A buyer in Nantucket paid $8,960 for this 1941 fire engine that had been made by Seagrave for Ford and painted as a Hanover Fire Department engine. It was one of two full-sized engines to achieve the sale’s top price ($8/12,000).

Review by Madelia Hickman Ring; Photos Courtesy Eldred’s

HANOVER, MASS. — About 80 percent of the 156-lots of Fire Memorabilia offered by Eldred’s on November 9 were from the collection of Roger Leslie, a second-generation firefighter with the Hanover Call Fire Department at Company 1. The collection was consigned for sale from Roger “Chip” Leslie Jr, who recalled memories of his father’s collecting habits in the catalog’s introduction and included commentary alongside several lots. According to Eric Mulak, Eldred’s specialist in charge of the sale, the auction totaled nearly $100,000 and sold largely to private collectors in Massachusetts.

Three full-size fire engines were offered, all of which had been completely restored. A 1919 Ford Model T fire engine that Leslie had purchased in 1970 in Scituate, Mass., was the first lot of the day and while it passed during the sale, Mulak reported it had been sold privately afterwards. The remaining fire engines were sold as the last two lots of the day and each achieved $8,960, which was the top price of the day. A 1961 GMC 5000 engine that had been painted as a Norwell Fire department engine sold to a buyer in Hanover, while a 1941 engine made by Seagrave for Ford, painted as a Hanover Fire Department engine, will be riding to a new home with a buyer in Nantucket.

The day’s second-highest price of $7,040 was realized by a cased presentation fire badge engraved “Presented to Capt. W. O. Hunt by the Hingham Fire Dept. Feb. 28th 1889.” Mulak was pleased to say it will be returning to Hingham having been purchased by a buyer there. It was one of a dozen badge lots, many of which included multiple examples. Another fire badge lot that did notably well was a cased collection of 30 examples from Boston and Quincy that dated to both the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. Estimated at $300/400, it brought more than 10 times its high estimate, finding a new home with a buyer who paid $4,800 for the lot.

This 1961 GMC 5000 fire engine sold to a buyer in Hanover for $8,960. It was one of two full-sized engines to achieve that price, the highest of the day ($8/12,000).

Shield holders were often cast in animal shapes and were used to help secure the top of a helmet shield to a helmet. The same price of $7,040 was realized by a group lot of five Nineteenth Century brass shield holders that were cast in the shapes of a dog, fox, lion, eagle and hippogriff; four of them were stamped “J.M. Migeod & Son.” Mulak shared the fun story that the Leslie family would polish them on the weekends while watching Patriots games on television.

Nearly 20 lots featured helmets, with the category being led at $4,160 by a lot of two Nineteenth Century examples, one Cairns & Brothers black painted example with a Fall River shield, the other in faded white paint with an eagle shield holder and a shield that read “Whites One Fire Dept.”

Fine art in the sale was largely prints, photographs and posters but three oil on canvas paintings — all cataloged as Nineteenth Century American School — were available for buyers to compete for. Earning $3,328 was a Nineteenth Century oil on panel from American Engine 6 “Big 6” of New York; it beat out $3,200 each, achieved by two oil on tin panels that had purportedly been taken from fire trucks. One depicting a woman playing a harp, the other showing a woman holding a chalice and flowers.

This Nineteenth Century fire bucket with a gold-framed cartouche depicting the female form finished at $3,072, the highest price realized for a small selection of fire buckets. It sold to a buyer in Las Vegas, one of a few lots in the sale to leave Massachusetts ($1/1,500).

Mulak noted that Bob Eldred used to conduct two or three fire memorabilia auctions a year “30 years ago. We have enough material we hope to do at least one a year moving forward.” That said, the date of the next fire memorabilia auction has not yet been determined.

Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For additional information, 508-385-3116 or www.eldreds.com.