This Folk Art table from around 1900 is purportedly one that was made in a penitentiary in Kansas, possibly Lansing Penitentiary.  Similar tables are in the Kansas State Historical Society and the Kansas Secretary of State’s Office.  The top (below) has extensive marquetry work and the feet are brass claws with glass balls.

Jackson’s Auction will be selling this table as well as the Victorian-period items shown in the thumbnails below.

Grand View Auction has several fine Victorian antiques in today’s sale including this George Henkels desk, once exhibited in the High Museum.  It is reminiscent of the desk and furniture in the Asa Packer Mansion.  Other notable items include an Allen & Brother Cabinet and J & JW Meeks Parlor Set.  I’ll need a little more substantiation, however, to agree with them that the inlaid center table is by Herter Brothers.

UPDATE: The desk above went for $8,500 plus buyer’s premium.

It’s fun to see antiques put up for sale with low sale range estimates and see them hit prices 10-times what the auction house anticipated.  Harlowe-Powell put a very conservative $2,500 top range price on this set which proceeded to garner $23,000 plus buyers premium of 20%.

They were on the right track with an attribution of “possibly Jelliff or Herter” and the bidders agreed with the latter of the two which explains the final price.

I think that the set is most likely by Gustave Herter, dating to before his association with Christian when they became known as the “Herter Brothers”.  If this is a Gustave Herter piece, it would date to pre-1864 which is when the partnership started.

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I had to laugh when I saw this photo of Laura Bush with a caption stating that “Laura Bush speaks with an unidentified man”.  I’m surprised that they didn’t say speaking with an unidentified man  - and another unidentified man that looks just like him.  I guess these reporters aren’t Antiques Roadshow fans.

Laura Bush will be hosting a History Channel special on November 26th titled, “The White House: Behind Closed Doors”.  She’ll be providing viewers tours of various rooms and providing some history lessons on the White House along the way.

At first, Mrs. Bush voiced misgivings to her husband, telling him, “I’m not so wild about Victorian furniture,” but he was sold on it. “He said, ‘Oh, no, I want to have Grant’s furniture in my office!’”

I suspect that we may get some glimpses of some Victorian-era furniture during the program.

In another installment of “For The Record” on Rare Victorian where I feature the work of low profile makers of the 19th Century, I’m pleased to present what I strongly believe is a Joseph W. Hamburger Prince of Wales chair.  An image from their ca. 1870 catalog below shows a model #33, “Prince of Wales” design.

I have been wanting to run across one of the Hamburger chairs in the flesh for some time now and luckily the opportunity arose on Ebay in the form of the one above.  It is currently up for sale and is listed as having been made by John Jelliff.  If this chair alone doesn’t teach us all to stop attributing all the carved female bust chairs to Jelliff, then nothing will.

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