Ahlers & Ogletree Auction Gallery Woodruff & Schwall
700 Miami Circle, Atlanta, GA 30324
www.AandOauctions.com
404.869.2478
info@AandOauctions.com

ATLANTA, GA. — Items from the estate of Robert W. Woodruff (1889-1985), the American businessman and philanthropist who served as president of the Coca-Cola Company from 1923 to 1955, will come up for bid on Saturday, February 26, by Ahlers & Ogletree, starting at 10 am Eastern time. Items from Woodruff’s wife Nell, who was a Red Cross nurse, will also be sold.

The more than 400 lots will include portraits of Mr Woodruff by Norman Rockwell and Thomas Stephens, a portrait of George Washington by former President Dwight Eisenhower (Woodruff’s longtime friend and golfing partner), a Thomas C. Molesworth “Jack Rabbit” stand, custom and Tiffany diamond jewelry worn by Nell, Coca-Cola items, furniture items and decorative objects.

Also featured will be items pertaining to Woodruff’s longtime friendship with golfer Bobby Jones (including a birthday letter from Bobby Jones and Eisenhower to Woodruff, plus golfing books written by Jones and inscribed “to Bob”); items relating to cigars and pipes, two of Woodruff’s passions (including the custom cabinet made for Woodruff by Dunhill, housing his personal pipe collection); and various intriguing rarities, including a shoulder-mount elk shot and tagged in 1942; and the only known remaining Robert W. Woodruff monogrammed golf club.

There will be no in-person bidding for this auction due to Covid, but bidders can register and bid now on LiveAuctioneers.com, Invaluable.com and Bidsquare.com. All registered bidders can also bid in real time as lots sell on auction day, starting at 10 am. Interested parties will be able to preview all lots in person in Ahlers & Ogletree’s Atlanta showroom at 700 Miami Circle.

The Woodruffs led a full life, and the items in the auction reflect that zest for living. They were pulled from the couple’s four homes: Windcrofte, their opulent primary residence on 16 acres of prime real estate in Atlanta; the TE Ranch in Wyoming, the 8,000-acre onetime home of Buffalo Bill Cody (1846-1917); a two-story River House complex on 52nd Street in Manhattan; and Ichauway, a 29,000-acre working-hunting plantation in South Georgia.

The portrait of Woodruff by the American artist-illustrator Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) shows Woodruff as a young man. The charcoal on paper, in a 26½-by-21½-inch frame, is artist signed ($20/40,000). The portrait by Thomas Stephens (1885-1966) depicts an older Woodruff in a waist-up rendering. He’s holding his trademark cigar. The signed 40-by-30-inch oil on canvas work should realize $10/20,000.

Who knew Dwight Eisenhower was a painter? And not a bad one, as it turns out. His “Portrait of George Washington,” after Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828) is signed lower left and comes with a plaque that reads, “To Nell and Bob from their friend Ike” ($10/20,000). Also, a personal (or informal) 1958 Christmas card from the Eisenhowers to the Woodruffs, depicting Ike and Mamie in whimsical Santa suits, one of only 200 made, should finish at $500/700.

Also for sale is a red, leather-bound birthday memorabilia book from Woodruff’s 70th birthday party in 1959 at the Capital City Club in Atlanta, attended by many friends and luminaries ($200/400). One of the attendees was Bobby Jones, who, like Eisenhower, was a close friend and golfing buddy of Woodruff’s. Two sterling silver nut dishes, engraved with Jones’s name and that of sportswriter Grantland Rice, will be sold as one lot ($150/300).
The furniture category will be led by a large British Nineteenth Century George III-style mahogany breakfront bookcase with glazed doors, 92 inches tall by 97½ inches wide ($4/6,000).

Personal jewelry items from Nell Woodruff will include a vintage platinum and diamond engagement ring given to her by Robert, with a 4.61-carat marquise brilliant cut center diamond, F-color, SI1 clarity ($80/120,000); and an early Twentieth Century Black, Starr and Frost Art Deco vanity case (or compact), made from 14K yellow and white gold, rose cut diamonds, jadeite jade, enamel and Bakelite, with a mirror ($4/6,000).

An Eighteenth Century seven-piece George III neoclassical Adams sterling silver oval epergne centerpiece, with the marks of William Pitts and Joseph Preedy (London, active 1791-1799), inscribed to Woodruff, has an estimate of $6/9,000. Also, a five-piece sterling silver tea and coffee service in the Duncan pattern by Fisher Silversmiths (American, founded 1936), with Nell Woodruff’s monogram, weighing a total of 81.71 troy ounces, should sell for $3,5/4,500.

There is some Coca-Cola memorabilia in the sale. This includes two of Woodruff’s personal advertising lighters, one a Hadson “Blue Bird” musical lighter with Woodruff’s initials and a Scripto Vu-Lighter with his name ($150/300); and an early Twentieth Century graduated drink glass and metal holder, both showing the Coca-Cola company logo, mentioned in Cecil Munsey’s book, The Illustrated Guide to Collectibles of Coca-Cola, 1972 ($50-$100).

For information, 404-869-2478 or www.aandoauctions.com.

The Estate of Robert and Nell Woodruff
February 26, 2022
For generations, the Woodruff family has captured the attention of admirers across the globe. And now you can capture some of that notoriety for yourself.
Norman Rockwell, Portrait of Robert Woodruff
18th Century George III
Tiffany Deco Platinum Silver Epergne Centerpiece & Diamond Custom Bracelet

The Estate of Emory Schwall
February 27, 2022
A household name in both Atlanta and Sea Island, the Schwall fast  created a legacy through philanthropy and kindness. This is your chance to own part of that legacy.
Pair, Sevres Attributed Bronze Mounted Urns
19th Century Christofle Figural Centerpiece
Karl Kaufman, Port with Ships
GAL #C2954