The mileage wasn’t included in the catalog description for the auction’s top lot: this 1969 Pontiac Firebird convertible that an out of state bidder won for $19,200 ($12/18,000).
Review by Madelia Hickman Ring
PLAINFIELD, N.H. — Summer evenings are a great time for antique and vintage car rallies, so the time was right for William Smith Auctions to offer 14 vehicles from the Lebanon, N.H., antique vehicle collection of Gordon Bagley and others in the firm’s Summer Estates auction on July 2. More than 93 percent of the nearly 500 lots in the sale gaveled down successfully and the auction achieved about $500,000.
Vehicles in Bagley’s collection spanned several decades but taking its place and crossing the finish line first at $19,200 was a 1969 Pontiac Firebird convertible that was cataloged as “driving as it should.” Estimated at $12/18,000, it sold to an out-of-state buyer.
A 1982 Chevrolet 1500 C-10 Scottsdale short-bed pick up truck, with two-tone blue and white exterior and interior, had logged 67,856 miles and was also in running condition; it finished above expectations, for $16,800.
Bagley’s collection included five Fords from the 1920s, 30s and 70s. A 1932 Ford V8 four-door sedan, with a blue and black exterior and sage-green interior, had the highest price of these at $15,600.
Exceeding expectations at $15,600 was this 1932 Ford V8 sedan with only 3,045 miles ($8/12,000).
There were nine cars in the sale’s top 12 lots but in fourth place — with a $13,750 price realized — was a selection of cabinets, with drawers and windows from a late Nineteenth Century oak pharmacy interior that had an overall length of 52 feet and also came from Bagley’s collection. A representative for the auction house noted it was headed to the seacoast of New Hampshire, but she wasn’t sure if that was its end destination.
For those who weren’t looking for such large case pieces, an eight-drawer cherry chest by Thomas Moser, made in Auburn, Maine, in 2001, was a good fit at $6,250.
A selection of political documents and signed photographs crossed the block about halfway through the sale; of particular note was a typed Congressional declaration of war with Germany that was signed on April 6, 1917, by President Woodrow Wilson, Vice President Thomas R. Marshall and Speaker of the House Champ Clark. Estimated at $500/1,000, it did much better, declaring a final bid of $8,750.
William Smith Auctions’ next sale will take place on July 30, featuring Americana sold in its annual French House auction.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, 603-675-2549 or www.wsmithauction.com.
