ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF ETHNOGRAPHICAL SPECIMENS

Description

This “Illustrated Catalogue of ethnographic specimens” is a reprint of catalogs that WO Oldman published between 1903 and the First World War: a compilation of each of the 130 sales catalogs Oldman started late 1902-early 1903 and illustrated with numerous photographs reproductions b / w according to the origins catalogs.

Indeed, this is a reference to have for any collector or dealer. This book sold is very difficult to find because it was limited to only 1000 copies. Generally, they do not show up for sale since become rare. This book is an extraordinary achievement of each of the 130 Sale Catalogues Oldman with photos, descriptions and prices which he published monthly since 1903. It contains artistic objects most of all cultures (North America and South, Oceania, Africa, Arctic, Asia, Indonesian and Australian Aborigines) and has become an important reference because it is the least we can say. Oldman was an early English dealer and gentleman of his condition, selling (authentic Curiosities) as he called them at a time when only a few, not to say very little appreciated them.

In his biography: William Oldman was definitely among one of the largest dealers of tribal and ethnic arts who ever lived, he ran his business in London, and was most active between 1890 and the end the First World War. An incredible wealth of articles from all regions of the world passed through his hands, including any artistic and ethnographic objects of art treasures made in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Melanesia, Polynesia, Pre- Colombian and Indian cultures of North America and Europe. Oldman was also a great collector himself. He was particularly interested in the art of Oceania. His dramatic personal Maori art collection, some of them shown here, was sold to the Government of New Zealand in the 1930s, and is now the cornerstone of their museum collections.

Oldman has published catalogs, most of the time shown on a bi-weekly or monthly basis. The present volume is a reprint of one of the only known copies of the complete series of these catalogs. They include descriptions, prices and numerous illustrations of the wide variety of items, weapons and works of art that Oldman has offered New Guinea (Sepik, Papua Gulf and other crops), Solomon Islands , the New Hebrides, to New Caledonia, Fiji, New Zealand, Hawaii, Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti, the Marquesas Islands, Micronesia, Indonesia, China, Tibet, Japan, India, Benin, Congo and other tribal cultures of Africa, the Americas and Europe. There is no other means available to us to show such a complete corpus of pieces that Oldman manipulated. This book is highly sought after, and the very small number of copies published is far from meeting the demand for it. Since the inventory Oldman has covered so much ground, the book is of interest to a wide variety of art enthusiasts and academics.