September 17, 2009 - Auction Central News

In a rare departure, Lang’s offers a ‘collection of collections’ Sept. 19

Rare late-19th-century majolica punchbowl featuring the character Punch from Punch and Judy. George Jones logo. Estimate $5,000-$7,500. Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com and Lang’s.

WATERVILLE, N.Y. (ACNI) – Every once in a great while, Lang’s Sporting Collectables Inc., experts in the field of antique and vintage fishing tackle, will produce a specialty auction that warrants stepping off the beaten path. Such is the case with their Sept. 19 sale featuring a 722-lot single-consignor “collection of mini collections,” as Lang’s co-owner Debbie Ganung put it. Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.com.

“We were asked by a highly valued customer who sold his collection of fishing rods and reels through us several years ago if we would sell his other things for him,” said Ganung. “My husband, John, had gone to his home to pick up some fishing tackle and learned that the customer was contemplating selling the contents of one of his homes. He said to John, ‘I wish you would do another type of auction. Can’t you sell these things?’ He was referring to the many wonderful antiques in his home that had nothing to do with fishing. Since it was a single-owner collection, there would be only one pack-up and load-out. There was no reason why we couldn’t do it, so we took the collection.”

The consignor, it turns out, was the very definition of an eclectic buyer, someone who loved to attend auctions. “If something caught his eye, he bought it. The category didn’t matter,” Ganung said. As a result, the collection is a smorgasbord of dozens of types of antiques, with many items retaining tags from many years ago when they were bought at high-end auction houses.

General categories in the Sept. 19 sale include: baseball and sports memorabilia, dolls and toys of all types, including early Disney and penny toys; bronzes and carved ivory, leaded-glass lamps, costume jewelry (including signed Trifari pieces), postcards, ceramics and Mettlachs.

Highlights among the toys include an Oswald the Lucky Rabbit key-wind walker with Universal Pictures Corp./Irwin tag, which was featured on the cover of Christie’s March 1989 auction catalog. An important toy, it is estimated at $2,000-$3,000.

Other noteworthy toys include a sculling boat with four rowers penny toy, Gong Bell toys, marionettes including a Tony Sarg Mickey Mouse; a collection of Lenci dolls, cast-iron mechanical and still banks, German tin and Japanese celluloid toys. From Hubley’s famed cast-iron Royal Circus series comes a whimsical horse-drawn Farmer Van estimated at $1,500-$2,500.

In the decorative art section, a star lot is the majolica holiday punchbowl with the character “Punch” (of Punch and Judy) incorporated into the design, together with holly and berries. A late-19th-century George Jones production, it is estimated at $5,000-$7,000.

“If ever a catalog deserved a browse, it is this one,” said Ganung. “This sale is full of surprises.”

For questions about any lot in the Sept. 19 sale, call 315-841-4623. View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet through www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

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Click here to view Lang’s Specialty Auction’s complete catalog.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Figural band sculpture by Franz Hagenauer, Vienna. Tallest figure 13 1/2 inches high. Marked Franz Hagenauer Wien. Estimate $300-$500. Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com and Lang’s.

Rare Oswald the Lucky Rabbit key-wind walker toy by Irwin. Estimate $2,000-$3,000. Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com and Lang’s.

Baseball with signature attributed to Babe Ruth. Estimate $3,000-$5,000. Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com and Lang’s.

Hubley cast-iron Royal Circus Farmer Van. Farmer’s head raises and revolves as the wagon rolls along. Estimate $1,500-$2,500. Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com and Lang’s.

Treadway Toomey first in line for LiveAuctioneers custom iPhone app

Same caption for both: Treadway Toomey Galleries' new customized iPhone app

CINCINNATI – Twenty-first century design and the latest in technological innovation forge a seamless partnership in Treadway Toomey Galleries’ recently launched custom iPhone app, developed by LiveAuctioneers App Technologies

Treadway Toomey’s downloadable app, which is compatible with all iPhone and iPod Touch equipment, is branded with the company’s logo on its homepage. Its functionality allows the user to interact exclusively with a variety of Treadway Toomey services. Sharing auction lots with others via e-mail and placing absentee bids at any time on any lot in the company’s currently active catalog are among the many innovative features.

Janet Rogers, manager of Treadway Toomey Galleries in Cincinnati, believes the new product is the way of the future. “Those who have downloaded it really like it. It’s very new, but as time passes, more and more people will become aware of it. We think it’s going to be a great tool for our clients, and our successive clients.”

Rogers also thinks the app is a valuable medium for attracting new consignors. “People can search through our current auction to see what we sell, and by searching our past catalogs and prices realized – which are such good reference sources – they can see what things have sold for in our auctions.”

In presciently adopting the new, customizable technology offered through LiveAuctioneers, Treadway Toomey has positioned itself as a frontrunner in the predicted global explosion in mobile telephone use. And they’re not alone in betting on mobile phones as the marketing, advertising and communication tool of the future.

In the 2008 annual Google Founders’ Letter, the company’s co-founder and president of technology, Sergey Brin, wrote: “…billions of people now have access to the Internet via computers and mobile phones. Like many other Web companies, the vast majority of our services are available worldwide and free to users because they are supported by ads…”

This concept was expanded upon last March, when Google CEO Eric Schmidt went on record as saying he views mobile as “the next big opportunity.” At a Morgan Stanley Technology Conference held in San Francisco, Schmidt said he believes that within a few years mobile search revenues will overtake those generated through PCs. “The fact of the matter is that mobile devices are going to be the majority of the way that people get information,” Schmidt said.

LiveAuctioneers’ CEO Julian R. Ellison remarked, “There can be little doubt that mobile phones will continue to evolve and become the single most important worldwide form of communication. Who ever would have thought a telephone could evolve into a multifunctional hand-held computer? Now downloadable apps are being developed for every imaginable business, industry and leisure pursuit at a runaway pace, and it’s just the beginning. LiveAuctioneers is very proud that our App Technologies division developed the first-ever downloadable app, for both iPhone and Blackberry devices, that enables the user to bid absentee in our auction house clients’ sales. It’s also very pleasing that an auction company as highly regarded as Treadway Toomey has chosen to embrace this exciting new technology.”

To download Treadway Toomey’s iPhone app, visit www.treadwaygallery.com. To reach the gallery by phone, call 513-321-6742.

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ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE

Same caption for both: Treadway Toomey Galleries' new customized iPhone app created by LiveAuctioneers App Technologies. — Same caption for both: Treadway Toomey Galleries’ new customized iPhone app created by LiveAuctioneers App Technologies.

John Lennon autographed magazine sells for $12,713

1966 Datebook magazine autographed by John Lennon, sold for $12,713 through RRAuction.com. Image courtesy RRAuction.com.

AMHERST, N.H. – RRAuction.com of Amherst, N.H., has auctioned a 1966 magazine autographed by John Lennon for $12,713. The magazine includes an article in which Lennon’s controversial quote appears about the Beatles being “more popular than Jesus Christ.”

The winning bidder was Dr. Ron Grelsamer, an orthopedic surgeon at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.

“These were Lennon’s first public thoughts on matters outside the entertainment world, and the reaction to his statements was more a reflection of the Bible Belt’s concerns with rock ‘n ‘roll and declining morality than anything else,” said Dr. Grelsamer, shortly after being notified that he had placed the winning bid. “I also liked that this was the last time Lennon would apologize for any of his views.”

“Christianity will go,” Lennon said in the September 1966 issue of the American teen magazine Datebook. “It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue about that; I’m right and I will be proved right. We’re more popular than Jesus now. I don’t know which will go first – rock and roll or Christianity.”

Lennon, whose middle initial at birth was “W” for “Winston” (later changed to “O” for “Ono”), signed across the photo accompanying his printed interview with the name “John C. Lennon.” Presumably this was a sacrilegious reference to Christ.

The autographed magazine belonged to Datebook publisher Arthur Unger, who sent reprints of the Lennon article to Bible belt radio stations. Subsequently, masses of people burned their Beatles records in protest.

Unger recounted in a 1998 New York Times story that Beatles Manager Brian Epstein had been unconcerned about the outcry, stating, “They have to buy the records before they burn them.”

According to Professor Brian Ward, expert on the Beatles and American popular culture and Chair of American Studies at the University of Manchester, England, the uproar was most intense in the American South, where many members of clergy condemned

Lennon’s remarks as blasphemous. Ward added that most Beatles fans were easily able “to reconcile their love of the Lord with their love of Lennon.”

Ironically, the original interview with Lennon stating that the Beatles were “bigger than Jesus” had been published by a British newspaper six months before the Datebook article, but there had been no backlash in England.

“Given that the mysterious ‘C’ in John’s signature falls right under the ‘C’ in ‘Christianity’ (in the Datebook article), and knowing Lennon’s mischievous sense of humor, he was probably just punning on the name of another well known ‘JC,'” Ward said.

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Silver shines at Sollo Rago Real Modern Auction

Elsa Tennhardt designed this Art Deco cocktail set for E. & J. BASS Co. around 1928. The silver-plated brass set shook up the auction when it sold for $31,720. Image courtesy Sollo Rago.

LAMBERTVILLE, N.J. – Gold has made headlines this year, but silver was the precious metal of choice at Sollo Rago’s Real Modern Auction on Sept. 12. It was there a rare Elsa Tennhardt/E. & J. Bass Co. cocktail set sold for a dazzling $31,720 and a Danish silver ice bucket on a teak base brought an impressive $4,880.

Solid prices reflect the market’s continued interest in stylish, mid-priced design, said John Sollo, who directed the auction.

Other top lots included:

Leather-covered three-drawer dresser in the style of Jacques Adnet, estimated at $1,500-$3,500, sold for $3,660;
Rare glass-top sculptural cocktail table in the style of Ibram Lassaw, estimated at $4,000-$6,000, sold for $5,490;
Sculptural leather and walnut frame lounge chair and ottoman by Adrian Pearsall for Craft Associates, estimated at $1,200-$1,800, sold for $2,074;
Edward Wormley for Dunbar oak desk on brass frame, estimated at $1,200-$1,800, sold for $3,050;
First-generation Isamu Noguchi for Herman Miller wooden and glass coffee table, estimated at $1,200-$1,800, sold for $2,074;
Radiating 34 3/4-inch sculpture constructed of steel nails with gold and silver leaf finish, in the style of Curtis Jere, estimated at $400-$600, sold for $1,952;
Bleached mahogany 12-drawer dresser by Tommi Parzinger for Charak Modern, estimated at $1,500-$3,500, sold for $3,416;
James Mont dresser in black enamel, estimated at $1,200-$1,800, sold for $3,538;
Florence Knoll 10-drawer rosewood credenza, estimated at $2,000-$4,000, sold for $4,880;
Eero Saarinen for Knoll marble-top side table, estimated at $400-$600, sold for $1,037;
Straight-sided glass vase by Edwin Ohrstrom for Orrefors of an early Ariel Girl and Dove, 1960s, estimated at $1,200-$1,800, sold for $1,342;
Mogens Lassen for K. Thomsen pair of sculpted solid teak stools, estimated at $2,000-$3,000, sold for $3,416;
Hovmand Olsen wall-hung rosewood and black laminate server, estimated at $1,000-$1,500, sold for $2,562;
Hans Wegner for Carl Mansen oak armchair with woven cord seat, estimated at $800-1,200, sold for $1,952.

For details phone 609-397-9374. For additional prices realized go to www.ragoarts.com

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

This leather-covered dresser in the Style of Jacques Adnet sold for $3,660. It was from the collection of designer Juan Montoya. Image courtesy Sollo Rago.

Tommi Parzinger's mahogany dresser for Charak Modern measures 66 1/4 inches wide. Estimated at $1,500-$3,500, it sold for $3,416. Image courtesy Sollo Rago. — Tommi Parzinger’s mahogany dresser for Charak Modern measures 66 1/4 inches wide. Estimated at $1,500-$3,500, it sold for $3,416. Image courtesy Sollo Rago.

A brass frame and pulls brighten this Edward Wormley desk for Dunbar. Estimated at $1,200-1,800, the desk sold for $3,050. Image courtesy Sollo Rago.

Steel nails with gold and silver leaf finish were joined to create a radiating sculpture in the style of Curtis Jere. More than 34 inches in diameter, the sculpture has bronze welds. It raised $1,952. Image courtesy Sollo Rago.

This rare sculptural cocktail table in the style of Ibram Lassaw made $5,490. Image courtesy Sollo Rago.

This Danish silver ice bucket with a fitted teak base carried the hallmark

Ex-museum director accused of stealing artifacts

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) – A former Long Island museum director has been accused of stealing Egyptian artifacts from the museum’s collection and selling them at a Manhattan auction house.

A criminal complaint filed Tuesday accuses Barry Stern of taking nine artifacts, all more than 2,000 years old, while working as the director of Long Island University’s Hillwood Museum in Brookville.

Federal authorities say Stern initially denied the theft. They say his attorney, Mark Baker, later called to say Stern had acknowledged taking the items.

Stern was scheduled to surrender himself at the U.S. District courthouse in Central Islip yesterday, Sept. 16.

Museum officials were alerted to the thefts after Christie’s auction house faxed a purchase offer for an artifact to Stern’s office in June, 2009 – 10 months after his museum contract had not been renewed.

AP-ES-09-15-09 1917EDT

Human rights group suspends analyst over Nazi collection

NEW YORK (AP) – A human rights group’s senior military analyst has been suspended after a pro-Israel blog reported that he collects Nazi memorabilia, an official said Tuesday.

Marc Garlasco is being suspended by Human Rights Watch “pending an investigation,” said Carroll Bogert, associate director of the New York-based organization. The suspension was first reported Monday by the New York Times.

“We do know he collects German and American World War II memorabilia, but we have questions as to whether we’ve learned everything we need to know,” Bogert said.

Garlasco’s collection was revealed last week on Mere Rhetoric, a pro-Israel blog. A blog posting said his hobby reflected an anti-Israel bias and showed he was “obsessed with the color and pageantry of Nazism.”

Human Rights Watch has no evidence that Garlasco’s hobby affected his analysis, and he “has never expressed any anti-Semitic or neo-Nazi statements,” Bogert said.

Human Rights Watch has released reports suggesting that Israel committed war crimes during its three-week military offensive against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip last winter. Garlasco, a weapons expert for the group, has contributed to some of these reports.

Israel has accused Human Rights Watch of paying a disproportionate amount of attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, while playing down rights violations in Arab countries.

In an essay Friday on the liberal political Web site The Huffington Post, Garlasco described himself as a “military geek” whose hobby stemmed from his family history. He noted that his German grandfather was conscripted into the Nazi army.

“I’ve never hidden my hobby, because there’s nothing shameful in it, however weird it might seem to those who aren’t fascinated by military history,” he wrote. “Precisely because it’s so obvious that the Nazis were evil, I never realized that other people, including friends and colleagues, might wonder why I care about these things.”

AP-CS-09-15-09 0425EDT

Relics rain from seasoned collections at Old Barn Auction, Sept. 19

Two Grey Hills rugs, named for a former trading post in northwest New Mexico, are typically woven with handspun wool in natural colors. This example is 39 1/2 inches wide by 51 1/2 inches long. Image courtesy Old Barn Auction.

FINDLAY, Ohio – Old Barn Auction will present a Prehistoric and Historic Artifact Auction on Sept. 19 that will feature items from many prominent collections. The 668-lot sale will contain pieces of interest to both advanced and novice collectors, notes auctioneer Jan Sorgenfrei. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.

The auction will begin at 10 a.m. Eastern. Crossing the auction block during the first hour of the sale will be a 5 1/4-inch banded slate winged bannerstone, ex Stevens Knoblock Collection. This fine specimen is pictured in Byron W. Knoblock’s book Banner-Stones of the North American Indian and has an old tag that reads, “Clinton Co., Kentucky, found 5-7-28.”

A 5 1/8-inch thin slate butterfly bannerstone found in adjacent Wyandot County, Ohio, will be sold during the second hour of the auction.

Another fine example is a 2 1/4-inch rose quartz bannerstone, ex Meuser Collection, which was found along the Tuscarawas River, three miles north of Bolivar, in Stark County, Ohio. Preliminary bidding has been active on this rare item.

Bidding has also been active on a 4 5/8-inch Glacial Kame birdstone found in the 1940s in Lorain County, Ohio. This fine piece is comes from the auctioneer’s collection.

Paleo fluted points include a 3 7/8-inch-long example with traces of red ochre, ex Wachtel Collection, which was reportedly found along the Ohio River in Clermont County, Ohio, in the early 1900s. A 3 1/4-inch copper fluted Paleo point, which was discovered in a box of common arrowheads in Wisconsin, has attracted multiple preliminary bids.

A Great Lakes spontoon head, a pike-like instrument, with its original 20-inch-long wooden handle is definitely a sale highlight, said Sorgenfrei. It dates to the 1870s.

Numerous Navajo rugs are offered in the auction. Preliminary bidding has been active for a Crystal Navajo rug measuring 39 1/2 by 51 1/2 inches and a Two Grey Hills rug measuring 84 by 54 inches.

For details on these and other lots phone 419-422-8531.

View the fully illustrated catalogs and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet during the sale at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

Click here to view Old Barn Auction’s complete catalog.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

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