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Maine Antique Digest, March 2015 31-B
- AUCTION -
It was unusual to find three toy
fire trucks in one sale. When new,
this 32" long circa 1926 Sturditoy Water
T o w e r
No. 9 could propel a column of water 25 feet. An Internet
bidder opened the truck at $742.50, and no one answered. A
circa 1924 31" long Keystone pressed steel water tower (not
shown), based on a Packard fire truck, sold for $550 to an
absentee. A 29" long pressed steel Buddy “L” aerial ladder
fire truck (not shown), with its original decals, brass bell, and
extension ladders, was opened and closed at $660 by an Inter-
net bidder.
There was considerable interest in this 3"
x 8" Rozane Ware Della Robbia low bowl
by Roseville. The base included the art-
ist’s initials “GB” and the original paper
label. The Internet snagged it for $2420.
The inscription under the bull’s head on this
early 19th-century coin silver covered butter
dish reads “Servavi Recem.” One possible
translation is “I have guarded Rekem,” where
Rekem refers to a biblical figure. Stamped
“Hailey & Co., Chestnut St. Phila” and with
three hallmarks, the 6½" diameter butter dish
sold to the Internet for $440.
Christopher Hunley of Buzzards Roost,
Lynchburg, Virginia, carefully examined
this 26½" x 35" x 16" southern chest
on frame from every angle. He decided
against bidding on it, and the walnut
chest with mariner’s compass inlay and
bracket feet went to another on-site bid-
der for $550. Prunkl photo.
Every color of an
iridescent
rainbow
was represented in
this 7¾" high Loetz
art glass vase. With a
script signature, “Loetz
Austria,” oil drops, and
polished pontil mark, it
sold to a phone bidder
for $7040.
The signature in the lower right is “Helen Maas/ New
Orleans.” An Internet search found one artist named
Helen Maas who was a contemporary of southern
artist William Aiken Walker. For most of his adult-
hood, Walker lived the life of a vagabond, traveling
between New Orleans and Florida in the winter and
the mountains of North Carolina in the summer.
Maas’s and Walker’s styles are remarkably similar.
Dealer Nathan Sapp bought this painting for $2640.
It is not every day a 1982 Stanley Cup
championship ring becomes avail-
able. From marks inside the band it
appears to have been worn by Mike
Bossy, #22 on the winning New York
Islanders team. In 1982, Bossy set
a scoring record for right-wingers
with 147 points in addition to win-
ning the Stanley Cup. The size 12
ring with three central diamonds sold
to a phone bidder for $1595.
The sale’s top lot was a 2.09-carat round
diamond in an 18k gold and platinum set-
ting flanked with two baguettes. The color
of the central diamond was G with a clar-
ity grade of VS1. It sold for $12,650.
Arnold Husser, a.k.a. Kojac, was an
underbidder.
This pair of 20" x 11¾" KPM por-
celain candelabras came from the
same estate that consigned the Loetz
vase. Two women in gowns each sup-
port three gilt arms with candle sockets.
From 1763 the Königliche Porzellan Man-
ufaktur used the initials “KPM” and the
Berlin scepter mark that appears on the
bottom of each candelabrum. They sold
for $2035.
Jon Lambert named Donald Whitfield his “Picker
of the Year” for finding this North Carolina 16-pane
inlaid corner cupboard. Whitfield found it the
old-fashioned way—he knocked on doors in Orange
and Alamance Counties. Its mortise and tenon joints
were secured with hardwood pegs, and its locks,
hinges, knobs, glass, and even its putty seem original.
Whitfield’s find sold for $4070. Prunkl photo.
Carvings cover three sides
of this 27" x 16½" x 12"
European bracket clock
with brass movement and
eight-day time-and-strike
Westminster chimes. It has
its original brass pendulum
and a 5 1/8" solid brass
winding key. A large carved
shelf (not shown) accompa-
nied the clock. The set sold
for $2970.
A floor bidder bought this
early 19th-century walnut
southern cellaret, 28½" x 20¼"
x 14¼", with ten divided com-
partments and original iron
hinges and brass hardware, on
tapered legs, for $1485.
It was difficult to tell which was more
exquisite—the silk-lined bird’s-eye
maple case or the 72 pieces of Louis
XV flatware by Whiting. Accessories
included a bacon fork, fish slicer,
cheese scoop, French forks, and vari-
ous ladles. It all sold for $2750.
Staff member Heather Haley points to a mid-
19th-century European wall regulator clock that
sold for $154 to an Internet bidder. The clock
closest to her, an early 20th-century Vienna
weight-driven wall regulator clock with a por-
celain dial, went for $1210. The middle clock, a
German Black Forest wall clock, with gallery,
thermometer, and barometer, brought $209.
Staff members Justin Brooks (left) and Bryan
Roney concentrate on phone bids, checkout, and
other essential tasks. Prunkl photo.