PLAINFIELD, NH – This handsome English trade sign in the form of a ram had a provenance to the London folk art dealership Robert Young Antiques. Made circa 1880 for a wool merchant, it measures 3ft 5in across, is finely carved in high relief, and retains traces of the original paint.
It was offered at William Smith Auctions on July 31 as part of the collection of the late Lisa Whittington (1954-2021), a passionate dealer and collector of country furniture and folk art who lived in Roxboro, North Carolina. Estimated at $2,000-$3,000, the sign was among the most eagerly contested lots in the auction, hammering for $16,000 and selling for $20,000 with buyer’s premium.
NEW YORK — In 1983, designer Holly Hunt opened her first showroom at the Chicago Merchandise Mart. Her style was simple yet elegant: find the top furniture designers in the world and work with them as design partners. The formula worked. Today, the company that bears her name is a favorite luxury firm of both residential and commercial clients.
Auctions at Showplace brought a Holly Hunt ‘Trice’ walnut pedestal dining table to market July 28 as part of its New York City Estate Auction. Estimated at $2,000-$4,000, a bidding war between LiveAuctioneers users and the floor broke out, sending the final hammer to a whopping $16,000, or $20,000 with buyer’s premium.
MORETON-IN-MARSH, UK – An Ancient Mappe of Fairyland, Newly Discovered and Set Forth is perhaps the best-known work of English illustrator and wood engraver Bernard Sleigh (1872-1954). The panoramic view of a fantasy world incorporating places from Peter Pan’s Never-Never Land to Avalon was first created circa 1910 by Sleigh, a fairy and mythology enthusiast who studied at the Birmingham School of Art in Birmingham, England. He created it to entertain his children.
When first published by Sidgwick & Jackson as a lithographic map laid on linen in 1917, it proved his most commercial work and sold well in all of the English-speaking countries. Several states and sizes of An Ancient Mappe of Fairyland are known from circa 1917 to 1925, each originally accompanied by A Guide to the Map of Fairyland, a short pamphlet written by Sleigh and dedicated to his two children. The example pictured here, sold by Kinghams on July 25, measures 21in by 6ft (54cm by 1.80m) and appears to be the large format 1918 edition printed in three joined sheets by Griggs and Sons for Sidgwick & Jackson. It was estimated at just £100-£150 ($130-$200) and took £2,200 ($2,900), or £2,970 ($3,925) with buyer’s premium.
LONDON – The trial of Warren Hastings (1732-1818) was a cause celebre of the last decade of the 18th century. While serving as Britain’s first Governor General of India from 1773 to 1785, he was unjustly accused of corruption in relation to dealings with Indian rulers in 1787 and subsequently impeached. The trial that followed lasted until 1795, when he was eventually acquitted.
This printed and engraved paper fan with sequin and silver foil decoration includes a print titled View of the Trial of Warren Hastings Esq. at Westminster Hall. Printed by Cock & Co and dated 1788, it was offered for sale at Forum Auctions on July 25, where it sold well above its £300-£400 ($400-$525), estimate, at £1,400 ($1,850), or £1,764 ($2,330) with buyer’s premium.
MT. CRAWFORD, VA — Jeffrey S. Evans brought an extremely rare A. H. Heisey Company ‘photo frame’ glass candlestick to market July 25 with a modest $800-$1,200 estimate. According to the auction house, the no. 201 photo candlestick was produced in extremely small numbers, with just 171 recorded to date. Issues with releasing the final product from the mold ensured a short production run from April 1924 to February 1925, during the company’s heyday.
The owner would place the photo of a loved one into the central oval and hold it in place with three pronged spring-metal clips. Collectors have surmised its main purpose would be to hold portraits of departed loved ones, either at a funeral or in the family home.
Bidding for the glass candlestick opened at $400 and immediately jumped to $1,400, increasing steadily until the final hammer of $3,000, or $3,750 with buyer’s premium.
