1935 Joe Louis Figural Ashtray

[CarltonHendricks]

Dalkiel, I can't tell if I'm familiar without seeing a photo...If you will post some I'll be glad to tell you what I know or don't know....The ceramic you mention is interesting as I don't recall any ceramic ones...only painted plaster figures of Louis. I would recommend posting multible photos from various angles including under the base and back...also close ups of any markings and anything particularly interesting.

[Dalkiel]

Originally Posted by CarltonHendricks

Dalkiel, I can't tell if I'm familiar without seeing a photo...If you will post some I'll be glad to tell you what I know or don't know....The ceramic you mention is interesting as I don't recall any ceramic ones...only painted plaster figures of Louis. I would recommend posting multible photos from various angles including under the base and back...also close ups of any markings and anything particularly interesting.

It very well may be plaster. I'll take some pictures tomorrow and post.

[Dalkiel]

Here we go. It has a good bit of damage unfortunately; like it was dropped and repaired.







Thanks in advance for any help!

[travrosty]

http://www.sportsantiques.com/07natstory3.htm

go 1/3 of the way down on this page and you will see it.

[Dalkiel]

Originally Posted by travrosty

http://www.sportsantiques.com/07natstory3.htm

go 1/3 of the way down on this page and you will see it.

Great! Nothing on Google turned up anything for me.

Thank you.

[Exhibitman]

Is it perhaps chalkware?

[CarltonHendricks]

http://www.sportsantiques.com/basketball.htm
Wow, good thing for Travis....I seriously doubt I'd have remembered that photo...I remember that dealer had good vintage things and I remember that statue now but not the exact details...The photo I took looks plaster but if I specifically referred to it as galvano then it must have been...which is a nice step up from plaster...I can't tell for sure by a photo if yours is galvano or plaster...if it has a strange soft feel to the surface it's probably galvano....For anyone not familiar with galvano it's electroplated copper over plaster...see link above for more info I posted on my basketball page.

The bad news is it's damaged...the good news is it should be able to be repaired....You'll never get the thin layer of copper replaced but I speculate copper colored paint over the filled in plaster would probably look pretty decent if done by a good restorer....that kind of piece I'd take to a ceramics restorer...A good one should have the modeling aptitude to get it right I would think...

Nice piece...like I say a step up from the plaster ones....There was sort of a series of a Joe Louis plaster figures that I think were done by a different company that looked very similar to yours but not quite as nice of definition as I recall....I think that company used the same figure on an ashtray, and they did the statue by it's self...and they put it on a lamp which I have...seems like I had the statue but may have sold it after I got the lamp..Your ashtray is more rare than the one like my lamp...I'd say for every eight of my type there would be two of yours...There is also a kinf of lame carnival chalk Louis statue as I recall that is kind of rare...

http://www.sportsantiques.com/05natpart1.htm
On the subject of glavano boxing pieces....at the 2005 National I saw a 12" statue of a black boxer, not louis...that I missed out on twice... David Perry had sent me a photo of it when he saw it at Brimfield I called the seller but it was sold...then it was alreday sold again when I saw it at the National....see it in Kevin Bronson's booth 7th paragraph down in link above..

Below, shots of my Louis lamp...still has the price tag on it of $500.00 but I doubt I paid that...I seem to recall I paid $300.00...As I recall I got it at the now defunct S.F. Cow Palace show probably around fifteen years ago.


12" tall to top of head