#MiddleburyCT #Antiques #Lederman #DoorknobCollecting
In the 1980s, a friend’s mother decided to redecorate with unfamiliar modern-style furniture. She bought a small wooden table that was painted red and designed by Jeff Lederman, an Ohio artist. The table had won a prize for design in an Illinois state contest.
This unconventional table was made in the 1980s by an unconventional artist, Jeff Lederman. It sold for $4,750 at Main Auction Galleries in Cincinnati. (Kovels.com)
Lederman was a busy artist who changed interests and occupations many times. He designed logos for companies in the 1970s and furniture in the 1980s. For a while, he put his art aside for a new career saving wildlife. He painted pictures again from 2014 to 2018 and started making digital art in 2020.
Q: I am a realtor and am fortunate enough to go into older homes with many architectural elements still intact. I’ve become fascinated by the elaborate antique doorknobs I see. I bought one for $25 in an architectural salvage store last week. It appears to be brass. Do you think I got a good deal?
A: Doorknob collecting can be a lot of fun. In the early 19th century, people still opened doors with their thumbs. Their doors were fitted with wrought-iron thumb latches. Some of the earliest brass doorknobs in the U.S. started appearing around that same time. They were fixed to surface-mounted locks. Brass, bronze, pottery and glass hardware were popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In the 1950s to 1970s, urban renewal programs caused many aging Victorian houses to be destroyed, with the loss of artistic hardware. The destruction spurred the creation of the Antique Doorknob Collectors of America. Detailed information can be found at their website, www.AntiqueDoorKnobs.org. Knobs can be found in secondhand shops, at demolished building sites, flea markets, malls, online shops and auctions. It looks like what you paid is a fair price.
TIP: Bright sunlight will damage antiques by fading colors or drying wood. There are several brands of film that can be applied to your windows to cut UV rays, heat and glare.
Current Prices
Pair of Dresden porcelain candleholders, four-light, figural angel post, blue drape, holding three shaped arms encrusted with small flowers, gold trim, marked, Schierholz, after 1930, 15 x 9 inches, pair, $65.
Folk art figure, swan, hardwood root, carved, polished, glass eyes, signed G. Mille, 1986, 18 x 27 inches, $340.
Pottery statue, Indonesian woman, tall and slender, dark skin, long striped skirt, white blouse, flowing white head scarf, marked, Mari Simmulson, Sweden, 1940s, 15 inches, $465.
Pair of glass urns, Regency style, cut glass lower body with strawberry cutting, flared upper section with engraved grapes and leaves, domed star cut base, 9 x 7 inches, pair, $585.
Advertising sign, Cooks Beer & Ale, hand holding a bottle of each, tin, oval, self-framed in wood grain pattern, Cooks Brewing Co., Evansville, Ind., 1940s, 17 1/2 x 14 inches, $625.
Tiffany candlestick, patinated bronze, three curved legs, tripartite base, bulbous cup with flared rim and blown out green glass, hooked snuffer hangs in the center, marked Tiffany Studios, c. 1910, 9 1/2 x 5 inches, $3,120.
Looking to declutter, downsize or settle an estate? Kovels’ Antiques & Collectibles Price Guide 2023 by Terry and Kim Kovel has the resources you’re looking for.
© 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.
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