Scalamandre, the luxury textile giant, offers archival material in its first ever online auction Scalamandre, the important American textile giant, for the first time ever, will auction selections from their archives, including rare historical fabrics and artifacts - first auction April 19, 2006.
by Adrianna Bitter and Cezar Pelli with inspiration from Owen Jones and Christopher Dresser.
The Scalamandre online auctions are presented by LLD Specialty Sales of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, the firm that handled Scalamandre's record setting on-site artifact sales when the company moved its weaving operations from their historic red-brick Brooklyn factory to a new mill in South Carolina. All the auction items are authenticated and vetted by Bob Bitter, President of Scalamandre, and every lot is guaranteed as described.
"The Scalamandre auctions are very timely," notes LLD founders Jill and Web Wilson. "With more manufacturing outsourced in Asia, Mexico and India, there is a real thirst for American made products and Scalamandre represents the highest level of American industrial production. Many people are restoring historic homes or searching for antiques and decorative products that representative American art and craftsmanship."
"LLD is a founding member of AntiquesYes.com," Web Wilson continued, "so we have helped develop an online auction site with proprietary software and special features for serious auction buyers. We have listed reserves, bidder anonymity, and realistic bid increments. A buyer's premium of 15% is in effect and the new software provides for extended bid time that eliminates sniping."
Along with archival fabrics, the April Scalamandre auction will also offer artwork and artifacts from the Scalamandre Home Office and the Scalamandre Museum of Textiles. One important furniture lot is a 19th Century European side chair, with gilded finials and upholstered in tapestry, that was given to Franco Scalamandre by William Randolph Hearst in payment for work done at his San Simeon estate. Another lot offers an 18th C. silk winding machine constructed from cast iron and carved and gilded wood, bought by Franco Scalamandre for the Textile Museum. Artwork includes painting and drawings used for design inspiration such as two paintings by Victor Portelet, an important 19th Century Indus trial artist who became Director of the Louvre in Paris. Of special note are several lots of point papers, the thread-by-thread diagrams required for every fabric design, some of which were hand-drawn by Franco Scalamandre and his daughter, Adrianna.
For more auction information contact: LLD Specialty Sales at 800-508-0022 or sign up for auction email alerts at www.lldspecialtysales.com .
