NATCHEZ, Miss. — The Briars, a historic home on the United States Register of Historic Places where Confederate President Jefferson Davis married in 1845, is being restored to its original state by new owner Chip Newman. Stevens Auction Company has been retained to sell selected interior items and all bed-and-breakfast equipment in a one-day, 433-lot sale on Saturday, October 7. The catalog is now available for bidding at LiveAuctioneers.
“All Victorian and late Empire furnishings that came with the estate at purchase, as well as the contents of all bed and breakfast equipment and furniture, will be sold to make way for the rebirth of The Briars,” said auctioneer Dwight Stevens. “This Natchez icon will have period furnishings from its beginning in 1818.”
The auction contains a wealth of vintage furniture and decorative items. A J. H. Belter laminated rosewood parlor sofa leads the estimates at $30,000-$50,000, while two different half-tester beds (unlike a four-poster, a half-tester bed’s canopy is connected only to the headboard) follow closely behind. A mahogany Empire-style example is estimated at $20,000-$30,000, while a rosewood rococo Mallard half-tester plantation queen bed has an estimate of $10,000-$25,000.
Antique tall clocks are also well represented. An H. Muhrs & Sons of Philadelphia tall case musical clock, standing at a height of 102 inches, carries an estimate of $10,000-$15,000. An impressive 19th-century Austrian tall case clock has an estimate of $6,500-$10,000.
Founded in 1899 in Detroit, Packard Motor Car Company celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1949 with a special edition of its 23 Series sedan. This example has its original sales invoice and a mere 96,000 miles on the clock, with an older 1990s restoration. It is estimated at $8,000-$12,000.
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