June 2017 Auction Highlights
Welcome back…
If you have a penchant for collecting rare, unusual, or celebrity items, you’ll like this month’s auction highlights. Items crossing the block soon include ocean liner memorabilia, including items from the doomed Andrea Doria and Titanic; highly collectible posters, including one of the rarest bicycle posters to come to market in recent times; decorative items from the living estate of Rolling Stones’ guitarist Keith Richards; an upscale modern estate auction in Palm Beach, FL, and top-of-the-line Horror Movie Posters. Let’s have a look!
Ocean Liner Memorabilia
The Nantucket, MA coast was shrouded in a dense fog on the evening of July 25, 1956. Two ships collided in the fog: the Italian ship SS Andrea Doria and the Swedish ship MS Stockholm. The Andrea Doria was severely damaged, but 1660 passengers and crew were rescued before the ship sank. Fifty-one people lost their lives in the accident.
A life ring from the SS Andrea Doria will be offered by Weiss Auctions at their June 22, 2017 Ocean Liner Memorabilia sale. Other notable items include a letter handwritten aboard the RMS Titanic the day before the ship was struck by an iceberg, and a glass clock given to all first-class passengers on the maiden voyage of the SS Normandie in 1935. The Normandie accidently caught fire and sank in New York Harbor in 1942.
The auction will also include antique advertising, rare books, historical memorabilia, autographs and more.
The event will begin at 10AM Eastern time at the Phillip Weiss Gallery, 74 Merrick Road, Lynbrook, NY 11563. Previews will be held on June 19th from 10-5, June 20-21, from 10-8 and the day of the auction from 8am-9:45 am. Online bidding will be facilitated by Proxibid.com and LiveAuctioneers.com. For further information, visit the Weiss website.
Horror Movie Posters
“When there is no room left in hell, the dead will walk the earth.”
This line from the 1978 zombie movie “Dawn of the Dead” is exactly the kind of campy dialogue that attracts fans to the Horror Movie film genre. In the 21st Century, “camp” is collectible. In this era of computer-generated movie effects, old-fashioned costumes, make-up, and set models speak to a simpler time, when movie monsters were simply scary rather than terrifying, and movie advertising was done through newspapers and posters rather than YouTube videos.
Movie poster reprints are ubiquitous. Finding an original, produced-by-the-studio poster in good condition is a challenge for collectors. Consequently, prices for genuine studio posters continue to climb. Christie’s film specialist Emma Lutec remarked “Iconic horror and science fiction films consistently make the highest prices at auction.”
Few auction houses have as much experience with Horror Movie posters as Heritage Auctions. They boast poster prices of $388,375 for a 1933 King Kong, $358,500 for a 1931 Frankenstein, and $478,000 for a 1927 London After Midnight.
On July 29 & 30, 2017, Heritage will once again offer “the best of the best” Horror Movie posters in their Movie Posters Signature Auction. Included in the lots will be such notables as 1931’s Frankenstein, with Boris Karloff; 1933’s Supernatural with Carole Lombard, 1958’s The Horror of Dracula with Peter Cushing, and others.
To register to bid, visit the Heritage website at www.ha.com. Online bidding for this event begins around July 7, 2017.
Another side of Keith Richards
Keith Richards’ public persona is that of a hard-living rock icon. Privately, he is a man of taste who appreciates fine art and furnishings. Richards and his wife, model Patti Hansen Richards, are donating items from their Manhattan apartment to benefit the Prospector Theater and Sphere, Inc. of Ridgefield, Connecticut. Sphere Inc. provides programs for adults with developmental disabilities. Hansen’s nephew has received services from the organizations. A Sphere press release reads:
“The entire SPHERE family is thrilled to announce that Keith Richards and Patti Hansen have selected SPHERE and the Prospector Theater to benefit from the proceeds of a major auction of the contents of their Manhattan apartment. We are so very appreciative of their generosity!”
The auction is being handled by Stair Galleries in Hudson, New York, on June 24. The preview begins June 10 and the auction is on June 24. For registration, bidding, and other information visit the Stair Galleries website.
Collectible Posters
On June 22, 2017 Rennerts Gallery will offer 409 lots of rare, vintage posters at their Poster Auctions International LXXII: Rare Posters event. The auction features artists such as Cappiello, Cassandre, Loupot, Mucha, and others. Categories include (but are not limited to) Soviet, Travel, Bicycles, Automobiles, and Aviation.
The live auction will be held at Rennert’s Gallery, 26 W 17th St, New York, NY 10011, at 2PM. Online, phone and absentee bidding is available. Lots can be previewed at the gallery from Friday, June 12 to Wednesday, June 21 from 11am-6pm daily, and the day of the auction from 9am-12pm.
To view lots online or order the catalog, visit the Rennerts site. You can register and bid at Poster Auctions International.
Upscale Palm Beach
MG Neely Auction will hold their annual summer Palm Beach Antique to Modern Estate Auction on Sunday, July 9, 2017 at noon EST.
This is strictly an “upscale” estate sale with furnishings, decor, and artwork including:
- English, Italian, and French Traditional furniture
- Decor by Adrian Pearsall, Aldo Tura, Karl springer and other trend-setting designers
- Porcelain and pottery by Lladro, Tiffany, Steuben, and others
The auction can be accessed online at Live Auctioneers. For details and information, visit the Neely site.
Until next month… bid often and bid high.
Wayne Jordan is a Virginia-licensed auctioneer, Certified Personal Property Appraiser and Accredited Business Broker. He has held the professional designations of Certified Estate Specialist; Accredited Auctioneer of Real Estate; Certified Auction Specialist, Residential Real Estate and Accredited Business Broker. He also has held state licenses in Real Estate and Insurance. Wayne is a regular columnist for Antique Trader Magazine, a WorthPoint Worthologist (appraiser) and the author of two books. For more info, visit Wayne Jordan Auctions or Resale Retailing with Wayne Jordan.
WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth