Antiques & Collecting: ‘Peeling Apples’ illustration has appeal

Thanksgiving is a holiday steeped in Americana, and what captures that better than the classic cover illustrations of The Saturday Evening Post?

Illustrator J.C. Leyendecker, who was born in Germany, studied art in Paris and opened an art studio with his brother in Chicago, created some of the magazine’s most famous holiday covers, including the annual New Year Baby.

A study for “Peeling Apples,” his Thanksgiving-themed illustration for the cover of the Nov. 28, 1925, issue, sold for $13,200 at an auction by Bruneau & Co. Leyendecker’s original art is quite valuable; in 2021, his painting for “Beat-up Boy, Football Hero,” which graced the Nov. 21, 1914, The Saturday Evening Post cover, sold for a record $4.1 million.

The “Peeling Apples” study is clearly unfinished, with visible grid lines and parts left without paint, but it still has appeal. The unfinished spots provide a glimpse of the work that goes into the illustration. Like a Thanksgiving meal, it looks like a labor of love.

A few years ago, I was given a Westmoreland glass salesman sample notebook. The notebook is complete. I was wondering if you might know of someone who would be interested in purchasing this catalog. It is in mint condition.

The Westmoreland Glass Company of Grapeville, Pennsylvania, was active from 1890 to 1984 and made many kinds of collectible colored glass, including pressed glass, milk glass and carnival glass.

Glass catalogs are helpful for identifying and dating vintage pieces. A glass collector or a collectors’ club may be interested in your catalog.

Try contacting a collectors’ club like the National Westmoreland Glass Collectors Club, westmorelandglassclub.org; National Depression Glass Association, ndga.net; American Carnival Glass Association, myacga.com; or International Carnival Glass Association, internationalcarnivalglass.com.

Sometimes auction houses that specialize in glass, like Woody Auction, at woodyauction.com, or Jaremos Art Glass Specialists, at jaremos.com, sell glass catalogs. Individual vintage catalogs can sell for about $20 to $75.

If you cannot find a buyer, you may be able to donate your catalog to a glass museum like the Corning Museum of Glass, at cmog.org, or the Ohio Glass Museum, at ohioglassmuseum.org.

Tip: Use your silver often and wash it to keep it clean. Polish it as seldom as possible. Silver polish removes a small bit of silver each time it is used.

Current Prices

Sewing, basket, lid, round, on stand, lower tier, ring handles, four feet, Huron, Victorian, 27 inches, $55.

Doll, Greiner, papier-mâché, molded hair, painted black, blue eyes, red dress, stuffed cloth body, jointed, leather lower arms and boots, 29 inches, $190.

Silver-American, flatware set, Town & Country, ebony handles, stainless steel knives, Allan Adler, c. 1955, 18 pieces, $980.