By BARB VAN LOO
Auction Exchange Correspondent LAWTON, Mich. — There was a monster lurking among the three tables of books offered during an auction conducted by Jim Pierce, Pierce Auction Service. It would have been easy to overlook the small two-volume book with its plain cover.
However the title was plain to see - Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus by Mary W. Shelley. It turned out the 1832 volume was from the first American printing of Shelley’s now iconic novel. Dr. Frankenstein would have indeed been proud to see that his monster could generate a bid of $1,800.
Among the other books The Trial of Lincoln Conspirators sold for $80; The History of St. Lawrence County in New York earned $85; and a book on navigation to and from the East Indies crossed the block for $100. An 1875 Canadian map sold for $160.
Extensive collections of radios, clocks, and artwork were also found at this auction.
Among the clocks one in particular stood out – a Paul Garnier of Paris example featured three dials for a clock, barometer, and weather conditions. This elicited spirited bidding with the final hammer price settling at $1,300.
A Seth Thomas beehive clock sold for $85; an Ansonia mantel clock earned $70; and a transoceanic radio in a brown case crossed the block for $140. A Waterbury clock crossed the block for $200.
Artist John Doctoroff was born in New York in 1893, moved to Texas and worked as a commercial artist. Relying on photographs he painted a portrait of Calvin Coolidge which was selected from more than a 1,000 others and became the official campaign picture for Coolidge’s presidential campaign. In 1924 he moved to Chicago and established himself as a portrait painter, painting portraits of many prominent businessmen, military personnel, political figures, and, from photographs, prominent important historical figures such as Abraham Lincoln. Several Doctoroff paintings were found at this auction. One of a United States Army officer sold for $50; a portrait of a businessman earned $60; and one of a ballerina signed Doctoroff on the back saw a final bid of $95.
An oil on board depicting a horse in its stall saw a final bid of $130; an oil on board of three dogs having captured their prey, a fox, earned $190; and, signed Acasse, a painting of two dogs, one very large and the other quite small sold for $105.
A signed oil on canvas of horses and sheep running through a meadow found a final bid of $320; an oil on canvas of a sailboat at anchor in the evening earned $100; and a portrait painted on porcelain of a young lady also sold for $100.
Audubon prints always seem to find admirers. The one of a woodpecker earned $165; and the one of a Louisiana heron crossed the block for $200.
While Pierce was selling the artwork, clocks, radios, and books in one ring, a second ring offered glassware, costume jewelry, fountain pens, etc. A box lot of a variety of watches found a final bid of $350 while the costume jewelry, also sold in lots earned $475 and $180. Each lot contained at least one highly desirable piece of jewelry such as an old cameo or signed piece.
A 14k gold Sheaffer pen and pencil set sold for $700; a Sheaffer pen earned $275; and Parker fountain pens sold for $175 and $200 each.
From 1852 there was an Ensign & Thayer’s Map of the Western United States. This map, which appeared to have never been unfolded and if so it had been carefully folded back into its original folds, contained railroad, canal, stage and steamboat routes for the “Western United States” which included the states of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, and Wisconsin. The final bid for this unique piece of history was $375.
For the antique auto buff there was a highly polished black trunk for the back of the car. This saw a winning bid of $190.
A small Steuben vase sold for $60; a celluloid hair brush set earned $225; a gold-tipped cane crossed the block for $55; and an Omega wristwatch sold for $230.
A Powermate generator sold for $140; and a riding lawn mower earned a final bid of $200. |
