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NORTHEASTAUCTIONASSOCIATES
Auctioneers
and Appraisers, Serving the NorthEast
Antique
Valuation Day
For just $5 per item, the public brought its
treasures to Russell Sage College, 37 First Street, Troy, NY, and had it verbally evalued by experts from the Hudson Valley
and New England. All of the proceeds went to help restore the theatre at Russell
Sage College, under the auspices of Dr. Patricia Di Benedetto Snyder,
founding Producing Artistic Director.
The public was offered an estimate
based on our experts’ knowledge of history, art, the area interest, and the condition of their prized possession. These experts volunteered their time and knowledge. On hand were some of the most
knowledgeable experts from throughout the Northeast. We had Thomas Schwenke, Woodbury, CT, who organized
and sponsored the Bicentennial Exposition of American Federal Furniture. This
exhibition featured exhibits from Metropolitan Museum of Art, Wadsworth Athenaeum, and The United States Department of State.
Richard Caggiano, Saugerties, NY, Twentieth Century Furniture and Accessories, Arts and Crafts; John
Anderson, Hudson, NY, Asian Antiques, Esp. Porcelain; General Antiques; Charles Breuel,
Glenmont NY, Clocks, Watches, Antiques, Accessories, Paintings; Karen Kammer, Round Lake, NY, Costumes, Coronation,
Textiles, General - Antiques; Dr. Roger Malbranche, Broadalbin, NY, Clocks, Watches, Toys, Sporting, Lamps,
Black Memorabilia, Music Boxes, Jewelry, Medical, Scientific instruments; Louise Sack, Schenectady, NY, Glass,
China, Collectibles, General Antiques ; Steven Betts, Averill Park, NY, Furniture, Clocks, Watches, General Antiques ; John Pochobradsky Castleton, NY, Military, Related, Toys,
Pens, Political, Advertising, Tins ; Charles Semowich, PhD,
Rensselaer, NY, Paintings, Prints, Sculpture, Pewter, Silver, Furniture ; Wallace
Carter Schmidt, Greenfield Center, NY, Oriental Rugs & Auctioneer ; and John Ryan, Clifton Park
NY, Furniture & Accessories. The Rensselaer County Historical Society attended and offered information
on their programs. Sterling Swann represented the Northeast Journal of Antiques & Art.
These experts have written
books, curated exhibitions, and cataloged major auctions. They also are conservators and restorers. Our general evaluation
fields were: art work, arms, historical documents, books, prints, political, posters, Black memorabilia, clocks, toys, medical,
music boxes, musical instruments, furniture, porcelain, glassware, earthenware, textiles, rugs, dolls, lighting, costumes,
Oriental, jewelry, scientific instruments, collectibles, and miscellaneous. A food court was part of the festivities.
Headed
and organized by Wallace
Carter Schmidt, auctioneer, this Discovery Day was day one of a two-day benefit extravaganza for Russell Sage College
and New York State Theatre Institute. At Schacht Fine Arts Centre wonderful Oriental rugs were auctioned off the next day.
Rug auction
nets $10,000
for preservation
group
By ROBERT KURIZ
kurtz@poststar.
corn
SARATOGA SPRINGS •
When Rachel
Seligman and Leonard Bellanca came to Sunday’s Oriental rug auction to benefit the Saratoga Springs Preservation
Foundation, they were looking to buy a single rug.
They left with four, and had they stayed longer, the
number might have been higher.
“Auctions
are just a hell of a lot of fun,” Seligman said.
“We’ve been looking for a rug for a long time, and a friend recommended this would be the place
to do it. And he was right.”
“We can’t keep all four,” Bellanca said, smiling.
“We’re going to sell one to your mother,” he said to Seligman. “That’s my mother-inlaw.”
The auction, held at the Holiday Inn on Broadway, featured 252 rugs imported from places like Egypt,
Persia, India, Pakistan and China. About 200 were sold, for amounts ranging from $50 up to $2,500.
David Marcell, who recently became the president
of the preservation foundation, said the event was a success, in part because
10 percent of every dollar went to the foundation.
“I’m guessing we made about $10,000 on the auction,” Marcell said ‘And we had a lot
of fun. Oriental rugs are functional art.”
Marcell, who is a rug collector and has been going to rug auctions for a couple of years, said he is looking
forward to doing the auctjon again in the future.
“It
went well,” he said. “The Holiday Inn donated the space, and we really appreciate it.
“One
of the reasons Saratoga Springs is a
beautifully preserved town is because of the work of the foundation. We are all aware of what a precious environment the town is.”
About 50
people came to the auction many of them foundation hoard
members, including Mark Straus, co-owner of the Saratoga
Springs shop Mabou.
“I do a lot of my buying this time of year,” said Straus, who bought about 40 rugs. “This
(auction) was as good as any.”
John Witt, who owns Witt Construction
and is a preservation foundation board member, bought nearly 10 rugs before the auction concluded.
“I planned on buying a few,” Witt said. “They seemed to be good deals. There are a few wholesalers
buying them, so you figure they’re deals.”
Wally Carter Schmidt was the auctioneer of the
rugs and does monthly auctions in Connecticut, and at the firehouse in Chatham (Columbia County). He has been buying
and selling rugs for 35 years and has been an auctioneer for three years.
The next major preservation foundation event will be a self-guided tour of Broadway in downtown Saratoga Springs
on Oct. 6.
Reprinted with permission of Post Star
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