PANAMA CITY, Fla. – The estate of John and Jean Robertson, collectors who amassed a staggering number of items in a wide array of categories over the course of their rich lifetime together, will be sold in an on-site auction scheduled for Saturday, July 30, at the Robertsons’ residence at 6104 Harvey Street in Panama City. The sale will begin at 9 a.m. Central time, with Internet live bidding through LiveAuctioneers.com.
Categories represented in the sale include: soda collectibles, advertising signs and clocks, radio tubes, vintage table radios, a gumball machine, vintage fans and hats, Shirley Temple memorabilia, Matchbox cars, Tonka toys, cigar boxes, American Fostoria, composite roosters, elegant etched glassware and china, children’s books, Rhine wine (Hock) glasses, Hummel figures, Haviland china and Christmas decorations.
“To say that the Robertsons had some collections would be a gross understatement,” said Logan Adams of Specialists of the South. “I think it’s more accurate to say they lived and breathed their collections, which are now being offered to the public by their son and executor, Eddie. It is a rare opportunity indeed.”
An example of one item expected to generate strong bidder interest is a pair of electrified advertising bar lights, similar to carriage lamps, for Johnnie Walker Red, the well-known liquor. The two pieces show the familiar Johnnie Walker character standing on a compass that revolves and changes from red to green while in motion, alluding to the motto, “Turning Green to Red.” The set comes with mounting hardware.
Another highlight is a gorgeous Lester grand piano, a silverplated tea service, a 1¾-carat diamond solitaire with an appraised value of $9,400, a stunning opal ring with a replacement value of $12,000, many sterling silver rings, artwork, photographs, and an American Fostoria three-toed tri-corner centerpiece bowl with undulating form, 11¼ inches in diameter.
Beer signs include both neon and lighted types advertising Budweiser, Miller, Stroh’s, Old Milwaukee, Busch, Amstel, Pabst Blue Ribbon and Hamm’s. Clocks include an example advertising “Trico Windshield Wipers, Washers and Solvent, Since 1917” (16 inches by 19 inches), and a Canada Dry Ginger Ale clock manufactured by Duralite. Other advertising clocks promote Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper, Welch, Texaco, Quaker State, Winston and Virginia Slims.
There will also be vintage table fans, quilts, advertising thermometers, Shirley Temple items, cigarette tins and memorabilia, retro radios, a GE salesman’s case with a large collection of radio tubes, vintage magazines, older locks and keys, vintage lunch boxes, stamps, buttons, marbles, vintage cameras and vintage banks.
An extensive selection of children’s toys and books will be offered, with a featured grouping of diecast toys by popular makers like Hot Wheels, Matchbox, Lesney, Corgi and TootsieToy.
For additional information on any lot in the sale, call 850-785-2577 or e-mail specialists@knology.net.
View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
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