ASHLEY ABRAHAM VAN TINE, EXPORTER-IMPORTER from
1865-1887
JAMES IRVING RAYMOND, EXPORTER-IMPORTER from 1887-1905
A. A.
Vantine & Co. began in Yokohama in 1865 by Ashley Abraham Van
Tine, a U.S. importer. The company exported goods from Japan,
China, Turkey, India, and other Oriental countries. In 1875,
James Irving Raymond became a partner in the company and became
sole owner of A. A. Vantine & Company. The company opened an
antique store in New York City at 814 Broadway and became world
renown as The Oriental Store. The business was incorporated in 1893. The company had a
factory in Nagoya, Japan for the manufacture of porcelain and the
decoration of china. Raymond died in 1905 but the company
continued...more info to come. The trademarks of the firm are
"Ichi Ban" and "Nee Ban." [Later, other trade marks were used]. (FromThe
National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Volume III, written
by James Terry White, 1893.).
A. A. Vantine & Co. operated their oriental business in New
York, NY on Broadway and in 1914 moved to Fifth and Thirty-Ninth Street.
Based on their catalog advertisement circa 1914, A. A. Vantine & Co. was
importing Old Blue Canton, Gold Medallion, Seiji (Celadon Green),
Mikado, Tokio, Gauske, Hon Kin, Kaga, Arita, Imari, Kutani, Hirado,
Sumida-gawa and many other favorite wares from Japan.
The fringed border China flag in their trade mark was noted in the
Jewelers' Circular in 1895. But also at this same time newspaper ads
appearing in The New York Tribune and The Sun, beginning around mid
1894, featured a trade mark containing the China flag without a fringed
border. Later around 1899, the dragon in the China flag was altered and
appeared more like a snake.
The China flag with straight edge border can be seen in their Yokohama
trade mark. It is most likely goods exported from Yokohama bear the
trade mark with China lag with straight edge border.
From the Catalog of Copyright Entries written by the
Library of Congress Copyright Office, 1908:
AA
Vantine & Co imported Japan ceramic wares, such as, Sumida ware
- Ryosai Inoue, Raku, Kyoto Faience, Suma Earthenware, Kaga (Kutani),
Kiusiu, and Kinran (Coralene).(FromThe
Ceramic Art: A Compendium of the History and Manufacture of
Pottery and Porcelain written by Jennie J. Young, 1875)
1893 The Connoisseur article on AA
Vantine & Co
and advertisement for Japanese goods
A. A. VANTINE & CO. ADVERTISEMENT
TRADEMARKS
AA Vantine & Co. newspaper advertisements included their
trademark logo and there were slight differences in their
trademark over the years -
A. A. Vantine & Co. trade mark
Japan flag (L),
China flag (R) fringed border
Crescent moon (Horns pointing up)
& Star
18, 19, 20 Feb 1879
National Republican
Washington DC
A. A. Vantine & Co. trade mark
Kanji characters possibly found on Japanese ware
10 Dec 1882
Daily Tribune
New York , NY
A. A. Vantine & Co. trade mark
Japan flag (L),
China flag (R) fringed border
Crescent moon (Horns pointing R) & Star
4 Mar 1888
Daily Tribune
New York, NY
A. A. Vantine & Co. trade mark
Japan flag (L),
China flag (R) fringed border
Crescent moon (Horns pointing up) & Star
10 Jun 1888
Daily Tribune
New York, NY
A. A. Vantine & Co. trade mark
Japan flag (L),
China flag (R) straight border
Crescent moon (Horns pointing R) & Star
20 Oct 1889
Daily Tribune
New York, NY
A. A. Vantine & Co.
27 Jun 1890
Daily Tribune
New York, NY
A. A. Vantine & Co. trade mark
Japan flag (L),
China flag (R) fringed border
Crescent moon (Horns pointing R) & Star
19 Apr 1891
The Sun
New York, NY
A. A. Vantine & Co. trade mark
Japan flag (L),
China flag (R) fringed border
Crescent moon (Horns pointing R) & Star
28 May 1893
Daily Tribune
New York, NY
A. A. Vantine & Co. trade mark
Japan flag (L),
China flag (R) fringed border
Crescent moon (Horns pointing R) & Star
7 January 1894
Daily Tribune
New York, NY
A. A. Vantine & Co. trade mark
Japan flag (L),
China flag (R) straight line no border
Crescent moon (Horns pointing R) & Star
12 August 1894
The Sun
New York, NY
A. A. Vantine & Co. trade mark
Japan flag (L),
China flag (R) straight line no border
Crescent moon (Horns pointing R) & Star
8 December 1895
Daily Tribune
New York, NY
A. A. Vantine & Co. trade mark
Japan flag (L),
China flag (R) straight line no border
Crescent moon (Horns pointing R) & Star
1896
Daily Tribune
New York, NY
Closeup of trade mark from Jewelers Circular
A. A. Vantine & Co. trade mark
30 Jan 1895 Note: Chinese flag fringed border; original dragon
30 Jan 1895 JEWELERS CIRCULAR article (pdf)
A. A. VANTINE & CO.'S TRADE MARK ON ORIENTAL WARES
A. A. Vantine & Co, trade mark
17 Dec 1899
The Sun
New York, NY
Note: Chinese flag no border; change in dragon
27 Feb 1900
New York Tribune
支那 CHINA
日本 DAI NIHON
Note: Many c1900 (based on enamels & form) Japanese wares bear
the mark DAI NIHON, could it be these wares can be attributed to
Vantine
6 Jan 1901
New Tork Tribune
New York, NY
支那 CHINA
日本 DAI NIHON
Note: Many c1900 (based on enamels & form) Japanese wares bear
the mark DAI NIHON, could it be these wares can be attributed to
Vantine
1
Oct 1902
The Sun New
York, NY
日本直輸入高NIHON
DIRECT IMPORT EXPENSIVE
Closeup of 1902 Trade Mark
Note: China flag no border; change from original dragon
ASHLEY ABRAHAM VAN TINE
ASHLEY
ABRAHAM VAN TINE, one of the most notable of the up-town
merchants of this city, was born Oct. 12, 1821, in Chazy,
N. Y., and died at his home, No. 153 West 57th street in
this city, Jan. 25, 1890. He traced his family line back
to old Holland stock, and his father, David Van Tine,
followed the occupation of a farmer. It was upon the
farm that Ashley A. Van Tine began life. He grew up
rugged in health, practical and energetic, and, with a
country school education, took the first step in the way
of bettering his condition by becoming captain of a
canal boat, while yet under age, graduating from this
latter service to engage in teaching a school in
Plattsburgh. This latter experience was useful to Mr.
Van Tine, and by constant study he became a well
informed man.
Early in life, the subject of this memoir joined the
throng of residents of the Eastern States, who were
pouring into California, drawn by the glowing tales of
discoveries of gold. Being detained on the Isthmus of
Panama, a hundred days, he followed a custom usual with
him and not often followed, of making the most of every
minute of time, and at once began to study the Spanish
language, becoming so proficient that the Alcalde
offered him great inducements to remain. But the glitter
of California gold proved too tempting to the New
Yorker, and he pressed onward to San Francisco. For a
number of years he carried on a profitable trade in
general merchandise in the cities of Marysville and San
Francisco, during which period he experienced some of
the hardships of life in a region in which the comforts
of civilization had not yet been introduced, but
steadily gained ground and made his way without serious
interruption.
It was during his mercantile experience upon the Pacific
coast, that Mr. Van Tine became acquainted with the
beauty of the ceramic and textile productions of the two
great nations beyond the western ocean. About 1866, he
came to New York city and with small capital began to
import Chinese and Japanese goods, and to introduce the
beautiful productions of Asiatic art to the attention of
local buyers. He may thus be said to have become for the
second time a pioneer, and, as before, in an almost
unexplored field. Little was then known by the public at
large concerning the variety and beauty of Chinese and
Japanese goods, because scarcely anything of this nature
had ever been received in New York up to that time
beyond a few invoices of silk, porcelains and lacquered
ware. Mr. Van Tine entered upon his new enterprise with
his accustomed good judgment and after prudent study of
the markets. A love of beautiful objects, formerly
cherished by a few, had finally taken possession of the
people of New York city and the American public at
large, and the adornment of the home was leading to the
purchase of every article, which would gratify a refined
taste, including hangings, pictures, decorated pottery
and elegant trifles of all kinds.
Mr. Van Tine opened his store just at the right time and
throngs of buyers rewarded his enterprise. His first
day's sale amounted to $50 only. Although insignificant
in itself, this result was a surety of success to his
mind and he prosecuted his business with vigor and
confidence. When he finally began to order hundreds and
thousands of the various articles which composed his
stocks, the Japanese merchants looked at him with
amazement, while buyers in New York were captivated by
the variety and extent of the goods he spread before
them. In time, he finally added the importation of
Turkish rugs to his business and rose to be the leading
merchant in this field in New York city. His operations
compelled him to maintain branches and representatives
in every part of the United States and in many countries
abroad. At one time, he had customers in every State of
the Union.
In 1870, he admitted to partnership, under the name of
A. A. Van Tine & Co., James F. Sutton, who remained with
him for twelve years and then retired. James I. Raymond
was made a partner in 1875. Various other changes took
place in the firm, and finally, in 1887, Mr. Van Tine
retired, after an honorable career of nearly fifty years
in practical business He was able to enjoy a few years
of well earned rest before his death. His wife and two
daughters survived him. (Resource: America's Successful
Men of Affairs, Henry Hall, The New York Tribune, 1895.)
JAMES IRVING RAYMOND
JAMES IRVING RAYMOND,
merchant, head of the importing house of A. A. Vantine &
Co., was born in Bedford, Westchester county, N. Y.,
Aug. 23, 1843. His father was Edward Raymond, a
prosperous farmer. The boy attended the public schools
and academy of his native town and spent his time, not
needed for study, in the work of the farm. In 1864, he
came to New York city to enter commercial life, equipped
with a good education and a determination to merit
success. His first and only engagement was with the
house of A. A. Vantine & Co. Here, he applied himself
earnestly, studying the details of the extended business
of the firm and evincing a rectitude and capability,
which soon brought promotion. In 1875, he became a
partner. After the death of Mr. Vantine, founder of the
business, Mr. Raymond purchased the entire interest. He
is now sole owner of an unequaled establishment. The
house has been and is today the greatest of the kind in
the United States, making a specialty of the finest rugs
and other goods of China, Japan, Turkey, India and other
Oriental countries. A retail and wholesale business is
done, extending to every section of the country and
requiring representatives in nearly all the markets of
Europe and Asia. While Mr. Raymond is personally of
modest and retiring temperament, the fame of his
business is world wide and the reputation of the house
for solidity and exact business methods is enviable. In
1875, Mr. Raymond married Grace, daughter of Col. John
Quincy Adams of Brooklyn, the union resulting in one
son, Irving Edward Raymond, now eighteen years of age
and preparing for a collegiate course. Mr. Raymond is a
member of the Presbyterian church and lives in Stamford,
Conn., in a home which exemplifies all which is artistic
and tasteful. He is a member of the Union League club
and the Stock Exchange, and a director of The New York
Real Estate Trust Co. (Resource: America's Successful
Men of Affairs, Henry Hall, The New York Tribune, 1895.)
circa 1895 AA Vantine importer for Japanese Porcelain Figural
Lotus Flower Bowl
circa 1896 to Oct 1899 A. A. Vantine importer for
Japanese Porcelain Gilded Jeweled Sugar Bowl
A. A. VANTINE & CO. TRADEMARKS
CROSSED FLAGS FRINGED BORDER CHINESE FLAG (Meiji era)
The blue logo
stamp mark for A A Vantine & Co showing the Japan flag on left
(for Japan imports) and the China flag on right (for China
imports) with crescent moon and star symbol for Turkey due
to Persian rugs imported by the company from that country. This
mark found on porcelain ware from Japan. Note: Chinese flag
fringed border
CROSSED FLAGS STRAIGHT EDGE
BORDER CHINESE FLAG & ?
(Meiji era)
Mark in reverse
with kanji characters 院多? This mark found on
Kaga Kutani porcelain ware from Japan. Note:
Chinese flag straight edge border
CROSSED FLAGS STRAIGHT EDGE BORDER CHINESE FLAG (Meiji era)
Same mark in green, illegible writing below.
CROSSED FLAGS STRAIGHT EDGE BORDER CHINESE FLAG
TRADE MARK and CHERRY BLOSSOM JAPAN HAND PAINTED (Meiji era)
Mark in blue, crossed flags with Nippon trade
mark Cherry Blossom Japan Hand Painted
CROSSED FLAGS STRAIGHT EDGE BORDER CHINESE FLAG
TRADE MARK JAPAN and
長高 NAGATAKA (Meiji era)
Mark in magenta and
red,
長高 = NAGATAKA
CROSSED FLAGS STRAIGHT EDGE BORDER CHINESE
FLAG TRADE MARK and 大日本 ??? DAI NIHON ? JAPAN (Meiji era)
CROSSED FLAGS STRAIGHT EDGE BORDER CHINESE FLAG IMPRESSED MARK (Meiji era)
CROSSED FLAGS STRAIGHT EDGE BORDER CHINESE FLAG STAMP LOGO (Meiji era)
Blue logo stamp
mark for A A Vantine & Co showing the Japan flag on left
and the China flag on right with crescent moon and star
symbol for Turkey. This mark found on porcelain ware
from Japan. Note: Chinese flag no border
CROSSED JAPAN FLAGS & WATANO SEI (Meiji era)
Trade mark for A A
Vantine & Co showing two crossed Japan flags
with kanji characters 綿野製 WATANO SEI. This mark found on
Kaga Kutani porcelain ware from Japan.
-A- FLAG
Tentative attribution
to AA Vantine & Co
WARES EXPORTED-IMPORTED BY A. A.
VANTINE & CO.
I believe this is incorrectly
noted and should be Sumida ware and must likely the work of
Ryosai Inoue.
1893 Advertisement for A A
Vantine & Co
importers for Japanese Porcelain & Shippo Cloisonne
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