: The Labor Day weekend sale at Garth's Auctions on August 29
attracted considerable attention because of a 21-inch-tall jar, a
newly structured buyer's premium and the new look of the
catalogs.
A stoneware vessel with alkaline glaze had applied decoration of
an eagle and shield with 13 stars within a laurel wreath on one
side and a stylized Lady Liberty on the other. Inscribed "John
Lehman Maker of this Jar" and bringing a total of $63,000, it was
the only piece in the auction to exceed the step-down point in
Garth's new buyer's premium.
This was the first sale at Garth's where a 15 percent buyer's
premium was charged. Previously, the auction house had a buyer's
premium of 13 percent, with a discounted ten percent to those who
paid by cash or check. The discount was a way to pass along the
costs of Visa or Mastercard without technically charging for it.
The new premium is 15 percent on purchases up to $50,000 and ten
percent above that amount, although the charge for doing business
via eBay is 20 percent. On the other hand, there is no longer any
distinction as to the type of payments accepted. That means that
collectors can now use their charge cards to simultaneously add
to their accumulations and their free airline miles.
The new format of the catalog was the result of a survey of
Garth's subscribers. The old catalog measured 81/2 by 51/2 inches
and used limited color on the covers and a few center pages. The
new format is 81/2 by 11 inches, with all items pictured in full
color. The new catalog gives potential bidders much more
information than was presented in the smaller primarily black and
white booklet. It is a long overdue and an impressive change for
the auction house.
Of course, improvements do come at a cost. The annual
subscription rate for Garth's catalogs has increased to $195 a
year. Americana catalogs had been $110, and the Continental, etc
were $60, for a total of $170. This new rate - which includes
brochures to the monthly eclectic auctions - compares to $121.50
for Christie's, $142 for Sotheby's and $150 for Skinner's,
although these prices are for only the American furniture and
decorative arts sales and do not include catalogs for separate
collecting specialties, such as paintings, American Indian,
Oriental, etc.
The new catalogs also reflect a new philosophy at Garth's about
the makeup of sales. "We've gone away from Americana or
Continental," stated Jeff Jeffers, president of Garth's Auctions,
Inc. "Now we have antiques auctions."
In the past, Garth's had two types of cataloged sales:
"Americana" and "English, Continental, Victorian & Oriental."
In addition, the firm conducts "Eclectic Auctions" on the first
Friday of each month. These include items that do not warrant the
time and effort of full descriptions and photographs in a formal
catalog. Or, in many cases, the owners needed to sell relatively
quickly and did not want to wait for the process necessary to
have their items included in the cataloged sales.
Oil on canvas by Seymour Lindsey, $21,850.
With the July cataloged sale, all furniture, pottery, etc -
regardless of place of origin - were combined into one event. Every
cataloged auction will now be a mixture of antiques from American
Indian material to Continental to English to American folk art. An
African headdress, English table desk and an American stoneware jug
may sell one right after the other.
And so it was in the August auction when an Eames armchair and
ottoman by Herman Miller, an English Queen Anne side chair and a
refinished continuous arm Windsor were hammered down on the same
day. Depending on a person's interest, this new format adds to
either the boredom or the excitement of the sale. Some potential
buyers do not like waiting through the selling of Oriental or
Continental items; others find that the inclusion of such
merchandise adds new dimensions to their collecting.
Jeffers sees the enlarged format as contributing to the growth in
interest via the Internet. The company has been placing the sales
on eBay for about a year now. Because of it, the number of
registered bidders for each type of sale (Americana or
Continental, etc) has doubled to about 500 for each. With the
combination of the two types of sales into one antiques auction,
the number of registered bidders has increased another 20 percent
to about 1,200.
The presence on eBay has made a significant difference for
Garth's. "What I can tell you," said Jeffers, "is that the eBay
listings have more than doubled our registered bidders. As we
have studied its impact, we see it adding close to 20 percent
more money. It accounts for 24-26 percent of sales by lot
volume."
The new catalog invites a closer examination, which leads to the
observation of a major change in policy that had first taken
place at the beginning of 2002. Previously, Garth's guaranteed
"the condition of each item as represented in the catalog." Now,
the guarantee applies to "the authenticity of origin as stated in
the first bold line of the catalog description." Thus, the
warranty is only good for such phrases as "pair of paintings,"
"grotesque jug," "group of brass items," etc. While this does not
negate Garth's integrity and commitment to accuracy, it does
appear to be a significant variance in policy.
In 2002, Garth's Labor Day weekend sale started at 4 pm on Friday
with about 350 lots being sold that day and a similar number of
items going across the block Saturday morning and afternoon. On
Friday, August 29, of this year, the sale of the 740 lots started
at 9 am and continued through the afternoon and into the early
evening. There was no Saturday business.
Sandstone carving of an Indian by Popeye Reed, $10,350.
Amid the great volume of material, only 14 items had final
prices exceeding $5,000, with six of these going beyond $10,000.
The variety of material in the better selling pieces was notable:
oil paintings, furniture, pottery, spatterware, mirror, folk art
stone carving and marriage records.
After the stoneware jar, the second highest price of the day -
$21,850 - was achieved for a large oil on canvas painting of a
fox eating a chicken. The artist, Seymour Lindsey from Lexington,
Ohio, is well-known among Ohio folk art collectors for his
wonderful and whimsical depiction of wildlife. In addition to the
fox and chicken, a quail, chipmunk, hummingbird, beetle and
another fox are included in the 40- by 46-inch painting.
The next lot to sell after the Lindsey was another oil. Featuring
a sea battle between two ironclads and several sailing ships in
the background, the painting was signed "A. J. McPhee" and
brought $13,513.
The most expensive piece of furniture in the sale was the walnut
Queen Anne highboy with a bonnet top and carved shells in the top
and bottom center drawers. It went for $14,375. A figured cherry
ten-drawer tall chest with French feet sold for $13,513, and a
Chippendale mirror with eagle crest reached 7,188.
In contrast to the higher-priced items, 515 lots - more than
two-thirds of the sale - brought less than $500. It did not take
deep pockets to be a part of the action at Garth's on August 29.
