Bonhams & Butterfields offered jewelry and timepieces, automobilia and collectors’ motorcars on Friday, August 15, from the grounds of Quail Lodge in Carmel, Calif.
The sale brought more than $2.5 million and featured a famous hot rod and motorcars from the collection of Robert Hood – all of which found new owners. Strong prices were paid for rare Lalique mascots of the 1920s.
A classic example of an American street rod, a 1932 Ford roadster achieved the highest sale price, bringing $192,000. The Ray Defillipi-built Deuce roadster has an illustrious past. It was featured in multiple magazine layouts, made appearances in several feature films, as well as appearances on television’s The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet – driven on screen by the Nelson boys. This car became known over time as the “Ricky Nelson Roadster” and sold to a delighted fan and collector of Ricky Nelson memorabilia.
Hood, head of an aerospace company, amassed and cared for his collection with the assistance of the late noted restorer John Swaisland. A buyer paid $50,600 for Hood’s 1937 Alvis Speed 20 SC Tourer, coachwork by Charlesworth. The tourer is one of few pre-war UK saloons capable of achieving 100-mph. His 1956 Austin Healy 100 Roadster, awarded first in class at the Palos Verdes Concours d’Elegance in 2000, sold just-above estimate for $31,050 and bidding more than doubled the estimate for his 1931 Ford Model A Roadster. Hood’s 1948 right-hand drive Jaguar MkIV 21/2-liter Drophead Coupe had won awards at past concours and sold above estimate for $48,300 while his 1971 Mercedes-Benz 280SE brought $52,900.
A 1926 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Newmarket convertible sedan, featuring coachwork by Brewster from the Hood Collection sold above estimate for $115,000 while a buyer paid $137,000 for Hood’s fully restored 1938 Lagonda LG6 Drophead coupe.
Additional strong sellers include $157,500 paid for a fire red 1965 Ferrari 275GTS convertible, one of only 200 models produced; and $170,000 was paid for a 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster. As well, a special limited edition 2001 Bentley Arnage Le Mans four-door saloon, one of just 150 models manufactured, was offered with a number of special features such as a route navigation system and XM satellite radio. The Bentley sold for $117,200. A 1967 Aston Martin DB4 Series IV brought $89,700 while a classic Ford Woodie, a 1947 Ford V8 Model 799A Deluxe station wagon, brought $71,300.
Other strong selling lots within the automobilia section of Friday’s auction included whimsical mascots in silvered and nickeled bronze, many by noted makers, many incorporating Art Deco design elements. An Art Deco squirrel mascot by Le Verrier more than doubled its estimate, selling for $2,530 while a rare polar bear mascot signed, stamped and numbered by Ch. Soudant brought $4,025 ($2,800/3,200).
An Austrian-made puss-in-boots mascot sold for $2,875 and a superb Bleriot monoplane mascot, French, 1910, sold for more than three tines its estimate, bringing $4,025. A rare Henri Payen mascot sold far above estimate for $4,025. Wired for electricity, it features an elephant, its trunk raised and holding a lantern. A bronze baby elephant emerging from a silvered bronze egg delighted a bidder who paid $1,265 for the lot. An exceptionally rare Maurice Guiraud Riviere sculpture “La Comete,” circa 1925, signed and bearing a Paris foundry mark sold for $28,750.
The auction opened with lots of jewelry and timepieces. Bidders paid strong prices for watches by noted makers including $14,100 paid for a Cartier Swiss gold and diamond wristwatch and $12,338 paid for a Harry Winston Swiss gold and diamond integral lady’s wrist watch. A three stone platinum ring centering a 10.26 carat oval-shaped sapphire flanked by two half moon-cut diamonds sold for $18,800 while a natural fancy yellow diamond and 18K gold ring, the cut-cornered rectangular stone weighing 10.62 carats, sold for $64,500.
