After the fire, one of the first questions one of CTN’s out-of-state readers asked was “What happened to the man with that interesting collection? Did it survive?”
The reader was referring to Palisades resident Howard Yonet, who had one of the most impressive collections of oddities and antiques, which he had collected over his lifetime. He, like many people in the Palisades Fire, lost everything. He had given CTN a copy of his book detailing the items. We plan to continue to run the items he had shared – and lost.
I bought this chair many years ago at a garage sale in our neighborhood. I believe it’s made of mahogany. It was once painted. It has elaborate woodwork and a fine cane woven seat.
I haven’t been unable to get any information on the chair’s age or country of origin. I tried Reddit and the best answer I received was “fascinating.”
I’m thinking its English or Scottish because they had great sources for mahogany.
(Editor’s note: Palisades resident Howard Yonet has an interesting collection of curios from around the world and with his permission, Circling the News is publishing one a week. About the collector: Dr. Howard Yonet was born in Brooklyn in 1934 and attended Brooklyn College. He went to Baylor Medical School and then returned to do an internship at Bellevue Hospital. Yonet completed his residency at the Manhattan V.A. and the Montefiore Hospital. During this time he went skiing in Vermont and the Catskills, and while traveling found barns filled with early American pieces. This led to his interest in American Antiques.
In 1965, he married Daniele, who was originally from Nancy, France. During the Vietnam War, Yonet was drafted as a medical officer and stationed in Landstuhl, Germany (1966-1969). This was close to the French border, which meant he and Daniele and could visit her family.
While abroad, the Yonets took weekend trips through France and Italy, purchasing many interesting pieces at flea markets.
The family settled in Pacific Palisades in 1970 and Yonet practiced general radiology until 2006. He continued to acquire antiques and collectables at estate and garage sales and the Salvation Army Store. He also enjoyed looking for collectibles while traveling in Montana, Idaho, Colorado and Massachusetts. Daniele’s family helped add to his collection.)
Amazing….I owned furniture going back to the middle ages. Paitings and manuscripts of some of the greatest minds of our era. They survived countless wars, ocean crossings, occupations and Third World countries. They didn’t survive LA’s lazy and inactive LA firefighters who decided to throw a beach party for three days instead of fighting a minor brushfire that started three miles away.
We live in a city unfit for the safety of fine objects. IKEA and paperbacks next round.