COMPLIMENTARY COPY
D.C. Antique Photo And Postcard Show Slated For Sunday, March 10 Popular One-Day Event Will Be In Arlington, Va. FRIDAY MARCH 1, 2019 • VOL. 50, NO. 9
Morphy’s To Host Sale Brimming With Toys, Banks, Trains And Dolls On March 13 And 14
AAN Current News
J. & E. Stevens “Girl Skipping Rope” Mechanical Bank Among Featured Lots Although Morphy Auctions is a full-service auction house that has achieved world-record prices for decorative art, fine jewelry and firearms, its roots are deeply embedded in the antique toy and bank community. Since opening its doors in 1997, Morphy’s has represented scores of premier collections, including the Stephen and Marilyn Steckbeck bank collection (October 2007), whose $7.7 million total set a new record for the highest-achieving, oneday, single-owner toy collection ever sold at auction. Morphy’s will continue the tradition of bringing fresh, This J. & E. Stevens “Girl Skipping Rope” cast-iron superior quality toys, banks and mechanical bank, ex. Bill Norman collection, will be dolls to the marketplace on estimated at $60,000-$90,000. Wednesday and Thursday, March 13 and 14, with a 1,590-lot sale at their southeastern Pennsylvania gallery. All forms of remote bidding will be available, including live via the internet through Morphy Live. Prices for cast-iron mechanical banks have remained robust at Morphy sales over the past two decades, whether the bulls or bears were in charge on Wall Street. “I’ve collected them since I was a boy, and they’ve always been a fantastic investment,” said Morphy Auctions president Dan Morphy. Of the 77 outstanding mechanicals entered in the March event, Dan’s top picks start with a J. & E. Stevens “Girl Skipping Rope.” An excellent original example with strong, consistent coloring, it comes with provenance that This Littco “Halloween Girl” figural cast-iron includes the Bill Norman collection. doorstop, one of only four known examples, It is estimated at $60,000-$90,000. will be estimated at $15,000-$25,000. Following closely behind is a near-mint, all-original “Merry-Go- example of this bank that doesn’t Round” bank made by Kyser & Rex have major issues,” according to of Philadelphia. “It’s hard to find an Morphy. “This one is a beauty and was one of the prized pieces in the late Donal Markey’s collection.” The estimate will be $50,000-$80,000. The parade of J. & E. Stevens highlights continues with a stunning example of a “Milking Cow” bank, thin-base variation (ex. Covert Hegarty collection), and footballthemed “Calamity” bank (ex. Bill Norman collection). Each The ultra-rare set of large (14 to 15 inch each) Beatles of these exceptional mechannodders produced exclusively for display at retail icals is expected to make stores, 1964, Car Mascots Inc., will be estimated at $40,000-$60,000. A whimsical $10,000-$20,000. Continued on page 2
Calling all history buffs, photography fanatics, and lovers of interesting, unique things. For one day only, on Sunday, March 10, come see history like never seen before at the D.C. Antique Photo And Postcard Show. The D.C. Photo Show is one of the longest running antique
photography shows in the country. This show contains thousands of stereoviews, daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes, snapshots, movie stills, modern photography, and over a million postcards, ranging from small town views to rare,
Two Shows Lined Up For First Weekend Of March In Historic Bath, Pa. on page 4
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“Monumental Journey: The Daguerreotypes Of Girault de Prangey”
Locati’s First Sale Of 2019 Delivered Strong Prices In Chinese Porcelain on page 6
Work Of Pioneer In Early Photography On View At Met In 1842, artist, architectural historian, archaeologist, and pioneer photographer JosephPhilibert Girault de Prangey (1804–92) embarked on a threeyear photographic excursion throughout the Eastern Mediterranean, and he returned to France with more than 1,000 daguerreotypes, an unparalleled feat in the history of photography. Among the images he created are the earliest surviving photographs of Greece, Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, and Jerusalem and among the first daguerreotypes depicting Italy. A trailblazer of the daguerreotype process, Girault used oversize plates and innova- Girault de Prangey’s (French, 1804–92) “Palm Tree tive formats to produce what is near the Church of Saints Theodore, Athens” (89. today the world’s oldest photo- Athènes. 1842. Palmier près S Théodore.), from graphic archive, all in the service 1842, is courtesy of Bibliothèque nationale de of a brand-new type of archaeo- France, Paris (EG7-750). logical fieldwork. This exhibition, the first in the United States devot- Foundation/Betsy and Ed Cohen. ed to Girault, and the first to focus Additional support is provided by on his Mediterranean journey, will Jennifer S. and Philip F. Maritz and feature approximately 120 of his the Alfred Stieglitz Society. It is daguerreotypes, supplemented by organized by The Metropolitan examples of his graphic work. water- Museum of Art, New York, in collabcolors, paintings, and his lithograph- oration with the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris. The catically illustrated publications. The exhibition, which runs until alogue is made possible by the Sunday, May 12 at the the Met Fifth Diane W. and James E. Burke Fund. For more information, visit Avenue location in New York City is made possible by the Arête www.metmuseum.org.
Milestone Auctions Celebrates First Million-Dollar Sale Of Historical Militaria And Firearms on page 9
Special Exhibition Honoring The Late Phyllis Mills Wyeth On View At The Brandywine on page 14
In This Issue SHOPS, SHOWS & MARKETS . . . . . . . . . . starting on page 3 SHOPS DIRECTORY . . . . . . . . . on page 5 EVENT & AUCTION CALENDAR . on page 8 AUCTION SALE BILLS . . . starting on page 8
FEATURED RESULTS: Milestone Auctions - January 19 in Willoughby, Ohio - Page 9
AUCTIONEER DIRECTORY . . . . on page 10 CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . on page 15