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Past Sale Results for September 21 - 25, 2005
Highlights of the 2005 11th Annual Fall Auction of Early American Pressed and Blown Glass Plus Lighting
Scroll down for photos and descriptions of highlighted pieces from this auction.
Available for download are the following
For the first time ever the three galleries at Green Valley Auctions, Inc. in Mt. Crawford, Virginia could not hold all of the offerings for the firm's 11th annual Fall Glass & Lighting Auction held on September 21, 22, 23, 24 & 25. President Jeffrey S. Evans and his proficient staff pulled together over 10,000 pieces for this sale which has become an annual pilgrimage for many collectors and dealers from across North America. This auction featured three large collections from Florida, two from Virginia plus others from California, New York and Massachusetts. Evans was very pleased with the turn out of 375 bidders for the five-day, five-session event and the auction total which came in at just over $600,000 including the 10% buyer's premium.
Things kicked off with Wednesday afternoon's Session #1, which spilled out onto the back parking lot. This newly added discovery session was uncataloged and consisted of 140 box lots of various glass. It was very low keyed and well received by those in attendance with most boxes selling in the $22.00 to $88.00 (all prices include the 10% buyer's premium) range. Thursday's Session #2 and Friday's Session #3 both began at 9:00 a.m. and the staff proceeded very quickly through over 6,000 pieces of Early American Pressed Glass (EAPG) in a wide variety of forms. Both sessions were sold by Green Valley's trademark bidder's choice block and table lot method. Selling similar items in this manner allows bidders the opportunity to purchase the more desirable items singularly while also dispersing the less valuable material in multi-item lots at the end of each block. Green Valley publishes simple listings for these sessions which provide bidders with an organizational guide in order to keep up with auctioneers Jeff & Greg Evans' rapid selling pace. Final bids ranged from $5.50 to $330.00 during these two sessions.
Saturday's Session #4 started at 9:00 a.m. with the Internet catalog of more than 480 lots of Vaseline, Custard, Chocolate and Victorian Novelty glass. First up was the Andrews collection of late 19th and early 20th century Vaseline glass which included a barrel-form whiskey set which rolled away at $522.50 and a McKee #412 electrolier lamp that reached $495.00. Next to the block was a nice selection of Chocolate glass with the most desirable lot being a Sultan child's four-piece table set which brought $1,430.00. The final category of the Internet catalog was the Victorian novelty glass collection of Jo & Bob Sanford which included many examples illustrated in their book "Victorian Glass Novelties". The top examples here were a "Perfumery" Daisy and Button type pattern store display stand in blue which brought $577.50, a Vaseline Daisy & Button wall comb tray at $363.00, an unusual Bird on Nest with Snake covered dish at $357.50 and a blue airplane condiment holder that flew to $330.00.
Session #4 continued with 780 lots of Historical, EAPG, early blown and pressed glass, plus early period lighting, all of which was presented in an outstanding 107-page published catalog. It wasn't long before the crowd saw the first big surprise of the sale when a rare milk glass Sphinx on platform statue with a pre-auction estimate of $100-$150 drew fierce bidding, finally selling for $8,525.00 to an advanced collector from Michigan who was in attendance. The statue had received numerous inquiries and the underbidder had driven from Kentucky specifically to add this piece to his collection. Evans admitted later that he could not locate a reference for the statue and decided to give it a low estimate and plenty of exposure through photos in the auction brochure, web site and newspaper ads. Evans explained, "It was a last minute consignment from a Virginia estate. I knew that if it was truly rare, it would be recognized by the right collectors in our immense customer database; although I was still surprised at the final selling price."
The flint EAPG category featured many outstanding examples including a pair of Bellflower quart decanters with rare original stoppers that sold for $2,970.00, two seemingly common Bellflower water tumblers which were actually previously unrecorded variants, each with a large star in its base, that sold for $2,860.00 and $1,980.00, and a Diamond Thumbprint rare quart jug that soared to $2,530.00. Then, with three phone bidders poised and ready, it was show time for one of the most anticipated lots of the sale, an Early Thumbprint spherical covered compote in possibly the largest size produced (18 1/2" high overall). After intense bidding, the lot finally sold to a New York City phone bidder for $15,400, far surpassing the pre-auction estimate of $4,000-$6,000. The next lot, another Early Thumbprint spherical covered compote, just slightly smaller at 16" high, had two battling phone bidders drive the final selling price to $13,750.00, again going well beyond the $2,000-$3,000 pre-auction estimate. A Lattice and Ovals/Flat Diamond and Panel goblet with applied handle generated significant interest resulting in a final sales price of $2,860.00; the only recorded example of this extremely rare handled goblet is in the collection of the Bennington Museum where it was cataloged as "unique". Evans was quick to point out that this goblet without a handle is fairly common and sells for less than $100. Noteworthy non-flint EAPG included a Dragon goblet which sold to an absentee bidder for $2,200.00 and a Three Face hollow stem champagne which, with competition from an absentee bidder and two phone bidders, was won by a phone bidder from California for $2,530.00. Thanks to the same California phone bidder, two additional Three Face lots also performed very well - an 11" high kerosene period stand lamp with rare patterned font brought $4,180.00 and a 12" high elliptical covered compote sold for $3,520.00.
Anticipation in the gallery began to build as the final lots of pattern glass were being sold and the gallery staff secured the phone bidders for the star lot of the auction - lot 1441, a circa 1845-1865 Boston & Sandwich Tulip vase in brilliant deep violet blue with white striations/marbling and in near proof condition. The consignor's amazing $15.00 thrift store discovery had received much pre-sale publicity and was estimated to bring between $8,000 and $12,000. Two respectable absentee bids caused the bidding to open at $9,500 and it quickly became a battle between five very eager phone bidders. After approximately 45 seconds, Evans knocked the lot down to one of the phone bidders for a record $22,000.00 and the crowd instantaneously broke into a round of applause. Department head Karen Reed who immediately phoned the consignor to give her the good news relayed, "Needless to say the consignor was stunned at the selling price. She had been delirious when I initially called her with Jeff's pre-sale estimate; I think the final figure just knocked her out." The next lot to cross the block was another Boston & Sandwich Tulip vase from the same period, but this time in a more common amethyst color, which sold to the same phone bidder for $3,575.00. This was followed by several fine fiery opalescent lots including a pair of previously unrecorded Bull's Eye and Fleur-De-Lys vases which went for $8,140.00 to an ecstatic in-house New York collector who out dueled two phone bidders for his prize. Two fiery opalescent pieces in the Colonial pattern included a goblet with exceptional color which went to one of three phone bidders for $3,300.00 and a compote formed from a footed sugar bowl (recently discovered in the Northwest) that sold to a Florida collector on the phone for $2,860.00.
Other outstanding lots of early glass were a Sandwich Heart cologne in deep cobalt blue that went to a Virginia collector for $3,850.00, a circa 1825-1830 heavy pressed colorless Staffordshire form covered sugar in remarkable condition, probably made by the New England Glass Company, that finally stopped at $3,080.00, and a very rare BT-8 "Lafayet" steamboat pressed salt in fiery opalescent medium blue which sailed off at $1,980.00 to a phone bidder in Connecticut. An extremely rare Lee/Rose No. 227-B cup plate in brilliant deep green that was recently discovered on a tray lot at a Pennsylvania auction rose above its $3,000-$5,000 pre-auction estimate to sell for $6,600.00 to a California phone bidder. Another recent bargain discovery was a colorless pressed and cut tumbler or spill holder featuring an engraved view of the Bank of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia which was purchased in a table lot at a Mid-Atlantic auction gallery. The elated consignor was seated in the gallery when the tumbler sold to New York City dealer Gary Stradling on the phone for a record $9,625.00, tripling its high estimate.
A selection of early lighting closed out Session #4 including a Sandwich cranberry Overshot font kerosene lamp on brass stem and marble base which was hotly pursued by two floor bidders causing it to more than double the high estimate and sell for $2,200.00, a circa 1810-1835 colorless free-blown candlestick which sold for $1,375.00, and an opaque white whale oil/fluid lamp with blown font on pressed Lion's Head and Basket of Flowers base, which reached $1,210.00.
Sunday's Session #5, comprised primarily of kerosene era lighting, had its entire catalog (lots 2000-2728) posted on the Green Valley web site, with a text-only catalog available at the auction. Included in the sale was the 30 year collection of L. T. "Larry" Darby of Richmond, VA. The session started off well when a slightly translucent powder blue Sandwich Eaton/Onion stand lamp estimated to bring $2,000-$3,000, ended up at $4,840.00 after a substantial absentee bid was bested by an unyielding in-house bidder. Cut overlay lamps were highlighted by an especially fine amethyst to colorless cut punty example which ended at $1,650.00 due to five recorded absentee bids and two battling in-house bidders. Competition was also strong between an absentee and a phone bidder for an urn-form font stand lamp with a white and green alabaster font and double-step black marble base; this outstanding example carried a $500-$800 estimate and ultimately sold to a Canadian phone bidder for $1,815.00. Victorian opalescent lamps received considerable interest with the best of three cranberry opalescent Seaweed stand lamps bringing $1,870.00. Other opalescent lamps included a cranberry Hobbs' Snowflake stand lamp at $1,155.00, a blue Hobbs' Snowflake finger lamp at $1,100.00, a cranberry Hobbs' Coin Dot stand lamp for $1,155.00 and a cranberry Hobbs' Coin Dot finger lamp at $990.00.
Among the generous offering of burners, shades, chimneys and other parts were a white cut to colorless overlay Oregon shade with light fiery opalescence which sold for $1,155.00, a grouping of two colorless frosted lip chimneys including a #1 "Christmas Tree" which brought $852.50, and an opaque rose colored library dome shade that topped out at $660.00.
Miniature lamps showed that they can compete with the big boys when two floor bidders battled over a blue opalescent font Hobbs' Coin Dot stand lamp until it reached $2,145.00, nearly four times its high estimate. Other sought-after miniatures included a pink and yellow satin banquet style lamp with polychrome cherry blossom design and original dome shade which cost a resolute bidder on the floor $1,210.00 and a green shading to colorless Rib Optic lamp with original umbrella shade, which sold for $770.00. A selection of lanterns concluded the cataloged session, led by a Dayton nickel plated Railroad lantern with peacock blue globe which steamed away at $577.50. Session #5's cataloged lots were followed by a large number of uncataloged lighting-related table lots which completed the sale.
After the sale, Jeff Evans and his outstanding staff were relieved to have the mammoth five-day event behind them. Evans commented, "It takes months to prepare for this sale and then it's all over in five days; Green Valley is truly blessed to have such a dedicated and efficient staff, I don't think there is anyone else in the country that could pull this (auction) off."
Several days after the sale Evans offered the following observations: "The market for upper level early American glass continues to expand. We picked up several new, younger collectors who are looking for quality glass from the early and mid 19th century to compliment their furniture and Americana collections. The middle and lower levels continue to be somewhat soft, I think primarily because of the overabundance of material on Internet auction sites. Overall we were very satisfied with the results of the sale." After a short pause Evans gushingly added, "Wait until you see next spring's early glass sale. We have four major collections lined up, all of which contain exceptional rarities covering every category imaginable. It's going to be an all-time record breaker."
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