A Massachusetts oak carver armchair with ring and turned construction sold far beyond its $300/600 estimate, bringing $2,600.
Review by Anne Kugielsky, Photos Courtesy D.L. Straight Auctions
STURBRIDGE, MASS. – D.L. Straight Antiques / Auctions conducts its sales at the Sturbridge Host Hotel on Main Street and specializes in Americana, antiques and folk art. On October 8, a good crowd filled the ballroom anticipating an auction sourced from a New England museum and various private estates throughout the Northeast and New York. They were not disappointed.
David Straight, owner and auctioneer, said, “We have a good following at our auctions; so few auction houses really specialize in Americana as we do. There were well over 100 people in the audience and many more online. I’d say we sold about half the lots in house and half online. It was a good day, and we were very pleased with the results.”
While there was no one lot that “went over the moon,” as Straight said, lots sold well across the board, “just good meat and potatoes.”
Leading the day was a Massachusetts oak carver armchair with ring and turned construction that sold far beyond its $300/600 estimate, bringing $2,600.
Although antique furniture has not been the top seller at any recent auctions, Straight’s was something of an anomaly, with seven of the top ten lots being furniture. A coastal Connecticut heart and crest bannister chair sold at $1,000; an Eighteenth Century bonnet top highboy at $1,050; an Eighteenth Century ball foot blanket chest brought $1,150; an Eighteenth Century chest on chest sold at $1,375; an Eighteenth Century diminutive highboy realized $1,025; and an Eighteenth Century pine settle bench settled at $920.
A Nineteenth Century vane with a hand pointing wind direction was the subject of many bids before closing at $1,380.
Straight said that one of the reasons he is so fond of offering Americana is its unpredictability. For example, an Eighteenth Century half moon food chopper opened at $100. “And it just kept on going!” It closed at $800, which Straight said was possibly because the handle of the chopper extended to the right not the left, which is more common.
Other Eighteenth Century lots that brought good prices were a Pilgrim Century folding table, $700; a tabletop candle stand, $700; a Chippendale chest, $750; and a circa 1760 desk on frame with eight drawers, some hidden, $800.
Weathervanes are popular at most auctions, and D.L. Straight’s was no exception. A Nineteenth Century vane with a hand pointing wind direction was the subject of many bids before closing at $1,380. A monumental Nineteenth Century banner weathervane, 18 by 52 inches, sold at $1,610.
Rounding out just some of the top lots were a circa 1680 William and Mary mirror selling at $920; a Nineteenth Century Shaker bucket, signed on the bottom and with its original cover realized $600; an Eighteenth Century hand-held (9½ by 23½ inches) cherry tape loom with a pierced lollipop top sold at $550; an antique quilt appliquéd with an American eagle in the center exceeded its high estimate by selling at $425; and a folky and charming house-form tea caddy brought $400.
D.L. Straight’s next auction, in November (date to be announced), will be centered by a Brimfield, Mass., estate featuring stoneware, tribal masks, Native American items and more. Straight said, “it will be a good one; so far, the consignors have not agreed to release the name, but it is one everyone will know.”
Prices, with buyer’s premium, as reported by the auction house. For further information, www.dlstraightauctioneers.com or 508-769-5404.
