Tag Archives: modernistic

Deco Finds of 2019: A Look Back Over the Year

Late 1920s New Year Card.

A late 1920s New Year Card. Image from Pinterest.

It seems that every New Year’s Eve is a time for looking back, this is especially true when it also the end of a decade. It’s been just over five years since Chris and I started Driving for Deco and every year we do at least one post on our travels. While we did get some good items on our summer 2019 “freakin’, ‘tiquen” trip it wasn’t as successful as in previous years. In this post we will look at our Deco finds of the past year.

 

William Welsh Winter, 1931

Winter by William Welsh, 1931. Image from Pinterest.

We actually began the year a bit early, in the very last few days of 2018.  Friends of ours  told us about the Ballston Spa Antique Center in Ballston Spa, NY.   While visiting Chris’s sister, who lives there, we stopped in at the antique mall. We were not disappointed.

 

Ballston Spa Antique Center

Ballston Spa Antique Center. 217 West Milton Road, Ballston Spa, New York.

We did pick up a few great Deco pieces here, starting with a set of four Revere Empire cocktail cups designed by William Weldon in 1938. The green catalin bases have darkened to almost black. Outside of pictures in books or online, this was the only time we’ve seen them in the wild.

 

Revere Empire Cocktail Cups on a Revere Cocktail Hour Tray

The four Empire Cocktail Cups (1938) purchased at the Ballston Spa Antique Center. The Revere Cocktail Hour Tray came from the Big Flea later in 2019.

And there was another Revere find, the chrome dome and cheese board dating from the mid-1930s. The wood base is in rough shape and catalin handle on top, now a deep yellow color, originally was white. These turn up on eBay every so often. Anthony already has a dome, however, this is a complete set.

 

 

Aside from some great 1930s neckties, our last item was a nice copper and chrome Manning Bowman late 1920s vase.

 

 

In February, on a casual antiquing weekend, we hit up some of our local stores.  In East Bloomfield, NY we visited One Potato, Two and Peddlers Village but didn’t make a purchase.  On our way home we decided to stop at another antique mall in Bloomfield, NY. We had some Deco luck, coming away with a Royal Rochester casserole in the Modernistic pattern.  Anthony’s fast sweep missed it but Chris’ eagle eye saw it. At $8, it came home with us. Unfortunately, neither of us can recall the name and an online search indicates the store has since closed. The closing of antique stores is an issue that we have become all too familiar with over the last decade.

 

Modernistic Royal Rochester Casserole

Royal Rochester casserole in the Modernistic pattern (1928). Purchased at a small antique mall, since closed in Bloomfield, New York.

 

 

William Welsh, Spring, 1930

Spring by William Welsh, 1930. Image from Pinterest.

By late March as winter turned to Spring, we spent the weekend in Adamstown, Pennsylvania with a group of friends. For those unfamiliar with Adamstown, it is located in Lancaster County, not far from Harrisburg, and loaded with antique malls. We try to make it out there a least twice a year (if not more). The big find of the weekend for Anthony, an Eversharp Doric fountain pen desk set, with its original box at Adams Antiques. The Doric line represents some of the most Deco style fountain pens ever made.  Even though the pen needs refurbishing, the low price will allow for a proper restoration. More on that in the future.

 

 

Adams Antiques

Adams Antiques, Adamstown, Pennsylvania. Image from tripadvisor.com

 

Early in April, we hit the road to visit some familiar places around Bucks County, Pennsylvania. While Gristie’s Buck County Antiques & Oddities had recently closed, driving over a wrong bridge back to New Jersey brought us to a new (to us) antique store. There we found some Deco Wedgwood & Co. china. For more information about the china check out our post “A Wrong Turn Leads to China”.

 

The late Gristie's Buck's County Antiques & Oddities Oddities

The late Gristie’s Buck’s County Antiques & Oddities

 

Classic Deco Wedgewood & Co. items.

Wedgewood & Co. (LTD) plate, casserole, teacup and creamer.

Though we visited Adamstown in March, we headed back over the Memorial Day Weekend. Located just to the south of Adamstown is the German Trading Post / Antiques Showcase. This is another favorite place of ours. It is much larger than it looks from the outside and the prices are really reasonable.

 

German Trading Post / Antiques Showcase

The German Trading Post / Antiques Showcase in Denver, PA, just outside of Adamstown. Image from Facebook.

 

This time, while we didn’t strike gold, but we did find some silver. Or at least silver plate. First find was a couple of long stem goblets. Now to tell the truth, we don’t know if they are from the 1920s or 1930s. They have the look, but there is no makers mark, so we can’t identify them and nothing like them has turned up in any online searches. Since they were only $1.00 each it wasn’t a hard decision to purchase them.

 

Unmarked long stem silver plate goblets.

Unmarked long stem silver plate goblets. These may or may not be from the Art Deco era.

A silver plate cocktail pitcher was our other purchase that weekend from the German Trading Post / Antiques Showcase. Manufactured by the International Silver Company and designed by Carl Conrad Braun in 1940, the pitcher originally came with a silver plate mixing spoon topped by a pineapple. Unfortunately, the spoon is missing. So our search continues.

 

 

 

William Welsch, Summer, 1931.

Summer by William Welsch, 1931. Image from Pinterest.

 

Just before spring officially turned into summer Deco luck struck again. On one of our trips to the Golden Nugget Flea Market, we picked up a 1933 George Switzer tray for Westinghouse made out of the synthetic material, Micarta. We feel that this was our best find of 2019. For more information about this tray, click HERE.

 

1933 Nocturn tray_Switzer_Westinghouse

The 1933 Nocturn tray, by George Switzer for Westinghouse.

A month later, we hit the road for our annual summer “freakin’, ‘tiquen” adventures.  The first week we didn’t roam much, staying in New Jersey. But we did manage to get to Rago Auctions, in Lambertville, New Jersey for some appraisals of items that we had recently acquired.  We also learned that the Golden Flea Market is open on Wednesdays so we gave it a try. Unfortunately we got there pretty late in the morning and most of the vendors were packing up for the day. Even so, we pick up a Fiesta Kitchen Kraft casserole for only $5.00. It does have a couple of fleabite nicks, but otherwise it is in good condition. These were only available for six years and are not too easy to find. So we came away happy.

 

Fiesta Kitchen Kraft Casserole.

The large size Fiesta Kitchen Kraft Casserole (1938 – 1944) in red.

 

The following weekend (July 20th & 21st) The Big Flea was at the Dulles Expo Center, outside of Washington, D.C.  Due to prohibitive production costs, The Big Flea no longer comes to New York City, and we miss attending it very much. Reading online that it was going to be in the D.C. area while we were on vacation, it became the first stop on our summer antiquing road trip.

Theoretically it is only a three and half hour drive from Chris’ place in N.J. to Chantilly, Virginia, without traffic. But when is there ever a time without traffic in the Washington D.C. area? Taking about an hour longer than Google Maps originally said it would, we arrived in Chantilly, Virginia in the early evening. The Staybridge Suites is where we spent the next two nights. The price of our suite was very reasonable and it is only about a five minute drive to the Dulles Expo Center.

 

 

Being anxious to get to The Big Flea, we were up early the next morning and after a fast breakfast, we drove over to the Expo Center.

We had a mixed reaction to The Big Flea. Anthony was expecting the sheer size and volume we associate with the New York version. Chris expected a smaller version relative to the smaller venue. Chris was right. That isn’t to say it was small by any means; just smaller by comparison.

Out plan of attack? Start at one end and methodically scout each booth and display before buying anything. We almost succeeded, seeing several items of interest and tempting us to start spending right away.

We did well until Chris saw a small very art deco chrome cocktail cup. The owner of the booth told us he was divesting his collection and his prices reflected this. Not knowing anything about it, this sweetheart of a cup found a new home for just couple of dollars.

 

The First Deco Find of the trip.

Chris makes the first Deco find of the trip. A chrome cocktail cup attributed to Walter von Nessen.

Attributed to, Walter von Nessen, circa 1935, there is no official documentation of this design. It may be part of his studio line or his design but manufactured by another company. You can find examples online in either chrome or copper finish with the original cobalt glass insert.

It is missing the glass insert but is still a diminutive deco delight,

Our next find? An Evercraft cocktail shaker, circa 1935. We needed this to complete our set. The cups were purchased at a local Goodwill in N.J. and the tray at Pocono Peddler’s Village Antique Mall, Tannersville, PA.

 

Evercraft Cocktail Shaker.

Chrome Evercraft cocktail shaker, circa 1935.

 

This tightly packed booth invited disaster and did so shortly after our purchase. Whether the precariously built displays, a shopper with a large bag slung over her shoulder or a combination of both can be blamed, we will never know. The unfortunate dealer lost a good deal of inventory as a glass and china display collapsed. Please be aware of your surroundings and careful!

A few more aisles of goodness and we came across a dealer specializing in Whiting & Davis, beaded bags,  and costume / Bakelite jewelry . You can find more about Whiting & Davis at: https://whitinganddaviscollection.com/history-about

Our friend Nancy is a collector of these delicate treasures. While photographing (with the dealer’s permission) and sending them off to Nancy to see if there were any interest,  Anthony noticed a chrome deco tray with Bakelite handles being used as a display. Luckily, it was not NFS.

Revere Cocktail Hour Tray.

The Revere Cocktail Hour tray, circa 1937.

Designed by Fredrick Press and listed in a 1937 ad for Revere chrome, is the “Cocktail Hour Tray” with its’ “Norseman” design. Sometimes erroneously referred to as the Zephyr tray, it has a satin finish. Bakelite or catalin handles matched the original Revere Welden “Empire” cocktail cups.

We also purchased three beautiful bags for Nancy. A Whiting & Davis brown and cream bag, a Dresden mesh bag with a peacock design and a rhinestone bag. For more  information: about Dresden bags go to: http://www.jewelsofyesteryear.com/id44.html

 

Toward the end of our adventure, Anthony bought a chrome and cream enameled Chase ball “Fireball” lighter, produced between 1936-1941. Much of the vendor’s inventory called to us but this was our only purchase.

 

A successful day in all, we look forward to returning in the future.

The next day found us crisscrossing the state to tour a home in Greenbelt, Maryland. You can read about this wonderful town and tour here.

 

After our visit to Greenbelt, it was a short drive to Ellicot City, Maryland. There are numerous antique stores here and like our first visit back in 2016, we did not come away empty handed. We cannot remember the name of the store on Main Street but in one we did find at a 1930s Czechoslovakian ceramic ram pitcher designed by Ditmar Urbach. The price was good, but it is not it perfect shape, there is staining on back and it does have a hairline crack in it. But since Chris already had the Toucan pitcher, it makes a nice addition to the collection. And these are not easy to find. Frankly, Anthony finds it scary.

Czechoslovakian Ram Pitcher by Ditmar Urbach.

Czechoslovakian ceramic Ram pitcher by Ditmar Urbach, mid-1930s.

We also antiqued in Hagerstown, Maryland. Our only purchase, a Kensington Sussex tobacco jar, marked as an ice bucket, found at Memory Lane Antiques and Collectibles. Although we did see a lot of great Art Deco items at both the Beaver Creek Antique Mall and Crossroads Antiques nothing called to us.

 

Memory Lane Antiques and Collectibles.

Memory Lane Antiques and Collectibles, Hagerstown, Maryland.

Kensington Sussex Tobacco Jar.

Kensington aluminum, Sussex Tobacco Jar.

 

Then the we had an unexpected adventure. Being the loosey-goosey guys, we are,  we set our GPS to avoid tolls as we headed out to tour Frank Lloyd Wright homes, Fallingwater in Mill Run, PA and Kentuck Knob, Dunbar, PA. And avoid tolls we did.

 

 

 

Driving through pastoral fields and quaint towns, Anthony was excited to see we were on the old Lincoln Highway. He has spoken for years about wanting to drive the Lincoln Highway so his dream (nightmare) was about to begin.

 

The road started out with gently inclines and sweeping curves. And quickly became a roller coaster of steep incline, followed by death defying drops and tight turns. Often, a blind turn was at the crest of a hill.

 

Already in 3rd gear (I should have been in 2nd), being tailgated and the stress building, Anthony’s music randomly started playing Cloudburst from Ferde Grofe’s Grand Canyon Suite with the building crescendos and softer lulls almost perfectly matching the driving conditions. We couldn’t help but laugh and while still stressed, starting enjoying the drive.  We highly recommend trying this. But not with anyone who gets motion sickness or hates roller coasters!

 

In true Driving-for-deco form, we saw a sign for Churchhill Pa – Antiques.  Being late in the day, we scrambled to see the goodies available.  Anthony purchase a set of West Bend aluminum cocktail cups.

 

West Bend Cocktail Cups, 1936.

The 1936 resigned West Bend aluminum cocktail cups.

Originally part of the Tipple Tumbler, designed by Ralph N Kircher, circa 1934, these are the redesigned cups circa 1936.  The original cups have straight sides with black bands. The resigned cups have a narrow base, flare at the top and have no contrasting bands.

 

We were excited to “do” this store properly and ended up staying at a hotel conveniently locate across the street. The next day we took our time to explore both floors but didn’t find anything more to take home.

William Welsh, Autumn, 1930.

Autumn by William Welsh, 1930. Image from Pinterest.

Overall there weren’t too many Deco finds this past fall. But just before summer turned to fall in late September, we purchased a nice glass vase. We have a case at Ontario Mall Antiques in Farmington, New York. One Saturday after adding some pieces to the case, we took a look to see what our competition had for sale. In a nearby case Anthony spotted an etched glass vase with scrolled handles. It seemed familiar and Anthony had a gut feeling about the piece, so we picked it up. We can’t find any company mark on it, but through a quick internet search, we found similar vases. The handles were the give away. The vase seems to be French and  designed by Pierre d’Avesn for D’Avesn Art Glass Company in the late 1920s.

 

 

The only other item of note that Anthony picked up in the autumn was a circa 1940 Longchamps menu. He found it at the Antiques Mall of Madison, near Madison, Wisconsin, while visiting the state on a business trip.

 

Longchamps Menu Cover.

Longchamps Menu Cover.

Inside of the Menu.

Inside of the Menu.

 

Back Cover.

Back Cover.

 

William Welsh Winter, 1931

Winter by William Welsh, 1931. Image from Pinterest.

And  this brings us back to winter. On the penultimate day of 2019, we added a few new items to our case at the Ontario Mall Antiques in Farmington, New York. Just before we left, Anthony spotted a Royal Rochester syrup jug, in the Modernistic pattern. This checks off one more piece in this highly elusive pattern for his collection. For more about Royal Rochester Modernistic, click here.

 

Royal Roachester Modernistic Syrup.

The very Deco Royal Rochester syrup in the Modernistic pattern.

 

So now it is on to the 20s. It is our hope that with the one hundredth anniversary of the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in five years, there will be a renewed interest in Art Deco.

 

Chris & Anthony (The Freakin’, ‘Tiquen Guys)

Breakfast Goes Modernistic

Royal Rochester label on the bottom of the batter bowl. 1928.

1928 Royal-Rochester label.

 

Back in 1999 at an antique store in Frankfort, Kentucky, I came across a very striking electric coffee pot. Painted in an abstract design in bold colors it almost bordered on the avant-garde. I had never seen anything like before, so the $110.00 price was not much of a purchasing deterrent. To me it exemplified the exuberance of the Art Deco aesthetic of the late 1920’s. A crazy, optimistic style that produced Roseville Futura pottery and the Chrysler Building and wouldn’t last long once the Great Depression hit in 1930. Made by Robeson Rochester under their trade name of Royal Rochester, a company well-known for the manufacturing of kitchen appliances.

 

Royal Rochester electric percolator in the modernistic pattern.

1928 Royal Rochester electric percolator in the Modernistic pattern. Ceramic body made by the Fraunfelter China Company. From the collection of the author.

Once I had the coffee pot, I wanted to add more pieces and have to make a complete set. This wasn’t going to be easy because other pieces weren’t turning up. A couple of years later the teapot, creamer and sugar were up for auction on Ebay. The three-piece set ending up selling for over $500.00 and way out of my price range. Once that auction ended other pieces were just not turning up. And I was not coming across any of the set at flea markets or antique malls. But I did learn from that Ebay listing that this pattern’s name was “Modernistic”.

The Fraunfelter China Company of Ohio produced the ceramic pieces purchased by Royal Rochester for their various lines. “Modernistic” is only one line that used these shapes. The lusterware tan stripe and lilac stripe pieces turn up a lot more often and even though they have the same shape those designs are nowhere near as striking as “Modernistic”

 

“Modernistic”, like all Royal Rochester lines had a full range of accessories to make any breakfast stylish and up to date. Beside the coffee pot and sugar and creamer, a smaller sugar and creamer came with the teapot. The center piece of the line was the large coffee samovar.  Small ceramic cups in metal holders were good for both coffee or tea. A waffle set included a syrup jug, batter bowl and ladle and of course the waffle iron. Completing the line were a casserole and pie plate, both of which came with chrome metal stands.

 

Modernistic in the 1928 Royal Rochester brochure

Royal Rochester 1928 brochure featuring Modernistic. Image from Modernism.com

Introduction of Royal Rochester's "Modernistic" pattern.

Advertisement for Bullock’s Department Store in Los Angeles and the introduction of Royal Rochester. November 21, 1928. Image from fultonhistory.com

The “Modernistic” pattern made its debut during the Christmas season of 1928. What we  now call Art Deco made its American debut only less than two years before. Modernistic styles proved to be popular with more well to do people living in major cities. To the average American the new style seemed as foreign as a martian. Traditional styles, like colonial revival, remained the most popular in the United States through the 1940’s. Radios or refrigerators tended to be the only moderne style pieces in the household. Because of this Royal Rochester’s “Modernistic” ended up being a huge flop. The company’s advertisements for the 1929 Christmas season no longer mentioned this bold and colorful pattern. Since it was only available for a year or less, it makes the pattern extremely rare and hard to find today.

 

Democrat & Chronicle advertisement 1928.

Christmas 1928, Sibley, Lindsay & Curr Company in Rochester, NY. Democrat & Chronicle advertisement, 12/14/1928. Image from fultonhistory.com

 

Royal Rochester Modernistic covered casserole with metal stand.

Covered Casserole in Royal Rochester’s Modernistic pattern. From the author’s collection.

 

Pie plate and stand.

The pie plate in its metal stand. From the author’s collection.

 

I never knew, until recently, how short a production time “Modernistic” had. This explained why it took eighteen years to find more pieces. Finally this summer in an antique mall in Wisconsin I found the large creamer, casserole in holder and pie plate. The dealer seeing a good customer told me she had more of this pattern in another mall nearby, just over the Illinois state line. There I picked up many more pieces, including the very rare waffle iron and batter bowl. Being very reasonably priced and 20% off, I took the plunge. I still need to get a few pieces, including the samovar, cups and the probably nearly impossible to find ladle. So the hunt continues!

 

Royal Rochester's pancake set.

Waffle Iron, Batter Bowl and Syrup Jug in the Modernistic pattern from Royal Rochester. From the author’s collection.

 

Syrup jug handle detail.

Handle detail of the Syrup jug. From the author’s collection.

 

Waffle iron, batter bowl, pie plate and casserole.

“Modernistic” waffle iron, batter bowl, pie plate and casserole in chrome holder, by Royal Rochester, 1928. Author’s collection.

Royal Rochester's "Modernistic" coffee pot and sugars and creamers.

The “Modernistic” coffee pot I purchased in 1999 with the sugars and creamers purchased in 2017. Author’s collection.

 

2021 Update

Since this 2017 post has been published, I have since acquired the syrup jug and the samovar. The hunt for the teapot, cups and the ladle continues.

 

The Samovar and sugar bowl and creamer.

The Samovar with the large creamer and sugar bowl. From the collection of the author.

 

Anthony (A Freakin’, ‘Tiquen Guy).

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