137 / 217
Maine Antique Digest, March 2015 33-C
- AUCTION -
The beacon light of highly
polished brass was fitted
with a Fresnel glass lens,
and the top of the light is
hinged and vented. It mea-
sured 74" high. There were
phone bidders competing
with a number of left bids,
which pushed the price to
$5700.
Scarce Russian-made precision bin-
oculars on a pedestal with a carry
case were offered at the sale. They
were mounted to a chest-high pedes-
tal with a crank mechanism. The unit
measured 65" tall with 5½" diameter
lens cowls and sold for $4500, sur-
passing the $2000/3000 estimate.
This exquisite dockyard builder’s model of the
East Indian
, a full-rigged sailing bark, dated from
the late 19th century. With impeccable attention to detail, the sailing bark was displayed in a case
measuring 18" high x 79" long x 9½" deep. It sold for $7200, just at the low estimate of $7000.
This appealing detailed marine diorama was created by William Hitchcock (1928-
2006). Hitchcock’s work is exhibited at the Peabody Essex Museum, South Street
Seaport, and Mystic Seaport. He produced museum-quality work in models and
dioramas. This diorama shows the Crowley & Son boatyard, with ships under
construction, sheds, buildings, and men at work everywhere. It was fitted to a
custom case that measured 34" x 24" x 20". Bidding opened at $3000, and the
diorama sold to a floor bidder for $4800.
A custom yacht model of the
Exact
, which was owned by famous yacht
broker and yachtsman J. Burr Bartram, brought $2040 (est. $2500/5000).
An elegant brass and mahogany ship’s bin-
nacle was produced by C.M. Hammar, Gote-
borg, Sweden. It had a varnished mahogany
base, gimbaled compass, and a brass hood
and clinometers. It was 58" tall x 36" wide x
24" deep. It brought $5100.
There was lots of attention on this U.S. Navy
precision telescope, with its complicated tripod,
offering plenty of adjustments for elevation,
balance, etc. There were several on-line bidders
and some phone action, but ultimately a buyer
at the sale won the telescope for $4500, more
than double the $1000/1500 estimate.
This compelling watercolor by British artist Montague Dawson (1890-1973),
a renowned marine painter, depicted two clipper ships racing side by side in
strong seas. Measuring 23" x 29" (sight size), it had been purchased in the
1970s by a collector. It opened with a $6500 bid, and then an Internet bidder
offered $8000; it ultimately brought $9600 (est. $15,000/25,000).
This monumental oil on canvas was signed “W Bradford.” Lannan announced that
the auction house could not guarantee who the artist was and that the painting was
“not necessarily” by William Bradford, an American artist from Massachusetts
(1823-1892). It opened with a $2000 left bid and sold to an Internet buyer for $3900.