MARLBOROUGH, MASS. — Billed as “Smitty’s Eye,” the Axtell collection sold by Skinner on March 3 included numerous one-of-a-kind objects. Bringing the highest price of the sale at $10,000 was an unsigned American school oil on board winter landscape with a horse-drawn sleigh, several houses, snow covered roads and trees, wooden fences and more. Several painted cupboards, sets of shelves, other furniture and a variety of painted boxes found willing buyers as did unusual objects, including a slate sundial dated 1793, and a make-do toy pistol utilizing a discarded wrought iron door latch and padlock. Many items, such as early lighting devices, hearth equipment, small paper covered boxes, small watercolor drawings, and woodenware were sold in large lots. Few lots were passed in the timed, online-only sale, and the collection grossed $280,000.

A full report will follow.