One week after the Kentucky Derby, it was the purses at the May 9 and 10 Whitaker-Augusta sale that found themselves in the winner’s circle. Fittingly, they “won the top purse.”
No doubt, it was the single-owner collection of Hermes handbags that each of the 180 registered fashion aficionados wanted to carry home. The top lot, which sold to an absentee bidder, was a black alligator Kelly bag from the mid-Twentieth Century that measured 9½ inches by 13 inches. Complete with its original keys, fob and lock, it opened with a bid of $4,000 and sold for $6,325. The same bidder also secured the next mid-Twentieth Century Hermes Kelly black alligator handbag to cross the block in this sale. Stamped “Hermes Paris Made in France” under the flap and also marked “Hermes Paris” on its brass clasp, it sold, along with its logo storage dust bag, for $4,600.
Purses at this textile auction proved they were indeed treasures. As one patron asserted, “My wife can live without air or water, but not without purses.” Proving this true, she went home with a Hermes red alligator handbag from the late Twentieth Century that she purchased for $1,380.
Another Hermes hit was a taupe dyed alligator handbag, also from the late Twentieth Century and signed “Hermes Paris,” that brought $1,092.
It was not just Parisian accessories, but also haute couture from the Twentieth Century that proved popular with patrons. A late 1930s Madeleine Vionnet cream chiffon evening gown that was designed with a full sweeping skirt, halter mobius band neck, bodice and a wide belt that was hand embroidered sold to an absentee bidder for $6,037.
Commenting on the sale of the Vionnet gown, auction house co-owner Karen Augusta noted, “I am happy with the sale of the Vionnet, despite some damage to the chiffon at the embroidered midriff area. The provenance of this gown is important. Originally, it was purchased by Ruth Meyer Epstein in 1939. Ruth †Katherine Graham’s sister †wore the gown to her Washington, D.C., coming out party. In later years, Ruth and Doris Darnell †a famous Philadelphia clothing collector †struck up a friendship and Ruth gave Doris several of her couture garments for the Darnell Collection and for Doris to use in her lectures.”
It was as if time stood still when a large trunk crossed the block. Contained inside it was clothing, a bible, some needlework, an early papier mache doll, a small china doll, a wallpaper hatbox, letters, cards and other accessories †all of which belonged to Holyoke, Mass., resident Sarah Elizabeth Crafts. Crafts was born in 1841 and died at the age of 11 in 1852. Alongside her treasured belongings were several of her mother’s dresses (the girl’s mother died just three months after her daughter’s birth). This poignant time capsule sold for $3,450.
From chasubles to court coats, menswear of all types provided some strong sales, too. Bringing $3,220 was a circa 1800 gent’s formal silk court coat. A Nineteenth Century gent’s naval bicorn hat, American, decorated with mushroom silk satin cockade, with label “W.N. Fisher 130 Cambridge St, Boston,” in good condition, sold for $1,955. Two separately framed chasuble panels (front and back), from the Eighteenth Century sold for $2,990. Presumed to be French, a back chasuble panel, also from the Eighteenth Century, realized $920.
While not exactly menswear, there was one lot, consisting only of yardage, that was sure to garner the attention of men as well as women during the first day of the sale. This 1846 nine yards of multicylinder roller print glazed cotton commemorated the Mexican War. Titled “Capture of General la Vega By Captain May, Zachary Taylor,” it was executed in sage, gold, red and brown colors. With a smaller piece of this historic textile in the Smithsonian Institute’s collection, it was only fitting that this rare item should sell for $2,070.
Two 1980s Christian LaCroix party dresses took center stage during this sale. The first dress, designed with a heavy black silk faille bodice and a pouf silk gauze skirt that was accented with a midriff band in a hot pink silk gauze with black felt dots, sold for $2,185. Bringing slightly more at $2,300 was a Christian LaCroix Parisian creation in a puckered bright pink silk with a long fitted bodice and skirt panels with side paniers that were decorated with black faille ribbons and a black ribbon faux bow tie at the center front and rhinestone shoulder straps.
A collection of Chanel handbags and jewelry was also included in this biannual sale. The top seller in this group was a mint condition, 1980s black patent alligator rectangular purse with a classic Chanel quilted design and five 15-inch gold chains and a central leather knot. Sold with its original box, storage bag and authenticity card, it realized $1,840. Another classically designed quilted Chanel bag that proved to be a good investment for its original owner was a orange lizard purse in mint, unused, condition. Retaining its original 1980s Bergdorf Goodman price tag of $840, it sold in 2008 for $1,265. The top two Chanel jewelry lots both contained three necklaces from the 1980s; the sold for $1,092 and $1,265.
Other highlights in this 1,141-lot sale included a circa 1910 bobbin and tape lace coat that made $2,070 and a circa 1800 block printed and quilted petticoat that sold for $1,035. Leaving the hall for $1,092 was a circa 1900 embroidered export shawl. At $1,265 were two lots, lace on net panels and a circa 1920 Japanese pictorial embroidery.
All prices include a 15 percent buyer’s premium.
The next Whitaker-Augusta fashion and textiles sale will be October 24 and 25 in New Hope. For information, www.whitakerauction.com or 215-817-4600.
