BLOOMFIELD, N.J. – Nye & Company’s upcoming online auction, titled Property from a Private Collection: A 20th Century Machinal Delight, is slated for Wednesday, November 16, starting at 10 am Eastern time. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers. This amazing collection – all of it the lifetime vision of a single collector – is comprised of all manner of mechanical and musical devices, games and all the associated ephemera one could ever hope to find to accompany them.
There is a superb collection of mechanical and still cast-iron banks, tin toys and books with a Black Americana theme, and a fine collection of early Berliner, Victor and Edison cylinder and disc players and accessories. All of them – many of them rare or unusual examples – are in working condition and include the original paperwork.
One such example is a circa-1888 Berliner trademark model Gramophone, made in the United States, with its original horn and parts, estimated at $1,500-$2,500. This is the gramophone model featured in the iconic His Master’s Voice image, though the one offered for sale on November 16 has an earlier painted horn. There are also many seven-inch Berliner and Zon-O-Phone recordings.
Among the highlights of the mechanical banks – many in excellent original condition – is a J & E Stevens Always Did ‘Spise A Mule bank with its original wooden box and paperwork. Its estimate is $2,000-$4,000. There is also an excellent Darktown Battery mechanical bank in its original paint.
The collection also includes an important library of books related to conventional and homeopathic medicine, with volumes spanning four centuries. There are historically important books and documents concerning slavery and early technology, and many volumes about New York City, New York State and Westchester County.
One of the highlights of the book collection is the 1788 first edition of An Account of The Slave Trade by Alexander Falconbridge, which is estimated at $2,000-$3,000. Falconbridge was a surgeon aboard a slave ship during the second half of the 1700s and was responsible for the health and well-being of who the slavers called “cargo.” He was so moved by his experiences that eventually became an early active member of the abolitionist community.
Another one of the extraordinary volumes is The Breviarie of Health, published in 1575 for Andrew Boorde, the very first medical book published in English (ex-Yale Medical Library). Its estimate is $500-$700.
The collection of late 19th- and early 20th-century objects features coin-operated mechanical devices, including more than 30 early slot machines and early trade stimulators. All have their keys, many come with original paper and advertising, are functional, and are either in original condition or lightly restored.
Circa-1915-1921 Regina Hexaphone, estimated at $4,000-$6,000
Among the several free-reed mechanical crank organs and music machines is a Regina Hexaphone – a forerunner of the earliest jukeboxes, which played Edison cylinders. Its estimate is $4,000-$6,000.
Rounding out the highlights are a Sanitary Chewing Gum Machine by Manikin Vendor Company, in very good condition, estimated at $1,000-$2,000, and a 1936 Multi Bell Slot Machine by Caille A. C. Novelty Co., in extraordinary original condition and in complete working order, with keys included. It carries an estimate of $4,000-$6,000.
For more information about Nye & Company Auctioneers, please call 973-984-6900 or visit www.nyeandcompany.com.
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