Architectural Auction Selling Items Attributed to Important Names in American Decorative Arts

Portsmouth, RI - February 17, 2007- AntiquesYes.com

The architectural antiques auction presented by AntiquesYes.com, and set to open for on line bidding Tuesday, February 20, features several lots attributed to some of the most important names in American decorative art.

“We have several small lots attributed to some very big names,” says H. Weber Wilson, author, antiques dealer, and one of the developers of AntiquesYes.com. “These pieces will have very affordable opening bids and represent an opportunity for serious but budget conscious people to own some things of real significance.”

“One of the more interesting items,” Wilson elaborates, “is a fragment from a John LaFarge stained glass window that I bought it from a very well known antiques dealer in Newport, RI. Her father had started their antiques business back early 20th Century and had bought and sold many things from famous people and famous buildings.”

“When my wife Jill and I moved to Newport in the early 1990s,” Wilson recalls, “the dealer was closing down her store, and when she learned that I had written a book about American stained glass, she went into a back room and brought out a out a number of glass panels and fragments that she had collected over the years. It was a poignant moment to be dealing with a lady who understood the significance of architectural preservation and architectural antiques long before they became populist topics.”

“When I wrote my book Great Glass In American Architecture,” Wilson explains, “one of the major sub-plots was the public and private competition between John LaFarge and Louis Comfort Tiffany. Even in the 1980s, when I was doing the research, LaFarge was only beginning to gain the recognition he deserves. So I know that this kindly dealer was pleased that her little stash of ‘precious stones’ (as John LaFarge described his glass work) would be going to someone who knew the history and cared enough to pass it along.”

“And speaking of Louis Tiffany,” Wilson says with a wink, “this AntiquesYes.com auction has a couple of Tiffany glass tiles up for bid as well. Tiffany and his decorating partners used densely colored glass squares in several high profile commissions, often applying them to interior walls to reflect light rather than setting them in windows or screens.

Besides architectural glass, this AntiquesYes.com auction will also feature metalwork by important American industrial artists. One lot is a nicely wrought iron and brass finial by Oscar Bach that originally decorated a section of bank teller cages. Another lot is a little wrought iron critter with moveable arms that is attributed to Samuel Yellin. And there is also a pair of unusual Gothic style iron balusters from an exterior staircase that was on a Philadelphia building designed by Frank Furness.

The AntiquesYes.com Architectural Antiques Auction will have more than 140 lots of terra cotta and marble, vintage plumbing, decorative windows and doors, antique tiles, original advertising and trade catalogs, and garden ornaments.

The auction will open Tuesday, February 20, beginning at 9 pm EST and the lots will close one week later, beginning at the same time. Every item is guaranteed as described, there are no hidden reserves, and all bidders remain anonymous.

Go to AntiquesYes.com now to register for this and all the other upcoming auction. For more information email auctionservice@antiquesyes.com or call 800-508-0022.

Company Info

WebWilson.com auctions are presented on AntiquesYes.com, a vetted online auction site designed by professional antiques dealers. AntiquesYes.com software features no hidden reserves, anonymous bidders, and a tracking screen for every bidder.

When the Internet became accessible WebWilson.com was among the first to produce online auctions using their own web site and bidding software. Last year they worked with a group of professional antiques dealers to launch AntiquesYes.com, a vetted on line auction site with many custom features such as anonymous bidders and an extended bidding option. The WebWilson.com web site also includes a virtual museum and library and is considered the premiere Internet destination for all those seeking to learn about and to purchase antique builders’ hardware.