Word: sackfuls
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...desk. The mahogany masterpiece was no curlicued Versailles settee or crested English bureau. It was a stately secretary of distinctly American block-and-shell design, crafted in 1760 by the Goddard-Townsend cabinetmakers of Newport, R.I. "For years, Europeans have given us an inferiority complex," says furniture dealer Harold Sack, 78, who bought the desk for an anonymous client, believed to be Texas billionaire Robert Bass. "To finally see American furniture taken as an important art form is enormously gratifying...
...younger, forced-growth trees that are planted today. "All the great wood was used up in the 18th century," maintains Matthew Weigman of Sotheby's. The furniture crafted from the grand mahoganies is said to glow and "smile" at the beholder. "Viewing the desk is a religious experience," says Sack. "The grain ignites; there's inner fire in the wood...
...Israel Sack, father of three sons in the business today, started his dealership in 1905. He found authentic pieces for the Fords and Du Ponts, who became major collectors in the 1920s. In time, their priceless collections were turned over to museums, where exquisite examples of Early American | furniture -- including the nine other Goddard-Townsend desks known to be in existence -- now reside...
...principal buyers of colonial furniture are American businessmen. But dealer Donald Sack, grandson of the firm's founder, believes that "if any more pieces break the $1 million mark, the Japanese may well get interested." As prices have risen, the buyers' profile has changed. "Doctors used to be our customers, but they can't afford the furniture anymore," says Harold. "Now our customers are educated Americans who don't survive on an income; rather, they have large sums of capital from the sale of a company or real estate." The most celebrated collector is Bill Cosby, who includes reproductions...