For $2,000, these two George Hunzinger lollipop chairs, one a rocking chair, led the sale. They were made circa 1880 and retained their original finish ($600-$1,200).
Review by Kiersten Busch
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. — Hyde Park Country Auctions closed out the month of March with its Decorative Arts, Nautical, Country, Ephemera, Photos auction, which was conducted on the 30th. The 419-lot sale featured property from several local estates, including part two of the nautical collection of Red Hook, N.Y. native Jeff Raymond.
The sale was led at $2,000 by two George Hunzinger lollipop chairs made circa 1880. One of the two was a rocking chair, complete with a Hunzinger patented platform rocking mechanism, while the other chair had a partial label.
Four other lots containing chairs of all shapes and sizes crossed the block, with prices inclusive of both those starting their collections and experienced collectors. The lots included two early rabbit ear side chairs ($25), a wrought iron glass top patio table with two matching chairs in an acorn and leaf pattern ($113), an upholstered parlor chair and ottoman marked “Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams / Taylorville NC USA” ($281) and a Sheraton-style country pine dining room table with eight matching oak chairs ($469).
Assorted sterling silver was also popular with bidders, as 23 lots crossed the block, with prices ranging from $63 to $1,500. The latter belonged to a 51-piece set of Reed & Barton silverware in the Marlborough pattern. Flatware in the set included bouillon spoons, dinner forks, fish forks, dinner knives and teaspoons. Approximately six other lots of sterling silver flatware set the tables of various buyers, ranging from $188 to $875. While not utensils, a large Art Deco sterling silver bowl, marked “Tiffany & Co. Makers,” earned $625.
This set of Reed & Barton sterling silver flatware in the Marlborough pattern came in a 47-troy-ounce, 51-piece set and was not monogrammed. It did, however, surpass its $800-$1,400 estimate to achieve $1,500.
Other unique sterling silver lots attracted bidders’ attention, such as a group of four sterling silver and lead pens ($88), a Gorham executive’s spinning top ($100), two cigarette cases marked “L.D.P.” and “B.M.C.,” respectively ($157) and an LM Sterling “Alice in Daliland” bell ($375).
There were 22 lots of lighting which illuminated for a range of prices, from $31 to $1,500. The high end, $1,500, was realized by a bronze lamp base in the form of a tree trunk with exposed roots, made circa 1900-20. The 23¾-inch-high lamp retained its original wiring and sockets.
If bidders wanted lamps with a similar look to that of Tiffany Studios lamps, but at a much more affordable price point, there were five lots of slag glass lamps up for the taking, including a table lamp with an Arts and Crafts base ($313), a Dragonfly patterned shade ($188), a Wisteria patterned shade ($156), a Tiffany reproduction table lamp in the Dragonfly pattern ($88) and an Art Deco reproduction table lamp with a Tiffany-style shade ($38).
Twenty-eight lots of artwork — oil paintings, lithographs, chromographs, engravings and more — realized prices between $13 and $1,500. The former was earned by a group of three child-themed prints, and the latter by an unmarked, framed Italian pietra dura image on slate. The image depicted “a street scene including a small religious temple on the left” and was possibly a Grand Tour souvenir, according to catalog notes.
Possibly a souvenir of the Grand Tour, this framed Italian pietra dura image on slate, 13 by 16 inches, earned five times its $200/300 estimate at $1,500.
Staying on the Italian theme, another artwork of note was an oil on board by Italian artist Arrigo Ghendini, which was bid to $625. Most likely painted in the mid Twentieth Century, the work depicted a landscape with stone pine trees growing near an ocean shoreline.
A late Nineteenth Century oil on canvas portrait of two Persian kittens playing in a purple flower patch was one of the lots that advertised the sale. It was housed in its original gilt gesso frame which included ADS cast iron corner stretcher holders patented in 1885; it earned $531.
A Willys Jeep advertising clock led a group of 12 advertising lots that found new homes, ticking to $875. Marked “Willys Authorized Sales and Service,” the 15-inch-diameter clock had provenance by descent in the family of Robert Frizzell (Boothbay Harbor, Maine). According to catalog notes, Frizzell, who served in Dunkirk in the 1940s, “began his career at Central Garage selling Hudson’s, Willys Jeeps and Fords” after he was discharged, and “later purchased a Chevrolet dealership in the same town.” The additional 11 lots of advertisement ranged in price from $25 for two mid to late Twentieth Century wooden advertising signs reading “Diner” and “Eggs For Sale,” to $313 for a group of 175 collectible cards which included various advertising cards.
With provenance by descent to the family of US Navy veteran Robert Frizzell, this Willys Jeep advertising clock, 15 inches in diameter, marked “Willys Authorized Sales and Service,” ticked past its $300/500 estimate to earn $875.
If bidders were looking for a new hobby, five lots of sewing materials were offered, ranging from $75 for a Nineteenth Century sewing box to $563 for a group of three 14K gold thimbles and other sewing notions, including a sewing bird with a patent from 1858. Ten additional thimbles in the lot included a brass example marked “Her Majesty Thimble / England”; one marked “Gold / Silver’; six marked “Sterling” and two other unmarked silver thimbles. A pair of stork-shaped scissors were also included in the lot, which had provenance to the collection of Doris and Jerry Soldner, Lake Carmel, N.Y. (formerly of Kingston, N.Y.).
Three lots of vases crossed the block, led by a large Zsolnay porcelain double-handed vase from the late Nineteenth Century, which filled up to $500. Decorated with pierced flowers, the vase was marked “Austrian Hungary / Zsolnay” and stood on a round footed base. Additionally, a cloisonné vase decorated with birds and flowers and two Weller based in the Baldwin Apple pattern found new homes, for $38 and $113, respectively.
Collectible cards were also in abundance, with 14 lots finding new collections to join. Prices ranged from $63 for a grouping of five cabinet cards from the late Nineteenth Century, to $344 for a group of 300 postcards. The postcards were separated into different themes, which included holidays, Hudson Valley towns, photo cards, New York City, the Adirondacks, Niagara Falls and European street scenes, among others.
Hyde Park’s Country Americana & Fine Decorative Arts sale will take place on June 1. Prices quoted include buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, 845-471-5660 or www.hpcountryauctions.com.
