Decor Antiques and Framery

News And Specials

2/2/10 -- Lincoln Turns 200 Sale

On Feb. 12, Abe Lincoln will be 200 years old. To celebrate, we're offering 20% off all our Lincoln-related prints and literature (shown below).

11/14/09 -- Beautiful Walnut Frames

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1) A deep walnut w/ gold liner enclosing Victorian baby's bib. $95.00 plus shipping. Item # 41019.

2) Walnut w/ gold liner enclosing print titled "The Christian Graces." $95.00 plus shipping.Item # 41020.

For more information, visit the Gallery.

11/3/09 -- New Frames Available

Lo!

1) #09018; rabbet: 12 1/4″ x 20 1/4″
2) #09019; rabbet: 6 1/2″ x 14″
3) #09020-A; rabbet: 18″ x 22″
4) #09020-B; rabbet: 18″ x 22″
5) #09021; rabbet: 14″ x 18″
6) #09022; rabbet: 16″ x 19 3/4″

For more details, visit our gold frame gallery.

10/28/09 - A message from the owner

    This is Leo Desroches, owner of the Framery and Gallery at Decor Antiques. Hello!
    Decor is a very diversified art gallery with a hand in many corners of the art business, including custom picture framing, frame and art restoration, and sales of antique frames and art. Our newest endeavor is writing in this space about what we do, in the hope of demystifying the processes involved in our daily work for those who find it confounding, intriguing or both.
     The experience of having an item custom-framed for the first time and on a budget can seem an alien one. If you've ever browsed a department store like Michaels or Walmart and have seen the all-inclusive framing sets for $30, you may reasonably wonder how a custom framing job can total $130 (or $230 at Michaels' custom framing deptartment!), and further, why you would ever consider the latter option. To address this experience, I'll start my discussion with topics related to custom picture framing, the practice of protecting and enhancing artworks. In time, I'll speak to all of the following:

     1. Custom Framing
     2. Antique Frames
     3. Contemporary Frames
     4. Basic Matting
     5. Matting With Cloth and Other Fabrics
     6. Mounting artwork
     7. Glass Types and Uses
     8. Sealing and Protecting the Artwork
     9. Hanging Possibilities
     10. Pricing

I strongly encourage reader feedback, and I look forward to answering your questions if I can.

10/27/09 - New, Antique, Teriffic, Gold.

While we ready a new fleet of gems for a fast-approaching grand unveiling, we invite readers to hold their breaths and suggest names (examples: "Chrysus", "Cleopatra", "Cletis"). Sometime in the coming weeks, we'll roll up our silver tongues and let some JPGs do the talking. For now, we'll say that two are gorgeous, standard-sized (18" x 22") orientalists. -- Decór

10/24/09 - Exeter, N.H., United States Maps at Decór

We realized our maps weren't selling because we hadn't put them up for sale. Womp womp. So while we're thinking of it, here are some great antique maps of Exeter, of New Hampshire and of the United States, expertly framed by yours truly. -- Decor

10/15/09 - Lincoln at Decór

On the eve of the 200-year-mark since Abe Lincoln's birth (February 12, 1810), it seems fitting to highlight Lincoln-related items from our stock of historical prints and literature.
Mr. Lincoln came to Exeter, NH (our fair city) in 1860 to visit his son Robert Todd, a student at Phillips Exeter Academy. During that visit the then-Presidential candidate made a memorable, extemporaneous speech at the Exeter Town Hall. (To note, he followed that speech with similar, commissioned ones in Dover and Portsmouth, but wisely spoke to Exonians free of charge, and secured the Presidency later that year). All of this and more is chronicled in 1929's rare Abraham Lincoln in New Hampshire, for sale (among others) here. We're still finding Lincoln stuff, so check back with us for updates.

1) Lincoln steel engraving (ref. #41010)

41010

President Lincoln and Family (feat. a portrait of "Willie" on the wall). Painted by F. Schell, engraved by A.B. Walter and published by John Dainty (Philadelphia). Very good condition, paper browned by age.
In black frame with excellent ripple glass.
Print: 9 7/8" by 14 1/4"
Frame: 13" by 17"
Condition: Very Good
Price: $200.00

2) Lincoln steel engraving (ref. #41011)

41011

"Lincoln and his Family", painted by S.B. Waugh, engraved by William Sartain and published by Bradley & Co, 66 N. Fourth St., PA.
Reads: "Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1866, by William Sartain, in the clerk's office of the District Court of the U.S. for the Eastern distribution of Pennsylvania"
In gold-lined walnut frame with excellent ripple glass.
Print: 17 5/8" x 24 3/4"
Frame: 25 3/4" x 32"
Condition: Very Good
Price: $550.00

3) Lincoln Steel Engraving (ref. #41012)

41012

"The First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation before the Cabinet". Painted by F.B. Carpenter in 1864, engraved by A.H. Ritchie.
Pictured, from left to right: Edwin M. Stanton, Salmon P. Chase, President Lincoln, Gideon Welles, Caleb Smith, William H. Seward, Montgomery Blair, Edward Bates.
In a fine walnut frame with excellent ripple glass.
Print: 20 3/4" x 32 1/4"
Frame: 33 3/8" x 42 3/4"
Condition: Very Good
Price: $1,100.00

4) Book: He Knew Lincoln (ref. #48001)

48001

"He Knew Lincoln" by Ida M.Tarbell. 1907. 60 pages.

Fireside-style storytelling by undisclosed bard. All tales concern the Honest One.

Condition: Very Good

Price: $50.00

5) Book: Abraham Lincoln in New Hampshire (ref. #48002)

48002

Abraham Lincoln in New Hampshire

by Elwin L. Page. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston and New York. 1929.

Limited First Edition, one of 785 copies (750 of which went to market).

Chronicle of Lincoln's 1860 visit to The Granite State to visit his son Todd at Phillips Exeter Academy -- a trip that comprised Lincoln's only traveling campaign effort before that Fall's election.

Damage: Cover and box have some problems. Loose binding. Pages in good condition.

Price: $50.00

6) Lincoln Plaque (ref. #YYYYY)

Solid Bronze profile relief of Ol' Abe on oak plaque.

Bust: 4" by 7"

Plaque: 9" by 13"

Check back soon

for updates to our

Lincoln Collection

10/15/09 - On the Evolution of Conservation Framing

Until about 40 years ago, little thought was given to material longevity in the framing business. Finally, we in the framing industry realized that many of our framing materials (mats, backing, et al) were harming the art we meant to preserve. We hocked our untreated, acid-riddled mat board and began using new acid-free mats of varied grades. We tacked in basic foam board (and later, acid-free foam board) in the stead of good, old, cheap and trusty cardboard backer. The glass we used improved dramatically for clarity and protection from UV rays, fly balls and the other elements. We sealed the wood for our frames, thus preventing acid leakage from within.
Of course, all these advances in art preservation that we enjoy today are the result of constant tweaking; a framing job you took home ten or even five years ago might show signs of simply having been outmoded by today's standards in framing. As in the medical field, if you want the best for your art, you'll want the most knowledgable staff, the best tools and the sincerest care. This commitment to the health and preservation of our customers' cherished art is what brings our customers back again and again. -- Decór