Art Deco Portois and Fix Viennese Tall Case Clock

Details

Description

Presenting an amazingly rare piece of Art Deco furniture by an exceptionally rare maker, namely, an Art Deco Portois and … Read more Presenting an amazingly rare piece of Art Deco furniture by an exceptionally rare maker, namely, an Art Deco Portois and Fix Viennese Tall Case Clock.

Part of a complete Dining Room Set comprising of 3 pieces – this Clock, Buffet/Sideboard and Credenza. All in our Inventory but being sold separately (or together if you have a desire to own the complete set which you will NEVER be in a position to do again).

Made in Vienna, Austria circa 1920-30 by the famous furniture maker of Portois & Fix.

The piece consists of a Tall Case Clock with glass display front.

The top section consists of a molded square pelmet with circular glass face door edged and banded with an inlaid border of parquetry inlaid woods. The door opens to the original porcelain clock/dial face with 2 original holes for winding. Hour and minute hands.

The original movement was removed in the 1950’s and replaced with an electric motor mechanism. This has now been replaced with a working battery operated quartz movement.

The pendulum and weights are the originals but are now only decorative in nature.

The main body of the clock is made up of a door with 8 beveled glass panels allowing views of the pendulum and weights.

The base section is likewise, edged and banded with an inlaid border of parquetry inlaid woods and a central parquetry medallion of inlaid woods.

Placed in connection with the other pieces in this Set, means we can say with certainty that this is an Art Nouveau moving into Art Deco piece, even though the design and style is more similar to Regency.

A stunning, important and exceptionally rare & desirable piece

Condition: The case of the piece is in very good original condition. The porcelain dial face has a small crack but the original movement has been completely removed in the 1950’s and was originally replaced with an electric motor mechanism (see photos). This has now been replaced with a fully functional quartz battery operated movement. The pendulum and weights are the originals but purely now serve as decorative only.

Specific provenance:
This piece was purchased and imported by Olga Mangold in the very early 1930’s to Dallas, TX directly from Portois & Fix. The piece was imported through the Port of New Orleans as is marked on the back of the piece. The back also have the Portois & Fix stamps and marks.

Olga Mangold was the daughter of well known early Dallas real estate developer Carl A. Mangold, who is an important figure in Dallas History and credited with really developing the Oak Cliff suburb directly south of downtown.

Olga lived in a mansion in the University Park Area of Dallas and these pieces held pride of place in her dining room. We have Olga’s Scrapbook which has been passed down through the generations of descendants and you will see the photos of the set in her home with her typed entry in her scrapbook about the pieces, as she was obviously very proud of them.

Later in life, around 1950, Olga moved to Colorado Springs and brought the pieces with her. She obviously had a restorer work on the pieces whilst in Colorado Springs and this explains the lighting on the buffet and the work on the tall case clock (dealt with separately under the posting of the clock). The restorer was a Mr. Vandenberg as wriiten on the back.

After her death in 1988, the family brought the pieces back to Dallas where they have remained in family ownership since.

Charles A. Mangold Sr., the father of Carl Mangold, was one of the pioneers of Dallas County. successful sucsessful as a businessman, builder and manager of the Jefferson Hotel, and a horse breeder, Mangold was also a leader and developer for public interest. He was involved in a variety of activities promoting the arts, such as the Opera, Oak Cliff Little Theatre, and the Silver Jubilee Saengerfest (1904). He organized Lake Cliff Park and helped with the Dallas State Fair. His name appears on many city promotions including the early founders of the Chamber of Commerce and membership rosters of many fraternal organizations such as Odd Fellows, the Elks, the Eagles, and the Sons of Herman. Charles Mangold was one of the leaders in developing Dallas from a small village to a major city.

Charles Mangold was born October 31, 1860 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He arrived in Dallas in 1885 and established a wholesale liquor enterprise known as Swope and Mangold. Almost immediately upon his arrival in Dallas, Mangold became interested in the development of Dallas and Oak Cliff. He was responsible for the crusade to build a viaduct between the two cities in 1910. His interest also extended to the creation of city parks and was one of the original members of the parks board.

His many commercial enterprises included breeding Angora goats and horses, plus the running of horse races at the fair grounds, the Oak Cliff Casino, wholesale liquor, wines and cigars, the Jefferson Hotel, and the American Laundry Company. He endeavored to make all of his works unique, successful, and first rate. His contributions to Dallas County are well noted in several sources. After his death, August 26, 1934, his obituary appears in the Dallas Morning News, August 27, 1934, front page and proclaims him as the “Man Who Visioned Oak Cliff”.

Charles and wife Anna Mangold had four children, two daughters, Olga and Irma, and two sons, Lawrence W. and Charles A. Mangold Jr. (Carl). Both sons served in World War I. The younger son, Carl, entered the service in October 1918 and was discharged after the Armistice in November. Lawrence remained in the service and as a Sergeant Major was sent to Germany with the Army of Occupation. Carl followed his father’s lead and became a developer, helping his father with Cliff Towers, Lake Cliff Park, and the Jefferson Hotel. Carl donated this collection to this library after an oral history interview. Carl A. Mangold died in February 1987 at age 87. See less