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DOUG’S Q-C COLLECTIBLES: Ashtray a work of art

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By Doug Smith | Monday, May 5, 2008 2:43 PM CDT | () comments

(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO) An art deco or Frankart collector would love to have an ashtray like this one.

Dear Doug: Attached are a couple of pictures of an old fancy ashtray my parents had in their home since the ‘60s. It’s quite an unusual thing, and I wondered if you could tell me anything about it?

Thank you,

Norman

Dear Norman: What a fantastic piece! Could smoking be made any more glamorous? You’re right. This is certainly fancy and unusual.

What your parents were putting their butts in is known as Frankart. This ashtray, as well as lamps, clocks, vases, bookends, candleholders, incense burners and various other items were part of an extensive line of decorative home accessories designed by artist Arthur Von Frankenberg.

Von Frankenberg first began peddling his simple sculpted figurines in the early 1920s in New York City. All of his sculpted works were based on one real live girl named Leona Osborne, a celebrated English model at that time. His pieces soon became so popular that the Frankart Co. was born in 1922, and it grew into a myriad of beautiful pieces that were held in great esteem in finer homes across America. His pieces possess the style and lines that are quintessential examples of the art deco motif of the Roaring ‘20s that are so highly collectible and in such great demand today.

Frankart pieces were expensive accessories during the Great Depression, a time of deprivation and destitution. And it was bad, too. A typical lamp sold for $10-$15 when wages were $1 a day for those fortunate to have a job at all. Few but the very wealthy could afford such lavishness. It wasn’t the factory worker who bought a piece of Frankart, it was the factory owner. Consequently, most Frankart is found in the big cities rather than around the farmlands of Iowa. This ashtray was made in 1928, nearly the end of the company’s short 10-year existence.

Frankart thrived at a time when the big-screen glamour of beautiful women influenced, swayed and ruled the socialites. Smoking was, of course, very much in vogue and enjoyed and endorsed by the top movie stars, entertainers and athletes. Your piece is finished in gunmetal gray and fortunately retains the original jadeite ball ash receiver. Frankart was available in several colors, but the most popular were gunmetal, pearl ivory, bronze, chromium and Roman green. The Roman green was supposed to resemble the patina of aged copper. Other colors were offered, but they did not sell as well.

An art deco or Frankart collector would love to have an ashtray like this one. With smoking becoming less acceptable, it’s neat to have such an exquisite piece to represent both the societal upper crust and a period of time in America when smoking was so prevalent. It conjures images of Clara Bow and Douglas Fairbanks, of Bix Beiderbecke, the Charleston and the flapper with her bobbed hair, short skirts and naughty disdain for acceptable behavior.

As for its value, it would take me about one phone call to get $450 for this. In fact, the phone call has already been made and the offer is on the table, if you’re a non-smoker.

Contact Doug Smith with your collectibles questions by e-mailing him at DougsQCCollecting@hotmail.com or send a note to the Quad-City Times, Attn.: features editor, P.O. Box 3828, Davenport, IA, 52808. Please send a photograph, if available, either by e-mail or letter.