May 2014 - Page 6 of 20 - Auction Central News

All fans attending the June 7 game will receive a collector's-edition bobblehead figure of 'Courageous Catcherman,' former Marvel Comics impresario Stan Lee's interpretation of San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey.

Costumes welcome at SF Giants’ Heroes & Comics Night, June 7

May 22, 2014/in Events/by Catherine Saunders-Watson

All fans attending the June 7 game will receive a collector’s-edition bobblehead figure of ‘Courageous Catcherman,’ former Marvel Comics impresario Stan Lee’s interpretation of San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey.

SAN FRANCISCO – Following the success of their Stan Lee VIP Experience promotion last season, the National League West-leading San Francisco Giants are increasing this year’s comic hero celebration to ballpark-wide status.

Heroes and Comics Night will come to AT&T Park on Saturday, June 7, 2014 at 7:05 PDT as the Giants take on the New York Mets. Various components centered around popular comic book heroes will take place throughout the game, and all fans are encouraged to dress up as their favorite comic book characters.

In addition to the game itself, the special event ticket package includes a collector’s-edition bobblehead figure of “Courageous Catcherman,” former Marvel Comic impresario Stan Lee’s interpretation of Giants catcher Buster Posey. Lee, the creator or co-creator of characters ranging from Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four to The X-Men and Iron Man, will throw out the Ceremonial First Pitch.

Lee will also take part in a special pre-game VIP experience in the Triples Alley Premium Space at AT&T Park. Each VIP-ticket holder will receive admission to the Triples Alley Premium Location 4:35-6:35pm, complimentary food and beverage (including beer and wine), the “Courageous Catcherman” bobblehead, and a limited-edition Stan Lee vinyl figurine, only available to ticketholders of this VIP offer.

This VIP experience and the Triples Alley venue includes on-field access from which to watch batting practice, early access to the ballpark, and at the conclusion of the pre-game event, a walk along the warning track on the field to get to your seats for the game. Special tickets are required for this event and space is limited.

Additional details for the event will be available on the Giants’ website as the event’s date draws closer. A portion of proceeds from every Heroes and Comics Day Special Event ticket will benefit local non-profits in the Bay Area.

Last year’s Stan Lee VIP Experience in Triples Alley netted attendees a custom, limited edition print signed by Lee and Giants closer Sergio Romo.

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Our thanks to Scoop (www.scoop.diamondgalleries.com) for sharing the information and images shown here.

ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE

Limited-edition Stan Lee vinyl figurine to be given to each VIP ticketholder at the San Francisco Giants Heroes and Comics Night, June 7, 2014.

Flyer for June 7 Heroes and Comics Night at AT&T Park, San Francisco

The Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley, suspended from a crane during her recovery from Charleston Harbor on Aug. 8, 2000. Image by Barbara Voulgaris, Naval Historical Center, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Initial steps taken to create H.L. Hunley Museum in S.C.

May 22, 2014/in Museums/by Tom Hoepf

The Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley, suspended from a crane during her recovery from Charleston Harbor on Aug. 8, 2000. Image by Barbara Voulgaris, Naval Historical Center, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) – The South Carolina Hunley Commission has begun working to create a museum to house the H.L. Hunley, the Confederate vessel that was the first submarine to sink an enemy warship.

The Post and Courier of Charleston reports the commission reached an agreement Tuesday with the Charleston Naval Base Redevelopment Authority to create a museum authority to oversee planning and the building of a $40 million museum at the former base.

Redevelopment Authority Executive Director Robert Ryan said a new agency is needed because the Hunley Commission was not configured to build the museum. Ryan says there is not enough money to build it. The city of North Charleston has pledged $13 million.

The Hunley sank off Charleston in 1864 after sending the Union blockade ship Housatonic to the bottom. The Hunley was discovered in 1995 and raised in 2000. Since then it has been undergoing conservation at a lab in North Charleston.

Scientists this month began soaking the hand-cranked sub in a bath of sodium hydroxide to help loosen the encrustation of sand, sediment and rust coating the hull and interior of the sub. This summer, they will begin using hand tools to remove the encrustation and reveal the hull for the first time in 150 years.

They announced last year it appears the charge that sank the Houstonic was attached to the 16-foot spar at the front of the sub. That could mean the crew was knocked unconscious by the explosion and died in the blast. A closer look at the hull may provide clues.

When the Hunley was raised, historians thought it was farther away from the Housatonic and speculated the crew ran out of air before they could crank the sub back to the coast.

The encrustation should be removed in about a year but the sub will have to soak in the chemical bath for at least four more years to remove salts in the metal and prevent further corrosion.

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Information from: The Post and Courier, http://www.postandcourier.com

AP-WF-05-21-14 1407GMT

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

The Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley, suspended from a crane during her recovery from Charleston Harbor on Aug. 8, 2000. Image by Barbara Voulgaris, Naval Historical Center, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Miami pastor gets jail time in fake Damien Hirst art case

May 22, 2014/in Crime & Litigation/by Tom Hoepf

NEW YORK (AP) – A Miami pastor was sentenced Monday to six months in jail for peddling bogus examples of some of British artist Damien Hirst’s signature paintings.

Kevin Sutherland had faced a possible seven years in prison in the attempted grand larceny case, which accused him of knowingly trying to sell five fake Hirsts for $185,000 to an undercover detective. Sutherland, who plans to appeal, said he was just an art-world tyro who got confusing signals about the pieces’ authenticity.

Sutherland, 46, leads the small, nondenominational Mosaic Miami Church in Miami. Defense lawyer Sanford “Sam” Talkin emphasized Sutherland’s good works to the judge, and Mosaic Miami members and others wrote letters on his behalf.

Sutherland was convicted last month of agreeing to sell paintings and prints mimicking Hirst’s pharmaceutical-themed “`spot” paintings and round “spin” paintings, two of the artist’s best-known themes.

Part of a group dubbed the Young British Artists in the 1990s, Hirst received Great Britain’s prestigious Turner Prize in 1995.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office noted that Sotheby’s auction house had raised red flags about the authenticity of one of the paintings, but Sutherland nonetheless told the detective he didn’t know of any doubts about them.

But Sutherland said the auction house never clearly told him the artworks were counterfeit. He said he believed their authenticity was guaranteed when he bought them from Vincent Lopreto, an admitted California art scammer who testified against him.

Lopreto pleaded guilty this year to identity theft and other charges. Two other men also admitted guilt in phony-Hirst cases brought by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr.

“Because the art industry is largely unregulated, it is particularly important to hold accountable those who fraudulently deal artwork,” Vance said after Sutherland’s conviction.

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Reach Jennifer Peltz on Twitter (at) jennpeltz.

AP-WF-05-19-14 2213GMT

'Cupcake Katy' by William Cotton; 2010; Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery; Promised gift of the James Dicke Family.

Portrait gallery adds ‘Cupcake Katy’ Perry to collection

May 22, 2014/in Museums/by Tom Hoepf

‘Cupcake Katy’ by William Cotton; 2010; Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery; Promised gift of the James Dicke Family.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Pop star Katy Perry will soon take pride of place in the dignified National Portrait Gallery in Washington.

Cupcake Katy, an oil-on-linen portrait by New York artist Will Cotton, will go up on June 18 as part of a rotating display of recent acquisitions, the museum said Wednesday.

The painting, completed in 2010, is being gifted to the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery by the James Dicke family, whose wealth and large art collection derive from a global forklift truck business based in Ohio.

In a statement, National Portrait Gallery director Kim Sajet said the tongue-in-cheek work “brings to mind a traditional European portrait of a bewitching 18th century belle – Madame de Pompadour, perhaps?”

Sajet added: “Sweet but no mere piece of ‘candy,’ the woman is accessorized but not labeled – she’s the one in control.”

Perry, 29, is among the biggest names in pop music today, with a raft of Top 10 hits including California Gurls, Teenage Dream and Firework, and a reputation for wildly colorful shows.

She’s scheduled to bring her ongoing Prismatic concert tour to Washington’s Verizon Center arena – across the street from the National Portrait Gallery, as it happens – on June 24 and 25.

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

‘Cupcake Katy’ by William Cotton; 2010; Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery; Promised gift of the James Dicke Family.

The Shanghai Museum, where experts dispute the authenticity of a scroll that a Chinese tycoon purchased for $8 million at a New York auction house. Image by 寒江2009 Eddie Chen. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

China museum ordered to close over fake exhibits

May 22, 2014/in Museums/by Tom Hoepf

The Shanghai Museum, where experts dispute the authenticity of a scroll that a Chinese tycoon purchased for $8 million at a New York auction house. Image by 寒江2009 Eddie Chen. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

BEIJING (AFP) – A Chinese museum has been ordered to close after thousands of its historical exhibits were found to be fake, state-run media said on Thursday.

Police shut down the Lucheng Museum, in the northeastern province of Liaoning, after finding that almost a third of the 8,000 items on display were not genuine, the Global Times newspaper reported.

Counterfeits on show included a sword touted as dating from the Qing Dynasty and worth 120 million yuan ($19 million), the report said.

China is on a museum building spree, with 299 new establishments registering last year, according to state media.

But its antiques market is said to be rife with fakes, posing a problem for the country’s growing ranks of private collectors.

A Chinese tycoon who has two museums is embroiled in a row with experts from the state-backed Shanghai Museum over the authenticity of a scroll he paid more than $8 million for at a Sotheby’s auction in New York.

Separately, last year a museum in the central province of Henan was found to contain scores of fake exhibits, including a vase decorated with cartoon characters but described as a Qing dynasty artifact.

Pictures posted by the state-run China Radio International showed the vase decorated with bright green cartoon animals, including a creature resembling a laughing squid.

“Similar fake museums are found in many places in China in search of monetary gain,” CRI quoted Chinese antiques expert Ma Weidu as saying at the time.

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

The Shanghai Museum, where experts dispute the authenticity of a scroll that a Chinese tycoon purchased for $8 million at a New York auction house. Image by 寒江2009 Eddie Chen. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

1776 $1 Continental dollar. Prize realized: $1.41 million. Heritage Auctions image.

1776 silver dollar, 1792 cent sell for $1.41M each at Heritage

May 21, 2014/in Auction Results/by Tom Hoepf

1776 $1 Continental dollar. Prize realized: $1.41 million. Heritage Auctions image.

NEW YORK – A 1776 Continental dollar – the finest of only four silver Continental currency dollars known to exist and a 1792 silver center one cent piece – one of the earliest and most famous of all 1792 pattern coins – both realized $1.41 million at a coin auction conducted by Heritage Auctions, May 16-17.

These rare coins from the birth of the American republic were the undisputed stars at Heritage Auctions’ selections from the Eric P. Newman Collection IV Signature® Auction, which totaled more than $11 million. The Continental Dollar realized the highest price ever paid for a non-gold American Colonial coin.

The nearly 700 lots of the most important U.S. Colonials offered in recent memory, many of them pedigreed to “Colonel” E.H.R. Green, across the festive two-day auction, gave collectors of all levels a chance to own part of this long-held collection.

At almost 103 years of age Eric P. Newman is the foremost United States numismatic researcher and author. His massive and storied collection is one of the single finest numismatic assemblages ever seen. Along with the first three parts of his collection, auctioned earlier in 2014 and in 2013, his coins so far have realized more than $44 million.

“Historic coins like these, treasures from the birth of the United States, commanded appropriately important prices,” said Jim Halperin, co-founder of Heritage Auctions. “The top collectors in the world knew that they weren’t likely to see many of these coins ever again. The competition and overall prices, as it’s been throughout Mr. Newman’s amazing collection, exceeded even our in-house expectations.”

A 1783 “100” Unique Plain Edge Nova Constellatio 100 Units, Silver, AU55 NGC, the first pattern coin issued by the newly independent United States and a forerunner of the decimal coinage’s acceptance, first in America, then eventually by most monetary systems throughout the world, proved popular with collectors at a final price realized of $705,000. A 1652 New England sixpence, AU58 NGC, the finest known specimen, was also highly sought-after before finishing the auction at $646,250.

Copper highlights included the 1787 George Clinton Copper, MS63 Brown NGC, the finest-certified example of this rare classic offered at auction for the first time in more than a century, which realized $499,375, a price equaled by a simply stunning 1792 Reeded-edge Copper Disme AU55 NGC.

ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE

1776 $1 Continental dollar. Prize realized: $1.41 million. Heritage Auctions image.

1792 P1C one cent. Price realized: $1.41 million. Heritage Auctions image.

An important carved red coral with Guanyin, China, Qing Dynasty, late 19th century, 7,570 grams, 75x77 cm. Estimate: €50,000-70,000. Courtesy Cambi, Genoa.

VIDEO: View highlights of Cambi’s Chinese art auction May 27-28

May 21, 2014/in Upcoming Auctions/by Tom Hoepf

An important carved red coral with Guanyin, China, Qing Dynasty, late 19th century, 7,570 grams, 75×77 cm. Estimate: €50,000-70,000. Courtesy Cambi, Genoa.

GENOA, Italy – Cambi Casa D’Asti anticipates a strong response to its auction of important Chinese art on May 27-28. Day 1, Tuesday, will offer works of art in coral, bronze, jade, ivory and wood. Day 2, Wednesday, will feature works in bronze, jade, ivory and wood. LiveAuctioners.com will provide Internet live bidding.

Many of the items were brought to Italy as early as the end of the 17th century by the great noble families of Turin, Genoa and Milan, said Dario Mottola of Cambi auction house.

Coral and jade stand out in this wide-ranging auction. One highlight is an 8-kilogram carved red coral depiction of Guanyin, animals and vegetation (China, Qing Dynasty, late 19th century), which is estimated at €50,000-€70,000.

Among the jades are some exceptional objects. An extraordinary imperial white jade plate engraved on two sides with “taotie” figures and archaic elements, China, Qianlong period, 1736-1796, carries an estimate of €20,000-€30,000.

Another important lot is an emerald green jadeite incense burner with cover (China, Qing Dynasty, late 19th century). With its original box, the burner is is expected to sell for €40,000-€60,000.

Among the important figures is a 22-inch-tall gilt bronze and copper Vajrapani, protector of the Buddha. From China’s Qing Dynasty, 18th century, it has an estimate of €30,000-€50,000.

For details, phone Cambi at +39 010 8395029.

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.LiveAuctioneeers.com.

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 & VIDEO OF NOTE

An important carved red coral with Guanyin, China, Qing Dynasty, late 19th century, 7,570 grams, 75×77 cm. Estimate: €50,000-70,000. Courtesy Cambi, Genoa.

An extraordinary imperial white jade plate engraved on two sides with taotie figures and archaic elements, China, relief mark and the period Qianlong (1736-1796), 7.3×6 cm. Estimate: €20,000-30,000. Courtesy Cambi, Genoa.

An emerald green jadeite incense burner and cover, China, Qing Dynasty, late 19th century, 14 cm high, 14.5 cm diameter, Bulgari collection in original box. Estimate: €40,000-60,000. Courtesy Cambi Genoa.

A small bronze ritual tripod censer, China, Shang Dynasty (1750-1028 B.C.), 16.5 cm high, provenance: Tucci collection – Rome and Giuganini collection. Estimate: €30,000-40,000. Courtesy Cambi, Genoa.

A large and important gilt bronze and copper Vajrapani, China, Qing Dynasty, 18th century, 55 cm high. Estimate: €30,000-50,000. Courtesy Cambi, Genoa.

Important gilt wood Buddha, China, Yuan Dynasty, 95x58x50cm (38 x 23.2 x 20 inches.) Estimate: €30,000-€50,000, $27,364-$68,394. Courtesy Cambi, Genoa.

The auction is packed with many Tiffany art glass pieces, especially Favrile vases. Woody Auction image.

Part 2 of Rieger collection worthy of Woody Auction, May 29

May 21, 2014/in Upcoming Auctions/by Tom Hoepf

The auction is packed with many Tiffany art glass pieces, especially Favrile vases. Woody Auction image.

WICHITA, Kan. – Fresh from the first of a planned five-part series of auctions to liquidate the lifetime collection of mostly porcelain and fine art glass gathered over the course of five decades by the late Dr. Ernest Rieger and his wife, Karin, Woody Auction will now turn its attention to the Part 2 sale, to be held Thursday, May 29, at the Double Tree (Airport Hilton) in Wichita.

LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.

Part 1 was a huge success, as 400 lots came up for bid in an auction that grossed $1.3 million – and that represented only a fraction of the Riegers’ collection overall (plus the couple’s period antique furniture items, which were displayed in their Wichita home and will be sold at Parts 3 Aug. 1-2) and 4 (date to be determined). Part 2, starting at 1 p.m. Central, will feature 432 lots.

“Part 2 will be equal to Part 1 in terms of quality of merchandise,” said Jason Woody of Woody Auction, based in Douglass, Kan. “We literally pulled items for Part 1 from the left side of the Riegers’ many display cabinets, and the items for Part 2 will come from the right side of the cabinets. Part 3 will feature what still remains in the cabinets, plus the cabinets themselves.”

The Riegers were discerning, serious collectors, seeking out only the finest names in porcelain and glass, such as Tiffany, Galle, Meissen, Webb, Daum Nancy, KPM and others. “This is by far the finest antique collection we’ve ever offered, and it might be the finest ever offered in the state of Kansas,” Woody said. “All items will be sold to the highest bidder, without reserve.”

Thomas Webb & Sons was founded in England in 1842. It was known for the high quality of its cameo glass. Examples in the sale will include a finely carved cameo art glass vase signed “G. Woodall 1887,” a cameo art glass vase also signed by G. Woodall showing a young woman and a bird, and a 21-inch gem cameo vase signed by Tiffany & Co. and Thomas Webb.

Emile Galle (1846-1904) was a founder of the French Art Nouveau movement and a master glass designer. Galle pieces in the auction will feature an 18-inch signed French cameo art glass vase, dark green, with a forest and insect décor and a Victor Hugo quote around the base; and a signed French cameo appliqué and marquetry two-handle bowl having a clear and amber background.

The name Tiffany will be chanted throughout the day, especially Favrile, the metallic iridescent art glass produced by the firm. Examples will include a bulbous 4-inch signed red paperweight vase, an 11 1/2-inch signed art glass pedestal vase with green body and Egyptian design around the neck and foot, and a 7-inch signed art glass wide shoulder vase with blue translucent body.

Additional Tiffany Favrile pieces will include a 7-inch signed decorated art glass vase with an iridescent red body and gold iridescent design; a 13 1/2-inch signed iridescent art glass vase having an iridescent body with golden hues and four sections of pulled feather raised décor, and a 13 3/4-inch signed decorated red vase with red iridescent body and Egyptian décor.

Still more Tiffany Favrile lots: an 8 3/4-inch signed art glass vase with iridescent blue background and green-gold heart and vine décor; a 7-inch signed art glass vase with a cobalt blue body and iridescent Egyptian décor; a 17 1/4-inch signed art glass vase with red body and green iridescent decorated neck; and a 12-inch signed art glass vase with green iridescent exterior and leaf design.

Daum et Cie was the French glassworks firm established in 1875. Nancy is the town in France where it set up shop, producing wonderful cameo and art glass pieces. Daum Nancy in the sale will feature a 14-inch signed French cameo art glass boudoir lamp with winter and blackbirds scenic décor; and a 9 3/4-inch signed French cameo art glass vase with a great fall season décor.

Other Daum Nancy pieces will include a 10-inch figural bronze lamp base with a figural young girl in a dress holding a lantern, artist signed “Leo Laporte-Glaizsy”; a 6-inch signed four-color French cameo art glass pedestal vase having a carved vintage décor with spider web background; and an 11-inch French cameo art glass blown-mold vase with a blue and black dark forest décor.

Mount Washington, the art glass factory founded in Massachusetts in the 19th century, will also be represented in the auction. Pieces will include a 22 1/2-inch Royal Flemish kerosene lamp with figural cherub metal base and camel scene decoration; a 12 1/2-inch decorated “Monkey” vase with rare monkey and ape décor; and an 8 1/2-inch glossy Burmese lyre stem candlestick holder.

Fans of French cameo art glass will be impressed by a pair of vases, both signed “Muller Freres Luneville” (one 14-inch, white and yellow with dark brown winter scene showing wild boars, the other 13 inches, with an Asian-style scenic “windows” décor featuring cranes, lake scenes and Geishas). Also sold will be a magnificent 25 1/2-inch-by-20-inch KPM porcelain plaque, artist-signed (“Pfeiffer”) and showing a detailed scene titled “The Sacrifice of Jephthah’s Daughter.”

Two lots expected to spark a fierce bidding war are 37 1/2-inch signed Moser two-part pedestal vase having a yellow opaque background with extensive multicolor leaf and applied acorn décor – the finest piece of Moser ever offered by Woody Auction – and a 6-inch-by-11 1/4-inch marked Wedgwood Fairyland luster pedestal punch bowl with poplar trees exterior and mermaid interior.

Rounding out just some of the auction’s expected top lots are a rare 8-inch figural French enamel “Windmill” music box (jewel box) with nine individual panels featuring various courting scenes (the music box does not play); and a 5 1/4 inch Russian enamel egg-shaped covered box boasting an embossed swan design with colorful enamel highlights and inset with seven “Ruby” jewels.

For details call Woody Auction at 316-747-2694 or email them at info@woodyauction.com.

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

The auction is packed with many Tiffany art glass pieces, especially Favrile vases. Woody Auction image.

Much of the English cameo in the sale was purchased by the Riegers while on trips to Europe. Woody Auction image.

French cameo glass pieces, like these shown, will be sold without reserve. Woody Auction image.

Fans of French cameo glass will be interested with the selection and variety in the auction. Woody Auction image.

The Riegers collected Burmese pieces such as these, all of which will come up for bid. Woody Auction image.

First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in the Diplomatic Reception Room, Dec. 5 1961. Photo by Robert Knudsen, in the public domain in the United States.

Jackie Kennedy letters to priest withdrawn from auction

May 21, 2014/in Auction Houses/by Tom Hoepf

First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in the Diplomatic Reception Room, Dec. 5 1961. Photo by Robert Knudsen, in the public domain in the United States.

DUBLIN – The Irish Indepentent (www.independent.ie) reported today that letters written by the late Jackie Kennedy to an Irish priest have been withdrawn from an auction in Ireland next month.

Sheppard’s Irish Auction House in County Laois, Ireland, estimated the correspondence between the wife of assassinated U.S. president John F. Kennedy to Father Joseph Leonard in the 1950s and ’60s could sell for up to $1.6 million.

The reason for the withdrawal was not disclosed.

Mrs. Kennedy wrote the letters over a 14-year period, during which time she was First Lady, and after her husband was assassinated. She began corresponding with Father Leonard after meeting him on a trip to Ireland. The priest died in 1964.

The letters were discovered this year at All Hallows College in Dublin. The college is under directions of the Vincentians, a Roman Catholic order of priests, of which Father Leonard was a member.

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in the Diplomatic Reception Room, Dec. 5 1961. Photo by Robert Knudsen, in the public domain in the United States.

Prototype Jeep Wrangler neon sign, 37in by 25in. Mosby & Co. image

Top-quality toys, coin-ops in Mosby & Co. June 7 sale

May 21, 2014/in Upcoming Auctions/by Catherine Saunders-Watson

Prototype Jeep Wrangler neon sign, 37in by 25in. Mosby & Co. image

FREDERICK, Md. – Approximately 450 lots of antique toys, coin-ops and advertising will cross the auction block at a Saturday, June 7 sale conducted by Mosby & Co., at the firm’s gallery located at 5714-A Industry Lane in Frederick, Maryland. The auction will start at 10 a.m. Eastern Time. Approximately 350 lots will be dedicated to toys and toy trains. Internet bidding will be facilitated by LiveAuctioneers.com.

“There’s good, solid merchandise in this sale, including wonderful antique toys from two major single-owner collections, plus other quality consignments,” said Keith Spurgeon, owner of Mosby & Co. “One of the collections is so massive, it will take three auctions to liquidate it all. Part I includes fine examples of German, American and Japanese toys.”

Trains also feature prominently. A strong candidate for top-lot honors is an original Lionel gouache painting depicting a Santa Fe Super Streamliner train roaring through the desert. The work is from the estate of a former Lionel executive and was created as catalog art in 1952. In its wood frame, it measures 29½ inches by 10 inches.

Also in the train section is an impressive collection of American Flyer examples, many of them in their original boxes; and a large selection of 1950s-60s Plasticville toy buildings for train layouts. Plasticville train accessories were introduced in 1946 by Bachmann Industries of Philadelphia, but in 1984 the company was taken over by Kader Industries in China.

Antique toys will feature several German-made Gunthermann toys, 20 battery-operated toys (all original in the box), a nice selection of boxed American and Japanese toys, 1950s-60s Marx playsets and a group of animals and bears by Germany’s premier soft toy manufacturer, Steiff. Another highlight is a 24-inch-long Fleischmann ocean liner made circa 1930-1935.

Toys expected to attract keen bidder interest include an American National pressed steel tandem pedal car (front and rear seating), made around 1930 and professionally restored; and a very rare, fresh-to-the-market Gendron Columbia pressed steel bi-plane pull toy, 30 inches in length and all original. The names American National and Gendron are actually connected. The Gendron Iron Wheel Company was founded in 1872 in Toledo, Ohio, and starting in 1890 the firm produced die-cast toy replica pedal cars and other children’s items up until World War II. In 1927, Gendron became a subsidiary of American National, which sold its assets in 1941.

Two full-size cars will cross the auction block. The first is a white 1962 Ford Thunderbird hardtop with 77,000 original miles. The car has been in the same family since being purchased new. It has been repainted once. The other auto is a 1995 cherry red Dodge Viper, the rare roadster version, with less than 6,000 miles. A Viper that age with so few miles is quite unusual.

Several extremely rare, if not unique, neon signs from automobile dealerships of the 1950s are in tested, working order and accompanied by their transformers. Three were displayed in Hudson showroom windows and come from the collection of a man who used to own a car dealership in Maryland. The largest measures 50 by 30 inches. Another neon rarity advertises Willys Aero-Lark, a sedan built in the 1950.

Although of later manufacture, a neon sign made in 1997 for Jeep Wranger may be the one of its type in existence. “Chrysler sent out a brochure to Jeep dealers that year soliciting them to order this sign for their showrooms, but they didn’t get enough orders to warrant a production run, so only a few prototypes were made. We think this may be the only surviving sign of its type, but it’s impossible to know,” said Spurgeon.

Coin-ops include a Jennings Standard Chief 25-cent slot machine from the first half of the 20th century, all original and unrestored. Music will be provided by an all-original AMI model D-40 jukebox from the early 1950s. In good working order, it plays 45 rpm records. “AMI is a company with a long history,” said Spurgeon. “It began in 1909 as a manufacturer of automatic player pianos. They started making jukeboxes in 1927 and produce them to this day under the name Rowe International.”

An original and unrestored circa-1950 Vendo Model 44 Coca-Cola vending machine, with a nickel slot, will be offered, as will a Merchantman Novelty Crane (a skill machine also known as a digger or claw machine). The crane was made in the 1930s by Exhibit Supply Company of Chicago, which supplied such machines to upscale hotels. Hence, they were known as hotel or floor model coin-ops. Their modern counterparts are often seen in cinema and restaurant lobbies.

Also being offered is a Bimbo 3-Ring Circus puppet machine, made in the 1950s by the United Billiards Company. Players insert a quarter and try to get the clown to dance while music is being played. In addition, pinball machines and other coin-ops will also be sold. The advertising category will feature Coca-Cola signs, promotional thermometers and other collectible items.

The preview for Mosby & Co.’s June 7 auction will be held on Friday, June 6, from 4-7 p.m.; and on auction day from 8-10 a.m. (or by appointment). The gallery is located at 5714-A Industry Lane in Frederick, Maryland, near the juncture of I-70 and I-270 and an easy drive from both Baltimore and Washington, D.C.

For additional information on any item in the sale, call Keith Spurgeon on 240-629-8139 or email keith@mosbyauctions.com.

View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.LiveAuctioneers.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

Prototype Jeep Wrangler neon sign, 37in by 25in. Mosby & Co. image

Hand-painted Foxy Grandpa, Gunthermann, 8in tall. Mosby & Co. image

Rare first-version Chein Ferris wheel with chain-drive mechanism. Mosby & Co. image

24in Fleischmann George Washington ocean liner. Mosby & Co. image

1995 Dodge Viper with 4,050 original miles. Mosby & Co. image

All original, unrestored and working Vendo 44 Coca-Cola machine. Mosby & Co. image

Rare circa-1890 porcelain Kodak Camera sign. Mosby & Co. image

Boxed Lionel standard gauge train set No. 344. Mosby & Co. image

Original gouache on artist’s board depicting the Santa Fe Super Stream Liner, created for 1952 Lionel catalog. Provenance: California estate of retired Lionel executive. Mosby & Co. image

Blue and white Hudson neon sign, 50in by 30in. Mosby & Co. image