American Collectibles and Curiosities

Texas longhorn trophy mount. Marked to brass plaque: Presented to W.S.D.A. by Al and Helen Petersen/President July 1963-64. Comprised of two cattle longhorns with riveted leather, mo...

First edition of this cult classic, “the teenage movie that…America never made,” published by Grove Press in 1995 in conjunction with director and photographer Larry Clark’s first mo...

Ladies Balloon Tire Springer Front Bicycle. Fleet Wing Blue bicycle. 26" Period correct whitewall tires show some age cracks . Light does work . Horn does...

Fabulous colorful map of Detroit Original color By Rand, McNally & Co. Published, 1894 Unframed Free shipping.

Jimmy DeSana: Submission, Exhibition by The Brooklyn Museum 11/22-4/23. 1st Ed hardcover published by DelMonico Books and The Brooklyn Museum, 2022. immy DeSana: Submission is the first museum survey of work by a significant yet overlooked figure in the histories of photography, New York City, and LGBTQ artists. From his time photographing suburban landscapes in Atlanta, Georgia, to his role in the New York punk scenes, Jimmy DeSana (American, 1949–1990) conveyed the radical spirit of his era through an irreverent critique of the American Dream and its images. The exhibition traces his brief yet prolific career through nearly two hundred works on view (some for the first time) and over twenty years that bridged mail-art networks, New York’s 1970s and ’80s subcultures, the illuminating image-play of the “Pictures Generation,” and various responses to HIV/AIDS. As part of punk aesthetics and its symbolic forms of resistance, DeSana and his peers sought to forge art communities outside of official institutions. The exhibition showcased his extensive involvement in zines, artist collectives, performance art, experimental film, and club culture. In his major series—101 Nudes (1972), Submission (1977–79), and Suburban (1979–84)—DeSana photographed himself and friends (often nude and faceless) in and around bland suburban homes, creating an interplay among sexual liberation, queer aesthetics, and consumerist conformity. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, DeSana was heavily involved in New York’s punk and No Wave scenes and photographed prominent creatives for album covers and alternative publications. This exhibition will be the first to feature his portraits of art and music luminaries such as Kathy Acker, Laurie Anderson, Kenneth Anger, Patti Astor, David Byrne, John Giorno, Debbie Harry, and Richard Hell. Accompanying these works are DeSana’s more abstract efforts from the late 1980s, after he contracted HIV, that show an artist who resisted dominant narratives about the body and sexuality in the early years of the ongoing HIV/AIDS epidemic. Some graphic nudes...

American Wicker: Woven Furniture from 1850 to 1930 by Jeremy Adamson. Rizzoli International Publications, 1993. First Edition hardcover with dust jacket. 176 pp. Beautifully illustra...

Full Dress La Salle Cadet ``Tar Bucket`` Dress Hat/Shako and Stand USA, Late 19th Century/Early 20th Century This nearly pristine 'Tar Bucket' Dress Hat/...

Michael Taylor: Interior Design by Stephen M. Salny. Publisher W. W. Norton & Company, 2009. Stated 1st Ed hardcover with dust jacket. Signed and inscribed by the author. Michael Taylor (born Earnest Charles Taylor, January 30, 1927 – June 3, 1986) was an American designer best known for creating the "California Look" of interior design. One of Architectural Digest's "20 Greatest Designers of All Time” and "Interior Design Legends". Taylor was noted for his rooms of airiness and light with a prominent use of natural forms and the color white. In 1956, he founded his design company, Michael Taylor Interiors, Inc. Under Michael Taylor Designs, he manufactured his own designs and in 1985 partnered with Paul Weaver...

A rare 19th Century Yachts Match-Striker Ashtray by the Manhattan Brass Company of New York City. Stamped M.B. Co. New York. The weight is 2 lbs 9...

Parke-Bernet Galleries Catalog, By Order of the Alien Property Custodian of the United States, Liquidation of The Entire Stock of The New York Store of Yamanaka & Co. Inc., Oriental Art, Part One, New York, 1944, 190 pages. with 939 lots. One of the three catalogues of the auctions held at the Parke Bernet Galleries in 1944. Lots included graeco buddhist, Cambodian, Siamese and Chinese sculptures and bronzes, Chinese porcelains, pottery, jade, coral carvings, pearl necklaces, Chinese paintings, lamps and screens, Chinese and Japanese furniture. The Yamanaka Company was owned by the seventh generation of the family of Ichaguro Yamanaka, who founded this worldwide business by opening a small curio...

Northern Plains parfleche bonnet case with original long fringe. Old smoke from the teepee. Period: circa 1870 Origin: Northern Plains Size: Case 19" ...

A collection of historic documents of the greatest, most secret and legendary collections formed by private collectors in the 20th Century. The set of Auction Catalogs also includes a DVD of the entire collection. For fifty years, the couturier Yves Saint Laurent and his friend and partner Pierre Berge...

Antique WWII or earlier brass US Navy bell. Very heavy solid brass retired naval bell, engraved with "USN". Rings loud and clear (see video for an example). Mountable via attached or...

The Collection of Alice and Murray Braunfield : January 17, 2004 at Sotheby's. Published by Sotheby's, New York, 2004. 1294 lots on 176 pages in color and fully described. great Ame...

Property from the Collection of the Late Gilbert Verney: At Bennington, New Hampshire, Including Property Removed from His Residence on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. Softcover first edition. American, English and Continental Furniture, Decorations and Clocks, Prints, Watercolors and Paintings of Sporting and Marine Interest, Including a Rare Complete Set of Federal Migratory Bird Duck Stamp Prints...

The Furniture of George Hunzinger: Invention and Innovation in Nineteenth-Century America, by Barry Robert Harwood. 1st Ed Softcover exhibition catalog. Published by Brooklyn Museum,...

Panels for the Walls of Heaven, a square octavo volume of poems, abstract illustrations (based on paintings by the author) and outre typography, by experimental poet and artist Kenneth Patchen, published by Bern Porter...

Brunschwig & Fils Up Close, From Grand Rooms to Your Rooms by Murry Douglas and Chippy Irvine. New York: Bulfinch Press, 2005. Stated first edition hardcover with dust jacket. 246 pp...

Wood and Horn frame wrapped in rawhide with wooden stirrups. Original harness leather stitching complete with buffalo hide seat pad. Brain tanned bands attac...

Man's Double Band Ring Modernist design Heavy Metal Rocker Modernist 1 x 1 x .38 W   size 9 Preowned vintage condition no stamp Refer to images listed

AUTHOR: PHILLIPS, James Jeter. TITLE: The Drinker's Farm Tragedy. Trial and Conviction of James Jeter Phillips, for the Murder of His Wife. With Portraits. PUBLISHER: Richmond: Pu...

Softcover staple-bound artist’s book, square 8vo, 12 pages, with a fold-out lithographed poster glued to page 1 and a CV for Kippenberger at the rear. Published in an edition of appr...

Sotheby's Ariane Dandois, October 2007, Volumes I and II. Pair of 1st Ed softcover auction catalogs with slipcase. Sotheby’s New York presented a sale o...

Two vintage sign letters, "T" and "O". Cast metal with gold leaf finish. Nice patina to finish. "T" Measures: 11 inches wide. 18" high. 1.25 inc...

Super rare. The spheres in this image are components of one of the exhibits... originally aquired from an IBM employee. Mathematica: A World of Numbers…and Beyond, is the title of...

This beautifully formed Tiffany & Co. Sterling Silver Honeycomb Money Clip originates from the United States during the latter half of the 20th Century. The piece features a minimal ...

A unique cello case with cubist angles in its design.

This cast iron Yellow Taxi Cab is in very fine condition with all original paint. It is hard to believe a toy such as this that was meant for children to play with has kept all that...

Set of Three Important Key Books on Shaker Furniture and Accessories: 1. By Shaker Hands by June Sprigg, Softcover Published by Knopf, 1975. New York. ...

Robert Murphy's Extensive Collection of Material From "American Protective League". This lot includes the related memorabilia including: 2 Brass Badges (1 Officers and 1 Lieutenants...

Desk cigarettes humidor box with lighter designed by Ronson. This is an amazing desk cigarettes box & touch-tip lighter, created in New Jersey United States by The Ronson Lighter Co. during the art deco period, back in the 1937. This is a rare near mint box with a single lid with a five-barrels hinge and an integrated touch tip striker lighter. It was designed with strong geometric patterns and crafted in solid chromed steel. Embellished with black lacquer, creating a great color contrast and the interiors are lined up with natural cedar wood. Extremely well made and solid construction with great care and attention to details. This surely is a very decorative piece and should be a great conversation item. Model: 16268. Country: New Jersey, United States. Period: Art Deco, 1937. Materials: Chromed steel, cedar wood, black lacquer. Weight: 897.5 Grams, (1.96 Pounds). Measurements: 203 mm by 102 mm by 89 mm (8.0 x 4.0 x 3.5 Inches). Marks: Stamped with the maker's mark and signed, "FASHIONED BY RONSON NEWARK NJ US PATS BRITISH PAT IN CANADA 1935 NEWARK NJ-USA-ART METAL WORKS INC. RONSON-TOUCH-TIP ". The Ronson Lighter Company The company started as The Art Metal Works in 1897 and was incorporated on July 20, 1898, by Max Hecht, Louis Vincent Aronson and Leopold Herzig, in Newark, New Jersey. Louis V. Aronson was a huge creative driving force for the company; and, with a few business adjustments, including the addition of Alexander Harris (1910–11) as Business Manager, the company soon became World Famous. In the 1910s The Art Metal Works were producing very good quality Hood Ornaments and gained a reputation as a dependable supplier of same. All accounts state that Louis Aronson was a gifted man, who at 16 years old set up a money-making shop in his parent's home - before receiving a U.S. patent for a commercially valuable metal-plating process he developed when he was 24 years old, and he sold half the rights while retaining the Right to Use. "His experiments, which he has been conducting since his early youth, resulted in 1893 in the discovery of a process for electrically producing tinplate. Much money was expended upon improving the process... and has been of great practical value to the whole industry. Retaining its rights, he sold half the patent rights, and later used part of the proceeds to open the Art Metal Works in Newark, N.J. Soon the company was producing a variety of high-quality Lamps, Book ends, Art Statues and other decorative items, prized today for their detail in the collector marketplace. Louis Vincent Aronson Louis Vincent Aronson was an American inventor, industrialist and philanthropist who is best remembered as the inventor of Ronson lighters. "He was a son of Simon and Jennie Aronson, who were natives of Prussia. He was born December 25, 1869, in New York City, and there his boyhood was spent. Aronson was an exceptionally gifted young man who graduated from public school at the age of 12 before entering a New York Technical School specializing in metallurgy, practical metal working and mechanical drawing. At the same time, he set up a laboratory in the basement of his parents' home where he experimented with plating processes and turned-out money-making items while he devised ways of metalizing common items, in a durable finish of matte gold, including flowers, butterflies, animal claws and baby shoes. Aronson natural ability for designing was honed at the technical school and served him well throughout his life. He excelled and completed the School four year academic program in three years. When he graduated in 1886, at the age of 16, he was qualified as an Expert Metallurgist, Draftsman and Designer, he also had a high-level knowledge of Chemistry. He returned to the school five years later as an instructor in metallurgy for several years before devoting all his time to his own company. When he was 24 years old, he sold the rights to a commercially valuable metal plating process according to Urban Cummings book Ronson, The World’s Greatest Lighters, Wick Lighters 1913–2000. He gained public recognition when he won an award in 1893 from the Belgian government for the creation of the first non-toxic match, and young businessman Aronson received 50,000 Francs, equaling $10,000 in U.S. dollars. In 1897 he received a U.S. patent (592,227) for a match design (called the Wind-match) that would light in windy conditions or when wet. He continued working on his match designs including inventing the “Birds Eye” or “Kitchen” match that had a dual-tip design in 1903; this was an important safety improvement because friction matches of the day would sometimes light accidentally especially when stepped on or while in one’s pocket. He realized that placing a small friction ignition chemical on the tip instead of the entire match-head greatly limited accidental ignition. This style of match is still in use today. Literature: Urban K. Cummings, Ronson, the World's Greatest Lighter: Wick Lighters 1913-1966 Bird Dog Books, California. 1992. Pp-168 Figure-187 for this box illustrated. Note: This piece and the touch-tip lighter are empty of any flammable, gas or butane substances and is ready to be ship by any carrier, Condition: The overall condition of this Ronson cigarettes...

For consideration: Antique tool square ruler carpentry measuring by Stanley. Metal with brass and rosewood handle. Made in the USA. Size: 9.5 W x 5.63 Tall x .63 Thick Original an...

Art of Modern Rock: The Poster Explosion by Paul Grushkin & Dennis King. Published by Chronicle Books, 2004. Hardcover with dust jacket. Authoritative, eye-popping, and massive, Art of Modern Rock is the first and last word on contemporary concert posters. An art form that has grown hand-in-hand with the independent music scene, heralding small and large gigs alike, the posters have emerged from visually creative street-level notices to prized collectibles rendered in a variety of styles and media. Today's poster artists combine the expressive freedom pioneered in the poster revolution...

Traditional cable 4 movable parts necklace /choker in sterling silver and 18 k gold with diamonds and garnets. Marked DY c and Sterling and gold, 925 750. Flat opened is approximate ...

An original girls sized 6X monokini with a bandeau top bathing suit designed by Rudi Gernreich, circa 1964. Rudi Gernreich was an American Designer born in Austria, Vienna in 1922 ...

Cute pair of miniature bottlebrush Christmas trees on an Italian gold leaf wood tray, with two blown glass Santa’s figurines and two porcelain miniature polar bears. Decorated with m...

A unique and sculptural bookstand made almost entirely of long patinated copper-plated steel rods twisted in such a fashion to create an esthetic yet structurally strong frame.

A superb Art Deco Model of a Boeing 314 Clipper Aeroplane Circa 1938. The Boeing Clipper was a long range Flying Boat made by the Boeing Aircraft Company i...

American Victorian bronze presentation sword with an American crest and eagle plate over the handle (inscribed behind handle)

Christie's, Segoura New York October 2006 sale #1781 and A Segoura catalog from 1997. A pair of 1st Ed books. The large Christie's catalog has 449 pages with 246 lots illustrated in ...

Art Deco Vintage 1940s Aluminum Block Lift Arm Side Wheel Cigarette Lighter 2.13 x 1 W x .63 Original unrestored vintage preowned condition. Selling as is untested. Refer to images....

Hudson River And Its Painters by John K. Howat. Published by American Legacy Press, 1983. Hardcover with dust jacket. Foreword by Carl Carmer, preface by James Biddle. Contains works...

Pair of silvered and gilt-metal 'Fleurs des Siècles' flower models by Gorham American, c.1975 Height 12cm, width 14cm, depth 10cm These beautiful de...

Christie's Auction New York Important Jewels December 8, 1993 #7806. First edition catalog. 293pp. with 611 lots photoed in color and fully described....

Auction catalog of the collection of Georges Lurcy, featuring French 18th century furniture, objects d'art, French modern paintings, drawings and prints. ...

Pair of silvered and gilt 'Fleur des Siècles' flower basket models American, c.1975 Height 12cm, width 16cm, depth 12cm Set in woven gilt-metal ...

Catalog showcasing high-end Italian furnishings and accessories, published circa 1956 by the fabled Altamira design center located at 18 East 50th St in New York City. Per the introduction, “Altamira is the only center in this country where Interior-Architecture by Italy’s foremost architects is represented together with furniture, handicrafts, accessories and every other element essential to the modern interior.” Altamira commissioned a line of furniture from Gio Ponti in 1953, crafted by Giordano Chiesa in Milan. Included were a number of Ponti’s iconic mid-century designs—the Distex lounge chair and a self-described masterpiece, the two-drawer desk, model AP 1025, are shown in the present catalog. Shown, too, are furniture designs by Ponti’s fellow “interior architects” and designers Marco Zanuso (produced by Arflex Milano), Enrberto Carboni, Enrico Peresutti of BBPR, Carlo Pagani, Enrico Taglietti, Nino Zancada, Ico and Luisa Parisi, Ignacio Gardella...

Cézanne Watercolors by Acquavella Galleries, introduction by William Rubin. New York: Acquavella Galleries, 1999. 1st Ed Softcover. 128 pp. 21 b&w...

An autograph and associated memorabilia. A framed autograph from Frank Lloyd Wright. With a series of Philadelphia Inquirer articles on the Beth Sholom Synagogue, and an program fr...

An American Empire mahogany miniature salesman's sample chest of drawers, mid-19th century. 12 ¾ inches wide by 7 ¼ inches deep by 13 ¼ inches tall

Paul Klee: the Bauhaus Years by Sabine Rewald. Published by Dickinson Roundell, New York, 2013. 1st Ed hardcover with dust jacket Exhibition Catalog for exhibition 3 May – 14 June, 2...

Reclaimed subway test brake handle made of cast iron with a red enamel handle. These handles were used in the New York City subway system. Made by Hafco. Good condition with surface ...

The Decoration of Houses by Alexandra Stoddard. Hardcover book with dustjacket. Stated first edition, published by William Morrow and Company Inc. of New York in 1997. Printed in the...

19th C original painted checkerboard game board.

Two-tone leather quirt with fringe drops. Shot filled handle. Period: 19th century Origin: Montana Size: quirt 18" overall with flappers 33" plus wrist wrap.                 Family ...

Sotheby's 19th Century Furniture, Ceramics, Decorations and Carpets including the Property from the Estate of George Parker, Jr. Texas and the Haussner F...

A Hershey's candy scale manufactured by Toledo & Co. This is a beautiful candy scale created by the Toledo Scales Co. for the Hershey's Candy Co., between 1915 and 1920. This is the...

Southwestern Style Aldrich Art inlaid opal, turquoise, jet, lapis lazuli, coral and faceted amethyst sterling silver ring 20th Century Provenance: estate of a notable New York City psychiatrist and artistic, often one-of-a-kind jewelry collector Intricately inlaid gemstones form a striking geometrical central pattern, flanked by a pair of faceted bezel set amethysts on each side of the sterling silver shoulders. Entirely hand crafted. Aldrich Art is based in the mountains of Colorado and have been creating Southwestern style jewelry since the 1970's. Size: 7.75 US Marks: Aldrich Arts...

Large scale, brutalist gilt metal pelican bird sculpture. American Mid century handcrafted metal Pelican Ashtray Stand. This stylish sculpture of a pel...

A collection of 51 wonderfully rendered parlour cards, drawings and hand-written text lithographed onto weighty card. The cards have been mounted later on a blue velvet covered boar...