MARLBOROUGH, MASS. — It was no surprise that this Connecticut River Valley Hadley chest would bring the highest price of Skinner’s sale of Marion Atten’s collection of early furniture and accessories. Bidding had reached $11,000 the day before the sale. The majority of the items offered dated to the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, with a few from the early Nineteenth Century, but everything had “the look.” There were several joined stools, several joined chests, several early chairs, early treen, Seventeenth Century ceramics, Eighteenth Century firearms and a wide variety of period accessories. In addition to the Hadley chest, a circa 1690 Plymouth County joined chest brought $21,250. Hard-to-find accessories did well, as three Eighteenth or Nineteenth Century English wool wigs finished at $3,500, ten times the estimate. A full report will follow.
