From Showtime Auctions:

A rare bow front violano music player, made around 1910 by the Mills Novelty Company of Chicago and professionally restored in excellent playing condition, soared to $137,500 at a three-day multi-estate sale held October 10-12 by Showtime Auction Services at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds. The violano, serial #195, is one of only 20 still known to exist.

The sale, which saw 2,340 lots cross the block over the course of the weekend, featured all three versions of the Mills violano. It might be the first time in auction history that all three Mills violano versions were offered in the same sale. The bow front sold had a midi player with wireless system that permits the user to operate it from 90 feet away. Included were three Mills rolls and four midi albums.

The featured collector of the sale was Sandy Rosnick, the founder of the Antique Advertising Association of America (AAA) and a dedicated collector of country store tins in many categories. A top earner from his collection was a very rare Mohawk Chief cigar tin with just some minor scuffs and scratches but otherwise in very good condition. The tin, once containing nickel cigars, brought $1,800.

“Sandy Rosnick was the featured collector, but we had so many items in such a broad range of categories this was our most diverse auction ever,” said Mike Eckles of Showtime Auction Services. “We weren't sure what to expect, because the financial crisis hit the week before the sale, and things were still in is a state of turmoil that weekend. But I was very pleased with the outcome. It was great.”

A strong crowd of more than 400 people enjoyed the balmy weather and packed the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds. The Friday session was held solely for in-house bidders. On Saturday and Sunday, phone and absentee bidding was brisk, while about 2,500 registered bidders participated online via LiveAuctioneers.com and eBayLiveAuctions.com. In all, the auction grossed around $2.2 million.

Following are additional top lots from the sale. All prices quoted include a buyer's premium that ranged from 10-20 percent.

A paper sign advertising Buffalo Brewing Company of Sacramento, Calif., and depicting a nude Indian maiden on the back of a buffalo, in a period walnut frame and in mint condition, hammered for $45,100. Also, a Brunhoff light-up Coca-Cola advertising sign, inviting patrons to “Lunch With Us” and depicting a fountain glass, in excellent original condition (12 inches by 14 inches) fetched $12,650.

An original oil painting by the German-born American artist Edmond Osthaus (1858-1928) realized $44,000. The hunting scene, depicting two Irish setters and a pointer, measured 24 inches by 36 inches (32 inches by 44 inches framed). Osthaus was commissioned by the major firearms and gun powder manufacturers of the day, such as Remington and Winchester, for their posters and calendars.

A Watling Cupid trade stimulator (coin-operated, five cents, with gum vendor) in excellent condition and with keys, went for $38,500. Also, a limited-production exact replica of a Mademoiselle Zita fortune teller, in excellent working order, hit $17,050. The original was made by Roovers Bros. Mfg., Brooklyn, N.Y., around the turn of the century. The replica was manufactured by Mike Gorski.

A “Happy Jap” gum vendor, coin-operated and made around 1902, in good original condition (10 inches by 13-1/2 inches by 10-1/2 inches), went to a determined bidder for $39,000. Also, a four-gallon mechanical butter churn with no chips or cracks – a wonderful example of grey stoneware pottery – made $3,000. The piece, 35 inches tall, was made by Jos. Hamilton Mfg. of Greensboro, Pa.

A Buster Brown Shoes tin sign, depicting Tig pulling Buster in a big shoe, measuring 40 inches by 24-3/4 inches and made by American Art Works Lithographers of Coshocton, Ohio, and in overall excellent condition, climbed to $20,900. Also, a Boyce Moto Meter die-cut tin flange sign, two-sided, measuring 21-1/2 inches by 18-3/4 inches and with a bullet hole and a few bb dents, brought $18,700.

A child's sled intended as a Christmas present for a little boy in Pennsylvania in 1893 who died before the holidays, retired to an attic ever since and in original excellent condition, with a beautiful hand-painted rendering of the Finger Lakes in New York, wood with iron runners and geese head pulls, coasted to $5,775. Also, a Popeye Bag Puncher tin wind-up toy, with the original box, reached $4,125.

Showtime Auction Services' next big sale will be held the weekend of March 27-29, also at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds in Ann Arbor. Mich. The featured collector will be Fred Bahlau who, over the course of 57 years, has amassed an impressive accumulation of leaded glass windows, Nickelodeons, lamps, signs, country store, petroliana, advertising and other items – 1,800 lots in all.

Select items from other estates will also be offered. Showtime Auction Services is always accepting quality consignments for future sales. To consign a single item, estate or collection, you may call Mike Eckles, at (951) 453-2415. His e-mail address is Mikeckles@aol.com. To learn more about Showtime Auction Services and its calendar of upcoming sales, click on www.showtimeauctions.com.

This looks like it's going to be a really, really good auction at the Santa Margarita Auction Barn. All the pictures that I've seen are absolutely gorgeous! Check out the partial list below.

Sunday OCT 26, 10 AM Sharp. A great consignment auction of hard to find and some one of kind antiques and collectibles, many from local estates. Our web page www.smab.com is updated for this auction which includes Victorian, turn of the century oak and mahogany, , early lamps, selection of clocks, early prints, glass, china, pottery, gold coins and other quality collectibles. ...

Furniture
 Museum quality R.J. Horner mahogany library  desk with full standing winged griffins, carved top & claw feet * Art  Nouveau style oak & marble top sideboard with leaded stained glass  door, French c. 1910 * Outstanding oak triple bow glass china cabinet with  bonnet top, carved winged lions, mirror back, claw feet * Highly carved  English oak umbrella stand with Northwind motif, refinished condition *  Fabulous Victorian mahogany hall seat by Paine Furniture Co. carved winged  lions, fancy brass hooks, lift seat * Great Victorian walnut Renaissance  Revival marble top deep well dresser with tear drop pulls * Beautiful  Victorian walnut 3 pc Rococo Revival parlor suite, Sofa & 2 side  chairs * Very ornate oak Armoire with 2 drawers, carved crest, beveled  mirror doors * Oak stacking lawyer's bookcase by Macy Co. * Exceptional  oak buffet with carved standing lions, fancy carved with claw feet *  Victorian 54" round oak pedestal dining table with 6 leaves * Quality oak  tall chest with serpentine front & sides, fancy carved with beveled  mirror * Quality 48" square oak dining table, 5 carved legs, with leaves,  c. 1900 * Very ornate oak hall seat, lots of carvings, round beveled  mirror, original brass hooks * 48" oak "S" curved roll top desk, double  pedestal base * Empire Period mahogany flip top game table * Pair of  French style 3 drawer inlaid side stands * Original oak Hoosier kitchen  cupboard * Mahogany Chifferobe with beveled mirror, Sandwich glass pulls,  c. 1890 * Great oak Morris chair with large claw feet, refinished &  reupholstered * Oak pressed back rockers * Unusual oak Larkin desk with  beveled mirror * Victorian walnut cylinder secretary bookcase desk, lots  of burling * Great Victorian walnut Rococo Revival full size bed, c. 1870  * Eastlake Victorian walnut & marble umbrella stand * Matching  mahogany tall chest & dresser with serpentine fronts, fancy carved  beveled mirrors * Art Deco style painted Hoosier kitchen cupboard *  Selection of oak & mahogany lamp tables & fern stands * Victorian  oak cylinder secretary desk, c1880 * Oak Jeweler's work desk, c. 1910 *  45" round oak pedestal dining table with claw feet & leaves * Sets of  oak dining room chairs * Oak office chairs * Set of 4 Hitchcock style  chairs with rush seats, c. 1840's * Matched pair of Victorian oak Armoires  with crests * Fantastic Eastlake Victorian stick & ball carved oak  hall stand * Louis XVI style mahogany vanity with beveled mirror * 2 door  mahogany bookcase with columns & claw feet * Unusual oak ice box with  sliding top * Arts & Crafts style oak blanket chest * Oak 4 drawer  file cabinet by Library Bookcase Co. * Selection of oak dressers, tall  chests * wash stands * Victorian walnut 42" ladies' S curved roll top desk  * Selection of Victorian walnut platform rockers * side chairs * Oak  smoker's stand, Arts & Crafts * Mission oak chairs & rockers *  Much more...
  
  
 Glassware & China
 Brilliant cut * Limoges * Nippon * Roseville *  Depression * Bavaria * Ironstone * Carnival * Victorian art glass * Cruet  sets * Brides' baskets * Fiesta * Moser * Much more....
  
  
 Miscellaneous
 Victor #5 oak record player with spear tip  external horn * Empire Revival mahogany 3 weight grandfather clock with  moon dial, c. 1900 * Victorian oak barber's chair by Koken, Chicago *  Victorian rolled wicker baby buggy with original parasol top * National  brass cash register, c. 1910 * Oriental rugs & carpets * Gold &  silver US coins * Estate jewelry * Quilts * Oak organ with carved gallery  & mirror * Collection of old radios * Early country store coffee tin *  Restored Victorian cast iron & brass scale * Edison "Home" model  cylinder record player * Selection of Victorian & 1920's decorative  prints & mirrors * Gone with the wind style lamps * Tiffany style slag  glass table lamps * Brass floor lamps * Leaded stained glass Tiffany style  hanging lamp shades * Mantle clocks * Advertising * Kitchen collectables *  Tools * Toys & dolls * Much more.....

For more information and images: info@smab.com, 805-438-5395, www.smab.com

Oh how I wish-wish-wish I could make it ...

This past weekend, I did something I haven't done in a long, long time: I turned down the invitation to go yard sale-ing. And I would do it again, too. You see, I had a huge project sitting in my dining room that I really needed to get taken care of.

About a month ago (gosh, has it been that long already?!) my husband was checking out the auction bill for an auction in Plainfield, Wis., which is a little over an hour away from our house. He asked me that morning if I wanted to go, and I said I couldn't because my daughter was having friend over early that afternoon. He told me they had over 2,000 books at this auction (which caught my ear) and brewery memorabilia (which is right up his alley).

I said it sounded like an awesome auction, and that I had a feeling that the books would go dirt cheap. I didn't need any books ... my library was already stacked and packed with books lined up to read ... but I think you have to take advantage of opportunities like this when they arise.

That made up his mind. He said (and this is word for word, folks): "I'll take the truck and see if I can get you some books."

Some books. He came home with a truckload of books and it cost him a whopping $30 ... no exaggeration on the amount of books or the price! I couldn't believe it. I expected a few box lots, but not a truckload. I LOVE auctions!

So, I had to sort through all these books. I've been working on it here and there, but the bulk of the boxes still had to be gone through. Yes, there were the seemingly requisite collection of Readers Digest Condensed Books and "vintage" Harlequin Romances... but I have to admit, there were relatively few that I wanted to part with.

But I did it! I got them all sorted and the "keepers"—15 boxes worth of "keepers"—put in storage. (We'll see just how tough those Plano snap-together shelves really are.) A shame to have to store them, yes, but until I get more bookcases, it will have to do.

... now I just have to move out the "senders"—and there are nine boxes of those—and my dear husband won't have an excuse why he can't start putting the tin ceiling in the dining room.

Hmmm. I wonder, did he get the books for me? or for him (to buy some precious procrastination time to start that project)? I guess it doesn't matter; either way, it was a win-win.

Imagine: A 1,000-year-old carved rock crystal ewer, one of only seven known surviving examples, will be offered Christie's Islamic art sale next month. It's expected to bring over $5 million (U.S.)

Made for the court of the Fatimid rulers of Cairo in the late 10th or early 11th century, carved out of a single piece of hollowed-out rock crystal and later embellished in enameled gold mounts (1854) by a French silversmith.

The last time this ewer was bid on, it reached more than 1000 times its presale estimate. Well, the estimate is set pretty high this time, due to the more accurate description, I'm sure. This is truly a historic treasure.

The craftsmanship and the detail are overwhelming, especially considering it was carved and polished entirely by hand a thousand years ago. Whew! I'm going to watch—with great interest—for the outcome of this auction.

Click here to learn more about this exquisite piece and its history.

I'm troubled.

I read a news story this morning and I'm stuck on it. At the heart of the matter:

A Waterbury antiques dealer has been barred from selling vintage American flags on eBay because of restrictions he placed on who can buy the flags.

(You can read the full story here.)

Mark Albino, owner of C&M Antiques and Collectibles in Waterbury, veteran, and dealer of vintage flags, will not sell a flag to anyone who might desecrate it. An honorable stand to make.

Albino is also a powerseller on eBay, and eBay will not allow such buyer discrimination. Their policy is you either sell internationally or you don't - you don't get to pick and choose which countries you will ship to.

Perhaps Albino needs to find a new venue to sell his vintage flags ...

What are your feelings about this? It's a sad situation when we have to worry about the buyer's intent.

Iffy eBay goods draw ire of Internet posse: Cyber-vigilantes track down sellers of questionable items—often with blessing of overworked authorities

I was going to comment on a similar story yesterday, but didn't quite find the time. Today I just couldn't miss the opportunity again.

I encourage you all to read it. It reminds us of that age-old saying: If it's too good to be true, it probably is. That's not saying you can't get taken to the cleaners with a phony item if the price is in the ballpark of where it should be... but you want to stick with reputable dealers to minimize your chance of being swindled.

Buyer beware.

Remember our recent cover story on marbles? Seems we weren't far off the mark when we reported that the collecting trend just keeps rolling...

Morphy Auctions reported this week that its May 29-31 Spring Antiques Auction hit a $1.4 million record – including the sale of an $18,400 box of marbles.

According to a company press release, Morphy’s has always drawn a strong contingent of marble buyers to its sales, and this time was no exception. The prize everyone seemed to be after was an extremely rare, complete 100-count box of Christensen Agate Co. marbles. Some of the marbles exhibited extraordinarily rare color combinations – “maybe even unique,” said Dan Morphy, himself a longtime marble enthusiast. Estimated at $10,000-$15,000, the boxed selection finished its run at $18,400.

How do you like them marbles?!

Morphy Auctions is a division of Geppi’s Entertainment Auctions & Publications. For information on consigning to future sales, to view prices realized in past sales or to learn more about upcoming auctions, click here.

Karen here ...

I love books. Period. I don't know when I became aware of that fact, but I suspect I've been a latent bibliophile for some time, but never had the opportunity to really encourage the trait and let it thrive — until fairly recently. Auctions abound — and books go for the proverbial song at auctions.

My husband and I purchased an amazingly decrepit, huge old turn-of-the-century farmhouse back in 1995. It was what many people call a "fixer-upper." What an understatement! We actually had relatives say, "Strike a match!" but for the $23,500 price tag and all the potential we saw, we just couldn't pass it up!

As our work progressed on the house, ever so slowly, over the years we developed dreams/plans about what we would do with each room. A couple of years ago, we turned one of those dreams into a plan and put in a library, complete with built-in oak floor-to-ceiling bookcases. We wanted bookcases to cover as much wall space as possible, because over the years we've accumulated quite a collection of books: everything from contemporary novels to 19th-century reference books. Well, we're at a point now where the shelves are all filled, I'm reading as fast as I can and moving out the novels as I read them, and there's still a surplus.

And then I received boxes upon boxes of old books in the settlement of an estate.

My library runneth over.

Time to step up the pace in moving out the books that I know I'll never read, and those that don't really "speak" to me or hold a tight enough grip on my heart. It's hard to let any of them go, but fortunately, we bibliophiles tend to hang together, so I know I'll find suitable homes for those orphans who won't be able to stay with me.

Who was it that said we should surround ourselves with great books, even if we never read them ...

Anyway, Swann Galleries just had an auction, the Art, Press & Illustrated Books, and 19th & 20th Century Literature auction, and they sent us the highlights (below). I don't have anything so extravagant as these in my collection, but I can always daydream about them ...

Among the highlights of Swann Galleries’ two-part auction of Art, Press & Illustrated Books, and 19th & 20th Century Literature on April 24 were original illustrations, some used in well-known books, some that never appeared in print, and an exceedingly rare copy of the first work published by Leonard Baskin’s famed Gehenna Press.

Christine von der Linn, Swann Galleries Art and Modern Literature Book Specialist, said, “This sale featured many unusual items, some never seen at auction before and others that hadn't appeared on the market in a long time. This made for a lively preview exhibition and a very successful auction. Prices for graphic material in particular were high—many of the art journals with original lithographs, etchings and woodcuts, and Art Deco pochoir portfolios were hotly contested.”

A group of three original watercolor illustrations from the 1950s by Félix Lorioux, best known for his illustrations of children’s books by Charles Perrault, brought $12,000*; and a set of 44 Art Deco gouache illustrations with text by poster artist Mary Louise Lawser for an unpublished children’s book titled Now A Days sold for $10,200.

A collection of works by Ludwig Bemelmans, popularly known as the author and illustrator who created the Madeline series, included a circa 1940 watercolor of a street scene, L’Apres-midi en face du Capitole de la belle ville de Sainte Paul, $11,400; and two signed lithographs, They Went Looking High and Low, from Madeline’s Rescue, $5,280, and To the Tiger in the Zoo, Madeline just said “Pooh, Pooh,” from Madeline, $5,040.

The featured small press book, a signed and inscribed copy of Leonard Baskin’s On a Pyre of Withered Roses, New Haven, 1942, realized $9,000. Baskin’s first book and the first publication of his Gehenna Press, this was the first copy ever to appear at auction and the only known copy outside that belonging to the Baskin family.

Beautiful works with pochoir illustrations included Sonia Delaunay’s Compositions Couleurs Idees, with 40 plates for textiles, wallpapers and other decorative uses, Paris, 1930, which sold for a record $7,350; Eugène Grasset’s La Plante et ses applications Ornementales, with 72 plates, Paris, 1895, $6,960; Paul Iribe’s own copy of his Les Robes de Paul Poiret, with 10 plates, one of 250, Paris, 1908, $5,760; Aleksandr Pushkin’s Conte de Tsar Saltan et de son fils le Glorieux . . . de Cynge, with spirited illustrations by Natalia Gontcharova, Paris, 1921, $4,655; and Emile-Alain Seguy’s Prismes, with 40 brilliant plates of natural reflections of light, Paris, circa 1930, $2,640.

Two gorgeous examples of French Art Nouveau illustrated books were La Porte des Rêves with illustrations by Georges de Feure, one of 200 copies printed on Japan paper, Paris, 1899, and Carlos Schwabe’s Hespérus, one of 20 reserved for member of the Société “Les XX,” Paris, 1904, $3,600 each.

Rounding out the illustrated books was Marc-George Mallet’s Le Ronde des Déesses, with an engraved frontispiece by Arthur Szyk, inscribed by the author, and with five inscribed and signed postcards by Szyk to the man who gave him his first solo show in Paris, Auguste Decour, Paris, 1925, $4,800.           

Modern Art highlights included a beautiful copy of Poèmes de Charles d’Orléans, a signed copy of Henri Matisse’s last book, Paris, 1950, $6,000; a small archive of Salvador Dalí material once belonging to his friends Maria and Jaume Miravitlles, which included a two-page inscribed pen drawing of Don Quixote, late 1950s, $19,200; Franz Meyer, Marc Chagall: Life and Work, one of 100 deluxe copies signed by Chagall, with an original numbered etching, New York, 1964, a record $5,760; and Andy Warhol’s Exposures, signed and inscribed to fashion designer Fernando Sanchez, with a signed photograph of a nude male posterior, New York, 1979, $5,280.

Part two of the auction was devoted to 19th & 20th Century Literature. Highlights of a comprehensive Robert Frost collection included a beautiful copy of his first regularly published book, A Boy's Will, inscribed and signed, in the rare gilt-stamped bronzed brown pebble cloth binding, London, 1913, $10,800; two variant editions of the same title, one with a binding of cream boards, London, 1913, the other one of only three variant copies in cream wrappers, first edition, second issue, London, 1913, $4,080 each; and an inscribed copy of North of Boston, first edition, one of 200, London, 1914, $3,360.

Other literature highlights were Washington Irving, The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., first edition in the original seven parts, New York, 1819-20, a record $5,760; first editions of William Combe, The English Dance of Death, and The English Dance of Life, together, three volumes, London, 1815-16, 1817, $3,600; and J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit or There and Back Again, first edition, first impression, London, 1937, which brought $3,600—even without the dust jacket.

You can look for this info in story form on AntiqueTrader.com, which will be placed soon, complete with some images to highlight the story.

Just a tiny mention here at The Press Association regarding the upcoming London sale of a rare three-volume first edition set of Jane Austen's "Emma," inscribed by the great woman herself to her governess.

I will plead ignorance here and tell you I've never read "Emma," or seen any of the film, PBS or BBC adaptations of it. Austen just isn't my thing, really, but I respect her place as a huge and enduring literary figure, and actually do regret the gap in my literary knowledge. Back inmy early 20s, when I was working a night job at Shakespeare and Co., on lower Boradway in NYC, my focus was really on Faulkner, Nabokov, Cormac McCarthy, Russel Hoban and a plethora of great Russians. Perhaps when my daughter gets a little older, and I have time to read a real book in large chunks, I'll pick up Austen. Oh well.

The books are expected to bring about 50,000 pounds, or $100,000, depending on the exchange rate when the sale takes place June 24.

This is interesting and - dare I say it - sexy for the antiques industry.

From ArtInfo.com.

I wrote here not two weeks ago about the market in Russian art, followed by something about Muslim art, and shortly after that  Sotheby's has a huge sale of Russian art. Who buys it? Oh yes, Russians.

Except that one peice, and only one piece failed to sell for it's estimated amount. Why? It's alleged ties to the Russian Mob, and the death threats that came with its initial theft.

No picture available to my knowledgable, which might just push this thing mainstream. I hope that guy from CSI Miam is in in the pilot...

Yes. Very sexy.

King of the world!

Cue to the Celine Dion, and get me some ear plugs...

No, really, in all seriousness, one of the last remaining tickets for the Titanic from a survivor that was five at the time of the sinking, and died in 2006 at age 99, sold over the weekend for $66,000. This story is from the AFP.

I wonder what it is about the sinking of the Titanic that still captivates the world's imagination. It goes beyond the horrible movie of a decade ago, or so - it has to, otherwise there is no meaning in life.

There is something about that night, and the iceberg that sank the ship, and the split of those that died and those that survived, that people just simply can't get enough of. There are not a lot of mementos left from the actual journey and thpse that are left are jealously guarded, which makes this even rarer. In fact, I'm surprise it didn't go for double the price.

Tangentially, I can remember traveling through Asia in 1998, a good two years after the movie came out ("Craptanic" as me an my friends liked to call it) and I can remember seeing people wearing t-shirts all over the place and - especially in India - lines around the block to get in to see it. All this, despite the fact that there were no musical numbers in it. In fact, that would have made it an entertaining movie, at least. I loves me some Bollywood... But hey, I know what you're thinking. "Stick to the antiques, Fleisher. If we wanted movie reviews we'd go to RottenTomatoes.com.