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Past Sale Results for June 24 & 25, 2005 Highlights of the 2005 Semi-Annual Cataloged Antiques, Americana and Decorative Arts Auction Scroll down for photos and descriptions of highlighted pieces from this auction. Available for download are the Catalog Listing and Prices Realized. On June 24 and 25, Green Valley Auctions of Mt. Crawford, Virginia presented another outstanding selection of antiques and Americana. The firm has become well-known for selling large quantities of fresh estate merchandise in a no-nonsense rapid-fire pace and this 3,000 lot sale did not disappoint. All three galleries were packed full for this two-day five-session event which grossed just over $1 million including the 10% buyers' premium. The office staff was kept very busy registering nearly 800 bidders representing 29 states, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada. The auction featured the estate collection of Patricia and Richard Ruffner, Jr. of Alexandria and Marshall, Va. The Ruffners were prominent antiques dealers in the 1950s - 1980s and had both inherited and collected a large quantity of all types of antiques which filled their Hunt Country manor home. Green Valley had previously sold Mr. Ruffner's collection of southern coin silver when he passed away in 1997, so it was natural that the remainder of the collection would be consigned when Mrs. Ruffner passed away last year. Two additional consignments also generated tremendous interest among bidders. The first being the contents of the home of Mr. George Makinson of Lexington, Va. which included 18th, 19th and early 20th century material descended from the Kettell family who were Colonial residents of the Boston area. The second included a large quantity of canine-related material which had descended from the late Percy Roberts of Stamford, Ct., world renowned dog show judge and handler. During Thursday's preview, head auctioneer Jeff Evans observed, "This is the most diverse group of merchandise we have ever offered and every category has received strong interest. The next two days should be very exciting". Evans acknowledged that his staff had processed over 1,500 absentee bids and arranged nearly 200 phone bids. The auction kicked off on Friday with two uncataloged sessions. Session #1 began at 1:00 p.m. and consisted of box and tray lots, barn, attic and basement contents, and collectibles from the Ruffner and Makinson homes. This eclectic mix included a sheep shearing outfit for $220, an 18th c. tavern table in rough condition at $577.50, a group of late 18th c. interior house shutters and trim from a dismantled Alexandria, Va. home which reached $880 and Mrs. Ruffner's 1997 Volvo 850 sedan with 38,000 miles which sped away at $8,250. Session #2 which began at 2:00 p.m. consisted of over 5,000 books plus ephemera from the Ruffner and other libraries which were sold by box, multiple and individual lots. The box lots drew much attention with the most sought-after box selling for $440. A large group of late 19th and early 20th c. archival material of Vaudeville press agent and manager Tunis Dean which sold for $1,375 will undoubtedly yield some real treasures to its new owner. A good selection of Civil War books included Warfield's "A Confederate Soldier's Memoirs", 1936, which quickly topped out at $687.50. A group of Alexandria, Va. ledgers which had descended in the Ruffner family included an 1847 store ledger which sold for $577.50 and a set of 16 ledgers from the second half of the 19th c. kept by Dr. William Ball Klipstein which crossed the block at $1,430. The cataloged portion of the auction, Session #3, commenced at 5:30 p.m. with a selection of coins and currency. Top lot here was an 1878 $3 gold piece in extremely fine condition which sold for $1,485, nearly tripling its high estimate. A collection of surveying equipment was highlighted by a Wm. J. Young, Philadelphia compass and stand in excellent condition which saw $1,045. Evans and his staff always gather a good selection of fresh Civil War material for their sales, no doubt because of the firm's Shenandoah Valley location. The top Civil War lot in this sale consisted of four Mississippi infantry brass buttons, two coat and two cuff, which were stamped for Hyde & Goodrich of New Orleans. From the Ruffner estate, they were in excellent condition and blew past their $500-$800 estimate, selling for $1,980. Following a selection of equestrian, Native American and Inuit material, a collection of Presidential Americana came to the block and proved to be the highlight of Friday evening's session. Leading the way were nine George Washington inaugural buttons which were hotly contested by phone, absentee and in-house bidders. The two top lots, a "Pater Patriae" coat button which sold for $6,325 despite being repaired and a Liberty cap cuff button which reached $4,675, were both purchased over the phone for George Washington's Mount Vernon by assistant curator Gretchen Goodell. Another interesting Washington item was a pair of 1/6 plate daguerreotype images of George and Martha portraits, inscribed "Daguerreotyped from the Arlington pictures by John S. Grubb, Alex. Va. Sept. 1849", which seemed reasonable at $3,300. The remaining Presidential material which consisted of textiles and prints, was primarily from the Charles Rand Penney collection of Lockport, NY and sold within or above estimate. The session finished with country accessories, candlesticks, a collection of sewing articles, and canine-related material, most of which sold well above estimates. Doors opened at 8:00 a.m. Saturday morning for Session #4 and by the 9:30 a.m. starting time, the gallery was packed. Keeping with tradition, head auctioneer Jeff Evans began with a fine selection of folk pottery led by two Virginia stoneware pitchers from the Ruffner collection. First up was a signed Solomon Bell 1 gallon pitcher with bold free-hand cobalt triple-bloom floral decoration which was undamaged except for a tight body hairline crack. This rare early example was probably produced during Bell's short tenure in Winchester, which accounted for its $12,650 selling price. Next to cross the block was a very rare signed H. Smith & Co. 1 gallon pitcher decorated with a bold cobalt sunflower which was produced in Alexandria. Although one of the finest Smith pitchers that most in attendance had seen, it unfortunately had a 1" x 2" section of the rear rim missing. Despite this condition issue, it still managed to sell for $11,000 to the same phone bidder who had purchased the first pitcher. Numerous other examples of Alexandria pottery sold strongly, crossing the block between $385 and $3,850. A fine selection of textiles included two rare and undocumented quilts. Evans discovered a fine dated 1845 Baltimore applique album quilt while sorting through common linens and bedding from the Ruffner estate. Evans relayed that the Ruffner family had cleared out the bedroom chests and boxed all of the soft goods for transportation to Green Valley. "The quilt almost didn't make the brochure", Evans admitted. He continued, "I was reviewing the inventory that the family made of the items they packed and noticed an entry for an old quilt with names. We had put all of those boxes aside to be included in the gallery 3 uncataloged session but it didn't take long for me to locate that particular box. Needless to say I was stunned when I found the quilt and it was quickly photographed for the front cover." The quilt had descended in the Ruffner family and was the earliest dated example of the high style quilts recorded. It was in excellent condition with only some minor fabric losses at the ink inscriptions along with some minor staining. After a battle between several phone bidders, it ultimately sold to Olde Hope Antiques of New Hope, Pa. for $30,800. The next quilt was a fabulous Shenandoah Valley crewel work quilt, most likely from the second quarter of the 19th century. This very unusual example was also discovered by Evans, this time while reviewing material at one of the firm's Biweekly Estate auctions. He commented, "This one was in a small estate consignment and the family had packed most of the material. They had put the bedding in trash bags and it would have been easily missed if our Biweekly crew had not emptied the bags and laid the quilt out for me to see." What made this quilt so unusual was that the unknown maker had quilted around all of the crewel elements and then quilted the background with all-over diamonds. It was believed to have always been part of the Augusta County family, but unfortunately they could provide no other information. Green Valley's administrator Beverley Evans, who is on the board of the Virginia Quilt Museum, took the quilt to curator Joan Knight after its discovery. "Joan had never seen anything like it in the South." Mrs. Evans noted. "We examined it for over an hour trying to locate a name or date but found nothing; it remains a real mystery," she added. With Evans' help, the museum raised a little over $15,000 to purchase the quilt, but it was not enough, as it was purchased by quilt authority Stella Rubin for $18,700 on the phone. Two recent Virginia folk art discoveries also drew tremendous interest. A rare tooled leather key basket by saddle maker R.H. Ricketts of Flint Hill, Va. was discovered by Green Valley staff member Kent Botkin in a home in Woodville, Va. which is 15 minutes south of Flint Hill. The basket was in outstanding untouched condition and featured the initials RJM at one end for an unknown owner. "The elderly owners had no idea of its value," Botkin offered. "They were stunned when Jeff (Evans) informed them that he was giving it a $4,000-$6,000 estimate, but that it would probably go a little higher. Jeff made sure they were sitting down when he called them after the sale to let them know it had sold for $13,000 ($14,300 including buyer's premium)," Botkin added. A rare signed Charles Burton pencil and charcoal profile portrait recently surfaced at a tag sale in Tennessee and the new owner quickly sent it to Green Valley. It was inscribed on the reverse "John B. Nicklin's Profile/taken 18 Sept. 1822/By C. Burton in Charlestown/Jeff. Co. Va./Age Nineteen". According to the catalog Burton was a very active portrait painter, draftsman, landscape artist and teacher, working in New York City, Washington, DC, Baltimore, and Jefferson Co., Va. His 1824 view of the U.S. Capitol now resides at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In very good condition with some minor imperfections, the portrait sold on the phone to a NYC dealer/collector for $3,850. Fine art included many equestrian paintings from the Ruffner collection highlighted by a signed "R. Jones, 1838" oil on canvas titled "Dark Hunter in Landscape Setting" which sold for $6,875. Canine art from the Roberts estate included a signed "Arthur Wardle" oil on canvas titled "Champion Walthem Donzalla" which sold to a thrilled Australian phone bidder for $16,500. The Makinson home yielded numerous late 19th/early 20th c. works by Boston area artists led by a signed "G.L. Noyes" oil on canvas landscape titled "Road to my farm" which was in outstanding original condition. Photographer/researcher Will McGuffin noted that this work had received more inquiries than any other piece of art in the sale. After battling six phone bidders, it was eventually won by a prominent Richmond dealer for $15,950. A wide selection of American furniture was sold with Virginia examples leading the way. An exceptional Hepplewhite walnut splay leg one-drawer stand in outstanding original condition had been purchased by the Ruffners in Leesburg, Va. in 1968; here it sold strongly for $9,075. An Eastern Shore yellow pine diminutive blanket chest which retained its original dark blue/green paint was also from the Ruffner collection, and its minor restorations didn't deter bidders as it sold for $6,050. An Alleghany County hard poplar pie safe retaining an outstanding original dry black surface with excellent wear had never been out of the Persinger/Carter family until it sold to a phone bidder for $6,875. Other furniture included a Chippendale figured walnut secretary featuring a boldly molded and carved bookcase top which was attributed to Frederick Town, Md. It had been published in American Furniture, 1997, fig. 29 and was being deaccessioned by a Virginia Museum. The fact that the desk had a replaced drawer structure and interior held down its final sales price to $6,325. From the Makinson home, a Mass. Chippendale mahogany serpentine-front chest of drawers, in outstanding original condition except for an old repair to one top corner and replaced hardware, ended at $5,775. Also from New England was an architectural soft-wood barrel-back corner cupboard in two sections and featuring a bold cornice and Interior shelves; in an old refinished surface and with some minor restoration, it sold for $6,600. A large group of antique and semi-antique oriental carpets was interspersed with the furniture including a late 19th century 4'9" x 9'8' Caucasian rug featuring five geometric medallions which sold for $2,200. Session #4 finished with a huge selection of ceramics including collections of Mason's and Gaudy Ironstone, Oriental export, R.S. Prussia, Staffordshire, plus more. Session #5 began right on time at 6:00 p.m. and featured silver and fine jewelry. Top silver lots included a 96 piece Georg Jensen sterling flatware service in the poplar Acorn pattern which sold for $5,500 and a Paul Revere II coin silver tablespoon which had descended in the Kettell family which reached $2,750. Most of the jewelry sold was from the Mireille Alberti estate of Orange, Va. Ms. Alberti was originally from France and had been a jewelry designer before retiring to Virginia. Highlights include a 2.51 ct round brilliant cut loose diamond, VS-1 clarity and H-I color, which sold for $14,850; a lady's platinum ring set with a central 1.92 ct diamond and surrounded by 16 side diamonds, 3.46 ct tw, at $8,250; a lady's platinum bracelet set with 85 old European cut diamonds, 3.14 ct tw, at $6,050; and a lady's platinum, diamond and black onyx ribbon bow brooch, 4.30 ct tw diamonds, at $5,170. After the auction Jeff Evans and his staff were understandably exhausted. "An auction of this size is very demanding and difficult to pull off without complications, but we do it four or five times a year" commented Evans. "It takes a dedicated and knowledgeable staff which we are very fortunate to have. It also helps to have great merchandise that is fresh to the market."
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