RINKER ON COLLECTIBLES — Column #1516

Copyright © Harry Rinker, LLC 2016

Forgotten Giants - Introducing a New Series

In early December 2015, I received a package from Richard and Ramona Wise, R. & R. Antiques, Charleston, Illinois.  Rich and Ramona attended the Institute for the Study of Antiques and Collectibles 2015 Summer Camp.  The package contained a letter and two books: (1) Henry J. Kauffman’s “The Colonial Silversmith: His Techniques & Products” (New York; Galahad Books: 1969) and S. T. Millard’s “Goblets II, Second Edition” (Topeka, Kansas: copyright by author, printed by Gossip of Holton, Kansas: 1940.

Richard’s letter noted: “Finally, we are enclosing a couple of books for the Rinker Library.  The Millard book is something we waited hours for at a farm auction years ago, finally purchasing it for $0.50, which means that we were the only ones that recognized the name and topic and that it had no value for anyone else.  Now that we are in the dispersal stage, we have too strong an emotional attachment to the book to just put it out in the shop and watch it gather dust.  As you are one of the few people who even knows who Millard was, we pass the responsibility for the item on to you.

“The 2nd book came in a box of auction books.  We do not know if you have it [I did not], but thought of you because it deals in some depth with the ‘how to’ aspects of silverware production.”

The two books brought back a flood of memories.  When I assumed the editorship of “Warman’s Antiques and Their Prices” in 1981, Stanley Greene, the new owner, presented me with the reference library he received as part of the purchase of Warman Publishing from the E. G. Warman estate.  The books filled two medium size cardboard boxes.  I wish I had made a list of the books because they were (1) the core upon which I built the Rinker Enterprises, Inc., library and reference files and (2) representative of the reference titles that were available at the time.  Millard’s pattern glass books were among them.

The golden age of antiques and collectibles references and price guides was in its infancy.  Publishers such as Books Americana, Antique Trader Books, Collector Books, Crown (Kovels), Hobby House Press, House of Collectibles, Krause, L & W Books, Schiffer Publishing, Wallace-Homestead, and Warman’s were relatively new.

Rich Wise’s comment that I was “one of the few people who even knew who Millard was” struck home.  If he is correct, then there is a lack of knowledge on the part of contemporary collectors, dealers, and other antiques and collectibles aficionados regarding those early antiques and collectibles authors whose research shaped the collecting landscape of the 20th century.  These forgotten giants need to be remembered.

I had the honor and privilege of meeting and/or corresponding with many of the forgotten giants.  In turn, they shared stories with me about those who set the stage for their contributions.  Several were my mentors.  All aided in my object education.

The “Forgotten Giants” columns that I will write in the years ahead will provide biographical and some bibliographical information about these individuals.  Expect the columns to contain personal anecdotes.  These individuals were characters as well as giants, perhaps one of the reasons I was attracted to them.

The “Forgotten Giants” columns will focus on writers whose books defined the philosophical and intellectual course of antiques and collectibles collecting, chronicled the methodology of the trade, and/or created the collecting criteria for a major collecting category.  I will start by focusing on those authors writers I knew and whose books I used extensively.  As the “Forgotten Giant” series progresses, I will turn the clock back to the decades of the early twentieth century.  While names such as Luke Vincent Lockwood, Edgar C. Miller, Jr., Alice Winchester, and Elsie de Wolfe have meaning for me, most readers of this column will have no idea who they are or how they impacted collecting.

I took a broad approach in compiling the initial list of individuals.  Not all the antiques and collectibles forgotten giants are writers.  Some were publishers such as Ed Babka (Antique Trader), Otto Lightner / Dale K. Graham / Frances Graham (Hobbies), Thomas Mayhill (Tri-State Trader, later AntiqueWeek), and Samuel Pennington (Maine Antique Digest).  The names of legendary columnists, dealers, and show promoters appeared.  The list became overwhelming.  Wishing for order out of chaos, I made a decision to focus on authors first.  When I exhaust this list, I will start writing about the others.

Compiling a bibliography of the work of these individuals is easy.  However, the bibliography is meaningless without understanding the personalities of these forgotten giants.  A deep love of objects, a strong desire to know about them, a willingness to share what they learned, and a commitment to making the antiques and collectibles trade a better place are characteristics they have in common.  All were collectors, albeit some held positions within the trade.

Some were academically trained researchers.  Others were dedicated and determined amateurs.  I would not hesitate to compare their research, especially the use of original resources, analysis, and interpretation against any PhD thesis.  The qualitative and quantitative work of these forgotten giants preserved information about objects and trade practices that otherwise would have been lost.

Although the internet is a treasure trove of data, it is not all encompassing.  None of these forgotten giants is found on Wikipedia.  Unless the individual died within the last ten years, finding an obituary to use as a starting point for my research was impossible.  Book sites provide little to no biographical information.  Information about authors in their books focuses more on title promotion than personality.

“Forgotten Giants” will be a continuing series but not done on a fixed schedule.  Columns will be written when I have acquired sufficient information to provide an in depth look at a writer.  Part I of the series will introduce readers to Richard “Dick” Bueschel, Marion Hartung, Henry J. Kauffman, and George Michaels.

I am experiencing difficulty in finding the basic facts – birth and death dates, family data, residence – for some of the authors about whom I want to write.  As a result, I need my readers’ help, especially from readers who had personal interactions with these individuals.

There are four individuals on my current list of forgotten giants for whom I have a bibliography but no biographical information.  They are Dorothy Hammond, William Heacock, Ruth Webb Lee, and Albert Christian Revi.  If a reader can provide a biographical sketch or knows a source for one, please email the information or location to harrylrinker@aol.com.

I also am open to suggestions about forgotten giants my readers think should be included on the list.  Again, send your nominees along with where I can find detailed biographical data to harrylrinker@aol.com.

The “Forgotten Giants” columns preserve a key portion of the history of the antiques and collectibles community that has largely been ignored.  Books about the history of collecting focus almost exclusively on the high end – wealthy collectors, fine art dealers, and so-called connoisseurs.  Although these are important stories, the heart and soul of the collecting community rests in its middle and low end.  This where the giants on my list made their contributions.

Finally, “Forgotten Giants” is about individuals whose contributions to the antiques and collectibles trade have ended.  Simply put, the writer must be deceased to be featured.  Their books and writing endure but, alas, are largely ignored in a digital age whose focus on past knowledge is minimal and reading hardcopy books is becoming a lost art.

Harry L. Rinker welcomes questions from readers about collectibles, those mass-produced items from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.  Selected letters will be answered in this column.  Harry cannot provide personal answers.  Photos and other material submitted cannot be returned.  Send your questions to: Rinker on Collectibles, 5955 Mill Point Court SE, Kentwood, MI  49512.  You also can e-mail your questions to harrylrinker@aol.com. Only e-mails containing a full name and mailing address will be considered.

You can listen and participate in WHATCHA GOT?, Harry’s antiques and collectibles radio call-in show, on Sunday mornings between 8:00 AM and 10:00 AM Eastern Time.  If you cannot find it on a station in your area, WHATCHA GOT? streams live on the Internet at www.gcnlive.com.