Read our July:September 2016 Trading Post

July:September 2016
Volume 13, Issue 3
Trading Post Times
R i v e r
T r a d i n g
P o s t
R I V ER T R A D I NG P O S T A C QUI R E S O V ER 1 , 0 0 0
P I E C E S O F C L A S S I C F R E D H A RV E Y E R A J E W EL RY
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Fred Harvey Era Jewelry
Collection at
River Trading Post
2
Opinion: Cursive writing 3
and American Indian Art
Ouellet to SGA Board of
Directors
3
Believe It or Not
4
Fred Harvey
was Harvey
a classic(June 27, 1835
Frederick
Henry
– February
9, 1901)inwas
American
Southwest
thean enentrepreneur
who
developed
trepreneur
who
developed
the Harvey
rooms,
restaurants,
lateHouse
19th lunch
century.
Fred
Harthe
Harvey
House
lunch which served
souvenir
shops,
and hotels,
rail his
passengers
on the
Atchison,
vey and
employees
sucrooms,
restaurants,
souvenirthe Gulf
Topeka and
Santa Fe Railway,
Coastbrought
and Santa
Fe higher
Railway, the
cessfully
new
Kansas and
Pacific
Railway,
the St. Louis-San
Francisco
Railway,
shops,
hotels,
which
standards
of both
civilityand the
Terminal
Railroad
Association
Louis.
served
rail
passengers
on theof St.
and
dining to a region wide-
Atchison, Topeka and Santa ly regarded in the era as "the
Fe an
Railway,
therestaurateur
Gulf Coastand marketer,
Wild West."
As
innovative
Fred Harvey is credited with
and Santa
creating
theFe
firstRailway,
restaurantthe
chain in the United States. He was also a
Kansas
Railway,
leader
in Pacific
promoting
tourismthe
and cultural tourism in the American SouthSt. Louis-San
west
specificallyFrancisco
centered around the expanded routes of the railways. As
Railway,
andHarvey
the Terminal
a result, Fred
and his employees successfully helped to expand
Railroad
Association
of St.
the tourist trade in the Southwest,
and brought higher standards of both
Louis.
civility and dining to a region widely regarded in the era as "the Wild
West."
SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST:
• Santa Fe Indian Market, Santa Fe, NM
August 20— 21
• IFAM Market, Santa Fe, NM
August 18, 19 & 20
• Railroad Jewelry Exhibit.
River Trading Post, Scottsdale
Ongoing
• Indian Summer Festival, Milwaukee, WI
September 9—11
As an innovative restaurateur and marketer, Fred
Harvey is credited with creating the first restaurant
chain in the United States.
He was also a leader in promoting tourism in the
Fred Harvey
“Railroad jewelry” or “Indian jewelry,” was one of
Harvey’s greatest legacies and marketing successes.
It was one of the more popular commodities that the
Anglo tourist purchased at Harvey hotels, souvenir
shops, and at train stops along the way. Everyone
wanted to buy this inexpensive wearable token of
their adventures in the Southwest, made by Indian
silversmiths.
Even though the Harvey Company sold literally tons of
this jewelry, they never actually made any of it. In fact,
most of the jewelry sold in Fred Harvey’s lifetime was
made by individual Indian silversmiths who sold their
wares to the Harvey Company. Later, after Harvey
died, independent manufacturers who hired local Natives as silversmiths manufactured the inexpensive souvenir jewelry that we now call “Fred Harvey Jewelry.”
The Harvey Company, under the leadership of Harvey’s son Frank, sold most of the inexpensive railroad
jewelry that is Fred Harvey’s legacy. Continued on Page 2
Page 2
Trading Post Times
THE HARVEY ERA JEWELRY AT RIVER TRADING POST
Continued from Page 1
The manufactures of the lightweight souvenir jewelry were located in Colorado, New Mexico,
Kansas City and even New York. The ‘smiths who worked for these companies were given pieces to assemble and finish according to prescribed patterns and designs. The symbols used were
“made up” Indian symbols, inspired by the southwestern Native culture, and designed to increase
the mystique and romance of the travel experience and its associated souvenirs. Once the jewelry
was manufactured, the Harvey Company hired local Indians to sell it on the trains, in their shops
and restaurants, and on the famed “Indian Detours” – side trips by “Curiercoach” to visit various
Pueblos along the train route.
Fred Harvey Indian Detour
Harvey Car
Oil by Dennis Ziemienski
Countless pieces of jewelry were produced during the railroad era that were exotic and affordable to the Anglo tourist trade. Bracelets, pins, necklaces, and various other tchotchkes, or baubles, were snapped up,
and an entire industry thrived on the romance created by the marketing of the Fred Harvey
Company.
The gracious dining car of the
Santa Fe railroad El Capitan
Many people are avid collectors of the old railroad era jewelry. One such collector had accumulated over 1,000 pieces of the great old souvenir pieces. Literally boxes of old jewelry, worthy of any museum collection, came our way one day. As we began to go through the boxes,
cataloging and admiring, we reminisced about our own journeys — back when the world was a
little bit slower and there was plenty of time to dream.
The entire Harvey era collection is on display at River Trading Post, Scottsdale.
Select items are available on our River Trading Post website.
Bracelets were the most popular back then, and today over 400 of them have
found their way into our collection. In this collection, we have found everything from hand-made to assembled, from copper to ingot silver, and reconstituted turquoise to natural old stone.
Old luggage tags were frequently worn as pendants. Few people know about
these old pieces, and they are pretty rare. These little pieces have been adapted in
recent times to be used as pendants on a silver chain.
“Pill Boxes “ perhaps are the most unusual items in the River Trading Post collection. The Anglo tourist figured that the only use for these was a place to stash their
pills or snuff. Fact of the matter is that these beautiful containers were actually
intended to carry and sprinkle pollen used in the morning prayers of a Navajo
person while welcoming a new day.
Rings were a hot seller. They were affordable, and something the tourists took
home with them as a remembrance of their visit to the “Wild West where real
Indians live.”
Pins and broaches were very popular back then too.
...and then there were the tchotchkes for those who wanted a little something
different.
Fred Harvey jewelry, Indian jewelry, Railroad jewelry or Souvenir jewelry. No matter what you call
it, it is one of the finest collectables today as a touchstone to another era in our history. Come see it in
Scottsdale or on our website.
Volume 13, Issue 3
Page 3
OPINION: CURSIVE WRITING AND AMERICAN INDIAN ART
Scholar Sabrina Holcomb put it this way. “Picture full-length mirrors reflecting an
empty dance studio where no one practices at the barre, while cameras from a terminated television class sit in a computer lab. How does music sound in a room where
instruments lie silent? And is the play still the thing in a theater that’s now merely a set
for an English class?”
Since the advent of “No Child Left Behind” the focus of schools has been on testing —
and test scores. Subjects relating to arts and culture in many public schools are viewed as incompatible. With the advent
of the keyboard many schools don’t even teach cursive writing, because it is not included in the Common Core standards.
Art, drama and penmanship are not required as it takes some subjectivity in order to score them and they aren’t considered “necessary.”
The shift away from engaging students in arts and culture has had a significant impact on every sector of the art world,
including American Indian art. National Endowments of the Arts surveys have shown a steady decline in every demographic group that participates in the art scene except for those over 75. Between 2002 and 2012 (the latest available numbers) individual participation in art events declined by 22%, and the trend continues.
Cursive writing helps dyslexic kids overcome reversal of letters because of the cursive flow. Understanding art and culture
enables students to understand that everything is not black and white, nor is there an absolute answer, as they will learn
later in life. How do you put a test score on that?
We have always known that art is what represents the culture and humanity of a people. As with all art forms, American
Indian art is well beyond the purview of today’s kids and the millennials. A rather sad situation for those who are masters
at the keyboard, but don’t even know how to sign their name.
RT P ’ S O U E L L E T T O S C OT T S DAL E G AL L E RY
A S S O C AT I ON B OA R D OF D I R E C TO R S
Kathi Ouellet, Managing Director
at River Trading Post, Scottsdale
has been elected to the Board of
Directors of the prestigious Scottsdale Gallery Association, and will
serve as Treasurer for the association.
over 100 fine art galleries. The
Scottsdale Gallery Association is a
non-profit organization formed by
professional art dealers to promote
these fine art galleries and the internationally famed weekly ArtWalk.
fourteen years. She also currently
serves as the President of the Indian Arts and Crafts Association,
and has been a judge for the Heard
Museum Guild Indian Market.
Scottsdale is known as a mecca for Ouellet has managed River Tradfine art collectors, being home to
ing Post’s Scottsdale Gallery for
B RINGING Y OU THE F INEST A MERICAN
INDIAN A RT F OR 1 6 Y EARS.
R IVER TRADING P OST
Going on 16 years now,
River Trading Post has become
renowned for its diverse collection
of American Indian art, and as the
friendliest place around for exploring and buying American Indian
art.
Scottsdale
Browse our galleries, visit our website, and we believe you will find a
treasure with your name on it.
River Trading Post
314 N. River Street
Dundee, Illinois 60118
847-426-6901
7033 E. Main Street, 102
Scottsdale, Arizona 85251
480-444-0001
www.rivertradingpost.com
Dundee
314 N. River Street
East Dundee, IL 60118
Phone: 866-426-6901
www.rivertradingpost.com
Arts of Native America
B ELIEVE IT OR N OT
This is difficult for us to believe, and probably harder for
you to believe. But it actually
happens, more often than it
should.
After purchasing a bracelet or
a basket from a shop down
the street, people actually
come into River Trading Post
and ask us if the piece is authentic and if they paid the
right price for it.
No kidding. This actually
happens to us quite frequently. People come in, carefully
remove their purchase from
its package, and ask us if the
piece is authentic and worth
what they paid for it.
Most often they purchased the
piece at a store that offers a
75% discount on everything in
the place. (After all, how can
anyone pass up a deal like
that?)
“Oh my”, we say, “The turquoise in your bracelet or
necklace is actually plastic.”
or “I’m sorry, but your basket
was made in Pakistan.”
We wonder why people
would even come into River
Trading Post to confirm the
authenticity of their purchase.
But they do, and that truly is
a head-scratcher to us, as you
might imagine.
Generally, the chagrined person leaves us with a lot of
disappointment.
Over the years, we have advised our friends to purchase
American Indian art from
reputable dealers. Look for
stores that are members of
IACA (Indian Arts and Crafts
Association) or ATADA
(Antique Tribal Arts Dealers
Association).
Buyers won’t realize a 75%
discount, but they will be
assured that their purchase is
authentic and well
documented.