Welcome. Groovyman.com has spent the past two years collaborating with an uncommon source, the Cobb Benner Birt Collection of Asian and European Antiquities. It’s a groovy story, have a read. All the best, Joe Birt.

Cobb Benner

The Cobbs trace their ancestry to Englishman Elder Henry Cobb of Plymouth Colony. The Benner name derives from my fraternal Great Great Grandmother who married a Benner from Ohio.  Both families collected stunning etchings, long case clocks, looking glasses and barometers. Here is a Civil War story about my Great Aunt, Lucy Cobb in the Saturday Evening Post. The tureen depicted above is a birthday gift from her father Ebeneezer Haskell Cobb III inscribed to “Lu”. This piece has been in my family for over 150 years and followed them to Milan, Italy and Tokyo, Japan. I have no doubt that the Cobb influence impacted my parents appreciation for symmetry, beauty and integrity in the pieces they collected.

Birt

So who were my Grandparents? My Grandmother Ann Birt was was an Interior Designer who served as a President of the International Furnishings and Design Association IFDA for a spell, and was also lucky enough to live, design and collect in the fashion capitals of the world including Milan, Italy and Tokyo Japan. While in Tokyo, she worked for one of the preeminent collectors of Asian Art, Michael Dunn, whose books are still recognized as key touchstones for serious collectors.

 

My Grandfather Mike Birt shared the same passion for art and design. An engineer by training, he founded The Asian Arts Council of the Minneapolis Art Institute, helped found The Decorative Arts Council, and served as co-chair of the Antiques Show of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA). Ever the engineer, Mike also served as President of the Midwest Chapter of The MIT Alumni Association.

 

I cannot leave this family story without mentioning my Aunt, Wendy, who has shared every second of our family’s peripatetic journey of art, design and discovery. I am proud to share our story with you and hope you enjoy reading about this collection. All items are currently owned by my parents and Aunt, me, and my cousins.