The 2012 Spring Container Party at the shop will be here before we know it.   I hope you can make plans now to join us for this fourth annual event.   I have been saving back several very special pieces from fine St. Louis estates to compliment the usual unusual objects that are in the container from Europe.  The dates for the next party at the shop are  Thursday, March 1st,  from 4:00 p.m. to 8 :00 p.m.    Don’t miss this one!

Remember R. Ege Antiques is now on Facebook.  I often post photos of new shop merchandise on the R. Ege Antiques Facebook page, be sure and check it out!

The holidays seem to have come early this year.   It  seems like just yesterday we had the Container Party at the shop and now I’m working with fake snow and icicles and giving away the pumpkins and squash.   Time flies!  I’m just not always sure I’m having as much fun along the way and it seems I should for how fast time is going by.   This year’s window display features a wonderful 19th century cast iron garden bench in the blackberry and fern pattern.   The garden statue is “Summer” from the four seasons set of cast stone garden figures.    One of the doggies in the window is a 1920′s paper-mache store display dog and the other one of-course is the infamous Roxie – not a fake.   Remember if you see any items in the blog photos that you have questions about please feel free to email me from the website or call the shop at 314-773-8500.  Click on images to enlarge.

The Holiday Party at the shop was a huge success, we extended it over a three day period which seemed to provide  enough time for our customers to make it to the shop during the event and for some it meant they could come back more than once to see if that special treasure was still there.

The candle holder in the center of the wall is actually a large exterior flower pot display but makes a perfect candle holder for a large wall or for over a mantle.   The tole flowers on the right side of the photo are French 19th century hand painted tole bouquets in gilt wooden urns, they found a new home within the first few minutes of the opening.

The Baccarat four-light candelabras add to the holiday sparkle as does the Heisey epergne and the Steuben glass bowls, nothing like a little bit of “bling”  during the season to add sparkle and elegance to any Christmas table.  Click on images to enlarge.

Sterling and pearl handled knives displayed in a French wire basket all under an early dome on a 1920′s mirrored plateau; there are times when you can see by the shop’s merchandising how much I enjoy this particular part of having a shop.. the display part….most of the time.

Domes, domes, and more domes, for some reason I have been lucky enough to find several nice 19th century examples which are always fun to do vignettes in, especially for the holiday season: note the tiny little monstrance in the large dome on the right, ( under the full size French Monstrance ) the tiny one is made out of lead and the full size version is of bronze and silver plate.

Paul E. Harney (1850-1915) from Alton, Illinois was one of the founders of the St. Louis Artist Guild and was best known for his chicken paintings and this particular one is a beauty.   This oil is dated 1913 and looks to be in its original arts and crafts frame.  Click on images to enlarge.

The zinc architectural mirror looks great over the 1850′s zinc altar angels and between the lead flowers on either side of the angels.

These English lead flowers were hard for me to part with, they were made to look like water lilies and planted in these paint decorated cast stone planters.

The huge white poinsettia just fills the early hammered copper pot on the French wine tasting table in front of the Christmas window.   The large copper pot is the perfect size to put a live Christmas tree in to hide the base and to protect your wood floors.   I have sold several of these over the years for the Christmas tree and for logs by the fireplace.

I love vintage antler handled flatware and it is not easy to find.   I had two sets of English cutlery again displayed in these wonderful vintage French wire baskets.  Click images to enlarge.

Keys, keys, need a key?  I seem to have several, mostly 19th century and all found in Europe.

Vintage Christmas ornaments from the 1940′s and 1950′s are so cheerful and bright, they seem to reflect the simple charms of life that we like to apply to that era.

The painting in the arts and crafts frame is by Katheryn Bard Cherry (1880 – 1931 ) she was a St. Louis artists that not only painted here in the city but also in Gloucester, Massachusetts in the artist colony there during the summers.

Both of my bird carvings “flew” away ( sorry couldn’t resist) very quickly.   They were both by the same artist and from the late 1960s.

I have never had a collection of early German “Dresden” Christmas ornaments in the shop and didn’t have these for very long.   Click on images to enlarge.

The details are just incredible in Dresden ornaments.  This owl was completely made out of pressed paper, assembled and then hand-painted and now has survived over 120 years in mint condition, remarkable.

The Dresden fox looks ready to run at the first sign of danger.  I am amazed that he survived with his ears intact.

I am not sure if this large carved wooden eagle from the early 20th century was from a lodge or possibly some fraternal organization, whatever it was from it certainly had presence with its severity and quite large wingspan.

I have always liked horn stools and to have one four legged and one three legged stool at the same time is pretty cool.   They seem to go well with the turtle shells, the African mounted horns, and the German antler lamp.

The back of the shop seems more edited this holiday season.   Well, maybe edited for how it usually looks!

The mid-19th century cloche just fits inside of this large feather tree base made with a fence.   When you fill any glass dome or cloche with glass Christmas balls it makes for an easy and cheerful holiday display.

Wow, talk about red, the early hand knitted mittens were just as intense in color as were the poinsettias in the folk art stone planter.

Gold gilt dried pomegranates in a modernist European planter, simple and festive.

The fourteen foot long English pine bookcase was filled with leather books, sea shells, and early shell lithographs and made a nice backdrop for a collection of odd stools that for the most part are now all gone.

Most of the shell lithographs are framed in 19th century vinegar-grained and gilt frames in a myriad of different patterns.

The white glazed brick walls in the back of the shop really make some pieces pop visually, such as the European teaching chart with the life cycle of a jelly fish that fits right in with the aquarium, the coral, and the framed shell engravings.

The “Jewel” slate bottom aquarium is now in Ohio being prepared for live fish again.   I think it’s great that some people still have the interest and passion for using the things they collect, often for its original purpose.   Talk about recycling!

The splayed legged bench from Pennsylvania makes a perfect platform for the mounted iron rings, the two smaller of which have been made out of early 20th century automobile wheels that all of the wood and rubber have rotted away from.

This early 20th century paper-mache goose decoy fits perfectly inside the large copper candy kettle and makes for an ideal holiday centerpiece for a fireplace hearth or a harvest table.

Many, many, many Infants of Prague for as far as the eye can see, all found in a St. Louis estate belonging to a priest.   They are hard plastic and date to the 1950s.  Click on images to enlarge.

” May no shadow darken your Christmas, may joys around you brightly glow, and peace and hope for ever flow”.   Not a bad sentiment that still applies over 120 years after this Christmas card was signed and sent to a loved one during the holidays.    This is the time of the year to make our homes festive and cheerful not just for our loved ones that will be coming over to ohh and aww but for ourselves also.   I often  say that after getting the shop decorated for the holidays I am done with it all and will not be decorating at the house, but invariably I start piece by piece unpacking those treasured ornaments from my Christmas collection some of which I have had for over 25 years, old friends they have become.   My holiday collection stays packed away for the better part of a year so when I start unpacking it a smile begins to form on my face and I can’t help but keep unpacking them so each one gets to shine during this special time of the year, some of those ornaments have been putting smiles on faces for many generations.   They have been good friends for many people before me and hopefully will go on to delight others long after I am gone from this earth.   This Christmas during all the hustle and bustle I hope you can stop and think about all the smiles that can be given and shared during this holiday season and each day after.  Enjoy!

This year’s container party was so amazing.   My staff and I were overwhelmed by the wonderful response from our customers; it will be one of those parties to be remembered.    The photo above shows a center table decked out for Fall with an early whole-cloth quilt full of shorebirds standing around a cast stone planter that has been decorated with stones, shells, and rocks in wonderful patterns.  Click on photos to enlarge.

The long panels on either side of the antler mirror are actually from a Detroit city trolley car.   These panels are made out of oilcloth and date from the early 1930s, unlike the reproductions of these that are showing up everywhere.   I consider myself very lucky to find a trolley car roll that is from such an historical very American city like Detroit.    The “automobile capitol of the world”  has so many streets specific to it, such as:  the Ford Rouge Plant entrance, the Detroit Zoo, and the University of Detroit and many other historic locations that make it a very interesting city.   Click on images to enlarge.

The best German antler mirror ever!   It found a new home right away.

This is a close-up view of one of the carved horn medallions on the mirror.

Faux bois French planter full of tiny fall gourds.   Behind the planter are several different African horns mounted on stands.

Biedermeier kettle carrier surrounded by antlers and horns.

The carnival chalk-ware kitty seems to have found a comfy home on the vintage German linens.

This pair of French faux bois planters are off to a new home down South.   The drum is from Europe and is decorated on one side with a painting of a woman with tankards of beer in her hands.

The drum in the last photo shows the beer hall girl on one side and then this stretched hide panel would have been on the other side, it has been decorated with a rag-tag musical group complete with a dog holding a cap in his mouth begging for donations.  The drum panel is artist signed and dated 1930.

The most amazing dog collars on a very early French stool, complete with its original horsehair stuffing.    The large brass dog collar looks to be Dutch and dates to the early to mid 19th century, about the same time period as the stool.

I have never had three globes with cast iron bases in the shop at the same time.   They look great paired with the German antler chair and the antler lamp.   Click on images to enlarge.

The decoy shown above was made by Charles Perdue who was an important Illinois River decoy carver working in the early 20th century.   Perdue’s wife Edna often painted the decoys Charles carved.   The couple created some of the most beautiful and sculptural American decoys known.    Perdue’s crow decoys such as this one are extremely rare.    I find the crow decoys made by Perdue  are like fine contemporary sculpture, simplified, and very edited.

This life sized carved wood deer mount has real antlers and dates from the late 19th century and has a great face, very friendly.

Wonderful, bright, fun, whimsical gaming wheel, no wonder they are highly collected and very hard to find now.

This pair of zinc angels with wings were found in Europe and probably would have been used in a church side altar or possibly a mausoleum.    It is rare to find anything like this in zinc and especially dating from the mid-19th century.

This is a close-up of one of the angel’s faces.   I find it interesting that the artisan that made these could convey so much emotion in a face made out of metal.

Turn of the century “hand” prints from a box game, framed up they made for a fun, interesting wall.   The lamps on the console have been made from old cast iron soda fountain stool bases.

Each hand tells a story.   I love the graphic quality of these prints.   Click on images to enlarge.

Domes and body parts, one always seems to work well with the other.

Opening a bar?  This European bar sign dates from the 1930′s and comes complete with hanging bracket.

Hollywood regency style chair at its best.  This is one of those put it in a room and make a statement kind of chairs, it’s not subtle.

The large trophy case is filled with objects perfect for a  cabinet of curiosities.

Pair of aesthetic movement carved gilt-wood panels are hung over an English alligator traveling case from the early 1920s.

These large lenses were taken from huge box cameras made in the late to early part of the 20th century, as decorative objects I think they add a sense of mystery or just plain old mad-scientist to an interior.   Above the lenses hang a pair of comedy and tragedy “masks” that have been fashioned out of hammered copper and sterling silver, they date to the 1930s.    I am very fond of the “legged” brass trivet stand, it looks like it’s going to run away with that lense at any moment.  Click on images to enlarge.

Can you imagine driving a  1920s British automobile with this devil mascot as your hood ornament.    The devil figure was made to pivot on its base so that you could turn the car mascot around and so that when you passed a car it looked as if you were thumbing your nose at the driver of the other auto as you were passing by him, pretty creative.   The mascot is finely cast from bronze and is mounted on it’s original wooden cap and is in great condition.

Shelf of interesting objects that seem to work well together, and as always just send me an email or call the shop if you would like more information on anything shown in the blog shop photos.

Unusual pair of store display manikin hands dating from the 1920s, they come complete with real mother of pearl buttons, to further the illusion.

The American impressionist painting is by St. Louis artist Kathryn Bard Cherry, (1880-1931.)   The victorian birds in domes are safe from the large Austrian bronze hen roaming about on the shelf under the Cherry painting.

Life-sized carved wooden piglets share the stage with a tiny Steiff velvet piggy.   All of the piglets had left the building by the end of the night

I love medical models, they are so surreal.   This is a paper-mache and wood over-sized ear teaching model.  It is European and dates to the early 20th century.

This medical teaching model of a human eye comes apart into many pieces, including a hand-blown glass pupil in the very center.  Similar to the model in the above photo this one is made of paper-mache, wood, and glass.   The eye model dates to the early 20th century and is European in origin.

Large assortment of early carved and decorated wooden angel wings from Europe.  Click on images to enlarge.

One of the most interesting autograph techniques I have ever seen are shown in these signature “Rorschach” tests that are actual autographs written in fountain pen ink and then the paper was folded over and then unfolded to form an ink blot type of Rorschach.  S ome of the autographs are dated 1909, and all have been archivally framed.  Under the autographs is a well-worn alligator hat box from the 1920s, ready for travel.

The large 18th century Madonna and child seem dwarfed by the eight foot tall framed English rubbing of a 16th century crypt.

The most santos I have ever had in the shop at one time.   I seem to have found several collections all at once, which is great because they always seem to look better en masse.

I have always loved vintage  interior design renderings like the ones shown here and the one  below that were done in the 1930s by the famous Warfield Shop, here in St. Louis.   These now rare watercolors were used to show clients what the proposed room spaces would look like when completed.   Notice the use of fine antiques in these interiors as well as details like hand-painted wall murals shown in the above image.

During the time these watercolor renderings were made interior designers were expected to do artwork  like these to be able to give the client a better visual of the room that today would simply be put together with a few clicks of the keypad on a computer or ipad.

The back of the shop seems so edited after walking through the front and seeing the bookcases with each shelf full of objects begging for visual attention.

This classic iron table from Belgium looks great paired with the hand-forged 1950s iron windsor chairs on either side.

Sunflowers, squash, and pumpkins, kinda says it all, Fall has arrived!

Over the bottle drying racks is a European teaching chart showing the life cycle of a jelly fish, dating from the 1950s.

Loved these huge hand-made iron dice found in Europe.  They found a new home very quickly

Zinc window boxes with a hand-crafted galvanized tackle box and an authentic 1920s ship’s lantern seem like they were all made to be displayed together.

Unusual to find planters that have such a strong modernist 1950s vibe to them, I love the tripod legs.

Wonderful 1920s forged iron armillary sphere mounted on a stone base shown in this photo next to a huge wooden pulley wheel.

19th century French urns with gourds and one really huge and really ugly squash.

Industrial butcher’s table filled with iron objects.

The top of the butcher’s table has an assortment of heavy pieces including the large mounted iron rings,  the copper and iron hand mold forms in the rack, to the “boat anchor” made up of various found objects and tools, with it’s original blue-gray paint.

In the very back of the shop hangs this large circa 1961 oil on canvas by well listed St. Louis artist Howard Jones.   I love Howard’s use of the unpainted canvas as one of his “colors,”  it makes the painting seem even more spare and edited than it is.   The old general store shelves below the canvas hold an assortment of interesting objects including early stone mortars and a group of cast iron 19th century French coal hod urns.  So this completes our tour of the Fall Container Party 2011 at R. Ege Antiques, I hope you have enjoyed it and please come again, anytime.   The date of the Christmas Holiday Party at the shop is Thursday night, November 17th, from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm.   If you have questions about anything shown in the above photos please contact me via email or call the shop anytime!  Email: rick@regeantiques.com or shop number: 314-773-8500.   Be sure and click on images to enlarge.

The 2011 Fall Container Party is just around the corner.   Be sure and make plans now to attend this first hand look at antiques from France, Belgium, Holland, and Germany all bought especially for you!  The party is Thursday, September 29th, from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm.   Don’t miss it.

The Missouri Botanical Garden is one of my favorite places to go to unwind.  Just  let the summer breezes carry your worries away.   One of the reasons I enjoy the garden is that it is in constant flux which makes going such a pleasure, you never know what’s going to be in bloom.  This trip was all about the daylilies which are in full bloom and spectacular this time of year.   The garden has an extensive website you can check out here.  Click on images to enlarge.

The bright yellow Chihuly glass “rays” seem to glow in the bright summer light.

The Linnean house was built by Henry Shaw in 1882 and is the oldest continuously operating greenhouse conservatory in the United States.  It has been recently renovated and houses the garden’s camellia collection.

Now for the daylilies.  I photographed a few of my favorites with their names just in case anyone was interested in adding a few varieties to their collection.  I have to admit to a bit of a daylily nuttiness this year.  I just added five new varieties to my garden and am running out of spots with full sun for them all.   I find daylilies not only beautiful but also very easy to grow, a win – win in our busy world today.   I can’t think of another perennial that comes in such varieties, requires less care, less maintenance, and blooms consistently for months at a time.  Did you know that the genus name for daylilies is Hemerocallis,  which comes from the Greek words Hemera (day) and Kalos (beautiful.)   Click on images to enlarge.

Name:   Asterisk

Name:  Mary Todd

Name:  Laughing Giraffe

Name:  Watson Park Tempest

Name: School Bus           …. can’t imagine how they came up with that name?

Name:  Bi-eyed Beauty

Name:  Sparkling Champagne

Name:  Kyoto Swan

Name:  Affair D’ Amour

Name:  Written on the Wind

Name:  Jane Timmer

Name:  Dream Legacy

Name:  Francois Verhaert

Name:  Bela Lugosi

Name:  All American Chief

Name:  Black Arrowhead.   I decided out of all of the varieties in bloom at the garden at this time I wanted to find this one for my garden.   Well not so easy I found out, after several hours of searching daylily growers’ websites I found one that carries this variety, and naturally it’s not inexpensive but I think worth the price considering the splash of color Black Arrowhead would add to a garden.  Click on images to enlarge.

An afternoon spent at the Missouri Botanical Garden is for me better than a massage and a glass of wine..well ok, maybe having all three would really be a relaxing day, but for the all of one’s senses to come alive and stay clear headed come to the garden, it never disappoints.  Remember to check out their website here.

I can not believe it’s time to do the fourth of July window at the shop.  It seems like the summer is flying by just like spring did.   Enjoy summer before it’s gone!  You can see Roxy is keeping an ever watchful eye on the world in front of her shop.  Click on images to enlarge.

“Nixon’s the one!”   I have been accused of being a Nixon fan because of all the great Richard Nixon campaign material I have in the window display, to this I have to respond as most antique dealers would:  It’s what I have in stock that’s political and red, white, and blue; so into the window it goes.   I was actually 8 when Nixon was voted into office, so I didn’t have much opinion about him at the time.

Roxy has turned her back on all the Nixon hubbub.  Along with the poster I have two sets of paper glasses that are very mod and an actual “paper dress” that was worn at the convention in 1968.    The rest of the window display holds the flags and bunting that is currently in stock as well as two 1960s hat display heads, one of George Washington.

Enjoy your fourth of July this year!   Independence is a great thing to be truly treasured.  I think it is important to remember the past and those that have contributed to keeping this fine nation independent.    Freedom and liberty for all are not just words.   Happy Fourth!   Click on images to enlarge.

This angel is one of those religious carvings that truly takes your breath away.    The figure has been carved so beautifully and painted with such sensitivity that it sets her apart from most religious carvings that date to the late 19th century.  Click on images to enlarge.

In this full length photo the quality of the carving really shows through in the fluidity of the fabric and her sense of movement.   She has her original glass eyes and her very sculptural carved wings.

The Jielde industrial steel lamp is illuminating a bonsai tree sculpture nestled in the Art Deco aquarium.  Behind the deco aquarium is another earlier cast iron aquarium dating to the late 19th century.

This is a wonderful deco cast iron aquarium with a slate bottom and original glass panels.   It is marked “jewel” on the front of its base.   This size aquarium is perfect for maidenhair fern, orchids, african violets, and even fish!  Click on images to enlarge.

French free-blown glass cloche bell jar made in the late 19th century was used to protect tender plants from the cold.   Period cloches are very hard to find in this condition.   I have filled it with interesting seed pods to add texture and contrast.

This pair of cast stone compotes lasted one full day in the shop.  I couldn’t resist at least getting a photo of them before they went out the door.

One of the smallest things to come into the shop recently and one of my personal favorites was this carved Brazil nut “fruit” (full of Brazil nuts) with a faux copper stem and leaves.  So simple and yet so beautifully crafted.  Before I could decide if this treasure just may have to go home with me, it sold right after I took this photo.  Click on images to enlarge.

The 12 foot long table in the back of the shop seems to hold all the big heavy things.   I just acquired the two English chimney pots, they are an unusual size, small enough to go on a large table or on either side of a doorway.   Between the chimney pots is a brass and cast iron English scale with a large rock crystal formation on top of it and next to the scale is a red and black 19th century bookpress retaining its original polychrome.   For some strange reason I have always found bookpresses interesting.   I love books and so I think the idea of hand binding a book is very romantic, however, I also have a feeling the actual practice of  book binding is much harder work than one would think.

This is a closeup of one of the  English chimney pots, it has a very architectural feel to it.  Click on images to enlarge.

These dogs I found in Holland, they date to the late 19th century and are covered in real lambs wool and have glass eyes.    They have amazing details and are quite realistic.  I have been asked several times if they are real stuffed dogs, which is not something I would carry in the shop.  These dogs were cherished by some child in the past and were probably made in Germany around 1890.

This little doggie has decided to take a ride in a very well made miniature advertising coal car.    The car dates from the late 19th century and has been entirely handmade out of wood and tin with cast iron wheels.   The car measures just over 15 inches long and is very realistic.  Click on images to enlarge.

This French 19th century cast iron and brass pastry table came in with some of the other garden items from a really wonderful St. Louis estate this past week.   The pastry table has a one inch thick white marble top that is just perfect on the black iron base.   This is also the first pastry table I have had in the shop that is signed with a  makers stamp deeply impressed into the iron with the makers name and “Paris” stamped below his name.   Roxy, my schnauzer, was wondering what all the fuss was about; all of those new treasures aren’t worth one doggie bone to her.   Come see Roxy in her window watching the world go by every Thursday thru Saturday, 10 to 4, she will be just as uninterested in the shop treasure but will be more than happy to give you a sniff.  Be sure to check us out on Facebook!

The 2011 spring International Show at the mart is now over, and what a show it was.   This year’s show seemed somehow different than other shows that I have exhibited at recently, a buzz was in the air.   We had great attendance at the show for all four days.  Monday, the last day, the show was so crowded that even when it closed at 3 p. m. security had to try to get the customers to leave the floor so we could pack and move out of the building before midnight.  It felt good to be a part of an antiques show that continues to grow and evolve into something truly special for the exhibitors as well as for the clientele.  Click on images to enlarge.

On the 11 foot long 18th century Italian refractory table is a collection of 19 mounted automotive hood ornaments.  They were mounted on iron bases so that each hood ornaments could pivot on its stand, perfectly balanced so that you could display them in any direction; showing movement, like a school of fish in the ocean.

The chrome automotive ornaments seemed to fly towards you.   They dated from the 1930s to late 1950s.

From flying rams to rocket men the variety of sleek streamlined industrial designs on the hood ornaments is remarkable, most of these chrome beauties were created to symbolize speed and sophistication.  Click on images to enlarge.

The outside wall of the booth shows a collection of autographs that have been made into “Rorschach tests.”   Below the autographs is an expandable steel table with a variety of interesting objects all being lit by two large polished steel Jielde lamps from France.

On the steel top table we have an unusual wood, leather, and iron prosthesis dating from the civil war era next to two Dutch dartboards that are now on their way to NYC, the pair of French angel wings found flight also, (sorry couldn’t resist.)

One of the most famous autographs in the collection was this one from baseball’s Shoeless Joe Jackson.  You can see in the close-up photo that the signature is written in ink vertically and then the paper was folded over, pressed, and then unfolded to create a “Rorschach” made from the wet ink.  The signee then signed below the ink creation in the traditional manner.

The French architectural mirror in the center of the photo is surrounded by the eclectic mix of art, period furniture, and unusual objects that my customers have come to expect from my booth displays at the mart.

One of my favorite things in the booth was this collection of early automotive headlight lenses that have been mounted in custom display stands.  The lenses date from the early 1900s to the 1930s, they were also lucky enough to go to the same home as the hood ornament collection.  I really love the interplay of light in these lenses.  Click on images to enlarge.

Ignore the person in the mirror, getting the lights right can be tricky at a show, especially when lighting artwork.   At least Greg is being reflected in a wonderful silver gilt Louis Phillippe mirror, surrounded by tramp art, a German scale, and a pair of large 18th century pricket style altar sticks we found in Belgium.

On the French chest is a huge 19th blown glass bottle in front of a collection of silver European ex-votos hung on either side of the gilt mirror.

The framed quotes are from the Dick and Jane flash card series.  The cards were fun to hang is various ways to produce different sentences, and suggestions.   The flash cards found their way to many different Chicago area homes.   The German black forest antlers also stayed behind in the city with their new owners.

The large contemporary painting in this photo was done in 1957 by Guillermo Silva Santamaria (1921 – 2007.)   Silva is best known for his innovations in printmaking and his teaching skills but his oils are remarkable.   This painting titled “The girl with the apple cheeks.”  was painted during his brief stay in St. Louis during the late 1950s teaching printmaking classes at Washington University School of Art.  Click on images to enlarge.

In the photo above on the far left is a rare French advertising poster for an opera by Charles Gesmar who was famous for doing many of the amazing art deco posters for the Moulin Rouge in the early 1920s.  The Gersmar poster is behind a polished steel windsor chair made in the 1940s by hand, next to the chair is an American Indian drum supporting a mid-19th century store display manikin of a female torso, all living happily and hopefully briefly in my booth.

I had two paintings by St. Louis artist Alvin Metelman (1896-1948) in my booth at the show.   The academic painting shown above is a wonderful example of what a painting class might have looked like in St. Louis in the early 20th century.

The title of this painting by Metelman is “before the masquerade,”  and I think it is one of the best paintings I’ve had in the shop in years.   Metelman seemed to paint mostly portraits and those portraits seem to be of average people in the city life of St. Louis; such as dock workers,  boxers, and this lovely woman who seems to be so comfortable with herself and her surroundings.  The oil was found in its original frame which is very plain for such a masterly executed painting but yet at the same time the frame is exactly what is needed so as to not compete with the vibrancy of the sitter.   Click on the images to enlarge.

Lounging beneath the Metelman portrait is a large articulated artist figure that was originally found here in St. Louis.   Most of these figures are French but somehow this one found its way to the city, the gateway to the west.  During the cities’ artistic heyday of the late 19th century to the early 20th, many European and eastern artist came to St. Louis, some to stay and some to go on to paint the vast wilderness of the wild west.

Gold jewelry, a Newell Arnold bronze, and a Meissen vase are all sharing space in the showcase.   Click on images to enlarge.

This shelf held some of the odd baby doll mold forms on the left and a doctors teaching aid from the 1930s on the right.   The teaching aid has donned a pair of eye glasses/mask made out of spoons.  The spoon mask found a much more lively face to hang out on in Chicago.

The 11 foot long table required a new tableau after the hood ornaments went off to their new home, so another collection seemed in order and the  French door knockers worked out great displayed on the marble trivets.  Remember we have a stash of these really cool marble trivets at the shop, they sell for $ 50 bucks each and they are perfect for a cheese board, an orchid tray, that hard to find hostess gift, or last but not least they make a great kitchen trivet or hotplate as my Grandmother Mary would’ve said.  Email me for more info on the trivets or anything else you see in the blog photos that you have questions about.   I hope these photos will inspire you to attend the fall show at the mart coming up this October 13th – 16th, 2011 as well as the spring show in 2012.   The shows will be here before you know it.   Click on images to enlarge.

This is a photo of my booth at the International show last year.  This year promises to be even better than 2010 in terms of exciting and fresh material that I will be bringing to the Mart next week.   The Merchandise Mart Antiques Fair is right around the corner;  opening night is Thursday, April 28th, and the show extends through the weekend to Monday, May 2nd.  You can find out more information about the antiques fair here.  I will have a large collection of vintage chrome hood ornaments dating from the 1930′s through the 1950′s, all museum mounted on stands.  I will also be exhibiting a nice collection of 18th century Spanish furniture from a grand  St. Louis estate.  Don’t miss this event.    The Mart has been kind enough to offer us free tickets to the show, the link for the tickets is here.   Hope to see you very soon at the Mart.  Remember the shop will be closed while I am exhibiting in Chicago.  Click on image to enlarge.

This is a photo of my booth at the Chicago Botanic show in 2010.    The dates for this year’s show are Friday, April 15th thru Sunday, April 17th.  This will be my 4th year to exhibit at the garden show and I can’t wait to get there and get the booth set up for this year’s event.    I have in stock some of the best antique garden material that I have ever had and will be bringing it all to the show.   You can find out more information on the antique fair by going to the show website  here.   The shop will be closed Thursday, April 14th thru Saturday, April 17th, during the garden show.   We will also be closed Thursday, April 28th thru Saturday, April 30th, while I exhibit at the Merchandise Mart International Antiques Fair in Chicago.  You can find out more information on the International show by clicking here.  Click on image to enlarge.