Carousel and folk art dealers and collectors created quite a bit of excrdf_Descriptionent this past Saturday, April 3, as a rare giraffe carousel figure became the center of attention at Nadeau’s.

The figure, attributed to the shop of Gustav Dentzel, had traces of the original paint showing through with the remaining areas in a wonderful old dry crackled surface. Ten phone lines were active as the lot crossed the auction block with auctioneer Ed Nadeau asking for a $20,000 opening bid. One of the telephone bidders offered a starter of $35,000 and the lot was off to the races.

Moving in $2,500 increments the lot advanced swiftly to the $50,000 mark where Nadeau jumped the bids to $5,000. Action was brisk between the telephones and a New Jersey carousel/folk art collector in the back of the room that eventually claimed the lot at a record price paid at auction of $116,250, including premium.

Other top lots included a Massachusetts Federal tall-case clock signed by Daniel Munroe that had been found in an unclaimed storage unit with it selling at $38,100, and a primitive hanging apothecary cabinet that realized $24,150.

A complete review will appear in a future issue.