Allan_Katz_Americana_II

SALESMAN’S SAMPLE BARBER CHAIR  with it’s original carrying case American. Made by Theo. Kochs and Company, Chicago, Illinois. Chromed metal, porcelain, leather, velvet. Circa 1910. Condition: Excellent original condition complete with child’s booster seat and its original carrying case. Measures: 17½" H x 9½" W x 13½" D (in upright position) This is a fully functioning hydraulic model that would have enabled a salesman to demonstrate all of the features incorporated into a full sized chair. Only a small handful of these remarkable salesman’s samples with their original carrying cases have survived. TOBACCO STORE TRADE FIGURE American. Attributed to the Shop of Samuel Robb, New York City, New York. “In-use” historic paint. Circa 1880. Measures: 78" Tall (the Figure is 53" and the Base is 25") Samuel Robb operated the largest carving shop in New York City, producing many variations of tobacco trade figures. There was always a need to create new forms, both for special orders as well as for marketing tools. Having a unique figure out in front of the shop provided that shop keeper with a distinctly competitive advantage. This trade figure of an Indian woman dressed as a “Saloon Girl” with fancy clothes and boots is a more unusual form than the more common figures of a woman dressed in Indian garments and moccasins. EAGLE PENCIL COMPANY TRADE SIGN American. Painted and stenciled turned wood with applied, formed metal parts. Retains its original hanging chains. Circa 1925. Measures: 41" L With the emergence of larger department stores, hanging signs such as this were made to be used inside a store to call attention to a particular specialty area. THE OLD HOMESTEAD American. Unidentified artist. Various materials including gold, silver, and bronze threads and beads on a silk backing. Original deep dish liner. Mounted in a contemporary frame. Circa 1870. Measures: 27" H x 44" L x 3½" D This unique work is quite an accomplished piece, demonstrating the maker’s skill and effective use of techniques similar to those found in English stump work. The stump work technique provides this needlework with a marvelous three-dimensional feel. We can speculate that the maker possibly worked in a uniform factory or a dress shop where they might have had access to the metallic threads and beads incorporated into “The Old Homestead” and had the skill to apply them effectively. As with so many works of American folk art, this artist does not have an identifiable body of work. We are therefore encouraged to judge “The Old Homestead” as a singular accomplishment. CAST IRON FIREBACK PANELS American. Attributed to the Shop of E. T. Harris, Chicago, Illinois. Cast and painted iron. Circa 1880. Measures: Center panel: 30" H x 33" W; Side panels: 30" H x 17" W (each panel) Made for a large fireplace, these beautifully cast panels are depicting a Civil War battle. Brackets for wall mounting these panels as a triptych are included. E.I. DU PONT DE NEMOURS & CO., GUNPOWDER SIGN American. Stone lithograph on Tin. Signed: “Wells and Hope Co. Pat. Metallic Advertising Signs, 918, 920, 922 Vine St., Philadelphia.” Circa 1875. Measures: 14" H x 20" W; 17¼" H x 23¼" W (in Period Frame) One of the earliest if not the earliest known multi-colored tin advertising sign made for DuPont De Nemours Gunpowder Co. This sign is in remarkable condition. The ability to produce colorful stone lithographs on tin dates back to the beginning of the 1870s when there existed only a small handful of lithographers with the skill to create such complex metallic signs. Wells and Hope Co. from Philadelphia was one of those capable of taking newly invented technology and creating some of the most attractive tin signs for their customers. Such signs were typically made in very small quantities, as the needs of the advertisers were primarily relegated to a regional marketplace. Although the majority of companies were only selling their products regionally, they still had strong competition. An attractive advertising sign hanging at a “point of sale” or nailed outside to a fence or a building gave their businesses an advantage over their competitors. (Prior to stone lithography multicolored signs were printed on paper, which had a short life expectancy, especially when exposed to the elements.) The Hagley Museum in Delaware has historical correspondence between the DuPont Co. and Wells and Hope Co. discussing the production of such signs for the DuPont Gunpowder Co. By 1895, regional markets had become national markets; the quantities of signs required went from twenty five or fifty to thousands of signs all utilizing the same art work. The change in demand necessitated newer, simpler methods for printing larger quantities of multicolored metallic signs for national distribution. The art of stone lithography on tin, a costly and tedious process, went out of favor and eventually disappeared.