This blog is about items that are to be auctioned on June 14, 2014, in Green Bay, WI and online.

Friday, May 9, 2014

The History of F&A Antiques. Part I.


Before there was Freward & Alk Antiques, there was Jon Alk Antiques.

Jon Alk started attending auctions while he was in college, buying items for himself, mostly art.After graduation, sometime in the 1970s, he started selling his finds to antique shops.  He had a good eye and established a reputation early on.



His first shop of his own was called 900 South Jackson Antiques, on the corner of Jackson and Porlier streets, in the Astor Park neighborhood.  

A recent photo of 900 S. Jackson St.



Jon also started to do mail order, advertising in special interest publications like The Antique Trader.  One of his specialties was ephemera (paper collectibles), and one business name he used for his mail order was The Paper Lion.

His next shop was  on 1515 S. Webster, in an old house across from Schreider's flower shop, next to the monument shop.  No one seems to remember what it was officially called, it's simply remembered as "the antique shop on Webster."

A recent photo of the Webster location.  The first house on the left still sells monuments.

Inside Webster.  If you look closely, you can see Jon reflected in the mirror.



Jon also had a small shop in Fish Creek during the summers.

For a while, Jon was a nationally known expert on Rookwood art pottery.  He provided most of the photos and information for a price guide on Rookwood pottery. He would travel to New York, Ohio, Georgia... for estates, major auctions, shows, and private collections. 
Unfortunately, the Rookwood is sold, so we can't offer any at our auction.  Yet, it remains an excellent example of the many areas of expertise that Jon developed over the years, the quality of the items he preferred to deal in.



I started working for Jon in the early 1990s.  By that time, he had closed up his Webster shop and was focused on mail order, local antique malls, and private sales.

In 1996 I brought my laptop and used it to help Jon run mail-order postcard auctions through the Postcard Collector, and for the first time we used the name Freward & Alk Antiques.  



Jon had the experience and the expertise.  I had a good eye, the enthusiasm of youth, and most importantly, computer skills.  Eventually, the day came when I was no longer content to be an employee, and Jon had to make a choice.  I was his partner, or I was his competition.  

The rest of that story is for another day.


Do you remember Jon in the early days?  Did you shop at one of his shops?  Please share your stories, or even your photos if you have them.


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