What do you do when you’re offered a full scholarship to Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris? Turn it down, of course, and become a renowned, world traveling daredevil circus performer. Meet Conn Baker, the American who did just that in the late Nineteenth Century. After learning of the death of the original “Diavolo,” the star of the grand finale in the Harmston Circus and the only man in the world who could complete the “loop the loop” on bicycle, Baker, who held the world record for the fastest mile on bicycle at the time, considered it a natural progression of his talents and applied for the job. His first attempt produced a broken leg and cracked ribs, but his second attempt, and every one thereafter, was a success. An estate-fresh cache of Conn Baker’s paintings, photographs, costumes and more hits the market at Apple Tree Auction Center, joining other lots from around the United States in this week’s picks.
APPLE TREE AUCTION CENTER
February 28–March 1
Circus Items From Conn Baker Collection
Including silk Harmston’s Circus poster, paper circus posters, photo of Diavolo and the Bombay Juggler and three Diavolo pins.
BRUNEAU & CO
March 3
Lot 190
Austro-Hungarian Silver Ivory Secessionist Tea Set
Marked with Pest, Hungary, assay mark, 1867–72 date mark, and “MMM” with lamp makers mark. Most probably crafted by a predecessor and/or contemporary of the Wiener Werkstätte.
Estimate: $3/5,000
ESTATE OF MIND
March 3
Lot 312
Spanish Inlaid Barqueno/Vargueno
With forged iron lock and original key, Sixteenth or Seventeenth Century, 22 inches high.
Estimate: $100–$1,000
WESCHLER’S
March 2
Lot 203
Severin Roesen (American 1815–1872)
“Still Life of Flowers in a Glass Vase on a Marble Ledge,” oil on canvas, 24 inches high.
Estimate: $20/30,000
WILLIAM JENACK
March 4
Lot 20
Imperial Presentation Jeweled Gold Snuff Box
Paris, 1763–74, hinged lid with diamond-set cypher of Emperor Alexander III (possibly mounted by Butz of Hahn), struck with illegible maker’s mark, charge mark of Jean-Baptiste Fouache, discharge mark for export, date letter Z, numbered 615, St Petersburg 72 standard mark, illegible St Petersburg retailer’s mark, 1-5/8 inches high.
Estimate: $15/25,000
TRINITY
March 3
Lot 105
Marguerite Zorach (American, 1887–1968)
Autumn landscape, watercolor, 5½ by 8 inches.
Estimate: $5/10,000
SKINNER
March 3
Lot 94
Carved And Painted Carousel Figure Of A Giraffe
Attributed to Daniel Muller at the Dentzel Company, Philadelphia, late Nineteenth Century, original painted surface, 66 inches high.
Estimate: $50/70,000
POTTER & POTTER
March 3
Lot 303
The Great Virgil’s Disembodied Princess
Circa 1930. Blindfolded, Virgil’s assistant (and wife) Julie entered the upright cabinet into which he was locked. With doors closed, two large blades pierced the cabinet, at her neck and knees. The doors were then thrust open showing Julie’s head and legs intact, but her torso and arms had vanished. The process was reversed and Julie stepped from the cabinet unharmed. Constructed by Virgil himself, and complete with the original blades,
costume pieces, and gimmick made in Julie’s image.
Estimate: $1/1,500
PALM BEACH MODERN AUCTION
March 3
Lot 278
Warhol & Haring Signed Drawings, Farrah Fawcett Cast
Farrah Fawcett injured her wrist in a scene from the off-Broadway play Extremities in the early 1980s and had Andy Warhol and Keith Haring sign the cast at a party all three attended.
Estimate: $10/15,000
