My Miniatures at Auction

Normally I don't tell much about sales of my miniatures but earlier this summer there was a auction of a major collection that contained about 10 of my pieces. I'm posting this for a number of reasons... First they took great photos of things I have never shown on the PM, second, this was very public and many people know of so I thought I would share it here. Third, it proves people will pay for quality or rare pieces.

I look at some of these things and think, my god, I was just a kid when I made this..... It also proves one of the "rules" in my shop..... Make sure each piece you do is better in some way than what you did before.. There is never good enough... And after 36 years at the bench I feel like I'm just starting to learn how to do things.....

The Adell Venus Collection of Miniatures | Maine Antique Digest

I would really like to see some photos of your work, please post!

Also, do you have any miniatures at the Sherline Museum?

Do a goggle image search for "rivett608 miniature"...... It will link to dozens of posts on the PM with details of how they are made.

No, I don't have anything at Sherline......

Amazing work. My dad a now retired phd chemist spent his evening hours building Queen Anne style furniture that he would not complete till every part was in his eyes perfect or as you mentioned better than the last. It was his way of dealing with the stress of his day job.
On a lowboy, he did the scroll/fan 5 times before satified with the outcome.
Keep improving your kraft, you seem to have achived a legacy while still at it

And the cost basis for the item you made a long time ago and sold for $$$ is.................?

rivett608 said:

Do a goggle image search for "rivett608 miniature"...... It will link to dozens of posts on the PM with details of how they are made.

No, I don't have anything at Sherline......

Click to expand...

outstanding works of genius. if i had a millionth of your talent i would be pleased.

Rivett, after reading that article, I'd be inclined to retain one of every set of items you make for "Reference purposes" ahem.

Wow. I hand lay track for model railroads, and I thought I could build a nice model.

Very beautiful and exacting work,Rivett!!!

Congratulations, Bill!

Your concepts, line & proportion are always so elegant.

smt

Thank you all for your kind words. You can just imagine my reaction as the auction was taking place... I was in a wonderful house in the Dutch countryside (if I had been in the states I would have been at the auction) sitting there with two computers tuned into the sale, one for the auction house and the other to Live Auctioneers that was covering the sale..... My friend kept bringing me glasses of single malts.... Oh what an evening that was..... I was also skyping and emailing friends at the auction... I got a email from a client... It went.." 8000, 9000', 10000... Holy sh**!" I feel like this was one of those once in a lifetime moments.... And I feel like I am just getting started making things.....

Must be nice to see one`s work valued like that.
Congrats !

All the best from this side of the pond.

What a treat to find this post! Stunningly beautiful work!



Ulf

A colonial afficionado, I recently bought the book on Eldred Wheeler furniture.

Those who don't know, Emmett Eldred and Bill Wheeler combined beginning in the late 1970s to make furniture in the colonial (mostly queen anne) style in the traditional hand crafted technique. But making subtle concessions to modern production techniques. Their goal was to produce furniture which could appear in a colonial setting next to actual antique furniture, without the difference being apparent - and to do so at cost which while higher than regular furniture, was not to the screaming excess occasioned by original antique pieces. Their rationale to the production improvements was "well, had a colonial carpenter had a table saw available to him he would have used it." "And if the use of a tablesaw can't be seen in the piece then why not?"

Their biggest struggle actually was finding source for uniquely figured woods, particularly "tiger striped" maple. Their second struggle was developing finishing techniques sans polyurethane. And fighting fires caused by use of natural linseed oil finish rags.

Eldred and Wheeler ended their association in the 1990s as they sold off their name (basically) to a conglomerate, who have attempted to keep the furniture line going by making further concessions to production technique. See http://www.eldredwheeler.com/

Emmett describes in the book how one of their goals was to make furniture which "might" disguise as original furniture. They wanted to be that good. Certain prototype signature pieces in fact they did not mark with their name wanting to see what the market reaction might be on the basis of appearance alone.

Emmett has attended auctions and has found these unmarked E-W pieces being sold as antique originals. Also found marked E-W pieces selling for more than originally sold. As inflation has chugged along this is becoming more common.

Emmett also has found pieces offered as E-W but in fact were carefully crafted "fakes" to include the EW burn stamp. (how's that for the sincerest form of flattery?)

Anyway, an interesting book of (to me) an interesting subject.

Heh. Someone may yet produce a "Rivett608" fake?

Joe in NH

rivett608 said:

Normally I don't tell much about sales of my miniatures but earlier this summer there was a auction of a major collection that contained about 10 of my pieces. I'm posting this for a number of reasons... First they took great photos of things I have never shown on the PM, second, this was very public and many people know of so I thought I would share it here. Third, it proves people will pay for quality or rare pieces.

I look at some of these things and think, my god, I was just a kid when I made this..... It also proves one of the "rules" in my shop..... Make sure each piece you do is better in some way than what you did before.. There is never good enough... And after 36 years at the bench I feel like I'm just starting to learn how to do things.....

The Adell Venus Collection of Miniatures | Maine Antique Digest

Click to expand...

I imagine that's quite a good return considering your expenditure for materials.

Beautiful work!