Racing to the top of the sale at $18,000 was this C.W. Parker cast iron whippet shooting gallery target, early Twentieth Century, 8¼ by 20 inches ($6/8,000).
Review by Carly Timpson
LONE JACK, MO. — Soulis Auctions’ Year End Wrap-Up auction on December 27 offered 204 lots of art, antiques, collectibles, military history and the Lloyd Davis collection of Nineteenth Century photography. Owner Dirk Soulis commented, “It was something of a potpourri auction — a cleanup of things that didn’t sell throughout the year, a lot of odds and ends. That said, it did meet our expectations and a lot of things that didn’t do so well at auctions the first time around did great. There’s something about the date, there’s a little magic to it, I think.”
A cast iron shooting gallery target in the form of a running whippet was shot down for $18,000 — the highest price of the day. The whippet, cast by C.W. Parker of Abilene, Kan., was in service at the Pontchartrain Beach Amusement Park in New Orleans, according to the auction catalog. Measuring 27 inches in length, the early Twentieth Century target had its original thin layer of black paint and displayed scattered marks from usage with no areas of touch-up or added park paint and was embossed with the maker’s mark on its reverse. As such, it was bid well beyond its $6/8,000 high estimate.
Achieving the second-highest price of the day was an ephemeral archive with more than 3,000 pieces relating to the suffragette movement and connected to suffragette Alma Nash. Soulis noted, “The suffragette group was kind of an unknown quantity and brought a respectable price. It saw good competition and it was a pleasing result. It was a good group of history.” Included within the archive was an album filled with circa 1912-13 postcards and clippings documenting the 1913 Woman Suffrage Procession, a parade that took place in Washington, DC, on March 3, 1913, the day before Woodrow Wilson’s presidential inauguration. Additionally, the cache included photographs, a May 1913 Senate report, brochures and pamphlets, items related to the annual convention of the American Guild of Banjoists, Mandolinists and Guitarists from the 1920s-30s — the auction catalog noted that Nash was a member of the Guild for several decades — as well as many letters and envelopes with correspondence between Nash and notable music companies, instrument makers, hotels and colleagues. Altogether, this extensive archive of Nash’s items left its $1,500 high estimate behind, achieving $10,200.
This archive with more than 3,000 items relating to suffragette Alma Nash achieved $10,200 — easily exceeding its $500-$1,500 estimate.
Leading the artwork category was a mid Twentieth Century painting of a Florida landscape featuring a vibrant Poinciana tree in full bloom by Florida Highwaymen artist Alfred Hair. Signed to the lower right, this painting on board was framed and noted to be in very good condition. It landed just above its estimate range, finishing at $6,600.
A metal sculpture by German artist and architect Paul Juckoff-Skopau achieved $3,360. Titled “Treuschwur (Pledge of Allegiance),” the work stood 22 inches high and depicted a “German soldier giving the traditional two-fingered gesture…presumably to the German Fatherland,” according to the auction catalog. In the figure’s other arm, he holds a broken sword inscribed “Dies Illa,” which translates to “Those Days.” It stands upon a circular base inscribed with the title and the artist’s signature and with German text that read: “1st Company Training Pioneer Battalion IV Artillery Regiment 1938.”
At $2,040 was a lithograph of “Instruction” by Thomas Hart Benton. The print, from a 1940 painting, was from an edition of 250 published by the Associated American Artists and this example was signed by the artist in pencil to the bottom right. The catalog shared an excerpt from Benton that read, “A painting of this was made in 1940 directly from life. One of my students at the K.C. Art Institute found the man selling snake medicine in the pool halls of 15th Street in downtown K.C. […] This picture shows him telling about the Bible. The painting is in the Louvre Collection, Great Neck N.Y.”
“Instruction,” a 1940 lithograph by Thomas Hart Benton (American, 1889-1975), was signed in pencil and measured 19 by 20¾ inches framed; it brought $2,040 ($1,8/2,400).
Cataloged as “fine and unusual,” a Georgian sterling silver epergne centerpiece made in 1791 in London by William Pitts and Joseph Preedy was bid to $5,280. This example was on a footed oval tray and featured a central basket with four smaller dishes raised on scrolling branches protruding from the base. Each of the five pierced bowls was fitted with an original cobalt blue blown glass liner. The oval tray was embossed with an unidentified family crest and the epergne weighed just under 95 troy ounces without the glass inserts.
Another fabulous home find was a George II mirror. The Eighteenth Century giltwood mirror was cataloged as an “exceptional example” and it featured acanthus scrolls, flowers and shell motifs. The catalog noted that the mirror was purchased by its consignor at Kentshire Galleries, New York City and it was in very good condition with its original gilding and surface. It brought $3,360.
A set of four stick pins, each with a luxurious accent, sold for $4,800, smashing their $400 high estimate. One of the pins was accented by a 0.375-carat diamond and an 8mm pearl, one featured a turquoise cabochon surrounded by 14 melee diamonds, one had a green gemstone carved as a lady’s head and wrapped with a diamond-encrusted snake featuring 10 melee diamonds on its body and a larger diamond on the head and the fourth pin was 14K gold with an oval lapis lazuli cabochon surrounded by blue enamel. All were unsigned and in very good condition, measuring from 2½ inches to a little over 3 inches.
These four gold stick pins were estimated at $200/400 but did much better: $4,800.
Hollywood afficionados may have taken a liking to a framed pairing of a Marilyn Monroe-signed check and a photograph of the star. The check was written out on March 11, 1960, to pay Hazel Washington $15. The catalog noted that Washington was Monroe’s studio maid at Twentieth Century Fox and the article was authenticated by PSA/DNA for Regency Superior Auctions in 2008. It more than doubled its high estimate, bringing $3,120.
Early photography also did well, with several selections rising well above their estimates. Fronting the category was a lot of 11 cartes de visite shot by Henry Doerr, primarily of San Antonio, Texas. The views included two of the Vance Hotel, which was used as a storehouse for both armies during the Civil War; one of the Alamo; Doerr’s photography studio; various San Antonio scenes; and possible views of Fort Union in New Mexico. This lot was snapped up for $2,880. Another lot, which sold for $2,160, included three cartes de visite: Camp Davies and another Mississippi view and one from a hotel in Jacksonville, Fla. A selection of 13 cartes de visite views from around Lookout Mountain, Tenn., brought $1,800.
Furniture was led by a circa 1720 William and Mary olive wood secretary with oyster veneer. In two parts, the upper was fitted with 10 interior drawers inside double doors and the base had three drawers raised on its original bracket feet. Standing 66¼ inches high, the secretary was in very good condition and earned $2,400.
Up next, Soulis will offer American art in an auction in March, date to be announced. Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house, additional online surcharges may apply.
For information, www.soulisauctions.com or 816-697-3830.
