COMPLIMENTARY COPY
Saturday Evening Post Covers Pop In Swann Illustration Sale Original Artwork “College Football” By Joseph F. Kernan Sets New Record FRIDAY FEBRUARY 19, 2021 • VOL. 52, NO. 7
Roadside America: End Of An Era, Part I Renaissance Auction Group Liquidates Shartlesville, Pa., Landmark
Among the most iconic items was the monumental 75-by-172-by-113-inch custom crafted fiberglass sculpture of an Amish man and woman seated on a bench, mounted on a wooden platform installed in the parking lot between the PA Dutch Gift Haus and Roadside America. It found a new home for $5,900, going to a buyer in nearby Myerstown, Pa.
By Karl Pass “I don’t think it is auctioneer hyberbole to say it was a truly unique folk art installation,” stated Bill Howze of the Renaissance Auction Group following the liquidation sale of the longtime Shartlesville, Pa., fix- A 46.5-by-82-inch handpainted on plywood version of Mt. ture, Roadside America. Rushmore brought $590. Howze sold 700 lots in an online-only sale that opened contents of two businesses, Dec. 30 and closed Jan. 23. Every lot Roadside America and the PA Dutch started at $5 and consisted of the Gift Haus. Prices reported include an 18-percent buyer’s premium. “Both were very hands-on businesses,” said Howze. Roadside America was a roadside attraction featuring elaborate miniature hand-built scale model villages/model railroads created by founder Laurence Gieringer (1894-1963). The PA Dutch Gift Haus was a gift and souvenir shop. The two buildings were side by side at Roadside Drive outside of Hamburg in Berks County, Pa. Roadside America was the quintessential The Fairfield Courthouse, with clock/bell tower, three figures, mid-20th century road12 flower beds, four utility poles, two streetlights, and other side attraction. It spoke Continued on page 2 landscaping sold for $2,979.
S w a n n cover for The Galleries held a Saturday Evening robust sale of Post and was likeIllustration Art on ly the inspiration Jan. 28. The aucfor the iconic tion saw record Heisman trophy prices for several designed by Frank works, as well as Eliscu in 1934. The auction debuts collection brought from artists. additional artist Original artwork records with two from the collecmore covers for tion of Richard The Saturday “Dick” McDonough Evening Post, brought excite“Conference on ment from buyers, the Mound,” 1912, and covers for The by Leslie Thrasher Saturday Evening Joseph F. Kernan’s “College Football,” cover ($37,500), and Post and The New of The Saturday Evening Post, oil-on-canvas, “Hitting the Links Yorker, Sunday 1932, sold to the trade for $75,000, a record of Palm Beach,” comics, and story for the artist. ca. 1920s, by Ruth illustrations Eastman, which sparked widespread interest. was acquired by the USGA Museum The McDonough collection of and Library ($11,875). Further highgolf illustration featured a selec- lights included Joseph tion of 63 golf and sports-themed Leyendecker’s “Golfer Lighting a works of art, including original illus- Cigarette,” a 1920 oil-on-canvas trations and rare printed posters study for an advertisement, that and graphics. Most notable was sold for $30,000, and Michael “College Football” by Joseph F. Brown’s “Levin Links,” an early-20th Kernan, which led the sale at century oil-on-canvas scene of a $75,000, a record for Kernan. The golf course, that brought $8,125. 1932 oil-on-canvas served as a Continued on page 13
Heritage Auctions’ Weekly Comics Auction Breaks Record At $621,231
AAN Current News
Fontaine’s Auction Gallery Kicks Off 2021 With Back-To-Back Auctions on page 5
Seller’s Market For Zook Dioramas on page 8
Highlights Include Amazing Fantasy #15, Frank Frazetta Tribute Painting Heritage Auctions set a new world record for the largest weekly comics auction ever held when its Sunday and Monday Comics, Animation, Video Games and Art Weekly Online Auction, which closed Feb. 1 on HA.com, amassed $621,231 in sales. The two-day event drew 3,123 bidders, 537 of whom won one or more of the 1,166 lots.
Online-Only Decorative Arts Auction At Pook & Pook Set For Feb. 24 on page 9
The Avengers #55 (Marvel, 1968), CGC NM/MT 9.8 white pages, sold for $5,040.
The Incredible Hulk #181 (Marvel, 1974), CGC VF+ 8.5 off-white to white pages, sold for $5,760.
The total smashed the previous record for a weekly auction, when Heritage’s weekly total reached $573,095 in its March 3, 2019, Sunday Internet Comics, Animation and Art Auction. “Our weekly sales have grown incredibly over the last 20 years,” according to Heritage Auctions senior vice president Ed Jaster. “The Continued on page 15
Outlaw Biker Gang Movies And Memorabilia on page 12
In This Issue SHOPS, SHOWS & MARKETS . . . . . . . . . . starting on page 3 SHOPS DIRECTORY . . . . . . . . . on page 4 EVENT & AUCTION CALENDAR . on page 6 AUCTION SALE BILLS . . . starting on page 7
FEATURED AUCTION: Pook & Pook Online Only Sale - Feb. 24 - Page 9
AUCTIONEER DIRECTORY . . . . . on page 7 CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . on page 15