Dalton’s
1931 James St., Syracuse, New York 13206
315-463-1568
About Auction House
Since 1980 Dalton’s has established itself as an unparalleled resource for original Arts and Crafts furnishings and decorative accessories. Under the direction of Dalton’s founder David Rudd, carefully selected examples of original condition furniture, pottery, art and metalwork are offered for both beginning and experienced collectors. Dalton’s clients benefit from a unique combination of decades of experience, knowledge of superior forms, discerning judgment and the finest selection available.Auction Previews & News
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Auction IndustryFive For Friday: Dalton’s American Decorative Arts
Detail of Gustav Stickley Tall Clock (72" tall). Photo courtesy of Dalton’s American Decorative Arts. Auction Daily: Can you share with the Auction Daily readers why Arts and Crafts furnishings and decorative accessories have such timeless and universal appeal? David Rudd: The Arts and Crafts period began a few decades after the Industrial Revolution in the late 1800s. The movement sought to uncomplicate life through simply-designed, low-maintenance furnishings, household, and decorative items. This aesthetic also dovetailed into the architectural trends of the era. The Arts and Crafts revival started in 1972, via an exhibition held at the Princeton University Art Museum. This was also the beginning of the Technical Revolution - when the first cell phones and personal computers were introduced. I don't believe that is a coincidence; the basic need to balance complexity and simplicity transcends time and geography. And given our frenetic world, I think that's even more true today, and may help to explain why Arts and Crafts items continue to catch the eye, and pocketbooks, of enthusiasts worldwide. Auction Daily: Do people who buy original Arts and Crafts items actually use them as furniture and/or functional items... or are they more likely to display and admire them, as fine collectibles? David Rudd: Both. If collectors do use Arts and Crafts antiques, they usually do so with enormous respect for the items. Some museum-quality items absolutely belong behind glass; I can't imagine anyone putting a bunch of tulips into a five or six-figure stoneware vase. I suppose the best of all worlds would be something like using a Gustav Stickley cabinet to display a collection of Fulper pottery. Gustav Stickley Leather top Hex. Photo courtesy of Dalton’s American Decorative Arts. Auction Daily: Given the value in original examples from Gustav Stickley, L&JG Stickley, Roycroft, Limbert, Rohlfs, and other fine manufacturers, how often do you come across fakes and frauds? How can you tell if an Arts and Crafts-looking furniture or decorative item is authentic? David Rudd: This happens occasionally. For the most part, fakes stick out like a sore thumb, given how many items I have…
Press ReleaseEastwood store a center of arts, crafts and history
Gary Walts/The Post-Standard David Rudd and Debbie Goldwein, owners of Dalton's American Decorative Arts and Antiques, stand in their store, which is in a 1919 building that they restored themselves. Syracuse has an antiques gallery with a national reputation.It's Dalton's American Decorative Arts and Antiques, at 1931 James St. The shop sits on the western fringes of Eastwood. It used to be a neighborhood drug store, Galloway's.Dalton's (that's owner David Rudd's middle name) is 30 years old this year.Dave's partner in the business is his wife of 31 years, Debbie Goldwein. Debbie retired from a career in social work 20 years ago (the Salvation Army, United Way) to join her husband in a gallery that specializes in the work of Syracusan Gustav Stickley."I think we're one of only five shops in the country that specialize in good, quality pieces," Dave said the other day as we talked in the shop to a background of jazz music. "We're pretty unique, at this point. I've always wanted the stock to be the best I can have. We buy and sell all over the country, more nationally than locally."That's one of the contradictions in dealing Gustav Stickley, who ran his famous Craftsman Workshops not far away, on Burnet Avenue. The building, without its original second story, is now a plumbing supply store.The furniture maker and pioneer of the arts and crafts movement in America is less of a hero in his hometown than he is elsewhere in the country. The house where Gus lived at the end of his life, on Columbus Avenue, is vacant and neglected. It's owned by Stickley Audi Co., the firm that rescued the old Stickley factory in Fayetteville back in 1974.Gus Stickley died in 1942.Dave Rudd says he fell in love with Stickley's work, and American arts and crafts in general, back in 1978. He had attended Syracuse University and Buffalo State College and majored in sculpture and photography. Perhaps he was on his way to a career as a sculptor when he saw his first pieces of arts and crafts furniture. "I saw the furniture as sculpture," he…
- Press Release
A Fake Roycroft Mark
A few months before last February’s National Arts and Crafts Conference at the historic Grove Park Inn, I asked David Rudd, co-owner with his wife Debbie Goldwein of Dalton’s American Decorative Arts in Syracuse, NY, if he would lead one of our daily Small Group Discussions entitled “What Is it? Your Unmarked Mystery Pieces.” I promised to start the conversation with a piece of my own: a hanging copper planter with a suspicious Roycroft mark shown below.
