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26-E Maine Antique Digest, December 2016
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AUCTION -
26-E
As Told by Terry
Interviewing someone as interesting as Terry Kovel results in lots
of information. Some favorite quips are listed below.
“People need to realize just because you like something and
collect it, it doesn’t mean anyone else thinks it has value. Sometimes
your best bet is to donate what you have and take the tax advantage.”
“The labels book [
The Label Made Me Buy It
(1998)] was my
favorite to do. It contains the history of each company, which I find
fascinating. Ralph often brought home lots of labels. A company
would be cleaning out old stock and ask him, “Do you want these
old labels? And he never said, ‘No.’”
“I remember one time Ralph came home with this crazy thing—a
liter bottle of Coca-Cola. He was at a trade show where the company
introduced this size bottle for the first time. They had produced 500
of this special introductory bottle, and Ralph only brought back one
bottle. I was a little ticked at him for only bringing one home.”
“I’ve known Rachel [Davis] for years. I knew she did very well
with unmounted pieces [and] that she has been selling unmounted art
for a long time. Her business is also close to my home. I didn’t have
to pack and ship any of the things in the auction. Instead, Rachel
came here and got the stuff. People need to remember that their time
is worth something. Part of the profit from this auction was my time
saved in not having to pack and ship these items elsewhere to sell.”
“This auction proved again that size matters. I had two billboards
in the auction. I could never display them because they were,
obviously, billboards and very large. They didn’t sell well at the
auction because, like me, everyone else has the same problem.”
“If you think about it, we did our television show eight years
before
Antiques Roadshow
. Back when we started, no one was that
interested in antiques, meaning the general public. “
“When we did our television show, we would end it in our general
store with Ralph and me sitting in chairs with a barrel between us as
a table. We would pour some tea and discuss what had taken place in
the show. One time, we forgot to make new tea, so tea left over from
the last show was still in the pot. During one show, when I poured
the tea, out came a dead fly. I really hope no one actually saw it, but
I did.”
“Another time on the show, we lit an antique campaign lantern, a
torch. It started smoking heavily. And the smoke just hung there at
eye level, so we had to finish the show ducking lower and lower so
we could be seen under the smoke.”
“And about auction reserves. If you have decided to sell something
at auction, why put a reserve on it? You don’t want it anymore. Let
someone else buy it and get enjoyment from it. That’s the whole
point, right? The enjoyment we get from antiques and collectibles.”
Selling for $363 (est. $300/500) was this 25" x 30½" “Lime Kiln Club / Bagley’s
Smoking Tobacco” poster from John J. Bagley & Co., Detroit, Michigan.
Promising “Royal Glue / Mends Anything,” this
Royal Glue advertisement display stand sold for
$544.50 (est. $100/200) despite the top right side
of the frame being missing and its having some
minor discoloration and staining. The display is
38" high.
“Every farmer had some variation of a De
Laval sign,” Kovel stated. This De Laval Cream
Separators tin lithograph sign, the red versionwith
its original frame, brought $605 (est. $400/800).
The sign depicts a milkmaid in its central oval
flanked by panels of cows from Holland, Scotland,
Friesland, and Guernsey. Wording on the sign
includes the addresses for company offices in
Ontario, British Columbia, Montreal, Winnipeg,
San Francisco, Seattle, New York, and Chicago
and “Save $10 to $15 Per Cow Every Year of Use /
1,750,000 in use.” It is 40½" x 29½".
“People were fighting over the corn stuff at this
auction, and I’m not sure why, but this piece
had great graphics,” Kovel said of this E-C
Corn Flakes paper poster. With the words “You
can’t fool the farmer,” it sold for $423.50 (est.
$400/700). The poster is mounted to masonite
and measures 42" x 28".
This oak hardware store cabinet, another
De Laval Cream Separators advertising
piece, has an embossed lithograph on
its metal door insert. Inside the door
are pamphlet slots, and the interior has
compartments and drawers for holding
specific items. Having some water
damage, the 26" x 17½" x 10¾" cabinet
sold for $332.75 (est. $200/400).
“Beer is always big,” Kovel stated, and the
12" in diameter “A. G. Van Nostrand Bunker
Hill Breweries” beer tray that brought $1694
(est. $150/250) is a great example. “And that
dog—dogs sell. Cats sell better than dogs, but
this was a great dog.”
“This was a gag gift someone gave to Ralph, and
it is in such good condition because when I saw it,
it immediately was put in a drawer,” Kovel stated.
This 1952 nude Marilyn Monroe calendar with
the top portion advertising “Wayne’s Welding”
retains its complete calendar stapled to the bottom
of the image. It sold for $272.25 (est. $400/600).