New York collector comes to Healdsburg to talk about hand fans
On November 3, curators at The Healdsburg Hand Fan Museum will invite the public to view a special collection of fans on loan by an American fan collector for the sixth annual American Collectors Exhibit.
The exhibition features fans from the eighteenth century of Dutch, French and Chinese origin and will be on display for both the public and museum members through the end of the year. A grand opening reception will be held to introduce the exhibition on Nov. 3 followed by a luncheon and talk with the collector herself on Nov.4.
Longtime collector Abbey Cash of New York will visit Healdsburg to talk about being a fan collector, tracing the history of fans and the reemergence of a fan trend. Cash is the most recent president of FANA, Fan Association of North America, a nonprofit membership organization supporting collectors and connecting members from around the country.
“When we were thinking of what fans to display…I wanted to send eclectic samples because people love to see variety. They include art nouveau paper fans by Umberto Brunelleschi, and other fans including Chinese carved fans with ivory, tortoise, mother of pearl, a shibayana fan … and probably the best of the collection is a gold over silver filigree fan with Kingfisher feather inlay,” Cash said of the selection that will be on display.
Cash became a fan collector by chance after one lone fan gifted by her husband prompted friends and family to offer up other fans to be displayed in her cabinet along side it. From there she began buying up fans as she traveled and soon her collection grew. Currently Cash owns over 700 fans noting that about 300 are the true core of the collection.
“I am fortunate because I live on the East Coast and what one has to realize if you are a fan collector is that this is a very lucky place to be because obviously we were the 13 original colonies where people from all over the world first landed and that was the days of the fans,” Cash said.
From auction houses to trips to Europe, Cash continues to grow her collection. She said that through her collection she finds pleasure in discovering the history of the fans, displaying them as art and sharing them with other enthusiast.
“Hand fans are rare and precious. They highlight history and fashion and social mores and politics and they are just great art,” said Healdsburg’s Hand Fan Museum Director Liz Keeley. “Anything you want to know about a culture you can find on a fan of its time.”
But Keeley notes that the trend of women carrying fans is no longer a thing of the past. Fans are now being carried by celebrities and can be found on the pages of high fashion magazines such as Vogue and Vanity Fair.
“Currently on ‘The Voice’ Christina Aguilera has a fan every week, and she is often using vintage fans,” said Keeley.
With the growing trend comes the resurgence of the old Parisian fan house, Duvelleroy, redeveloped by two young women who have recently launched a modern fan line. Duvelleroy produced fans from the 1827 until the 1930’s when the popularity of hand fans dwindled.
“These two women are now revitalizing it (Duvelleroy) they have already started last fall with their first collection at Bergdorf Goodman in New York. And it is interesting that what they chose to bring to American for their first collection are fans made from feathers and named after Native American tribes,” Keeley said.
“I think the trend is starting. Just in the last few years I have really seen the interest. I have sold more fans in the last two years than in the previous five,” she said.
The Healdsburg Hand Fan Museum is a free museum open to the public offering rotating exhibits and supporting a store that sells fans, notecards, jewelry, totes and other novelties. The museum houses the largest hand fan research library in the U.S. and is the only museum of its kind in North America.
The sixth annual American Fan Collectors Exhibit grand opening wine and cheese reception will be held on Sunday, Nov. 3 from 5 to 7 p.m. at The Healdsburg Hand Fan Museum at 219 Healdsburg Ave. Free to the public.
A luncheon and talk with American Fan Collector Abbey Cash will follow on Monday, Nov. 4, at Spoonbar restaurant next to the museum. $30 per person, call Museum Director Liz Keeley for reservations, 484-6438.
For more information on visiting the museum or becoming a member, visit http://handfanmuseum.org.
