Bessie Pease Gutmann Colonial Prints
by Michael Ivankovich
 
 

Bessie Pease Gutmann (1876-1960)

The “Gutmann” Colonial Signature

    Bessie Pease Gutmann, best known for her adorable infant and children prints, also produced a series of  lesser-known Colonial Interior scenes. Beginning around 1916 Gutmann & Gutmann released the first of their Colonial Series prints in an attempt to compete with Wallace Nutting in the Colonial Interior market. Unlike Nutting Interiors, Gutmann Colonials were not photographs but machine-produced prints of original drawings by either Bessie Pease Gutmann, or two of her employees, Eda Doench and Meta Grimball. Each of these pictures featured a colonial theme, typically a woman, or a mother & daughter, in a parlor or bedroom, or near a fireplace.

Hush A Bye, a typical Gutmann Colonial with picture, matting & signature

Unlike the infant and children prints which generally included the full “Bessie Pease Gutmann” name within the picture, Gutmann Colonials more directly copied the style that Wallace Nutting had used for more than 15 years. These pictures are typically found:

1) on a light-colored matting
2) with a plate mark indentation surrounding the picture
3) titled lower left beneath the picture
4) signed lower right beneath the picture with the name “Gutmann”
5) glued to the matting on the top of the picture only
6) framed in a frame-style  typical of a Wallace Nutting Interior.
    Just as in the Wallace Nutting business where Wallace Nutting rarely signed a picture himself, it was typically a Gutmann & Gutmann employee that signed the title and “Gutmann” signature as the signatures are not always signed by the same hand. Colonial sizes will vary but the most common mat sizes are 7x9", 11x14", and 14x17". Smaller sizes are generally more common than larger sizes.

     Asking prices vary widely. You can sometimes find them in the $25-$45 range, offered by dealers who don’t realize that “Gutmann” is actually the more famous “Bessie Pease Gutmann”. Other times you will see Gutmann Colonials priced within the $100-$250 range, usually being offered by dealers who known that “Gutmann” is “Bessie Pease Gutmann”, but who over-value the Gutmann name. The more appropriate value for Gutmann Colonials generally seems to be in the $50-$100 range, with higher values for larger pictures. Rarer Colonials in excellent condition can sometimes sells higher than this range.

   Condition on Gutmann Colonials is generally rated similar to Wallace Nutting pictures. We typically use a 5-point grading scale, which includes the following general ratings:
5 - Excellent Condition: a perfect picture, mat & frame (very few will be found)
4 - Above-Average Condition: excellent picture, no mat damage whatsoever, nice frame
3 - Average Condition: very good picture, mat damage (stain, blemish, foxing, tear); nice frame
2 - Poor Condition: picture damage (faded, foxing, stain, tear) and possible mat blemish (stain, blemish, foxing, tear); frame condition irrelevant

1 - Very Poor Condition: poor picture matting & frame; probably not worth saving.
      Most pictures you find will be in the 3-4 range. 5's (Mint) pictures are extremely rare, difficult to find, and command top dollar. And usually by the time a picture deteriorates to a rating of 1-2, it has been trashed or discarded.

    Gutmann Colonials are generally not highly prized by collectors. Bessie Pease Gutmann collectors usually prefer the baby and infant prints, and collectors of hand-colored photography typically prefer photographic Interiors to Gutmann’s machine-produced Colonial Interiors. Yet prices on good quality Gutmann Colonials has been rising. They are relatively easy to locate, quite affordable, and from a dealer’s perspective, fairly easy to sell...if appropriately priced.

Some Gutmann Colonial titles that we have seen:
* A Bit of Old China
* A Chilly Day
* Afternoon Tea
* An Afternoon Call
* At Tea
* Bed Time
* Candle Making
* Dancing Lesson
* First Breakfast
* Her Wedding Day
* Hush A Bye
* In the Library
* Mending
* Mending Day
* Tea for Two
* The Breakfast Hour
* The Dancing Lesson
* The Family Album
* The New Bonnet
* The New Home
* The Patchwork Quilt
* Yes or No
 

Michael Ivankovich is a collector, author, dealer and auctioneer specializing in early 20th century hand-colored photography and prints. E-Mail questions or inquiries can be directed to him at: mike@wnutting.com  Although E-Mail questions will be answered more quickly, you can also write him at: P.O.  Box 1536, Doylestown, PA 18901. If you want a reply, you must include a self-address-stamped- envelope. You can also visit his internet web site at: www.wnutting.com. You are invited to send any interesting articles and facts concerning popular early 20th c. artists or hand-colored photographers for possible use in a future column

Exploring Early 20th c. Prints -
A Potpourri of Early 20th Century Print Happenings
by Michael Ivankovich

Original Bessie Pease Gutmann
Sells for $13,200

    On April 30th, 1999 our friend and fellow Pennsylvania Auctioneers Association auctioneer Jim Gibson sold an extremely rare Bessie Pease Gutmann original artwork for an incredibly strong $13,200. Best known for her prints of infant boys and girls, Bessie Pease Gutmann enjoyed a remarkable 50 year career that produced more than 600 works in a variety of subject matter and media. She became one of the early 20th century’s most famous artists and hit a vein in America's tastes that was unparalleled by any other female artist of her time.
   What is somewhat surprising is that this was the first Gutmann original ever offered at auction. For whatever reason prior to this auction all Gutmann originals had been sold privately and without fanfare. Titled “Senorita“, this 14x22" watercolor-over-charcoal was produced in 1911 and represented a very early work that preceded her most famous Infant and Children period. The fact that the picture carried Gutmann family provenance certainly didn’t hurt its value.
    Congratulations to Auctioneer Jim Gibson for bringing this special piece into the auction marketplace. It shows the power of the Auction Method of Selling and what can happen when you place a very special item in front of the country’s leading collectors in a competitive bidding situation. And it also makes you wonder what might happen if the original “Awakening” or “A Little Bit of Heaven” were offered at auction.
    For serious Bessie Pease Gutmann collectors, an excellent new reference book was recently released: Bessie Pease Gutmann.-Over Fifty Years of Published Art by Karen A. Choppa.  This 160 page hardcover book includes hundred of photos with prices attached to most pictures. For further details contact Schiffer Publishing (4880 Lower Valley Road, Atglen, PA 19310)

R. Atkinson Fox-Hy Hintermeister Convention held in Pennsylvania

   On August 5th-7th, 1999 the R. Atkinson Fox Society and the Hy Hintermeister Collectors Club combined forces and held a joint Convention in Lancaster, PA. This 3-day event was attended by more than 60 Fox-Hinstenneister collectors from around the country. Highlights included two days of in-room buying and selling, a day of educational sessions featuring three authors speaking on their areas of expertise, and the always interesting Show & Tell where club members share their latest discoveries and finds with fellow collectors. As one of the speakers at this convention I had the opportunity to sit in on the education sessions and can honestly tell you that I learned as much as I shared with the group. For details on the R. Atkinson Fox Society contact Barr Mroczka (8 Blackmore Court, Camp Hill, PA 17011, 717-732-6798). For details on the Hy Hintermeister Collectors Club contact Carole Schwartz (9 Pasture Road, Whitehouse Station, NJ 08889).

Harrison Fisher Books Released

   Over the past several years we found ourselves floundering when it came to Harrison Fisher prints. The only reference book that we were aware of had been out-of-print for many years and we were unable to locate a copy on the secondary market. Then to our delight not one, but three new Harrison Fisher books have been released.
     The first we found was Harrison Fisher: Defining the American Beauty, by Tina Skinner (Schiffer Publishing Co). This 175-page paperback book includes significantly more pictures than text, having nearly 450 b&w and color illustrations which provide a wide sampling of Harrison Fisher's artistic career, along with a fairly limited Price Guide. Billed as “the largest pictorial guide to this popular artist ever produced,” this book fulfilled our needs.
   Then we learned that Naomi Welch had released not one, but two complete books on Harrison Fisher. The Complete Works of Harrison Fisher, Illustrator is just what the name implies ... a complete work. This hard cover book offers considerably more text throughout its 19 chapters and 384 pages. In addition to its depth and easy-to-follow format, what we like best about this book is that Naomi Welch provides titles to nearly all Harrison Fisher prints. For example, Chapter 2 includes each of the Art Books published by Harrison Fisher and provides each of the pictures found in each book, along with a title. This enables me as an auctioneer to quickly and easily locate the titles to pictures that do not carry a title.
   Other chapters include Magazine Cover Art, Sunday Newspaper Supplements, Magazine Interior Art, Advertisements, Sheet Music, and much more. The Price Guide it offers is also significantly more complete and easy to use.
   Naomi Welch’s 2nd book, American & European Postcards of Harrison Fisher, Illustrator is a 238 page hard cover book focused exclusively upon Harrison Fisher Postcards. Its five chapters combine extensive background text along with hundreds of color photographs covering nearly all aspects of Harrison Fisher Postcards.
    To order either of Naomi Welch’s two books contact Image of the Past (309 Playa Blvd, Suite 107, La Selva Beach, CA 95076-1737).  Or you can visit her Web Site: www.harrisonfisher.com

Wallace Nutting Collectors Club Auction & Convention

   The 1999 Wallace Nutting Collectors Club Convention was held on June 18th–19th in Williamsburg, VA. This 27th annual convention kicked off on Friday evening with a 381 lot auction with the top selling item being an extremely rare copy of Old New England Pictures. This 64 page book included 32 beautiful matted, signed and titled pictures and sold for a strong $11,275.
   The convention featured several speakers include the Wadsworth Atheneum’s Tom Dennenberg and Dr. John Tull of York, PA. Saturday afternoon featured a trip to Colonial Williamsburg with a special focus on its Wallace Nutting connection, followed by Saturday evening’s Annual Club Dinner. For more information on joining the Wallace Nutting Collectors Club contact President Bill Hamann (PO Box 22475, Beachwood, OH 44122).
Royal Carlock Hand-Colored Photographs

   In an earlier column we referenced Royal Carlock who sold hand-colored photographs exclusively from Washington DC. We stated at that time that we knew very little about Carlock other than what we found on one of his promotional picture labels. This column brought a response from Martha Ellen Carlock Green, the daughter of Royal Carlock, who provided us with significantly more information on her father.
   Royal Hubert Carlock (1899-1970) was born in Paris Crossing, Indiana.  One of six children he was born to Benjamin and Ellen Carlock. After graduating from Indiana University, Carlock married Ethel Wohrer in 1917.  He entered the U.S. Army near the end of World War I where he specialized in aerial photography as part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and after the War had ended, the couple moved to Washington DC in 1918 where their first daughter was born.
   After his discharge from the Army, Carlock secured employment with a photography firm named Buckingham, who at the time was producing hand-colored photographs of the chief tourist attractions in Washington, DC. We can now understand that the similarity in style between Carlock and Buckingham hand-colored pictures obviously was a result of their close association.
    Unfortunately Ethel Carlock died in 1920 during an influenza epidemic, leaving Royal a widower with a 15 month-old baby. In 1922 Carlock married his 2nd wife, Emma Clarke.  In that same year he also left the employment the Buckingham Studios and opened his own photography studio in Washington, DC.
     Carlock’s “Snappy Snap Shop” specialized in quick development of tourist’s film along with the sale of his increasingly famous hand-colored photographs of the Washington DC landmarks and monuments, including the White House, Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln and Washington Monuments, the US. Capital Building, and of course, Washington’s colorful cherry blossoms.  Working together as a team, Roy took the pictures and Emma, along with other colorists, hand-tinted them.
   Royal Carlock kept his business running into the 1940’s. Even during the Depression when so many other photographers saw their businesses either decline or closed their doors, Carlock’s business flourished due primarily to the constant high level of tourism, and the large and growing number of people who were gainfully employed by the U.S. Government.
   Although his photographs usually sold best at cherry blossom time, for several years Carlock also produced a Christmas Card which contained a hand-colored photo of Washington DC. These are considered quite rare with collectors today.
   Unfortunately, as with all other early 20th century hand-colored photographers, the advent of color film lead to the decline in Carlock’s hand-colored photography business. The primary emphasis of his business turned to photo refinishing until 1957 when he retired from the photography business to devote his life to conservation.
    In 1962 his 40-year marriage to Emma dissolved and in 1964 he married Grace Daine Knapp. Suffering from cardiac problems during the final years of his life, Royal Carlock died from a heart attack in 1970. His ashes were buried on a small isle in a lagoon at the National Isaak Walton League Conservation Park near Gaithersburg, MD.
   Once again, our thanks to Martha Ellen Carlock Green for sharing this information on her father with us.
   We are always seeking new information on any of the early 20th century’s lesser-known illustrators and hand-colored photographers. Several people recently sent us a comprehensive article on William James Harris, whose Florida and New England hand-colored photographs are becoming increasingly collectible, and W.H. Gardiner who worked both in Florida and Michigan. If any of our readers have any information that they would like to share, please either send it or e-mail it to us for possible publication in a future column.

Michael Ivankovich is a collector, dealer, author, and auctioneer specializing in early 20th century hand-colored photography and prints.  E-Mail questions or inquiries can be directed to him at., mike@wnutting.com  Although E-Mail questions will be answered more quickly, you can also write him at P.0. Box 1536, Doyles- town, PA 18901.  If you want a reply, you must include a self-addressed stamped- envelope.  You can also visit his internet web site at www. wnutting. com which now includes Monthly Internet Auctions of Early 20th c. Prints You are invited to send any interesting articles and facts concerning popular early 20th century artists or hand-colored photographers for possible use in a future column.