Description: Here we have a very scarce artisan-made Gold Room box by the esteemed miniaturist craftsman, Eugene Kupjack (American, 1912-1991.) The Gold Room is constructed as an 18th-century French shop specializing in gold decor for the home. There are glass shelves securely attached to the shop's front window for displaying all of the finely detailed gold pieces for which Kupjack is known -- vases, candlesticks, China, statues and figurines, etc. (Those are not included in this listing, but are or will be listed separately in our store.) Room is fully covered in wallpaper and floor paper. The room is lit by one bulb, for which there is a switch on the outside in the back. Although it appears to be in excellent working condition, as with all vintage wiring, it should be replaced before use so that you don't burn your house down. Hardware attached to back for hanging; we recommend replacing with something more heavy duty if you wish to hang the piece. Latch on side holds front of shop closed. In addition to the room box, the lot includes four pieces handcrafted by Eugene Kupjack and attached to the walls of the room: a finely carved green and black "marble" fireplace a wall-mounted French demilune table with white and light green "marble" top and extravagantly carved gold legsa finely carved black and gold wall mirror (real) in the baroque style hanging over the fireplacea wall-mounted, two-candle, gold candelabra sconce Last photo shows this room box (and the other one that we have) as it was displayed in the home of Hank Kupjack (Eugene's eldest son, who worked alongside him at Kupjack Studios.) All of our Kupjack pieces are from the Hank Kupjack estate, which included many pieces made by his father, whose workshop he continued to run until his death in 2019. As far as we know, Eugene's youngest son, Jay, continues to operate the family studio today. Shipping: You are free to choose between at least two shipping methods, if not more, but you can only do that by scrolling to the Shipping section below (if on the app/a cell phone) or by clicking on the "SEE DETAILS" link to the right of the "Shipping" amount noted next to the photos (if on the browser/computer version.) These are the only ways to view all of your shipping options (including their costs and arrival dates.) The amount shown for shipping on the listing page shows that for only one possible shipper, whose price may be the highest, as opposed to the lowest, and whose speed might be the slowest instead of the one that will get your item to you by the time you need it. Vintage: circa 1950s-1980s Maker/marks: Eugene Kupjack (unsigned) Approximate measurements: 11 3/4" tall x 17 1/8" long x 8 1/2" w (extreme measurements of the exterior); 1:12 Condition: Our photographs and video reveal the condition best -- please enlarge and zoom in on them, and examine them carefully. Very fresh and clean piece in overall excellent very-vintage condition. Will arrive nearly ready -- the table is a bit loose from the wall and could use tightening, which we're going to leave to the expert. Table works fine as is, but will move if box is moved. Otherwise, room arrives ready for display. In the typical Kupjack style, the sides, top and back of the box look like the walls of a dive bar (except that they're very clean.) Photos show the light surface wear, corner with veneer breakdown, and top with three holes poking through to hold fast the wiring for the light on the ceiling. Also note that not everything is perfectly plumb on the exterior. The interior is what Kupjack cared about, and it is in great condition. There is one small very light oily spot to the wallpaper on the right side of the room; otherwise wallpaper is in minty condition. The "marble" floor paper is in minty condition with no issues. All four furniture/decor pieces appear to be in excellent condition with no losses or damage. (Please note that the "smooch" on the seashell that is located at the upper middle section of the mantle has been removed -- it was wax, probably from a mold used to make it, and we didn't notice it until after the photo session. It's all gone now.) Glass shop windows are bright and shiny, and free of damage. The shop window front swings smoothly back and forth, and closes properly with the latch, although it is no more plumb than the rest of the exterior, lol. Absolutely nothing sticky or otherwise disgusting on any part of the lot, and no funky odors. We consider funky odors (cigarette smoke, mildew, etc) to be an important part of a condition report. Corndogcache is a 100% non-smoking environment, and we'll let you know if any of our vintage items smell like it (or anything else) from activities they may have been involved in before they came to us. The Fine Print:We expect payment within 1 day of purchase. If you're waiting for other auctions to end so that you can combine shipping, shoot us a message to let us know.If you're unable to pay within terms, please reach out with your Plan B. Things happen. Especially these days. So just shoot us a message.We don't accept buyer-remorse returns but we will grant you the use of our description and photos so that you can re-ebay the item yourself.Although we don't accept buyer-remorse returns, reach out if you're unhappy with your purchase! If we messed up -- everybody does -- give us a chance to fix it. We promise it was unintentional, and we'll do what we can to make it right.Eugene Kupjack's obituary, as published in The New York Times, November 16, 1991 edition: "Eugene J. Kupjack, who produced the 30 American miniature rooms at the Art Institute of Chicago, died on Nov. 8 at Resurrection Hospital in Chicago. He was 79 years old and lived in Park Ridge, Ill.He died of congestive heart failure, his son Henry said.Mr. Kupjack's miniature rooms at the Chicago museum -- 30 shadow-box settings ranging in style from the Colonial period to Art Deco -- were widely admired when they first went on public view at the 1939 World's Fair. The rooms were designed by Narcissa Niblack Thorne, widow of James Ward Thorne, a Montgomery Ward & Company department store heir, who sent them to the Art Institute after the fair closed in 1941, and eventually donated them to the museum.Before attending a memorial service for Mr. Kupjack at the museum yesterday, Marshall Field 5th, chairman of the museum, said by telephone that the rooms had been on view at the museum most of the time for 50 years and "they remain one of our most popular exhibits."Mr. Kupjack went to work for Mrs. Thorne in 1937. After reading an article in Life magazine about the European-style miniature rooms she had devised using antiques, he sent her, unsolicited, a miniature chair with a cane seat and a plastic plate and goblet he had made. "Mrs. Thorne telephoned my father," Henry Kupjack said yesterday. "She asked him how he knew she couldn't find any canework and where he had bought the glass plate and goblet. My father told her the plate and goblet weren't glass but Lucite -- plastic. And she replied, 'How would you like to come and work for me.' "Mr. Kupjack was born in Chicago, where he attended art classes at the Art Institute for a decade, beginning when he was 8 years old. He attended Crane College. During World War II, he served as a lieutenant commander and commander in the Office of Naval Research in Washington, making orthopedic instruments, 13 of which are patented. In Museum CollectionsAfter he left the Navy in 1948, he worked mostly for Mrs. Thorne until shortly before her death in 1966. In 1959, he was commissioned by the American Institute of Decorators to produce 17 miniature rooms, copies of important settings designed by such interior decorators as William Pahlmann and Mrs. Henry Parish 2d.Mr. Kupjack went on to produce more than 700 period-style miniature rooms from his studio in Park Ridge, working for corporations and collectors seeking traditional rooms with doll-house-scale furnishings one-twelfth normal size. His rooms are in the collections of the Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum in Delaware, the Forbes Magazine gallery in New York City and the Palm Springs Desert Museum in Palm Springs, Calif.In addition to his son Henry, of Chicago, Mr. Kupjack is survived by another son, Jay, of Park Ridge, and a brother, Raymond, of Sante Fe, N.M.
Price: 3400 USD
Location: Chicago, Illinois
End Time: 2024-09-25T02:58:57.000Z
Shipping Cost: N/A USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Return policy details:
Unit of Sale: Lot
Antique: No
Power Source: Corded Electric
Furnished: Part-Furnished
Item Length: 17 1/8 in
Number of Stories: 1
Vintage: Yes
Original/Licensed Reproduction: Original
Number of Rooms: 1
Item Height: 11.75 in
Style: Baroque
Features: Artist Made, One Of A Kind, Special Edition
Room: Shop
Number of Items: 5
Handmade: Yes
Item Width: 8.5 in
Color: Brown
Scale: 1:12
Material: Glass, Metal, Wood
Set Includes: Electrical Components, Fixtures, Furniture, Home Décor
Age Level: 16+
Franchise: Kupjack Studios
Brand: Eugene Kupjack
Type: Room Box
Theme: History
Time Period Manufactured: 1950-1959
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States