The Winterthur Library

 The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera

Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum

5105 Kennett Pike, Winterthur, DE  19735

302-888-4600 or 800-448-3883

 

 

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

 

Creator:         Fine Arts Co. of Philadelphia, Inc.                            

Title:               Publicity books and auction catalogs

Dates:             1978-1997

Call No.:         Col. 830

Acc. No.:        08x49; 09x130

Quantity:        4 boxes

Location:        14 B 4, and map case 3, drawer 3

 

 

 

BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

 

Fine Arts Co. of Philadelphia, Inc. was an auction house and an estate appraisal firm, specializing in art and antiques.  Fine Arts Co. was founded in 1976 by James (Jim) Buckley and John Frisk as an estate and insurance appraisal firm; the company held its first auction in 1978.   Alexis (Lex) Manice became president of the company in 1981, while James Buckley continued as vice president and senior auctioneer.  Another auctioneer was Robin Roden Manice, who had begun as a receptionist for the company.  In 1988, Fine Arts Co. merged with Samuel T. Freeman & Co., a long-established auction house in Philadelphia, and for a time the new firm was known as Freeman\Fine Arts.  The merger was precipitated because Fine Arts lost the lease on its place of business and Freeman needed new blood.

 

 

SCOPE AND CONTENT

 

 The collection includes publicity notebooks, auction catalogs, and a copy of the book Vendue Masters, which is about the Freeman auction house and mentions Fine Arts Co.  The publicity notebooks contain newspaper and magazine advertisements for auctions being conducted by Fine Arts Co., newspaper articles about the auctions, advertising cards, fliers, and a few photographs pertaining to Fine Arts Co. and its activities.  Included are two photographs of Alice Paul (an early feminist), some of whose papers were auctioned by the company in 1987.  Catalogs were produced for some auctions, and many of those catalogs are part of the collection. 

 

 

ORGANIZATION

 

Both publicity notebooks and catalogs are in chronological order.

 

 

LANGUAGE OF MATERIALS

 

The materials are in English.

 

 

RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS

 

Collection is open to the public.  Copyright restrictions may apply.

           

 

PROVENANCE

           

Both accessions: Gift of James Buckley.

 

 

ACCESS POINTS

 

            People:

                        Paul, Alice, 1885-1977.

 

Topics:

            Appraisers.

Auctioneers – PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia.

Auctions – Pennsylvania - Catalogs.

            Auctions – Catalogs.

 

Additional authors:

Arkell, Roland.  Vendue masters.

            Freeman\Fine Arts of Philadelphia, Inc.

 

 

 

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

 

Location: 14 B 4; map case 3, drawer 3

 

 

Box 1:

 

Folder 1:          Publicity notebook, 1980-1981

 

Folder 2:          Publicity notebook, 1982

 

Folder 3:          Publicity notebook, 1983

 

Folder 4:          Publicity notebook, 1984

 

Folder 5:          Publicity notebook, 1985

 

 

Box 2:

 

Folder 1:          Publicity notebook, 1986

 

Folder 2:          Publicity notebook, 1987

 

Folder 3:          Publicity notebook, 1988

 

Folder 4:          Auction catalogs, 1978

 

Folder 5:          Auction catalogs, 1980

 

 

Box 3:

 

 

Folder 1:          Auction catalogs, 1981

 

Folder 2:          Auction catalogs, 1982

                        (see also Box 4 for oversize catalogs)

 

Folder 3:          Auction catalogs, 1983-1984

                        (see also Box 4 for oversize catalogs)

 

Folder 4:          Auction catalogs, 1985

 

Folder 5:          Auction catalogs, 1986

 

Folder 6:          Auction catalogs, 1987

 

 

Box 4:

 

Folder 1:          Auction catalogs, 1988 (Fine Arts and Freeman\Fine Arts) (acc. 09x130)

 

Folder 2:          Auction catalogs, 1989 (Freeman\Fine Arts) (acc. 09x130)

 

Folder 3:          Auction catalogs, 1990 (Freeman\Fine Arts) (acc. 09x130)

 

Folder 4:          Auction catalogs, 1991 (Freeman\Fine Arts) (acc. 09x130)

 

Folder 5:          Auction catalogs, 1992-1993 (Freeman\Fine Arts) (acc. 09x130)

 

 

 

Box 5:

 

Folder 1:          Auction catalogs, 1994, 1997 (Freeman\Fine Arts) (acc. 09x130)

 

Folder 2:          Auction catalogs, 1982-1983 (oversize)

 

Folder 3:          Vendue Masters: Tales from within the Walls of America’s Oldest Auction House, by Roland Arkell and Catherine Saunders-Watson (n.p.: Antique Collectors’ Club, 2005)

 

 

Oversize folder in map case:

 

3 photos of “Windy Way Farms,” the estate of Nina C. Mackall, Bethlehem, Penn., contents of which were auctioned by Fine Arts Company in 1982 (see Box 5 for catalog); 2 photos are identified on back, but one is not (acc. 09x130)