With a high estimate of $8,000, this Anheuser Busch litho transfer sign, 34½ by 26½ inches, very detailed lithographed transfer on glass in bright colors, sold for $20,910. It was manufactured by the Standard Advertising Co.
Review by R. Scudder Smith, Photos Courtesy Morphy Auctions
DENVER, PENN. — About 25 people came to the gallery to take part in the September 10-11 advertising auction at Morphy’s and, with an active phone bank and the internet, this 1,016-lot sale grossed $681,000, including the buyer’s premium. “It was a strong sale and we were pleased to sell some very fine advertising pieces,” Dan Morphy, president and founder of the firm, said.
One of the lots showing great interest was 986, a Dr A.C. Daniels animal medicine cabinet measuring 27½ inches high and selling way over the $1,400 high estimate for $19,680. The condition was listed as “very good” with slight fading and some rubs to the sign on the front.
The first 23 lots of the sale were a selection of occupational shaving mugs, including an oil rigger, horse-drawn milk wagon, beer, automobile, bakery, fish market, sailboat, carpenter, baseball player and one with a prostitute. The most popular one was lot 14, a touring car mug with the name W.G. Doughan in gold gilt and a fantastic image of a green touring car. It had a high estimate of $800 and sold for $1,107.
A circa 1935 coin-op Ricker & Catcher arcade game in a cherry case, good paint, sold for the high estimate at $1,169, and the five-cent Mills “Cast Iron” Liberty Bell slot machine gum vendor special, a complete reproduction, sold within estimate at $2,460. A J.L. Bowman Distillery Factory scene tin sign, 34¼ by 20½ inches, Reading, Penn., was made by Wells & Hope Co., and went over estimate to $2,091. It was in very good to excellent condition and the catalog notes, “We have never seen this sign before.” Another beer sign in near mint condition was lot 123, a large Schlitz beer paper poster, 46 by 34 inches, made in 1903 and depicting a topless angel pointing to a factory scene. It brought $4,305, within estimate.
An Anheuser Busch Budweiser Beer acid-etched stein, 8 inches tall, heavy thick glass in excellent-plus condition, a hard to find piece, went well over the $600 high estimate, bringing $3,075. A Guckenheimer pure rye whiskey reverse glass sign, framed and measuring 41½ by 29½ inches, sold for just over four times the high estimate at $3,075. Among the many Coca-Cola pieces was a 1941 fountain service porcelain sign, 27 by 14 inches, excellent condition with no chips in the field, that went over estimate for $3,075. An unusual lot was a pair of early Coca-Cola kids’ overalls by Floding Kidalls from Atlanta with the original chain stitching on the back. It brought $1,230, double the high estimate.
Selling within estimate at $2,019 was a large Moxie bottle oversized store display and cooler, 35 inches tall, with all original paint and bottle cap. It was followed shortly by a Cherry Smash ceramic syrup dispenser and pump, circa 1920, a great example in excellent condition, that brought $2,829, just over the high estimate. The Saturday session ended with $338 being paid for a Green River soda fountain dispenser in very good-plus condition.
Day two of the auction started off with a vintage ceramic service automobile sign, 29½ by 19½ inches, for Telamite, very good condition, that sold for $308, just over low estimate, and a few lots later a lot of 15 celluloid pinbacks, the largest 1¾ inches in diameter, including Liberty Flour, Fisher’s Flour, Gold Metal Flour and more, sold for $400, the high estimate.
One of the most popular signs in the sale was lot 213, an Anheuser Busch Brewing Association reverse glass sign, 25 inches in diameter framed, that brought $10,455, twice the high estimate. In the original frame, it has gold leaf lettering and medallions and is in excellent condition.
An early Bromo Seltzer die-cut nurse sign, 60 inches tall and 17 inches wide, went over the $800 high estimate, bringing $1,200, and a Thurston & Halls reverse glass sign, advertising Biscuit Crackers, 23½ by 29½ inches and in excellent-plus condition, went over the $1,200 high estimate, selling for $2,091. A Freihofer’s Bread & Rolls reversed glass display case, 31¼ inches tall, was in excellent condition and sold for $2,768, just shy of twice the high estimate. An early Sweet Wheat Chewing Gums display case, 23½ inches tall, retains the original metal plaque on the front from the maker, M.C. McCassy, Cincinnati, Ohio. With a high estimate of $800, it realized for $1,968.
An early advertising bench from Belfast, Maine, 59½ inches wide, for the Home Furnishing Co., with message on both the backrest and the seat, sold for $1,107, the high estimate, and a few lots later a Dr J.H. Mclean curved glass medicine cabinet, 28 inches high, excellent condition, went for $1,599, against a high estimate of $1,200.
Lot 959, an early Flint & Walling windmill salesman sample, 33½ inches tall, excellent condition, sold for $4,613, just over the high estimate. It was made in Kendallville, Ind., of metal and wood, with working parts, and listed in the catalog as “a great example.” Selling for $2,460, double the high estimate, was lot 969, a back rack collar button countertop display, 14 inches long, with curved glass front and retaining some of the original product.
A few lots from the end of the sale a Continental Tobacco tin litho advertising clock, wooden frame with tin face made by Wells & Hope, Philadelphia, sold for $7,795, well over the $2,000 high estimate. The clock is titled “The March To Trenton” and shows a soldier and his men climbing up a hill. The colors are strong and it is in very good condition.
October is going to be a busy month for Morphy Auctions, starting with Automobilia, Petroliana & Automobiles, October 2–3; Coin-Op & Advertising on October 15–16 at the Las Vegas location and General Store on October 29.
For additional information, www.morphyauctions.com or 877-968-8880.
