Collectibles and Curiosities

Antique rustic stone chess. By unknown manufacturer from France, circa 1940. In original condition, with minor wear consistent with age and use, preser...

Very rare toy ‘houthandel’ (wood transport) truck designed by Ko Verzuu for Ado Holland in 1948. Ado means Arbeid door onvolwaardigen, translated; labor by incapacitated, which makes this an even more special piece. Toys by Ado are being highly collected at the moment, even more than ever cause this is very decorative combined with 1950s furniture from all countries! Jacobus Johannes Josephus (Ko) Verzuu, a former construction supervisor from Utrecht, led the ADO workshops. He had delved into architecture and art and developed a strong preference for the abstract lines and bright colors, which can also be found in the followers of De Stijl group from the 1920s, followed by Piet Mondriaan, Theo van Doesburg, Vilmos Huszár...

Green glazed earthenware Passover Seder plate made by Jewish DPs in the Föhrenwald displaced persons camp. Decorated on the rim of the plate is a ...

Original French film poster The Maltese Falcon, 1941. Warner Bros. released the film in American in 1941. Although Humphrey Bogart had already been in ...

This is a printed silk handkerchief from the interwar period, with an Italian aviation theme. This handkerchief features four early aircraft plane models, two of which are seaplanes. The inner field of the handkerchief is pale blue and contained by a black three-line waving border. The outer field is medium blue, with a darker blue at each corner. A white and black fasces rests in each corner. The center of the silk features a golden spread-wing eagle. Above the eagle’s head floats a gold crown. The eagle’s talons grip a shield printed with the Savoy arms, a white cross on a red field. Two gold fasces adorn either side of the shield. In most historical accounts of the early days of military aviation, our reverence for the activities of the American Expeditionary Force and its French and British companions-in-arms on the western front has led us to overlook the immense Italian contribution to the formation of airpower doctrine. The first aerial force projection occurred on Nov. 1, 1911, when Lt. Giulio Gravotta, flying a German-built monoplane, dropped one bomb on Zard and another on Taciura -- in Libya -- during the Italian-Turkish War. This event occurred just a little more than a year after the first flight of an Italian-designed and built aircraft. At about the same time, Gianni Caproni, a young Italian engineer with a passion for innovation and a vast admiration for the Wright brothers, built his first flying machine. By May 23, 1915, the day Italy entered World War I, Caproni had become Italy's leading aircraft designer and manufacturer. Caprooni designed and built a multi-engine bomber with range and bomb capacities to make it a potent offensive weapon. On Aug. 20, 1915, two of these Caproni three-engine bombers attacked the Aisovizza aerodrome with explosive and incendiary bombs, a preview of the most sustained, effective air offensive of the First World War. By early 1916, regular raids against Austro-Hungarian targets were being conducted by seven squadrons of Caproni bombers, with some 540 bombing missions flown by the year's end. Missions were on the increase, both in distance to targets and number of aircraft involved. In late 1917, due to the lack of suitable training facilities in the United States, a contingent of some 500 Americans were sent to Foggia, Italy, to learn military flying. After completing their training, the new pilots were commissioned in the Army Air Service, and the majority of them were sent to France to serve with the American Expeditionary Force. About 75 remained in Italy under the command of Capt. Fiorello LaGuardia...

“THE MAN WITH A HEART, THE PARTY WITH A SOUL”: FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT POSTER, MADE FOR HIS 1936 PRESIDENTIAL RUN, THE BEST OF ALL KNOWN EXAMPLES ACROS...

Original artwork used to create the British front of house stills. Gouache on artboard. This original artwork fetures the films scene where pinocchio dances in the song i've got no strings. Exceptionally rare. Original artworks rarely surface, as the majority were destroyed. Pieces on the Classic Disney films are always highly prized. This original artwork only recently surfaced, and was previously owned by an English lady, who had been given this piece in the 1940s. Prior to this discovery no other Pinocchio artwork for posters or front of house stills had been seen. Walt Disney's second animated feature film was made after the success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). Pinocchio, the world’s most famous wooden puppet, is originally the creation of the Italian writer and social commentator Carlo Collodi. Entitled The Adventures of Pinocchio...

A now out of print book which is the catalogue raisonne of the great deco silversmith Jean Puiforcat. 339 pages with bilingual text in French and English and illustrated throughout w...

An unusual piece of Bertoia's jewelry with a figurative quality. This brooch was included in an exhibit, "In Nature's Embrace: The World of Harry Bertoia" at the Reading Public Museu...

This early wire wrapped pendant was likely made by Harry Bertoia while he was at Cranbrook.

Original British movie poster for the 1944 Ealing comedy directed by Alberto Cavalcanti and starring Tommy Trinder, Stanley Holloway.

American child’s toy car garage in pretty decent condition, considering these were for children to play with. This toy garage is for 1/43rd scale model cars...

Aluminum head with adjustable jaw raised on round wooden base. Used to make dental molds. Also used as a teaching tool.

bakelite horse pin with pair of boots and horseshoe for luck

British route sign on fabric, ready to hang. Highlighting: Wallace Arnold, excursion express, private, racing on tour, Barnard castle.