Three original, signed Peanuts daily comic strips from the 1960s by the late illustrator Charles Schulz sold for a combined $40,115 at a multi-estate sale conducted on non-consecutive weekend days (June 9 and 11) by Philip Weiss Auctions.
One of the strips, dated August 3, 1961, had a baseball theme, with Charlie Brown placing a want ad for a managerial position. It fetched $15,820. The second, dated July 25, 1960, featured Charlie, Violet and Peppermint Patty, with Charlie declaring, “I’m infinite.” It brought $13,560. The third strip, dated September 5, 1964, showed a testy exchange between Lucy and Linus ($10,735).
The auction attracted about 200 people (between the viewing and the actual sale), while absentee bids and Internet bidding accounted for between 6,000 and 7,000 bids †”The most we’ve ever had for a single auction,” said Philip Weiss. “The phones were busy, too.” Overall, some 1,400 lots changed hands in a sale that grossed approximately $600,000.
The June 9 session featured fresh-to-the-market items from prominent local estates, that included Kittinger furniture, original artwork, bronzes, porcelains and Part II of a Long Island silver collection. The June 11 session was loaded with sports memorabilia, rare autographs, stamps and coins, comics and comic art, animation material and many rock ‘n’ roll collectibles.
Two lots tied for the top spot, in terms of prices realized, as each realized $11,300. The first was an original oil on panel work by Rockwell Kent (1882‱971), signed and dated 1907 lower left. The landscape with clouds measured 7½ by 13½ inches and appeared to have been shellacked. The work was marked on the back, in pencil, “Mohegan Island, Maine.”
The second was a monumental pair of ormolu-mounted Sevres-style vases, dating to the late Nineteenth or early Twentieth Century. The cobalt blue ground vases with covers were spurious blue and gilt of baluster form. Each stood 40 inches tall. The upper bodies of both were applied with a band of large rosettes. The lower bodies were cast with stylized stiff leaf tips.
A single-owner estate lot of many boxes filled with rare and vintage stamps (mostly face full sheets and plate blocks) soared to $9,322. The lot featured better Nineteenth and Twentieth Century issues with a tremendous amount of catalog value, covers, mint sets and used material, a C-18 plate block of six, revenues, air mail stamps, early plates, a White Plains sheet, coils and other rarities.
A circa 1920s heavy bronze and alabaster chandelier with gargoyle faces and eagle heads breezed to $7,345. The chandelier, 36 by 32 inches, had previously been housed in either a public library or courthouse. It was adorned with ormolu around the top and the gargoyle faces had light bulbs in their mouths. The candle covers were made of beeswax.
A 1935 New York Yankees team-signed baseball featuring 24 signatures, including a rare Lou Gehrig signature on the sweet spot, changed hands for $4,520. Other names included Lazzeri, Combs, Dickey, Sewell, Gomez, Fletcher, Allen, Brown, Walker and Broaca.
An oil on canvas portrait of a lady identified as Penelope Dering by Henry Raeburn (1756‱823) went to a determined bidder for $4,520. Research revealed that Dering was the mistress of England’s third earl of Aberdeen, nicknamed “The Wicked Earl” because he raised three families simultaneously. He installed Dering at Ellon Castle, once a grand place.
In other original artwork, an oil on canvas rendering of two Parisian women by Charles Levier (1920′004), signed lower left and measuring 29 by 39 inches, brought $4,520, while an oil on canvas nude work by Pal Fried (1893‱976), measuring 30 by 39 inches and signed lower left, made $3,503.
A menu from the Birdland night club in New York City, signed for Charlie Parker & the Jazz Stars by other names from the world of jazz (to include Louis Jordan, Roy Haynes, Billy Eckstein, Connie Pursel, Joe Carrell, Fred Robbins, Al Feller, Tommy Potter and Gaetano Musumecimany) realized $4,068. The menu was dated July 27, 1950.
From the Disney memorabilia category, an original Donald Duck watercolor by Carl Banks titled “Mirror, Mirror, Tell Me True,” 16 by 19 inches, framed, climbed to $4,181; and a hand painted production cel from Disney’s The Pointer, 1939, showing Mickey Mouse and Pluto and with a preliminary or Courvoisier background, hit $3,390.
All prices quoted include a 13 percent buyer’s premium.
Philip Weiss Auctions’ next big sale will be another two-day event, slated for July 21′2, with unusual start times of 2 pm both days. The July 21 session will feature estate merchandise, to include paintings, porcelains and more. The July 22 session will be dedicated to toys, dolls, toy soldiers and trains. For information, www.weissauctions.com or 516-594-0731.
