Julia’s Ends 2013 Season with Doubleheader Auction Extravaganza
Fairfield, ME ~ November 22, 2013. Praised as one of the fresher and diverse offerings of quality antique advertising, toys and dolls to come to market this year, James D. Julia’s auction team didn’t disappoint buyer or seller with strong prices to match the strong offering. Seeing tremendous online participation, which accounted for a sizeable share of the day’s approximate $750,000 take, the firm by and large saw strong prices returning. This was all part of a three-day auction extravaganza that was complemented by $2 Million+ of fine glass and lamps held the two previous days.
Some of the highlights that helped comprise Friday’s Advertising, Toy & Doll sale came from the collection of Diane and the late Steve Olin of Connecticut who amassed their treasures over a 40 year period. These old time collectors were well respected in the field, particularly in the realm of paper litho Victorian-era toys and parlor games. During their four decade search, they were able to obtain some rather unusual, rare, and obscure pieces that most collectors were unaware of or had ever seen before. Of particular note was a marvelous early American firehouse and horse drawn pumper, believed to be one of only two complete examples with the other pictured in the renowned Barney Barenholtz book. Believed to be a collaboration between Merriam and Reed, the toy had lots of action and surprises not often seen in toys of that period. With different strings and levers to ring the bell, make the fire chief peek out of the top window, and to catapult the fire engine out the front door, it was one of the Olins’ prized pieces as it likely was for its original owner. Estimated for $7,500-12,500, it went out at $9,720. Another extreme rarity from their collection was the Salem Witch toy by Charles Ford, manufactured by E. Trask. The toy depicted a 17th century woman in drab period garb standing beside and pointing to a numbered spinning drum that corresponded to dark ominous fortunes that were lithographed around the perimeter. Complete with its original wooden box, this outstanding 19th century toy exceeded its $4,500-5,500 estimate to sell for just over $7,593. Their Bliss block tower that when assembled became an elaborate marble drop toy topped by Christopher Columbus above a ziggurat of lithographed alphabet blocks. While on rare occasion these toys will surface, it is unknown whether or not any other retains its original box as this one did. It sold within its $7,500-12,500 estimate for $8,887. Other toys in the collection retaining their original boxes included a “Hero of ‘76” by Crandall that depicted an articulated George Washington type character that one could pose in almost unlimited configurations. Boasting condition as well as charm, it sold well above its $200-400 presale estimate for $1,836. Although no original box accompanied an early Milton Bradley Atlantic & Pacific parlor floor train, it did have condition on its side. The brightly lithographed engine, tender and passenger car went out at $3,851 against expectations of $600-800.
Toys from other collections included a variety of early American tin. Highlights included a fine George Brown clockwork locomotive with great stenciling and pinstripes as well as an unusual style tin boiler front. It went out at $2,370 above a $1,000-1,500 estimate while an Ives clockwork locomotive colorfully lithographed and emblazoned “Victory” on the side sold for $2,725 against an $800-1,200 estimate. From land to sea, we go to a rare George Brown paddlewheel boat stenciled “Crescent” across the sides. In untouched all original condition, this particular toy that normally came in a clockwork version was made as a push toy, making it a bit rarer. Bidders were intrigued, taking it beyond its $2,500-3,500 estimate to $4,740. A Dayton Deluxe friction toy depicting a two-stack steamer cutting through the choppy green sea was offered complete with its original box. It sold for $3,037, exceeding its $1,500-2,500 estimate.
Other rarities included an American clockwork toy attributed to Automatic Toy Works that featured a china head girl skipping rope next to a japanned tin pillar that housed the motor. It neared the midpoint of its $3,500-5,500 estimate to sell for $4,252. A large clockwork papier mache mother rabbit holding her baby in her arms while feeding it a carrot was likely an Easter display for a store. Set with a nodding mechanism, it saw action well above its $300-500 estimate to bring $2,666. From the same Midwest collection came a remarkable and large German witch candy container with a cardboard cylinder body and a composition head. With her original clothes and red felt cape, bidders were spellbound, taking her to $2,551 against a $1,000-1,500 estimate.
Of a slightly later vintage, an exceedingly rare and fascinating Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab science toy from 1951 with its original box was a showstopper. One of the more popular items seen at the various shows at which Julia’s exhibited, it had great graphic appeal, condition, and historic significance. Originally marketed at $49.95 (nearly $500 in today’s dollars), company literature stated that “only boys with a great deal of education could understand it.” Science toys from this era are highly sought after and this set finished up at $2,962 against an estimate of $1,800-2,200.
Toys of a different variety included a handful of trains such as a rare early Marklin American outline 2-gauge clockwork engine and tender. Consigned from a New England general line collection, it had been buried in an attic for the past 50+ years and had layers of dirt and dust to prove it. Unusual to see American style construction from a European firm, the scarcity and good all-original condition helped project it beyond its $4,000-6,000 estimate to finish up at $9,480. An elaborate Marklin 1-gauge suspension bridge had rarity over condition, and no shortage of bidder activity. It went out at $8,295, within an estimate of $5,000-10,000. An unusual scale model machinist model of a Boston & Maine locomotive and tender that took over 2-1/2 years to complete with significant attention being paid to detail sold within its $6,500-9,500 estimate for $8,295.
Changing gears, the auction continued with a select grouping of top shelf dolls consisting of fine bisque French and German character examples among others. One of the more fascinating lots in the auction was an early Izannah Walker cloth doll that was saved from a trash heap over twenty years ago by a late Rhode Island woman with a keen eye who thought the doll needed a little love. Given some gentle ribbing by her family for bringing home a “ratty old doll,” she had the last laugh. If going in with an estimate of $4,000-6,000 was not payback enough, the final selling price of $14,220 had to have been a smiling “I told you so” from beyond.
The French, true artists with a flare for the elaborate, created some of the most captivating expressions one could hope to find. Highlights included a rare 16” Bru Jne 4 bebe. With stunning blue threaded paperweight eyes, protruding upper lip and prominent tongue tip, her charm saw no bounds. Consigned fresh by the widower of an elderly collector, it hadn’t seen the market for many decades. The doll doubled the low end of a $10,000-15,000 estimate for $21,870. A lovely early 14” Portrait Jumeau 2/0 with pale bisque, almond shaped blue paperweight eyes and mauve shading likewise exceeded her estimate to bring $8,295. A similar complexioned 17” F. 6 G. child doll with delicate highlights and lovely silk dress went out at $7,110 against an estimate of $2,500-3,500. A scarce large 27” Jumeau fashion doll with pale bisque modeled into a sublime expression atop a shapely gusseted leather body sold within expectations of $4,000-6,000 for $5,628.
Other highlights in this section included a variety of accessories such as a grouping of Biedermeir furniture and accessories including chairs, dressers, and a sofa among some other charming pieces. Conservatively estimated for $1,000-2,000, the lot went out at a solid $5,163. An oversized Biedermeir marble top sideboard with the traditional elaborate stenciling and charm galore found an ecstatic buyer who paid within estimate at $1,066. A most unusual lot of original U.S. Patent models for papier mache shoulderhead dolls complete with their original patent tags sold well beyond a $400-600 estimate for $5,332. And with crossover appeal to both doll and toy collectors was a wonderful early 24” Steiff apricot bear in outstanding condition. Retaining an exceptional amount of its mohair, its original felt pads, and an expression that melts your heart, it neared the upper end of its $4,000-6,000 estimate to change hands at $5,925.
The auction continued with a large and varied grouping of quality antique advertising items. One of the more popular genres in the sale was that of firearms and sportsman advertising calendars and posters, mostly from one New Englander’s collection. Topping the list was a vibrant Winchester poster from 1905 entitled “The Cock of the Woods” depicting an alert tom turkey. Estimated for $3,000-4,000, it sold for $4,740. A Winchester poster from about the same time period illustrating a Chesapeake Bay retriever swimming with a canvasback duck in its mouth likewise exceeded its estimate to bring $3,851. A highly desirable and vibrant poster for Hopkins & Allen Arms Co. featuring an attractive woman cradling her six-shooter exceeded expectations of $1,200-1,800 to sell for $3,851. A 1914 calendar for Peters Cartridge Company with a Lynn Bogue Hunt illustration of a mallard being flushed out by a retriever sold for $4,443 while a poster for U.M.C. cartridges of a standoff between a hunter and a momma bear sold for $3,555. Each was estimated for $2,500-3,000.
Other signage included a remarkable hand painted tin sign by Ithaca Sign Works advertising the now-defunct Fogg’s Drug Store. Once located in Skowhegan, Maine, not 20 miles from Julia’s auction facility it depicted a well-to-do couple in the back of an open air limousine going out for an afternoon drive. Estimated for $10,000-20,000, it sold for $14,220. A marvelous two-sided tin sign for Edison Mazda lamps featuring central graphics by Maxfield Parrish was highly sought after. Retaining its original lighted hood, it sold above its $2,500-3,500 estimate for $4,147. A lot of eight Heinz stoneware crocks with brightly lithographed paper labels for such products as peach butter, mincemeat, malt vinegar, and of course ketchup sold several multiples above its $700-1,000 estimate for $5,036.
A collection of approximately 200 tobacco and coffee tins showed tremendous diversity within a seemingly non-diverse subject matter. The various companies each had their own style, use of graphics and text to create some rather interesting albeit ephemeral containers. Early consumers likely did not give a lot of thought to the future of the collecting field. Little did they know these throwaways would someday be worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Highlights included a rare Taxi crimp cut vertical pocket tin with graphics of two well-to-do gentlemen lighting up before entering a waiting cab. Estimated for $2,500-4,500, it sold for $3,792. A gold tinted vertical pocket tin for Cardinal cut plug tobacco exceeded its $1,000-1,500 estimate to finish up at $1,896. A wonderful tin for Luxura tobacco with draped curtains and a hookah pipe sold for $2,488 against a $1,500-2,500 estimate. A rare tin for Sun Cured pipe tobacco with a smiling sun above a barrel of tobacco leaves sold for $1,422 against a $400-600 estimate. And a rare 11-pound bucket for Powow Brand peanuts had great condition and a conservative $600-900 estimate. It sold for $1,422.
An earlier style of advertising was in the form of figural trade signs. Before literacy was as widespread as it is today, shop owners and service providers would attract customers by having a representation of their business using form and not relying as heavily on the printed word. These signs have tremendous folk art appeal and are highly collectable. Of the 20 or so in the auction, a 19th century carved wood tooth for a dentist’s office went out at $5,710 against a $1,500-2,500 estimate. A large wooden pocket watch from a Waltham, Massachusetts jeweler outperformed its $800-1,200 estimate to bring $4,858. A two-sided tavern trade sign surrounded by an elaborate leafy border with a mug of grog on one side and a bull’s head on the other sold for $4,147 against expectations of $1,500-2,500. An unusual three-way louvered sign for a horse blanket store that delivers three different messages depending upon the viewer’s vantage point sold for $3,318, more than tripling the low end of its $800-1,200 estimate.
Salesman samples, always a popular advertising collectible that Julia’s specializes in included over a couple hundred examples covering agricultural and farming pursuits, railroad, construction, business, household goods, etc. Hailing from a number of quality private collections, many of these had not seen the public eye for many years if at all, much to the approval of bidders far and wide. One such example seeing the auction block for the first time ever, having been in the same family since its creation was a Maine made snow plow for the C.L. Huntington Company of Guilford. Actually consigned by the great-grandson of the very model maker himself, it had working levers and gears to adjust the height and breadth of the plow blades. It went to a Midwest collector for $4,443, within a $3,000-5,000 estimate. One won’t see many lightning protection salesman sample cases hitting the market. This auction had a lot of two including one that utilized actual electricity to prove a point for the collector who has just about everything. They brought $4,740 against a $1,500-2,500 estimate.
Of the agricultural variety was a phenomenal mower/reaper with its original carrying case. Featuring brass works, finished wood and details even more impressive in miniature than with the full sized model, one would be hard pressed to find its equal. In great original condition, it went out at $10,665 against a $5,000-8,000 estimate. A salesman sample Planet Junior plow with extra plow blades and its original carrying case, which has kept it protected likewise boasted exceptional condition. Estimated for $2,500-3,500, it sold for $5,628.
With a degree of crossover appeal to collectors of salesman samples is the realm of U.S. Patent models. Up through the late 1800s, the U.S. Patent Office required miniature mock-ups or working models of the items for which inventors were seeking a patent along with a detailed description of the object, how it worked, what it did, etc. This auction contained some interesting examples such as a harvester from 1868. The diminutive brass model sickle bar mower with its original patent tag exceeded its $1,000-2,000 estimate to sell for $3,851. An adjustable hospital bed neared the upper end of its estimate to bring $1,777. And a pair of patent model wall mount barometers each sold within their $1,000-1,500 estimates for $1,185 and $1,481, respectively.
Rounding out the sale was a selection of coin-operated arcade machines and music machines. Highlights included a marvelous flat front wooden Adams Pepsin tutti frutti gum vendor with porcelain advertising panels. In exceptional all-original condition, it sold for $7,110 within a $4,500-8,500 estimate. A Pulver gum machine with porcelain panels and glass windows through which can be seen the famous “Yellow Kid” sold above its $1,000-2,000 estimate for $2,488. Music machines included a Stella 17-1/4” disc playing music box in a beautiful mahogany case with gorgeous Victorian moldings that sold just above its $3,500-4,500 estimate for $4,740.
Julia’s upcoming auctions include their winter antiques, fine art, and Chinese artifacts auction in January while a phenomenal firearms and military memorabilia auction will be held in March. Julia’s next toy & doll auction as well as their rare lamp & glass auction will follow in June. Julia’s is currently accepting consignments for these and other upcoming auctions. Call immediately for inclusion in these exciting sales. For more information or to place offers on unsold items, contact their offices at 207-453-7125. James D. Julia, Inc., P.O. Box 830, Dept. PR, Fairfield, ME 04937. E-mail: info@jamesdjulia.com.
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