A simply spectacular red Maserati Tipo A6G Spider, one of eight known, sold this past Saturday, May 1, at Bonhams & Butterfields’ sale at the Museum of Transportation for $588,000.

Bidders gathered beneath the huge tent, where the car held pride of place all weekend, erupted in applause as the car was hammered down to an East Coast collector after plenty of on-site and telephone competition.

A sparkling 1913 Mercer Model 35 runabout with a 34 horsepower engine sold for $412,000. Such “T-head” cars seldom come to market.

“The Dance of the Troubadours” by Edwin Austin Abbey, a painting heavily influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites brought $214,000. The 103-inch-wide oil and gilt on canvas also stimulated lively bidding in the room and on the phones. Full force phones were mustered for Sir Edwin Longsden Long’s painting “The Eastern Favorite” that sold for $94,000 to an English buyer. The picture had hung at the top of the stairs in the consignor’s Cape Cod home.

A full report of the sale will appear in a future issue.