Copake Auction anticipates this rare 1883-1886 Columbia-built three-track tricycle will coast to $16,000-$22,000. Image courtesy Copake Auction Inc.
COPAKE, N.Y. – Mike and Seth Fallon, father and son owners of Copake Auction, will conduct their 19th annual Bicycles 1850-1950 auction April 17 beginning at 10 a.m. Eastern. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding.
The Fallons will also preside over their Friday bicycle swap meet from dawn ’til dusk April 16. The swap meet consists of between 75 and 100 vendors offering anything from highwheels to lightweights, parts and collectibles.
This year’s auction will contain deaccessions of museums in the United States, Europe and Japan. Highlights include a rare circa 1883 Columbia adult three-track tricycle, highwheels, boneshakers including a rare circa 1870 ice velocipede made in Bellville N.J., hard tire safeties and pneumatic safeties, including a scarce Bronco.
Also included will be a museum collection of prewar and postwar German race and tourist machines together with a BMW R25 motorcycle used as a pacer. This year will feature many collectible balloon bicycles including a Hopalong Cassidy model, Indian, Harley Davidson, Schwinn Black Phantom and more.
Collectibles include a 19th-century Professor Pug Frog mechanical bank, a 19th-century tricycle clockwork toy, books, ephemera, steins, bottles, parts, porcelains, posters, prints, and an excellent collection of 19th- and early 20th-century bicycle stands.
A slideshow of important early cycling photography will be shown at 4:15 p.m. the day of the swap meet. The slideshow was originally presented at the 14th triennial Symposium on the History of Photography at George Eastman House in Rochester, N.Y. This event will presented free of charge. Donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will be appreciated.
As an added convenience to their customers that can not make it to Copake for this year’s sale there will be live online bidding through www.liveauctioneers.com as well as absentee bidding via their online catalog (e-mail or fax) and live phone bidding (on approval). Visit their website www.copakeauction.com for details, or e-mail info@copakeauction.com or phone 518-329-1142.
The cast-iron mechanical bank known as ‘Professor Pug Frog’s Great Bicycle Feat’ crosses over to bicycle enthusiasts. Designed by Charles Baily, the circa 1885-1895 bank has a $2,000-$3,000 estimate. Image courtesy Copake Auction Inc. Built by the makers of Columbia bicycles, this circa 1920s Indian Board Track Racer has a head badge attached that reads, ‘Indian Motorcycle Co, Indian, Springfield Mass., USA.’ It has a $600-$800 estimate. Image courtesy Copake Auction Inc. This rare and possibly unique type of bicycle was built for traversing ice. Deacessioned from a private museum, the ice velocipede carries a $2,000-$3,000 estimate. Image courtesy Copake Auction Inc. Restored to excellent condition is this 1888 Victor Light Roadster Highwheel worth $4,500-$5,500. Image courtesy Copake Auction Inc.
Cyclorama building, Gettysburg, in a 2005 photo taken by Don Wiles.
GETTYSBURG, Pa. (AP) – Lovers of modern architecture have won a round in their fight to preserve a half-century-old building at Gettysburg despite efforts by the Civil War purists to demolish the structure to restore the battlefield to its original appearance.
The National Park Service has been seeking for a decade to demolish the Cyclorama Building, built in 1958 by famed modernist architect Richard Neutra to house a massive circular painting of the famous 1863 battle which has been relocated.
The building is near one of the highest points on Cemetery Ridge, a key defensive position where nearly 1,000 Union soldiers were killed or wounded during Pickett’s Charge. The National Parks Service would like to remove the building to preserve the battlesite, but an architectural preservation group says the building is also historically important.
A federal judge in Washington ruled last week that the park service did not follow procedure on the matter. U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Hogan told the park that it must go back and reconsider its 1999 decision to raze the building before it can take any action to knock down the structure.
In March 2009, U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Kay recommended that the U.S. District Court rule in favor of the suit by the Recent Past Preservation Network and ordered the park to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement evaluating the potential impacts and review alternatives to demolition.
Neither Gettysburg National Military Park nor the National Park Service has commented on the decision. Andrew Ames, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice, said the agency is reviewing it and has not decided on the government’s next step.
Los Angeles architect Dion Neutra, who worked alongside his father on the center a half-century ago, said the Cyclorama was “way up” on his father’s list of the most important buildings of his career. Architectural luminaries like Frank Gehry and Robert A.M. Stern have agreed, sending letters in support of preserving it.
Neutra said his father had a broader vision for the museum than simply housing the 377-foot long, 40-foot high painting depicting Pickett’s Charge.
“He wanted to commemorate the Gettysburg Address as opposed to just commemorating the battle,” he said. “The idea was for a monument to address the notion of reconciliation as Lincoln had tried to do in the Gettysburg Address. We could do that in a dynamic way today.”
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More than 100 years old, this set of six Newcomb College pottery plates is estimated to achieve $4,000-$6,000. Image courtesy Clars Auction Gallery. OAKLAND, Calif. – Coming off record-breaking prices in March for renowned sculptor Richard MacDonald’s works, Clars Auction Gallery anticipates exceptional American and European art will be among the many highlights of their Fine Estates Sale on April 10 and 11. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding.
One of the many important works will be an oil on board winter landscape by Dwight William Tryon (American, 1849-1925), who is considered to be one of America’s first and foremost Tonalist painters. This work is expected to reach $7,000-$10,000.
Over the course of the auction, bidders can expect an extensive selection of fine art, fine antique furniture, decorative arts, sterling, historic artifacts, important pottery and porcelains, and as always, spectacular jewelry.
Coming from contemporary artist Christopher Brown (California 1951- ) is a dynamic baseball scene estimated at $6,000-$8,000. From the “Islands” is a fantastic work by Hawaiian artist Herb Kawainui Kane entitled Under the Banyan Tree, which carries an estimate of $10,000-$12,000.
Also featured is a pair of paintings (diptych) commemorating James Dean’s tragic Porsche 550 Spyder crash in 1955 by renowned car illustrator Dave “Big” Deal (California, 1938-2008). These paintings were commissioned by the Hopkins Museum of Minnesota for the 2008 exhibition Velocity, The Art of Motion. Deal is best known for creating the logo for Armor All and his preproduction drawings for many of the characters in the 2006 Pixar movie Cars.
Among the many strong European works will be a lovely portrait of a woman titled Buste de femme by Spanish artist Jose de Togores (1893-1970), which is estimated at $15,000-$20,000. Renowned Dutch artist Isaac Israels will be represented by the oil on canvas Man with a Mandolin, which is expected to earn $20,000-$30,000.
In addition, a collection of engravings by Karl Bodmer, a collection of photographs of nudes by Jock Sturges, a collection of bronze sculptures by the Bennett Brothers, and a group of trompe l’oeil paintings by Gerald Stinski, Al Proom, and Ralph Anderson will be offered.
Newcomb College will headline the art pottery offerings with a set of six high-glaze cabinet plates executed in 1905. They were decorated by Mazie Teresa Ryan and thrown by Joseph Fortune Meyer (estimate $4,000-$6,000).
A large selection of period English furniture includes a circa 1820 Regency mahogany bow-front chest on chest. On the American side, a Gustav Stickley Model 221 even arm settle will be offered.
Rounding out the two-day event will be an exceptional selection of estate jewelry including a diamond solitaire ring set in platinum with a 3.26-carat asscher cut diamond estimated at $30,000-$35,000. A stunning sapphire and diamond Art Deco bracelet in 18K white gold is estimated to bring $4,000-$6,000.
Approximately 2,000 lots in total will be offered over this two-day event. Photos and descriptions are at www.clars.com or phone (888) 339-7600.
Preview for this auction is Friday, April 9, 1-6 p.m. or by appointment. The Saturday session will begin at 9:30 a.m. Pacific, and the Sunday session will begin at 10 a.m.
Clars Auction Gallery is located at 5644 Telegraph Ave. in Oakland.
This oil on board wintry landscape by Tonalist painter Dwight William Tryon (American, 1849-1925) is expected to earn $7,000-$10,000. Image courtesy Clars Auction Gallery. ‘Under the Banyan Tree’ by Hawaiian artist Herb Kawainui Kane carries a $10,000-$12,000 estimate. Image courtesy Clars Auction Gallery. Spanish artist Jose de Togores painted this portrait titled ‘Buste de femme,’ which carries an estimate of $15,000-$20,000. Image courtesy Clars Auction Gallery.
Robert Aitken, printer; The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments: Newly translated out of the Original Tongues; and with the former Translations Diligently compared and revised. Philadelphia: Robert Aitken, 1781-82. Estimate $40,000-$60,000. Image courtesy William Bunch Auctions.
CHADDS FORD, Pa. – While the bulk of material from the Fred Peech Estate reflects his taste for 18th-century American furniture, marine art, folk art and other fine art, several “one-off” consignments that walked in the front door at Bunch’s auction house in Chadds Ford, Pa., occupy the spotlight in his upcoming catalog auction in Tuesday, April 13. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding services.
William Bunch Auctions will offer an exceedingly rare American Bible printed in 1782 in Philadelphia by Robert Aitken. It is estimated that of the 10,000 printed, significantly fewer than 100 remain, with less than 10 in private hands. It is significant in that it is the first Bible containing both the Old and New Testaments ever printed in English in America. It was sanctioned and supported by the United States Congress; George Washington said of the Bible,”It would have pleased me well, if Congress had been pleased to make such an important present (a copy of the Aitken Bible) to the brave fellows, who have done so much for the security of their Country’s rights and establishment.” The Bible was brought to Bunch by a descendant of the original owner. Only one has surfaced in recent years at auction, bringing $57,000 in 2008. Bunch has assigned an estimate of $40,000 to $60,000 on this copy.
Charles Hovey Pepper, 1864-1950, was an American artist who was trained in New York and Paris and was a member of “The Four Boston Painters,” founded in 1913 by Carl Gordon Cutler and including Maurice Prendergast and E. Ambrose Webster, all Academie Julian graduates. He was also an avid collector, and a descendant of his has consigned works to Bunch over the years that were collected by Pepper. Some of those artworks were by Henry Ossawa Tanner, Enil Nolde and David Park.
This year, he consigned an impressive work by Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson, 1889-1946, an Engish-born artist who also was a student at the Academie Julien in Paris. He was interested in Cubism and Futurism, styles that are evoked in the excellent work titled Canal at Ghent, a 30-inch by 22-inch oil on canvas, inscribed in frame verso “lent by C. H. Pepper, Concord, MA” with a paper label “Museum of Fine Arts/SE 30/ S. E. Pepper/ C. H. Pepper.” It is estimated at $60,000 to $90,000.
A Pennsylvania estate has consigned a “time capsule” automobile – an all-original 1958 Ford Custom 300 two-door sedan. This very fine example of late 50’s American automobile styling has traveled a mere 5,333 actual miles since its original owner took delivery from Keyser & Miller Ford in Pennsylvania on July 30, 1958. Remarkably, the car was only used for a trip from Pennsylvania to Florida and back before being placed into storage, where it remained until 1973, when the father of the current owner purchased it. The original 6-cylinder engine is in the car and all of the power train is original. Its attractive exterior retains the original glossy black finish, accented by very presentable original brightwork. This collector’s gem is estimated at $22,000 to $26,000.
Brandywine Valley artists are well represented in the William Bunch sale in the form of three excellent works by West Chester artist Barclay Rubincam. Well known for his historical themes and local landscapes, both of these genres are demonstrated with two snowbound views of the 18th-century Turks Head Inn and another view of a broad Chester County hillside through a grove of tall trees. Two turn of the 20th century works by the always favored George Cope are being sold, in addition to other contemporary local artists.
There are more than 90 lots of fine art in this sale, artists including works by Barclay Lawrence Jacob Rubincam, George Cope, J. Leeds, R.F. Field, Thomas W. Tripp, Rea Redifer, D. Flood and Dennis Minch. Still others include Jean Gunther, Luigi Ardimento, W. P. McPheeters, George Essig, William Rank, A. Nicholson, H. Goodwin, Patty Dickenson and J. G. Fletcher. The list goes on to include Henry Theodore Hallman, Seymour Zayon, Duane L. Jones, L.A. Fuertes, G. Kier, Haas, William Didier-Pouget, H. M. Humrichouse, Norman Rockwell, Ansel Adams and many more.
It is a diverse sale, including jewelry, silver, tall-case and other clocks, pottery, fine porcelain, bronze sculpture, folk art, miniature furniture and much more. For information on any lot in the sale, contact William Bunch by calling 610-558-1800 or e-mailing info@williambunchauctions.com.
Holy Bible, title page Holy Bible, interior page Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson (English, 1889-1946), Canal at Ghent, oil on canvas. Estimate $60,000-$90,000. Image courtesy William Bunch Auctions. 18K white gold Art Deco ladies wristwatch, case set with blue sapphires and diamonds. Offered together with Elgin 14K white gold ladies wristwatch. Estimate $300-$500. Image courtesy William Bunch Auctions. George Cope (American, 1855-1929), Wooden Mill, oil on board, 7¼ inches by 9½ inches. Estimate $5,000-$7,000. Image courtesy William bunch Auctions. 1958 Ford Custom 300 2-door sedan with 5,333 original miles. Estimate $22,000-$26,000. Image courtesy William Bunch Auctions. Barclay Lawrence Jacob Rubincam (American/Chester County, Pa.; 1920-1978), Turks Head, East Side, High and Market. Pastel, painted in 1974, 20 inches by 40 inches. Estimate $15,000-$25,000. Image courtesy William Bunch Auctions.
