A full slate of blockbuster sales is planned for the rest of this spring by Philip Weiss Auctions, Long Island’s premier auction house. Two of the sales – April 24-25 and May 8-9 – will be two-day weekend affairs, while the May 30 auction will be a stand-alone event. Of the group, the May 9 auction (a two-session crowd-pleaser) promises to be the crown jewel of the season.
May 9 will actually feel like two auctions in one day. Session I, beginning at 10 a.m., will be dedicated to coins and stamps. Highlights will include a rare block of six mint Canadian Invert St. Lawrence Seaway stamps; other outstanding foreign and U.S. stamps, all form prominent local estates; other high-end material; and coins, to include gold, silver and a nice collection of Carson City dollars.
Then, starting promptly at noon, a completely different Session II will commence, beginning with rare books, autographs, manuscripts and posters. Highlights will include an immaculate first-edition set of Audubon’s Birds and Quadrupeds (10 volumes complete); a manuscript page from Henry David Thoreau’s Walden; and a rare handwritten letter by Oscar Schindler (of Schindler’s List fame).
Things will heat up later in the afternoon, first with the actual bugle used to alert the troops at Pearl Harbor. Other star lots will include an original Eight Ball Award, presented to President Harry Truman; Charles Schulz art, including an original daily and Sunday page; Civil War autographs; an archive of John Paul Getty material; fine art posters; fine and rare books; and WPA signed lithographs.
The day before – Friday, May 8 – will be dedicated to trains, trains and more trains. Offered will be Part I of a massive warehouse find, comprising Lionel, LGB, Mike’s Train House and other noted manufacturers. The vast majority of pieces are unopened and in the original boxes – many with never-touched shipping cartons.
The May 8 auction will also feature collectible vintage train material as well.
The weekend of April 24-25 will feature fresh-to-the-market estate material in a galaxy of categories. The Friday, April 24 sale will be highlighted by a magnificent Sevres Napoleonic decorated urn; important Gorham sterling; an ivory tankard; fine Russian paintings (including works by Vassiliev, Bogaevsky, Koudriachov, Korovin and Manievich); and an oil painting attributed to A. Exter, signed.
The April 24 sale will also feature other fine pieces of art, as well as a great group of furniture from a Park Avenue estate. The following day – Saturday, April 25, beginning at 10 a.m. — presented will be a terrific collection of antique advertising, to include tin and porcelain examples for automotive, laundry/soap, soda fountain and more. Also offered will be coin-ops (to include slot machines, pinball machines and a vintage roulette table); pedal cars; trolley posters; and battery-op and wind-up toys.
May 30 will feel like a two-day sale in one. Toys and sports will share the spotlight, with just a few expected star lots to include a rare “Columbus Egg” (original in the box) and the Caravel “Santa Maria” (both from the Columbian Exposition of 1893); an Ives Walking Santa Claus; a Santa Claus cast-iron Christmas tree holder; cast-iron kicking frogs on a wheeled base; and a vintage Buster Brown cart.
Other lots that will cross the block May 30 include a high-grade speaking dog bank; a Powerful Katrinka wind-up; Brownies Nine Pins, boxed; an early tin litho carousel; a nice Shoenhut Circus Tent, with accessories; a rare Vanner & Prests Molliscorium clock; a tin German-made wind-up aviation toy; Part IV of the B.L. “Phil” Phillips battery-op collection; and items from the Steve Rathkopf collection.
The sports portion of the May 30 sale will feature baseball material, to include a phenomenal single-owner collection of 1950’s-1980’s baseball and sports cards; a collection of early baseball programs from the 19th and 20th century; baseball press photos from the 1920’s and ’30s; and other items from various estate collections. Material for this and the other sales was still being added at press time.
Philip Weiss Auctions is always accepting quality consignments for future sales. To consign an item, estate or collection, you may call them directly, at (516) 594-0731, or you can e-mail them at [email protected]. To learn more about the company and its calendar of upcoming auctions, to include all of the April and May sales, and to view color images, log on to www.prwauctions.com