across someone in Europe that has the baseball Vienna bronze, that is pictured in the Vienna Tennis Bronze Story I wrote. 

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