Mid-20th Century Collectibles and Curiosities

Pair of Danish Sterling Cufflinks, N.E. From, C.1950. The cufflinks of a plain oval striking concave form, `t’ bar fitments. Stamped Sterling Denmark N.E. From 925 S. Measures: 1 x ....

This sculptural unique bell is a great art object, hand-hammered metal with welded aluminum handle, this is a unique piece.

A sculptural junction tube fashioned of laboratory-grade Pyrex glass.

"Le Gendarme et le Voleur." Playful gilt and silvered bronze cuff bracelet with a thief depicted on one side and a policeman on the other. Signed: L.V. a...

A striking and beautifully fabricated aluminum propeller blade with a lacquered yellow accent, finely mounted on a figured walnut base.

Three steel cast rockets movable and suspended on 16 foot long cables. Each sculpture has designated cable. Turn buckle mounting mechanism on each cable.

Interesting Scandinavian cuff from Danish jewelry designer Bent Knudsen in sterling with amethyst. Signed with impressed manufacturer's mark to interior: [Sterl...

Ferdinand Parpan (1902-2004) "St. Francis", a black patinated cubist bronze on rouge marble base, signed, monogrammed and dated 1950 in the bronze. Mea...

A luminous and expressive group of of blown glass hanging ornaments.

A carved and sculptural pipe rest crafted from a single piece of warm teak.

A wall-mounted lidded tobacco vessel having a rounded tilting form on mounted arms crafted of turned and carved richly figured teak.

A simple silver necklace with a framed abstract design and three loose hanging rings.

Minimalist chess set in walnut and korina (white limba) wood by American sculptor, museum curator, art historian, and chess aficionado F. Lanier G...

Sumptuously produced treatment of the aesthetic and spiritual qualities of traditional Japanese architecture that resonated with and influenced Western modernism—think the simplicity and abstract beauty of tatami geometry combined with a holistic philosophy of indoor/outdoor living. The book itself is a cynosure of academic and graphic quality, with text by Walter Gropius and Kenzo Tange...

48 star, crocheted, antique american flag of the wwii era (1941-1945), a beautiful, homemade example, with a red, white, & blue hoist and flower-like stars: Crocheted American fla...

EXTRAORDINARILY RARE, YELLOW & WHITE, SUFFRAGE PARASOL / UMBRELLA, WITH “VOTES FOR WOMEN” TEXT, DISTRIBUTED BY THE NATIONAL AMERICAN WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE ASSOCIATION UNDER ANNA HOWARD SHAW’S LEADERSHIP [HEADQUARTERED IN NEW YORK], CIRCA 1913-1915: In the world of Suffrage memorabilia, parasols and umbrellas are known to have been produced, but hardly any exist. Made in both Britain and America, most of the organizations known to have commissioned them did so with white or purple, green, and white, utilizing the traditional British colors. In America, some of these can be identified to the Women’s Political Union of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. As for those in the traditional American colors of golden yellow and white, typically with black text, examples are known to have been produced and sold by the National American Women’s Suffrage Association (NAWSA), beginning in the summer of 1913. According to author and expert Ken Florey, the organization peddled them for “one dollar each or ten dollars a dozen…[promoting] them as good for advertising the cause at street meetings, summer resorts, and county fairs. The design consisted of yellow and white in alternate sections, with “Votes for Women” in the white sections.” Florey goes on to explain how some umbrellas in this style are known with names of states hand-painted in the yellow panels. I am aware of Oregon and Idaho. Florey also indicates that one is known for Alaska. His discussion of the subject, and an illustration of the Idaho example, appear in his book, "Women's Suffrage Memorabilia" (2013, McFarland & Co., North Carolina), on pp. 192 and A8, respectively. The Oregon example, which have seen and held first-hand, is illustrated in "The Keynoter: Journal of the American Political Items Conservators," Summer/Fall/Winter 2008 (Women's Suffrage Special Triple Issue), Vol. 2008, No. 2-4, p. 110. In “Woman Suffrage Memorabilia,” Florey describes a heavy demand for parade accoutrements in the 19-teens. Despite the supposed numbers in which these yellow and white umbrellas were likely to have been produced, this is the only example that I am aware has actually surfaced with the “Votes for Women” text only and no state names. This makes it far more universally desirable. A period image survives in the Albert R. Stone Negative Collection, Rochester Museum & Science Center (Rochester, New York,) of a women carrying parasols in this style on Main Street West in that city on August 15, 1914. The marchers, masked, were described as wearing yellow dominoes (nun-style dresses) and carrying yellow parasols. According to museum catalogers, “The outside parasols are plain; those on the inside have the inscription, "Votes for women". The first group, in yellow and blue dominoes, advertised the speech and visit of Dr. Anna Howard Shaw [this would be members of the Empire Campaign Committee]. The second group carried placards with the names of equal suffrage states and the dates when they adopted votes for women. The Club Theatre, whose sign advertising "Burlesque" is clearly visible behind the marchers, occupies the premises at 75 Main Street West formerly occupied by the Shubert Theatre.” The National American Women’s Suffrage Association was formed in 1890. It represented a merging of the two largest Suffrage groups in America before that time. These were the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA), formed in 1869 by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA), also formed in 1869 by Lucy Stone and her Husband, Henry Brown Blackwell, Henry Ward Beecher, and others. Stone’s daughter, Alice Stone...

Handmade sterling silver Tefillin boxes, Birmingham, England, 1935. Square boxes with hinged bases that open and close. Hebrew inscription on the top of the boxes: Shin Yud = Shell Yad, Shin Resh = Shel Rosh. Marked on the sides with English silver hallmarks...

Jewish tin charity box, New York, USA, circa 1950. Inscribed on the front and on the back "Brother and sister in Israel" and "It feels wonderful to be a b...

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 ...

“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...

Therapeutic toy small elephant in jute and leather. Originally designed and made by Renate Müller for H. Josef Leven, Sonneberg, Germany, circa 1969.  

Therapeutic Toy cube in jute with leather detailing. Designed and made by Renate Müller for H. Josef Leven, Sonneberg, Germany, produced between 1968 and 1974.  

Therapeutic Toy Giraffe in natural jute with red and blue leather detailing. Designed by Renate Müller for H. Josef Leven KG, Sonneberg, Germany, circa 1968.    

Cast metal aeronautical smoking stand topped with a model of a plane with spinning propeller.