When Kids Embraced Pedal Power

Pedal cars emerged in the mid-1880s when Karl Benz patented his three-wheeled Motorwagen in January of 1886 and unveiled it to the public in July of that year. By the early 1890s, the wealthiest families had purchased their children the first factory-produced pedal cars that mimicked the very real cars rambling along the world’s roadways. […]

A Rockwell Thanksgiving

Throughout his brilliant career, Rockwell illustrated 323 covers of The Saturday Evening Post during a nearly five-decade relationship with the magazine. With its traditional Thanksgiving setting, “Freedom from Want”  is one of Rockwell’s “Four Freedom” illustrations that ran in successive issues of The Post in 1943. Using his own Arlington, Vt., neighbors as subjects, the warm, folksy work is widely heralded as one of Rockwell’s most recognizable paintings.

Freedom from Want – Norman Rockwell

Rockwell’s “Home for Thanksgiving” first appeared on the cover of The Post on Nov. 24, 1945. “Rockwell’s initial intention for the Thanksgiving cover of 1945 consisted of a large group of prayerful people giving thanks,” according to the Norman Rockwell Museum website. “With the end of war already in sight, art editor Ken Stuart advised Rockwell to work on a picture of a returned soldier. The gist of Rockwell’s picture is that the soldier is glad to do at home what he hated doing in the Army.” The mother and son in the painting were, in fact, mother and son: Sarah Hagelberg and her boy, Richard, owner of a dairy farm in Arlington. Not only was Richard a WWII veteran, but he also served as Rockwell’s milkman. The original illustration sold for $4.3 million at Heritage Auctions.

Home for Thanksgiving – Norman Rockwell

Norman Rockwell at his easel.

Flat-Out Gorgeous

By Pamela Wiggins Siegel

Back when it first ran from 1985 to 1992, I didn’t catch too many episodes of the classic television series “Golden Girls.” Now that I’m a golden girl myself, I’ll admit to watching the reruns from time to time, especially when I’m under the weather. The shows have their funny moments, no doubt, but I often find myself checking out the earrings, especially those worn by Dorothy and Blanche. The ones I admire the most—like the dangling deep blue pair Blanche donned when the girls crashed a 40-year high school reunion—are encrusted with oodles of flatback rhinestones.

What are flatback rhinestones? These stones, as the name implies, have smooth, flat backs making them perfect for gluing in a pavé fashion so that a surface is completely covered with stones. From the front, both clear and colored versions are super sparkly. They were used—along with opaque black and red flatbacks for a more dramatic look—to embellish many objects in the ’80s, including jewelry and fancy handbags. These stones look similar to Hotfix stones used to embellish clothing these days, but that type is more permanently affixed using heat. The best flatback stones were made by Swarovski, and they’re sometimes called crystals instead of rhinestones.

Richard Kerr clear flatback rhinestone earrings, 1980s, $100-$150.
Image courtesy Jay B. Siegel

I had no clue about the makers of the pretties fashioned with these stones when I first owned a pair back in the day, nor do I know which brand Blanche wore in that “Golden Girls” rerun. I have learned over time, however, that there were several designers and companies associated with the style, including the most well-known: Richard Kerr.

Richard Kerr Flatback Jewelry

First, let me say the history of Richard Kerr’s design career is sparse. We know that his firm was located in Dallas, and he marketed his jewelry beginning around 1980. One source of information, however, seems to confuse him with another Richard Kerr, who followed in his father’s footsteps with a family jewelry business in Illinois. I noticed that particular gentleman supposedly retired in 1983, however, Richard Kerr’s flatback jewelry designs appeared in magazine spreads well into the 1990s. I can only surmise that we’re looking at two different men here, and the one in Dallas is responsible for the pieces I ardently admire.

Even though we don’t know much about Kerr, his work is still important since this type of jewelry is often associated with his name. Unmarked pieces decorated in this way will inevitably be labeled as “Richard Kerr style” when sold online. And when you compare the quantities of Kerr designs that come into the secondary marketplace to others working with flatback rhinestones, the quantities available mount into the thousands compared to only hundreds marked with other brand names. He was clearly the most prolific marketer of this style of jewelry.

Richard Kerr multicolor earrings, 1980s, $100-$150.
Image courtesy Jay B. Siegel

Kerr’s designs, in my opinion, are also some of the most creative since he drew on Memphis style in form and color for some of them. He also embraced the popularity of animal print accessories prevalent during the 1980s incorporating big cat patterns into several noteworthy designs. You’ll find many more pairs of earrings than other types of jewelry marked Richard Kerr, but he produced bangle bracelets and necklaces encrusted with flatback stones popular with collectors as well.

James Arpad’s Flatback Designs

James Arpad is another designer who made jewelry using flatback rhinestones. Although collectors don’t find his work as often as Richard Kerr’s, a little more is known about his background and life. He got his start in 1987 after shifting his focus from architecture to designing fashion accessories. He was inspired by his father, Steven Arpad, who used rhinestones to decorate accessories ranging from handbags and shoes to jewelry during the mid-century era. Arpad’s dad named the technique he later replicated “pavee.” One famous example of the elder Arpad’s work is a jewel-encrusted Salvatore Ferragamo pump made for Marilyn Monroe, which is now held in the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum collection in Florence.

Jewelry by James Arpad was marketed all over the United States through upscale department stores. He also sold pieces from a New York City showroom. Many of these were similar in style to Kerr’s work, including numerous pairs of earrings, but he did add fabric tassels and filigree metal elements to some of his pieces. In 1992, he also designed red leather AIDS charity ribbons decorated with flatback stones that were worn by celebrities, including Liz Taylor and comic Richard Pryor. He retired in 1999 after his father’s death and moved to Georgia to be closer to his mom.

James Arpad dramatic black dangle earrings, 1980s, $50-$75.
Image courtesy Jay B. Siegel

Other Designers and Brands

Another name I always look for in this genre of jewelry is Barbara Groeger. Years ago, Groeger’s sister contacted me after she saw a pair of her sibling’s earrings for sale in one of my online selling venues. I remember her telling me that Groeger’s life was cut short when she succumbed to a brain tumor. This sad news led me to believe that’s why I don’t run across flatback jewelry with Groeger’s mark more often. Her pieces are usually quite bold with a decidedly ’80s look about them, including colorful earrings that resemble targets.

Barbara Groeger clip earrings, 1980s, $65-$85.
Image courtesy Jay B. Siegel

Bellini by Formart is another name to watch for this style of jewelry and evening bags. The company was started in New York in 1988 and became known for making jewelry worn by beauty pageant contestants around the world. Unlike the other businesses associated with this style, this one is still in business although the brand’s current offerings are rather ordinary beaded styles rather than the flatback rhinestone sparklers produced decades ago.

Values for ’80s Flatback Jewelry

Many vintage jewelry shoppers are not as familiar with Arpad, Groeger, and Bellini by Formart in comparison to Kerr’s work, so there are still some bargains to be had with a little shopping diligence. Snagging an eye-catching pair of earrings for $50 or less isn’t out of the question. Exceptions include more unusual designs and out-of-the-ordinary color combinations.

When seeking Kerr pieces, which generally bring the highest prices, expect to pay $100-$150 for the best earring examples and $50 and up for smaller button styles. Suites including a necklace, bracelet, and matching earrings can sell in the $200-$300 range depending on the design

PAMELA WIGGINS SIEGEL has been buying, selling, and collecting costume jewelry for more than 30 years. She is the author of Warman’s Costume Jewelry and the co-founder of Costume Jewelry Collectors Int’l, an organization dedicated to hosting events and providing educational resources for collectors. Visit her online at Chic Antiques by Pamela and Costume Jewelry Collectors International.

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AGS Advertising Grading, Authentication Service Launches

The need for accurate authentication and grading has led a group of prominent experts in the field of antique advertising to launch a new company known as Authentication & Grading Services, or AGS. AGS’s principals include Dan Morris, founder of the Cedartown Museum of Coca-Cola Memorabilia in Georgia, and John Mihovetz, known throughout the automobilia and petroliana hobby as Head of Automobilia & Petroliana at Morphy Auctions.

AGS’s president Dan Morris and founding CEO, John Mihovetz.

Morris assumes the post of president and will manage day-to-day operations and the Coca-Cola/soda pop division at AGS, while Mihovetz, who serves as founding CEO, will oversee all activities pertaining to gas and oil collectibles.

AGS’s board of advisers includes Coca-Cola, soda pop, and general antique advertising dealer Gary Metz; and Carter and Irene Davis, pioneers in the field of country store advertising. The five principals represent a combined 100 years of experience in the antique advertising hobby and trade.

AGS offers three tiers of service: authentication, authentication plus grading, and a top tier that includes authentication, grading, and current market valuation. “The highest level would be of particular interest to anyone who wants to make sure their collection is adequately insured,” Morris said.

Morris encourages collectors to reach out to him directly with any questions or comments. “Our goal is total transparency and we’re open to constructive criticism and any ideas collectors may have,” Morris said. “We want for AGS to be an asset to the hobby and we look forward to hearing from collectors.”

To contact AGS, call 770-546-1748 or email danmorris1758@gmail.com. AGS is located at 501 Alexander Dr., Ephrata, Pa., 17522.

Glazed and Confused

I am not a doughnut eater. Not really. Oh sure, I’ve eaten doughnuts—everyone has—but I can’t remember the last time I had one.

OK, that’s not true. A couple of years ago, an old friend, an out-of-town buddy I had not seen for a long time, showed up at my doorstep early morning with a box of doughnuts as a birthday surprise. And I was. Totally.

Mmmmm…donuts…

But that’s the doughnut exception in our house rather than the rule. Which is why standing here, right now, just a few steps away from the Dunkin’ Donuts counter and the vast display of doughnuts glistening in glazed glory, is overwhelming.

There are rows and rows of doughnuts, a veritable plethora of Dunkin’ delights: jelly doughnuts, powdered doughnuts, Boston Kreme doughnuts, lemon-filled doughnuts, frosted vanilla cream doughnuts, chocolate frosted with sprinkles doughnuts, cake doughnuts, and a whole legion of long johns that come in an array of options: glazed, chocolate, chocolate with sprinkles, and chocolate filled with cream or custard.

I’m sure I’m missing some deep-fried favorites, but frankly, being confronted with so many options is dizzying. I am glazed and confused.

“Can I help you?”

“Um. Yes. Certainly. Um. I’d like a half-dozen doughnuts. Um…”

The woman behind the counter is alarmingly patient. And happy. She smiles at my indecision, and I immediately confess my doughnut virginity. She pops open a cardboard box and says, reassuringly, “No worries. There’s a lot to choose from.”

Clearly, I am in the hands of a doughnut professional.

I am a morning person. Up early. Dressed. Coffee started. Dog fed and walked. All with a smile on my face. More or less. Typically, I’m a happy guy. Always have been.

The woman behind the counter is a kindred spirit. You can tell right off. I ask her name. She doesn’t flinch.

“Sally.”

“Great name,” I tell her. And I mean it. It’s a name you don’t hear much anymore. It belongs to a different era, a time when if a stranger asks your name, you happily blurt it out without worry.

Stalling, I tell Sally I’m getting doughnuts this morning as a treat for my wife, who also is not much of a doughnut eater. What she is, however, is stressed. It’s work. Too many demands and not enough time. It’ll pass, but right now, it’s not fun. For anyone. There’s an old saying every married man knows—or should know: When momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.

I tell Sally sheepishly that I’m trying to give my wife a taste of happiness this morning.

Sally tells me I’m at the right place, asking how she can help. And, the thing is, she means it.

So I begin to bumble pick my way to a half-dozen doughnuts. It. Is. The. Slowest. Order. Ever.

Sally puts a cake doughnut, a lemon-filled doughnut, two cream-filled chocolate-covered doughnuts, and two chocolate-covered long johns—one with sprinkles—in the box, all while I make idle chit-chat, because…that’s what I do…to fill the silence.

And that’s that. Only it’s not, because I can’t help myself.

“Thanks, Sally. I’ve, um, really enjoyed this. Mind if I ask you something? Are you always this happy?!!”

“Yeah, pretty much,” she says. “You know, a lot of people work really hard at being unhappy. I never understood that and yet I see it every day.”

“Even people ordering doughnuts?”

“You’d be surprised.”

I am, but I’m also delighted with my box of doughnuts and my counter conversation. My bill comes to a little more than six bucks. I give Sally a ten—and tell her to keep the change.

I turn around, and in that moment, I ponder happiness—such big thoughts on an empty stomach. Nevertheless…

Many people think happiness comes from the Big Stuff in life. New job. New car. New house. New this. New that.

I don’t believe that. Never have. Especially not this morning.

Happiness comes from the small stuff, like the sprinkles on a chocolate long john, and knowing how they will make a sleepy, stressed-out wife smile.

“Bye Sally,” I say over my shoulder. “And thanks!”

“Bye.”

Then I’m out the door, unlikely to be back because, you know, I’m not a doughnut eater. Not really.

Paul Kennedy is the Editorial Director of Kovels Antique Trader. You can reach him at PKennedy@aimmedia.com

Elmer’s Auto & Toy Museum Fabled Toy Collection Heads to Auction

WILLOUGHBY, Ohio—The legendary collection of toys from Elmer’s Auto & Toy Museum, Fountain City, Wis., heads to auction Saturday, Oct. 28, at Milestone Auctions. The event is the first in a multi-year series of quarterly sales of thousands of toys that enchanted museum visitors for nearly 30 years.

Elmer and Bernadette Duellman were married for 56 years and amassed one of the
greatest auto and toy collections in the world. Elmer passed away in 2019.
Image courtesy of the Duellman family

Elmer and Bernadette Duellman started Elmer’s Auto & Toy Museum in 1994. It quickly grew into one of the most impressive and sprawling collections of cars, motorcycles, pedal cars, bicycles, signs, and toys in the world. In the fall of 2022, Mecum Auctions handled the sale of the museum’s vast collection of prized cars, a sale that realized $8.5 million.

“We feel honored to be chosen by the Duellman family to represent Elmer’s incomparable collection,” Miles King, co-founder of Milestone Auctions, said. “We know the toy community is going to love what’s coming in each successive sale.”

Rare Tonka #210 Road Builders Set. Estimate: $6,000-$10,000.
Photo courtesy of Milestone Auctions

“It’s impossible to describe how comprehensive Elmer’s collection is. He had a head start on all of us,” King said. “As far back as the 1980s, Elmer was buying and selling at a rapid pace and had a small army of pickers from coast to coast who were always on the lookout for items of interest.”

Duellman was also known for his encyclopedic knowledge of toys. He authored two volumes of the now-classic Elmer’s Price Guide to Toys and contributed significantly to Volumes 1 through 5 of the Evolution of the Pedal Car and Other Riding Toys.

I.Y. Japan tin friction Condor Motor Cycle, 12in long, all original
and complete with rare original pictorial box. Estimate: $2,000-$4,000
Photo courtesy of Milestone Auctions

“Dad collected a lot of pressed steel toys and a lot of tin—Japanese, German, and American—and car-racing memorabilia and board games,” plus tether racers, Dinky Toys, TootsieToys, and ride-on toys,” said Les Duellman, the oldest of Elmer and Bernadette Duellman’s six children. “He always sought out original condition and original boxes because he knew that’s what really made the piece. He also liked boxed sets that were complete with all of their parts present, as well as ships, airplanes, and car and car-racing memorabilia and board games.”

Alps Japan tin friction Lincoln Futura, with original box. Estimate: $2,500-$3,500.
Photo courtesy of Milestone Auctions

The initial 818-lot auction begins at 10 a.m. EST, Saturday, Oct. 28. You can preview the sale at the auction gallery, 38198 Willoughby Parkway, Willoughby, Ohio, during the week prior to the auction, and from 8-10 a.m. the day of the event. Bidding is live at the gallery, absentee, or live online through HiBid (via Milestone’s website), LiveAuctioneers, Invaluable, or AuctionZip.

For more information or to preview the auction catalog, go to Milestoneauctions.com or call 440-527-8060.

Other highlights from the auction include:

Original Buddy ‘L’ International Harvester ‘Red Baby’ express truck, pressed steel, 24 in. long.
Excellent condition. Originally available only through International Harvester dealers, in
very limited numbers. Estimate: $3,000-$5,000.
Photo courtesy of Milestone Auctions

American National Packard Roadster pedal car, 29 in. long, beautifully restored
with the dash in original condition. Estimate: $2,000-$4,000.
Photo courtesy of Milestone Auctions

Bremer Whirlwind tether gas-powered race car. All original as-raced condition.
Complete with motor, ignition, gas tank, and drive system. Estimate: $1,000-$1,500
Photo courtesy of Milestone Auctions

Metalcraft Airmail Toy Airplane with an electric motor that spins the propeller, with rare original box.
Nicest example Milestone’s toy experts have seen. Estimate: $2,000-$3,000.
Photo courtesy of Milestone Auctions

Rare I.Y. Japan tin friction Romance motorcycle, known to collectors as the ‘large blue version.’
Twelve inches long. Excellent condition. Estimate: $2,000-$3,000.
Photo courtesy of Milestone Auctions

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Terry and Ralph Kovels’ “Life Collection” Heads to Auction Nov. 1

A cross-section of collecting interests, pottery by George Ohr highlights the 188-lot event at Rago and Toomey & Co.

Taureau, c. 1860, by pioneering feminist artist Rosa Bonheur, 1822–1899.
Image courtesy of Rago and Toomey & Co.

A curated 188-lot collection belonging to Terry and Ralph Kovel, the “duke and duchess of the antiques world,” including rare ceramics by George Ohr, paintings by pioneering female artist Rosa Bonheur, and American Renaissance Revival furniture by Alexander Roux, heads to auction Wednesday, Nov. 1, at Rago and Toomey & Co.

A fine Louis XVl Revival music-themed cabinet, c. 1865, attributed to Alexander Roux.
Image courtesy of Rago and Toomey & Co.

The Kovels are widely known throughout the antiques and collectibles world, establishing a beachhead in the collecting space in 1953 with their first book together, Dictionary of Marks: Pottery and Porcelain. In the following 70 years, the Kovels name became synonymous with the antiques and collectibles hobby, thanks in large part to the more than 100 books they published, including Kovel’s Antiques & Collectibles Price Guide, which has sold more than four million copies as the bible in the collecting field. Through their work, antiques and collecting were made accessible to the masses.

The Kovels were incredibly diversified in their interests, collecting everything from banana stickers and textiles to furniture and American art pottery. Of all the work championed by the Kovels, they clearly had a close connection to George Ohr and the man who sold the potter’s work to the world, James Carpenter. The Kovels discovered Ohr pottery while researching in the basement warehouse of the Smithsonian Museum. Fascinated by his work, they wrote the first article to appear on Ohr, published in May 1972 in The Western Collector magazine. As popular as Ohr is today, such radical work was a very hard sell back in the dark ages of pottery in 1972-73.

An exceptional vase standing 8 3/4 inches tall by George Ohr.
Image courtesy of Rago and Toomey & Co.

Billed as “The Life Collection of Terry & Ralph Kovel,” the auction represents a cross-section of many of the Kovels’ collecting interests, a compendium of what America was hunting once the baby boomers came of age and started nesting. Still, as diversified a glimpse as this sale offers, at its heart, it is mostly about the mad genius from Biloxi, Miss., George Ohr. These pieces are presented for the first time in half a century and only the second time since they left the Ohr family in Biloxi.

In addition to the more than 30 pieces by Ohr, the auction includes pottery from Taxile Doat, Martin Brothers, Fulper, and others; furniture, silver, tableware, and even a whimsical collection of Pixieware from Holt-Howard.

A rare and exceptional glazed porcelain vase by Taxile Doat.
Image courtesy of Rago and Toomey & Co.

You can preview the auction in person at Rago, 333 N Main St Ste 4, Lambertville, N.J., from now until the day of the auction, or view lots online at RagoArts.com. The auction begins at 11 a.m. EST, Nov. 1. For more information, call 609-397-9374 or email info@ragoarts.com.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula Unleashed in Time for Halloween

A recent auction saw the sale of a book that released one of pop culture’s most famous monsters into the world, inspiring multiple retellings, classic movies, and countless Halloween costumes.

Signed 1st Ed., 2nd Issue Of Bram Stoker’s Iconic Novel “Dracula.“

As Halloween creeps ever closer, it’s the perfect time of the year to brush off a dusty old tome and read some scary stories. A Rare Autographs, Manuscripts, Books & Sports Memorabilia auction by University Archives on Oct. 18 set the tone for the season with a signed copy of the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. Not just any copy, of course; it was a first edition, second issue.

The first edition, published in 1897 by Archibald Constable and Co., is famously bound in yellow cloth. In Victorian England, yellow binding warned prospective readers of the book’s contents. Risqué French novels were bound in yellow. The magazine The Yellow Book, published from 1894 to 1897, was associated with the decadence of the Aesthetic movement. A book with a yellow cover tempts the protagonist of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, a controversial book in its own right when it was published in 1891.

While the book’s cover tells a story of its own, any reader knows it’s what’s on the inside that counts. Stoker signed its front-end page and dated it “15 Decr. 1899.” He dedicated the copy to Hall Caine, a novelist and dramatist whose nickname was “Hommy-Beg.”

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Despite the personalized touch, the edition’s rarity, and the iconic vampire story, the book fell short of its $15,000-$20,000 estimate, selling for $11,875 (including buyer’s premium). That might not sound like much to the aristocratic Count Dracula, but it’s pretty impressive to us mere mortals.

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A Perfectly Di Cast Sweater

A black sheep amid rows of white. Seemingly a perfect metaphor for Princess Diana’s turn in the spotlight.

Diana, Princess of Wales (1961 – 1997) wearing ‘Black sheep’ wool jumper
by Warm and Wonderful (Muir & Osborne) to Windsor Polo, June 1981.
Photo by Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images

She stood out—in a good way—among the stuffy Royals, much like the bright red sweater she wore in 1981. Decades after her death, the iconic fashion item—Diana’s “black sheep jumper” sweater—sold for $1.14 million at Sotheby’s on Sept. 14, against pre-auction estimates of $80,000. The princess, then Lady Diana Spencer, caused a stir when she first wore the sweater to a June polo match of Prince Charles—now King Charles III—ahead of their marriage. The sweater by Warm & Wonderful became an instant sensation, demonstrating Diana’s popularity with the general public.

 

The “infamous” black sheep sweater.

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The Birthday Girl!

Happy Birthday, Terry Kovel!

The Birthday Girl!

If you see Terry Kovel this week, wish her a happy birthday. Terry turns 95 on Friday, Oct. 27, which means, technically, she is not an antique. You can call her vintage if you like, but to her many, many friends throughout the antiques and collectibles field, Terry will always be rare, a one-of-a-kind joy who enriches everything we hold dear in the hobby.

Terry officially “retired” late last March, but anyone who has spent the vast majority of their life exploring estate sales, researching fantastic finds, and generally informing the uninformed about antiques and collectibles never really retires. This hobby is far too interesting for such nonsense, and Terry is far too curious.

Terry and her late husband, Ralph, were pioneers in a postwar America that knew little about antiques or what exactly was a collectible. After publishing their first book in the field 70 years ago—and following it with 100 more—the Kovels name is synonymous with the field.

So, after all that Terry has done for us, it seems the least we can do is wish her a happy birthday and hope that she is as generous with her birthday cake as she has been with her knowledge.

Happy Birthday, Terry!