Antique Trader June 1, 2022

CAS Collectors, the club for all those with an interest in the work of Ceramic Arts Studio is planning its annual convention for Saturday, August 27, in Madison, Wisconsin. The theme, “Seasons Of CAS!” celebrates the ageless appeal of Ceramic Arts figurines, an appreciation that’s spanned the seasons since the Studio first opened its doors in 1940. CAS charmers brightened homes from coast to coast during the 1940s and 1950s, brighten hearts today, and will continue to brighten collectors’ hearts for decades to come. Convention attendees will take in the Wisconsin Pottery Association Show & Sale at the Alliant Energy Center from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Later, all will gather at a new locale, the Madison Comfort Inn and Suites for the Convention festivities. Activities and décor will pay tribute to the Studio’s…

We are a nation of losers. Not in the sense of victories and defeats, mind you, but more to the fact that we all misplace things. A lot of things. In terms of being that kind of a loser, I’m a champion. I’ve lost my wallet, my car keys, and even my car. The lost car was at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. At a Packers game. In a snowstorm. I’ve lost my patience, my cool and my sense of humor – all, coincidentally, while looking for that lost car at Lambeau Field. If only that were the worst of it ... I’ve lost the beat while dancing. My shirt while playing poker. And my cellphone while doing just about anything. I’ve lost my bearings and my balance, all while losing my heart to…

it took Mark Harrell quite a while to figure out exactly what kind of four-wheeled automotive treasure his dad dragged home one day back in 1968. About 45 years, in fact. David Harrell was an over-the-road truck driver who liked to tinker with mechanical stuff when he was home. After a long trip to Texas back in ’68, he came home and told his family he had a surprise in the back of his semi-trailer. The senior Harrell had found a weird-looking little French car for sale along the road in Texas and decided it needed to come home to Wisconsin with him. The beat-up white 1961 Renault 4CV actually changed hands a couple times within the Harrell clan over the years before it was Mark’s turn with the car. “It sat for…

NOKOMIS, Ill. — A rare Case tractor is now the most expensive tractor in the world, selling for a record-shattering $1.47 million. The 1913 Case 30-60 set the record at Aumann Auctions on April 21, making it not only the most expensive antique tractor ever sold, but the most expensive tractor ever sold. In comparison, the most expensive modern tractor, the Case IH Quadtrac, costs approximately $600,000. The 1913 Case 30-60 was sold to an undisclosed bidder. “The 1913 Case 30-60 is one of only five known of the original 500 built to still exist, and the first model of gasoline tractor built by the J. I. Case Company,” says Kurt Aumann, auctioneer. “The other four are tied up in private and museum collections, and this one will be carefully delivered to…

At the turn of the twentieth century, the growing giant that would become industrial America was saddled with two primary furniture styles: Golden Oak and Colonial Revival. Of course, there were other looks like the last bits of Renaissance Revival and the beginning struggles of Art Nouveau, but they were secondary to the two majors. As with most styles and periods both were fashions influenced by events outside the realm of furniture. The Golden Oak period came about as the result of the diminished availability of walnut stock to make furniture. Walnut had been the primary wood of the Victorian revival styles, Rococo and Renaissance, supplemented occasionally by rosewood and other exotics. As the supply dwindled the next most commercially viable product was oak, especially when the concept of quarter cutting…

Designed by architect Wellington Tabor, The Gustav Stickley House is a three-story house built in 1900 in Syracuse, New York. From the outside, the house looks like many others on the block and in the neighborhood, which covers a hillside leading to Syracuse University. It’s the interior, however, that’s historically significant. Stickley’s inside design work is regarded as the first instance of the design style that became known as American Craftsman. Views of the interior and plans were published in December 1902 in The Craftsman, a magazine Stickley founded in 1901. Stickley owned the house from 1900 to 1911, moving back to live with his daughter Barbra Wiles and her family from 1919 until his death in 1942. The house, which fell into disrepair (image top left), was added to the…