Canadian Antique News

An article on the efforts of Hamiltonians to collect their past:

Hamilton doesn't really have an official city archive or city museum. So the library department has filled the void. If Hamilton were a house, Special Collections would be its attic.

Some of the items are serious, like the ledger book from Blachford and Son Funeral Home that itemizes the cost of Sir Allan MacNab's funeral in August, 1862. Total bill: $124, about five times the usual bill at the time.

Other articles are more amusing: There's a men's underwear order book from the Hamilton Cotton Ltd., which was a huge employer in Hamilton in the early 20th century. The book has dozens of elastic samples to choose from.

Some people say Gore Park --with all its controversies over the years -- has been a tempest in a teapot. Well, Special Collections actually has a Gore Park teapot. It holds two cups with a photograph of the Gore on the front.

Hamilton Spectator - News

Sales at 3 Major Art Auctions Set Records

The regular spring auctions of Canadian art were held this past month by Joyner-Waddington's, Heffel, and Sothebys-Ritchies. Media comments and prices realized are now available --most are listed below.

In total, it seems that the market for high-end Canadian art is very healthy, with all parties reporting record sales and energetic bidding, although many of the same buyers are dominating the market (like Kenneth Thompson, who is rumoured to be the buyer of the $567,500, painting of "Mount Robson from the North East" by Group of Seven founder Lawren Harris --Thompson has a huge collection of Group of Seven and other Canadian paintings, the bulk of which are going to the AGO).

"These prices show the rising value of great Canadian art," says Geoffrey
Joyner, President, Joyner Waddington's. "We are delighted with the response."

On the other hand, there were also some (almost-predictable) disapointments, like the failure of another Harris painting at Sotheby's to sell:

"Admittedly, the painting that went into yesterday's sale with Sotheby's highest estimate -- Eight Red Houses, a large oil by Group of Seven founder Lawren Harris valued at $400,000-$600,000 -- garnered a top bid of only $275,000 and was withdrawn from sale.

But this was the only dark cloud in a decidedly upbeat sale that saw at least 10 paintings hammered down for $100,000 or more.

David Silcox, president of Sotheby's Canada, called the non-sale of the Harris "a disappointment, for sure." But he acknowledged its "sombre cast" and its lack of the snow, rocks, ice and trees motifs preferred by Harris collectors made it "not everyone's cup of tea." "

As for the Heffel auction, the big news continues to be record prices for Emily Carr paintings:

"Emily Carr continues to be the artist who has been most important to our business," says David Heffel, president Heffel Fine Art Auction House. "This was [an] outstanding sale price that shows that Carr is still one of Canada's most beloved artists."


Links
The Globe and Mail: Good haul reported for art spring auctions
Globe: Impressive sales prove that the market for high-end Canadian art continues to be robust
Toronto Star Abstract
Joyner Prices 1
Joyner 2
Sotheby's Ritchies Results
Heffel News

Prisoner's box to be auctioned at Waddington's
TORONTO, June 13 /CNW/ -
"A small, wooden box carved by a man imprisoned
for his part in the Rebellion of Upper Canada in 1837 will be offered for sale
at Waddington's Decorative Arts auction on Tuesday, June 14.
The prisoner's box was carved by Hasel H. Scott, a Scottish-born labourer
arrested for his involvement in the Rebellion, led by William Lyon Mackenzie.
It was a practice of those imprisoned following the Rebellion to carve
the little boxes, as gifts for loved ones, while awaiting trial."

Update: Box sells for $4800 Prices Realized, Lot 440
Catalogue
Press Release

Anne of Green Gables first edition sold
"A first edition of Lucy Maud Montgomery's classic Anne of Green Gables was auctioned off for $24,000 US at Sotheby's on Friday.
The 97-year-old book by the P.E.I.-born author had been expected to fetch up to $12,000 US.
The 1908 book in its original pale-green ribbed cloth cover with gilt lettering was exceptionally rare and in superb condition, said Sotheby's.
Only five copies of the first impression -- published by L.C. Page and Co. of Boston -- have appeared at auction in the past 30 years.
The volume was part of a collection of over 300 books that belonged to Hollywood director George Cosmatos -- the man behind Tombstone and Rambo: First Blood. "
Entertainment - canada.com network

Antique map fetches record price at auction
"The printed map, one of only four known surviving examples produced by a group working under German cartographer Martin Waldseemueller, was bought by Charles Frodsham and Co. Ltd., a company that makes, collects and deals in items ranging from clocks to maps and books, Christie's auction house said.
Scholars created the set of maps, believed to be components of the earliest printed globe, based on explorers' accounts and had to draw the Pacific Ocean before Europeans had even discovered it. The work depicts a land mass labelled America that corresponds to part of South America."
The Globe and Mail







Mortgage Rates
Compare national rates by lender: See Chart "

Ritchies Too
Sotheby's in Association with Ritchies Important Canadian Art
Monday, May 30, 2005
Ritchies

Vancouver
Maud Lewis, Carr, Paul Peel, G7 highlights of Spring Auction, May 25, 2005.
Heffel.com Live Auction Lots Preview

Spring Auction
Canadian Art catalog of 215 lot, painting and sculpture, now online. Auction June 30-31, 2005.
G7, Kreighoff, etc.
Waddington's

"The 1948 Grey Cup ring once owned by Calgary Stampeders lineman Dave Tomlinson is for sale on eBay. "
SLAM! Sports

"COLLEGE TEACHER Sandy Foster has made a Mickey Mouse donation to Sick Kids hospital.
But it was no Minnie gift.
The avid collector presented most of his 30-year horde of the Disneyesque -- including 1930s and '40s tinplate figures, dolls, watches, even a painted pewter chess set -- to the hospital where he regularly takes his daughter for treatment.
For three years, the collection wowed hundreds of children during visits to the renowned University Ave. facility, with Foster lovingly switching items for lobby displays that regularly changed.
Then renovations began. Mickey, Minnie, Snow White, Pluto, Donald Duck, Beauty and the Beast went to never-again land.

'We decided to sell it all off and use the money for children,' Michael O'Mahoney, president of the Sick Kids Foundation, said yesterday at the sale's launch by Toronto firm Auctionwire.
O'Mahoney, calling Foster's generosity 'absolutely phenomenal,' said 800 items worth about $126,000 will be offered on eBay. "
TorontoSun.com

Urns Sale Update
A British appeal court has overturned a 2004 ruling that deemed Christie's auction house 'negligent' in its duty to Canadian heiress Taylor Thomson before she bought two antique urns at auction in London for almost $4.3-million in 1994.
Released yesterday, the 84-page decision, written by Lord Justice Anthony May, said that High Court Justice Ian Jack was 'inconsistent' in May, when he ruled that the urns were, as Christie's originally claimed, from the era of French King Louis XV and at the same time awarded Ms. Thomson potentially millions of dollars in damages because Christie's had failed to give her 'a fuller picture' about the objects, including the possibility they could be 19th-century copies.
Had the ruling by Mr. Justice Jack been upheld this week, some art observers felt it would have huge implications for the way fine art is consigned, promoted and bought in the resale market."
The Globe and Mail

"It was just like old times at The Canadian Antiques Roadshow's early taping at the Manitoba Museum yesterday morning. A power outage left the CBC show in the dark for an hour until technicians fired up a gas-powered generator to shed light on the situation.
Not that it mattered to show fans who hauled their treasures in for expert appraisal."
Winnipeg Sun:

Venerable Trade Paper Changes Hands
Grimsby, Ont.
The bimonthly Upper Canadian magazine, journal of record for Canadian antique dealers and collectors, has been sold. Some details published in the latest issue.
The new owner's plans include a new website to serve as "a powerful antiques industry portal," according to the website blurb.
The Upper Canadian.com

Museum's petty cash plea snubbed

By Susan SHERRING, Ottawa Sun
"It's really quite easy to understand why council made the incredibly moronic decision yesterday to reject a request to help bid on an important piece of Ottawa history.
At the centre of the council debate was the gun believed to have been used to shoot Thomas D'Arcy McGee, one of the Fathers of Confederation, on Sparks St.
The killing makes McGee, an early and strong supporter of Confederation, the only Canadian federal politician to ever have been assassinated.
And Patrick Whelan, who was convicted in his killing and owned the Smith and Wesson revolver in question, was the last person in this country to be publicly hanged.
The gun is now in the hands of a private owner in southern Ontario, who has put it up for sale at an auction to take place next Friday.
Calls of interest have come from around the world , so the Bytown Museum is leading a community-based effort to raise $55,000 to bid on the gun to keep it in Ottawa where it rightfully belongs.
To date, they've collected $15,000 from the community and were hoping for a $10,000 pledge from the City of Ottawa to leverage other support in time for next Friday's auction. ""
Ottawa Sun Online
Background: CBC

Short piece on buying online.
"It's a gamble each time she buys, she acknowledges. The trick is to check out specialty sellers, inquire about return policies and ensure they answer all questions, she adds. Surf around for what similar items sell for and consider taxes, insurance and shipping costs"The Globe and Mail: