A period lift-top blanket box in green, circa 1780-1820, topped the auction, finishing at $16,250. With a panel front and snipe hinges, its top was not attached but the original hinges were there.
Review by W.A. Demers, Photos Courtesy Fontaine’s Heritage Auctions
CANAAN, N.Y. — A period lift-top blanket box in green, circa 1780-1820, topped Ralph Fontaine’s Heritage auction on April 30. It was estimated $50-$1,000, but did much better, finishing at $16,250. With a panel front and snipe hinges, its top was not attached but the original hinges were there. It measured 49 inches wide, 26 inches tall and 19 inches deep.
Fontaine sold more than 500 lots, including silver, gold, garden items, a Gibson guitar, music boxes, paintings, two Louis Vuitton trunks and more. Like most of his gallery sales, it was a fun event with something for everyone, drawing an in-house crowd of about 75-80 patrons and about 1,000 bidders registered online. When the gavel fell for the last time, there were just a handful of items left unsold, mostly knickknacks and the like, according to owner and auctioneer Ralph Fontaine. ”It was a very good sale. It was a nice mix of stuff. We had a bunch of sterling silver, a bunch of jewelry, garden antiques. We had midcentury, Victorian. Everyone said, ‘We haven’t seen an auction this good in awhile.’”
A rare working Edison Ideal phonograph #65441 in a mahogany case was making its debut at auction as it was “estate fresh,” in the parlance. The springs were all good, and the belt needed tightening, but the case was in original finish and it was fitted with a #10 horn. Closed dimensions were 18 inches wide, 14 inches tall and 13 inches deep. Selling for $8,400 and made around the turn of the century, it was a far cry from the earliest Edison phonograph, which was invented in 1877 when Edison made the first audio recording, reciting, “Mary had a little lamb. Its fleece was white as snow.”
Louis Vuitton luggage aficionados were treated to not one but two of the iconic trunks that are so desirable at auction these days. A rare, small 30-inch Vuitton leather-bound trunk was described as being “in real nice condition” for its age and use. From the prestigious Regent Circus part of London with the original rollers, it was 17 inches tall and 17 inches deep and found a buyer at $7,500. Following that in price, realizing $5,313, and larger was a Louis Vuitton trunk #119815 with pull-out tray. In used condition, of course, it retained its original rollers on the bottom and measured 36 by 24 by 21 inches. The trunks were purchased by separate bidders, both bidding online.
A rare working Edison Ideal phonograph from around the turn of the century in a mahogany case was making its auction debut, accompanied by a #10 horn and selling for $8,400.
There are not only antique luggage collectors out there, but avid hunters of vintage musical instruments — especially American guitars — as well, and for this segment of the market the sale offered one of the finest one-owner 1956 Gibson guitars and Les Paul Gibson amp to cross the block. The guitar was bought together with the original case in 1957 and had been kept in nice condition. It sold for $5,100 to an in-house bidder. “The lady who had it, her parents bought it for her when she was 12 or 13 years old,” said Fontaine. “She had it all her life.”
A monumental mid-Nineteenth Century hand-carved oak pedestal with full open wing eagle top made a must-see statement. It was described as in very nice condition, with a few chips and seam separations. Magnificent at 34 inches wide by 79 inches tall, it left the gallery at $5,000. “Very large,” said Fontaine. “Somebody asked me if it could have been a podium. If it was a podium, the guy behind it would have had to have been 7½ feet tall.”
Dining must have been fabulous under a type of chandelier that was common in the homes of the wealthy between the middle and late Nineteenth Century. In this sale, a gilded bronze gasolier with winged maiden holding birds and fruit was very elaborate. Again, plucked fresh from an estate in Catskills, N.Y., it bore some green oxidation and was in need of shades. Hard to find at 37 inches wide by 38 inches tall, it sold for $4,700.
Midcentury Modern furniture was represented by a Florence Knoll rosewood marble top credenza, 75 by 26 by 18 inches, that was bid to $4,375.
Prices given include the buyer’s premium as stated by the auction house. The next sale will be online in late June or early July, with the next gallery sale scheduled for some time in late September. For information, www.fontaineheritage.com or 413-441-7641.
