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WORLD CLASS ANTIQUES
magazine
WORLDCLASSANTIQUES.COM
VOLUME 1 | NUMBER 5 | APRIL 2016
CONTENTS
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VINYL RECORDS A HOT COLLECTIBLE
Search the bins for the older vinyl records
COLLECTING TOBACCIANA
Collectors will tell you that collecting tobacciana is about as cool
and addictive as it gets
TRIP PLANNER FOR ANTIQUES & MUSEUMS
Discover Quebec’s hidden treasures! – Part 1
STRUCTO CITY OF TOYLAND GARBAGE TRUCK
From the World Class Antiques Online Marketplace
SETTING RECORDS ON THE AUCTION BLOCK
Treasure hunting
WEBSITE BUZZ
Technical updates, announcements, and more
COLLECTING STICKLEY ARTS & CRAFTS FURNITURE
Learn about Stickley furniture, price variations, and collectability
FEATURED EVENT
Elora Vintage & Antique Show
SHOWCASE YOUR ANTIQUES AND COLLECTIBLES WITH VIDEOS
Featured videos
THE FANTASTIC PULPS
A fascinating history of pulp magazines
WORLD CLASS ANTIQUES.COM MAGAZINE
5
Collecting Tobacciana
8
Structo City of
Toyland Garbage Truck
11
A New Design
We Think You’ll Like
VOLUME 1 | NUMBER 5 | APRIL 2016
2
VINYL RECORDS
A HOT COLLECTIBLE
BY JIM TRAUTMAN
I
n the past year the media has been filled
with stories on the return of the vinyl
record. Even the old Columba Record Club
is making a comeback. Yes, new vinyl is back.
The real valuable collectibles are the vintage
vinyl record albums from the Golden Age
(1960-1980). Younger collectors are visiting flea
markets, yard sales, second hand stores to
search the bins for the older vinyl records.
Shortly afterward the RCA Company issued
not a 331/3 vinyl record, but a 45 vinyl record.
Until the mid 1950’s the largest selling vinyl
record was the 45RPM. It had one song on
each side – the A side and B side. The vinyl 45’s
were cheaper and were marketed as “at one
cheap price one could have that hit song.” The
S.S. Kresge stores ran ads “The Friendly Store
With The Latest Hits.” Many 45’s are valuable
depending on the artist and the image on the
There are several reasons for a generation
that did not live through those wonderful
days of the 1960’s and part of the 70’s would
want to secure and play old albums. Many
want to hear the music including all the
scratches, background noise of the recording
in its original state. Secondly many of those
fantastic artists of that period have recently
passed away.
Prior to the development of the vinyl record it
was the heavy shellac short playing 78’s that
were played on phonographs. The old 78’s
besides being heavy did not have enough
grooves to allow a long playing song. In
addition, it was impossible to play more than
one record at a time. In 1941 the Columbia
Record Company had begun to work with the
new light vinyl material. Sadly, when World
War II began the development was put on hold
until the end of the war.
With the end of World War II and the beginning
of a time of prosperity the various record
companies went back to their prewar research
on the development of a vinyl record. On June
18,1948, the Columbia Record Company held
a press conference at the famous Waldorf
Astoria Hotel in New York City. The purpose
was to unveil and introduce the new 331/3
long playing album record. The new record
was able to have 20 minutes of recorded
music on each side. The market was opened to
more music on one long playing record, better
quality and a lower price for the purchaser.
3
The Sons of the Pioneers album was issued in 1962. The leader of the band was the famous cowboy Roy Rogers.
WORLD CLASS ANTIQUES.COM MAGAZINE
paper cover that contained the record. A
special phonograph was developed that
only played 45RPM records. These record
players have become hot collectible items
over the years.
As the 331/3 long playing album became
the largest selling record type in the mid
1950’s no family living could be without a
large, enclosed record player. The record
player became the center of the home
entertainment. Today those Mid-Century
modern furniture pieces have become
a collectible in themselves. Many of the
new vinyl record collectors are decorating
their homes with Mid-Century modern
furniture and the walls with album covers.
The amount of vintage vinyl long playing
records is endless. Some collectors
focus on collecting certain categories;
Christmas, rock and roll, groups,
children’s, movies, Broadway shows,
Western, single artists, collections
of the all-time hits, albums that were
given as premiums for purchasing a
certain product. The list is endless many
collectors focus on crossover items. One
example is a Western group that was
formed in the 1930’s and continues on
into the present The Sons of the Pioneers.
The group’s singer was Roy Rogers and
featured Canadian Bob Nolan, Pat Brady
and Ken Curtis. The group became called
the “Icons of Western Music”. Bob Nolan
wrote the famous song Cool, Clear Water.
Roy Rogers became famous in the movies
and on his television show in the 1950’s
with his wife Dale Evans. Pat Brady who
was a member of the group became a
regular on the television show along with
his jeep Nellie Bell. Ken Curtis became a
star on the Gunsmoke show which ran for
twenty years. Record collectors search
for the early LP’s of the group and pop
culture collectors for the Roy Rogers and
Dale Evans connection.
Two albums from the 1960’s which
introduced folk rock/psychedelic music
from San Francisco Haight Ashbury
District. Jefferson Airplane made their
debut on August 13, 1965 at the Matrix
Club in San Francisco. Their first two
albums have become hot collectibles.
Usually the first album is the most
valuable, but there is a story behind the
first two which makes each a sought
after collectible. The first album released
on August 15, 1966 entitled, Jefferson
Airplane Takes Off did not have Gracie
Slick as the female singer. It was Signe
Anderson. She left the group after
having her first child and did not want
to travel on the road with a baby. The
baby was named Ladybug. Signe died in
Portland, Oregon on January 28, 2016.
The second album Surrealistic Pillow
was released on February 1, 1967 and
features Gracie Slick. Gracie Slick belts
out the two songs White Rabbit and Go
Tell Alice which became immediate hits
and put the Flower Power Generation on
the airwaves. The albums are becoming
even more collectible since Paul Kantner
another member of the group passed
away on the same day as Signe Anderson.
Andy Warhol material is hot. Tina my
wife purchased the famous Andy Warhol
produced The Velvet Underground and
Nico. The album was released in New
York City on March 12, 1967. The album’s
songs were the first to deal with drug
abuse, sadism, and other taboo social
topics of the day. One reviewer for the
San Francisco Chronicle described it as
“The electronic music, loud enough to
make the room and the mind vibrate
in unison.” Other critics described the
album as “A savage series of atonal
thrusts, the whole sound seems be the
product of a secret marriage between
Bob Dylan and the Marquis de Sade.”
Lou Reed who died almost three
years ago was a member of the group.
Collectors seek out the album not just
for its connection to Andy Warhol, Nico
and the group, but crossover album
cover collectors want it to. The album
cover features Andy Warhol and a giant
yellow banana. Next to the banana are
the words “Peel Slowly and See”. I won’t
reveal what is underneath and of course
the value is much more if unpeeled, but
many could not resist. As a side note my
experiences with that wonderful time of
the 1960’s is that I met Andy Warhol at
the University of Alabama and then later
when I lived in New York City. Sorry I did
not buy more of his paintings.
The Golden Age coincided with the
Golden Age of the music from Hollywood
movies. In that period unlike now it
seemed every movie was on a giant
screen with a magnificent musical score.
Collectors search for albums by Roger
Miller, Henry Mancini, Ferranti & Teicher.
The other crossover collector are the
ones searching for album covers. The
Monkees from the late 1960’s had some
great covers. Peter, Paul and Mary had
one appearing as gangsters. When I was
at the University of Alabama hours were
spent studying the Beatles – Sgt Peppers
Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover. We
attempted to identify everyone on the
cover and then attempt to discover why
were they on the cover in the first place.
Looking at the inside cover tonight I came
to the realization that I had never noticed
the Ontario Provincial Police patch on
Paul’s band jacket. The search for vintage
vinyl records brings home the old saying
“Don’t Throw Anything Out – What Is Old
Becomes New Again.”
Surrealistic Pillow was the second album released by the
Jefferson Airplane on February 1, 1967.
Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are A Changin released on January
13, 1964.
The controversial Velvet Underground and Nico record had been
produced by Andy Warhol. Released on March 12, 1967.
VOLUME 1 | NUMBER 5 | APRIL 2016
4
COLLECTING
TOBACCIANA
BY WAYNE JORDAN
I
n the 2005 Jason Reitman film Thank You for Smoking, Big
Tobacco executive “B.R.” berates his senior staff for lagging
sales by saying: “People, we don’t sell Tic Tacs, we sell
cigarettes. And they’re cool, available, and addictive. The job is
almost done for us.”
Indeed. For more than 300 years, tobacco products were
“cool, available, and addictive”. The rites and customs
surrounding the use of tobacco over that period of time
spawned thousands of peripheral products. Collectors of
these products – known as “tobacciana” – are passionate
about their hobby.
By the 19th Century, tobacco use was near-universal
in North America. Historian Ellis Paxson Oberholtzer
claimed that in 1865 70% of Americans over the age of
12 used tobacco products https://archive.org/stream/
oberholtzerhist01ellirich/oberholtzerhist01ellirich_djvu.
txt. Tobacco was smoked in pipes and cigars, chopped up
and chewed, ground with a mortar and pestle and inhaled
or placed in one’s cheek, or used medicinally in poultices
and tea. For a time during North America’s colonization it
was even used as money. Tobacco was such a huge part of
the American economy that in the late 19th Century tobacco
excise tax revenues accounted for almost one-third of the US
government’s income. https://books.google.com/books?id=
CJ1GAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA207&lpg=PA207&dq=%27The+Rep
ublican+Campaign+Textbook,+1880.%27+Statistical+Tables
,+P+207.&source=bl&ots=zn6sVjPrLO&sig=CVCC7yt9p-RGd
2kVPjMt6o1Bb6Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CDAQ6AEwBGoVCh
MIsd3YmtfVxwIVxG4-Ch1U4g7K#v=onepage&q=’The%20
Republican%20Campaign%20Textbook%2C%20
1880.’%20Statistical%20Tables%2C%20P%20207.&f=false
Because tobacco usage was widespread, there are hundreds
of thousands of tobacciana collectibles available today. As of
this writing, an eBay search for “antique tobacciana” brings
back over 7,000 listings and “tobacciana” over 400,000 listings.
eBay represents just a small fraction of the collectibles
offered; tobacciana collectibles are sold at live auctions and
antique stores as well as online. In addition to actual smoking
paraphernalia, tobacciana collectibles include advertising, art,
and promotional items. The market for these collectibles is very
active, and there is such a varied selection of items available
that even new collectors can develop a nice assemblage of
interesting items.
5
WORLD CLASS ANTIQUES.COM MAGAZINE
Death Cigarettes playing cards http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Sealed-Death-Cigarettes-52Anti-Smoking-Playing-Cards-1985-Vintage-/221855148900?hash=item33a798eb64
Century. Cigarettes required a constant supply
of rolling paper and minced tobacco which
were sometimes hard to find. Companies that
produced pre-rolled cigarettes rarely had
enough supplies to keep up with the demand,
so many smokers opted to avoid cigarettes
altogether.
America's attitude toward cigarettes changed
beginning in 1881. In that year James Bonsack
invented a machine that could mass-produce
cigarettes, raising production from 40,000
per day to around 4 million per day. Bonsack's
machine would mince tobacco, drop it into
a paper tube, and cut the tubes to produce
individual cigarettes.
Flapper cigarette dispenser, http://tobaccoantiques.
com/cgi-bin/imcart/display.cgi?item_id=1311&cat=7
&page=1&search=&since=&status=&title=
Though “most everyone” was using tobacco
in the 18th,19th and 20th Centuries, there
were clear class distinctions surrounding the
paraphernalia used to support the habit. In
rural North America, corncob, clay and handwhittled wooden pipes were used for smoking
because cigars were rare and expensive. Out
in “the country”, snuff and “chaw” required no
spittoons: the brown saliva was discharged
onto the ground or into a can. Tobacco was
grown alongside one’s vegetable garden.
When mature, leaves were cut and hung in a
warm, dry, airy barn or shed to cure. When
the tobacco was ready, the leaf spines were
cut away and the leaves were cut by hand
or processed using a hand-cranked tobacco
cutter.
Victorian and urban upper classes adopted
quite different habits regarding tobacco use
than their rural neighbors. For urban men,
cigars were the norm. Pipes were custommade from fine woods and one’s pipe
collection was kept in a carved pipe stand.
Tobacco was purchased from a Tobacconist
(retailer specializing in tobacco products). To
keep pipe and cigar tobacco from drying out
each type was kept in its own humidor. To add
to the panache of the smoking experience,
well-heeled male smokers would stock their
den or library with carved, cast, or mechanical:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Cigarette smoking swept America in the
20th Century; most adults who smoked
preferred cigarettes. Hundreds of brands were
introduced, each offering branded packaging
and advertising. Cigarette packaging has
become collectible, as has all the advertising
that promoted the brands. Advertising
premiums such as branded cigarette lighters,
baseball caps, jackets, and more have moved
into the realm of tobacciana collectibles.
Smoking was so pervasive that many nontobacco companies offered ashtrays, lighters,
and other smoking accoutrements that
featured their company brand.
Although many tobacciana collectibles can
be purchased for under $100, some recent
notable high-dollar sales include:
•
•
A gold enamel and pearl musical snuff
box sold by Sotheby's in June 2015 for
$480,000 http://www.ebay.com/
itm/THE-FORTUNE-TELLER-A-GOLDENAMEL-AND-PEARL-MUSICALAUTOMATON-SNUFF-BOX-WITH/181747597100?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_
0&hash=item2a51003f2c
A Zippo 18ct gold lighter sold for $12,250
on eBay in August 2015 http://www.
ebay.com/itm/ZIPPO-195-18K-SOLIDGOLD-LIGHTER-IN-CHERRYWOODBOX-NEW-IN-BOX-LIMITED-EDITION/381314404110?hash=item58c81c0f0e
Dispensers
Match holders
Lighters
Ash trays
Cigar cutters
Smoking jackets & hats
Snuff boxes and jars
Spitoons
Storage tins & pouches
Cigarettes were available in the 18th and 19th
Centuries but were not as widely used as pipes
and cigars. The practice of rolling tobacco in
fine paper first appeared in France in the 17th
Snuff box http://www.ebay.com/itm/THEFORTUNE-TELLER-A-GOLD-ENAMEL-AND-PEARLMUSICAL-AUTOMATON-SNUFF-BOX-WITH/181747597100?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=ite
m2a51003f2c
19 th Century tobacco chopper – from my personal
appraisal files
•
•
A Charatan Crown estate pipe sold in June
of 2014 on eBay for $5,000 http://www.
ebay.com/itm/ENGLISH-ESTATE-PIPECHARATAN-CROWN-ACHIEVEMENTw-9K-GOLD-BAND-UNSMOKED/371342284964?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_
0&hash=item5675b998a4
A Tiffany 14ct gold and Bakelite cigarette
holder sold on eBay for $749 in August
2015 http://www.ebay.com/itm/
Vintage-Tiffany-Co-14K-Yellow-GoldBakelite-Cigarette-Holder-w-Spring3-25-/351438459528?hash=item51d3
5d5288
In 1964, the US Surgeon General published
a scathing report on the negative effects of
cigarette smoking, and the tobacco business
has been in a steady downhill slide since
then. Some types of advertising have been
banned altogether. Sales of tobacco products
are strictly regulated. States have sued Big
Tobacco to recoup health care costs and have
won big settlements.
The result of this downward slide for
collectors? They have a whole new category
of tobacianna to pursue: anti-smoking comic
books, posters, playing cards, pins, ashtrays,
and other tobacco advertising materials. And,
since product advertising has been curtailed
dramatically, original cigarette ads and
marketing materials have gone up in price.
Smoking tobacco doesn’t seem to have a
very bright future. In February 2014, health
officials interviewed by The Daily Mail (UK)
newspaper saw the slowly-declining adult
smoking rate dropping to 10 percent in the
next decade and to 5 percent or lower by
2050. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/
article-2556107/Health-officials-predictingend-cigarette-smoking-America.html It
seems that cigarettes (to disagree with my
opening movie quote) will no longer be “cool,
available, and addictive”. Unless, of course,
you’re collecting tobacciana. Collectors will tell
you that collecting tobacciana is about as cool
and addictive as it gets.
VOLUME 1 | NUMBER 5 | APRIL 2016
6
TRIP PLANNER FOR ANTIQUES & MUSEUMS
DISCOVER QUEBEC’S
HIDDEN TREASURES
T
his edition features a selection of antique dealers from Quebec. Since there are so many excellent
stores to visit, we decided to split our selection in multiple parts – while you can do all the
destinations in a single day, it still gives you plenty of time to enjoy the visit.
Quebec – Part 1
•Antiquites J Deshaies (Kojak)
•Les Antiquités 3A
•Antiquités Michel Prince
•Antiquités Lauraine Gaudet
7
WORLD CLASS ANTIQUES.COM MAGAZINE
STRUCTO CITY OF
TOYLAND GARBAGE TRUCK
Comes with its original shipping box
Price: $1,149.00 USD
P
urchased in 1949, by a family from
St. Catharines from a Toronto
dealer. The truck seems to be in
unplayed condition and comes with its
original box. The box is rough on one
side, where it was opened to access the
toy. Note the 2 shipping labels on the
box, showing the date of purchase and St.
Catharines, Ontario address.
VIEW ITEM IN MARKETPLACE
VOLUME 1 | NUMBER 5 | APRIL 2016
8
SETTING RECORDS ON THE AUCTION BLOCK
TREASURE HUNTING
BUDDY, CAN YOU SPARE A DIME?
Numismatists, this one’s for you (or anyone
who likes to keep their dimes, particularly
the 1894-S dime). This very rare dime
recently fetched $2M at the Florida United
Numismatists show. One of just nine
remaining dimes of the original 24, the coin is
said to be in near perfect condition. We can’t
tell you much about who bought the dime or
who owned it before, but if you have any 1894
dimes that were coined in San Francisco at
that time, Heritage Auctions will be happy to
examine them. You could even win a $10,000
reward for the right dime. Even if you’re not a
numismatist, you have to appreciate the irony
of a $2M-Dollar Dime!
Hays, this chest is an extraordinary find for
the American Furniture & Decorative Arts, the
likes of which he hasn’t seen for 10 years.
As far as discoveries go, he calls this chest the
“Rosetta Stone.” Its unique paint and compass
design tells us something new about 1715 in
Hadley, Massachusetts. The artist who painted
this chest went against convention and bravely
experimented with new designs – something
we haven’t seen until now. The piece is in
remarkable condition, thanks mainly to a
layer of varnish that preserved the underlying
craftsmanship. After this varnish is removed
by restoration experts, the vibrancy of the
colours will come to life once more like they
did 300 hundreds years ago.
HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL
To see this piece in action, check out the video:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/
ZbFPN96JNL8
OFF THE WALL AT WADDINGTON’S
WHEN AMERICAN FURNITURE
BECOMES DECORATIVE ART
Warming things up now with a provocative
sculpture from the great master Auguste
Rodin and his famous work entitled, L’Eternel
Printemps. There’s a beautiful love story behind
this magnificent piece, the nature of which you
can clearly see in the sculpture itself.
“The human body is first and foremost the
mirror of the soul and its greatest beauty
comes from that” ~ Auguste Rodin
Sometimes removing the varnish from a piece
of valuable furniture is a good thing, especially
when it reveals its true colours underneath.
Such is the case with this rare find – an
American Hadley Chest from the early 18th
Century. According to Christie’s specialist, John
Back on home turf now, and some incredible
deals to be had at Waddington’s Off The Wall
Online Art Exhibit. Distinctly Canadian, you
can find beautiful scenes of Canada in every
medium from urban streetscapes, like this one
of King Street, Toronto, from Arto Yuzbasiyan,
a Canadian artist born in 1948 with a knack for
watercolour. This piece is estimated at $1,200
to 1,600. You can also find some beautiful oil
paintings depicting the magnificent beauty of
Canadian winters, and the splendour of fall.
Also on sale are some wonderful creations
from Native artist Norval Morrisseau. These
pieces are highly collectible and so affordable,
you could even decorate the walls of your
9
office. Prices start as low as $100. The best
part is that the Off The Wall show is an ongoing
online series with amazing sales like this every
month. Be sure to check it out.
WORLD CLASS ANTIQUES.COM MAGAZINE
One of the greatest sculptures of its time,
Rodin’s Eternal Spring was created in 1884 as
part of a huge commissioned project called
The Gates of Hell. This particular composition
didn’t make the grade because of its
provocative nature, so Rodin exhibited it as
a separate piece, later renaming it L’Eternel
Printemps. The masterpiece captures a time
when Rodin was madly in love with one of
his students, a young woman and incredible
artist by the name of Camille Claudel. Their
love affair was charged with emotion, and this
energy and passion is skillfully crafted in this
fine sculpture. L’Eternal Printemps will come
up for auction on February 4 at Bonhams,
New Bond Street, with an estimated value of
5000,000 to 700,000 GBP. You can see the full
story right here:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/
CXse1tkBbpI
A LIFETIME OF COLLECTING ASIAN
AND ETHNOGRAPHIC ART
If Asian and Ethnographic art is more to
your taste, then you may be familiar with
Bernheimer’s Antique Arts Massachusetts
(1963-1992). Passionate collectors, Paul and
Louise Bernheimer lived a lifetime of collecting
and dealing in antiques, and were once the
official purveyors to the Court of Bavaria.
Their expansive collection is up for auction
at the Artemis Gallery Live, and showcases
everything from ceramics, sculptures, and
jewellery.
The Chinese New Year is always a good time
to find auctions in your neighbourhood
specializing in Chinese ceramics and porcelain,
as well as Asian works of art. Two local auction
houses that might tickle your fancy are Eins
Auctions and 888 Auctions, both located in
Richmond Hill, Ontario.
Happy treasure hunting!
VOLUME 1 | NUMBER 5 | APRIL 2016
10
WEBSITE BUZZ
Technical updates, announcements about new product and services,
additions to our help center and more!
A NEW DESIGN WE THINK YOU’LL LIKE
At World Class Antiques, we
endeavour to deliver the best antiques
experience in the world, online. We
listen to our audience, and feedback
from collectors and dealers told us
that the home page needed to be
streamlined, that visitors to the site
wanted to access areas of the site
quickly and without a lot of scrolling
around.
So, we’re delighted to announce that
we’ve redesigned the home page and
introduced a simple way to access all
the features of the site, though a tile
grid that gets you where you want to
go, fast. Click on each tile to explore
information at-a-glance about the
selected section. Plus, for even more
detail on any area of the site, we’ve put
an interactive guide at your fingertips.
Take a look! We think you’ll like what you see.
11
WORLD CLASS ANTIQUES.COM MAGAZINE
VOLUME 1 | NUMBER 5 | APRIL 2016
12
COLLECTING
STICKLEY
ARTS &
CRAFTS
FURNITURE
BY WAYNE JORDAN
Gustav Stickley Mission style china
cabinet http://stickley.com
S
otheby’s recently sold a Stickley
craftsman-style china cabinet for
$245,000. Another was sold by Fontaine’s
for $10,000. Yet another was sold for just
$1,000. All the items were genuine, turn-ofthe-20th-Century Stickley-made pieces. Why
was there such a wide range of selling prices,
if all were genuine? Can the differences in
price be assigned wholly to the vagaries of the
auction process?
Certainly, selling at auction has its risks; I’ve
found recently recorded auction sales for
Stickley craftsman-style china cabinets as low
as $1 (yes, one dollar). But such a low selling
price is extremely rare, and admittedly could
be a data-entry error.
The most likely reason for the price variations
is that there were five Stickley brothers – all
furniture makers – producing furniture under
at least a half-dozen different company names
at various times in the early 20th Century. All
Stickley furniture is collectible; even today’s
new products. https://stickley.com/
But, some Stickley pieces are more collectible
than others. The $245,000 cabinet mentioned
above was built by eldest brother Gustav; the
$10,000 china by brothers Leopold and John
George (branded L & J.G. Stickley) and the
$1,000 piece was built by brother Albert in
Grand Rapids, Michigan and sold under the
“Quaint” brand name.
Chair arm showing tenon construction
http://missionantiques.com
13
Though highly collectible, there is much
confusion among auction-goers regarding
Stickley furniture. The most desirable items
are made in the Craftsman style, but not
WORLD CLASS ANTIQUES.COM MAGAZINE
all Stickley furniture has been built in that
style. Between them, the Stickley brothers
also dabbled in Art Nouveau and period
reproduction furniture.
The first step to successfully collecting
Stickley craftsman-style (a.k.a. “Mission”
style) furniture is to recognize its style and
construction characteristics. Next, one should
know the history of the brothers: who was
building what, and when they were building it.
Finally, some familiarity with the shop labels
used at various times is helpful in dating a
piece.
Stickley Mission style furniture is noted for its
simplicity of style and sturdy construction.
Gustav’s original designs were philosophically
influenced by writer John Ruskin, who
railed against the British factory system of
production, and furniture maker William
Morris, whose emphasis was on traditional
hand-made products. Both Ruskin and
Morris were part of England’s Arts and Crafts
movement, which emphasized practicality,
craftsmanship, and simplicity over the
copiously ornamented Victorian furniture of
the late 19th Century. The furniture created by
Morris was popular among England’s wealthy
elite; hand-made furniture was expensive to
manufacture and carried a hefty price tag.
Gustav, however, wanted his products to
be affordable to the “common man”, so he
was not averse to using factory production
methods. He was insistent, though, that only
the best joinery techniques and materials
be used to build his furniture. To meet
these ends Gustav developed a very basic
style that he termed “structural”. This style
emphasized straight lines, hardwoods like oak
and cherry, and evident joinery details such
as tenon-and-key joints, exposed tenons, and
visible doweling. Stickley furniture gave the
appearance of being handmade while taking
advantage of factory methods and machines.
Gustav was the first of the Stickley brothers
to enter the furniture business. When his
family moved from their home in Wisconsin
to Brandt, Pennsylvania in 1875, Gustav
went to work in his uncle’s chair factory.
In 1883, Gustav and brothers Albert and
Charles established the Stickley Brothers
Furniture Company in Binghamton, New
York. The original partnership was formed
as a retail-wholesale distributor rather than
a manufacturing enterprise. Charles soon
left the company to go into business with his
uncle, forming the manufacturing company
Stickley-Brandt Furniture. Stickley-Brandt
specialized in chairs; their first products were
based on Victorian styles but, after seeing the
success of Gustav’s later designs, switched to
their own version of Craftsman styles.
Albert was the next to leave Gustav, moving
in 1891 to the “furniture capital” of Grand
Rapids, Michigan to team up with brother
John George. Their new company was called
Stickley Brothers, and they manufactured
chairs and tables in a wide range of styles.
Stickley Brothers Furniture Company is best
known for its “Quaint” lines of furniture: Quaint
Tudor, Quaint Arts & Crafts, Quaint Mission,
and Quaint Manor, Quaint American, and
Quaint Colonial.
John George left brother Albert in 1900 to join
brother Leopold in buying the Fayetteville,
New York firm of Collins, Sisson, and Pratt.
In 1904 the brothers re-incorporated as L.
& J.G. Stickley. Their first product was a line
of Mission Oak furniture; in 1922 they began
to produce Colonial revival furniture as well.
The company of L. & J.G. is still in business
today, owned by the Audi family, long-time
Manhattan, New York Stickley dealers.
Clearly, there was a lot of coming-and-going
among the Stickley brothers. The furniture
style they are most famous for – Arts and
Crafts a.k.a. Mission Style – didn’t appear until
eighteen years after the original company was
founded. Here is an approximate timeline of
the companies formed by the brothers and
what styles of furniture they manufactured:
•
1883: Stickley Brothers Furniture of
Binghamton, NY formed by Gustav,
Albert and Charles; a retail and wholesale
operation specializing in Brandt chairs and
reproduction furniture made in Grand
Rapids, Michigan.
Stickley shop marks courtesy Stickley Museum
http://www.stickleymuseum.com/
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
1884-1885: Charles goes into business
with his uncle, forming Stickley-Brandt
Furniture of Binghamton, New York. They
originally manufactured Victorian styled
furniture, and later manufactured Mission
style furniture.
1891: Albert joins Brother George to
form the Stickley Brothers Furniture
Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Original products were occasional chairs
and tables in styles ranging from Colonial
Revival to early Mission. After 1900 Albert
assumes control of the company and
begins to produce the various "Quaint"
lines of furniture.
1899: Gustav forms the United Crafts
shop, manufacturing Craftsman styled
furniture. Products were distributed by
the Tobey Furniture Company of Chicago,
and pieces carried the "Tobey" label.
1901: Gustav forms his Craftsman shop
and begins to mark furniture with his own
label.
1904: Leopold and John George for the
L. & J.G. Stickley, Inc., producing Mission
style furniture and in 1922 introduce
the "Cherry Valley Collection" of Colonial
revival furniture. These styles are still
produced by this company today.
1915: Gustav's enterprises (which by then
included publishing and architectural
design) declare bankruptcy. The assets
are purchased by brothers Leopold and
John George, who operate the enterprises
separately as the Stickley Manufacturing
Company.
1919: Stickley-Brandt Furniture goes out of
business.
•
•
1954: Stickley Brothers Furniture of Grand
Rapids, Michigan closes.
1974: The firm of L. & J.G. Stickley is
acquired by the Audi family, who, (since
there are no other Stickley family
members in the furniture business)
produces the brand "Stickley".
Between the years of 1900 to 1915, the
firm of Gustav Stickley used eight different
shop marks to identify their products. The
Stickley Museum displays twenty shop marks
used by L. & J.G. and Gustav. Add to those
marks those used by other Stickley brothers
in their various enterprises and there are
more marks than can be addressed in this
article. However, there are ample resources
to be found online at the site of the Stickley
Museum http://www.stickleymuseum.com/
ExploreStickleyHistory.cfm?SubPg=Shopm
arksHistory&more=yes and in the book "Arts
and Crafts Shop Marks 1895-1940" by Bruce
Johnson. http://www.amazon.com/CraftsShopmarks-1895-1940-Bruce-Johnson/
dp/1450790240/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UT
F8&qid=1448909140&sr=1-1&keywords=art
s+and+crafts+shopmarks
Mission-style furniture remains popular even
today; cheap reproductions can even be
purchased at Walmart. Regardless of a seller’s
credentials, authentic Stickley furniture should
be validated by shop marks and/or other
provenance. Because of the value of some
Stickley antiques, counterfeit Stickley shop
stickers have been produced and sold online.
Careful inspection of materials, finishes, and
shop marks is recommended before any
purchase is made.
VOLUME 1 | NUMBER 5 | APRIL 2016
14
FEATURED EVENTS –
ELORA VINTAGE & ANTIQUE SHOW
https://worldclassantiques.com/eventdetail.aspx?eid=201
25th Annual Show The April
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event in Western Ontario.
Well worth the drive! See a
great vintage/antique show,
visit local antique malls within
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Ontario’s most scenic landscape. Mark your calendar for a special Spring weekend in Elora.
FEATURED VIDEO – HOMEPAGE REDESIGN –
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15
WORLD CLASS ANTIQUES.COM MAGAZINE
VOLUME 1 | NUMBER 5 | APRIL 2016
16
THE FANTASTIC PULPS
BY JIM TRAUTMAN
T
he Lillian Smith branch of the Toronto
Public Library is home to the Merrill
Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation
and Fantasy Publications. Over 55,000 books,
and works of art are in the collection, including
a large collection of pulp magazines. Every
May for the past 19 years, the library has
been home to a one-day sale of vintage pulp
material. The event includes the opportunity
to hear lectures, have a tour of the collection
and meet and discuss the history of pulps with
one or two authors in attendance. Enthusiasts
can even have their book autographed.
The pulp magazine was introduced in 1896
by publisher Frank Munsy. The October issue
of his Argosy Magazine included articles and
format that would become standard in the
pulp publishing business. Munsy’s All-Story
pulp magazine printed the first Edgar Rice
Burroughs Tarzan of the Apes and John Carter
of Mars stories. That first copy of All-Star
recently sold at auction for $59,750 (US). The
rapidly expanding mass audience, found pulps
were cheap and easy to read, and eventually
many different types were published to reach
everyone’s interests.
There were detective pulps, romance,
adventure, science fiction, horror, aviation,
sports, westerns, war, spicy starlets, crime
and crime fighters such as the Shadow and
Green Hornet, The Spider; all would appear in
pulp format. Men and women searched each
week at their local newsstand or corner smoke
shop for new issues, or to follow up on cliff
hanger stories that had been published in the
previous issue.
From the 1920’s through the mid 1950’s the
pulps became the Number One source of
reading material available on newsstands.
In second place was comic books. The name
pulp is derived from to the fact that each was
printed on cheap, thick paper with ragged
edges and were originally intended to be
purchased and then discarded. The inside
of the magazines were printed in black and
white and were very drab. There was only the
occasional black and white drawing to show
some of the action. But the covers were the
opposite, spectacular, colourful artwork and
teases to sell the publication. As with any
consumer item, competition was fierce and
something special was needed to draw the
17
The cover of the first Air Stories hit the stands in 1937. Besides the stories inside the artwork of the early pulps was
beautiful in its own right. Just like the pulp writers many famous illustrators began their career doing the covers of
various pulp magazines.
WORLD CLASS ANTIQUES.COM MAGAZINE
buyers in to purchase, not just that week or
month, but to become long time consumers of
the specific pulp magazine.
The graphic cover was a marketing ploy
that comic books picked up and employed
to sell their titles. The cover jumped out at
the customer and screamed “buy me” to get
the rest of the exciting story on the inside.
Western Story Magazine boasted “Big Clean
Stories of Outdoor Life”, Air Stories, “The First
Air Story Magazine.” Inside read, “The Jungle
Pirate of Jungle Skies, Yellow Death.”
Many famous illustrators began their career
doing covers for the pulps. Rudolph Belarski,
Frederick M. Blakeslee, Glora Stoll Karn,
Norman Saunders. They would move on
to magazine illustrations and covers for
paperback books which would replace the
pulps as big sellers after World War II.
Wow, all this adventure and excitement for
fifteen cents. But as with comic books the
consumer learned that in many instances
the cover had nothing to do with the story
inside the magazine. With the competition,
each magazine had to develop a “hook” to
get someone to pick up the pulp and walk to
the counter and pay their money and take it
home. When the pulp market was hot there
were hundreds of different titles on every
newsstand. The publishers hoped to keep
repeat customers coming back for the next
issue.
Publishers hit upon the idea that rather
than each issue being comprised of several
complete stories by different authors a
recurring hero might make the public become
attached to the character. Born were such
figures, as The Shadow, The Green Hornet,
Tarzan, Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, Doc
Savage, Captain Future, and others.
The characters developed crossover appeal.
Many characters began in pulp magazines and
then were featured in their own radio shows.
In other cases, the pulps followed the interests
of the consuming public. Once again in the
1930’s and 40’s there was a crossover with
many pulp characters moving onto Hollywood
and appearing in movie serials. The late
1920’s-1930’s was the Golden Age of Aviation
so the newsstands were filled with adventure
stories connected to aviation. One in the
1930’s even contained plans to build a balsa
wood model of the new Pan American China
Clipper aircraft that was opening the Gateway
to the Orient. College football, baseball and
even ice hockey had their own publications.
As with the radio serials of the period the
pulp publishers began to attempt to sell more
magazines by finishing a story on a cliff hanger
or creating master villains that would return at
some point in the future. A good villain could
not be killed off.
Street & Smith were major publishers of many types of pulp magazines. Sport stories was one and their other famous
publication was the Shadow.
Some of the front covers of the pulps are
interesting and collectible for that reason.
Many have the National Recovery Act eagle
symbol on the cover. This dates them to the
first years of FDR’s Presidency. The Act was
declared unconstitutional and the eagle
disappeared by 1935. World War II pulps
have the Minuteman and requesting the
buyer to purchase war bonds or stamps to
assist in the war effort.
VALUES OF A SELECT FEW
1. Cupid Caper – November 1933
issue which sold for 25 cents on the
newsstand valued at over $300.
2. Spicy Mystery – August, 1936 issue $500.
3. Jungle Stories – Winter, 1939 issue #1
$175.
4. Tailspin Tommy – October, 1936 issue
$400.
5. Captain Future – Winter, 1940 issue #1
$150.
SEE PULPS NEXT PAGE
VOLUME 1 | NUMBER 5 | APRIL 2016
18
PULPS
continued
Many famous authors and artists received their starts writing for the
pulp magazines or doing the front cover art work. One famous author
noted he could do a story a day. He would write the story and the next
morning turn it into the New York City publisher, he would then take
his chit to the pay master and make enough to pay for the next weeks
rent. The next story would be for groceries. Robert E. Howard’s original
Conan the Barbarian story appeared in the December 1932 issue of
Weird Tales. Even the famous Tennessee Williams wrote for the pulps
under the name of Thomas Lanier Williams. He sold his first story in
1928 to Weird Tales, The Vengeance of Nitocris. He was only fourteen
years of age at the time. Dashiell Hammett’s original Sam Spade and
the Thin Man started in the pulps. Raymond Chandler’s famous Phillip
Marlowe appeared, as well as works by Ray Bradbury, Arthur C Clarke,
Philip Jose Farmer, Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, L. Ron Hubbard, the
list is endless.
The famous Hugo Gernsback published the first true science fiction
pulp magazine – Science and Invention in August, 1923. One story was
entitled, “Television News” and envisioned a public watching news and
sports on television sets. The cover of one issue features two men
The cover of Amazing Stories October 1935.
19
WORLD CLASS ANTIQUES.COM MAGAZINE
watching a boxing match on a television set. What was the date of that
issue? Why it was 1925.
As time went on many of the pulp magazines made extra money by
advertising certain products on the inside pages and back covers.
Companies became aware that with millions purchasing pulps each
week in the United States and Canada, it was an excellent opportunity
to spend their marketing dollars. This was especially true in the 1930’s
as the world came out of the Great Depression. Cigarette companies
advertised in many pulps: crime magazines appeared to be the favourite
advertising venue of whiskey and beer. Dime Sports usually contained a
back page ad for Chesterfield Cigarettes and mentioned a specific radio
show sponsored by the company. In Canada the same magazines sold a
totally different set of advertising to Canadian companies, Bright’s Wines,
Buckingham Cigarettes, Carling Beer. To the serious pulp collector, no
collection is complete without two issues of the same magazine, one
printed for the US market and the second for the Canadian.
There were ads for body building, medicine to control pimples, home
education kits including the new world of repairing radios at home.
Amazing Stories 1934 with a nice (NRA) National Recovery Act Eagle on the front cover.
SOME IMPORTANT EVENTS AND MILESTONES
IN PULP HISTORY
Weird Tales became the home of horror, fantasy and later became
known as the home of the famous Conan the Barbarian.
Black Mask became the home of hard boiled detective fiction. Home to
Dashiell Hammett and his Continental Op and Sam Spade stories.
Detective Story Magazine hit the newsstand on October 1915. The
magazine would have a run of 1,057. Street and Smith Publications
would become one of the major publishers of different pulp titles. The
Shadow, Wild West Stories, Sport Story, Nick Carter, Doc Savage, Love
Story, Cowboy Stories, Bill Barnes.
Western Story Magazine issue #1 published on July, 1919 would have a
print run of 1,285 issues.
Argosy Magazine the first pulp would run for 1,600 issues.
Underworld became the first gangster pulp publication. It would be
followed by Greater Gangster Stories, Dragnet, Mobs, Courtroom
Stories.
Popular Publications the largest of the pulp publishers would issue The
Spider the first real pulp hero.
OTHER READING AND REFERENCE BOOKS
The Great Pulp Heroes by Don Hutchinson published by Mosiac Press.
The Incredible Pulps – A Gallery of Fiction and Magazine Art. Published
by Collectors Press.
Belarski – Pulp Art Masters by Adventure House.
After World War II it became the repair of early television sets. A new noiseless
Remington typewriter was available for ten cents a day, sent direct from the
factory. If you needed a new stove, that could be ordered from the back page
of Amazing Stories for eighteen cents a day. One of the strangest ads appeared
in the December, 1934 issue of Amazing Stories. On page two was an ad by Dr.
Frank B. Robinson and his new theory of “Psychiana”. The brief information
indicates it is a new theory about religion developed by Dr. Robinson. Many
pulps are collectible for not for the stories, but the strange and different ads.
By the end of World War II the majority of pulp readers were turning to the
cheap paperback books that were appearing on the newsstands. Like a pulp,
each contained a graphic cover, but were smaller and easier to carry in a coat
pocket. By 1954, like radio the pulps were almost all gone. The only major
ones that survive are printed once a month and focus on science fiction and
crime. After the successful launch into earth orbit of Sputnik in October, 1957,
advertising became focused on books dealing with the new rockets, satellites.
The Edmund Scientific Company of Barrington, New Jersey had full page ads
advertising their new inexpensive telescopes. My parents purchased my first
telescope in 1957 from the company. The July, 2003 issue of Ellery Queen –
Mystery Magazine has a story by Henning Mankell featuring his famous Swedish
police detective Kurt Wallander. The Wallander detective mysteries have been
made into movies.
According to Robert Graber, a major dealer in the pulps, the biggest sellers
are the crime ones, followed by westerns, romance and science fiction. Two
years ago I assisted him in purchasing a elderly gentleman’s collection of
several hundred pulps. He began collecting in the 1920’s and felt it was time to
downsize.
The wonderful thing about collecting pulp magazines is the sheer number of
different titles that were published. The majority are inexpensive, but the one
key is the condition and when purchased to store them properly.
VOLUME 1 | NUMBER 5 | APRIL 2016
20
WORLD CLASS ANTIQUES
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WORLDCLASSANTIQUES.COM
Publisher: World Class Antiques
Place of publication: Toronto, ON, Canada
Numbering: Vol.1 No.5
Frequency: Bimonthly
ISSN 2369-4017