: More than 300 lots of Arts and Crafts furniture and accessories
were offered at auction on January 28 at John Fontaine 's Auction
Gallery. The sale got off to a quick start at 5 pm on Friday
evening with a discovery sale that featured a wide assortment of
period materials ranging from furniture to metalwork.
The first lot to be offered during the discovery portion was a
small Roseville vase that was bid on by several in the gallery
with it selling at $287; a signed Rookwood vase in a vellum glaze
was up next with it hammering down at $460. The first piece of
furniture to cross the block went reasonably as a Harden rocker
sold at $235, a Limbert armchair realized $230, and a small
Gustav taboret table brought $258.
The top lot among the discovery items was a Gustav double-door
bookcase with thru-tenons and marked with a large red label at
$4,312. A Harden four-piece living room set consisting of a
settle, two rockers and an armchair, which came in too late to be
advertised, did well selling at $3,162. Other top lots from the
discovery portion included an L&JG Stickley pedestal dining
table with two leaves at 1,265, and a Lifetime desk brought $920.
A Gustav drop front desk in a dark finish brought $9,775.
The regular session of the sale got underway promptly at 6 pm
with the first lot to be offered bringing a solid price as an
L&JG Stickley sideboard sold for $2,530. A Limbert server with
arched apron was next with it hammering down at $1,322, an L&JG
V-back slatted settle realized $2,242, and a small clipped corner
lamp table sold for $1,380.
It was not long before the item that virtually everyone had come
to see crossed the auction block, a rare Gustav Stickley early
double-door bookcase with keyed tenons and gallery top. The piece
had been consigned from a home in New Jersey, according to
auctioneer John Fontaine, and it still retained the original key
that had a stylized "S" handle. Bidding on the lot opened on the
floor at $5,000 and progressed rapidly with several phone bidders
getting in on the action. Competition narrowed to one bidder on
the floor and a single telephone participant, with the phone
eventually winning out at $29,325.
Several Morris chairs were offered with a Gustav bow arm bringing
the most at $5,750, a #332 Morris chair with slatted sides
realized $4,600, and an early three-slat Morris chair brought
$3,450.
A Gustav drop front desk in a dark finish that had been consigned
from the same New Jersey home as the bookcase did well with two
phone bidders and a buyer in the room chasing the lot. Opening at
$3,000, the piece bounced back and forth with it selling to the
phones at $9,775.
A Gustav table brought $4,600.
A couple of dining sets were sold with a set by L&JG
consisting of a sideboard, server, china cabinet, table and four
chairs selling reasonably at $9,200, while a Lifetime set including
six chairs, a table with two leaves, a china cabinet and server
realized $6,900.
A Gustav table with keyed and tenoned center stretcher attracted
attention with six telephone bidders lined up for action. The lot
opened at $2,000 and was soon hammered down to one of the phone
bidders for $4,600.
A three-drawer writing table by Gustav in an early dark finish
also attracted a great deal of attention from telephone bidders
with it initially hammering down to a buyer in the room at
$8,050.
A telephone bidder who had inadvertently been missed interrupted
the sale when he insisted on speaking with the auctioneer about
the problem. Mr Fontaine refused to put the lot back up as it had
already been sold, but the persistent phone bidder would not take
no for an answer. The auctioneer finally asked the successful
bidder what he would take for the lot. After a few tense moments,
"$11,000" was called out from the buyer in the rear of the room,
a price that the telephone bidder accepted.
Prices printed include the 15 percent buyer's premium charged.
