“The Old Clockmaker” an oil on copper painting by Jefferson David Chalfont earned the highest price of the sale, $40,960.
Review & Onsite Photos by Rick Russack
EPPING, N.H. — It took three days, February 28 through March 2, for Devin Moisan to sell the materials in Devin Moisan Auctioneers’ 2025 Winter Antiques Auction. But it was worth it, as it was Moisan’s best sale to date. While the firm had a live preview for more than a week prior to the auction, there was no live in-person bidding on auction day: all bids were either absentee or placed online.
The first day began with a collection of more than 50 collectible gold coins, plus additional lots of early currency. The second day included a large selection of Midcentury studio pottery, including more than 70 pieces by Ed and Mary Scheier. Day three offered some important military memorabilia that had belonged to Major General James Parker, a Medal of Honor recipient whose military career began during the Indian Wars and lasted through the first World War I. That day also included a selection of paintings; furniture, which was led by a Shaker blanket chest in original paint; ceramics; and more. It was on the third day that the sale’s highest prices were achieved.
The high price of the event — $40,960 — was realized for a signed oil on copper painting by American artist Jefferson David Chalfant (1856-1931) titled “The Old Clockmaker.” The circa 1898 painting bore an old label stating that a study for the work is in the collection of the Brandywine Museum, Chadds Ford, Penn., where it was included and illustrated in that museum’s catalog of a 1979 exhibition of the artist’s work. Another related painting — his “The Clock Maker” — is in the collection of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. It was purchased by a husband and wife who are in the trade, but they bought it for themselves.
“The Fertile Valley: Haying Along the Delaware” by Arthur Meltzer exceeded its estimate, reaching $37,120. It was the second-highest price of the sale.
Two other paintings by American artists exceeded their estimates and provided the sale’s second- and third-highest prices. One was “The Fertile Valley: Haying Along the Delaware” by Arthur Meltzer (1893-1989), which had been included in two exhibitions at New York’s Macbeth Gallery, the first being in 1929; it brought $37,120. Also doing well was “Bound For George’s Bank” by Rockport school artist Harry Aiken Vincent (1861-1931), which earned $28,160.
A significant feature of the sale was the historic military memorabilia that had belonged to Medal of Honor recipient Major General James Parker (1854-1934) who was West Point graduate. Some belonged to his son, Cortlandt Parker (1884-1960), who was also a West Point graduate and also retired as a Major General. James Parker’s military career began during the Indian Wars and, in 1886, when he was serving as a Lieutenant in the Fourth Cavalry, he led troops assisting in the capture of Geronimo. A Civil War era 34-star silk swallowtail guidon that had provenance to Parker and the Fourth Cavalry earned $23,040, the highest price of the group. A lot that included his numerous medals and citations, along with photographs of Parker in uniform, wearing his medals, was sold for $21,760.
Major General James Parker’s many medals and citations were sold in one lot that earned $21,760.
For his service in the Philippine-American War in 1899, Parker was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, but federal law prohibits the buying and selling of this medal, so it was not included in the sale but would likely be donated to West Point, which he graduated from in 1876, or a similar institution. Parker’s .45-caliber Colt single-action Army revolver, with its tooled holster and cartridge belt, sold for $15,360. He carried it and used it during the action for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor. It was accompanied by a handwritten label that read, “Pistol used by Gen James Parker with which he killed buffalo / held up desperados, carried through Indian Campaigns + fired at insurrectors at Manoag + Vigan.” An unsigned circa 1919 portrait of the General wearing his medal sold for $6,720. In 1929, Parker’s memoirs were published — the sale included his four-volume typescript, with handwritten notations, and it earned $2,560.
Many of the studio pottery by Ed and Mary Scheier in the sale were pieces the sellers had acquired from Moisan over the years. Classic, as well as rare early pieces, were offered, as were some of the mixed media works Ed produced after the couple left New Hampshire. The Scheiers taught and produced pottery at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, N.H., for more than 20 years. Mary threw the pottery and Ed glazed and decorated it. Ed taught there from 1940 to 1960 and the couple remained, working in Durham, until 1968. More than 75 pieces were included in the sale and all were sold, with the highest price, $5,120, earned by a brown-glazed 13-inch stoneware chalice-form vase with sgraffito decoration of abstract fish with figures inside. A large blue bowl, slightly less than 13 inches in diameter, also had sgraffito decoration and earned $4,800. A favorite with collectors are the pieces decorated with heads “pushed” out from the interior; there were several of these in this sale. Many of Ed Sheier’s designs were biblically inspired and Adam and Eve themes were some of his favorites. An especially unusual earthenware charger, measuring more than 13 inches wide, that featured the Adam and Eve motif, was decorated with multiple color glazes and sgraffito decoration. Because most of Scheier’s decoration was monochromatic, this was an unusual piece. The catalog dated it to the 1940s or early 1950s, and it earned $1,536, one of the few pieces to sell below the estimate. One retail buyer who may have been new to Moisan bought many pieces.
Devin Moisan has sold Scheier pottery extensively over the years. He said this 14-inch charger depicting Adam and Eve was exceptional because of the multiple colors Ed Scheier used when decorating it. It went out for $1,536.
The studio pottery offerings included several works by Otto and Vivika Heino; Vivika was an early instructor at the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen. A large “weed pot” made by the couple, almost 12 inches in diameter, sold for $608. There were also two raku-fired pots by Harvey Sadow, one of which sold for $768.
After the auction Moisan said, “What else is there for me to say? It was our highest grossing sale ever, and each one gets better. It was nearly all fresh-to-the-market material and that certainly makes a difference. The Asian items did well, as did the artwork. The Scheier collection and the other studio pottery did well; that shows the strength of that segment of the market. We’re working on the next sale which will probably be in the summer, sometime around August.”
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For additional information, 603-953-0022 or www.moisanauctions.com.
