A rare Charles Rohlfs drop front desk on a swivel base was the top attraction at David Rago’s Craftsman Arts and Crafts Auction Weekend this past Saturday, January 15.

The two-day sale was attended by a standing-room-only crowd that bid actively against a huge number of absentee bidders, an even larger mob of phone bidders, and untold numbers of Internet bidders.

The desk, carved in 1900 and marked with a signed and numbered Rohlfs paper label, was in exceptionally clean condition and needed – in the words of one collector who thoroughly looked the piece over – “no excuses.”

In original finish with original green, varnished drawer interiors and even retaining the original fabric on the desk interior, the piece carried a presale estimate of $50/70,000.

Bidding opened to the floor at $40,000, with a bidder on the telephone hitting the lot immediately. Robert Kaplan countered from the side of the room and it was off to the races, with the action never slowing until it hammered at $165,000, selling to Kaplan, a partner in Manhattan Arts and Crafts mogul dealers Cathers and Dembrosky.

The final price paid for the desk, including premium, was $193,875. When asked if the desk would be seen in their booth at The Winter Antiques, Beth Cathers commented that would not, as it was purchased for a client.