The bad boy of midcentury furniture
One lucky guy from Santa Barbara, B.R., tells me that his daughter’s friend in Beverly Hills, upon a visit through a nice neighborhood, found two incredible exotic chairs, obviously midcentury. …
Tosa Hironobu Japanese Screen
E.V. from Montecito owns an old and fragile Japanese screen with a fabulous provenance. The artist signature in the chop reads Tosa Hironobu; Tosa is also a specific style of …
The illuminating history of indoor lighting — and what lamps are worth today
A.S. has a suggestive table lamp that was tested in the early 20th century by Underwriter Labs Inc., as we see on the label affixed to the top of the …
Midcentury modern is sooo last year! Next up: American studio craft movement
C from San Francisco has two wonderful hippie—era cases that he purchased from furniture maker Evert Sodergren in Seattle in 2010. These pieces have excellent provenance, as C has the …
Two Newspapers
D.P. has two bound copies from two illustrious American newspapers, The New York Sun from January of 1947, and The Boston Globe from July of 1929. Newspapers were, in those …
Time Clock by Simplex Time Recorder Co.
As far as “important” watches and clock go, J.J.’s is not so important: a Time Clock by Simplex Time Recorder Co., Gardner, MA. But this clock is connected with one …
New design style: ‘Early brothel’ chic?
C.R. sent me a photo of a piece of furniture for sale at the Unity Shoppe that she has been eyeing for weeks. She is wondering what it’s worth. She …
The surreal trajectory of a local artist
P.S., a client of mine who likes to find orphaned paintings at thrift stores, purchased three oils on board locally, and puzzled over the signature, “Bruce Birkland.” No gallery sale …
A Valuable Woodblock
J.W. invited me to her beautiful Riviera Craftsman bungalow with an ocean view to show me a block of flat carved wood, a printing block for a relief fine art …
The Sad State of Antiques Containing Ivory
P.C. from the 805 area asked me to appraiser her early 20th century ivory chess set for a few months now, and I put it off, P.C., because, well, the …