: Tales were told and items sold as renowned Ohio auctioneer Tom
Porter offered up item after item from his personal collection on
his home turf at Garth's. The auctioneer kept things lively and
for the most part prices climbed sky high as his select
assortment of prime Americana was offered.
Porter, who joined the auction team at Garth's in March of 1967,
eventually becoming part owner and primary auctioneer, promised
that he was not leaving the firm. Porter commented that he and
his wife Carolyn had lovingly put the collection together over
the past 40-plus years and the solitary reason for selling was
that they had moved from a six-bedroom farmhouse to a smaller
single story dwelling. That criteria alone established the need
to let loose with many decades worth of collecting.
Porter was quick to add, "We are moving on a bit, not moving
away. Just because we're moving doesn't mean we're gone. This is
far too much fun to give it all up. We will be here and available
for some time. We love the everyday treasure hunt that comes with
this job and we are still reveling in the ride."
The auction echoed what Porter has been telling clients for the
past decade: "If the merchandise is fresh and good, there is
plenty of money around to buy it." The sentiment rang true as lot
after lot routinely exceeded estimates, some even selling in
excess of ten-fold the expectations.
Each of the pieces in the sale had a story that Porter recalled
with great enthusiasm. One such lot was a carving depicting a
winking shoe-shine boy catching an eye-full of his seated lady
customer who had crossed one leg over her knee with her skirt
hiked up. Porter recalled a dealer bringing four of them to him
at least 30 years ago and he ultimately bought them all.
"Three of them were downright pornographic," he said, "so much so
that we couldn't really display them. One day Barney Barenholtz
was over and he spied them and fell in love with them, so I sold
them to him. Well, Barney had the three on the corners of his hot
tub for the longest time and we would just laugh about them."
Porter was reluctant to sell the carving and commented after the
auction, "A long time ago Carolyn and I decided that if we ever
had a sale that it would be a fun thing to put on the cover. If I
hadn't said that, we would have kept it, I'll tell you that."
Titled "It's a Shame to Take the Money," this rare carving with
a risque theme sold for $34,500.
Of the naughty carving, he said, "I just love the expressions
on their faces." Titled "It's a Shame to Take the Money," the rare
carving, probably Kentucky in origin, was estimated to sell at
$5/10,000. Brisk bidding on the lot took the piece to a solid price
of $34,500.
The top lot of the auction came as a large zinc dog measuring
more than 6 feet tall and 9 feet long was offered. It was also
one of the pieces that Porter was the sorriest to see go. "When I
first came to work at Garth's, my first job was to make a crate
that was big enough to ship this dog in," stated Porter. "Garth
[Oberlander] and Peter Tillou had bought the piece together and
after they had trouble selling it, each tried to buy the other
out. Well, neither of them wanted to sell, so they decided it
would spend three years in Litchfield and then three years back
here. I built the crate and we shipped it off to Litchfield.
Three years later, the piece arrived back here, a couple years
after that Garth passed away. Peter came down to the memorial
service and told me 'that dog belongs right here and it is
yours.'"
The piece was believed to have been a trade sign and was
discovered by Oberlander and Tillou on top of a sporting goods
store or factory in Cincinnati. Thought to have been a logo for
the Draper Maynard Company, an early manufacturer of baseball
gloves and sporting equipment, the lot was accompanied by a
catcher's mitt tennis racket with the dog logo emblazoned on it.
The unusually large dog was the first lot to be offered in the
Saturday session and it quickly surpassed the $10/15,000 presale
estimate with seven phone bidders and several in the gallery
hitting the lot. As bids neared the $50,000 mark, the telephone
bidders dropped from the action as two in the gallery continued
to push the price to $117,875, including premium. It sold to a
private Ohio collector that commented to the auctioneer that the
stately piece would reside on his front lawn.
Another lot with a keen story revolved around a clock built into
a cupboard. Porter recalled that early on in their career his
wife Carolyn looked into local dealer Robin Hunter's apartment
and came back exclaiming, '"There is a really dumb clock in
Robin's apartment.' I peeked in and thought, it really is dumb.
Well, we tried to buy it, but it wasn't for sale. Several months
later we got a Philadelphia tall case clock that was slightly out
of period that Robin really liked, so, we traded."
The neat case piece was not really dumb at all, but retained an
almost Shaker sensibility about it. In an old red wash, the piece
sold between estimates at $11,787. Another clock offered in the
sale was an Eli Terry pillar and scroll mantel clock with reverse
painted Mount Vernon type tablet that sold for $13,225.
One of the surprises of the auction came as a burl bowl with
carved and pierced handles was offered. The oblong hand carved
bowl, estimated at $4/8,000, was a lovely example measuring
nearly 18 inches in length, 15-plus in width and standing just
more than 6 inches tall. Bidding on the lot was extremely active
with it selling for a strong price of $64,400.
Folk art included a carving of a marching Uncle Sam figure,
retaining the original red, white and blue paint, that more than
doubled estimates bringing $7,187. Other folky pieces included a
folding camp stool by Illinois carver Hosea Hayden that was
decorated with incised and colored drawings of several people and
animals. The rare piece was sought after by several in the
gallery with it selling at $19,550.
An Ohio collector purchased this nine-foot-long zinc dog for
$117,875.
A well executed folk carving of a pointing dog measuring
nearly 3 feet in length did well $11,500, a carved architectural
frame with lions on pedestals, horses and a human head brought
$11,500, a paint decorated miniature chest sold at $10,350, and a
paint decorated document box in bright yellow paint with a Rufus
Porter type landscape on the top and a flowering rosebush on the
front brought $8,912.
A nicely carved and painted pilothouse wooden eagle attributed to
New Orleans carver J. Nabor also saw active bidding with the lot
hammering at $17,825
The top pieces of art in the sale came as a battle scene
depicting Molly Pitcher at the Battle of Monmouth was sold.
Attributed to Alonzo Chappel, the painting brought $15,525. A
colorful Pennsylvania fraktur birth certificate executed by the
Reverend Henry Young (1792-1861) also did well selling at
$10,925. The artist, now identified, had previously only been
known as the Centre County artist.
Well-known for their quality selection of stoneware, a couple
lots of pottery in the sale did well including a large
five-gallon stoneware jug decorated with a bulldog with a basket
in its mouth. By the West Troy Pottery, the rare jug sold at
$20,700. Also sold was a rare set of four graduated Lanier
Meaders covered jars with applied grape clusters and leaves that
realized $9,775.
