Julien’s brings the star power with Music Icons event Feb. 27

Dolly Parton 1970s stage- and album cover-worn ensemble, estimated at $20,000-$40,000 at Julien's.

GARDENA, Calif. — Julien’s Music Icons sale, scheduled for Tuesday, February 27, presents 145 lots from the biggest names in music. The sale has added emphasis on women performers as well. The complete catalog is now available for bidding at LiveAuctioneers.

The Beatles played their final live concert in the United States on August 29, 1966 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. The ‘Stick was the home of the San Francisco Giants baseball team, and assistant clubhouse manager Mike Murphy was on duty for the music event. He managed to get the band to sign a Spaulding baseball and immediately gave it to his sister, who turned around and sold it to a collector, who consigned it to the sale after 50 years of ownership. The Ringo signature has been professionally restored, but the remaining autographs are all original. As the top lot in the sale, the baseball is estimated at $50,000-$70,000.

A very 1970s ensemble custom-designed for Dolly Parton is another auction highlight. The country superstar was on her way up in 1974 when she wore her jade green polyester top and bellbottoms for the Country Gold show in Arlington, Texas. She so loved the outfit that she donned it for the cover of her In the Beginning LP, released in 1978. The lot includes a copy of the album, and is estimated at $20,000-$40,000.

Taylor Swift was already a household name in 2014 when she was profiled in a photo shoot in Glamour magazine. Three props from that shoot are included in the Julien’s auction, and each is accompanied with a photo-matched image from the piece. First up is a Polaroid SX-70 Land camera ($400-$600) from a shot where Swift looks over a collection of Polaroid prints; next is an old travel trunk ($1,000-$2,000); and finally there’s a Gibson Les Paul Studio Lite guitar ($8,000-$12,000) seen being strummed by the pop star.

Another LP-cover wardrobe item is a Julien’s highlight. Johnny Cash wore this jacket, estimated at $10,000-$20,000, for the cover shoot for 1973’s CBS release Country & Western Superstar. And he presented his office Bently acoustic guitar, now estimated at $20,000-$30,000, to Johnny Cash Museum founder Bill Miller.

Beatles-signed baseball from their final U.S. concert, estimated at $50,000-$70,000 at Julien's.

Beatles-signed baseball from their final U.S. concert, estimated at $50,000-$70,000 at Julien's.

Dolly Parton 1970s stage- and album cover-worn ensemble, estimated at $20,000-$40,000 at Julien's.

Dolly Parton 1970s stage- and album cover-worn ensemble, estimated at $20,000-$40,000 at Julien's.

Gibson Les Paul Studio Lite guitar used in Taylor Swift photo shoot, estimated at $8,000-$12,000 at Julien's.

Gibson Les Paul Studio Lite guitar used in Taylor Swift photo shoot, estimated at $8,000-$12,000 at Julien's.

Polaroid SX-70 Land camera used in Taylor Swift photo shoot, estimated at $400-$600 at Julien's.

Polaroid SX-70 Land camera used in Taylor Swift photo shoot, estimated at $400-$600 at Julien's.

Jim Bunte

Jim Bunte

Jim Bunte has worked in editorial, design and the toy and auction industries for more than 30 years. He co-founded Auction Central News in 2007.

Black American history is brought to life at Freeman’s Hindman Feb. 27

Maria Howard Weeden portrait of an elderly woman, estimated at $5,000-$7,000 at Freeman's Hindman.

CINCINNATI — Freeman’s Hindman’s American Historical Ephemera and Early Photography sale on Tuesday, February 27 features documents, historical artifacts, and photography from throughout American history, with a focus on the pioneering figures and key moments that shaped the African American experience during the last 300 years. The complete catalog is available for bidding at LiveAuctioneers.

The leading lot of the sale is Roll, Jordan, Roll, number 122 of a total press run of 350 books signed by author Julia Peterkin and photographer Doris Ulmann. Published by Robert O. Ballou in 1933, the book is a sympathetic and non-stereotypical view of former slaves living in the Gullah coastal region of South Carolina. It carries an estimate of $8,000-$10,000.

A Reconstruction-era broadside political poster alerting voters to how their votes would be interpreted with regard to ‘Negro suffrage’ is another top lot. It reads in part, “Every Republican vote is a vote for Negro suffrage / In favor of Congress compelling us to let the Negro vote.” Published by the Democratic campaign of Charles T. Molony, his message was apparently heard as he went on to win his New Jersey State Assembly race. The broadside is in fair condition with some areas of loss; its estimate is $7,000-$9,000.

Another New Jersey-related item focuses on the Republican Party’s attempt to push voting rights for Black males in the 1868 election. It is estimated at $3,000-$4,000.

Maria Howard Weeden (1847-1905) was an Alabama-based poet and artist who published and signed her works as ‘Howard’ Weeden. Her sympathetic portraiture of emancipated Blacks earned her great respect throughout her career, and even exhibitions in Europe. This watercolor of an elderly woman has an estimate of $5,000-$7,000.

This carte de visite of Frederick Douglass was imaged by J. B. Roberts around 1867 at his Rochester studio, located at 58 State Street. The lot notes describe it as “Possibly a previously unknown image”, though it resembles another image in the Rochester Public Library collection. It is estimated at $2,000-$3,000.

'Roll, Jordan, Roll,' estimated at $8,000-$10,000 at Freeman's Hindman.

'Roll, Jordan, Roll,' estimated at $8,000-$10,000 at Freeman's Hindman.

'Attention! Voters! Don't Be Deceived' political poster, estimated at $7,000-$9,000 at Freeman's Hindman.

'Attention! Voters! Don't Be Deceived' political poster, estimated at $7,000-$9,000 at Freeman's Hindman.

'The Two Records. Voters. Read and Remember' political tract, estimated at $3,000-$4,000 at Freeman's Hindman.

'The Two Records. Voters. Read and Remember' political tract, estimated at $3,000-$4,000 at Freeman's Hindman.

Maria Howard Weeden portrait of an elderly woman, estimated at $5,000-$7,000 at Freeman's Hindman.

Maria Howard Weeden portrait of an elderly woman, estimated at $5,000-$7,000 at Freeman's Hindman.

Jim Bunte

Jim Bunte

Jim Bunte has worked in editorial, design and the toy and auction industries for more than 30 years. He co-founded Auction Central News in 2007.

Automobilia and petroliana collectors can fill ’er up at Morphy Feb. 24-25 in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS — Morphy Auctions returns to Las Vegas for its Saturday, February 24 and Sunday, February 25 sale of antique and vintage gas- and oil-related memorabilia. The 1,247-lot auction includes porcelain and neon advertising signs, gas pumps and globes, vintage oil cans, service station display items, logo wall clocks, and railroadiana.

The sale’s top-estimated lot is a porcelain neon sign for Polly Gas. The 96in sign has never been removed from its original can and has been AGS-certified and graded 82. As a result, the neon is estimated at $60,000-$100,000.

Right behind the Polly Gas sign lot is a double-sided Frontier Gas ‘Rarin’ To Go’ sign with the company’s iconic cowboy-on-rearing-horse graphic, estimated at $40,000-$80,000. Also sure to go for top dollar is a Clipper Gasoline oval porcelain sign with a Pan American Clipper sea plane graphic. The 60in sign is AGS side-graded 87 and 79. The estimate is $30,000-$60,000.

Featuring a logo and name clearly lifted from the Southern Pacific Railroad is an outstanding Sunset Gasoline 15in single-globe gas pump lens. Issued by Sunset Pacific Oil Co. of Los Angeles, this example is considered early due to what’s known as its ‘blue-sky’ background, dating it to the 1920s. John Mihovetz of Morphy’s Petroliana & Automobilia believes it is possibly the only surviving example. It is AGS graded 91, with an estimate of $15,000-$30,000.

Perfect for any garage is a postwar GMC Trucks neon sign, featuring unique green porcelain as well as green and pink neon. And at 85 by 13 by 47in, it’s big. AGS graded 89 and 90, the sign carries an estimate of $15,000-$25,000.

Dan Morphy sees a bright future for automobilia and petroliana sales at the company’s recently opened Las Vegas facility, stating: “Las Vegas is one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States. It’s also a magnet for West Coast car culture and classic-car events. Las Vegas is ideal for Morphy’s to hold automobilia and petroliana sales.”

Polly Gas porcelain neon sign, estimated at $60,000-$100,000 at Morphy.

Polly Gas porcelain neon sign, estimated at $60,000-$100,000 at Morphy.

Frontier Gas porcelain sign, estimated at $40,000-$80,000 at Morphy.

Frontier Gas porcelain sign, estimated at $40,000-$80,000 at Morphy.

Jim Bunte

Jim Bunte

Jim Bunte has worked in editorial, design and the toy and auction industries for more than 30 years. He co-founded Auction Central News in 2007.

William Edmondson ‘Mother and Child’ carving with modest estimate won $122K at Case

William Edmondson, ‘Mother and Child’, which sold for $122,000 with buyer’s premium at Case.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Case’s January 27-28 Winter Auction was a solid success, drawing more than 7,500 registered bidders and achieving a 98% sell-through rate.

It also reconfirmed the strength of the market for the works of self-taught carver and Tennessee native William Edmondson (1874-1951), the first African American artist featured in a solo show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The sale featured an undated Edmondson Mother and Child figure, the first carving of a human figure by the artist to come to market in four years. The house gave it a conservative estimate of $40,000-$44,000 in recognition of the fact that sections of its surface had been painted in a tan-gray color, but bidders were undeterred. The work hammered for $100,000 and sold for $122,000 to a private collector on the telephone, with four underbidders left empty-handed. The house reports that more than 1,400 watched the contest on LiveAuctioneers, where the full results for both sale dates can be seen.

John Case, president of the auction house, said of the two-day sale, “What encouraged me about this auction was the strength of demand across multiple categories, but especially American art. We saw some of the best prices on paintings nationwide in the last three years on artists like George Rodrigue, John Sloan, William Walker.”

The George Rodrigue was a late work that starred his iconic Blue Dog, titled Louisiana Sunday Morning. He painted it in 2012, after he learned that his cancer had gone into remission. (Sadly, the disease returned and claimed Rodrigue’s life in 2013). Louisiana Sunday Morning earned $103,700 with buyer’s premium, but it wasn’t the only work by the artist in the sale lineup: A cameo glass bowl emblazoned with Blue Dog imagery, estimated at $5,000-$6,000, realized an impressive $23,400 with buyer’s premium.

The John Sloan painting that Case mentioned above was a Taos landscape oil titled Land of Turquoise. It secured $36,400 – double the low end of its $18,000-$20,000 estimate – and was a key lot from the estate of noted Nashville art collector Ann Wells. And the William Walker work he cited was an undated, untitled coastal seascape, probably depicting Florida, which had been discovered in an antique shop in Tennessee priced at $25. Estimated at $7,000-$8,000, it ultimately sold for $39,000 with buyer’s premium.

The sale was also distinguished by four lots of ephemera relating to the 1913 International Exhibition of Modern Art, better known now as The Armory Show. All four found eager buyers, with the victor among them being a poster for the legendary art-world event, which sold for $29,280 with buyer’s premium.

William Edmondson, ‘Mother and Child’, which sold for $122,000 with buyer’s premium at Case.

William Edmondson, ‘Mother and Child’, which sold for $122,000 with buyer’s premium at Case.

George Rodrigue, ‘Louisiana Sunday Morning’, which sold for $103,700 with buyer’s premium at Case.

George Rodrigue, ‘Louisiana Sunday Morning’, which sold for $103,700 with buyer’s premium at Case.

John Sloan, ‘Land of Turquoise’, which sold for $36,400 with buyer’s premium at Case.

John Sloan, ‘Land of Turquoise’, which sold for $36,400 with buyer’s premium at Case.

William Walker oil-on-linen seascape, which sold for $39,000 with buyer’s premium at Case.

William Walker oil-on-linen seascape, which sold for $39,000 with buyer’s premium at Case.

Sheila Gibson Stoodley

Sheila Gibson Stoodley

Sheila Gibson Stoodley is the associate editor for Auction Central News. She has written and edited for Robb Report, Art & Antiques magazine, and Andrew Harper online. She also authored The Hot Bid, a blog devoted to intriguing and delightful lots coming up at auction.