Leading the sale at $12,000 was this pair of glass Gunther Beer advertising signs, 10¼ by 15¼ inches each ($50-$100).
Review by Carly Timpson
PHOENIX, MD. — On November 25, Richard Opfer Auctioneering brought an Eclectic Collectors Auction to the Forge Fine Art Gallery. With 434 lots including a large collection of antique and collectible advertising, vintage instruments, bicycles, model trains, decoys, folk art and more, the auction realized $88,644 and had a 98 percent sell-through rate with 159 registered bidders participating. Richard “Rick” Opfer, owner and auctioneer, shared, “It was a nice general and eclectic sale — we try to keep it interesting! Overall, I was very pleased with the sale and the numbers at the end.”
Among the sizable selection of advertising offered was a large collection of beer and breweriana items, from which came the top lot overall. A pair of oval lens signs advertising Baltimore, Md., -based Gunther Beer sold together to a local collector for $12,000 — far exceeding its $50-$100 estimate. Opfer noted, “The beer advertising was very strong, especially the two lenses, I had no idea those would bring what they did.” These glass signs were in very good to excellent condition, with only some minor scratches on the rim edges.
Other Gunther Beer advertising items found success as well, with a light globe bringing $7,200. As Opfer said, these lights are not unlike those from gas stations and often fall into a similar collecting category, so the excitement for this lot was not as unexpected as the oval lenses. The double-sided glass sign was in good to very good condition despite some minor flaking. Another notable piece of Gunther memorabilia was a 14-inch bottlecap clock. With an illuminated glass face, the yellow, red and white clock had a metal body that bore stickers reading “Union Made” and “Advertising Products Inc. / Cincinnati 23, Ohio.” The clock, in working condition with only minor scratches to its body, was bid to $840.
This bottlecap-form Gunther Beer wall clock with lighted glass face and full metal body, 14 inches in diameter, went out for $840 ($500-$1,000).
Several musical instruments were offered, with one, a Gibson Les Paul Junior, achieving $7,200 against a high estimate of just $450. The Junior, a stripped-down model of the original Les Paul, was introduced in 1954, according to Reverb. The example in this sale was made in 1957 and sold with its original brown alligator case. A circa 1971-75 version of Gibson’s original Les Paul was also offered, though this example had an aftermarket intonable bridge and replacement tuners. Paired with a brown leather case marked “Vega / Boston, Mass,” the Les Paul brought $3,480.
Not a guitar but still made by Gibson, a mandolin marketed as “The Gibson” made $2,520. The mandolin, stamped “1027” and cataloged as “possibly F-2,” had inlaid keys and a Doctor Armond Attachment. Though the instrument had a repair to the head stock and a short hairline fracture to the back, it was in good condition and sold with a case and several accessories.
In addition to the breweriana and instruments, “We had some toys in there that did well,” added Opfer. “We had a Märklin airplane, but it was missing some of its parts. It still did alright.” This toy, a Märklin Deppeldecker biplane, number 5416, was missing two flaps and passengers, though it was still in running condition. The plane was made of painted tin and its wings had celluloid inserts. Rising just above its $2,000 high estimate, the plane flew to $2,400.
Flying to $2,400 was this Märklin Deppeldecker toy biplane, painted tin with celluloid insert wings, 8 inches long with a 10-inch wingspan ($1/2,000).
Other toys included a collection of model trains. Opfer told us, “The trains were brand new in the box, never opened. A local guy collected them but never looked at them; he bought them, put them in his garage and that was it.” The highest price from this collection, $840, was achieved by three separate lots, all with high estimates of $250 or less. They included a traditional standard gauge M.T.H. Lionel 381E Locomotive with “Great Northern” written on its orange body, a standard gauge Super 381 Electric Engine with Proto-Sound 2.0 in the State Green colorway and a lot of four trains including a standard gauge “Great Northern / Blackfoot Glacier” Solarium State Car, a standard gauge “Maryland” Solarium State Car in two-tone green, a standard gauge “Pennsylvania” Baggage Car in two-tone green and a standard gauge “Illinois” State Coach Car in two-tone green. All six of these model trains were sold with their original boxes and were in near mint to mint condition.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.opferauction.com or 410-252-5035.
