Skinner to host 600-lot sale of Science & Technology antiques, Sept. 11
Sept. 7, 2004
BOLTON, Mass. –Skinner will host a Science & Technology auction on Saturday, September 11, at 10 a.m. (Eastern time), with live Internet bidding through www.liveauctioneers.com. Offering nearly 600 lots, the sale features a broad range of material, ranging from timekeeping devices, musical boxes, calculators and technical apparatus, to instruments and literature, photography, and microscopes. Also included are telescopes, surveying instruments, medical devices and accessories, and firefighting memorabilia.
Musical Boxes, Instruments, and Photography:
The musical box dates from circa 1854, with Ferdinand Herold’s Pre aux Cleres, first performed in 1832, the most contemporary overture on its program. Nicole Frères appears to have been the premier retailer of grand format movements during the late 1840s and 1850s. This auction offers a Fine Piano Forte ‘Grand Format’ Musical Box by this maker, playing four overtures in rosewood case with brass and enamel inlay – an example of a top-quality overture movement retailed by the London firm Cox, Savory & Co. Circa 1854 (lot 36, $36/45,000). Nicole Frères' No. 32031 (a grand format with identical arrangement to the one offered here) also carries the name of Cox, Savory & Co., as do several other high quality Nicole boxes .
Of particular interest in the next portion of the sale is lot 108, a School’s Tellurium by G. Philip & Son, London, with a three-inch terrestrial globe revolving with a white moon-ball on a triple-geared axis around a central candle "sun" ($2/3,000). Other offerings include a varied collection of literature covering subjects including microscopy, nautical and navigational topics, and maps and surveying, to name a few.
Photography-related lots include a rare natural stereoscope, by J. Wood, Birkby, Huddersfield (lot 155, $10/15,000). Patented on May 29, 1862, the Natural Stereoscope was designed by John Hirst and Joseph Wood of York, England. Several designs are known: a plain version, an Art Nouveau design and the deluxe model offered here. The decoration differed even between examples of the same model, and the Royal Feathers carved over the arched pediment is an unusual element on this particular viewer. Additional highlights include an array of optical toys, from lot 129 ($2/300), an early 19th century alabaster peep-egg with a lens in the top and three revolving views, to ‘The World of Tomorrow’, a five-part peep view commemorating the New York 1939 World’s Fair (lot 127, $2/300). Also sure to attract attention is an important archive of stereo views deaccesssioned from a Massachusetts institution, including stereo views of the Crystal Palace by London photographers Nagretti and Zambra, Frith views of Egypt, and people and places from Paris to Palestine (offered in thirty-one lots). Other highlights include a classic Leica M-series camera, as well as Nikon and Kodak Ektra examples.
Microscopes and Telescopes:
The auction includes a broad selection of microscopes, led by a rare Bausch & Lomb Griffith Club microscope (lot 239, $5/7,000) designed by Ezra H. Griffith of Fairport, New York, and manufactured by Bausch & Lomb; and a McIntosh professional microscope, No. 301, stamped McIntosh G. and F. Battery Co., Chicago (lot 240, $6/8,000). Telescopes include a rare 4-inch astronomical refracting telescope by William Gardam & Sons of New York (lot 288, $6/8,000). William and Joseph Gardam are first listed in 1872, living in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, as instrument makers specializing in engineering, surveying and astronomical equipment. The firm advertised equatorial mounts for astronomical telescopes, as well as a portable 4-inch refracting telescope with equatorial mount discussed in the 1891 issue of Scientific America. The telescope offered here is believed to be the only surviving example by this maker.
Surveying Instruments, Medical Devices, and Firefighting Memorabilia:
A diverse group of early American surveying instruments also highlights the sale, including lot 449 ($3/4,000), a Daniel King mahogany surveyor’s compass, circa 1750. Daniel King (1704-1790) of Salem, Massachusetts, was a maker of mathematical instrumental instruments and a “teacher of mathematics.” Additional offerings include compasses by Thomas Greenough (lot 448, $2,5/3,500) and other Boston makers.
Leading the auction’s medical instruments is a rare 1843 patent fracture set by G. Kellogg, Derby, Connecticut (lot 523, $3/4,000). Dr. Bascom’s Medical Kit (lot 512, $1/1,500) includes the doctor’s card, a portrait miniature in a gilt fob, his obituary notice and a handwritten note, "This box contains old instruments and material used by Dr. Ezekial Fitch Bascom when in practice in Portland, Maine. He was the father of Henry, 9, and Eugene, 7, Bascom. He died at the age of 39 years at the peak of his practice. He was a botanic physician and many of his receipts are in his note book. He perfected a medicine for dyspepsia and for many years after his death, his prescription supported his wife and two children. Orders came from all over the United States for the remedy. He was born in Hinsdale, New Hampshire, and died May 13, 1868.” The selection of medical offerings also includes a creamware leech jar (lot 507, $2/300), among others.
The sale closes with an extensive selection of firefighting memorabilia. Included are certificates, trumpets, extinguishers, and a variety of helmets, as well as shields, badges, books, and prints.
Catalog and Bidding:
View the complete illustrated catalog online and bid live online (or leave a secure absentee bid) at www.liveauctioneers.com.
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