Shop By Price: Over $400
What you should know about our vintage and antique bookends.
| All our items have a history; they have been previously owned, which is part of their unique charm. They have normal signs of age and use and most collectors believe that, too, adds to their allure. | We describe and show items as thoroughly as possible. All weights are for the pair. All items are subject to prior sale. Enjoy browsing our outstanding collection of rare treasures. |
#1021 Father Knickerbocker
Price: $495.00
| A very rare and substantial vintage set of the colonial Father Knickerbocker relaxing in his library. (Father Knickerbocker used to represent New York City in cartoons, much the way Uncle Sam represents the United States. Produced by the distinguished Judd Company circa 1925, this pair in monochrome cast iron is stamped 9961 and finished with a bronze-copper coating. | Dimensions: 5-1/4" w x 4" d x 5-1/2" h Weight: 11-1/2 lbs. Condition Comment: Good vintage condition with some finish worn away but not to the detriment of the overall effect. |
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#1022 Longfellow Hiawatha Quotes
Price: $425.00
| A substantial, important and rare set of solid bronze bookends from the master craftsmen at Bradley and Hubbard, circa 1925. The Longfellow piece reads: "Forth in to the forest straightaway all alone walked Hiawatha proudly with his bows and arrows – Longfellow" The Hiawatha piece reads: "From the red deer's flesh Nokomis made a banquet in his honor All the village came and feasted All the guests praised Hiawatha." An original Bradley & Hubbard sticker is affixed to one piece. | Dimensions: 5-3/4"w x 3-1/4"d x 6-1/4" h Weight: 10-3/4 lbs. Condition Comment: Excellent vintage condition. |
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#1024 Butterfly Girl
Price: $695.00
| This extremely rare set of Roaring 20s-style bookends has been called "One of the most elegant bookends ever made" by one expert collector. The design, in bronze-finished gray metal, is reportedly based on the Feb. 7, 1922 Life Magazine cover illustration titled "The Flapper" by Francis X. Leyendecker. This set, circa 1927, is attributed to the X-1 foundry. | Dimensions: 7-1/2" w x 3-3/4" d x 6-3/4" h Weight: 8-1/4 lbs. Condition Comment: Excellent vintage condition with only minor blemishes that do not detract from the overall beauty. Felt on bases replaced. |
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#1053 Greyhounds
Price: $425.00
| Here is a sleek and stylish presentation of the fluid motion of these fastest canines caught in full stride. This rare set, in the Art Deco motif with its lustrous bronze patina over gray metal, is attributed to Jennings Brothers, circa 1938. This is truly a stunning pair of bookends. | Dimensions: 8-7/8" w x 3-1/2" d x 4-1/2" h Weight: 6-1/2 lbs. Condition Comment: Excellent vintage condition. Felt bases replaced. |
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#1058 Israeli Pioneer & Rabbi
Price: $425.00
| This important solid bronze set of bookends is extremely rare (perhaps one of a kind) and portrays an old rabbi-scribe at work on one unit and a kibbutz worker in the foreground with other workers in the background on the other unit. Each piece bears the Hebrew "Yisroael" and features a wonderful verdigris patina. | Dimensions: 3-1/2" w x 6" d x 3-1/2" Weight: 1-1/2 lbs. Condition Comment: Good vintage condition with wear appropriate to their age. |
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#1094 Art Deco Pyramid
Price: $595.00
| This is an extraordinary Art Deco geometric design and quite a rare set from the celebrated Armor Bronze foundry, circa 1928. The set is electroformed bronze-clad gray metal finished in red and gold polychrome. The Armor Bronze foundry marking is on the back of each piece. This truly spectacular set fully expresses the bold excitement and vivid optimism of the Art Deco era. | Dimensions: 6-1/4" w x 2-1/4" d x 6-1/4" h Weight: 3-3/4 lbs. Condition Comment: Excellent vintage condition with some enamel loss consistent with their age. |
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#1104 Chariot Race - "Glory"
Price: $450.00
| This exceptional and rare pair of substantial art nouveau bookends is a tour de force of the metalworking art form depicting in magnificent bas relief detail all the excitement and power and, as their back-panel inscription says, the "Glory" of ancient Rome. One piece still bears the original foundry label inscribed "Made by Master Craftsmen Pompeian Bronze." The set, with its rich, lustrous patina, is artist-signed "P. Manfredi" and is fashioned from bronze-clad gray metal, circa 1930. | Dimensions: 7" w x 2-3/4" d x 4-3/4 "h Weight: 6-1/2 lbs. Condition Comment: Very good vintage condition with minor bruises that only add to their charm. |
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#1116 Ye Olde Printer
Price: $450.00
| This extremely rare and most charming sculptural set must resonate with anyone who has any appreciation for the printed word. For hundreds of years from the early 1500s right on through the 20th century, the hand-operated screw-type press was used by printers the world over to put words on paper for mass circulation. This depiction of the humble printer, on his knees for his craft, was produced by the acclaimed Armor Bronze foundry, circa 1925. Made of bronze-clad gray metal, the pair is signed by the artist, J. Ruhl, and bears the Armor Bronze shield logo. | Dimensions: 4-1/4" w x 3" d x 5" h Weight: 5 lbs. Condition Comment: Excellent vintage condition with wear appropriate to their age. |
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#1125 Keyhole View
Price: $495.00
| Here is a fascinating and irresistible pair of copper-clad cast iron bookends that convey the art deco feeling in an exquisitely engaging manner. This set is known to be covered by U.S. Design Patent #69502 held by designer Jean Drucklieb of New York and dated Feb.23, 1926. | Dimensions: 3-1/2" w x 2-1/4" d x 7-1/4" h Weight: 4 lbs. Condition Comment: Excellent vintage condition. Felt on bases replaced. |
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#1136 Deco Moon Dancer
Price: $450.00
| At the height of the art deco movement, depictions of female dancers in alluring and sensual poses became almost the archetypes of the design expression. In this rare set of bronze-coated cast iron figures, the dancer speaks to the freedom and modernity of the art deco style. This set is from an unknown foundry and is believed to date from the mid-1920s. | Dimensions: 5-1/2" w x 2-7/8" d x 5-1/4" h Weight: 3/3/2004 lbs. Condition Comment: Very good vintage condition with only age appropriate wear. Felt on bases replaced. |
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#1138 Deco Scarf Dancer
Price: $450.00
| Here is a wonderfully graceful version of the art deco nude dancer, in this instance, done in cast iron with a bright copper wash. This pair is attributed to the "X-2" foundry, circa 1920. | Dimensions: 3-1/2" w x 2-1/2" d x 6-1/2" h Weight: 5/1/2004 lbs. Condition Comment: Good vintage condition with some surface wear appropriate to age. |
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#1139 Deco Dancer with Sash
Price: $495.00
| In one of the many variations on the art deco nude dancer theme, this copper-coated cast iron pair features a woman moving in synch with a delicately billowed sash. Although unmarked, its style, design and construction led credence to the belief that it was produced by the "X-2" foundry, circa 1925. | Dimensions: 4-1/4" w x 2-3/4" d x 6-1/4" h Weight: 5 lbs. Condition Comment: Very good vintage condition with surface wear consistent with age. Felt on bases replaced. |
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#1141 Beethoven Bust
Price: $425.00
| The power and majesty of Beethoven’s genius is immediately apparent in this heroic, sculptural treatment from the renowned Bradley & Hubbard foundry, circa 1926. Each of the two very substantial pieces in bronze –coated cast iron, is superbly detailed, from the facial expression to the background frieze, and bears the B&H hallmark on the rear. Each has a brass identification plate affixed. | Dimensions: 6" w x 2-1/2" d x 6-1/2" h Weight: 11 lbs. Condition Comment: Good vintage condition with wear on one brass ID plate. Felt on bases replaced. |
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#1142 Girl in Wreath
Price: $495.00
| This very rare variation on the iconic art deco nude dancer depicts a nimble, tip-toed dancer surrounded by a superbly detailed floral wreath. The cast iron pair with a copper-bronze wash and a lovely subdued patina is attributed to the "X-2" foundry, circa 1929. | Dimensions: 4-3/4" w x 2-1/2" d x 6" h Weight: 5 lbs. Condition Comment: Very good vintage condition with surface wear consisten with age. Felt on bases replaced. |
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#1146 Deco Geometric Design
Price: $450.00
| Here is an extraordinary and stunningly exquisite realization of the ultimate in art deco geometric design. This inspired cast iron pair of bookends positively expresses the splendid optimism of the art deco era with their still vibrant polychromed colors and sweeping forms. The set is circa 1930s from the celebrated Bradley & Hubbard foundry. | Dimensions: 4-1/2" w x 2-3/4" d x 7-1/2" h Weight: 9-1/2 lbs. Condition Comment: Excellent vintage condition. Felt on bases replaced. |
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