DOWNINGTOWN, Pa. – On Feb. 6, 2009 at 10 a.m., Pook & Pook, Inc. will kick off its 2009 auction calendar with an expansive collection of high-end antique furniture, art and accessories. From American folk art and European accessories to Russian silver and Chinese furniture, this sale represents one of the most diverse selections ever presented by the esteemed Pennsylvania auction house. Live Internet bidding during this sale will be available through www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

With consignments from The Henry Ford Museum, Winterthur Museum, several educational institutions and historical societies, as well as two large estates and various smaller collections from the United States and abroad, this is sure to be a fun event for both seasoned collectors and those brand new to the world of antiques.

From the estate of Margarette Eley of Smyrna, Del., comes a nice grouping of English and Welsh items to include four tall-case clocks, several Welsh dressers, a circa-1760 George III chest on chest, a George I oak cabinet on stand and various accompanying accessories. Also from the estate are two circa-1900 room-size Heriz rugs estimated at $8,000-$12,000 and $6,000-9,000.

An estate from Huntingdon Valley (Philadelphia) provided a nice selection of fraktur and silver as well as an extensive book collection that includes many first editions and limited editions, most signed by the authors. Some examples from this book collection include a wide array from A.A. Milne and J.M. Barrie to an early 18th century illuminated text.

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NEW YORK – A rare early 20th-century weather vane in the form of a woman tennis player, a beautiful gold seal with horse and fox, an 1857 desk that once graced the House of Representatives, a 12-foot square hooked rug with dogs and flowers, a pair of near life-size terra cotta lions, and a 1798 Bucks County blanket chest with original paint decoration are a few of the highlights coming to the Antiques at the (Other) Armory, Jan. 23-25, in New York.

An array of important textiles, quilts and rugs, fine jewelry, English and American furniture and artworks of many genres, will also grace this venerable show.

With only three shows tailgating the Winter Show, one of which is dedicated to ceramics, and the other sponsored by the American Folk Art Museum and featuring specialists in that art form, Antiques at the (69th Regiment at 26th Street) Armory is more than ever the place for discoveries and treasure-hunting during Americana Week. Those with an accomplished eye will see compelling collections of Americana, folk art and much more. This show is a known source for uptown style at downtown prices.

Dealers from across the nation who don’t often venture into Manhattan to sell choose Antiques at the Armory to showcase fresh and exciting merchandise.

New to the show this year are Mad River Antiques, Connecticut, stoneware specialists, Americana and folk art; Janice Paull, Portugal, English ironstone and European ceramics; Victor Weinblatt, Massachusetts, trade signs, American furniture and folk art; Turkey Mountain Traders, Arizona, American Indian jewelry, beadwork, textiles; Andrew Spindler Antiques, Massachusetts, 17th to 19th century Continental furniture, art and lighting; Joshua Lowenfels, New York, folk art, Americana and sculpture; Dawn Hill Antiques, New York, Swedish and French furniture, lighting and garden; Roberto Freitas American Antiques, Connecticut, American furniture, clocks and art; Ani Ancient Stone, New York, garden and industrial; Eaton Fine Art, Massachusetts, European art and antiquities; Fair Trade, Massachusetts, British Colonial furniture, lighting and jewelry; and David Drummond, Pennsylvania, Americana, industrial and textiles.

Exceptionally varied and affordable antiques and the free courtesy shuttle to and from the shows make Antiques at the Armory a great place to start and finish Americana Week show hopping.

Antiques at the Armory runs Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $15. Additional information is available at stellashows.com.

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ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

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OCEANSIDE, N.Y. – Philip Weiss Auctions has been able to fly above the economic storm of 4th-quarter 2008, posting stellar results for the year. “In terms of overall success, it would be very difficult to duplicate the past year,” said the company’s owner, Philip Weiss, “and a lot of that is due to parts one to three of the Newport collection, in which six world records were realized for stamp prices. That alone accounted for $8 million in gross sales.” Part 4, the final part of the collection, will be sold Jan. 17.

Following is a sampling of top lots from the sales that were held throughout 2008:

• An unused 1869 24-cent inverted center U.S. stamp, #120b, certified Fine and one of only four examples known to exist ($1.271 million, a record for a U.S. invert).

• A 1908 2-cent vertical coil pair of stamps, with original gum and depicting George Washington, the rarest coil pair in U.S. philately, only four pair known ($644,100).

• A rare T-206 Honus Wagner baseball card, often called the Holy Grail of sports collectibles and one of only a handful ever released into circulation ($791,000).

• A battery-operated “Mr. Atomic” toy robot, made in Japan by Cragstan in the early ‘60s and still in the box ($15,820, from Part 1of the B.L. “Phil” Phillips collection).

• Original Peanuts comic strip art by the late Charles Schulz was offered at several auctions, grossing $850,000. One Sunday page, from 1962, hammered for $79,100.

• A second-class passenger list from the doomed ocean liner the Titanic, produced by White Star Line and dated on the cover ($33,900, from the estate of Ken Schultz).

• A Wagon Train playset, made around 1960 by Marx Toys and based on the popular television show of the time, mint in the box ($15,255, a new world auction record).

• A recently discovered 14th-century oil-on-board painting by Italian artist Allegretto Nuzi (1310-1374), framed and depicting figures in a religious setting ($299,450).

• Original cover art for X-Men #99, executed in pen and ink in 1976 by noted comic illustrator Dave Cockrum and depicting an intergalactic battle scene ($55,370).

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CHESTER, N.Y. –  On Sunday, Jan. 11, 2009, William Jenack Auctioneers will offer an important ensemble of 19th and 20th-century drawings and paintings; Tiffany Favrile glass, 18th- to 20th-century furnishings, American, European and Russian silver/sterling; and Asian art in an auction that will begin at 11:00 a.m. EST. The Fine Art sale will include on-line bidding through LiveAuctioneers (www.liveauctioneers.com).

Highlights are led by a signed Wilfredo Lam oil on canvas titled Abstract Figures, also signed on verso Wilfredo Lam France ’63 ($30,000/$50,000). An estimate of $15,000/20,000 accompanies an Auguste Hyacinth Debay 19th-century marble sculpture Le Berceau Primifif: Eve et Ses Deux Enfants.

An important Isamu Noguchi brush ink on paper (sheet size 48 inches by 36 inches) from a Tallahassee, Fla., collection is signed and dated 1930 ($10,000/$15,000).

A signed George Herbert McCord, oil on canvas, possibly his largest work (20 inches x 40 inches) titled Ruins of Castle Laugharne at Twilight, is dated 1875 and estimated at $8,000/$12,000.

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PHOENIX – RM Auctions announces two private collections will be joining their “Automobiles of Arizona” auction event, Jan. 16, 2009 in Phoenix, Arizona. RM’s 10th anniversary auction will include approximately 125 magnificent vintage motor cars, including a selection from the esteemed Dr. Barbara Atwood Collection, and a second important private collection that contains early brass-era cars and luxury classics from the late 1920s and early 1930s.

The Atwood Collection is the result of a lifetime of discerning collecting by the late Dr. Barbara Mae Atwood. Throughout her life Dr. Atwood shared two passions – caring for animals and collecting automobiles. In the latter, she is renowned as the premier female collector of her time. Twenty-four of her most treasured automobiles will join RM’s Arizona auction lineup in January. Each representing some of the finest examples of their time, highlights of the offering include: a one-off 1929 Graham-Paige Model 837 LeBaron Dual-Cowl Phaeton, built for the 1929 New York Auto Show and specially commissioned by Joseph Graham’s daughters; an award-winning 1932 Stutz DV-32 Super Bearcat by Weymann, regarded as the final and fastest iteration of the famous Bearcat; a 1937 Lincoln Model K Brunn Cabriolet, ordered and specially customized for Boston socialite and tennis star Eleanora Sears; and a 1933 Marmon Sixteen Convertible Sedan, among the last of the Marmons and reportedly Mrs. Marmon’s personal car.

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THOMASTON, Maine –  Thomaston Place Auction Galleries will present large selections of fine art paintings and sculpture, beautifully crafted jewelry, Native-American artifacts, and rare coins at their first sale of 2009, on Saturday and Sunday, January 31 and February 1. Another important highlight will be a collection of nine pieces of art pottery created by Brother Thomas Bezanson (Vt./Pa., 1929-2007).

Thomaston Place owner and auctioneer Kaja Veilleux said, “We have been working hard to pull together an exciting catalog for our customers. The array of fine art, including works by Jack Lorimer Grey, William Louis Sonntag, Sr., Romain de Tirtoff Erte and Thomas Gainsborough, is truly amazing. And we are thrilled to be able to offer nine Brother Thomas Bezanson art pottery pieces in this auction, as even single pieces of his work rarely come up for sale. We also have a great collection of fresh-to-the-market Native-American artifacts that have been stored under a bed for many years.”

Featured paintings will include: Jack Lorimer Gray’s (N.Y., 1927-1981) oil-on-canvas work, Two Fishermen Pulling Herring Net into Dory on the Outer Banks (est.: $40,000-60,000); an Adirondack valley landscape by William Louis Sonntag, Sr. (Ohio, N.Y., 1822-1900) (est.: $25,000-35,000); an oil on canvas by Aurelio Tiratelli (Italian, 1842-1900) of an Italian  scene with a woman feeding geese under a grape arbor in alley (est.$20,000-30,000); an oil-on-copper painting set on cradled panel titled Dutch Still Life with Flowers, from the circle of Jan van Kessel (est.: $10,000-12,000); Fleurs Rouges, a portrait of a lady by Emilio Grau-Sala (Spanish/French, 1911-1975) (est.: $9,000-12,000); and two important paintings by Charles Warren Eaton (N.Y./N.J., 1857-1937).

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LAMBERTVILLE, N.J. – Great property comes to Rago’s with consignments destined for its high-end cataloged sales, but much arrives via its appraisal days, including jewelry, furniture, Americana, art, rugs, couture and ceramics. The wildly salable among this property goes up for bids twice yearly in Rago’s Discovery Auctions. The next such event will be Jan. 24 beginning at 10 a.m.

David Rago claims the upcoming Discovery Auction will be the best to date.

“The Discovery sales are the most fun we get to have all year. It’s the way great country auctions used to be, but with a way broader selection for people who want anything from Knoll furniture to photography by Ansel Adams, Pennsylvania redware to Cartier,” said Rago.

Rago’s never knows what will show up, but it’s always fresh to market. Another remarkable feature of the Discovery Auction is that the high bid always takes the prize; there are no reserves.

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FALLS CHURCH, Va. – Heirlooms, important artworks and historical jewelry from one of Europe’s most distinguished noble families will be auctioned on Saturday, Feb. 7 at Quinn’s Auction Galleries in Falls Church, Va. While many high-profile estates and collections have been entrusted to the suburban Washington, D.C., auction house in the past, Quinn’s gallery director Matthew Quinn says the consignment of fine artworks, furnishings, decorative art and jewels from the combined Teleki and Mikes (pronounced Me-KESH) families is without precedent.

“This will be a tremendous sale,” said Quinn. “The 300 to 400 items to be auctioned are from old Hungarian aristocracy, whose combined family tree could be compared to a merger of the Kennedys and European royalty. The consignor, who now lives in suburban Washington, is the son of the late Countess Johanna Mikes Teleki and Geza Teleki, and grandson of two-time Hungarian Prime Minister Pal Teleki (1879-1941).”
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LAMBERTVILLE, N.J. – Rago’s has announced plans for its 2009 Arts & Crafts auction season, outlining three different types of sales with prices at all levels of collecting. While showcasing the top-notch Arts & Crafts and other early 20th-century design in a single, major sale in June, Rago’s will also offer Arts & Crafts period furniture, ceramics, glass, metal and accessories in January, February, August and September events in 2009.

The most important of these sales, in June, will be a two-day, 1,000-lot auction featuring the best material accumulated over the course of the year. Already secured for that auction is Tiffany lighting (including a Venetian table lamp from a private estate), a collection of early Moorcroft ceramics, an important and large Marblehead vase with roses, and a fine assortment of Gustav Stickley furniture including a rare grouping of high-back spindle chairs. This sale is aimed at collectors and dealers looking for high-end property and rarities.

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ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The scenic oceanfront city of Charleston, S.C., commands center stage in Brunk Auctions Jan. 3-4 sale. For starters there is Louis Rémy Mignot’s 1854 luminist painting with the poetic title Solitude or Sunset. Mignot, one of Charleston’s most celebrated artists of the 19th century, was only 23 when he completed Solitude or Sunset. It was one of the most important paintings of his career. 

The painting has remained for generations in the possession of the Chazal family, French Catholic entrepreneurs originally from Santo Domingo. The 30 inch by 41 7/8 inch painting is in its original Barbizon gilt-wood frame and is estimated at $100,000 to $150,000, with an $80,000 reserve. 

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