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Kunstkammer

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The Private Collection of A Gentleman

Tregoning & Company is proud to offer for sale a remarkable assemblage of art, decorative art, objects and miscellany that was acquired over the last 20 years by the distinguished Northern Ohio educator, author, historian, archivist, lecturer and Psychologist, Dr. JOHN A. POPPLESTONE (1928 – 2013).

Dr. Popplestone, first in collaboration with his wife Dr. Marion White McPherson--also a distinguished Psychologist who taught with him at the University of Akron--and then for several years following her death, dedicated his retirement to the full-time pursuit of acquiring a wide range of intriguing, beautiful objects and works of art, as well as indulging his deeply felt love of Great Britain and its military traditions through collecting British dress uniforms and accoutrements.  

As one could expect, the task of doing justice to this diverse and seemingly unrelated collection in our installing it all here in our galleries was certainly daunting.  The underlying motivation that might explain how this brilliant intellectually driven connoisseur came to own what he did, became apparent after studying his accompanying library of reference books.  

John had a fascination with the psychological root of collecting: its great possessors throughout history and their sometimes peculiar or obsessive drive to live surrounded by ‘things’ sacred, profane, utilitarian, odd, but all compelling.  He took as his basis the tradition in the late Renaissance and Baroque periods to celebrate one’s magnificence and taste by housing a collection in a special room: today we employ the German descriptive tag of Art Chamber or Gallery (“Kunstkammer”) or a Cabinet of Curiosities and Rarities (“Wunderkammer.”)  

Take the pleasure of considering for your own these beautiful objects that provided such pleasure to John Popplestone.  Nothing would please him more than to think that his collections would find their way to new owners who would delight in them as he did.

ENJOY!