DENVER, Pa. – On Aug. 13-15, Dan Morphy Auctions will conduct its biggest cataloged sale ever – a 3,000-lot no-reserve absolute auction featuring long-held private collections of Kentucky rifles, fine dolls and toys, mechanical music boxes, decorative art, jewelry and gold coins. All goods will be offered in logically organized categories, with 1,000 lots auctioned per day, and everything will be sold to the highest bidder regardless of price. Internet live bidding will be available on all three days through www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

Session I – Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009

The Thursday session features more than 800 dolls apportioned into 350 lots, with 80 percent coming from a single estate. A highly prized, all-original 1918 Maggie Bessie cloth doll made by sisters Maggie and Bessie Pfohl of Old Salem, N.C., is expected to make $12,000-$13,000. Desirable to doll and folk art collectors alike, it has a hand-painted face and wears its correct pink cotton schoolgirl’s dress.

Specialist Jan Foulke said the array of dolls is “eclectic and across the board, containing both antiques and collectible dolls. There are quite a few French fashion dolls, several of them all original; as well as Jumeau and Steiner child dolls, a mechanical Jumeau with fan and rose, and other mechanical walking dolls.” The selection also includes Swaines, Lencis, Bye-Lo babies, early parians, papier-mache, wax, celluloid and china dolls, and many German bisque girl dolls and character babies.

Additionally, there are Heubach dolls, a Simon & Halbig #1488 baby, character babies, Orientals, multiple sets of Dionne quintuplets and several Madame Alexander dolls, including Little Women, Cissy and Elise. Other unusual entries include a Charlie McCarthy, Shirley Temple cowgirl, Kewpies, a Skippy Aviator, and a Freundlich General MacArthur doll.

A charming circa-1880 American mystery doll’s house of petite dimensions – 19 inches by 25 inches by 15½ inches – is one of only a handful of documented houses of its type and size. The gable-roofed four-room house features rusticated quoining, Victorian fretwork door and window moldings, and richly detailed interior features. Some of the original mica glitter on the molded cornices – unique to mystery houses – remains intact. Esteemed expert the late Flora Gill Jacob speculated that glitter may have been added to mystery houses that were marketed by F.A.O. Schwarz at Christmastime. Featured in Antique Doll Collector magazine (May 2005) and recently displayed at a New Jersey museum exhibition, the example offered by Morphy’s carries a $6,500-$8,500 estimate.

Thursday’s session also includes a portion of the estate of the late Hy and Rae Friedman. More than 150 lots of early decorative antiques will be sold, including desirable painted ivory miniature portraits, some depicting children. Also coming from the estate are a Pairpoint Butterflies and Roses reverse-painted on glass table lamp, an Arts & Crafts table, and a table and two lamps by Oscar Boch (1884-1957), a celebrated designer and metallurgist whose work adorns the exterior and interiors of many New York City landmarks, such as the Empire State Building and RCA Building.

An exceptional 13-inch three-handled Art Deco pottery vase depicts horses and trees, and is marked “Primavera.” The attractively decorated vase is expected to bring $3,000-$5,000.

More than 100 silver lots will be offered, including place setting of sterling flatware, dishes, trays, vanity accessories, picture frames and silver-overlaid objets d’art by Georg Jensen, Gorham and other distinguished names. A star lot is the Tiffany & Co. ice bucket weighing 40+ troy oz., and estimated at $3,000-$4,000.

A spectacular array of gold and platinum jewelry from the Friedman estate encompasses all forms, with more than 20 beautiful cameos and a selection of gold bracelets, bangles and an 18K solid gold necklace (estimate $5,000-$7,000) leading the array. An antique diamond and platinum necklace also is expected to make $5,000-$7,000. Morphy Auctions’ owner, Dan Morphy commented: “There were so many gold bracelets and other valuable pieces that we purchased a diamond tester and a top of the line gold scale to make sure the descriptions were 100 percent accurate.”

Session II – Friday, Aug. 14, 2009

Friday’s session opens with 90+ marble lots, including some of the earliest of hand-decorated china marbles. A complete set of 32 English harlequin china marbles on its original board dates to the 1860s-1870s. Perhaps the finest example known, the set came from an estate in England and was a family heirloom that passed down through subsequent generations. “Individually, marbles of this type sell for $500 to $1,000 each,” said Morphy, an acknowledged expert in the field. “The complete set is estimated at $6,000-$8,000.” Another marble highlight is the rare German swirl with dark-green solid core and three-stage swirls. Measuring over 2 inches in diameter, it could fetch $6,000-$8,000.

A special inclusion in Morphy’s Summer Sale is the late John and Joanne Holman’s collection of more than 220 Kentucky rifles, 100+ powder horns, Bowie knives, books and other associated items. Morphy’s enlisted the services of Kentucky rifle authority Steve Hench in cataloging the firearms section.

“Steve is like a fine-art specialist in his own field,” said Dan Morphy. “He invests a great deal of time and care in his inspection and description of each gun, and his word means everything to collectors, who known him as a former member of the board of directors of the Kentucky Rifle Association and current board member with the Kentucky Rifle Foundation.”

Hench said the collection to be auctioned spans from the early period of the American Revolutionary War through and including the Civil War and into the “Golden Age” (roughly the 1780s through the first quarter of the 19th century). “It is a diverse lifetime collection and is probably the largest collection of Kentucky rifles ever to come to the market at one sale,” he said.

“There are some very nice rifles and lots of everyday working rifles – something for every collector,” Hench said. All of the guns have been estimated conservatively and will be sold without reserve and to the highest bidder, regardless of price

Hench noted two lots as being especially fine examples. A J.P. Beck (northern Lancaster County, Pa.) rifle made around 1785-1790 features outstanding rococo carving and was “probably one of his upper-level guns,” Hench said. “Beck was a master gunsmith, and his work is highly sought after. This particular gun won a blue ribbon one year for best relief-carving, at the Kentucky Rifle Association’s rifle show. We’ve estimated it at $20,000-$40,000.” The second rifle Hench said is deserving of special attention is a circa-1800 to 1820 P. Berry (worked in Annville, Pa.) example, also featuring rococo carving and estimated at $15,000-$45,000.

Another exceptional lot is the very fine Melchoir Fordney (Lancaster, Pa.) Kentucky fowling piece made to accommodate a spinning ball. Perhaps one of the best of all known examples of its type, the circa-1830 weapon’s estimate range is $5,000-$20,000.

A very rare rifle by William McClure, a Virginia gunsmith who moved his operation to Columbia, Pa., is “unique,” Hench said, “because it has a full-standing figure of an American Indian in feathered headdress, smoking a pipe, engraved on the patchbox door. Dated to 1810-1825, it could realize $8,000-$18,000 on auction day.

“My feeling is that the very best things will bring the best prices – they’ll take care of themselves,” Hench said, “but because of the sheer size of the collection being offered, it will also present a great opportunity for beginners to get into the hobby as well as those who want to own a piece of American history.”

Friday’s session also include more than 150 lots of mechanical music boxes from the Hy and Rae Friedman estate. An Orchestral Corona Regina Style 34 music changer in oak case, capable of holding 12 discs, is one of the top lots in the group. It is estimated at $10,000-$14,000. A circa-1900 18-inch New Century table model with four combs and 50 original disks is also among the more-coveted examples in the collection. “This model is very rare – very few were made,” Morphy said. “Even Lester Ruhl, our expert for this category, said he had never owned one in his collection.”

Other mechanical music entries of note include two musical grandfather clocks estimated at $18,000-$25,000 each. Additionally, more than 150 phonographs and other cylinder boxes will be auctioned.

The Friday session will conclude on a monetary note with a selection of approximately 150 gold coin lots. Most are graded, and all have come from a single collection.

Session III – Saturday, Aug. 15, 2009

Saturday will be devoted to antique toys and banks, opening with more than 200 German hand-painted tin toys with a reptile, bug and animal theme. “This is the second portion of a collection that was a bit hit in our spring auction,” said Morphy. “European collectors, in particular, were aggressive bidders through the Internet, and we think they’ll be back for round two.”

Next up will be 160 lots of figural cast-iron toys, containing a large sub-section of Hubleys that Morphy described as being in “beautiful condition. They’re from the collection of Milton Horst, who specialized in Hubley and upgraded to a very high standard over the years.”

Banks including 180 mechanical and 80 still examples. The majority of cast-iron mechanical banks to be offered are from the late Oscar Ryder’s collection, led by a Turtle bank estimated at $40,000-$50,000. Others include a beautiful Butting Buffalo, Confectionary, Circus and Panorama banks, each estimated at $15,000-$20,000. “Mr. Ryder was a condition-only buyer, so they’re all of a high grade,” said Morphy.

Fine condition is also consistently seen in the selection of still banks, which includes a Baseball and Three Bats, and a Mascot.

The more than 250 lots of cast-iron toys to be auctioned features 170 horse-drawn pieces from the Milton Horst and Ron Seggerman collections. There are vehicles of many types, from 2-seat brakes to cars, trucks and motorcycles. A large and comprehensive grouping of more than 100 Hubley Royal Circus toys is included. Within the stellar lineup are a Circus Cage Wagon, Giraffe, Farmer Van, and Monkey and Trapeze.

Providing an overview of what will be his largest auction ever, Dan Morphy remarked, “The cornerstone of this sale is mature collections. Practically all of it is coming from collections of 40 or more years, so they’re fresh to the market. We’re very excited that there is such a high level of quality in literally everything we’ve cataloged for this sale.”

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

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE