The top lot in the sale was this rare five-minute repeating tonneau-shaped wristwatch by Jules Jüergensen, which sold for $22,800, leading a selection of wristwatches. Dan Horan, president of Schmitt Horan, said, “The rarity is because of a five-minute repeating function in a wristwatch. Five-minute repeating is unusual in a pocket watch, very rare in a wristwatch.”
Review By W.A. Demers
CANDIA, N.H. — Schmitt Horan & Co., known for its horological auctions, decided to do something different for its August 11 sale. It conducted an eclectic online sale with live close on the 11th that included small antiques, a large collection of German bisque and Lenci dolls, Schoenhut toys, a collection of early radio receivers, canes, a large library with emphasis on volumes related to Abraham Lincoln and other American political figures, a collection of artist’s lithograph exhibition posters, advertising and stereo gear. The company’s horological DNA won out, however, as a five-minute repeating tonneau-shaped wristwatch by Jules Jürgensen took top honors, selling for $22,800, leading a selection of wristwatches. Dan Horan, president of Schmitt Horan, said, “The rarity is because of a five-minute repeating function in a wristwatch. Five-minute repeating is unusual in a pocket watch, very rare in a wristwatch.”
From the A. Schoenhut Company toy collection came a Humpty Dumpty Circus set, including a big top tent that was fully furnished with a performance ring, festooned standards, entrance drape, trapeze, ladders and more. There were cages for animals, including elephants, tigers, apes, rhinoceros, giraffe, lion, zebra, as well as performers, including pairs of clowns and trapeze artists, filling the 52-by-37-by-25½-inch tent, which was bid to $9,000, a significant premium above its $1/1,500 estimate.
Bidders liked a rare early Twentieth Century Le Potache whistling automaton by Phalbois, taking the schoolboy to $7,800, closing in on its high estimate. Standing on a green velvet covered plinth that concealed the mechanism, the “potache,” French colloquial for schoolboy, wore a blue velvet coat and breeches, a white shirt and a large red bowtie. In action, the automaton whistled a tune while tilting his head left to right, his eyes alternately opening and closing and his right arm moving up and down in time with the music.
A rare early Twentieth Century Le Potache whistling automaton schoolboy by Phalbois earned $7,800.
A large, rare and unusual Woman and her Dog doll by Lenci strolled to $1,920. Made by the renowned Turin, Italy, company, the woman figure was slender, wore a tall, red felt hat fitted with a blonde mohair wig and presented typical Lenci painted facial features with her eyes looking left. She carried a red handbag and wore a long, beaded necklace, a sheer white dress with applied felt leaves and flowers, white stockings and black leather high heel shoes. The velvet Boston terrier was cradled in her right forearm. Overall, the doll stood 25½ inches tall, including the hat.
There was miniature American and English furniture in this sale. A lot of three pieces of American and English Nineteenth Century miniature furniture earned $660, meeting its high presale estimate. One piece was an American mid-Nineteenth Century chest of drawers featuring a pine case with figured mahogany veneers and a base with a decorative skirt; the lower case had four drawers, and the upper case had two drawers and a scalloped backsplash. On its back was a penciled inscription reading, “Made by J.C. Parker father of Mrs Monroe Gage Before 1860 when he enlisted” and “Made From Cigar Boxes.” The next piece was an early to mid Nineteenth Century American Hepplewhite-style stand in walnut and poplar. It had slender, tapered legs and a single drawer with a brass pull. The last piece was an early Nineteenth Century American or English walnut slant-front desk with mother-of-pearl inlay on the lid’s center and floral engraving. The lid concealed four pigeon holes over two drawers, the lower case with four drawers arranged two-over-two, with ebonized wooden pulls and resting on turned feet.
Patented by Pittsburgh, Penn., lamp maker D.C. Ripley in 1870, a rare “wedding lamp,” so-called because its two fonts are “married” together, rose to $900 against a $250/350 estimate.
In 1870, D.C Ripley, a Pittsburgh, Penn., lamp maker patented a rare oil lamp called a “wedding lamp,” so-called because its two fonts are “married” together. The example in this auction featured dual clambroth fonts flanking a central reservoir for matches. They were supported by a faceted milk glass column with a flared base on a stepped square plinth. It surpassed its $250/350 estimate to reach $900.
Folk art crossed the block in the form of an American folk art mirror. Taking $570, this was a case of a mirror’s surround being more interesting than the silvered glass that it held. It was carved in oak with a round beveled glass mirror surrounded by a carved sun. Carvings of two stars, a moon and a shell pocket with beading molding on the outer edge were in the corners.
A collection of early radios was led by an Atwater Kent Radio Receiving Set #3945 or “Model 2” that tuned in $1,560. Very “steampunk,” the breadboard-type radio receiver was mounted on a walnut base and featured brown Bakelite knobs and dials, two tuners and three 01A tubes.
The sale’s total was $369,570 with a 94 percent sell-through rate. A total of 800 active bidders were on four platforms: the firm’s own bidding platform, LiveAuctioneers, Invaluable and BidSquare.
Prices given include the buyer’s premium as stated by the auction house. The next sale, an online-only event, will take place on September 18. The next big catalog sale is set for November 2. For information, 603-432-2237 or www.schmitt-horan.com.
