9th Antique Road Show ~Review

[JCP]

Prized Antiques at Road Show Even Dazzled Experts The Oxford Historical Society held another impressive Antiques Road Show on April 25th, their 9th annual. The Society’s Depot-Museum was filled to the max with visitors hoping to get a free appraisal by Joann Austin and Carol Wright, known as “The Two Old Bats” (of Bainbridge, Afton and Endicott), who do this for professional entertainment.
The Road Show attracted people from far and wide, and the antiques were just as diverse. There were some great collectible toys such as a train, dolls including a Shirley Temple, and a couple of 40’s era lithographed tin toys. There were named items like, “Homer Laughlin” china; “Parian” ware and “Roseville” pottery; an “Eastlake”-era inlaid music table; “Mary Gregor”/“Ruby Flash”/ “Bristol” (with “fireglow”) art glass; an “ivoroid” hand mirror; “Nippon” and “Meiji Satsuma” Japanese ceramics. All of these specific terms were explained so that even if you weren’t a collector, you would learn something new.
Some collecting tips mentioned by the “Old Bats”: “Ruby Flash” glass and nautical themed items are very hot! Enameled tin and photography is going up; dolls, parian ware, and sterling have gone down.
There were some truly old and unique items such as a ¼ plate Daguerreotype of Daniel Webster, whose conservative value was estimated at $2,500. A carved “Treenware” wooden pitcher, made from one piece of wood, dated 1711, was called “incredible!” by Carol Wright. Its value is in its age and could only be considered a museum piece. “Most of the time”, Carol stated, “condition is everything, more than age, however, this pitcher is an exception”.
Another very exceptional item was a tall, 3-sectioned clear glass apothecary bottle. Dated 1830, it was said to have been brought from CT by ox-cart as a pharmacy display piece to hold colored water. It’s valued at $1,200. Owner Linda Fowlston, a native of Oxford, is a 2nd generation pharmacist. Her family once had a drug store in Oxford.
There were a few local items such as a Sherburne salt-glazed, stoneware jug, dated 1872. Made by C. Hart & Son pottery, this jug was valued at $1,000! There was also a huge clay water jug from Albany that was originally used for drinking water on the rail road. A highly collectible piece!
There were a few items with sentimental value. One was a small journal filled with a mother’s cleaning tips and charming poetry. Another was a Civil War uniform cap, which once belonged to soldier, Ulysses Grant Reed, brought in by Ann Jackson, his descendant.
On the high end of values were some French interior design books filled with lithographs. These “Decoration Moderne” books from the 1930’s had plates that would total around $600. Even higher was a silk bound, Japanese art book, filled with images of women in traditional costumes, block printed and hand colored. These prints were valued at about $150 per page, which may have made the book around $7,500.
A well kept German sporting shotgun, made by J. P. Sauer & Sohn, and a pair of gold inlaid, French pistols were actually appraised by one of the visitors. Carol and Joann were aided by gun expert, James Edwards, who came from Mount Vision, NY, with his wife Lucy. Edwards was quite impressed with the very good condition of the unusual guns. The shotgun was valued at $1,000, but the pair of pistols ‘tipped the scales’ at $6,000!
The prize of the evening was an art piece, a vase, made by French artist Georges Charles Coudray (active betw.1883-1932). Made of bronze with a gold overlay, the vessel had seven women’s faces in relief all around it, in the decorative Art Nouveau style. Carol Wright was astonished to be actually holding the piece, as she thought work by this artist would only be in a museum. Her conservative estimate was around $5,000, but it might sell as high as $20,000.
If you missed this event, there won’t be another Antiques Road Show till next year, but watch the Oxford events calendar at www.OxfordNY.com or contact the Oxford Historical Society. They present educational programs, free to the public, five times a year, bimonthly; starting at 7:00 pm. Member dues are $10.00 per person/household. New members are always welcome! Call: (607) 843-9446 or just visit the Depot, on a Thursday, and fill out an application.

(Click on thumbnail photos to enlarge)
Caption 1: Joann Austin holds an antique French pistol.
Caption 2: Carol Wright displays a book of Japanese woodblock prints.
Caption 3: “The Two Old Bats” explain the salt glazed process with two pottery examples.
Caption 4: Fred Lanfear, OHS president, looks over antique European hunting gun.