Fine art, furnishings of Hungarian nobility in Quinn’s Feb. 7 sale

1770 German walnut parquetry bureau cabinet or schreibshrank, 89 inches tall, made expressly for Gernyeszeg, the Teleki family's baroque castle in Transylvania. Estimate: $15,000-$25,000. Image courtesy Quinn's Auction Galleries.
1770 German walnut parquetry bureau cabinet or schreibshrank, 89 inches tall, made expressly for Gernyeszeg, the Teleki family's baroque castle in Transylvania. Estimate: $15,000-$25,000. Image courtesy Quinn's Auction Galleries.
1770 German walnut parquetry bureau cabinet or schreibshrank, 89 inches tall, made expressly for Gernyeszeg, the Teleki family’s baroque castle in Transylvania. Estimate: $15,000-$25,000. Image courtesy Quinn’s Auction Galleries.

FALLS CHURCH, Va. – Heirlooms, important artworks and historical jewelry from one of Europe’s most distinguished noble families will be auctioned on Saturday, Feb. 7 at Quinn’s Auction Galleries in Falls Church, Va. While many high-profile estates and collections have been entrusted to the suburban Washington, D.C., auction house in the past, Quinn’s gallery director Matthew Quinn says the consignment of fine artworks, furnishings, decorative art and jewels from the combined Teleki and Mikes (pronounced Me-KESH) families is without precedent.

“This will be a tremendous sale,” said Quinn. “The 300 to 400 items to be auctioned are from old Hungarian aristocracy, whose combined family tree could be compared to a merger of the Kennedys and European royalty. The consignor, who now lives in suburban Washington, is the son of the late Countess Johanna Mikes Teleki and Geza Teleki, and grandson of two-time Hungarian Prime Minister Pal Teleki (1879-1941).”
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LiveAuctioneers debuts independent online live-bidding platform

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NEW YORK, Dec. 22, 2008 (Globe Newswire) – LiveAuctioneers LLC (www.liveauctioneers.com) announced today the completion and launch of its independent online-bidding platform in advance of the
discontinuation of eBay’s (Nasdaq:EBAY) Live Auctions service on Dec. 31, 2008. Fully illustrated catalogs are currently available for preview and pre-sale bids are being accepted for auctions commencing Jan. 1, 2009.

As part of the platform launch, the company unveiled its industry leading, credit based fee structure, allowing auction house clients to customize their account according to auction size, frequency and sales volume.

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John Case sets auction record for Tennessee sampler

This sampler signed Mary Elizabeth Collins, Franklin, Tennessee and dated 1836, set a record for a Tennessee sampler at auction, selling for $28,125. Image courtesy Case Antiques Auction.
This sampler signed Mary Elizabeth Collins, Franklin, Tennessee and dated 1836, set a record for a Tennessee sampler at auction, selling for $28,125. Image courtesy Case Antiques Auction.
This sampler signed Mary Elizabeth Collins, Franklin, Tennessee and dated 1836, set a record for a Tennessee sampler at auction, selling for $28,125. Image courtesy Case Antiques Auction.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – An 1836 house sampler set a record price for a Tennessee sampler at auction, selling for $28,125 at the Dec. 6 Case Antiques Auction. Signed “Mary Elizabeth Collins’ work/Franklin Tennessee April 1836,” the sampler sold to a collector in the room, underbid by two other live bidders and three phone bidders, including a major East Coast sampler dealer. The price is among the highest ever paid at auction for a Southern sampler, said gallery owner John Case. Prices include the 12.5 percent buyer’s premium.

Case said the sampler relates to a group of four from Middle Tennessee that have been documented by the Tennessee Sampler Survey, an ongoing research project spearheaded by needlework authorities Janet Hasson and Jennifer Core to collect data and images on Tennessee samplers (www.tennesseesamplers.com).

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Wisconsin man accused of eBay scamming

BARABOO, Wis. (AP) – A Baraboo man is accused of trying to scam people with a vintage electric guitar offered for sale on the eBay auction site.

According to court records, 28-year-old David Waldrop put the 1961 Gibson ES-355 guitar up for sale in early October.

A buyer in Pennsylvania and another in Munich, Germany, told police each received a less expensive Epiphone guitar after making deals to send Waldrop $4,500 and $5,800, respectively. Records show two others offered $7,500 and $7,000, but Waldrop wouldn’t complete the deals when they wanted to inspect the guitar.

 

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