BRANFORD, CONN. — Americana from estates and collections, including folk art, outsider art, period furniture, paintings and accessories, were the main attractions at Fred Giampietro’s New Haven Auctions on October 16 and 17. The first day’s surprise was an important Southern slave journal (shown) that was taken from its $500-$1,000 estimate to finish at $32,400, including premium. The journal, which is going to a Georgia institution, was titled “Tracking 264 Negroes between Swift Creek, Bibb County, Georgia, Sumter County, Georgia, Spring Creek, Georgia and Cowarts, Georgia,” and dated 1859. On the sale’s second day, a session that included antiques, Native American and fine art from estates and collections, a leading highlight was a Chamber Barrel Organ – Monkey Orchestra automaton that sold for more than triple its high estimate at $30,000. A full review of the two-day sale follows.
