November 20, 2013 - Auction Central News

Rare dolls, toys and trains line up for Stephenson’s Nov. 22 sale

French bisque Jumeau bebe doll. Stephenson’s image.

PHILA., Pa. – It’s time for another entertaining auction of dolls, toys and trains at Stephenson’s in the Philadelphia suburb of Southampton. The company’s Nov. 22 sale will begin at 10 a.m. Eastern Time, with Internet live bidding through LiveAuctioneers.

Among the highlights are a French bisque bebe doll by Jumeau, a wonderful Humpty Dumpty Circus set, a 1952 Vogue “strung” Ginny in “Rich Uncle” trunk, and a Steelcraft Army Scout plane. A special highlight is a collection of beautiful, early Halloween decorations, including salesmen’s samples, made from the 1920s through 1940s by the Massachusetts firm Dennison.

Here’s a list of some of the items to be auctioned:

Dolls – French bisque Jumeau Bebe 21″ doll with composition body, French Paris 3 bisque head 13″ child doll, SFBJ #301 Paris 17″ bisque head doll with compo body, Kestner 22″ bisque shoulder head doll with leather kid body, Heubach-Koppelsdorf German black all bisque 13″ doll, Armand Marseille 390 bisque head doll, Schoenau & Hoffmeister 15″ bisque head doll, Kestner bisque head 19″ child doll, 16″ Armand Marseille 370 bisque shoulder head doll, four German bisque Christmas dolls, 24″ German doll with compo head and cloth body, Handwerk 119-13 bisque doll, 19th C. Japanese Emperor and Empress birthday celebration dolls, rare 1949 Vogue Ginny doll 14″ “Mother” from The Mommy & Me series, 1955 Vogue Ginny No. 62 Bridal Trousseau walker with wrist tag and instructions, 1952 strung Vogue Ginny groom, 1949-50 Vogue strung Ginny skier, Vogue original wardrobe chest 1950-52 with strung Ginny and all original accessories, 1950 Vogue strung Ginny “Alice in Wonderland”, 1950 Vogue strung Ginny “Steffie”, 1952 Vogue strung Ginny “Linda” from the Kindergarten series wearing tagged original outfit, 1950’s Vogue strung Ginny “TV Time” wearing tagged outfit, 1950’s Vogue strung Ginny with glasses, travel trunk, clothing, ski outfit with skis, poles, etc., Ginny No. 6921 table and chair set in box, 1950’s Mme. Alexander “Cissette”, 1952 Mme. Alexander 14″ hard plastic “Tommy Bangs” in original box, Arranbee 1950’s Nancy Lee hard plastic doll, A & M 351 8 ½” bisque head doll with compo body, Kestner bisque head 9″ doll, My Merry Shampoo Set and My Merry Dolly’s Laundry Closet, ethnic dolls, composition dolls, Mme. Alexander “Susie Q” cloth doll, Mary Hoyer, celluloid, hard plastic, Grace Putnam Bye-los, 3″ German all bisque doll, 10″ Skookum doll, Kerr & Hinz bisque dolls, 1950’s American Character Tiny Tears dolls, Bonny Braids walker doll with toothbrush, 1950’s Ideal hard plastic 17″ Shirley Temple, 17″ Ideal Shirley Temple 1972, 18″ hard plastic Shirley Temple, Arranbee “Nanette” hard plastic, 1950’s American Character Toni doll, Mme. Alexander “Edith the Lonely” doll, early Mme. Alexander composition “Dopey” marionette, Effanbee “Emily Ann” marionette, Mme. Alexander compo dolls, Horsman Mickey Mouse Club Mousketeer doll style No. 70 in box, composition Dream Baby dolls, Ideal Miss Revlon bride doll, 13″ compo Snow White, 20″ Ideal composition and wood Pinocchio doll, Mme. Alexander “Little Women” in boxes, Mme. Alexander “Scarlett O’Hara” all composition doll, dollhouse dolls, dollhouse furniture, Bob Mackie designed Barbies, American Girl dolls with outfits and boxes, celluloid and bisque kewpies including Rose O’Neill, doll clothes including tagged outfits, tagged Barbie clothes, 1963 Skooter doll, Japanese Ichimatsu warrior doll on horseback, doll parts, and more.

Toys – Steelcraft Army Scout plane NX107, Schoenhut Humpty Dumpty circus set with original tent clowns, ringmaster, animals, and accessories including chairs, miniature vintage Steiff animals, tin litho cars, Walt Disney vintage memorabilia, diecast cars, scale model kits, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Double R Bar tin litho lunchbox, Tonka pressed steel trucks and army jeep, S.H. Japan capsule “Mercury” tin litho friction in original box, Space ship X-8 by Masudaya of Japan tin litho battery operated in original box, Schuco 1010 wind-up tin toy car made in U.S. Zone Germany, Marx anti-aircraft unit No. 12, tin litho battery operated T.N. Japan “Mystery” car, Hot Wheels, Lesney, Aurora, diecast figurines including Britains, Barclay and others, Louis Marx “The Big Parade” tin litho wind-up toy, four Kirchhof tin litho children’s banks – Vols. I-IV, G.I. Joe action figure “Mike Power”, vintage Superman belt with buckle by Lee Co., Baldwin tin litho wind-up hen on nest, Dayton/Shieble hill climber dump truck, Ideal Super Detail scale model Grumman Avenger TBF, 1979 Captain America with Fly Away action in original box, Wyandotte tin litho wind-up model shooting gallery, Revell slot car racing set, Marx Deluxe Auto Transport pressed steel truck, American Plastic Bricks by Elgo, diecast cars, 1950’s Howdy Doody plastic puppets, Ertl Munster Koach and Ertl Dragula car, Trick Dog cast iron mechanical bank, Stanley Toys cast iron horse drawn carriage with driver and passenger, old iron still banks, Book of Knowledge cast iron mechanical banks, black Americana cast iron banks, mechanical man cast iron bank – made in England, Dinky toys, Arcade cast iron Model T with driver, Aurora monster models, and more.

Trains – Lionel No. 671 0 gauge turbo locomotive and tender, Lionel 027 gauge No. 22 steam locomotive and tender, Lionel No. 2345 Western Pacific diesel locomotive, Lionel No. 622 A.T. & S.F. 0 gauge diesel switcher, Lionel buildings and accessories, Lionel 027 gauge pre-war train set in set box No. 1075E freight set, Dayton hill climber train, Rail King 0 and 027 freight cars in original boxes, Lionel Classics No. 4400N signal bridge and 4400C Control Panel in original boxes, Lionel Flying Yankee 0 gauge train set, Lionel 0 gauge Pennsylvania No. 8551 electric locomotive and eight Lionel Pennsylvania passenger cars, two Pennsylvania GG-I electric locomotives No. 2362 and six K-Line passenger cars, Lionel No. 28634 Norman Rockwell Hudson locomotive new in box, groupings of N scale and H.O. gauge trains, Lionel No. 362 Barrel Loader complete in original box, 1940’s American Flyer 97 freight station, grouping of 1950’s Lionel signals and crossing lights, several Bachmann train sets in original boxes, Hornby train model “Night Mail Express”, tin litho freight cars, composition train buildings and stations – made in Japan, Lionel 0 gauge No. 342 culvert loader with No. 6342 culvert car, Lionel No. 397 coal loader, Lionel 0 gauge New York Central train set, and more.

For information on any item in the sale, call 215-322-6182 or email info@stephensonsauction.com.

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View the fully illustrated catalog and register to bid absentee or live via the Internet as the sale is taking place by logging on to www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Humpty Dumpty Circus set. Stephenson’s image.

Steelcraft Army Scout plane NX 107. Stephenson’s image.

1952 Vogue strung Ginny in ‘Rich Uncle’ trunk. Stephenson’s image.

Examples from a selection of 1920s-1940s Dennison Halloween decorations. Grouping includes coveted salesmen’s samples. Stephenson’s image.

Amanresorts named presenting sponsor for Asia Week NY 2014

Aman at Summer Palace, Lobby, Bejing, China. Photo courtesy Amanresorts.

NEW YORK – The Asia Week New York Association has announced that Amanresorts has signed on as presenting sponsor of Asia Week New York 2014, which opens March 14 to 22. Under this sponsorship agreement seven of its properties in four Asian countries will be promoted by Asia Week New York through its marketing platforms and events. These ne plus ultra resorts include Amanfayun in Hangzhou, China, Aman at Summer Palace in Beijing, China, Amanbagh in Rajasthan, India, Aman-i-Khas in Ranthambore, India, Amangalla in Galle, Sri Lanka, Amanwella in Tangalle, Sri Lanka, and the Amankora in Bhutan.

“With their far-reaching ties to Asia, we believe that Amanresorts is a perfect partner to celebrate the many facets of important Asian art and culture,” said Carol Conover, chairman of Asia Week New York. “Their reputation as one of the world’s leading luxury resorts is unsurpassed and we are very exited to welcome them as our 2014 presenting sponsor.”

“We are delighted to participate in this week of tribute to Asian art, history and culture. Aman has always embraced unique destinations as opportunities for Aman travelers to discover the hidden past and its intriguing stories,” said Trina Dingler Ebert, executive director, Amanresorts.

About Asia Week New York:

The collaboration of 46 top-tier international Asian art specialists, five major auction houses, and numerous museums Asian cultural institutions, Asia Week New York is a week-long celebration filled with a non-stop schedule of simultaneous gallery open houses, Asian art auctions as well as numerous museum exhibitions, lectures, and special events.

Participants from Australia, England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Switzerland and the United States unveil an extraordinary array of treasures from China, India, the Himalayas, Southeast Asia, Tibet, Nepal, Japan, and Korea.

Asia Week New York Association, Inc. is a 501(c)(6) non-profit trade membership organization registered with the state of New York.

For more information visit www.AsiaWeekNewYork.com

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Apple flying saucer campus cleared for takeoff

Apple Campus 2 illustration. Planning application and building rendering in the public domain, submitted to the City of Cupertino, September 2013. Apple Inc. image. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) – Apple’s plan to build a shimmering flying-saucer shape headquarters got final clearance for takeoff late Tuesday, after a tax break granted the technology titan was trimmed.

Officials in the Silicon Valley city of Cupertino, which has long been home to the culture-changing technology titan, put a stamp of approval on a grand vision put in motion years ago by late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.

The vote late Tuesday was a procedural formality and essentially a rubber stamping of a unanimous endorsement for the project by members of the Cupertino city council last month.

Final approval of Apple’s new campus came with an agreement to trim by 15 percent a tax break awarded to the company in 1997 when the future of the then-struggling company was uncertain.

In documents filed with the city, “Apple Campus 2” is described as a 21st-century creation designed for research, collaboration and innovation.

“This new development will provide a serene environment reflecting Apple’s brand values of innovation, ease of use and beauty,” Apple said in paperwork filed for approval by the city.

Apple enlisted renowned architect Norman Foster to transform a 176-acre site dominated by asphalt and old buildings into “sustainable, state-of-the-art office, research and development facilities.

The majority of space will be greenery, but the eye-catching jewel of the campus promised to be a glimmering ring of polished metal and glass, mirroring the design passion put into Apple’s coveted devices.

“The entire campus, indoors and out, is intended to promote shared creativity and collaboration, and spur invention of the next several generations of Apple products,” the company said in plan paperwork.

The four-story main building will have about 2.8 million square feet of space and will be able to accommodate 12,000 employees, according to design specifications.

The list of campus amenities included a “striking restaurant” and a separate fitness center with about 100,000 square feet of space.

Campus plans promised “landscape design of meadows and woodlands will create an ecologically rich oak savanna reminiscent of the early Santa Clara Valley.”

Apple said that it will continue to use the One Infinite Loop campus a short distance away, which is its current headquarters.

“The main objective of the project is to redevelop the site with a new, unified, secure and private Apple campus,” the company said, in the plan filed with the city.

Apple has a powerful presence in Cupertino, a city with a population of about 58,000 people located near the Santa Cruz Mountains about 42 miles south of San Francisco.

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University in Ohio gets Lincoln memorabilia gift

Known as the 'Gettysburg Portrait,' this photograph of Abraham Lincoln was actually taken in London by Alexander Gardner on Nov. 8, 1863, a few weeks before the Gettysburg Address. Library of Congress photo.

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio (AP) – Abraham Lincoln memorabilia including signed documents, photographs and rare books have been donated to Ohio’s John Carroll University by an alumnus and his wife.

The university near Cleveland announced the gifts Tuesday, the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.

The gift includes an original photograph of Lincoln, often called the “Gettysburg Portrait” and taken Nov. 8, 1863, 11 days before he delivered the address.

The items were donated by Robert Heltzel Jr., a member of the university board of directors and retired owner and president of Kenilworth Steel, and his wife, Heidi. They also donated $1 million to establish an endowed economics professorship.

Special collections curator Charles Zarobila told The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer (bit.ly/1bMDNf2) that Heltzel began donating items from his Civil War collection several years ago.

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Information from: The Plain Dealer, http://www.cleveland.com

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Imelda Marcos’ former aide guilty of conspiracy re: Monet art

Unrelated to the court case, this is one of many works from Claude Monet's (French, 1840-1926) series of paintings featuring water lilies. This painting, executed in 1916, is in the collection of the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the US Copyright Office) before Jan. 1, 1923.

MANILA (AFP) – The Philippines said Tuesday that justice was done in the conviction of a confidante of former first lady Imelda Marcos in New York for plotting to sell valuable looted artworks.

The special anti-corruption agency tasked with tracing the wealth stolen by the Marcos family said it would now seek to recover the money and artworks confiscated from Vilma Bautista, a former New York-based social secretary of Imelda Marcos.

“New York has seen justice done today,” the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) said, as it hailed the US prosecutors for recovering paintings that had been missing since the Marcos family fell from power in 1986.

Imelda Marcos, 84, known for her extravagant lifestyle, is alleged to have looted millions from state coffers when her husband Ferdinand Marcos was president from 1965 to 1986. She used this wealth to acquire jewelry, art, real estate and a massive shoe collection.

An army-backed popular revolt toppled President Marcos in 1986 and sent him and his family fleeing into exile. But much of their allegedly stolen wealth has not yet been recovered.

The PCGG said it had provided key testimony and evidence that led to the conviction of Bautista for conspiring to sell three valuable artworks including a piece from French impressionist Claude Monet’s “water lilies” series.

New York authorities began their investigation in 2010 after learning of the suspicious sale of a Monet painting by Bautista and her nephews.

They contacted the PCGG “as there appeared to have been other attempts by the defendants… to sell other paintings publicly known to be missing since 1986 and claimed by the (Philippines) as ill-gotten gains,” the commission said in a statement.

The New York authorities later seized a work by Monet and two other “internationally significant” paintings as well as “tens of millions of dollars representing the proceeds of the consummated sale,” the PCGG added.

All the artworks are on the PCGG’s “missing paintings list” of masterpieces lost after Marcos fell, the commission said in a statement.

“We will now be working to recover the proceeds and assets which were confiscated from Ms Bautista and which we assert are owned by the (Philippine) republic,” said PCGG chairman Andres Bautista.

Asked for a reaction, Imelda Marcos’s chief of staff Filedelfo Diaz said “Ma’am did not deny that (Bautista) was once her assistant. She made no further statement on the case in New York.”

The PCGG was established soon after Marcos was toppled, to try to recover as much as 10 billion dollars in assets believed stolen by the dictator, his family and allies.

Although the commission has recovered more than a billion dollars in assets, no member of the Marcos family has ever been jailed.

Following the death of her husband in 1989, Imelda Marcos and her family have made a political comeback. She is now a member of parliament while her son Ferdinand Junior is a leading senator whom she hopes will eventually run for president.

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Italian jewelry sparkles at Dreweatts & Bloomsbury, Nov. 27

Three-strand natural and cultured pearl necklace composed of strands with 69, 73 and 69 pearls, attached to a scrolled foliate diamond clasp centered with an oval cut ruby and diamond flower head cluster. Estimate: £5,000–£7,000. Dreweatts & Bloomsbury image.

LONDON – Stunning jewelry made by Italian society jeweler Stefano Scortecci for a prominent family of European diplomats during the 1960s will be sold by Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions on Wednesday, Nov. 27. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding. The auction will begin at 10:30 a.m. UK time (2:30 a.m. Pacific).

Stefano Scortecci opened his workshop in Rome in 1920. He became one of Rome’s leading society jewelers during the second half of the 20th century with a client list that included presidents of the Italian Republic. His son Marcello joined the business in 1945 and was followed by his son Stefano Scortecci Jr. in 1970. Scortecci Jr. brought new creative ideas to the business and later became Chamberlain of Università E Nobil Collegio Degli Orefici Gioiellieri Argentieri Dell’ Alma Citta Di Roma (The Roman University of Jewelers and Goldsmiths). He held the position at the university founded by Pope Julius II in 1508 from 2002 to 2011.

One of the most expensive pieces in the collection is a pendant and matching earrings made of Martha Rocha aquamarine to designs by the current owner that were mounted by Scortecci. The gems were purchased in the early 1960s by the owner whose husband was part of the Italian diplomatic misson to Brazil. The stone takes its name from the beauty queen Martha Rocha, who became the first Miss Brazil in 1954. The original aquamarine weighed 35 kilograms and was carved in to 300,000 carats of cut gemstones. Similar stones are now named Martha Rocha due to their deep blue color. This lovely set is estimated to sell for £7,000–£10,000.

A tiara and necklace, made as a special commission by Scortecchi, was worn by the current owner at the 1961 state banquet in honor of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh during their state visit to Italy in May 1961. The banquet was hosted by the Italian President Giovanni Gronchi at the Quirinale Palace in Rome, and was attended by 3,000 members of Italian high society. This unique piece is estimated at £8,000– £12,000.

From other owners are six beautiful items from a collection of Bulgari jewelry purchased in the 1970s and 1980s, includes a stunning solitaire diamond ring, Weighing 4.48 carats the gem is estimated at £12,000–£18,000

Other highlights include a 1950s diamond bracelet consisting of 34 rectangular step-cut diamonds, approximately 28.80 carats total, estimated at £15,000–£20,000, and a late Victorian diamond whorl brooch, circa 1880, mounted in gold backed silver, weighing approximately 8 carats and estimated at £3,000–£4,000.

View the fully illustrated catalog and register to bid absentee or live via the Internet as the sale is taking place by logging on to www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Late 19th century Renaissance Revival enamel crucifix pendant by Carlo Giuliano, circa 1880, the black enameled cross with rope-twist and bead detail and suspending baroque pearls, 6.6cm long. Estimate: £3,000–£5,000. Dreweatts & Bloomsbury image.

Pair of antique Roman gold and natural pearl ear pendents , circa first century , baroque pearl drops suspended by shaped hollow gold columns and gold hooks fittings. Estimate: £1,000– £1,500. Dreweatts & Bloomsbury image.

Aquamarine pendant and en suite ear clips by Scortecci, the detachable pendant set with a pear-cut aquamarine, estimated to weigh 61 carats. Estimate: £7,000-£10,000. Dreweatts & Bloomsbury image.

Ruby, diamond and emerald tiara-necklace by Scortecci, circa 1961. Estimate: £8,000-£12,000. Dreweatts & Bloomsbury image.

Kansas fossils removed from NY auction after outcry

On view at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History in Hays, Kansas, are fossils of a Xiphactinus audax with a Gillicus arcuatus within its stomach. The fossils were recovered from Gove County, Kansas in 1952 by George F. Sternberg (1883–1969). Note: this is not one of the items that had been consigned to Bonhams' auction. Photo by Spacini, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike3 License.

HAYS, Kan. (AP) – A California museum has withdrawn 12 fossils it had listed for sale in an auction scheduled for Tuesday, including seven it purchased from Kansas scientist Charles Sternberg in the 1920s.

The San Diego Natural History Museum posted an announcement on its website Monday saying that it had removed the items that were to be sold by New York-based Bonhams auction house.

“The fossils in question include seven large vertebrate fossils collected and sold to the Museum by Charles Sternberg in the 1920s, and represent a fraction of the Sternberg specimens currently housed in our research collection,” the museum’s announcement said. “The remaining five auction specimens are Green River Formation fish fossils added to the Museum’s collection in the 1970s.”

That’s welcome news to those who had criticized the decision to sell the fossils collected by Charles H. Sternberg, patriarch of the fossil-collecting family that included Levi, Charles M. and George, the former director of Sternberg Museum.

The Kansas items included several pieces that Sternberg adjunct curator Mike Everhart would love to have for his museum. But he said the museum doesn’t have the money to bid on the collection.

“Historically, I consider them all priceless because they were collected by Charles Sternberg,” Everhart told The Hays Daily News.

Opening bids were expected to start at between $100,000 and $125,000 on one of the pieces, a Xiphactinus fish collected in the 1920s in western Kansas. The specimen is 13 feet long. Another, a 17-foot-long mosasaur, was also found in Kansas and has a starting price of between $75,000 and $100,000.

Everhart said he also struggled with the possibility that Sternberg fossils may go to private collectors. The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology also issued a statement critical of the San Diego museum’s decision to sell the fossils.

“By offering these vertebrate fossils at public auction, their loss to the public trust is virtually guaranteed,” the SVP said in the statement. “Such an action also supports the commercialization of vertebrate fossils that has become so destructive to our science. It is equally disheartening to see the legacy of Charles H. Sternberg used to promote the commercial sale of these museum fossils.”

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