Antiques and the Arts Book Review


Chintz by Design
By Bonnie Heller
Chintz International, LLC, Box 363, Butler, N.J., 07405-0363, 1997, pp. 141, $125, hardcover.

"Chintz is here," announced London's Antiques Trade Gazette in 1997. "Cheerful yes, but cheap, no." The Gazette's comments were inspired by an August 21, 1997 Christie's South Kensington auction, of which 101 lots - approximately one-fifth of the sale's offerings - were devoted to chintz. Stiff upper lips must have been twitching when, for example, items such as a Royal Winton "Royalty" biscuit box realized 700 pounds sterling and a Royal Winton "Sweet Pea" coffee pot fetched 400 pounds sterling (the exchange rate is 1 pound sterling to $1.65). "Home collectors were waving their paddles with some authority so now could well be the time to chuck your chintz in the direction of your local auction room," the report concludes. If you are confounded by this burgeoning obsession for ware once offered by Woolworth's, now could also be the time to peruse a book that pictures chintz in its best light. Chintz by Design is a coffee-table collaboration between dealers Bonnie Heller, Joy Humphreys and Felicity Finburgh (Humphreys and Finburgh making up the team of Feljoy Antiques), a colorful photographic essay of nine-by-12-inch proportions. Featured is nearly every form of chintz in nearly every decorative situation imaginable. Teapots, ashtrays, toast racks and egg cups are stuffed with flowers, draped in sushi, staggering under psychedelic desserts and swimming in beverages. Chintz in the kitchen, chintz in the bedroom, chintz in the garden and yes, chintz in the office, where rubber bands and pencils are elevated to new heights of organization. Here, indeed, is a full-scale, all-out "riot of chintz." While hard-core chintz-haters should duck and run for cover, both fans and readers on the fence should, through the authors' imaginative efforts, gain a new appreciation for its practical charm. "We wanted to produce a book illustrating not only the numerous permutations of Chintzware, but to show it as it could be used," reads the introduction. The authors defend the publication's lack of technical information by stressing the need to celebrate the beauty of chintz. "At the time we conceived Chintz by Design there were three other chintz books on the market," says Heller. "One was a catalogue which gave information on patterns and factories, and the other two were similar to it. But these books were missing beautiful photographs." Nick Guanci provides excellent images for Chintz by Design, and one of the highlights of the book are the "Wildflowers" and "Welbeck" patterns featured in a bathroom - certainly there are no prettier receptacles for one's toothbrush and bath beads. "I'm a visual person," she continued. "My partners are also, and we tried to show chintz in different settings, with dramatic color and sets, to present this ware in a way that most people don't think of. Chintz is romantic and fun. It could be a lot of things." The authors also, on principle, did not include a price guide, despite requests from the trade. "Shortly after I went into business 20 years ago I stopped looking at price guides," Heller remarked, "as a piece of chintz would cost $20 in California, $10 in New York and $5 at a flea market. Price guides also date a book." According to Heller, while the members of the trade have purchased Chintz by Design for their clients, the book should appeal most to collectors and interior designers, the latter group having already acquired quite a number of copies. Along with more than 100 pages of photographs are a short history of chintz, a discussion by "A Pair of Collectors on Collecting," a nine-source bibliography (listing those techinical books for in-depth reading), and a very brief "Conversation with Mark Wilkinson," head of the Twentieth Century art department at Christie's South Kensington. CSK has also included Chintz by Design in their fall newsletter's list of recommended decorative arts books. The market, from Heller's point of view, has nowhere to go but up. She names Royal Winton as the most popular and higher-priced maker, with patterns such as "Hazel," "Welbeck," and "Julia" commanding top dollar, a trend which both pleases and exasperates her. "I used to buy plates for $10 to $20," she sighs. "It was cheap and fun. But then at an expensive show I would ask myself: Why am I doing this? Yet I couldn't stay away from it. Some people will collect only one pattern, while others collect only sugar shakers. I even know of one woman who wants each guest to have their own private little tea service along with their place setting." Among chintz buyers, Americans are "spending the big money," according to Heller. Australians, New Zealanders and Canadians are also on the prowl for chucked chintz, often making the trip to England to get it, as demonstrated by the August CSK sale. "The Christie's results were made by American collectors and American and English members of the trade," she says. "I doubt there were many British collectors in there. The English like chintz but won't pay the money it commands now." Heller points to production factors as the reason for her book's own high price tag. "It's a full-color book, no black and white photographs, and it's printed privately. No one who makes a book like this makes money." One incentive for the hesitant may be an introductory offer that drops the total to $95. - By Liza Montgomery

Chintz by Design

By Bonnie Heller