The undisputable star of the auction was this mahogany Boston Chippendale clothespress, 69 inches tall by 43½ inches wide by 22½ inches deep, which was identified as rare and unusual. A private collector had the winning bid of $496,000 ($30/60,000).
Review by Carly Timpson
AMESBURY, MASS. — John McInnis Auctioneers sold nearly 1,100 lots across three sessions for the firm’s New Year’s Week Estates Auction, January 1-3. With no more than 40 lots passing across all three days, the auction’s sell-through rate exceeded 95 percent. “It was a really good, strong sale. The total realized was around a million-four — we went way over our high estimate. It was a good way to start the year!” McInnis added that there was also a full house of bidders in person, which is less common these days, noting, “The first day was definitely the busiest. A lot of people came to preview the items and then bid from the comfort of their home, but they still came!”
The sale’s apex was achieved early on the first day when an Eighteenth Century mahogany clothespress, cataloged as an “unusual piece of Boston Chippendale case furniture,” sold to a private collector for $496,000, stunning its $30/60,000 estimate. “They say brown furniture isn’t so good anymore, but it’s still selling for some money if you get the right piece,” McInnis remarked. “Some serious collectors were trying for the piece. One was represented by a dealer, and there were two other private collectors on the phone as well. There was also a lot of interest online — I think about 160 people were watching it online.” This example, which had a “sweeping crest, a single shaped drawer with tapered sides and paneled doors that open to reveal an interior fitted with drawers” all on top of a block-front chest of drawers base on ogee feet, stood 69 inches tall, and the catalog noted that a similar form could be found at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Complete with an applied three-dimensional whale carved by Clark Voorhees (American, 1911-1980), this oil on Masonite mermaid fishing scene by Ralph E. Cahoon, Jr (American, 1910-1982) was presented in a late Nineteenth Century Chinese export frame measuring 23½ by 29¼ inches and earned $37,200 ($20/30,000).
The very first lot to cross the block was another exciting find: a fresh-to-market painting by Ralph E. Cahoon, Jr. This work featured Cahoon’s emblematic mermaids pictured fishing from the back of a three-dimensional sperm whale, with a tall ship, lighthouse and hot air balloon in the background. The whale, carved by Clark Voorhees, was removable and was signed to its reverse. The painting, which was cataloged as “recently discovered, first time on market,” was also signed twice and was given to Cahoon’s friend William P. Taylor, a bird carver from Marblehead, Mass. When it came to auction with McInnis, the high estimate was set at $30,000, but bidders pushed it further: to $37,200.
Seascapes continued to be successful, as the sale’s second-highest price overall was from the same category. Though Aldro T. Hibbard’s “Rockport Overlooking Back Beach” showed the coast from the vantage of a snow-covered hill, bidders approached it with the same verve. The work had provenance to a 1944 exhibition at the Jordan Marsh Company (the original company now known as Jordan’s Furniture) and, according to another paper label affixed to the painting’s reverse, the work was purchased from the artist in June of that same year. This time around, the painting sold for $39,680.
Still bearing its original label from cabinetmaker John Townsend (Newport, R.I., 1733-1809), this Federal period mahogany sideboard, 64¾ inches long, brought $31,000 ($10/30,000).
As McInnis said, brown furniture is still selling well if the piece is right. Such was the case for a Federal period mahogany sideboard made by Newport, R.I., cabinetmaker John Townsend. Retaining its original label, the circa 1795 sideboard was purchased by the consignor’s family member in 1935 from Daniel F. Magner Antiques in Hingham, Mass. Though it did not meet its reserve at the time, the piece was included in a 2006 auction at Sotheby’s and was illustrated in the sale’s advertisement that ran in Antiques and The Arts Weekly. When it came to McInnis by way of the same consignor, it brought $31,000. The figured mahogany construction was contrasted with inlaid oval fan paterae on the door fronts and additional inlay throughout.
With the high price of precious metals, gold and silver objects are having a moment, and the second session of the auction presented a strong selection with many exceptional results. Leading the day was a pair of 9K gold Shabbat candlesticks by Richard Comyns that earned $17,360. Other gold highlights included an 18K Van Cleef & Arpels Sagittarii (Sagittarius) Zodiaque pendant ($12,400), an 18K gold charm bracelet with about 32 European charms testing at 14K and 18K ($8,680) and an 18K braided herringbone bracelet marked “M. Buccellati” ($8,680). Silver was led by a partial Old Colonial sterling silver flatware service by Towle at $12,648. Another Towle set, this one in the Fontana pattern, brought $7,440.
In 18K gold, this Sagittarii (Sagittarius) pendant from the Van Cleef & Arpels Zodiaque line, signed and hallmarked, measured 27 millimeters in diameter and brought $12,400 ($1,5/2,500).
The top lot of the third day was an intricately carved tall case clock of style and quality similar to the collaborations between Lockwood de Forest and Louis Comfort Tiffany at the Ahmedabad Woodcarving Company (India). This clock, with full column decoration and a mixed metal dial, came from the estate of a Boston doctor. After it sold as the first lot offered on day three, no others could meet the $6,200 realized for it.
“We had Civil War items from several different families. I’ve been working on this sale since the summer, so we had a good collection for this auction,” shared McInnis. Some of the notable results from the category included uniform pieces and photographs. A frock coat belonging to Sergeant James H. Newton, who “was captured in that disgraceful surrender at Harper’s Ferry, Sept. 15. 1862,” according to a letter he wrote to a friend, was consigned by a descendant and achieved $4,650 ($500-$1,000). Newton’s longer, light blue top/overcoat was also offered and it brought $3,100 ($500-$1,000). A different family consigned an ambrotype photograph of their relative Frank K. Edgerton, who was a Union soldier. The portrait was raised to $2,232 ($200/400).
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.mcinnisauctions.com or 978-388-0400.
