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 ...

Sad news from Cleveland...

Ralph M. Kovel, nationally known antiques author and expert, died Thursday, August 28, 2008, in Cleveland.

In the early 1950s, Kovel came up with the idea of publishing a book that indexed antiques by the factory-specific marks found on the bottom of the pottery. He and his wife, Terry, became nationally known with the publication of their first book, Dictionary of Marks: Pottery & Porcelain, published in 1953. The book led to a weekly question-and-answer column, "Kovels: Antiques & Collecting," syndicated in 1954, which still runs in more than 150 newspapers. It was also the first of 97 books that the couple would co-author.

Ralph Kovel was born in Milwaukee. He moved with his family to Cleveland Heights, Ohio, in the 1930s. A Cleveland Heights High School graduate, he attended the Ohio State University, and later taught courses in antiques at Case Western Reserve and John Carroll universities.

Kovel was a food broker at the same time he found success with antiques. In the late 1970s, he purchased a small Cleveland company called Sar-A-Lee. The company was
sold in 1989 to Sara Lee Corp., where he continued as Senior Vice-President of Sara Lee Coffee and Tea's Foods Division until 2000. He never retired. He was president of U.S. Brands, Inc., a Beachwood-based direct marketing firm, president of Lucayan Aquaculture, a shrimp farm in the Bahamas, and owner of R & R Roosters, Inc., a restaurant in Cleveland.

Ralph and Terry Kovel were featured in their own television series on public television, the Discovery Channel and, most recently, on HGTV (Home and Garden Television Network). They wrote columns for Forbes Magazine and House Beautiful. Their articles have appeared in Family Circle, Woman's Day, Redbook, Town and Country, Giftware News and many antiques-related publications. They contributed the "Art, Antiques and Collections: Collectibles" section for Encyclopedia Britannica Book of the Year and were once the prize for a Publishers' Clearing House contest.

Their best-known book, Kovels' Antiques and Collectibles Price Guide, has been published annually since 1968. The 2009 edition was just released. In 1974 the couple began to publish a monthly newsletter, Kovels on Antiques and Collectibles. Their subscription-based newsletter has over 60,000 subscribers and is available in a digital version on the website, Kovels.com, which is visited by over a quarter of a million readers each month.

Ralph Kovel served on the boards of trustees of the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, Western Reserve Historical Society, and Public Broadcasting stations WVIZ-TV and WCPN-NPR. He won numerous awards for his public service and two Cleveland Emmys for his television work.

Where can a life-sized clown named Louie wander off to? Or was he clown-napped? When you first read about it, you might think it's some sort of spoof of CSI or some other detective show. But amusement park owners Stanley and Margaret Nelson are serious about getting their clown back.

According to a news story in the Fort Mill Times, the 60-year-old Witchita, Kan., amusement park is missing two important antiques: its life-sized, carved clown named Louie and the automated Wurlitzer organ Louie played.

The Nelsons have sued the former Joyland operators who say they know nothing about the missing clown's whereabouts. In the meantime, the status of the park's reopening remains in flux.

To read more of this detective drama, click here or here. They're not clowning around.

You'd think being the publishing home of Antique Trader would be the claim to fame for little Iola, Wisconsin. But, alas, that is not the case.

This weekend, upwards of 150,000 people will converge on this tiny village to drool over chrome, inhale the sweet smell of exhaust and hug newfound hubcaps. Yup. It's time for the 36th annual Iola Old Car Show. As always, our sister publication, Old Cars Weekly, has some exciting (and exclusive) coverage plans for the event, which takes place on the grounds surrounding our publishing house.

This year's theme tent will feature "roadsters, ragtops and rumble seats." For the blue-bloods, of course, there is always the Blue Ribbon display, a showcase of the best unrestored vehicles one can find on this planet. For those with a little rust running through their veins, there's acres and acres of swap meet vendors (heaven for petroliana fans, too!). For people like me who like looking at pretty things, there's Johnny Depp.

No kidding. There will be a special display of cars used in the recent filming of the "Public Enemies" movie, something all of Wisconsin was excited about. I am told by Old Cars editor Angelo Van Bogart that the display will feature such screen stars as a 1933 Nash sedan, 1935 Plymouth coupe and Model A truck. What? The cars are the screen stars? No Johnny Depp?! Sigh...

If you want to see what you're missing -- who knows, maybe Johnny will drop by -- you just have to check out the LIVE streaming video web cams. Just click on the camera links found here. It's a great way to kill time in the comfort of your air-conditioning this weekend.

I can tell you, though, it is definitely worth the trip if you can make it. Click on the Old Cars Weekly Web site for a schedule of events and continuous coverage -- which hopefully includes an interview with a dark-haired celebrity. (Yes, OK, I have to get over it. Where's the funnel cake stand?)

We saw on a news site this morning that the city council in Reno, Nev., is looking to revamp its rules for antique dealers now that a second antique mall has closed, citing excessive and expensive regulations.

Apparently some time ago, jewelry that was stolen from a legislator's home showed up at an antique store. Since that time, antiques dealers have been lumped in with pawn shop owners and both are required to report their sales and purchases DAILY to police.

Good to hear they value the antiques industry enough to take another look. To read the whole story, click here.