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Museum Magic in Providence
by
Cheri Van Hoover
Sometimes life provides gifts beyond one’s wildest expectations. That was my experience at the recent VFCJ convention in Providence. I expected to see wonderful jewelry and have lots of fun and laughter with new and old jewelry friends. I was excited at the prospect of sharing my knowledge of Walter Lampl and his jewelry with the group. I knew that I would have the opportunity to meet in person people I had previously just read and heard about – Frank DeLizza, Don Hobé, and others. All of those things came true for me, and if that had been all that happened at the convention my trip would have been more than satisfying. But the serendipity of my experiences with Peter DiCristofaro of the Providence Jewelry Museum made this gathering so special that I will never be able to forget the magic and excitement.
Rocky and I arrived in Providence late Thursday evening after a grueling day of plane travel, exhausted and famished. After a quick meal in the hotel restaurant (great food!) we retired to our room. The next morning we were ready to join the party. I was to give my lecture on Walter Lampl jewelry later that afternoon, but had the morning free. Linn Alber convinced us that we really must see the Providence Jewelry Museum, so we hopped in our rental car and followed the directions we’d been given to the museum’s temporary home.
Peter DiCristofaro, the museum director, provided a fascinating private tour. We were entranced by the beautiful old machines and the original molds (more properly known as dies) with which the jewelry was made, and really felt that we were at the heart of the American jewelry experience. When Peter talked about the entrepreneurs who came to Providence with their wagons and/or cars and went from factory to factory ordering parts and finished jewelry which could then be wholesaled to the larger world, I felt a tug of recognition, for I knew that was exactly how Walter Lampl had begun his jewelry career, and I felt for the first time that I truly understood the nature of his business.
Walter Lampl enameled brooch now at the Providence Jewelry Museum.
The next morning I set up in the ballroom sales area to display (and perhaps sell) the pieces of Walter Lampl jewelry I had hauled across the country in my carry-on luggage. Around noon Peter DiCristofaro came by to see what I had. His eyes lit up, and his excitement was palpable. He told me he had the dies for at least two of my pieces, the exquisitely enameled marcasite brooches with perfume wells on their backs. He asked me to set the pieces aside for him, telling me he had to go back to the museum to get something but would be right back.
Walter Lampl enameled sterling & marcasite lily motif perfume brooch now at the Providence Jewelry Museum.
Another Walter Lampl enameled sterling & marcasite poinsettia perfume brooch is now at the Providence Jewelry Museum.
When Peter returned he was carrying a cardboard box. He set the box down and pulled out two heavy blocks of iron, each with an impressed design. He placed them on the tabletop, then gently turned over the perfume brooches and set them into the dies. They nestled in like puzzle pieces, returned to the source where they had been born. Clichéd as it may sound, chills ran up my spine! Peter pulled out a third die and matched it to the leaf-shape of yet another very early enameled Lampl brooch. Then he realized that a fourth piece looked familiar, too, an Art Deco enameled sterling and marcasite swordfish. The swordfish, marked with the Lampl mark, was in its original leather case bearing the name of the retail jeweler. I gave him the swordfish to take back to the museum to check against his collection of dies. We were both overjoyed to discover that it was a match, as well.
A similar Walter Lampl marcasite & enameled sterling swordfish brooch is now at the Providence Jewelry Museum.
All four pieces now reside with Peter at the Providence Jewelry Museum. Because of his wonderful archive of original dies I know that the two perfume brooches are from a series of 14 different flowers. Twelve more are out there waiting to be discovered! The swordfish is from the same maker, Goldstein and Poland. Apparently, Walter Lampl worked closely with this manufacturer during the late 1930s, the period when all these dies were made. The enameled leaf brooch is an even larger surprise. It was made for Walter Lampl, and marked with his name, by Whiting & Davis. Although Whiting & Davis did produce jewelry for other wholesalers which did not bear their own mark, this was not commonly done and indicated a very special relationship between Walter Lampl and the renowned and influential early manufacturer.
This remarkable experience was the thrill of a lifetime for me. As a researcher there is nothing more exciting than discovering a whole new avenue of exploration, and I’m eager to start down that road with the new clues I’ve been given. As an appreciator of Walter Lampl jewelry, it is a validation of my belief in his work to see evidence of his business and artistic relationships with such skilled craftsmen. And as a lover of costume jewelry history, I find tremendous satisfaction in knowing that those pieces have found their way home and will be on display for the public demonstrating the beauty and craftsmanship of the marvelous little works of art made by the people of Providence.
© Copyright 2004 Vintage Fashion & Costume Jewelry - Used with permission