October 2008 - Page 4 of 5 - Auction Central News

Publisher updates info on dmg’s anticipated sale of AntiqueWeek

KNIGHTSTOWN, Ind. (ACNI) – As previously reported on Auction Central News, dmg world media is moving away from antiques publishing with its sale of London-based Antiques Trade Gazette and the expected sale of four publications produced in Knightstown, Ind., three of them antiques related.

Richard Lewis, publisher of the U.S.-based titles – AntiqueWeek, AntiqueWest, Auction Exchange, and Farm World – confirmed to Auction Central News on Oct. 9, 2008 that the publications are currently under offer.

Rare 1844 proof $10 coin going on display Nov. 1 at New Orleans Mint

NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Talk about an investment in gold. This one is insured for $2.5 million, although it contains only a half-ounce of the precious metal.

It’s an extremely rare 1844 proof $10 gold coin struck at the U.S. Mint in New Orleans as a presentation piece for President James Polk. Collectors believe it is one-of-a-kind.

Now the property of an anonymous Florida collector, the coin, known as an Eagle, has been brought back to New Orleans to be put on display at the Old U.S. Mint when the museum reopens on Nov. 1 after a brief closure to install exhibits.

New Orleans coin dealer Paul Hollis made arrangements to have the coin displayed in the city of its origin.

“You will never get another one,” Hollis said.

Like many rare coins, the exact history of how this Eagle was passed around is cloudy. Struck on specially prepared, highly polished dies, presentation proofs were given during the 1800s to various VIPs such as dignitaries and heads of state. Well-connected collectors also managed to get a few.
Most were prepared at the Philadelphia mint, while few came out of branch mints such as New Orleans, which operated from 1838 to 1909. The distinctive “O” mint mark on the reverse under a heraldic eagle motif identifies the coin as of New Orleans origin.

During its operation, the New Orleans mint produced a wide range of silver and gold coins, including the king of circulating U.S. gold coins, the $20 Double Eagle.

The New Orleans mint was one of three in the South. The others were in Charlotte, N.C., and Dahlonega, Ga. Of the three, only the New Orleans mint reopened after the Civil War.

Hollis said the New Orleans-produced 1844 Eagle surfaced at a sale in the early 1900s and records indicate it may have traded for as little as $11. It was later owned by U.S. Treasury Secretary William Woodin, who served under President Franklin Roosevelt and played a key role in the United States seizing gold and gold coins in 1933 as the country abandoned the international gold standard.

It also was Woodin who cut an exception to the seizure for rare gold coins.
Hollis puts a ballpark value on the Eagle at $2 million to $2.7 million. The owner has insured it for $2.5 million.

“It certainly is a seven-figure item,” said Scott Schechter of Sarasota, Fla.-based Numismatic Guaranty Corp., who certified the coin’s authenticity.

Hollis said he carried the coin in his hands on a flight from Florida to New Orleans, where security officers accompanied both to the Eagle’s new home at the mint.

The mint was closed for about two years after Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005 and reopened in October 2007 after a $5 million renovation. In addition to exhibits dedicated to the building’s time as a mint, the museum also includes archived maps and documents dating back to Louisiana’s days as a French and Spanish possession.

The museum’s jazz collection, including sheet music, photographs, records, manuscripts and instruments from some of the city’s earliest jazz musicians, is being overhauled and is expected to return to the mint in 2010.

AP-WS-10-12-08 1118EDT

Pa. state police seize old prison logbook sold at 1999 auction

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – An antiques dealer says state police illegally seized a rare prison logbook that he had purchased legally, but authorities insist the volume was stolen.

Edward Marshall bought the Eastern State Penitentiary Prison Entry Record Book in 1999 from Freeman’s auction house in Philadelphia for $920. The book lists the 744 convicts incarcerated in the historic prison – now a museum – from 1839 to 1850.

On Sept. 17, Marshall listed the book on eBay with a $5,000 starting bid. Eastern State placed a bid of $10,101.

“We were going to give it to the state archives,” said Sara Jane Elk, Eastern State’s executive director. She said a member of her staff contacted the archives in Harrisburg and was told the book “was missing from their set of volumes and it was an official state document.”

The museum ended up being outbid by $100 by state police troopers who later acknowledged “they were never going to pay a cent,” Marshall said. On Sept. 24, troopers arrived at Marshall’s shop in the city’s Fishtown neighborhood and seized the book, claiming it had been stolen.

“There was no legal justification for the forced surrender of the valuable book that he owned,” his attorney, David Rudovsky, told The Philadelphia Inquirer for an Oct. 7 story. “As far as we know, there is no proof that this was stolen. We think it’s an illegal seizure.”

State archivist David Haury disagreed, saying “once a state record, always a state record.”

The archives own the prison’s other record books, Haury and state police attorney Thomas Jakubiak said. Because Marshall’s record book is the only one missing, they said, it belongs in their collection.

Eastern State Penitentiary closed in 1970 and was effectively abandoned until the mid-1980s. It is now a popular tourist attraction.

David Bloom, Freeman’s vice president of rare books and manuscripts, said the book came from a reputable source, which he did not identify. He said that the auction house would notify the FBI if they suspected that an item had been stolen.

“It’s not unusual for these documents from institutions to be thrown out, recovered by trash pickers, then find their way back in the historical chain,” Bloom said. “In my 25 years of business, this is the first time we’ve sold something that I’ve heard of being labeled as stolen.”

Marshall, 63, who has worked in antiquities for four decades and as an adviser to auction houses, said he is emotionally and financially hurt.

If the book is returned, which he believes it should be, “I would like to have the underbidder pay the amount she bid, $10,101,” he said.
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Information from: The Philadelphia Inquirer, http://www.philly.com

AP-ES-10-07-08 1422EDT

Long-held private collections of two sisters star in Morphy’s Oct. 10-11 sale

Circa-1880 Thullier (France) A.T. bébé with pale pressed-bisque socket head incised A.7T., light blue paperweight eyes, finely painted brows and lashes with mauve eye shadow, closed mouth, pierced ears and long-tailed blonde mohair wig with cork pate. Straight-wrist French composition and wood body, antique pink wool dress, ivory satin and lace blouse, antique velvet hat and matching shoes. 18 inches tall. Estimate: $45,000-$55,000.

DENVER, Pa. – As the follow-up to a heavily attended May 17-18 debut that grossed $1.5 million, Morphy Doll Auctions has prepared an equally diverse selection of dolls, dollhouses, miniatures and teddy bears as the foundation of its Fall Fine Doll event. The 950-lot auction will take place on Oct. 10 and 11, and features dolls of excellent pedigree from select private collections, including those of noted sister collectors Eleanor Lakin and Patricia Lemkuhl.

Friday’s session includes a treasure trove of 18th, 19th and 20th-century dolls of all types, including German and French bisque dolls; exceptional Lenci dolls, German character dolls including a Kammer & Reinhardt model 112X, more than 50 coveted porcelain half dolls, mignonettes, French fashion dolls, and an impressive grouping of antique French automata.

X-ray reveals Steiff teddy is rare rod bear

Here it is, in black and white: A-Rod’s inner workings.

VINELAND, N.J. – Veterinarians are accustomed to seeing animals of all shapes and sizes in the course of their daily work, but few – like Dr. Hal Blumenthal of Millville, N.J. – can say they’ve had a teddy bear for a patient.

It all started when Bertoia Auctions, antique toy specialists in Vineland, N.J., received a circa-1903 Steiff bear as a consignment to their Nov. 7-9 sale. Bertoia’s experts immediately identified it as a rare production from the early 20th century, but they knew that if they could confirm it was, as suspected, a Steiff “rod” bear, it would greatly increase its value and desirability to collectors.

Auktionshaus Dr. Fischer to sell fine European and studio glass on Oct. 18

Stanislav Libensky and Jaroslava Brychtova's 1958 rendition of the famous sculpture The Kiss could sell for $24,500-$31,900. Image courtesy Auctionhaus Dr. Fischer.

HEILBRONN, Germany – Auktionshaus Dr. Fischer will present more than 1,100 lots of fine European and studio glass at the auctioneer’s fall sale that has been dubbed El Dorado. The Oct. 18 auction will start at 1 a.m. Pacific (4 a.m. Eastern, 10 a.m. European Time).

The title piece is an El Dorado vase by Italy’s Dino Martens, which is estimated to sell for $11,625. Another beauty of the post-1950s category is a Merletto vase by Archimede Seguso, which is expected to top $13,600. Other famous Murano glassmakers represented will be Venini, Barovier Toso, Barbini and Cenedese.

DMG World Media sells Antiques Trade Gazette; AntiqueWeek soon to follow

LONDON (ACNI) – In a move that has taken many of its employees by surprise, the London publishing conglomerate dmg world media has sold its antiques trade newspaper in England and will soon consummate the sale of its U.S. antiques titles. Among the publications affected are the London-based Antiques Trade Gazette (ATG), and the U.S. publications AntiqueWeek, AntiqueWest and Auction Exchange.

On Oct. 6, all staff members at the Knightstown, Ind., production offices of dmg’s U.S. newspapers were asked to assemble for a meeting called by publisher Richard Lewis. At that meeting, Lewis advised employees that dmg’s three antiques-related titles produced in the Knightstown plant, as well as a fourth title published on site – the agricultural special interest weekly Farm World – were under contract to be sold. Lewis said the sale would be finalized in 30 to 45 days and that he would be staying on as publisher, although it is unclear whether it would be in a temporary or permanent capacity. At this point in time, all staff are expected to be retained.

Phillips de Pury forms partnership with Russian luxury goods firm Mercury Group

LONDON – Phillips de Pury & Company, the international contemporary art company, has entered into a strategic partnership with leading Russian luxury company Mercury Group, with immediate effect. Mercury Group will acquire control of the company from the partners of Phillips de Pury & Company and Simon de Pury will remain Chairman and an important shareholder in the company.

Simon de Pury, Chairman of Phillips de Pury & Company said: “We have seen tremendous growth in the company over the last four years and this partnership with a major player in the luxury sector will allow us to provide a unique platform to new and fast-growing markets. Russia has clearly emerged as an important art market and there is no doubt that my vision for the company and Mercury Group’s vision are aligned. This is a fantastic opportunity for the global reach of Phillips de Pury & Company to become even stronger. We now look forward to the future with a significantly enhanced capital base and exciting growth prospects.”

Preliminary discussions between Phillips de Pury & Company and Mercury Group began in July 2007 and have now concluded just over a year later, with a comprehensive agreement to further the scope of the business. Phillips de Pury & Company has seen continued success in the sale of contemporary art, design and photography, reporting 80% growth from half year 2007/2008 in sales volume in contemporary art auctions alone. Phillips de Pury & Company operates across four selling platforms: auctions, private treaty sales, selling exhibitions and building private collections in the collecting categories of contemporary art, photographs, design, editions and jewelry.

Mercury Group is Russia’s largest luxury retail company whose holdings include The Tretyakov Projezd, the Barvikha Luxury Village and TSUM department store, high-end retail properties in the Moscow area that house fashion and jewelry brands such as Gucci, Prada, Giorgio Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Rolex and Graff as well as showrooms for Ferrari, Maserati and Bentley.

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Julia’s hails $5 million sale as the best summer affair yet

Starring in James Julia’s summer auction was this awe-inspiring life- size figure of the Goddess of Liberty, which sold for $143,750. Image courtesy Julia Auctions.

ROCKLAND, Maine – James D. Julia’s spectacular antiques and fine art auction at the Samoset Resort has long been a favorite of the summer auction season. This year the Fairfield, Maine, auction company’s three-day extravaganza, Aug. 26-28, featured more than 1,700 lots with sales topping $5 million, making it their biggest summer antiques auction to date.

Bidders in attendance were treated to the breathtaking display in the posh ballroom and adjoining halls of Maine’s most luxurious resort. The sale featured nearly 750 pieces of fine artwork, high style Victorian contents of a Gulf Coast mansion, early American furniture, folk art, pottery, and fine antiques of every kind from some of the finest estates and collections to hit the auction block in many years. Included were the contents of the Richard Paine estate of Seal Cove, Maine, whose auto museum was a world-renowned attraction. His tremendous collection of folk art included a variety of rare weather vanes highlighted by one in the form of a full-bodied standing mule, which carried a $20,000-30,000 estimate. Circa late 19th century, this possibly unique form was a must have for two phone bidders who refused to let it go without a fight. Only one could be victorious, and that is the one who was willing to pay $117,300.

3 ‘Peanuts’ strips fetch $110,740 at Philip Weiss Auctions

Peanuts creator Charles Schulz drew this Sunday comics page in May 1953. Done in pen and ink, the strip sold for $67,800 at Philip Weiss Auctions. Image courtesy Philip Weiss Auctions.

OCEANSIDE, N.Y. – An original “Peanuts” Sunday page, rendered in pen and ink in May 1953 by the late comic illustrator Charles Schulz, soared to $67,800 at a multi-estate sale Sept. 13-14 at Philip Weiss Auctions. The eight-panel strip showed Charlie Brown and Snoopy playing fetch. In addition, two daily “Peanuts” strips sold for $21,470 each, bringing the three-strip total to $110,740.

All things considered, this sale was way better than I expected, with lots of surprises along the way,” said owner and auctioneer Philip Weiss. “I didn’t expect this level of activity – it was very exciting. Toy trains, comic books and animation art, in particular, did very well.”

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