: Saturday morning, February 11, at 105 Main Street the hall was
packed with eager buyers at Northfield Auctions' first sale of
the year.
With phone lines open for many of the items and many left bids,
auctioneer Paul Gorzocoski opened the auction at 11 am. "We had a
packed house and some phone lines and we did much better than I
had anticipated," he commented. "As I have always said, anything
good, high-end in its category, will do well. The truly rare
items will always bring a good price."
That belief was confirmed when he started the bidding for an
unusual sampler he had found nearby in Massachusetts. It was a
mid-Atlantic sampler by a Mary Tait, aged 10 years, 1825, 16 by
19 1/2 inches; it had been mounted as a fire screen some time in
the 1860s, Gorzocoski surmised. When the bidding was finished, it
sold for $16,500. All prices given include the buyer's premium.
From the same Amherst, Mass., estate, was another top lot, a
circa 1820s ovoid crock with a large incised pigeon on one side
and a flower on the other side. The crock had a crack on one
side, and some chipping, but it sold for $8,200 despite its less
than perfect condition.
Despite a crack and some chipping, this ovoid crock, circa
1820s, with a large incised pigeon on one side and a flower on
the other, brought $8,500.
Some other items that did well were a painting of a harbor
scene with boats tied up to the wharf by Henri Malfoy that brought
$4,700 and a Venetian harbor scene by Felix Francois Ziem, that was
approximately 30 by 40 inches and in its original frame. A Queen
Anne armchair received strong attention although the arms had been
added after it had been originally made - Gorzocoski believed the
arms had been added early in the chair's life, making it a good buy
at $750.
A surprise for Gorzocoski was a non-antique table made by
Henredon. It was a Duncan Phyfe style, mahogany banquet pedestal
table with brass paw feet and fine banded edge that opened to 11
feet 2 inches and sold for $1,900. It was no surprise that middle
antique furniture did not sell particularly well, said the
auctioneer, it has been soft for some time. But the high-end
items brought more than their share of interest and buyers to
this one-day sale that opened the season for Northfield Auctions.
Northfield will have a historical military auction on April 4,
also at 105 Main Street. For information, 413-498-4420, or the
auction hall 413-498-0221 or www.northfieldauctions.com.
