Tuesday, February 27 2007
By Gene Friedman
A Lancaster County museum cigar vending machine puffed to $12,100 (including a 10 percent buying fee) at a recent catalog sale of
Conestoga Auction Co., Manheim. The firm auctioned the contents of the privately owned
Americana Museum of Bird in Hand, grossing $231,000.
The oak
case unit by Standard Vending Co., Hazelton, has a bent glass top to display the five-cent cigars.A phone bidder ended the floor action for the 25¾-inch-high-by-26-inch-wide-by-20-inch-deep piece, which had a $300-$500 presale estimate on the Internet. Conestoga doesn't put pre-sale estimates in catalogs, but only on the Internet.
More than 700 bidders participated online, accounting for 16 percent of the sales.
Another walnut case five-cent cigar vending machine, labeled "Kreider's Cigar Machine, Lancaster, Pa.," reached $6,875 against an estimate of only $200-$300. The 31-inch-high-by-11-inch-wide-by-14-inch-deep piece had 56 bids despite suffering from a missing back and some mice damage.
A 6- foot-5-inch-tall wooden polychrome painted cigar store Indian followed at $9,350 to fall between the $8,000-$10,000 pre-sale estimates. The late-19th- to early-20th-century Indian chief had a bundle of cigars in his raised right hand. His condition was good except for a missing finger on his left hand.
At the same price was a 19th-century Black Forest carved bear on a 7-foot-4½-inch-high coat tree with umbrella rack, in very good condition except for one broken point. The piece had a similar pre-sale forecast.
In the sale were 10 early-20th-century carved and painted wood trade figures attributed to Walter Langhein, York, who reportedly learned to carve while serving time in prison. His top figure was a 6-foot-8-inch-high full-bodied George Washington holding a scroll that garnered $7,975 against a $6,000-$7,000 estimate. A 6-foot-7-inch-tall cigar store full-bodied Indian chief with full head dress holding a pipe brought $5,225, just above its $3,000-$5,000 forecast.
Also attributed to Langheim was a 7-foot-1-inch-tall cigar store Indian holding a bundle of cigars for $3,190 and another 6-foot-7-inch-high Indian chief holding cigar bundles that went for $2,310. A small 4-foot-4-inch chief with bundles of cigars hit $1,430, as did a pair of 2-foot-4-inch chief and maiden with cigar bundles.
If you were in the market for coffee mills, a 5-foot-8-inch-high Enterprise, Philadelphia, mill on a stand ground to $5,775 to more than double its $1,500-$2,500 estimate. Five other mills ranged in price from $1,100 to $1,980. An interior log cabin scene panorama with central fireplace and taxidermy was a surprise at $6,050 against a low estimate of $90-$100.
In display cases, an oak two-piece barber shop back bar, labeled Kurtz Brothers, Bethlehem, reached $5,775 (estimate $2,000-$3,000), while a Victorian walnut two-piece apothecary and an oak seed store cabinet each received $3,575. Another seed cabinet sprouted to $3,080, and a walnut-top two-piece painted base store counter brought $2,970.
Advertising pieces included an American "Strate" gas pump globe that achieved $1,540 (estimate $300-$500) and an Atlantic Imperial globe that spun to $880. A Beldin Bros. & Co. silk mixed 30-drawer spool cabinet sewed up $2,200, and a Dr. Daniels Veterinary Medicines wood display case earned $1,870.
Twenty-nine bids vied for a "U.S.G. Harness Oil" Schmidt & Co. ,Baltimore, Md., tin lithograph wall clock by Baird Clock Co., Chicago, which ticked to $1,870, despite some rust and stains. A Joseph Russ & Co., New York, oak and brass mounted shoe shine chair with stepped platform base polished off $1,760. £
Source
:
The Reading Eagle online© 2007 Reading Eagle Company, All Rights Reserved
Reprinted by permission
