Collector: Deborah and Peter Keresztury
Location: Private residence
Details: Bakelite boxes and jewelry became popular in America in the 1920s and 1930s. It was a time of color, streamlined designs and lots of chrome plating. Bakelite, an early form of plastic, was the perfect medium to showcase this style.
Deborah and Peter Keresztury live in an art-deco home, complete with art-deco furniture, and they have a passion for Bakelite. For the last 26 years they've been gathering beautiful boxes and jewelry, and they've become such experts on the subject that they even wrote a book about them. They have also amassed a collection that is both impressive and unique. Peter says it all started when they found a necklace at an antique show that was chrome and Bakelite in a beautiful art-deco design. Deborah found a matching pin at another antique show, got very excited, and the two of them promptly started collecting. That was only the beginning, though. Now Deborah has hundreds of pieces of Bakelite jewelry in a variety of shapes and colors--orange and chrome, red circles and triangles and blue rectangles. Most of her jewelry is made of Bakelite and chrome, a combination that allows her to mix and match.
Bakelite jewelry is popular today for the same reason it was the rage in the 1930s--the combination of color and chrome gives women sparkle and the feeling of having precious stones and metals without the expense. Deborah says she tries to wear everything she collects, but sometimes she doesn't have the right piece to complete a set, so she keeps collecting. Ultimately, she takes pleasure in just looking at her jewelry.
If Deborah's not wearing her jewelry, it's in a Bakelite box. With so many pieces, she has a system to make her things easy to find. Her red jewelry is stored in red boxes, and her yellow jewelry is stored in yellow boxes. Each box is collectible by itself, and each demonstrates the style of the time. Some have stepped designs, bold colors, and streamlined chrome. Each box was originally made to market a product, whether it was manicure sets or cigarettes, and each box was made in the art-deco style. To collectors, the value of these boxes is determined by several things--shape, size and sometimes even color.
Among their collection are the following:
- a lovely ruby red pin that costs only $40 and an elegant emerald green pendant that sells for $70
- a simple box with a curved lid and marbleized green coloration that is valued at $90
- a black box with a scalloped edge and a stepped yellow top that is worth approximately $200 because of its rarity and beautiful design
- two G.E. Bakelite boxes baring the G.E. mark, the he first of which is black with a red lid and worth about $150, and the second an entirely red box, worth around $500--it is the only one of that kind that Peter has ever seen.
- Eighty percent of the boxes made were manicure sets, while the other 20 percent were smoking paraphernalia and silverware holders.
- a simple cigarette holder with a retractable lid made purely for function; its brass fittings instead of chrome detracts from its collectibility
- another cigarette holder with a creative design as well as a chrome lid and stepped design that perfectly represents art deco. They made this style in six colors, and the Kereszturys have all of them. Their value is more than $500 a piece--not bad for plastic.
Although most of the boxes in their collection were made in America, some came from Germany. One example is a bowl that displays clever German ingenuity--its lid turns into a pedestal, making the bowl a manicure set container and a candy dish
Guests Deborah and Peter Kerezstury
Producers and directors of the Art Deco - 60s Sale
URL:
www.artdecosale.com
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