HATFIELD, PENN. — On July 19, 20 and 22, Alderfer Auction will offer The Smallsea Museum Collection of miniatures in a multisession auction both live and online. This collection, created over 25-plus years, features 1,000 pieces of furniture and accessories, 40 custom buildings, 500 dolls, 25-plus automobiles, carts and carriages. Artists represented in the Smallsea Collection are from all over the world and span the decades.

The Smallsea Museum was famous for its “Metropolis in Miniature,” a fictional English town that was conceived of and brought to life by Diane and Howard Birnberg. Visitors of the museum had their favorites, such as the special “events” portrayed around Smallsea Town Hall. These seasonal exhibits included spring at town hall with the park full of flowers, citizens (dolls) dressed in their best spring clothes, music by the organ grinder and a cooling glass of lemonade or tea with cakes. For autumn, the trees displayed their brilliant colors, while pumpkin and apple sellers shared their harvest. The cider vendor served his popular beverage with biscuits to the park crowd.

The winter festival at the Smallsea Museum was a great treat during the holiday season and into the New Year. The displays sported an ice skating rink with skaters and a skate shop renting skates and sleds. A Holiday Market with kiosks displayed gingerbread and other baked treats, a vast array of sparkling ornaments and German traditional wooden decorations and a Holiday Emporium full of toys, gifts and hot tea and chocolate to warm carolers and happy families.

Alderfer Auction will be auctioning these museum scenes of seasonal life and all the miniatures that comprise them in three parts: Part 1 is online through Wednesday, July 19; Part 2 will be simulcast live at the Alderfer galleries and online on Thursday, July 20, beginning at noon; and Part 3, also online only, closes Saturday, July 22, at noon.

The auction is sure to draw worldwide interest from collectors and buyers; the photographs of each item are online or preview by appointment at Alderfer Auction, 501 Fairgrounds Road. For further information, 215-393-3000 or www.alderferauction.com.