Maine Antique Digest May 2015

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Maine Antique Digest, May 2015 5-A
Obituaries
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building,” is the sinister phrase
“...and reduce consumer demand
for trade in protected species” (a)
(iv). This half-sentence seems
to have been the trigger for the
2014 order as it now stands.
Initial mercury legislation
was also overzealous, but reason
prevailed, and today we have
mercury restrictions most of us
can live with; antique barome-
ters must no longer have broken
glass tubes! I believe we should
work today to have the 2014 or-
der replaced with federal legisla-
tion, which will require a public
hearing, and we should prepare
ourselves for that hearing.
State laws are something else
again. New York’s, New Jer-
sey’s, and now Massachusetts’s
laws are unreasonably harsh,
but it is significant that a similar
law proposed in Maryland was
beaten back—largely through
the muscle of the NRA! It can
be done.
In my view we must restore
the pre-2014 distinction between
antique and non-antique. We can
do this only if we can convinc-
ingly separate the genuine from
the fake. With ivory, this is a
problem, and the present overre-
action reflects this. I believe the
only way we may be able to get
around this problem is by mak-
ing a clear separation between
items made solely of ivory and
not readily identifiable as gen-
uine antique and antique items
with incidental ivory parts that
can be more accurately dated.
While we may be unable to save
antique chessmen or scrimshaw,
we might, at least, be able to
spare pistols, musical instru-
ments (including Steinways),
and Federal case furniture with
its ivory keyhole escutcheons.
With this separation, we would
also succeed in flushing out the
zealot’s “real” intent, where it
can be challenged head-on. We
can argue that all ivory’s not the
same—and be believed.
There isn’t a reader of M.A.D.
who is unconcerned about the
plight of the elephant. But, is
there a reader who doesn’t feel
this plight could be handled
more intelligently?
Charles West Wilson
Red Lion, PA
ROBERT TRUMP
Robert Townshend Trump, 82,
until recently of Whitemarsh,
Pennsylvania, and Tiverton,
Rhode Island, died peacefully
on March 22 at The Quadrangle,
Haverford, Pennsylvania, with
his family by his side. He was the
son of Robert Williams Trump
and Elizabeth Townshend Trump
of Whitemarsh, Pennsylvania.
Trump was an antiques and
fine arts dealer specializing in
American Federal and Classi-
cal furniture. He was an early
H. ROBERT LEESE
H. Robert Leese, 75, entered
into God’s eternal care on Feb-
ruary 20 in Hanover, Pennsylva-
nia. Born in 1939, in Hanover,
he was the son of the late Hol-
man Z. and Mildred A. (Geisel-
man) Leese. Leese was a gradu-
ate of Eichelberger High School,
Class of 1957. He received his
B.S. from Gettysburg College
and his master’s from Penn State
University.
Leese taught biology at the
Conewago Valley School Dis-
trict. He was active in the Cone-
wago Valley Education Asso-
ciation, the Pennsylvania State
Education Association, and the
National Education Association.
Leese was an antiques deal-
er and collector and was well
known from New England to
Florida. He was the former own-
er of the New Oxford Antique
Center. He attended the New
Oxford Street Show for over 50
years, and managed the one-day
antiques show. Leese belonged
to the NewOxfordAntique Deal-
ers Association, the Gettysburg
Antique Dealers Association, the
Pennsylvania Antique Dealers
Association, and the Pennsylva-
nia State Antiques Association,
and he was a past president of
the New Oxford Area Chamber
of Commerce.
Leese was a lifetime member
of the Hanover Area Historical
Society, where he was an active
volunteer, serving on the mu-
seum committee as well as the
board of directors. During his
time with the society, he creat-
ed many interesting exhibits and
helped furnish the Neas House
in a historically correct manner.
He was also a member of the Ad-
ams County Historical Society,
and the National Museum of the
America Coverlet in Bedford,
Pennsylvania.
Leese supported many chari-
ties, including the Bonneauville
Community Fire Company, the
Adams County Rescue Mission,
the Southeastern Adams Volun-
teer Emergency Services, Inc.,
and the Land Conservancy of
Adams County.
He is survived by many
friends from the various organi-
zations in which he served. Con-
tributions may be made in mem-
ory of Leese to the Hanover Area
Historical Society, attn: Carriage
House Restoration, 21 Baltimore
St., Hanover, PA 17331; or to the
Holman Z. and Mildred A. Leese
Scholarship for Physics, c/o Han-
over High School, 403 Moul
Ave., Hanover, PA 17331.
WALT A. REED
Walt Arnold Reed, husband to
Mary Inez Reed, passed away at
his home in Westport, Connecti-
cut, on March 18, at the age of
97.
He was born in Big Spring,
Texas, in 1917 to Edith and Fay
Reed and was raised in Grand
Rapids, Michigan. He went to
New York City to study art, first
at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and
then at the New York Phoenix
School of Design. Reed married
Mary Garavagno in 1948. A life-
long pacifist, he was a conscien-
tious objector during World War
II and worked at an agricultural
station in North Dakota and a
mental hospital in West Virgin-
ia for his government service.
After the war, Reed worked for
CARE, doing relief work in var-
ious European countries, then
moved to Westport, Connecticut,
to join the community of illus-
trators in 1952.
In Westport, Reed did free-
lance illustration and worked for
the Famous Artists School and
North Light Publishers before
opening his gallery. He was ac-
tive in the Westport-Weston Arts
Council and the Westport His-
torical Society. Reed was also
on the Sanford Low committee
at the New Britain Museum of
American Art, and on the muse-
um committee at The Society of
Illustrators in New York City.
Reed is remembered primar-
ily as a champion of the art of
illustration. His various activi-
ties—illustrator, author, lecturer,
editor, historian, archivist, and
art dealer—all engaged with the
promotion of illustration art as
a valid field of art history and
a viable branch of the art mar-
ket. He founded the specialized
art gallery Illustration House in
Westport in 1973. He moved the
gallery to South Norwalk, Con-
necticut, in 1979 and to New
York City in 1987.
He is the author of several
books on the history of illus-
tration, including three editions
of The Illustrator in America
(1966, 1984, 2001), Harold
von Schmidt Draws and Paints
the Old West (Northland Press,
1972), The Magic Pen of Joseph
Clement Coll (Donald M. Grant,
1978), John Clymer: An Artist’s
Rendezvous with the Frontier
West (Northland, 1976), and
Harvey Dunn; Illustrator and
Painter of the Pioneer West
(Flesk Publishing, 2008).
Reed is survived by his wife,
Mary; children Stina Reed of
Newtown, Connecticut, Geoffrey
Reed of Bridgeport, Connecti-
cut, and Roger Reed of West-
port, Connecticut; and grandsons
Tucker Reed, Benjamin Reed,
Nicholas Reed, and Maxwell
Reed. A memorial service will
be held on April 20 at The Soci-
ety of Illustrators, 128 East 63rd
Street, NewYork City. Donations
in Walt’s name may be made to
the Westport Historical Soci-
ety, 25 Avery Place, Westport,
CT 06880; The Society of Illus-
trators, 128 East 63rd St., New
York, NY 10065; or the Norman
Rockwell Museum, 9 Route 183,
Stockbridge, MA 01262.
ELIZABETH DANECHILD
Elizabeth “Ibby” Engstrom
Danechild died peacefully at
home on March 10 surrounded
by her family. She was born in
Dearborn, Michigan, in 1932 to
Paul and Dane Engstrom.
She began college at Principia
College in St. Louis, Missouri.
She moved with her first hus-
band, William Kerr Holsman,
and children to San Francisco in
1958. She completed her mas-
ter’s in library science from the
University of California, Berke-
ley. Danechild taught at the Lau-
rel Hill Nursery, San Francisco,
and Presidio Hill Elementary
Schools, San Francisco, then ac-
cepted a position as librarian at
the Ralph Hawley Elementary,
Emeryville, California.
After seven years, she joined
her second husband, Herbert
Egenolf of Dusseldorf, Germa-
ny, in an art dealership, Ukiyo-e
Gallery, specializing in antique
Japanese woodblock prints. Af-
ter the dissolution of their part-
nership and Herbert’s death, she
continued operating the dealer-
ship independently, retiring from
an active role in the early 2000s.
Danechild loved art and mu-
sic, contributing personally and
professionally. She was a found-
ing member of the California
Fine Print Fair and organized the
Japanese Print Dealers’ auctions.
She was a passionate subscriber
to the San Francisco Symphony
and San Francisco Opera, and
loved music of all kinds. She
played piano and guitar for per-
sonal enjoyment, and gave guitar
lessons for a time in the 1960s.
She was an avid reader of every-
thing from classical literature to
contemporary mysteries and en-
joyed going to the movies.
In addition to her participa-
tion in the arts, Danechild was a
generous supporter of numerous
charities, particularly libraries
and local parks organizations.
She loved to travel and spend
time in outdoor activities with
friends and family. She was a de-
voted mother and grandmother.
Danechild was predeceased by
her husband, Herbert Egenolf,
her parents, and sisters Jean and
Polly. She is survived by her
daughter, Belinda Kerr; sons
Chris Holsman (Sue) and Mark
Holsman; grandchildren Jessi-
ca (Justin), Ian, Toby (Wendy),
Chloe, and Thea Holsman, and
Sam and Aaron Jacobs; and
great-granddaughters Kaia and
Lily.
champion of the work of Phila-
delphia cabinetmaker Joseph B.
Barry. Trump placed 18th- and
early 19th-century furniture in
museum collections and historic
houses, including Mt. Vernon,
Winterthur, the Diplomatic Re-
ception Rooms of the U.S. De-
partment of State, the Philadel-
phia Museum of Art, and many
private collections.
In the 1960s, during the early
days of the renewal of the histor-
ic Society Hill district in Phila-
delphia, Trump restored over a
dozen 18th- and early 19th-cen-
tury houses. He amassed a large
collection of antiques, brass, and
iron hardware used on historic
structures and on furniture.
Trump is survived by his wife,
Sandra; son, Michael (Ayesha);
daughters Tacy Trump and Lillie
Buck (Jeff); grandsons Andrew
Buck and Reid Buck; and his be-
loved cat, Tiny.
Dealer
Associations
CSADA
“American Ingenuity” was
the theme for the 58th Spring
Fox Valley Antiques Show,
held March 14 and 15 in Saint
Charles, Illinois. The theme is
always a challenge to exhibi-
tors and to Chicago Suburban
Antiques Dealers Association
(CSADA) committee members
who must produce an event that
reflects the vision. As it turned
out, the challenge was more than
answered. The venue was satu-
rated with spectacular examples
of antiques and fine art that in-
cluded Pilgrim, great paint, ex-
traordinary folk art, Civil War
items, textiles, and the unusual.
Hard to find stuff often shows up
at Fox Valley. The secret to suc-
cess is having 55 great profes-
sional dealers from 14 different
states, including those who es-
caped snowbound New England
to come to the Chicagoland mar-
ket. New guest dealers included
Marc Witus, New Jersey; the
Garthoeffners, Pennsylvania;
Heider & Hoffman, Connecti-
cut and Tennessee; and Ginny
Henson, Illinois. New member
dealers Nancy and Craig Cheney
of Newark, Ohio, also exhibited.
Returning guest dealers includ-
ed Tom Queen, Ohio; Leslie
Blackman, Illinois; and Ste-
phen-Douglas, Vermont.
Visitors anticipate and ap-
preciate the special display that
graces the atrium of our exhibi-
tion hall. It has become a tradi-
tion at our shows. At the recent
show, the exhibit was downsized
to allow for three booths that
had to be located in the atrium
to accommodate dealers. In spite
of this, the display was first-rate
and maintained the spirit of the
show. Another special feature
at this show was the Saturday
afternoon lecture on pattern and
pressed glass delivered by Nan-
cy Smith of Lamplight and Old
Glass.
American ingenuity surfaced
again as the show floor plan
was mapped. Previously, some
aisles in the exhibition hall were
encumbered by low bridges nec-
essary to hurdle the cables that
provide power to the well-light-
ed booths. All booths are walled,
and most are arranged in a room-
style setting. By a stroke of inge-
nuity (and with a little coaching)
the floor manager realized that
by rotating the entire floor plan