Philadelphia Antiques Show 2016_

✷ 138 ✷ FROM THE COLLECTION OF… FROM THE COLLECTION OF… ROBERT SCHWARZ SCHWARZ GALLERY, PHILADELPHIA, PA Robert &WilliamWilson, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Silver Presentation Fire Horn 19¾" tall; 8¾" wide at base; 3½" wide at top Inscribed encircling base: Humane No. 13. Inscribed on plaque: Presented to the HUMANE ENGINE By the Neighbors & Friends Of the Company as a token Of their Respect & Esteem 1849 Stamped inside three times: R&W. WILSON is piece, which is one of the nest presentation re horns I have ever seen, rst sparked my interest in my grandmother and grandfather’s personal collection. is is one of three pieces that I remember focusing on as a young child in their living room, all of which are now in my collection. I have always been drawn to both objects and paintings; my grandfather was known as a dealer of silver and antiques while my father was known for dealing in paintings. Since I interact with paintings daily, much of my personal collection revolves around objects. Unfortunately, I don’t have any information on how or where this piece was acquired. No doubt it was in my grandfather’s business dealings and being such a special object he moved it to his personal collection, where it remained. DAVID A. SCHORSCH DAVID A. SCHORSCH- EILEENM. SMILES, WOODBURY, CT Basket Finial Philadelphia, circa 1765–1775 Mahogany, height 14½ inches I began collecting American furniture fragments in 1977, soon after reading John Kirk’s in uential book, e Impecunious Collectors Guide to American Antiques, where they were rst introduced as an art form within the pages of a scholarly reference book. A short time later I had the privilege of visiting the home of Dr. Henry P. Dereyle, a renowned collector of Americana from Harrisonburg, Virginia. It was here that I rst encountered this exquisite rococo carved mahogany nial which originally adorned an ornate Philadelphia Chippendale case piece. It had been discovered by the legendary Philadelphia dealer, Robert Carlen, coincidentally a close friend of my family, who had sold it to Dr. Deyerle in 1975. Twenty years later I purchased the nial at the landmark sale of the Deyerle collection and it has remained in my private collection ever since.