A flock of 28 decoys was headed by this hollow Black Duck decoy made in Ontario that soared to $9,225 and sold to a Florida collector of fishing tackle ($200/400).
Review by Madelia Hickman Ring
POTSDAM, N.Y. — In their annual Premier Adirondack auctions, Kip and Sue Blanchard captured the spirit and aesthetic of the Great Camps of the Adirondacks, the rustic family compounds that were the get-away of choice for the wealthy in the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries. Offerings typically include hickory and rustic furniture, Arts and Crafts accessories, Black Forest carvings, decoys and sporting art and collectibles and early lighting.
This year’s edition, conducted August 16, featured all that and more in a 539-lot sale that was 100 percent sold by lot and could be subtitled, “Glamping: The Early Years.” At the head of the sale was a hollow black duck decoy, made in Ontario, that retained its original paint and realized $9,225. It led a flock of more than two dozen additional decoys that sold for prices ranging from $74 for a pair of broadbill decoys also made in Ontario, to $1,722, for a 1940s duck by Toronto decoy maker Francis H. Kortright.
Adirondack furniture was plentiful and varied in both form and value. A secretary with birch panels, antler pulls and painted deer panels that had been made by Dwayne Thompson in Clayton, Ga., set a high bar, going out at $7,380. The catalog noted it had been purchased at the Adirondack store in Lake Placid, N.Y. Other noteworthy pieces of furniture would include a hallway table by Barney Bellinger with a boat painting in its top ($4,920), a bird’s-eye maple and birch bark sofa table by Peter Winter ($3,936) and a stepback cupboard made by George Jaques in Keene Valley, N.Y. ($3,567). For those with more modest budgets, a coat tree made of cow horn could be had for as little as $25.
Standing 30 inches tall and measuring 60 inches wide, with a solid maple top and birch bark panels, this sofa table by Peter Winter was described as being in very good used condition exceeded expectations, realizing $3,936 ($1,5/3,000).
A pair of Adirondack-style plank chairs, made by H.C. Bunnell in Westport, N.Y., featured an attractive blue-gray surface and were dated 1905; the pair earned $3,690.
Nearly two dozen lots of Stickley furniture — in vintages both older and newer — were available for Mission and Arts and Crafts enthusiasts. Topping the charts at $3,444 was a quartersawn oak three-door bookcase that had been made in 1993. It was followed at $3,321 by an even-arm Prairie sofa and an extending dining table with “mouse hole” legs that topped off at $2,583.
“The demand for quality contemporary rustic furniture is as good or greater than old rustic furniture,” observed Kip Blanchard.
Artwork in both two and three dimensions was also on hand. Michael Ringer’s “Riding Out The Storm,” cast in bronze in 1991 in an edition of 25, had a top bid of $5,166, a little less than its low estimate. The catalog noted the 26-inch-long piece was Ringer’s first bronze. A bear’s head bronze by James Marsico that was the 2012 Winner “Best of Show” at the Cody Country Annual Art Show, Cody, Wyo., was bagged for $3,567, while the spirit of other large game was captured in a running bull moose bronze sculpture by Bunny Connell that ran to $1,907.
Numbering 10 from an edition of 25, this circa 1991 bronze by Michael Ringer of Redwood, N.Y., had a marble and walnut base. A buyer in the Thousand Islands region, where Ringer is from, prevailed at $5,166 ($6/12,000).
A “Just for Fun” map of the Adirondack Park by Arto Monaco, was described as a “very unique piece.” Bidders apparently concurred and it realized $3,936. A stuffed fish, mounted under glass against a scenic lake scene within a quartersawn oak Arts and Crafts frame, was hooked for $3,690. Rounding out fine art highlights, a painting that once hung in the Dancing Bear Lounge at the Lake Placid Hilton danced to $3,444.
Black Forest carvings came in several forms, from wall mounts to chandeliers, clocks and umbrella stands. An example in the form of a stag head wall mount that had real and removable antlers, led the pack at $3,813.
Blanchard had nothing but positive things to say after the auction. “I was very pleased with the sale and the number of buyers we had. Even though we call it ‘Adirondack’ furniture, things are going to buyers all over the country. It was great to see we had so many repeat buyers, the majority of which are retail customers; that has been one change we’ve seen over the past 30 years.”
Blanchard’s Auction will conduct an auction of fishing and sporting art, antiques and collectibles on November 1 and 3.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.blanchardsauctionservice.com or 315-265-5070.
