Estimate: $200 - $400
Price Realized: $192 Includes buyer's premium
For Chase Brass, comprising two Colonel Lights and one Colonel's Lady Light, with frosted glass light bulb painted as a face
enameled brass, frosted light bulbs
height (tallest): 8 1/2 inches
manufacturer's mark impressed to undersides
Chase Chrome Catalogue for 1936-37, United States, 1978, cat. no. 27013 an 27014, pp. 44
The Estate of Ilon Specht
one light lacking bulb, with losses to enamel of each, other scattered abrasions
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Condition reports are based on visual inspection by the Capsule team under typical office lighting. Unless otherwise noted, items are not examined under UV light in advance of sale. We do not guarantee the content of written or verbal condition reports. Remember, all lots are previously owned and all sales are final. The absence of a condition report does not imply that there are no condition issues with the lot.
Art has not been examined out of the frame unless otherwise stated. Frames, lampshades, or items described as “supplementary” are not considered integral to the value of the lot and are excluded from condition assessments. This includes any mat, mounting, glazing, hanging apparatus, case, box, or stand. Timepiece movements, lighting elements and items with mechanical or electrical components have not been thoroughly tested and are not covered under warranty by Capsule.
Ilon Specht was a pioneering advertising copywriter and creative director who first carved a place for herself in the heady "Mad Men" era of New York advertising. While still in her twenties, she created the iconic "Because I'm Worth It" campaign for L'Oreal Paris. Specht was a subject of author Malcom Gladwell and Oscar-winning documentarian Ben Proudfoot, whose documentary short The Final Copy of Ilon Specht is streaming on Amazon Prime. Her L'Oreal Paris campaign would change beauty advertising forever, catalyzing a pivot from an emphasis on pleasing men to promoting women's self-confidence and empowerment. Ilon also did groundbreaking work for the Peace Corps, Oxy 5, Underalls, and Life cereal. She was an avid collector, especially of Deco and American country, with an eye that transcended eras and fads. Unlikely collections adorned all corners of her dazzling apartment in the Dakota. After retiring from advertising, she moved to California and devoted herself full-time to making and dealing in beautiful things. As a mother, a stepmother, a friend, and a boss, Ilon Specht was caring, generous, courageous and brilliant. She changed many lives.
