Maine Antique Digest, March 2017

Maine Antique Digest, March 2017 25-D

AUCTION -

25-D

These outdoor lights were mounted on either

side of the entrance to John F. and Jacqueline

Kennedy’s Georgetown home. The coach

lamp-style lights feature tapering beveled glass

lenses within a black-painted frame. The pair of

entrance lamps sold to a left bid for $5625 (est.

$1000/2000).

This unassuming hall lantern was a major bone

of contention following the Kennedys’ sale of

their Georgetown home in 1961. The Kennedys

had apparently intended but neglected to

remove it when the home was sold following

John F. Kennedy’s election to the presidency.

The home’s new owners were reluctant to

return the lantern. Letters between the parties

were cordial but direct. Presumably the lantern

issue was resolved, and it remained among

the Kennedys’ possessions. The lamp sold to a

telephone bidder for $8125 (est. $3000/5000).

This garden fountain is from the

Georgetown home of John F. and

Jacqueline Kennedy. The leaf- and vine-

decorated frame surrounds a dolphin

figure with three water nozzles above

a shell-shaped reservoir. This fountain

is clearly shown in a photograph

referenced in the catalog that pictures

John, Jacqueline, and Caroline Kennedy,

along with several other individuals, in

the garden of the Georgetown house.

The fountain sold to a telephone bidder

for $4375 (est. $1000/2000).

The Potomack sale offered several pieces of furniture related to

John F. and Jacqueline Kennedy. This secrétaire à abattant is from

the family’s weekend retreat, Glen Ora, in Middleburg, Virginia.

It features a black Belgian marble slab top over a case inlaid in the

French Directoire style. There is a single drawer above the fall-front

writing surface, with a storage cabinet below. The piece is raised on

tapered square-section legs. The inlay consists of urn forms on the

lower doors, a ribbon-tied group of musical instruments on the upper

panel, and broad ebonized geometric lines on most of the surfaces.

The piece sold to a left bid for $1250 (est. $1000/3000).

This little wooden Victorian valuables chest

is filled with approximately 465 political and

miscellaneous buttons, stickers, and related items.

The political figures represented range from

William McKinley to Franklin Delano Roosevelt

and from Richard Nixon to Bill Clinton. There

is a “Win With Wilkie” campaign bandana and

a “KENNEDY” bumper sticker. This hoard of

catch-phrase memorabilia sold to an Internet

buyer for $5937.50 (est. $300/500).

Each item in this lot is representative of the history of Alexandria, Virginia. The group

consists of two stenciled stoneware storage jars, a classic two-tone whiskey jug from liquor

distributer John Ahern, and a cast-iron street sign. The lot sold to an Internet buyer for $2125

(est. $300/600).

This inscription is on the front

free-end page of a copy of the

first British edition of Margaret

Mitchell’s classic novel

Gone with

the Wind

, published in London by

Macmillan in 1939. The unique

inscription reads: “To Dorothy,

My best wishes for your happiness

/ always, (Rhett) Gable.” The

volume signed by Clark Gable

sold for $2000 (est. $1000/2000).

The Federal black walnut one-drawer stand, circa

1800, is probably from the Middle Atlantic region.

The stand features a rectangular top and is

raised on square-section tapering splay legs. The

secondary wood is poplar. An Internet buyer won

this little table for $562.50 (est. $200/300).

The silver grape stand with shears

dates from the late 19th or early 20th

century. The stand carries the mark of

Theodore B. Starr, Inc., while the shears

are by Gorham. The stand is circular

and cast with grape clusters and vines.

The shears are similarly decorated. The

shears hang from an overarching woven

branch element. The set sold for $1125

(est. $400/600).