Area Estates Feed Carl W. Stinson Antiques Auction

NORTH READING, MASS.

:Gleanings from area estates drew a full house for the Carl W. Stinson sale on February 5 that offered material ranging from the Eighteenth Century all the way up to a 2001 Toyota Rav 4 that sold for $5,750. It was not clear whether the vehicle's fancifully artistic paint job enhanced or depressed its selling price.

An album of photographs made in Yokohama, Japan, had once been owned by Ellsworth Grumman and sold for $3,450. The album, in a lacquered case, was accompanied by Grumman's letters.

A circa 1810 bow front chest said to have been carved by Samuel McIntyre had a single board top and sold for $3,450, while a Federal mahogany bow front chest with bird's-eye maple drawer fronts went for $2,300, a Salem Federal bow front chest with cookie corners and rosettes on the back splash was $1,380 and a bow front cherry, mahogany and bird's-eye maple chest drew $2,012.

A New York state mahogany Pembroke table brought $575 and an Albany area Federal workstand was a reasonable $304. A curious Queen Anne-style gaming table with a swivel top and cross banding brought $488.

An Eighteenth Century banister back side chair from about 1720-1740 sold for $602 and a mahogany mixing table or commode with a marble top realized $1,087, A circa 1820 tiger maple two-drawer worktable realized $241 and a 71-inch mid-Nineteenth Century English Jacobean-style bench fetched $1,955.

A Hepplewhite demilune table bearing the curious notation "Left at Rogers House by boarder" sold for $977. A circa 1910 desk with brass inlay bearing the label of George C. Flint of New York City sold for $1,725. A Sheraton secretary desk from eastern Massachusetts was $2,012.

Custom furniture brought strong money as a Queen Anne-style double pedestal dining table made by Eldred Wheeler to seat 14 was $1,725 and a lot of nine reproduction Windsor continuous arm bow back chairs painted in a rosewood grain marked "WCW" fetched $235 each. A contemporary round table in the Biedermeier style went for $776.

An Eli Terry pillar and scroll clock sold for $1,265 and an Eighteenth Century Scottish tall clock had a fresh face painted with bucolic scenes and sold for $690. A large Aesthetic Movement mirror said to have hung in the Cyrus Wakefield home in Wakefield, Mass., drew $575.

Chief auctioneer Doug Stinson maintained a dizzying pace - so rapid that the sale sounded like an old-fashioned tobacco auction. Without Internet bidding the sale zoomed along nicely. It was a family affair as father Carl Stinson and brother Ned ran the objects and added occasional commentary. Retail buyers and dealers alike took advantage of the offerings.

A lot of 12 mid-Nineteenth Century English Stevensgraphs sold for $115 each and the log from the one of the four vessels that sailed as the USS Kearsarge attracted notice and was $977.

A framed elegy to Queen Caroline of England, famed for adulterous escapades, brought $287. Despite the subject matter, the elegy, in a Hogarth frame, had been acquired at a church fair in Lincoln, Mass. An exceptional paisley shawl was a good value at $115 and a pretty pair of colorfully enameled vases in soft pastels sold for $1,380.

A 12-inch signed Steuben Aurene vase drew $862 and a blue and white Canton platter went for $575.

Rugs were of highest interest: a 12 foot 2 inch by 13 foot Kirman carpet in deep blues, greens and reds went for $6,275 and a Heriz that needed a good cleaning was a good value at $1,380.

An octagonal Canton platter sold for $575, an oval example drew $345 and a lot of 11 soup plates in an Imari-ish pattern fetched $1,035.

A pair of green cast iron garden urns made at the Mallory Foundry in about 1880 realized $201. Of two wirework plant stands offered, a demilune example brought $115 and a Victorian tri-level example was $235. Three cast iron door stops, two in the form of baskets of flowers and the third in the form of a sailboat brought $235.

An interesting amber demijohn in a wood case drew a reasonable $184. One lot of interest, a ceramic hearing appliance that was offered late in the sale, should have brought considerably more that the modest $11 that it drew.

All prices reflect the 15 percent buyer's premium. For information, www.stinsonauctions.com or 781-944-6490.