A 1954 Kaiser Darrin convertible Model 161 number 96 was the top lot in the sale, driving away with a private collector for $48,600.
Review by W.A. Demers
CLARENCE, N.Y. — A 1954 Kaiser Darrin convertible Model 161 #96 sped past its high estimate to take $48,600 at Schultz Auctioneers’ June 14 auction of sports, postcards, music, antiques and more. If Kaiser Darrin, or Darrin for short, doesn’t register as a household name of the fifties, there’s a reason for that. The American sports car was designed by Howard “Dutch” Darrin and built by Kaiser Motors for the 1954 model year. The car was named both for Henry J. Kaiser, head of Kaiser Motors, and Darrin. Conceived to compete one-on-one with European roadsters that were coming into the United States following World War II, it faced its own competition domestically against marques like the Ford Thunderbird and Chevrolet Corvette. Only 435 of the rocket-nosed cars were built, and their high price tag, lack of traction with consumers and practical challenges with their design combined to yield low sales.
The upside to the car in this sale was in its brief catalog description: “Runs and Drives.” The lot included a roll of material to restore the convertible’s top.
With a sell-through rate of 93 percent, a total of $414,432 and 3,036 registered bidders, the 542-lot sale offered many more rarities, including a complete set of 1954 Topps baseball cards that sold for $17,400. It was noted as a very clean set and included such cards as a Hank Aaron rookie, Jackie Robinson, Ernie Banks, Willie Mays, Ted Williams and others.
A complete set of 1954 Topps baseball cards that included a Hank Aaron rookie, Jackie Robinson, Ernie Banks, Willie Mays, Ted Williams and others brought $17,400
Puzzle collectors could pursue a vintage group of Buffalo Baseball Club jigsaw puzzles. There were approximately 10 in the lot that brought $5,700 and they included such Buffalo players as Bucky Crouse, Ray Tarr and others.
From the Northwest coast came a Native American 7-foot-tall carved wooden totem pole with a whale base, selling for $10,800. Orcas, or killer whales, are part of both visual art and oral traditions among the Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest and can take on various meanings such as good luck, compassion and family.
There aren’t many estate auctions that do not offer antique and vintage timepieces and this sale was no exception. Fetching $4,500 was a 1922 Patek Philippe 18K pocket watch, which is among those timepieces that are starting to get the recognition they deserve.
A Tiffany Studios bronze blown glass lamp base finished at $4,500.
A Tiffany Studios bronze blown glass lamp base went out at the same price as the watch, and a box of Calhoun’s Collector Stamps, including Lindbergh, Hindenburg, Penny Black and more left the gallery at $4,062.
How high is the moon? In this sale, it was $1,920 for the lucky bidder who won a group of early studio real photo postcards featuring a prop of the moon, approximately 30 postcards were in the set.
Prices given include the buyer’s premium as stated by the auction house. The firm will present its next auction in mid-August, date to be announced. For information, www.schultzauctioneers.net or 716-407-3125.
