Here Be Old Things

Diane Arbus suit settled: dealers across the nation shudder

Bayo Ogunsanya's lawsuit against Robert Langmuir has been settled out of court. The story broke yesterday in the Maine Antique Digest. While he is not allowed to give any particulars, Ogunsanya states that he will be allowed a percentage of Langmuir's gross sales when the Arbus photos are sold.

This affair drew a lot of controversy last spring. Langmuir bought an initial set of photos from Ogunsanya, followed his hunch, did some research, discovered that they were early Diane Arbus photos of Hubert's Dime Museum and Flea Market freak show in Times Square, then went back to Ogunsanya to buy the rest of the collection. In a sort of dealer's fantasy trifecta, he put the photos up for auction at Phillips, where estimates ranged up to 120k each, a book was published about the adventure, AND a producer was trying to get a movie made with Phillip Seymour Hoffman playing Langmuir.

Ogunsanya raised a ruckus, protesting that he had been robbed. The Phillips auction was pulled the night before the sale, (either because because of the lawsuit, or because Phillips hesitated over the price of the guarantee based on other Arubs results that week), and, sadly, Hoffman snubbed the movie proposal.

Ogunsanya said "It was a case that [Langmuir] couldn't win, and he probably hurt himself by delaying the settling of it, because of the market. Hopefully, he will be selling them for as much as he can get and soon too. But the economy is what it is."

Yes, the economy is what it is. Most readers who weighed in felt that Ogunsanya had had the same chances as Langmuir to do his research, and that it would send a big chill through the antiques and collectibles world if every lucky dealer who stumbled on a big find had to share gains. Well, feel the chill. Or, if you're on the other side of the deal, feel like a lottery winner. Opinions?

Arbus Suit is Settled [Maine Antique Digest]
Man who sold Arubs photos to another dealer says he was cheated of their true value [Here Be Old Things]

On Mother's Day, a thanks to those who stoked our interest (and tortured us a bit, too).

Where did you get your love of antiquing? From Mom? I guess I could run this post on Father's Day and ask the same questions, but the staff's ode to mothers on the Antique Trader Blog made me want to thank my own.

But first I have to curse her. Why? In the town where I grew up there was a shop called Althea's Antiques that for years I begged to go into. It sat back from the road, shabby and rambling, and I just KNEW it was full of treasures. But Mom wasn't into old stuff. It depressed her. So for years, despite my pleas, she just drove right by.

Bayo Ogunsanya confronts author of "Hubert's Freaks" at the Strand Bookstore

Way down deep, I was afraid that he'd be there with a gun.

Monday night I decided to stay home rather than go to the Strand Bookstore to hear Gregory Gibson discuss "Hubert's Freaks," which details the life of Robert Langmuir and his discovery of a trove of Diane Arbus photos. I was a little worried that the man he bought them from, Bayo Ogunsanya, might be there, too. In an unfriendly mood.

And he was. (The camera doesn't turn from the author, but the speaker was identified by Galleycat.) If you can sit through the long video of the reading, you can hear the voice of Ogunsanya in the Q&A portion of the evening. He's peeved. Although, thankfully, unarmed. Perhaps he knew his revenge was coming the next day, when Phillips canceled the Arbus auction.

Robert Langmuir is appearing at the Strand Bookstore the day before auction of Diane Arbus photos

Two weeks ago I wrote about the controversy surrounding Diane Arbus photos being auctioned at Phillip's next week. Bayo Ogunsanya has asked Brooklyn Federal Court to block the auction, saying that Robert Langmuir, the dealer who bought the photos from him, cheated him of their true value. Most dealers who commented on that post said, in effect, "tough luck." One lone voice suggested Langmuir should end the court wrangling by slipping Ogunsanya a bonus.

Phillips auctions the Arbus photos on April 8th, and each is estimated in the hundreds of thousands. Ask Langmuir which island he intends to buy when he appears at the Strand Bookstore next Monday, April 7, at 7:00 pm. He will be appearing with Gregory Gibson, author of "Hubert's Freaks: The Rare-Book Dealer, the Times Square Talker, and the Lost Photos of Diane Arbus," which is the story of Langmuir's life and his "discovery of a lifetime," the Arbus trove.

Langmuir, a Philidelphia dealer of African-Americana, books and ephermera, has led a colorful, sometimes sad and chaotic life. The New York Times tells his story best: Genuine Wonders from the Flea Circus: Photos by Arbus. If he really does sell on eBay under the name that one commenter divulged, he's still at it . . . give it up man! Go enjoy your new island!

Man who sold Arbus photos to another dealer says he was cheated of their true value

Lot 11 Charlie Lucas with sword box, Hubert’s Museum, NYC, 1959 by Diane Arbus

Bayo Ogunsanya has asked Brooklyn Federal Court to block an auction of Diane Arbus photos at Phillips de Pury next month. Ogunsanya sold the photos for $3,500 to  Robert Langmuir but was alerted to their true value by an article about their exhibit in the New York Times. He now complains that he was scammed.

"He was morally bound to give me a fair price especially since he had more knowledge [about the photos] than I did," Ogunsanya said.

Hear that? It's the sound of dealers across the land gasping. Buying low from the unsuspecting and chuckling all the way to the bank–that's the job description!

Ogunsanya, who collects African-Americana, bought a trunk full of the unclaimed photos from a Bronx storage facility in 2002, and now says he feels victimized. He claims Langmuir promised to give him more money if the photos turned out to be "worth more than you and I think they are."

They are a worth a whole lot more than $3,500. Picturing Hubert's Dime Museum and Flea Circus in Times Square in the 50s, the photos can be previewed on the Phillips de Pury website. There are 28 lots ranging in estimated price from 20,000–120,000. The photo above is estimated at 70,000-90,000.

While some may protest that Ogunsanya should have done his homework, I think most of us have experienced the sick feeling of realizing too late the value of a piece we've sold too cheaply. Imagine your worst mistake. Now add a few zeros and a really sweet retirement to the total . . . that hurts.

Dealer 'lost out' on lost Diane Arbus art [Daily News]
NYC man says he was conned into selling Arbus photos cheap [newsday.com]
Art Collector Feels "Victimized" After Selling Arbus Photos [Artinfo]

Phyllis Sauter of Stonehedge Antiques mounts stealth attack on New York's Americana week

Phyllis Sauter, Stonehedge Antiques
right next door to Antiques Manhattan (this weekend only)
26 Roscommon Road, Newtown Square, PA
610-356-9636

I was walking down West 18th Street Friday night, and passed The American Antiques Show and Antiques Manhattan, when I saw a sign for . . . Antiques Show Chelsea? How had I missed that?

Inside I found Phyllis Sauter, a Pennsylvania Americana dealer, wrestling with a wine bottle opener and getting ready to siphon passing buyers from the big name shows next door. A friend owns the space, so Phyllis can set up shop without paying huge exhibition fees.

Stealth dealing. Gotta love that.

Vintage rug dealer sells great finds on Craig's List

Paul De Beer, vintage Persian Rugs
507 East 83rd Street #1B
By appointment
646-422-0189 or [email protected]
cash or check, no credit cards

Story with a happy ending: Gracie enjoys the new living room rug.

A man in Iran owed a man in New York City some money. Instead of flying to Iran and beating on the man's door every month, the man in Manhattan thought it would be a more pleasant arrangement to take his debt in rugs (the business of the man in Iran). Together, they decided that in square feet the debt owed equaled roughly six thousand rugs. Every two months, the man in New York flies to Iran, selects his rugs, ships them back to NYC, and sells them through Craig's List.

Meanwhile, a woman uptown had bare floors. But kittens, a dog–all are guaranteed to ruin rugs. She wanted something pretty, but something she wouldn't cry over when the dog threw up on it (inevitable). So she started surfing the internet.

Only in New York: dealer sells pricey jewelry on the street

Olivia Garay
917-584-7171
Third Ave at 70th in front of Gracious Home
approximately 1:00 pm until 6:30 (or dark)
every nice day except when at an antiques show

Rising rents are forcing many dealers out of their shops and, presumably, out of Manhattan. Seventeen years ago, Olivia Garay went on the offensive: she shuttered her store, took out a vendor's licsense, and now sells her pricey designer and estate jewelry right out on the sidewalk.

The day I stumbled upon her cart, a Very Famous Actress was avidly presuing the goods. I didn't recognize her until I took a photo of Garay's table and the woman recoiled. Later, Garay asked me not to expose her identity (there goes my first sale to the tabloids, sob) but told me that whenever she's in New York from Paris, the film star makes it a point to stop by, with her loup, and shop. Apparently, the table attracts a number of other wealthy and famous patrons.