Although the bucolic and wholesome works by artists such as Thomas Kinkade have an audience, there is still a huge market for art depicting seamy tableaus. Papillon Gallery is all too aware of this vibrant market and capitalized upon it at the December Deco Show in San Francisco, which is home to the Barbary Coast where vice was invented. Their booth walls entertained the likenesses of nude women, gamblers, smokers and drinkers. Among the offerings was a 1927 American oil on canvas, “Casino,” by August Blesser. The most current offerings in Papillon’s swank Melrose gallery include “Pool Shark,” by Carl Hugo Beetz, David Segel’s “Highway Motel,” and “Portrait of Edith Piaf,” by Jean Albert Grand-Carteret, which shows his French subject wrapped in furs and smoking. The next Modernism Show, by Dolphin Productions, will be in February in Palm Springs.
Category Archives: Vice
Two vices for the price of one in Kaplan's booth
Two vices are captured in an agate-topped snuff box that inhaled for $5,500 in the space of Bob Kaplan at the December Bustamante Show. As if its obvious purpose as a holder of pulverized tobacco is not enough, what lies hidden in the inside bottom of the circular vessel makes the box even more salacious. Kaplan demonstrated by gently shaking the bronze box it to wind it up. He opens the box to reveal a mechanical couple “making babies” in a bottom compartment. ”This is an early piece of erotica from the third quarter of the 19th century,” he said. Kaplan can be contacted at (760) 409-2828. This snuff box would be part of a larger genre of erotica known as naughties. These are often intricate desk top bronzes that look innocent to the naked eye, but with the twisting or turning of a lever reveal some hidden suggestive action. The Bustamante Show often witnesses the unveiling of unusual antique naughties. Most Sensational Dealer George recently brought a whimsical dragon paperweight. However, when one pinched his wings and lifted his body, a nude lady lay beneath. It bore the French foundry mark and the well-known signature, “T. Curts.” The actual artist is Carl Kauba, who sometimes used this pseudonym. Bob Kaplan’s brother, Rick, also dabbles in rare naughties. He once offered “Treasure Seeker,” also by Kauba. The Austrian bronze depicted a hopeful prospector chipping away at a rock. He didn’t uncover gold or diamonds, but he did find a nude lady hidden inside the rock. He had Treasure Seeker priced at $4,950.
George's Windmill
Most Sensational Dealer George Nyiri of George’s Antiques in Fullerton will be bringing the perfect symbol of green living to the upcoming Del Mar Show, which is being paired up for the first time with the Green Expo. The double show, one which features antiques, and the other, items for green living, is slated for January 22-24th at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. George’s windmill is more than just a symbol of efficient wind power. This table top contraption from the Victorian era has many secret functions. For starters, it is a piece of tobacciana. Although there are many collectors of smoking items, which includes such things such as cigars box labels, cutters, and cigarette lighters, there are few who could boast having a cigarette holder as extravagant as George’s jewel-encrusted musical windmill. The windmill was one of the original implementations of green energy, but some may seem a certain amount of irony in this green energy also serving the purpose of holding cancer sticks. The Fullerton dealer’s late 1800s Austro-Hungarian windmill powers for $18,000. The cigarette and match holder feature is one of the windmill’s most obscure purposes
Former undercover cop seeks cover under vintage-style hats
Although a lot of people don wide-brimmed hats to help shelter them from the approaching summer heat, Marlena Wood is always wearing a vintage-inspired topper. After years of answering the question, ‘Where did you get that hat?” she can finally tell curious passersby: “I sell them.” She has a whole booth dedicated to hats by the San Diego Hat Company at the Rose Bowl. She expects business to get even better now that the hot summer months are looming. The tall blonde remembers when she had her great “hat epiphany.” It was 10 years ago when the remake of “The Thomas Crown Affair” starring Rene Russo and Pierce Brosnan was released. The scene that hooked her on hats was quite controversial. ”Rene Russo is sitting on the beach topless with a wide-brimmed hat,” she recalled. She was also inspired by Julia Roberts’ derby-style brown topper that she wore to the polo match with Richard Gere in the modern Hollywood fairytale, “Pretty Woman.” She has hats in her space that resemble both pivotal styles. Wood never took any fashion design classes in school, but when she was younger, around two decades ago, she was immersed in the world of high fashion as a model for L.A. Models. ”I used to do ramp modeling,” she said. This was before it was known as “Runway” modeling. This was when Ronald Reagan was president, and she helped put him in office. ”He got my vote,” Wood said. After parading around in haute couture, the former model put on a different outfit
seminars on caribbean dice
Carribean dice, early casinos, and valuing poker chips will be among the seminar topics at the Casino Chip & Gaming Token Collectors Club Convention slated for June 24th-27th at the Southpoint Hotel Casino & Spa in Las Vegas. Jim Kruse will be giving a seminar entitled, “First Time & Old Timers, I’ve Been Both;” Ralph Pollack will be presenting on the dice of the Caribbean; “The First 13 Casinos on the Strip,” will be discussed by Richard Greeno; and Peter Nathan will speak on the multiple facets of valuing any chip. In addition to presentations, there will be plenty of stuff for sale at this 17th annual event. The showroom floor is open to the public starting on Thursday, June 25th. For more information, contact Sheldon Smith at (702) 255-6999.
Smoking poster
A poster for the 1936 movie, “Marihuana: Weed with Roots in Hell,” smoked for $800 in the space of Bill Priest at the recent Del Mar Show. The poster in bold reds and whites shows a very Art Deco couple engaged in smoking dope. It is most likely a reissue from the 1960s or ’70s, but still retained the same striking Art Deco artwork. If the poster fails to sell at Priest’s upcoming shows, he may sell it at auction, where he has been told it may sell for anywhere between $1,500 and $2,500. The movie emerged at around the same time as its more popular exploitative counterpart, “Reefer Madness,” and it too attempted to lure in viewers with scenes of sex and drugs. ”Marihuana” told the disturbing story of a young girl named Burma who is attending a beach party with her boyfriend and a group of friends. After getting high, she has sex and gets pregnant, and one of her girlfriends dies while skinny dipping in the ocean. Burma and her boyfriend go to work for her pusher in order to make money so that they can get married. However, during a drug deal gone bad, her boyfriend is killed, leaving Burma to fend for herself. She then becomes a major narcotics pusher in her own right after giving up her baby for adoption. The daring drug expos
Sexiest Man in the Biz Down to 3
The showdown is underway. Who will be crowned the Sexiest Man in the Antique Biz? From the list that once numbered close to 20, the readers have voted and now it is down to three: David Pacic, Ron Robles, and Roger Renick. The contest began in August of 2007 and after a year with a lot of twists and turns and acramonious starts, the three final nominees have been announced. Since all of these hunks are drop dead gorgeous, the votes are likely to fall on partisan lines: Not Republican or Democratic, but by Advertising, Country and Spanish Revival fans. David Pacic, Big Blue, with his shiny grey hair and piercing blue eyes, captured attention at last August’s All-American Show when he offered a giant greyhound dog sign that once hung in front of a bus station. He was affectionately nicknamed “Big Blue.” He offers showstopping porcelain and tin signs at several local antique shows, including the All-American and Calendar Del Mar Shows. Ron Robles, a consistent favorite, is omnipresent in the antique show circuit. The specialist in country furniture and distressed decorative items is a dealer at Country Village Antiques in Glendora, and is the manager at the recently-relocated Novotny’s. Roger Renick is the most recent addition to the list. He captured the attention of fans at last year’s Golden California Show. The owner of Roger Renick Fine Arts & Antiques in Pasadena recently completed a book on his specialty. Entitled “Monterey: Furnishings of California’s Spanish Revival,” the book was co-authored by Michael Trotter, and published by Schiffer Books. His store is stocked with Spanish Revival and early California decorative arts, including Monterey furniture, plein air paintings, lighting, and Santos. The winner will officially be announced in the November issue to coincide with the presidential election.
When smoking was cool
A 1970s General Dynamics ceramic ashtray with an image of a plane in iits center landed for $15 in the space of Dave McPheeters at the recent Long Beach Show.The ashtray is most likely from the smoking heyday of the 1960s or ’70s, but the company it represents, General Dynamics, is still in business today. The San Diego-based company formed in 1952 through the combination of the Electric Boat Company, Canadair Ltd. and other smaller companies. The company is a market leader in business aviation; land and expeditionary combat vehicles and systems, armaments, and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and mission-critical information systems and technologies. General Dynamics grew internally and through acquisitions until the early 1990s, when it sold nearly all of its divisions except Electric Boat and Land Systems. Beginning in 1995, the company expanded those two core defense businesses by purchasing other shipyards and combat vehicle-related businesses. In 1997, to reach a new, expanding market, General Dynamics began acquiring companies with expertise in information technology products and services, particularly in the command, control, communications, computing, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) arena. In 1999, the company purchased Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, a business-jet aircraft and aviation support-services company. Over the past 10 years, General Dynamics has acquired and successfully integrated 43 businesses, including three in 2006.
