collectables trader 97
DESCRIPTION
antiques, art deco, art nouveau, art, bronzes, ceramics, collectables, furniture, textiles, works of artTRANSCRIPT
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A u s t r a l a s i a ’ s l e a d i n g a n t i q u e s a n d c o l l e c t a b l e s m a g a z i n e
collectablestrader
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AUSTRALIANAAustralia’s racing history in silverGrace Seccombe’s ceramics
What makes
ARABIA PORCELAINso collectable?Identifying makers & marks
Investment plus: collecting
NUMISMATICSFollow the auction trail
Pop culture:COMIC COLLECTABLESthe iconic Batman: a gothic superhero
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FEATURE ARTICLES6 Batman: a Gothic Superhero
John Harrison
12 From Finland: Arabia porcelain in AustraliaHans Werker
24 World War I medals of James WoolwrightPeter Lane
38 Postcards offer limitless collecting possibilitiesRob Ditessa
48 The art of furniture restorationPatrick O’Leary
52 Collecting early typewritersMartin Howard
66 Precious Amber Melody Amsel-Arieli
70 A hot collectable: children’s lunch boxesSuzy Bender
SPECIAL FEATURE: THREEAUSTRALIAN ARTISANS16 Appreciating Grace Seccombe’s
ceramics Mavin Hurnall & Megan Martin
22 Australia’s early racing history recordedin silver: The Junius cupRathicca Chandra
30 William Howitt: woodcarver of distinctionDr Dorothy Erickson
INVESTMENT AND COLLECTING:AUSTRALIAN NUMISMATICS55 The history of square coins62 A numismatic auction reviewed
Peter Lane
TRAVEL FEATURE 58 Exploring Singapore’s heritage
Dr Margaret D McNiven
69 OUT & ABOUT
REGULAR FEATURES42 Online magazines
43 Conundrum
45 Collectables fairs
76 Recent books for collectors
79 Collectables subscription
80 Bulletin board
82 Marketplace: buy and sell
87 Advertising rates
88 Advertisers’ Index
WINconundrumenter our prize draw
See page 43
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COLLECTABLES Trader 3
6 COLLECTABLES Trader
JOHN HARRISON
CREATED IN 1939 BYARTIST Bob Kane (withsome help from writer BillFinger), Batman first
appeared in the pages of DetectiveComics #27 and was influencedmore by film noir crime movies andclassic pulp magazines like TheShadow and The Spider than theusual fantasy/science-fiction basedcomic books that were beginning to flood the stands around this time.
THE STORYLINE
Its hero is a brooding millionaire
playboy who disguises himself as abat in order to strike fear into thecriminals he swears to fight afterwitnessing the murder of his parentsas a young boy. This dark tone of the Batman comics is lightened up somewhat by thearrival of his teenaged partnerRobin, the Boy Wonder in April 1940.
Ensuring that the stories remainedvibrant and entertaining was theincreasing roster of unique, colourfulvillains who were being dreamed upto combat our heroes. The colourfulrole call included such iconiccharacters as The Joker,Catwoman, The Penguin, MisterFreeze and The Riddler.
While he may not have been the first American superhero,
Batman is still arguably the most popular, complex and
interesting of the many icons of comic books’ pop culture
landscape, as well as one of its most collected
A GOTHICSUPERHERO
Batmania: Collecting the Dark Knight
12 COLLECTABLES Trader
The uncluttered, clean and practical lines of Scandinavian
designs appeal to Australians
1
ARABIAPORCELAIN
From Finland to Australia
1 Fennia, produced 1900-1923.Designer unknown. The patternsfollow Finno-Ugric themes. Limitedproduction of these vases makesthem very rare and very expensive
HANS WERKER
IS NOT UNUSUAL TO FINDthat Australian homes have atleast one piece of bone chinaor stoneware made by the
Finnish pottery factory Arabia.These pieces are oftenunrecognised as collectable and of value.
To help readers understand why the company’s early table and kitchen ware designs are held in high esteem internationally I am going to look at the earlyyears of the company. Knowledgeof the origin of these ceramics is often lost, particularly if itemshave been handed down byparents or perhaps grandparents.
HISTORY OF ARABIA In 1874 the Swedish ceramiccompany Rörstrand Pottery (est.1772) founded the Arabia Finlandceramic company to penetrate theRussian market with their high qualityceramic products. They founded thecompany in Helsinki because at thattime, Finland was a duchy of Russia(1809-1917). Strategically, it waseasier to sell ceramics from Russia toRussia than from Sweden to Russia.
The company prospered until therewas a downturn in trade in 1905 dueto a revolution precipitated byRussia’s defeat in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-5). By the 1917 Russian Revolution, there was no longer a viable Russian market.
2 Kilta (later calledTeema), inproduction since1953. Designer: KayFranck. The secondmost popularearthenware set.Renamed Teemain1980 with smallchanges in coloursand models
30 COLLECTABLES Trader
DOROTHY ERICKSON
WOODCARVEREXTRAORDINAIREWilliam Howitt wasborn 7 July 1846 at
Winton near Manchester in theUnited Kingdom to William Howitt,mechanic and his Spanish wifeBetsy Brahma. The young Howittstudied art in Nottingham, Liverpooland London in the early1860s.
By 1866 he was employed on therestoration of ecclesiasticalinteriors and carving decorativeelements for ships interiors. In 1886his exhibits in the Indian andColonial Exhibition in Londonearned him a bronze medal.
It is conjecture whether he metmembers of the Australiancontingent exhibiting at the show,which might have prompted him toleave England. Whatever themotivation, together with his wifeIsabella and young family of fourchildren, they migrated toMelbourne aboard the Lusitaniaarriving in August 1888. Here hereadily found work.
COMMISSIONS
For five years Howitt had a projectof commissioned furniture for StPaul’s Anglican Cathedral where hemade the reading desk and pew
ends. Particularly striking are thebishop’s throne and the pulpitdesigned in the Gothic style byJoseph Reed. The pieces tookseven months to carve in situ fromTasmanian blackwood. He carvedthe models from which were castthe bronze coats of arms onPrinces Bridge.
Other ecclesiastical fixtures werea pulpit for the Roman CatholicCathedral of St Peter and St Paul.In 1893 he carved a reredos andaltar for the church of Holy Trinity inKew. The latter featured carvedpanels of the Last Supper andChrist washing the disciples’ feet.
Doors carved by Howitt weredisplayed to architects by theVictorian Conservator of Forests, G S Perrin who also wrote anarticle for the first issue of Arts &Crafts: an Illustrated AustralasianMagazine of Arts, Handicrafts andSanitation (October 1895). Titled‘Australian Timbers for Use in theHigher Decorative Artistic Work,Cabinet Making, Fittings, Dadoesetc., with a List of the General &Species Suitable for Railway,Building, Engineering and HarbourConstruction works’ Perrin paystribute to Howitt’s skill and alsoillustrated is an elaborately carvedlong case clock made from bluegum for S J Browne’s home, Kyelah.
(1846-1928)A woodcarver of distinction
Held in the highest esteem
by his fellow artists,
Howitt had an insatiable
urge to carve and was one
of the finest wood carvers
in Australia
WILLIAMHOWITT
38 COLLECTABLES Trader
ROB DITESSA
LIKE MANY OF OURREADERS, Eric Panther hasbeen a collector all his life,starting as a schoolchild
amassing cards from cereal boxes,and later collecting trading cards inthe 1940s. The catalyst forconcentrating on postcards camefrom a box of miscellaneous itemsthat his wife Joyce, also an avidcollector, bought at a church fete inthe late 1970s, filled with numerousfascinating postcards. Ericestimates their collection nowholds between four and fivethousand cards.
Keen to share his knowledgeand enthusiasm, Eric has held theoffice of President of the AustralianCartophilic Society on and off for22 years since joining in 1980. The
word ‘cartophilic,’ he explains toCollectables was coined in the1920s from a combination of Greekand Latin meaning ‘lover of cards.’
Unfranked or unused cards aregenerally in better condition. Asthere are no rules about collecting,one collector might favour apostcard with a corner missing,whereas another will only collectthose in pristine condition.
PUTTING THE PAST INTOPERSPECTIVEPostcards were a revolution,allowing short messages to be sentefficiently, costing less than a letterand sparing the cost of anenvelope. On the first day of issuein Britain in 1870, half a millionpostcards passed through theLondon postal centre.
Coming under the banner of cartophilia, this is an area of
collecting that is limited only by imagination
PASSION FORPOSTCARDS
A Joyous Christmasgreeting postcard, c. 1906
1
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A u s t r a l a s i a ’ s l e a d i n g a n t i q u e s a n d c o l l e c t a b l e s m a g a z i n ecollectablestrader
97TH ED
ITION
MA
RC
H –
AP
RIL
20
11
AUSTRALIANA
Australia’s racing
history in silver
Grace Seccombe’s ceramicsWhat makes
ARABIA PORCELAIN
so collectable?
Identifying makers & marksInvestment plus: collecting
NUMISMATICS
Follow the auction trailPop culture:
COMIC COLLECTABLES
the iconic Batman:
a gothic superhero
SUBSCRIBE TO THE
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s
AUST $9.95 NZ $13.95
online@ worldaa.com
A u s t r a l a s i a ’ s l e a d i n g a n t i q u e s a n d c o l l e c t a b l e s m a g a z i n ecollectablestrader97TH E
DITIO
N
MA
RC
H –
AP
RIL
20
11
AUSTRALIANAAustralia’s racing
history in silver
Grace Seccombe’s ceramics
What makes
ARABIA PORCELAINso collectable?
Identifying makers & marks
Investment plus: collecting
NUMISMATICS
Follow the auction trail
Pop culture:
COMIC COLLECTABLESthe iconic Batman:
a gothic superhero
TOSUBSCRIBE
NOW
CLICKHERE
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