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Library Legacies

June 26, 2025

Louise Irvine

The WMODA reference library has been growing steadily since 2018, when Victor and Muriel Polikoff, ardent Wedgwood scholars, donated hundreds of books about British ceramics. During the last few months, Barry Hill, a retired Royal Doulton dealer in London, has been dispatching his cherished books to the museum. The WMODA team has also been busy unpacking the library of the Art Deco Society of the Palm Beaches, thanks to the generosity of Sharon Koskoff. It will take some time before all the titles are available for research. However, please contact WMODA if you would like library access to study them.

The libraries in our Hollywood museum have been accessorized with ceramic art, including Wedgwood black basalt figures and busts used in Neoclassical interiors, as well as decorative arts from the 19th and 20th centuries. The library is rich in books about Royal Doulton, thanks to Arthur Wiener’s early collecting interests and my earlier career as a historical advisor to this famous British pottery. Many of the books about British art pottery were gifted to WMODA by Richard Dennis, publisher of numerous classic reference books for collectors, including my own Royal Doulton titles.

Barry Hill has also donated several out-of-print books about Royal Doulton. He first became interested in collecting Doulton in the mid-1980s, inspired by London’s thriving Camden Passage antiques market. He began trying his luck at auctions and was persuaded to sell his first purchases, thus beginning his second career as a Doulton dealer.

Barry’s Heritage Antiques business became a regular fixture at antiques fairs across England, and ultimately, he attended 36 shows a year. He became a full-time dealer in 1990 and opened his own small shop in Camden Passage. Barry was renowned for his vast assortment of Royal Doulton Series Wares, and he often shared his new discoveries in my books on the subject.

In 2000, Barry became the joint owner and editor of Collecting Doulton Magazine, which he published for ten years.  He was always on the lookout for books to expand his knowledge of the subject and discovered several old Doulton trade catalogs, which he donated to the museum. He is happy to share his treasured library, which will now be appreciated by many more enthusiasts of British ceramics.

 

Barry’s partner, Stuart Turnbull, also seized the opportunity to support WMODA with his collection of glass art books, which he has been collecting for 25 years. Stuart took courses in glass fusing and mold making and began creating glass art as a hobby. He became secretary of the Just Glass Society when it was in its infancy and took part in their local London exhibitions.

Collecting books about studio glass is also a passion of our volunteer, Julio DiFilippo, known to his friends as Flipper. He has gifted books about Dale Chihuly’s works on paper and William Morris, formerly Chihuly’s chief gaffer. Most recently, Sergio Gnesin, who specializes in Venetian glass, has donated his books about Ermanno Nason and the Ferro Brothers.

 

We are very fortunate that many authors, publishers and dealers have given copies of their books to the WMODA library. Dr. Gwen Reasoner presented us with a weighty tome about Royal Worcester birds. Terry Cartlidge gave us his book about Charles Vyse after his research at the museum. Alberto Shayo, the author of books about Chiparus and other Art Deco bronze statuettes, visited us from Argentina bearing gifts to research his next title.

Sharon Koskoff is well known in South Florida as an Art Deco expert, preservationist and activist, having been mentored by Barbara Baer Capitman, the Queen of Art Deco in Miami Beach. Many WMODA guests enjoyed hearing about Sharon’s career at the museum’s Art Deco weekend in April.

Sharon became the Founding President of Art Deco Society of the Palm Beaches in 1987 and continues to do invaluable work with the International Coalition of Art Deco Societies. The Duchess of Art Deco, as she is known, will travel to Paris in October to speak at the Centennial World Congress and we look forward to welcoming her back to WMODA to tell us of her experiences in Europe.

In the meantime, the WMODA team will be hard at work sorting the Art Deco Library of the Palm Beaches, which Sharon recently donated to the museum and we will keep you updated with our progress. We are looking forward to the return of our long-standing volunteer Alain Montour, who has overseen the cataloging of the WMODA libraries. If you would like to volunteer to help the museum with the library and archives collection, please email our volunteers coordinator, Kimberly Sheridan at kimberly@wmoda.com.

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