NEW HAMBURG, Ontario – A patinated bronze sculpture by Emile Louis Picault (French, 1860-1915), which was used as the mascot for the Ten-Mile Corinthian Automobile Championship of 1906 in Florida, is a star lot at the sale of the Aarssen collection of automobilia, bronzes and Americana to be held Saturday, Dec. 8, by Miller & Miller Auctions Ltd. Absentee and Internet live bidding is available through LiveAuctioneers.
The bronze trophy by Picault is monumental at 48 inches tall, and is an important American artifact, both historically and decoratively. It was commissioned by George W. Young in 1906 and is incised (“E. Picault”) and engraved, “Presented by George W. Young, Ten Mile Corinthian Automobile Championship … Jan. 22nd-27th, 1906.” It carries an estimate of CA$15,000-$20,000/US$11,312-$15,082.
The Aarssen collection is a carefully curated offering consisting of automobile memorabilia, original advertising signs, fine contemporary furniture, bronzes, political memorabilia and more. The auction is officially titled “Automobilia, Americana & Bronzes – the Aarssen Collection.”
“Taste is probably the best way to describe Greg Aarssen and what he collected,” said Ethan Miller of Miller & Miller Auctions Ltd. “This was intellectual collecting, not binge collecting. Behind every object is a cool story, an historical significance, a relationship to a renowned artist or CEO, or a love affair with genius thought and craftsmanship. His sense of style is insane.”
The auction is divided into upstairs and downstairs themes. The upstairs will have a gentlemen’s lounge, office and decorative theme, featuring Americana and historical objects (including an intact collection of early U.S. political pinbacks, gathered in the 1950s and ’60s), bronzes, designer furniture and lighting, sterling silver, barware, tin litho toys and pedal cars.
The downstairs will have an automobilia and ephemera theme. Highlighted will be advertising signs, gas pumps, service station items, coin-op machines from the ’40s (Coca-Cola, nuts, candy), automobile art and paintings and a smattering of country store collectibles. Also up for bid will be large carved oak armoires, bookcases, clocks, car ephemera, monumental paintings and more.
A Flying A Service (below) porcelain gas station sign, 48 inches by 58 inches, is expected to sell for CA$4,000-$6,000; a 1930s-era Canadian Goodyear Tires Selected Dealers porcelain sign, 71 inches by 24 inches, is estimated at CA$2,500-$3,500; and a 1964 Piaggio Vespa 90 scooter with 10,126 original miles, with just minor touch-ups to the fender, should hit CA$2,000-$3,000.
In the toys and trains category, a Lionel Train Mickey Mouse Circus Set – a complete, boxed example and a highly coveted Walt Disney collectible – should command CA$3,000-$5,000; while a meticulously restored 1941 Chrysler Airflow pedal car made by Steelcraft with the original Chrysler emblem, should go for CA$1,500-$2,500.
Sterling silver lots will feature a pair of American John Perry candlesticks (Birmingham, 1785), each with lion passant and shield cartouche, with hallmark underneath, 11¼ inches tall, 1072.23 grams (est. CA$2,000-$3,000); and a Carl Poul Petersen centerpiece bowl, handmade mid-20th century in Montreal, Canada, hallmarked and inscribed, 650.06 grams (est. CA$2,000-$3,000).
Four car-themed bronze sculptures by former General Motors designer and sculptor Alexander Buchan, each one presented on a custom-crafted oak pedestal, will be sold as single lots, with heights ranging from 14-25 inches and estimates ranging from CA$2,000-$4,000. The sculptures are titled Riding the Rail, Beyond Expectations, Sunday Drive and The Fastest Man on Earth.
Louis Vuitton travel accessories are always a big hit with collectors. Offered will be an Alzer “80” Anglais model gentlemen’s suitcase with an identification tag, unused, with factory film covering all the original brass (est. CA$3,000-$4,000); and a Pegase Legare “55” model women’s travel bag presented with the original cover (est. CA$1,500-$2,000). Both were made in Paris.
A Howard & Company (N.Y.) bronze “bell” clock, made circa 1900, with marked porcelain dial and movement stamped “EP Depose 5879”, all original with perfect patina (and with a replaced pendulum) should rise to CA$2,000-$3,000; and a Liberator Cycles & Automobiles French poster, also circa 1900, by Jean De Paleologue (1860-1942), showing a Valkyrie warrior from Norse mythology, 46 inches by 61 ¼ inches in a gilt frame, has an estimate of CA$2,000-$3,000.
Two 1920s Pairpoint (Mass.) Puffy table lamps will be sold individually. One has a “Papillon” open-top form 14½-inch diameter shade featuring a floral pattern with butterflies, 20 inches tall (est. CA$2,000-$3,000). The other is a reverse-painted lamp with “Berkeley” form 12-inch shade, 18½ inches tall (est. CA$2,000-$3,000). Both bases are marked “Pairpoint.”
Three acrylic on canvas car-themed paintings by Tom Hale each has an estimate of CA$1,200-$1,500. One, titled Auburn, depicts a 1935 Auburn Speeder (37 inches by 47½ inches); one is a diptych titled Jaguar (24 inches by 17½ inches), and one is titled Lincoln (31½ inches by 41½ inches). All three are signed. Hale worked at one time as a styling designer at GM and Chrysler.
For details contact Miller & Miuller Auctions Ltd. at 519-573-3710 or 519-716-5606 or info@millerandmillerauctions.com. A total of 438 lots will come up for bid.
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