Category Archives: Chrome

Labor Day Weekend Find – What is It??!!

This past Labor Day Weekend, as Chris and I struggled trying to finish our last post on our 2023 summer trip to Detroit, we decided to do some “freakin’, tiquen”. It’s been a while since we antiqued in Clarence, New York, we decided to take the trip west. After a less than an hour trip we arrived. Because it was the first Sunday of the month, it was “Super Sunday – Great American Garage Sale”. Since only hitting the three mall buildings was my reason for the trip, examining the many dealer tables put me in a surly mood.

Chris at the Antique World Flea Market, Labor Day Weekend.

Chris checking out the dealer tables at the Antique World Flea Market, Clarence, NY.

After only a cursory look at the flea market, we went inside. Our only purchases in the first two building were chocolate covered dried cherries, candied cashews and two soft drinks. But once I had some sugar in me, my mood improved. As far as antiques went nothing really caught our eyes. So it was onto the last building.

Premier Antique Center, Clarence, New York.

Premier Antique Center, Clarence, New York. Image from antiqueworldmarket.com.

The Premier Antique Center generally has higher quality pieces than the other two buildings. After going through about half the store, Chris noticed a polished chrome, footed centerpiece sitting on the floor, propped up against a case on the floor of one of the booths. Supporting the shallow, chrome bowl are three, circular, transparent yellow (apple juice) Bakelite feet. Engraved in the middle of the bowl is the Roman Goddess Pomona with out stretched arms over a stylized orchard. The chrome rim is serrated and not smooth. It is very striking and very Deco.

Pomona Bowl on the floor at the Premier Antique Center.

Pomona Bowl as Chris found it on the floor at the Premier Antique Center.

The piece has a good weight to it, appears to be of high quality and most surprising – unmarked. With a price tag of over one hundred dollars, while we both liked it, we needed more information. We thought this would be easy, we were wrong. Our Google searches began with Pomona bowl, no luck. Chrome, deco, Pomona bowl, nothing. We did learn that Pomona was the Goddess of fruit trees, orchards, gardens and abundance.

The Pomona Bowl in its new home, my dining room table.

The Pomona Bowl on my dining room table.

Detail of the engraving in the middle of the Pomona Centerpiece bowl.

Detail of the engraving on the Pomona Centerpiece.

The stylized engraving reminded me of the work of several artists of the 1930s. The first one that came to my mind was Rockwell Kent. Trying to make a connection I immediately thought of Kent’s General Electric Pavillon mural at the 1939 New York World’s Fair.

 

Rockwell Kent Mural General Electric Pavillon.

Rockwell Kent mural for the General Electric Pavillon. Image from miSci-Museum of Innovation & Science.

So we tried searching Rockwell Kent, chrome, deco bowl. Nothing. Next, I thought of  Hildreth Meière’s Radio and Television Encompassing the Earth (1932) from the facade of the R-K-O Roxy Theatre.

Radio and Television Encompassing the Earth (1932).

Hildreth Meière’s Radio and Television Encompassing the Earth (1932), on the 49th Street facade of the R-K-O Roxy Theatre in Rockefeller Center.

I thought the hair in both were similar as well as the attitude of the out stretched arms. And just like with Kent, nothing showed in searching Hildreth Meière and Pomona, Deco chrome. Next up, Lee Lawrie. Arguably Lawrie’s most famous works are Wisdom (1933) or Atlas (1937) both in Rockefeller Center.

Lee Lawrie's Wisdom (1933).

Wisdom by Lee Lawrie over the entrance to the RCA Building in Rockefeller Center.

Statue of Atlas in Rockefeller Center.

Atas (1937) Lee Lawrie in collaboration with Rene Chambellan.

Again no luck with a Lee Lawrie search. Lastly, we looked for a connection with William P. Welsh, whose seasonal covers for the Woman’s Home Companion were familiar to Chris and me.

And just like all the other searches, nothing came up with Welsh. As the adage goes when buying art or in this case antiques or collectibles, “buy what you love”, so that’s what we did. But we still want to know more about this piece. Here are a couple of more photos of the centerpiece.

Transparent yellow (apple juice) Bakelite foot.

Detail of one of the transparent yellow, Bakelite feet and serrated rim.

Unmarked, polished chrome, Art Deco, Pomona centerpiece bowl.

Unmarked, polished chrome, Art Deco, Pomona centerpiece bowl.

So if any readers of this blog recognize this piece and can provide some information to the artist or the manufacturer, please let us know.

Anthony & Chris (The Freakin’, ‘Tiquen Guys)

Chase Speciality Line

Chase Brass & Copper logo.

Chase Brass & Copper logo. Image from a 1934 advertisement.

As mentioned at the end of our “There’s no place like Chrome” Driving For Deco post, even though I collected Art Deco pieces, actively acquiring chrome items came later. In 1999 I purchased a Chase Bubble Cigarette Holder for $3.00.

 

Chase Chrome Bubble Cigarette Server.

The Chase Bubble Cigarette Server, available from 1937-1941. From the collection of the author.

Getting that first piece started a trickle of other chrome items. Within a few years the trickle became a flood. And since I now was looking, there seem to be Chase pieces everywhere.

Chrome, with its clean, cold look, appeals to my “Deco aesthetic” and the chrome items look great on my cobalt mirror tables.

 

Chase Blue Moon Cocktail set.

Chase Blue Moon Cocktail set on my coffee table.

 

Chase Antelope ashtray on blue mirror top table.

My Chase chrome and glass Antelope Ash Receiver on one of my blue glass tables.

Another nice feature of Chrome is it does not tarnish, so unlike silver it will never need polishing. During the 1930s lots of companies sold chrome items. But one company stood out from the others, not only in terms of quality but also in the variety of products. And that was the Chase Brass and Copper Company.

Henry Sabin Chase founded the Chase Brass & Copper Co. of Waterbury Connecticut in 1876. Soon after opening the company became one of the leading manufactures of industrial brass products in the United States. In 1929 the company became a subsidiary of Kennecott Utah Copper. The same year Chase opened business offices at 10 East 40th Street in Manhattan. In honor of being the first tenant the building became known as the Chase Tower.

 

The Chase Tower on January 8, 1930.

The Chase Tower at 10 East 40th Street, New York City. Photo by Samuel H. Gottscho taken on January 8, 1930. From the collection of mcny.org.

 

During the 1930s to say that the economy was bad is an understatement.  The Great Depression put a strangle hold on business. Needing to reach new customers some companies reinvented themselves. As for Chase Brass & Copper this meant starting a whole new division. By adapting items like brass pipes and toilet tank floats into vases and syrup jugs, in 1932 the Chase Specialty line was born. High quality products at reasonable prices set the standard in this new industry. A stable of designers, in house and from outside, created these very modern items.

 

During the Specialty Line’s early production a copper finish on items predominated. But once Chase perfected their Chrome plating process, that became the most popular. And while many companies offered chromium plated items, their finishes were plated over rustable metals, such as steel. This lead to pieces becoming pitted and the thin veneer chrome wore off over time. Chase chose to use brass or copper, both non-rustable, as their base metal. Then nickel plating applied before finally applying a heavy coating of Chrome. As a result many Chase products look as good today as they did in the 1930s.

 

Gerth & Gerth's Four Tube Bud Vase for Chase.

The Chase Four Tube Bud Vase in chrome and copper and brass, designed by the husband and wife team of Gerth & Gerth. From the author’s collection.

 

The Four Tube Bud Holder, pictured above, is a perfect example of adaptive use. Thin pipes of varying lengths were transformed into an ultra-modern piece. The main tube rising from the ringed circular base had the smaller tubes attached to it. Credit for this piece goes to the husband and wife team of William and Ruth Gerth. In reality it is most likely the creation of Ruth Gerth alone. Part of the Specialty Line for its entire run, it retailed for $1.25. Today the Four Tube Bud Holder is one of the more common pieces of Chase on the collector’s market.

 

Ruth Gerth in the 1940s, after the demise of the Chase Specialty line.

Ruth Gerth in the 1940s. Photo from eichlernetwork.com.

Another pre-1933 Gerth and Gerth Chase piece is the Dinner Gong. Unlike the Four Tube Bud Holder, the Dinner Gong is not easy to find. Discontinued in 1933 its production life was only about a year or so. Available in copper or chrome it has a book value of about $160.00.

 

The copper version of the Chase Dinner Gong.

Gerth and Gerth’s 1932 Dinner Gong and striker. From the collection of the author.

 

With The Glow Lamp of 1933, one can see Ruth Gerth’s transformation of a toilet float into a charming little lamp. Offered in copper, chrome or combination of half copper and white paint or chrome with black paint. Retailing for $1.25 ($26.00 in 2021) for copper or $1.50 ($31.00 in 2021) for chrome, they stayed in production until the late 1930s.

 

The Chase Glow Lamp by Ruth Gerth.

Ruth Gerth’s Glow Lamp for Chase. From the collection of the author.

 

German immigrant, Walter Von Nessen, made his name by creating very modern lamps. Hired by Chase in the early 1930s, his designs for the company became some of their best selling items.

Walter Von Nessen in the 1930s.

Walter Von Nessen in the 1930s. Photo from Modernism.com

And like Ruth Gerth, Von Nessen readapted ordinary pieces in the Chase inventory to create strikingly modern items, like the Taurex Candleholders. For these Von Nessen took an ordinary curved pipe mounted and mounted it on a circular base.

 

Walter Von Nessen's Chase Taurex Candleholder, even style.

Walter Von Nessen’s even Taurex Candleholder. From the author’s collection.

The two style of the Taurex candleholders, even and uneven, introduced in 1933 were the most popular in the Chase specialty line. Like most pieces in the line they were finished in chrome and copper. The chrome must have been more popular as those are found more easily on the collectors market. This is also true of the uneven version, which Chase kept in production up to 1939. The even style was discontinued in 1936.

 

The Uneven Taurex Candleholder.

Chase’s Uneven Taurex Candleholder by Walter Von Nessen. From the collection of the author.

During the first couple of years of the Chase Specialty Line, Von Nessen designed a series of bookends. And like the Taurex candleholders, he created strikingly modern or whimsical pieces from the Chase inventory of pipes, rivets, ball bearings and other items. Because of their short production life, most of these bookends were discontinued in 1933.  Today they are hard to find and command premium prices. And rank high on my  Chase most wanted list.

Whimsical Bookends

Architectural Bookends

 

 

By 1933 chrome plating over took the copper and brass finishes and the Specialty Line really began to take off. Chase greatly expanded the line during the 1930s. Driving For Deco will be taking a look at the different aspects of the Chase Specialty Line in future posts.

Anthony & Chris (The Freakin’, Tiquen’ Guys)

SOURCES

CHASE COMPLETE: Johnson, Donald-Brian & Pina, Leslie; A Schiffer Book

ART DECO CHROME BOOK 2: Kilbride, Richard J.; Jo-D Books

THE CHASE ERA: Johnson, Donald-Brian & Pina, Leslie; A Schiffer Book