One of two lots leading the sale was this two piece wooden farmhouse cabinet and pantry cupboard in good condition. It had four pull drawers along with front cabinet doors that shielded a small cubby space. The cabinet swung closed at $2,125 ($700-$1,400).

Review by Kiersten Busch

HUDSON, N.Y. — On July 20, Public Sale Auction House conducted Divers, an auction offering various riparian and marine-associated treasures alongside other collectibles, furniture and memorabilia. The sale totaled $124,746, with a sell-through rate of just under 94 percent. “We thought it went well, especially for our Summer Discovery Sale!” said Anthony Massimi, office manager at Public Sale.

Two of the top three lots of the sale left the firm with the same winning price. The first of these two notable items was a wooden farmhouse cabinet and pantry cupboard. The 7-foot-tall piece contained four pull drawers with knobbed fronts, located below the cabinet, which opened into what the auction catalog described as, “a mint pistachio green painted cubby space with cut hole for use with modern electronics.” There were also remnants of the original floral wallpaper on the backside of the cabinet. Its doors swung shut at $2,125, as it found a new home with a buyer in Jackson, Wyo.

The second lot finishing at $2,125 was a life-sized white marble sculpture of the Greek god of the sea, Poseidon, standing at 6½ feet. The auction catalog described it as “highly detailed” and in good condition, with only some wear and staining from being outdoors. It swam to its new home in Greenwich, Conn.

This statue of Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea, sailed to $2,125. The life-sized sculpture was carved in white marble and measured 6½ feet tall ($2/4,000).

Rounding out the top three lots was a cast iron Medici urn planter on a pedestal, which earned $2,040. The 4½ foot planter had a minimalist plinth base, elongated body and egg and dart rim. The lion’s head handles added to its neoclassical flare, as did the figural frieze in relief, which depicted scenes of various men and women. The planter was in good condition, although there was heavy rusting due to previous outdoor use, and it contained a drainage hole on its bottom.

Furniture — whether indoor or outdoor — was a hot ticket item at the sale, with six of the top 10 lots falling in the general category. A large weathered teak pool storage chest made for an outdoor deck and manufactured by Frontgate (West Chester, Ohio) sold for $2,000 to a buyer in Spanish Fort, Ala., for more than three times its high estimate of $500. The chest had a slatted bottom to promote better air circulation and a “large capacity for storing outdoor accessories” in its 66-inch-wide and 30-inch-deep interior, according to the auction catalog.

A Stissing Design farm table made by New York-based artist and designer Tim Jones was a custom design, fitted with a zinc top and an industrial iron base. Its antique cast iron legs were marked “E.A. Adams Machine Co., Providence, R.I.” The table also contained a small plaque, marked “Tim Jones/Stissing Design/Pine Plains, N.Y.,” identifying the maker, and was bid to $1,750, with an online bidder from Chatham, N.Y., eventually scoring the piece.

For $1,500, this pair of cast iron outdoor garden benches in the gothic style put a spell on bidders, with their horseshoe style back designs and winding floral motifs near the seat and arms. Both benches were in good condition ($1/2,000).

Also from the outdoor furniture category were a pair of black cast iron gothic garden benches, measuring approximately 16¼ inches at seat height. The pair had horseshoe-style designs on their backs, cabriole legs and floral motifs surrounding the seat and arms. Minor paint loss and oxidation did not stop bidders from pushing the pair to $1,500, just past their $1,000 low estimate. According to Massimi, they were purchased by the same buyer who won the teak Frontgate storage chest.

Two lots of assorted photographs were bid into the top 10 best-selling of the sale. A set of 23 photographs of the Apollo space missions, NASA rocket ships, astronauts and the moon went for over 13 times their high estimate, heading to a buyer in Paris, France, for $1,375. The photographs of the various Apollo missions were color printed and contained identifying stamps and information on the landing and the crews. “This lot was a surprise,” said Massimi. “We were glad to see it get the attention that it did!”

A lot of more than 295 antique, black and white Victorian tintype photographs included various studio portraits of men, women and children. Some of the photos were in mat frames, but others were loose. The group sold for $1,000 to a buyer in Mercersburg, Penn., surpassing its estimate of $300/600.

Public Sale’s next auction, offering various antiques, will take place on September 28.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, 518-966-7253 or www.publicsale.com.