Objects made of metal had a strong showing in recent auctions, from an antique Pennsylvania coffee grinder that outperformed at The Popular Pioneer, to a lot of two enamel petroliana signs that The Complete Auction Service topped off at $4,600. Finally, earning nearly $50,000 was a pre-Prohibition Buffalo Brewing Company Lager Dawes lamp that was made in California and was the top lot at Michaan’s. Other highlights are below.
Steinway Hits High Note At Modern Day
NORWALK, CONN. — On August 12, Modern Day Auctions conducted a sale of fine art and antiques from a Stamford, Conn., penthouse. Achieving the sale’s highest price, $18,584, was a 1924 Steinway & Sons Model M piano. The medium grand piano — measuring 5 feet 7 inches and 71½ high with the lid open — had an ebonized case and had been refurbished and included a humidifier and black leather tufted piano bench. For information, www.moderndayauctions.com or 203-400-6000.
Enamel Signs Lead At Complete Auction Service
ESPSOM, N.H. — George S. Foster and The Complete Auction Service conducted a 474-lot auction of petroliana, advertising signs, ephemera, 1950s soda fountain items and more. Two enamel petroliana signs tied for the highest price of the day, $4,602. One of these was a double-sided Socony, Standard Oil Company of New York, Inc., sign measuring 34½ inches by 5 feet. The other was a 17-by-70-inch “Gasoline” sign for Vacuum Mobiloils and Greases (pictured). If you’re not in the know, you may not realize that these two signs are connected — the two companies merged in the early Twentieth Century to become Socony-Vacuum and later rebranded to the company we now know as Mobil. For information, www.thecompleteauctionservice.com or 603-736-9240.
Oceanic Figures Ride High Wave For Ed Beattie
KITTERY POINT, MAINE — On August 12, Edward B. Beattie Auctioneers conducted a 217-lot sale of the collection of US ambassador Marshall Green, who worked under the Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford administrations. The sale was “packed with items collected during the US diplomat’s world travels over several decades with an emphasis on interesting art and objects from Asia, Africa and Oceania.” A notable lot from Green’s travels was a pair of 33-inch-tall carved figures from Oceania, which stood tallest at $1,947, one of the highest prices in the sale, and the highest for an object from that region. For information, 603-770-9878.
Coffee Grinder Energizes Bidders At Popular Pioneer
RUTLAND TOWN, VT. — A large antique country store coffee grinder led the day in part one of The Popular Pioneer’s August 2025 Important Advertising & Country Sale, which took place on August 12. The sale featured more than 225 lots of collectable signs and advertising country items from the collection of Howard Sanderson, Jr, of Reading, Vt. The 68-inch-tall coffee grinder — which still had its original black and red paint, eagle designs and American shield graphics — was manufactured just outside of Philadelphia and had provenance to the B.M. Newton store in Reading. After 37 bids, it ground out a $815 finish. For information, 802-353-8825 or www.thepopularpioneer.com.
Dufy Painting Blooms Beautifully For Kodner
DANIA BEACH, FLA. — August 14 saw about 300 lots cross the block in Kodner Galleries’ Estate Jewelry, Fine Art & Decoration sale. While jewelry took home many of the highest prices of the sale, top-lot status was secured by Jean Dufy’s (French, 188-1964) gouache on paper “Bouquet de Tulipes,” which narrowly surpassed its $12/15,000 estimate at $15,700. Signed and dated “1925” lower right, the painting also had a gallery tag belonging to Galerie Jacques Bailly, Paris, on its reverse. For information, 954-925-2550 or www.kodner.com.
Doyle Maps Great Result With ‘Greatest’ American Atlas
NEW YORK CITY — Doyle’s 370-lot auction of Rare Books, Autographs & Maps on August 7, was led by an 1823 first edition of Henry S. Tanner’s New American Atlas that achieved $21,760, ahead of $12/18,000 expectations. Widely regarded as the greatest American atlas of the Nineteenth Century, A New American Atlas Containing Maps of the Several States of the North American Union is among the earliest comprehensive mappings of the United States to be produced by an American publisher and printed in America. For information, www.doyle.com or 212-427-2730.
WWI Recruitment Poster Enlists Swann Bids
NEW YORK CITY — More than 300 lots were showcased in Swann Galleries’ Vintage Posters auction on August 7. The sale reached its apex at $19,000, for Harry Ryle Hopps’ (1869-1937) circa 1917 poster that depicted a German gorilla with the words “Destroy This Mad Brute / Enlist.” The catalog noted the 42 by 28-inch copy bore the scarce overprint “US Army 660 – Market St.,” the address of the San Francisco army recruiting office; additionally, it is the only recorded poster of Hopps, who became an art director on films in Los Angeles. For information, 212-254-4710 or www.swanngalleries.com.
Eldred’s Three Sailors Achieve $15K Result
EAST DENNIS, MASS. — Achieving $15,360, well ahead of $4/6,000 expectations, was “Three Sailors” by Mark Beard (American, 1898-1938), an artist and set design who painted under different alter egos. The 30-by-24-inch-canvas was the top lot in Eldred’s Contemporary Art auction on August 13, which featured about 150 lots. For information, 508-385-3116 or www.eldreds.com.
Pre-Prohibition Lamp Shines Brightest For Michaan’s
ALAMEDA, CALIF. — Michaan’s conducted its August Gallery Auction on the 15th of the month, offering 600 lots of fine jewelry, decorative art, Asian art and various other collectibles. Earning almost five times the high end of its $6/10,000 estimate was a pre-Prohibition Buffalo Brewing Company Lager Dawes reverse painted pendant lamp, which lit up to $48,750. The circa 1900 piece had its four original curved glass panels intact, which were all painted with a depiction of the brewery and horse drawn carriages, as well as “Buffalo Lager / Buffalo Brewing Co. / Sacramento, Cal.” For information, 510-740-0220 or www.michaans.com.
