Autumn 2017 Preview

Autumn 12 www.afamag.com |  www.incollect.com Clive Devenish Antiques Incline Village, Nevada American Queen Anne Maple Candle Stand Circa 1775 clivedevenishantiques@comcast.net www.clivedevenishantiques.com phone (510) 414-4545 16 ³„ ₁₆" dia. 26¾" h Established 1976 B ert and Nina Little were quintessential collectors of Americana. Their summer home, Cogswell’s Grant, in Essex, Massachusetts, was the perfect showcase for their treasures, which they’d find on excursions to antiques shops. Curator Nancy Carlisle writes about their history of collecting (pages 116–125), which had its roots in 1927, when Nina was inspired by a passage from The Old China Book, in which its author N. Hudson Moore wrote, “To-day, when our watchword seems to be ‘rush,’ when people who would like to pause and bide awhile are swept along with the multitude, the thoughtful person is likely to ask, ‘How can I best withstand the pressure?’ The device which is the greatest use is the cultivation of a hobby, an intense interest in some particular subject, let it be birds, butterflies, beetles, old laces, engravings, or china.” Following Moore’s advice, Nina’s first purchase was a transfer-printed ceramic bowl; from there, the couple’s interests expanded rapidly, as did their connections with collector clubs and related organizations. Nina’s keen interest and intellectual curiosity soon led her beyond collecting to scholarship and writing. Her desire to learn about her acquisitions and share her findings resulted in more than 150 books and articles. Like Nina and Bert Little, the couple whose collection is featured in this issue’s Lifestyle (pages 74–85), Pepi and Vera Jelinek, are passionate about learning. Pepi has published several articles on artists whose work they collect, and has a number of others in process. The couple’s early interest in modernism was transferred to Americana when they recognized the aesthetic commonalities between modern art and folk art. For the past five decades they have ardently pursued the latter, juxtaposing traditional folk art with modern furnishings to create a home that harmoniously blends the two. An interest in the home inspired Italian designer Gio Ponti (1891–1979). Perri Lee Roberts writes about Ponti’s desire to contribute to society through design inspired by classical forms and eternal ideals of historic beauty, while at the same time encouraging new thinking about architecture, furniture, and interior spaces (pages 86–93). Ponti did not describe himself as a modernist, although he was devoted to the concepts of modern living. Roberts notes that, unlike modernists of the time who saw form as following function, Ponti believed “form is an ideal contribution, independent of functionality and originated from concepts of essentiality and truth . . .” It was Ponti’s foresight as an architect and designer that led to his commissions, in the 1940s and 1950s, to outfit ocean liner interiors. Daniel Finamore and George Schwartz discuss the work of Ponti and other designers alongside the decades of stylistic changes reflected on board these floating palaces (pages 94–101). As nations vied for dominance in an ever-increasing global market, ocean liners became a means of showcasing each country’s ability to be on the cutting edge of technology, innovation, and progressive design. Through these pages you can experience the golden age of ocean liners and so much more. Johanna McBrien Founding editor Photography by Ellen McDermott Letter from the editor