(After the Palisades Fire on January 7, 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 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.)
These are antique children’s playthings. The first two photos include a cast iron horse that would be pulling a wagon or chariot and also, a wood ball on a string.
One had to catch the ball in the small wood cup.
The lower photo is of a bear and wolf on a board jumping over the moon. The last photo is Daniele’s doll when she was a child.
(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.)