Earning $4,425, this Civil War-era CDV album with approximately 35 photos, including Abraham Lincoln, Mary Todd Lincoln, several Union generals and others, was the highest price of the auction ($2/4,000).
Review by Carly Timpson; Photos Courtesy Merrill’s Auctioneers
WILLISTON, VT. — On March 27, Merrill’s Auctioneers and Appraisers conducted its Sporting, Adirondack and Historical Auction, consisting of more than 500 lots of American historical and sporting items, including decoys, antique military weapons and accessories, sports memorabilia, US gold and silver coins and Native American items. At the sale’s close, 97 percent of the lots offered had changed hands.
Merrill’s auctioneer Adam Demasi commented that the auction was very strong overall and that performance was bolstered by a collection of material from the Ranlett family, which was featured prominently in this sale. “Those lots were very strong. It was a multi-generation collection starting with the father who was in the China trade with his son, Seth, and a grandson who served in World War I.”
Achieving the highest price in the sale, descending from Seth Alonzo Ranlett (1840-1905), was a Civil War-era CDV album featuring photographs of “unusual generals — lesser-known Civil War generals” among those of very well-known figures such as Ulysses S. Grant and Abraham Lincoln. After generating significant interest, the leather-bound J.B. Lippincott & Co. album was sold to a phone buyer for $4,425.
Major S.A. Ranlett’s Civil War carried, used in the Battle of Blue Springs, Colt Model 1862 police revolver .36 caliber, 4½-inch barrel, fluted 5-round cylinder with pin type sight, made $3,780 ($1,5/2,500).
Several other items owned by Seth A. Ranlett were offered in the auction. One was his .36 caliber Colt Model 1862 Police Revolver that he carried during the Civil War and used in the Battle of Blue Springs (Greene County, Tenn., October 1863). With a fluted five-round cylinder and a 4½-inch barrel with pin type sight, Major Ranlett’s gun found a new owner for $3,780. Shortly following the aforementioned battle, Lieutenant Ranlett married Ellen Peirce Ranlett in January 1864. The full-dress staff officer’s uniform frock coat and sash, worn during his wedding, was bid to $3,465. The uniform was complete and in excellent condition with all original buttons and infantry lieutenant’s bars on the shoulders. Another lot was a collection of ephemera dating to his time in the Civil War, including a bound book of letters, several loose letters from Seth to his father, Charles Agustus Ranlett the elder, photographs and some assorted papers relating to his appointment to the Charleston City Guard. The detailed capsule of one man’s experience was claimed by a dealer bidding over the phone for $2,950.
Representing Captain Charles Augustus Ranlett, the elder (1804-1878) among the top lots was a .31-caliber Colt Model 1842 pocket revolver. This handgun was paired with a circa 1900 family note that said it was “carried for years by Capt. C.A. Ranlett (the elder) on ship board.” From 1852 to 1876, Ranlett was the captain of the Surprise, a clipper used in the Chinese trade, which is said to be one of the most profitable clipper ships ever constructed. The 4-inch barrel had a pin-type front sight and was shot down for $2,772 by a collector of historic Americana who deals with Merrill’s quite a bit.
This pair of reproduction CSA artillery broadswords with cast brass hilts, likely second quarter of the Twentieth Century, 24 inches in total each, sold for $3,465 ($400/800).
Weapons that were not related to the Ranlett family made an impression on bidders as well. A pair of reproduction Confederate CS Star broadswords, likely made in the second quarter of the Twentieth Century, were sold to an excited collector in Florida, for $3,465. Designed based off Roman-style gladiator swords, the cast brass hilts were impressed with the letters “CS,” a swirling grip pattern and stars at the end of the handles. Original versions of these 24-inch swords are extremely rare as their large size proved inefficient in battle. A medium-frame Colt Lightning carbine rifle in .32-20 caliber with saddle ring hit $2,300. Measuring 37 inches overall, this version had a 20-inch barrel and was sold to a local collector.
Another local, bidding on the floor, claimed an RBL Launch Series 20-gauge shotgun from the Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturing Company. This gun was sold with a tweed case containing five chokes and original accessories. After generating quite a bit of interest, the 28-inch barrel gun finished just past its low estimate, earning $2,596.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.merrillsauction.com or 802-878-2625.
