This is the only known Ray-O-Lite rifle arcade game to retain its original target cabinet, both of which were made by the Automatic Target Machine Co., circa 1905. It shot past its estimate to $319,800 ($100/200,000).
Review by Madelia Hickman Ring
LAS VEGAS — The saying might be, “What Happens In Vegas, Stays In Vegas” but it did not apply to Morphy Auctions’ Coin-Op & Advertising Sale, which Dan Morphy conducted December 5-7. More than 1,275 lots, which culminated in the Rich and Sharon Penn collection on the last day, passed under Morphy’s gavel. The Denver, Penn., -based firm raked in a cool $3.7 million by the time the final hammer fell.
“We have seen a big increase of new buyers in the advertising arena, especially when it comes to good tin and porcelain signs. Soda Pop, breweriana, and gas & oil still rule the roost when it comes to a strong market and top prices in the advertising category. We have seen some growth in the coin-op collecting community, but the higher-end and scarcer pieces still seem to be chased by the more seasoned collectors,” Morphy told Antiques and The Arts Weekly, when we asked him if he’s seeing growth in the field and any new or younger bidders. He noted that many of the advertising signs will be returning to buyers in the St Louis area, where the signs originated. West Coast bidders also came to play, though he saw “broad representation of bidders from all over the United States.”
In April 2024, Morphy announced that Iowa-based auctioneer Rich Penn would be joining the firm as its inaugural market development office. Penn and his wife, Sharon, have been long-time collectors of antique gambling, advertising and coin-operated machines and antiques and friends of Morphy for more than 20 years. The highlight of the Las Vegas event was undoubtedly the 552 lots that were sold on the third day and which saw the sale’s top lot, a rare circa 1905 Ray-O-Lite rifle arcade game made by the Automatic Target Machine Co. It was the only known example with its original target cabinet and sold well beyond expectations, achieving $319,800.
“Cigars” and “Prescriptions” were advertised in this leaded glass Corner Drug Store trade sign, in the form of a mortar-and-pestle. Morphy’s may have prescribed $15/30,000 for the rare sign but bidding interest took it to $51,660.
Another high-flying lot from the Penn Collection was a circa 1910 43-inch-tall mortar-and-pestle-form leaded glass drug store trade sign described in the catalog as “an iconic and highly sought-after piece of drug store history.” Bidders agreed and the sign cashed out at $51,660.
The second day of the sale saw an impressive parade of antique vehicles, including firetrucks, and a 1930 Cadillac Anheuser-Busch Bevo Boat that had been restored for the 2004 St Louis Exposition rolled to $172,200, the second-highest result of the day. The catalog noted that during Prohibition, brewer Anheuser-Busch made a series of eight inboard-styled cruisers on automobile chassis that made appearances all over the country advertising Anheuser-Busch products. The example Morphy sold had a well-documented provenance and was believed to be the only remaining cruiser from the original fleet.
Following the Bevo Boat at $129,150 was a 1927 Ahrens-Fox model MX-4 pumping fire engine and a 1926 American LaFrance type 75 antique combination pumper fire truck that made $86,100. Both firetrucks were from a St Louis collection and did not make the journey to Nevada for the preview.
This restored American LaFrance combination pumper fire truck, with provenance to a St Louis fire department, dated to circa 1926 and found a new home with a buyer who paid $86,100 ($40/130,000).
Standard features of the early 1960s Volkswagen Westfalia camper van were foldout seats that allowed a variety of sleeping arrangements, birch plywood interior panels, laminated plywood cabinetry, an icebox, sink, water storage and pump, electrical hookups, curtains, screened Venetian blind windows and a laminated folding table. The red-painted example Morphy offered also came with a top carrier, door table, various camping supplies and a top air vent. Like the firetrucks, it stayed in St Louis for the preview but that did not deter bidders from driving it to $49,200.
A completely restored traveling carousel for children similarly did not get on the road for the Las Vegas preview and also stayed in St Louis. Announced after the catalog went to press to have been made by Allan Herschel, it spun to $29,520, an advance of its $20,000 high estimate.
Rounding out the top eight lots in the sale was a 25-cent Auto-Photo Booth that the catalog described as being one of “only a few dozen of these beauties in existence that are publicly available,” and like the one that Pop artist Andy Warhol used in the 1960s. It was worth much more than 25 cents, with a final bid of $28,905. It was the top seller of more than 450 lots on the first day.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house.
Morphy Auctions will return to Las Vegas January 24 for an Old West Auction and again February 21-22 for Automobilia and Petroliana.
For information, 877-968-8880 or www.morphyauctions.com.
