#Middlebury #Antiques
Mention Tiffany and collectors may think of the very different things made by Louis Comfort Tiffany. He was so talented that it is almost impossible to know everything he did. He was a popular designer and creator of glass, pottery, jewelry, windows, lamps and even houses, rooms and gardens for many years, then fell out of favor less than 10 years after he died. But today, everything he did is back in style.
This 15 1/2-inch-tall table lantern marked “Tiffany Studios New York” sold for $6,655 at a James D. Julia auction in Maine. It has a shade with glass panels centered with a cabochon jewel. The stem is decorated bronze with a gold patina.
Charles Lewis Tiffany, Louis Tiffany’s father, started a jewelry store in 1837 that still is in business with the name Tiffany & Company. Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933) started his own business in 1879 and named it Louis Comfort Tiffany and Associated American Artists (1879-1902). He also was a decorator for his father’s company in the early 1900s. The name was changed to Tiffany Studios after his father died in 1902, and he became vice president. L.C. Tiffany usually signed his name on his famous iridescent glass instead of the Tiffany Studios company name. He also signed his name on his paintings and sketches.
The jewelry and clocks he designed were made by and signed Tiffany & Company. The Tiffany Glass Company made the glass for the windows and lamps, but many of the windows were never signed. And Tiffany couldn’t sign the houses and gardens he designed or decorated, even major decorating jobs at the White House, the Presidential Palace in Cuba and his own homes. Many metal and glass desk sets, paperweights, candlesticks, bookends, glass scarabs and other small objects also were made. Today’s collectors and art buyers want anything with any of the many Tiffany marks, and some – like the best lamps – sell for over $100,000. The record price for a Tiffany lamp is $2,807,500.
Q: How much is my Brownie 8 movie camera worth? It’s marked “Kodak limited London.” The camera has an F 2.7 lens. I also have the instruction booklet and leather shoulder carrying case.
A: Kodak introduced the Brownie 8 mm movie camera in 1951. The camera was exported to England in 1955 and made in England beginning in 1956. It was a low-priced movie camera. It was advertised for $44.50 in a 1951 pre-Christmas ad. Its value today is very low, often below $30.
Current Prices
Bossons, wall mask, man, smiling, green hat, split moustache, 6 x 5 inches, $20.
Inuit snow goggles, caribou hoof, triangular, slits, leather straps, 1900s, 1-3/8 x 5-1/4 inches, $125.
Window, leaded, transom, slag glass, beveled, green and red border, scroll, leaf, berries, 22-1/4 x 36-1/4 inches, pair, $175.
Pottery, mid-century sculpture, red fire plug souvenir, Claes Oldenburg, 1968, 8 x 7 1/4 inches, $8,750.
TIP: A fresh ink stain on wood can be removed by washing with water and then applying lemon juice.
For more collecting news, tips and resources, visit www.Kovels.com.
© 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.
You must be logged in to post a comment.