Richard W. Withington Sr, N.H. Auctioneer, 90, Called 2,500 Sales

Richard W. Withington Sr, New Hampshire's most extroverted auctioneer, died April 29 in Concord, a little more than a year after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He lived every minute of his 90 years.

A born showman with a genius for names and numbers, Withington, a founder of the New Hampshire Antiques Dealers Association and the New Hampshire Auctioneers Association in the 1950s, was one of the best known auctioneers in the country when Time magazine profiled him in 1986. For many years, his Hillsborough Center, N.H., tent sales were a staple of summertime in New England.

Born in Boston on March 31, 1918, Withington turned a weekly profit selling eggs before he was 10. His mother, Edith Withington Kyle, encouraged him in the antiques business after she bought a house on Center Road in Hillsborough Center in 1926. There, Kyle operated Well Sweep Antiques, now a seasonal art gallery, until her death at 98 in 1976.

At 15, Withington worked a sale on Brattle Street in Cambridge, Mass., for the Barnum-like James A. Hall. "Come back and see me when you've got a car and a license," Hall told Withington. After serving in the US Army, Withington called his first sale for the auctioneer in 1947. He went out on his own two years later, when Hall retired.

"With a knowledge of values, an extrovert nature and the necessary push, he is destined to become one of the better New England auctioneers," the Hillsboro Messenger wrote after Withington's first sale on September 2, 1949. A flyer for the auction, featuring the Main Street, Hillsborough, estate of Charlotte M. Harvey together with property from the estate of Mary C. Atwood, noted everything from Boston rockers to Franklin stoves and a lawnmower.

Withington developed a wide and loyal retail following. In 1953, the Washington Post described the auctioneer as a "witty, fascinating type" who could coax a bid on a box of buttons. Whether he was taking a bid with his back turned to his audience or tossing a cut-glass bowl at a runner, Withington's zany humor was a crowd-pleaser.

"My business has been successful because of three things," Withington told Antiques and The Arts Weekly. "One is honesty, always being on time, and doing what I promised. The second is having a good temperament. I never get mad. I have a sense of humor and can work around anything. The third is knowing what I'm doing and understanding values."

Withington resisted such innovations as absentee and telephone bidding. Instead of using paddles, he made a point of knowing customers' names. In 1989, he was one of the last New England auctioneers to introduce a buyer's premium.

In 2,500 auctions over 60 years, he sold everything from chinchillas to sled dogs. One of most important auctions was that of the Pigeon Cove estate of Oliver B. Williams.

"It was one of Withington's first illustrated sales. Roger Bacon and Lillian Cogan sat in the front row. Bacon bought a painted blanket chest for Nina Fletcher Little for the ungodly price of $5,000," said Ron Bourgeault of Northeast Auctions.

Operated by Larry and Marcia Leizure since 2004, Withington Auction, Inc, is in its 49th season of specialty dolls sales. Withington's introduction to the doll field came in 1959, when he sold Mrs Alexander Smith's Doll Museum. In 1990, he sold a doll for $75,900.

"Dick Withington made country auctioneering a full-time business. Anybody earning a living at it today has to look back and say, 'This guy is the founder,'" said Dan Hingston, who retired as the auction house's manager and treasurer a decade ago after 37 years. Other Withington alumni include the late auctioneers William A. Smith and Ronald Rosenbleeth.

Dick Withington was a leading force behind the preservation of Hillsborough Center. He owned or maintained many of the historic structures on its pristine green, along with hundreds of acres of nearby pasture and forest land. A medical center, a bank, and the redevelopment of two commercial blocks in downtown Hillsborough were other Withington projects. His devotion to community inspired a short-lived career in the New Hampshire State Senate in the 1970s.

With gallows humor, Withington hosted his so-called "1st Funeral," a free concert on the lawn in Hillsborough Center, on July 2, 2005, and was planning a second such event for 2008. Last July, he took to the podium to sell 100 objects from his home. Calling it a "social shop," he also opened Richard W. Withington Antiques next to President Pierce Homestead in Hillsborough, encouraging his friends and colleagues to visit him there.

After seeing the movie The Bucket List, Withington traveled to the Bahamas, California, Las Vegas and Peru. Africa was next on his list.

"Somehow, we thought he would always be here," said his son, antiques dealer Bob Withington.

In addition to Bob and Debbie Withington of York, Maine, Richard W. Withington Sr is survived by his wife, Joan; four children, including his son Richard W. Withington Jr, and his wife, Linda, of Antrim, N.H.; and his daughters, Janet Withington, and her husband, James Bouchard, of Hillsborough, N.H., and Nancy Bell and her husband, Roger Bell, of Rogersville, Tenn.; and ten grandchildren. He is predeceased by his first wife, Mary.

A memorial service is planned for June 5 at 2 pm in Hillsborough at the Smith Memorial Church.

Dick Withington left instructions that his collection of antique mechanical banks, more than 200 examples in all, be offered by Withington Auction, Inc, in Hillsborough Center on Thursday, August 14.

For information, www.withingtonauction.com or 603-464-3232.