Maine Antique Digest, December 2016

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Maine Antique Digest, December 2016 13-D
- AUCTION -
13-D
“You never know
what will turn up.”
Norman C. Heckler & Company, Woodstock Valley, Connecticut
Rare Colors, Rare Forms, and
a Food Jar Headline Absentee Auction
by Susan Emerson Nutter
Photos courtesy Heckler
“One of our best sales ever,” was how
Norman C. Heckler, Sr. described
the absenteeAuction 141 hosted by
Norman C. Heckler & Company, Woodstock
Valley, Connecticut, that took place between
September 5 and 14. Offered were excellent
and some unique pieces of early glass that
ranged from historical flasks to bitters bottles
and more. This auction made a statement—not
once, not twice, but often—considering the
final bids that were tallied.
“This was an interesting sale for us because
the auction was not just one or two collections,
but numerous consignments,” Heckler pointed
out. “Sometimes a consignor only had one
bottle in the auction, which is not the norm for
us.”
Heckler cited a “Wheat Price & Co.
Wheeling Va” portrait flask as being a single-
lot consignment. “It was our understanding the
bottle was handed down through the family,”
Heckler said. “I often get calls where a person
will tell me they have a bottle, and feels it might
have value. I then ask the caller to describe the
bottle to me, and in this case when I heard this
bottle’s description, I knew it was a winner.”
It was made in light to medium blue-green
glass, but several factors beyond color made
the 1825-40 flask shine. “First, it is historical,”
Heckler said. “Next, it is what we call in the
trade a ‘longhair,’ meaning the bust on the
bottle has shoulder-length hair. There is a
similar bust on other bottles where the bust has
shorter hair.”
“The mold of this bottle is also outstanding,”
Heckler added. “The detail is extensive.
Almost the entire surface has some decoration,
including ribbing that runs down both sides of
the bottle. And the embossing not only tells
us where it was made, this being Wheeling,
actually West Virginia, it tells us the name
of the factory that made it, Fairview Glass
Works.”
The “Wheat Price & Co. Wheeling Va –
Fairview / Works” portrait flask sold within
its $10,000/20,000 estimate for $15,210
(including buyer’s premium).
Early bottles tend to be more detailed,
according to Heckler, as compared to later
examples. As demand increased for bottles, the
mold makers probably did not spend as much
time on the bottle design. And while extensive
detailing can attract buyers and top dollar,
other factors can draw a crowd.
Heckler pointed to an 1860-70 historical
flask with “Baltimore” and a monument on one
side and “Corn For The World” and a partially
husked ear of corn on the reverse. The surface
of this flask is not covered in embossing,
possibly because it is a later bottle, but the
color, a brilliant peacock blue, made all the
difference and helped it sell for $24,570 (est.
$10,000/20,000).
“The consignor came to see me at the
Baltimore show in March [the Baltimore Bottle
Show & Sale, hosted by the Baltimore Antique
Bottle Club] to show me this bottle,” Heckler
said. “Anyone would recognize its importance,
and it was the bottle’s color that was rare. The
mold was common, but boy was it a beauty!”
With historical glass, sometimes the mold
and the color are the drawing cards. A portrait
flask embossed “Genl Taylor” with a bust
on one side and “Fells Point / Balto” and a
monument on the other had lots to offer. Made
in a medium amethyst glass with wine tones
and produced between 1830 and 1850 by the
Baltimore Glass Works, Baltimore, Maryland,
it sold for $29,250 (est. $15,000/30,000).
“It was a good mold and a rare color—the
perfect combination,” Heckler said. “Then
add the fact that this flask hadn’t been offered
publicly in seventy-two years, well, that got
the attention of collectors.” The flask had been
in the collection of George Horace Lorimer.
“People knew this bottle existed but were not
quite sure where it was,” Heckler explained.
“We were very lucky to find it and very excited
to offer it at auction.”
Yes, the mold and the color play key roles
in what draws collectors to certain pieces of
historical glass. Then sometimes it just comes
down to two people wanting the same thing at
the same time.
For example, a free-blown utility food
jar was offered as the third-to-the-
last lot of the auction. Cylindrical in
shape, made in a medium golden-
amber glass, and having a wide and
flared tooled mouth, it was a nice
size at 7½" high x 5" diameter
at the base. The catalog listing
suggested that this jar possibly
originated at the Keene Marlboro
Street Glassworks, Keene, New
Hampshire, sometime between
1820 and 1840.
“It was big. It was bold. And
it was different from most made
during that same time period,”
Heckler noted. “It was a really
good jar that we offered with a very
conservative estimate.”
Indeed. Estimated at $1000/2000,
the jar sold for $23,400. “I have to say
that there were many people bidding
on this jar between six thousand and
eight thousand dollars,” Heckler recalled.
“After that, it was just between three people,
and this is how it ended up,” adding, “That
price is not known for a piece of glass like this,
but obviously two or three people were very
excited about this jar, and I love seeing that.”
That makes sense. As Heckler
said, “I’ve been studying this area
of collecting for fifty-five years.
I’ve enjoyed every moment; I
still do. You never know what
will turn up, and Heckler and
Company love helping people
round out their collections.”
For more information,
contact Heckler at
(860) 974-1634;
Embossed with “Genl Taylor”
and a bust on one side and
“Fells Point / Balto” and a
monument on the other, this
Baltimore Glass Works,
Baltimore, Maryland,
portrait flask was made
between 1830 and 1850. Its
rare coloration of medium
amethyst with wine tones
helped it to bring $29,250
(est. $15,000/30,000).
Embossed with “Baltimore” and a monu-
ment on one side and “Corn For The
World” and the image of a partially
husked ear of corn on the other, this quart
historical flask by the Baltimore Glass
Works, Baltimore, Maryland, 1860-70,
sold for $24,570 (est. $10,000/20,000).
“It was this bottle’s brilliant peacock
blue that was so appealing,” Heckler
noted.
At times, something happens
at an auction that gives one
pause. This free-blown
utility jar, thought to
be from the Keene
Marlboro Street
Glassworks, Keene,
New Hampshire, 1820-
40, made a statement.
Although it had been
estimated at $1000/2000,
two competing bidders
felt otherwise. When
the competition ended,
the cylindrical medium
golden-amber glass jar
with a wide and flared
tooled mouth
required payment
of $23,400 from its
new owner.
This “G. W. Stone’s / Liquid / Cathartic & / Family
Physic / Lowell Mass.” medicine bottle from the
Stoddard Glasshouse, Stoddard, New Hampshire,
was a pleasing rectangular form with beveled corners
and three embossed indented panels. Made of a clear
yellowish-olive-amber glass and featuring an applied
sloping collared mouth and a petal-shaped iron pontil
mark, the 9⅛" high beauty sold for $17,550 (est.
$8000/16,000).