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Dallas, Texas

Ralph Willard’s Tower Antique Showby David Anderson

Ralph Willard’s TowerAntique Show was held onDecember 1-3, 2006, at

Fair Park in Dallas, Texas. At theshow we found many fine exam-ples of vintage clothing, jewelry,books, antique tools, toys, furni-ture, old books, and more.

An oil on canvas framed por-trait offered by vendor PeggyMcClard of Houston, Texas,showed a child holding a silverrattle with coral and bells. Thischildhood artifact of the 18thcentury usually consisted of asterling silver tubular body ter-minating in a whistle (maybe tosummon the nursemaid), deco-rated with four, six, or eightsmall bells. A small polishedpiece of red or orange coral forteething would be fixed at theend opposite the whistle. Theyare seldom seen in nurseriestoday, although they were wellknown in Colonial America.

Evidently, these rattles had amixed purpose, partly as a toyfor the child’s amusement, part-ly as a teething device, and part-ly as a superstitious amuletintended to ward off illness orevil spirits. Often a silver loopon the side was available for aribbon to hang the rattle aroundthe child’s neck. Because oftheir intricate sterling silver con-struction, such rattles wereprobably limited to wealthyfamilies who could afford them,and they were often chosen aschristening gifts. Some wereadditionally embellished withgold overlay on the silver.

While few early references ineither print or the graphic artssurvive today to recall thosechildhood rattles, the followingfour lines from HenryWadsworth Longfellow’s poem“To a Child” will forever vali-date their place in history:

With what a look of proudcommand

Thou shakest in thy little handThe coral rattle with its silver

bellsMaking a merry tune!

We later chatted with BillStarr, a vendor fromEllinwood, Kansas, and a regu-lar at this show. His Benning-ton Rockingham bowl broughtback memories of this writer’sVermont childhood years, dur-ing which his mother once pur-chased a similar Benningtonbowl for 50¢. As one writerbewailed, “Oh, for a timemachine.”

While the town of Benning-ton, Vermont, was an important19th-century center for earth-enware, Rockingham ware wasalso made in New Jersey, Ohio,Pennsylvania, and elsewhere.According to the Treasury ofAmerican Design, CaptainJohn Norton’s United StatesPottery Company exhibitedRockingham ware at London’sCrystal Palace exhibition in1851 and again in the NewYork City Crystal Palace exhi-bition of 1853. Ever since, ithas been a durable and highlycollectible item of lasting utili-ty.

Vendor Wayne Burnette ofShreveport, Louisiana, good-naturedly demonstrated for thiswriter a vintage ear trumpet thathe was offering for sale.Because of its debatable utility,the ear trumpet has a mixed his-tory, partly because of its some-times bizarre (and unfair) comicassociation with the hard ofhearing.

Evelyn Waugh, the eccentricEnglish satirist, once appearedat a public event with a giantear trumpet that he used to dis-play his displeasure at a speak-er. He unscrewed the deviceand laid it on the table publiclyto signify his disrespect.Another character, this one fic-tional, was Horatio Alger’sAunt Jane, who pretended toneed an ear trumpet in order todiscover her relatives’ true feel-ings about her.

The next Ralph WillardAntique Show at Fair Park willbe June 1-3. For more informa-tion, call (214) 826-2584.

Indian bolo tie from Ari-zona or New Mexico, about8" long, turquoise and coinsilver, circa 1930, priced at$875 from Woody Straub ofUmatilla, Florida.

Two Cowboys, oil on canvas, 34" x 42", showing a scenesuggestive of west Texas, by California artist HenryGoode (1882-1966), in its original frame, priced at $3800from Woody Straub.Oil on canvas portrait of a young girl

holding a silver rattle with coral andbells, 1800-10, 31½" x 26¾" (frame size).Coral necklaces like the one the baby iswearing were believed to ward off evil.The portrait was priced at $2800 fromPeggy McClard of Houston, Texas.

Candle snuffer and wick trimmer, hand-forged iron, circa 1750, $185 from PeggyMcClard.

Joseph and Mary carved wood man-nequins (undressed), with articulatedarms and legs, from Spanish ColonialMexico, early 19th century. The feet ofJoseph have been cut off. ChristinaSeikin of Goose in the Garden, FortWorth, Texas, priced the pair at $1250.

Nicho, Spanish Colonial period, late18th or early 19th century, $1200 forboth the nicho and the santo inside,from Christina Seikin of Goose in theGarden.

Tall-case clock, eight-daytime-and-strike movement, ingood working order, whitedial, mahogany case of theGeorge III period, $6800 fromTammy Strop of The CheekyMare, Georgetown, Texas.

Rockingham bowl, 13" in diameter,from Bennington, Vermont, with brownspeckled glaze. In good condition, it wastagged $187.50 from Bill StarrAntiques, Ellinwood, Kansas.

Victorian kerosene tablelamp with round wickburner, never electrified,decorated with flowers,tagged $1495 from LarryBaker Antiques, Okla-homa City, Oklahoma.

Rocking horse, also called a shoofly rocker, in originalpaint, with two real horsehair tails, early 20th century,$875 from Jean Compton of Wimberley, Texas.

Milliner’s child-sizehead, papier-mâché andleather, priced at $1200from Walter Waldie ofDallas, Texas.

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Pine cupboard, possibly Pennsylvaniaor Connecticut origin, 1810-20, 76"tall x 47" wide. Sandra Worrell ofHouston, Texas, priced it at $15,000.

Carousel horse believed to have been carved by the Her-schell-Spillman Company of North Tonawanda, NewYork, circa 1930, with its original brass pole. It wastagged $3500 from Jane and Jim Christian of Dallas,Texas.

Royal Navy officer’s hat with metal hatbox, 1820-30, alloriginal, priced at $795 from Reggie Yanuzzi of EnglishSurrey Antiques, Houston, Texas.

Fishnet floats, hand-blown glass from Japan, various sizes from4" to 6" in diameter, tagged $15 to $20 from Johnson & BarrettAntiques, Molly’s on Main, Johnson City, Texas.

Vintage phonograph with horn, labeled “His Master’sVoice,” the English affiliate of the Victor TalkingMachine Company (1901-29). The trademark dognamed Nipper is shown on the label. From about 1920or earlier, the phonograph was priced at $650 fromFreda Briscoe of Dallas, Texas.

Ear trumpet of brass with wood handle, proba-bly late 19th century. Vendor Wayne Burnette ofShreveport, Louisiana, is demonstrating its cor-rect usage for the hard of hearing. He priced itat $95 and said the cost is probably notreimbursable under Medicare.

Framed hand-colored lithograph of a seated youngwoman by the seaside, thought to be by Spanish artistJuan Gonzales, priced at $225 from Anne Blomeyer ofAnnie’s Song, Dallas, Texas.

Onion-shaped lantern with teal-colored blown glass globe.Inside there is a holder for one candle. Betty Bell of Dallas,Texas, named $1100 as the price.

Crucifix, painted gesso over carvedcottonwood, circa 1840, about 24"high, from a New Mexico morada,the meeting house of a religiousgroup known as Los Penitentes. Attop of the cross appear the letters“INRI” (standing for the Latinphrase that means Jesus ofNazareth, King of the Jews). MichaelMcKissick of Waterbird Traders,Dallas, Texas, asked $7500 for thisextraordinary artifact.

Falling-block shotgun made by Hopkins and Allen, Connecticut, about1880, in good working condition. Richard Pannier of Erie Canal Antiques,Arlington, Texas, and Sherburne, New York, priced it at $300.

Old hardwood sugar mold fromthe state of Veracruz, Mexico,circa 1870. Liquid from canesugar would be poured in thetapered cavities to cool. Theinterior of the molds wouldhave been waxed to facilitateremoval of the sugar. Uponhardening, the cones known aspiloncillos would be knockedout, wrapped in paper, and soldindividually to the consumer.The mold was priced at $675from Abel Barron of Dallas,Texas.

Victoria! (victory), a two-color linoleum blockprint, 28" x 18", from a Mexico City workshop,celebrating victory at the end of World War II.Adolf Hitler and a German iron cross are shownon the ground. Flags of the United States and theUnited Kingdom are seen, along with a largerred star symbolizing communism. The posterwas offered at $750 by Michael Ricker ofGarland, Texas.

Nodding donkey, heavy cast iron, painted brown, fromthe late 1800’s. When the counterweighted head is putinto motion, the tail also wags. About 1' long, it couldserve as a doorstop. It was priced at $850 from GloriaJordan of Dealers Choice, Kansas City, Kansas.

Pine stepstool, early 20th century, with square nails,priced at $125 from Lana Fraser of Collectors’Collections, Rapid City, Michigan.

Chinese jewelry box with hidden drawers,dating from about 1850, jumu wood (south-ern elm) construction with brass and piercedivory applied ornamentation, tagged $1100from Bill Cheeseman of Antiques &Collectibles, Austin, Texas.

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A pair of elegant silver-plated andmother-of-pearl Victorian knife rests forthe formal dining table, to hold the carv-ing knives. In their original presentationcase, probably dating from about 1880,they were priced at $150 by Jan Leachof Clifton House Antiques, Houston,Texas.

This political art from the late 18th century is a hand-col-ored copperplate engraving by British caricaturist JamesGillray (1757-1815), whose target was often CharlesJames Fox. Fox is shown here as “Guy Vaux,” alluding toGuy Fawkes and his plot to blow up the Houses of Parlia-ment. In the background can be seen several barrels ofgunpowder. Note that the specular reflections in the pho-tograph are due to the transparent plastic protectivecover and are not present in the actual print. It waspriced at $185 from Joan R. Kickham of Dallas, Texas.

Spoon rack from Cape Cod, early 18th century. On thetop shelf is a container for a mortar and pestle. Twopewter spoons are shown in the photograph but werenot included in the purchase price of $1500 fromJacqueline Hagar of Plano, Texas.

BOZEMAN TRAIL GALLERY190 N. Main • Sheridan WY

Pre-1920 Cowboy and Indian collectibles, AmericanIndian beadwork, 19th - 20th century Western fine art.Original artwork by Hans Kleiber, E.W. Gollings, J.H. Sharp,Edward Borein, Joe DeYong, Ransom Holdredge, C.M. Russell,Frederic Remington, Rungius, F. Bromley, G.C. Delano, etc.

Please contact:William L. King

Phone (307) 672-3928 Fax: (307) 672-2616E-mail: btg@bozemantrailgallery.com Website: www.bozemantrailgallery.com

ACTIVELY SEEKING:

ORIGINAL POSTERSAlways Buying and Selling

NANCY STEINBOCKVINTAGE POSTERS1-800-438-1577

www.nancysteinbockposters.com

Lengrand Bières, 1926, 41" x 29". Artist: Phi