Antique Americana Art (early 1900s) - Burned Moose Hide Art from Alaska

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Antique Americana Art (early 1900s) - Burned Moose Hide Art from Alaska:
$400.00

This sale is for a piece of art originating from Alaska during the early 1900s. This item is in EXCELLENT condition and measures approximately 5ft 10in wide and 4ft 11in high. It is a large moose hide with a beautiful scene burned into it. This was created by artist Max W. Kollm. The letter included in this sale is from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks (addressed to my grandmother) regarding this piece. The letter states:\"Dear Ms. Kaiser,Max Kollm was a native of Germany and he returned there about 1915. He is listed in Polk\'s Alaska Yukon Gazetteer as being in Fairbanks 1907-08. According to those who remembered him, he had a little shop in downtown Fairbanks for several years.There were two other men here in Fairbanks who also did burned-on scenes on moosehide. They were William Betzeler and Lorenz Thimme. The former originated the \"Reclamation\" scene and the other copied it as it proved to be very popular. We have hide scenes by all three men, some signed and some not. The collection includes two pieces signed by Kollm.I am pleased to learn from your letter that Kollm was in Dawson for a while. Accurate information on these three men is difficult to come by.As to the value of your scene; it does indeed have a value but naming the sum is difficult as these items seldom hit the market and they have a very specialized group of possible buyers, i.e. they are not to everyone\'s liking and most people don\'t even know what they are. (An American version of an old European folk art, as a matter of fact.)We do not do appraisals and without seeing an item it is hard to \"guesstimate\", but a full-size hide in good condition, signed the artist would be worth a nice amount. I am not trying to be coy by not naming an exact figure - if you found the right buyer, you might be able to get several thousand dollars for it. Someone else might offer you less than a thousand. It all depends on what the seller and potential buyer can agree on. I hope the above is useful.Sincerely,Dinah W. Larsen
Coordinator of Ethnology
University Museum\"