Inman Auctions launching new gallery with April 16-17 sale of advertising, coin ops
March 17, 2004
ALLENTOWN, Pa. – On April 16-17, partners Randy Inman and Rick Both will officially open the doors to their new 19,000-square-foot auction gallery in Allentown, with a debut sale of approximately 1,100 lots of antique advertising and coin ops – but you don’t have to be there to take your pick of the blue ribbon merchandise. LiveAuctioneers.com will be providing the real time bidding component on both days, so you’ll be able to bid from anywhere in the world via the Internet.
The Spring Advertising & Coin Op Sale begins with a Friday evening session (commencing at 5 p.m. EST, 2 p.m. PST) that features around 400 lots of advertising, almost exclusively from the private collection of the late James Gordon Luhman of Allentown. Included is a selection of more than 100 tin advertising tip trays, approximately 200 tin advertising serving trays – mostly representing breweries, many from Pennsylvania – and a sizable grouping of signs and tin containers. Most of the tins are tobacco, gas or oil related.
“There are quite a few important examples among the tip trays, including several that advertise Moxie,” said Inman. Other companies include Clysmic, I.P. Thomas & Son, American Line (cruise ships), White Rock Sparkling Water, Northampton Brewery, Yuengling’s, and many more. All are in excellent condition and modestly estimated, anywhere from $75 to $200 apiece.
Most of the serving trays that have been consigned also belonged to Mr. Luhman, and are in extremely nice condition. The assortment is quite extensive, with several different styles representing some of the breweries, which include: Isaac Weil & Sons, Stegmaier of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Valley Forge, Harvard Brewing of Lowell, Mass., Stroh’s Bohemian, Goldenrod of Brooklyn, N.Y., and James Hanley Peerless Ale. Also in the lineup are a tray advertising Bethlehem Liquor and Bottling Co., and a very colorful and pictorial example with a horse-racing scene from Derby King Brewery.
James Luhman was a collector in the most genuine sense of the word. According to his daughter, Hope Luhman, he never bought a tray “just to be buying it. He only bought it if he really liked the pictures, the colors, or if it was a brewery he didn’t know … that would pique his curiosity.”
Luhman began collecting in the late 1960s after receiving a gift from his wife, the late Elizabeth Luhman. “I remember going with my mom, who was a collector of Coca-Cola memorabilia, to a little house in Allentown to look at a Neuweiler Beer tray,” Hope said. “It’s one of those classic trays – with a brewmaster image – that every collector of beer trays owns. That got him started, and he kept on collecting until right before he passed away, last November.”
She said she still has vivid memories of being awakened early on Sunday mornings to accompany her dad to Shupp’s Grove and other Adamstown-area markets to shop with a flashlight in tow. “It was a lot of fun growing up in that environment. The collectors in the Lehigh Valley were like a band of brothers and sisters. Dad enjoyed it so much, and so did I.”
The 700-lot Saturday session, which begins at 10 a.m. EST (7 a.m. PST), will be a day filled with amusement and great buying opportunities. The inventory includes outstanding coin ops, penny arcade machines, 30 slot machines, carousel figures, display cases, additional antique advertising and several larger-scale novelties: a cigar store figure, Wurlitzer 1015 jukebox and vintage phone booth. The core of the session comes from one major collection out of Canfield, Ohio.
Among the penny arcade machines to be sold are an all-original Mills Cupid’s Post Office, which delivers romantic messages; two Mutoscopes, a Cail-o-scope, a circa-1900 cast iron clamshell Mutoscoope, and a Caille upright slot machine. Also to be sold are a desirable circa-1900 Mills cigar-dispensing machine, a Mills jockey card machine, several penny-in-the-slot stand-on weight scales, and approximately 30 countertop three-reel slot machines. “It’s very unusual to see that many in one sale,” Inman remarked. “They should bring anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000 or $6,000 apiece.”
Among the figural pieces of interest are three carousel tigers – each a different size – as well as a carousel horse and giraffe, a nicely carved cigar store Indian princess and a figural zinc ticket vendor. “You drop a coin into the slot in his hat, press his belly button, and a ticket comes out of his mouth,” said Inman. “It’s an early, very rare piece and mostly original.”
Another interesting figural is a painted wood folk art windmill comprised of a jointed figure on a high-wheel bicycle. “It was found in New England,” Inman said, “and I would guess it’s from the late 19th or early 20th century.”
Fitting the bill for anyone seeking the unusual for home décor are a circa-1920s oak phone booth with candlestick phone and a bubbling Wurlitzer 1015 jukebox in all-original condition, loaded with a “superb” selection of 78 rpm records. Also cataloged is a small grouping of choice, early furnishings: an oak raised-panel rolltop desk, fancy carved oak desk, oak display cabinet, a bar back and parlor lamps with art glass shades.
Sure to create a stir with collectors of gambling material is a 20th-century oak craps table with felted surface and all accessories, including dice and croupier’s stick. Most craps tables from this era are of mahogany, and it is noteworthy that this example is of oak, Inman said.
In the country store and soda fountain portion of the sale, a fine offering awaits bidders, with many syrup dispensers, dye and chewing gum cabinets, straw holders, candy jars and scales, cash registers and drink mixers. There are also several examples of early ice shavers.
Of the tin store displays, two standouts are examples promoting Beech-Nut Gum and Blue-Jay corn plasters, respectively. The latter is a rocking model, Inman pointed out. Also to be sold are also a couple of floor display cases and a fine Corticelli silk thread spool cabinet.
Hires fans can look forward to several select lots, each displaying the trademark image of the pointing boy with a frosted root beer mug. Among them are an extremely rare punchbowl, a pitcher, and a marble-based “moneymaker” with an unusual, original clear glass globe. Additionally, there is a self-framed tin Hires advertising sign.
Always-coveted salesman’s samples in the sale include a Majestic cast iron stove with nearly all of its original cooking accessories, and a Coken barber chair. Full-sized barber shop pieces will be offered as well, such as a floor model cast iron barber pole and barber chair.
More wonderful advertising pieces are earmarked for the Saturday session, including an appealing selection of approximately 150 porcelain signs – mostly automotive themed – from one private collection in Illinois. Other signs include a Wheelock’s Patent Steam paper sign, a very colorful Pierce Cycle (Buffalo, N.Y.) paper roll-down, an early Kaufmann & Strauss paper sign with images of two pretty Victorian women, a Button Engine Works paper sign with multiple images of an early fire pumper, and a large, impressive paper sign advertising Pabst Brewing, with illustrations of a factory scene. Calendars include three colorful diecuts and a 1901 example from Hamm’s Brewery.
Continuing with the advertising signs, there is a very unusual triangular porcelain Dr. Pepper sign of prewar vintage, plus several advertising clocks, a Flying A gasoline pump, and a number of thermometers, touting products across the board, from soda pop and foods to tobacco products. One of the most eyecatching lots in the signs category is a neon example advertising Mercury Outboard Motors. According to Inman, the last example he sold of this sign went for $1,100, “and this one is in even better condition.”
Among the miscellaneous items is a lot that may be considered macabre by some but which would be of great interest to collectors of antique medical items: a mortician’s bench from the early 20th century. Also, tobacciana enthusiasts can look forward to a selection of cigar lighters and cigar cutters to be sold in the second session.
A fully illustrated catalogue will be available to view on the LiveAuctioneers website.
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