Vintage postcard of Alexandria, Virginia. Image from Amazon.com.

At end of April and beginning of May, Chris and I hit the road again, but not together. Chris will tell you about his exciting Deco destination in our next post. As for me, I hit the road with our friend Meg. We drove down to Alexandria, Virginia to attend the DC Modernism Show hosted by the Art Deco Society of Washington. For future shows and events check out the link to their website.

Announcement of the Washington DC Modernism Shows. Image from adsw.org

We arrived on the evening of Friday, April 29th and after settling in had a terrific and very reasonably price dinner at Ted’s Montana Grill. It was so good, that we went back again on Saturday night. 

Ted’s Montana Grill in Alexandria, Virginia. Photo by author.

And since the show didn’t open till 11:00 AM (There was an early buyers preview from 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM) we could sleep in and have a leisurely breakfast. Being held at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial, it was a less than ten minute drive from where we were staying.

The George Washington Masonic National Memorial, in Alexandria, Virginia. Photo by the author.

The memorial, sitting on top of Shooter’s Hill, is the most prominent landmark in Alexandria. Architect Henry Wiley Corbett (1873 – 1954), neoclassical design for the memorial was based on the Lighthouse of Alexandria , one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Construction of the George Washington Masonic Memorial began in 1922. The dedication took place in 1932, the bicentennial year of Washington’s birth. But the interior was not completed until 1970.

As for the show itself, it was an Art Deco wonderland. The dealers at show came from all over the Mid-Atlantic and North East regions. There were so many wonderful items that I wanted to buy, but a lack of space and money held me back. Laid out on two levels of the memorial the show was easy to navigate. Food service was provided in the dining room. And I purchased a sandwich, can of soda and chips for $7.00. Now here are some pictures of the Art Deco goodies.

Looking down into the Grand Masonic Hall and a glimpse of one of the booths. Photo by the author.

Past Pleasures Moderne booth with lots of nice things including some Karl Palda glass vases. Photo by the author.

So many nice items, especially the two-tier table with the black lacquered top.

More Deco delights. A great settee and chair, with “tootsie roll” arms that I really covet. Photo by author.

An uplighter floor lamp, that almost came home with me. Photo by author.

One of the showcases at the Deco-Rations booth. With many wonderful cocktail shakers including the Chase Gaiety, Manning Bowman Steward and Revere Manhattan Skyscraper. Photo by author.

More from Deco-Rations. Some great Art Deco clocks, including Belle Kogan’s Telechron 8F01 Quaker clock.

If the Modernism Show wasn’t enough reason to make the trip, there was and still is, the added incentive of the exhibit dedicated to Edgard Sforzina. This exhibit of one of the earliest proponents of the style that has become known as Art Deco will run through July 9th. For more information about this exhibit click HERE.

One of the panel’s in the Edgard Sforzina Exhibit, now on display at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial. Photo by the author.

I must admit, I had not heard of Sforzina before this exhibit, but it turns out that I was familiar with his work. One of his commissions was the interior design for Cincinnati’s Union Terminal. This exhibit was curated by Jim Linz (of Deco-Rations), The Art Deco Society of Washington and Denise Ellison Allen, Sforzina’s granddaughter, and is a wonderful introduction to Sforzina. Denise Ellison Allen and her two sisters, Diane and Debbie were present at the show and it was a pleasure to talk to them and learn more about their grandfather. I won’t say much more, because Driving for Deco will be dedicating an entire post about Sforzina and his work.

Denise Ellison Allen (on the right) with her two sisters Debbie and Diane at the exhibit of their grandfather’s designs. Photo by the author.

So, what did I end up purchasing? I finally put an end to a twenty year old regret. In our 100th blog post “The Ones That Got Away” we lamented about passing on a set of Chase chrome canapé trays. At one of the last booths that we hit, the dealer had a set of four of these trays with four Chase cocktail cups. There was no hesitation this time around, I grabbed them up.

Finally! A set of four Lurelle Guild’s canapé trays for Chase. Also four Chase cocktail cups designed by Harry Laylon. Photo by the author.

Chris will follow up this post with his first 2022 on the road post. Hopefully, Chris and I will have some on the road adventures together this year as we Drive for Deco.

Anthony