Brigham Young's Last Will & Testament Brings $80,500 At Alderfer's

HATFIELD, PENN.

:Alderfer's Fine Art and Decorative Accessories two-day catalog, 940-plus-lot auction was held in conjunction with a two-day noncatalog Discovery Art and Antiques Auction that ran in an adjacent gallery. The other 250 paintings and prints - as is, where is - held the possibility of securing a "find." The antiques section offered a plethora (400 lots) of lesser value china and collectibles. The furniture section had but 200 plus lots, but the quality was higher. A printed sheet listing (sans estimates) was available. Prices quoted include the 15 percent buyer's premium. If purchased via the Internet an additional five percent is added.

Four phone lines, the Internet and a full and attentive gallery were at the ready when, at the start of the Wednesday, 1 pm, catalog sale, auctioneer Brent Souder opened the bidding for lot #1, the Brigham Young Last Will and Testament and Codicil, at $50,000 ($60/80,000).

In increments of $5,000 and with no further response from the gallery, the Internet or the now-seated three phones, the bidding stalled after the bid of $80,500 from the last standing phone and the hammer fell for this rare historical document. According to auctioneer H. Brent Souder, the will descended in the family of Probate Judge James C. McNally (1866-1920).

It was interesting to learn from staffer Bob Lucas that the "Young Will was more or less challenged in the 1890s by surviving relatives, children and grandchildren that were more or less left out of the will. In this case there were only 18 of the wives mentioned in this will, plus 47 children. Some people say that there are as few as 27 wives. Some people say that there are more than 50. It depends, there were ones that were not, in the eyes of the church, married. There were divorces; there were separations. This piece was signed [by Young] 12 times. This is probably one of the best Brigham Young documents."

Against the gallery, the phones also won lot #2, the Lincoln Assassination three-page manuscript circular document, at $3,460 ($1,5/2,000). A seldom seen 8-by-3-inch Polk/Dallas campaign ribbon, 1844, had very active bidding to $5,400 ($800-$1,000). The large number of 20-plus lots of clip (sans document) signatures sold within their modest estimates, as did the other ephemera lots of bookplates and photographs.

A number of phone calls came from Ireland, Scotland and England for the shore scene with boats, 28 by 36 inches, by J. McGhie, that sold at $11,500 to one of these phones against a modest estimate of $800-$1,200. Another surprise in the canvas was the 22-by-14-inch Marius de Maria, dated 1899 that had the same modest estimate and sold at a reasonable $3,160.

A good W.G. Gaul oil on canvas rang to $8,525. Two H. Leith-Ross oil/watercolors sold in the expected $3/5,000 range. A pair of oil on canvas 9-by-18-inch Hudson landscapes, unsigned ($1,5/2,000) went to one of the phones against an active gallery at $4,800. Perhaps the gallery bidder should have gone a bid or two higher; they were well done. A very pleasing still life, 18 by 15 inches, by E.L. Bryant, sold for seven times the $1,000 low estimate.

The 14 W.E. Baum paintings listed and photographed in the catalog were sold in lot sequence. The best of this large bunch of Baum's, according to the winning bidder, was the village landscape (sans title) with figure on a road, 25 by 30 inches, that traveled to $10,350. The small 10-by-13-inch had the least bidder interest of this large Baum bunch and made only $747.

For a fine canvas, one needs a fine frame. The 30-by-25-inch carved giltwood frame, signed "Harer," was a great frame. It sold against the phones and the Internet and went to the local trade at within estimate at $6,325. The carved 6-inch-wide Newcomb-Macklin 25-by-30-inch realized 50 percent above the Harer. A second, same size Harer, made a tad below the first Harer.

A modest group of 21 handwoven rugs had interest from the low hundreds to $3,450 for the 16-by-5-foot Boteh corridor Indian, that had three phones bidding ($500/700). The 6-by-10-foot Agra also sold to the phones at $3,160.

Just prior to the sale of the cataloged art, 100-plus lots of baubles and bangles went to the block. The gold and diamond - 97 small and round - necklace went to the gallery at $3,160. The diamond and sapphire ring was unique, with a center diamond surrounded by sapphire baguettes, and doubled its $2,000 high estimate. The man's Rolex wristwatch was a good buy at $4,300.

Within the many lots of collectibles in the Discovery section, a few "gems" were hidden (in plain view) from most of us. But two bidders saw the "Brown Bitters Bottle," for what it was. And, for the consignor, the final bid of $1,600 was anything by bitter! Also the Wedgwood plaque (from the large Marian Schofield Collection) was found among the group of more than 50 Wedgwood lots that made a strong $1,400.

In the Discovery furniture section the Steinway model O grand piano (#149307), having an ebony finish needed tuning but still played to $8,050. A very astute bidder took the three over two over five drawer high chest to a high of $9,000. This piece of brown wood was a real "find."