Pressed And Blown Glass, Lighting Sparkle At Green Valley Auctions

MOUNT CRAWFORD, VT.

: Due to the growth of the show the three galleries at Green Valley Auctions, Inc could not hold all of the offerings for the firm's 11th annual Fall Glass & Lighting Auction, September 21-25. President Jeffrey S. Evans and his proficient staff pulled together more than 10,000 pieces for this sale which has become an annual pilgrimage for many collectors and dealers from across North America. This auction featured three large collections from Florida, two from Virginia plus others from California, New York and Massachusetts. Evans was pleased with the turn out of 375 bidders for the five-day, five-session event and the auction total at $600,000-plus including the ten percent buyer's premium.

Things kicked off with Wednesday's session which spilled out onto the back parking lot. This newly added discovery session was uncataloged and consisted of 140 box lots of various glass. It was well received with most boxes selling between $22 and $88 (all prices include the ten percent buyer's premium). Thursday's and Friday's session both began at 9 am and the staff proceeded very quickly through 6,000 pieces of early American pressed glass. Both sessions were sold by Green Valley's trademark bidder's choice block and table lot method. Selling similar items in this manner allows bidders the opportunity to purchase the more desirable items singularly while also dispersing the less valuable material in multi-item lots at the end of each block. Green Valley publishes simple listings for these sessions which provide bidders with an organizational guide in order to keep up with auctioneers Jeff & Greg Evans' rapid selling pace. Final bids ranged from $5 to $330.

Saturday's session started with the Internet catalog of more than 480 lots of vaseline, custard, chocolate and Victorian novelty glass. First up was the Andrews collection of late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Century vaseline glass which included a barrel-form whiskey set for $522 and a McKee #412 electrolier lamp, $495. Next was a selection of chocolate glass, the most desirable lot being a Sultan child's four-piece table set for $1,430.

Victorian novelty glass, a collection of Jo & Bob Sanford, included many examples illustrated in their book "Victorian Glass Novelties." The top examples were a "Perfumery" Daisy and Button type pattern store display stand in blue, $577, a vaseline Daisy & Button wall comb tray, $363; an unusual bird on nest with snake covered dish, $357; and a blue airplane condiment holder, $330.

Session #4 continued with 780 lots of historical, early American blown and pressed glass and early period lighting. The first big surprise came when a rare milk glass sphinx on platform statue, ($100/150) drew fierce bidding, finally selling for $8,525 to an advanced collector from Michigan who was in attendance. The statue had received numerous inquiries and the underbidder had driven from Kentucky specifically to add this piece to his collection. Evans admitted later that he could not locate a reference for the statue and decided to give it a low estimate and plenty of exposure through the auction brochure, website and newspaper ads. Evans explained, "It was a last minute consignment from a Virginia estate. I knew that if it was truly rare, it would be recognized by the right collectors in our immense customer database; although I was still surprised at the final selling price."

The flint early American pressed glass category featured many outstanding examples including a pair of bellflower quart decanters with rare original stoppers, $2,970; two seemingly common bellflower water tumblers which were actually previously unrecorded variants, each with a large star in its base, $2,860 and $1,980; and a diamond thumbprint rare quart jug, $2,530. Then, with three phone bidders poised and ready, it was show time for one of the most anticipated lots of the sale, an early thumbprint spherical covered compote in possibly the largest size produced (181/2 inches tall overall). After intense bidding, the lot finally sold to a New York City phone bidder for $15,400, far surpassing the estimate of $4/6,000.

Another early thumbprint spherical covered compote, just slightly smaller at 16 inches high, had two battling phone bidders drive the final selling price to $13,750, again going well beyond the $2/3,000 estimate. A lattice and ovals flat diamond and panel goblet with applied handle sold for $2,860; the only recorded example of this extremely rare handled goblet is in the collection of the Bennington Museum where it was cataloged as "unique." Evans was quick to point out that this goblet without a handle is fairly common and sells for less than $100.

Noteworthy non-flint early American pressed glass included a dragon goblet to an absentee bidder for $2,200 and a three face hollow stem champagne went to a phone bidder from California for $2,530. Thanks to the same California phone bidder, two additional three face lots also performed very well - an 11-inch high kerosene period stand lamp with rare patterned font at $4,180 and a 12-inch high elliptical covered compote, $3,520.

Anticipation began to build as the final lots of pattern glass were being sold and the staff secured the phone bidders for the star lot, lot 1441, a circa 1845-1865 Boston & Sandwich tulip vase in brilliant deep violet blue with white striations/marbling and in near proof condition. The consignor's amazing $15 thrift store discovery had received much presale publicity and was estimated to bring $8/12,000. Two respectable absentee bids caused the bidding to open at $9,500 and it quickly became a battle between five very eager phone bidders. After approximately 45 seconds, Evans knocked the lot down to one of the phone bidders for a record $22,000 and the crowd broke into a round of applause.

Department head Karen Reed, who immediately phoned the consignor to give her the good news relayed, "Needless to say the consignor was stunned at the selling price. She had been delirious when I initially called her with Jeff's presale estimate; I think the final figure just knocked her out."

The next lot was another Boston & Sandwich tulip vase from the same period, but this time in a more common amethyst color, which sold to the same phone bidder for $3,575. This was followed by several fiery opalescent lots including a pair of previously unrecorded bull's-eye and fleur-de-lis vases for $8,140 to an in-house New York collector who out dueled two phone bidders. Two fiery opalescent pieces in the colonial pattern included a goblet with exceptional color, $3,300 and a compote formed from a footed sugar bowl (recently discovered in the Northwest) to a Florida collector, $2,860.

Other outstanding lots of early glass were a Sandwich heart cologne in deep cobalt blue that went to a Virginia collector for $3,850; a circa 1825-1830 heavy pressed colorless Staffordshire form covered sugar in remarkable condition, probably made by the New England Glass Company, $3,080; and a very rare BT-8 Lafayet steamboat pressed salt in fiery opalescent medium blue, $1,980 to a phone bidder in Connecticut.

An extremely rare Lee rose No. 227-B cup plate in brilliant deep green that was recently discovered on a tray lot at a Pennsylvania auction rose above its $3/5,000 estimate to sell for $6,600 to a California bidder.

Another recent bargain discovery was a colorless pressed and cut tumbler or spill holder featuring an engraved view of the Bank of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia which was purchased in a table lot at a mid-Atlantic auction gallery. The elated consignor was in the gallery when the tumbler sold to New York City dealer Gary Stradling on the phone for a record $9,625, tripling its high estimate.

A selection of early lighting included a Sandwich cranberry overshot font kerosene lamp on brass stem and marble base, pursued by two floor bidders, causing it to more than double the high estimate and sell for $2,200; a circa 1810-1835 colorless free-blown candlestick, $1,375; and an opaque white whale oil fluid lamp with blown font on pressed lions head and basket of flowers base, $1,210.

Sunday's session, comprised primarily of kerosene era lighting, had its entire catalog posted on the website, with a text-only catalog available at the auction. Included was the 30-year collection of L.T. "Larry" Darby of Richmond, Va. The session started with a slightly translucent powder blue Sandwich Eaton onion stand lamp ($2/3,000), sold for $4,840 to an in-house bidder.

Cut overlay lamps were highlighted by an especially fine amethyst to colorless cut punty example at $1,650. Competition was also strong between an absentee and a phone bidder for an urn-form font stand lamp with a white and green alabaster font and double step black marble base ($500/800), which ultimately sold to a Canadian phone bidder for $1,815. Victorian opalescent lamps received considerable interest with the best of three cranberry opalescent seaweed stand lamps bringing $1,870. Other opalescent lamps included a cranberry Hobbs' snowflake stand lamp, $1,155; a blue Hobbs' snowflake finger lamp, $1,100; a cranberry Hobbs' coin dot stand lamp, $1,155; and a cranberry Hobbs' coin dot finger lamp, $990.

Miniature lamps included a blue opalescent font Hobbs' coin dot stand lamp at $2,145; a pink and yellow satin banquet style lamp with polychrome cherry blossom design and original dome shade, $1,210; and a green shading to colorless rib optic lamp with original umbrella shade, $770.

After the sale, Evans commented, "It takes months to prepare for this sale and then it's all over in five days; Green Valley is truly blessed to have such a dedicated and efficient staff, I don't think there is anyone else in the country that could pull this (auction) off."

Later Evans offered the following observations: "The market for upper level early American glass continues to expand. We picked up several new, younger collectors who are looking for quality glass from the early and mid Nineteenth Century to compliment their furniture and Americana collections. The middle and lower levels continue to be somewhat soft, I think primarily because of the overabundance of material on Internet auction sites. Overall we were very satisfied with the results of the sale."

He added, "Wait until you see next spring's early glass sale. We have four major collections lined up, all of which contain exceptional rarities covering every category imaginable. It's going to be an all-time record breaker."

Visit www.greenvalleyauctions.com to order past sale catalogs or to access the 2006 auction dates and other information.