COMPLIMENTARY COPY
Grey Flannel Holds Summer Games Auction
AAN Current News
Highlights Include Muhammad Ali’s “The Rumble In The Jungle” Trunks FRIDAY MAY 20, 2016 • VOL. 47, NO. 21
Plenty Of Surprises During Three Days Of Sales At Pook & Pook By Karl Pass Pook & Pook Inc. of Downingtown, Pa., held three sales starting with its International sale on the evening of April 22. That 232-lot sale grossed $249,949 and was 85 percent sold. On April 23, a 367-lot Americana sale which grossed $680,795 and was 89 percent sold. A 838-lot, online-only sale through Bidsquare took place April 25, and totaled $204,093. It was 99 percent sold. Prices include buyer’s premium. There was a 20 percent buyer’s premium and 23 percent online through Bidsquare. One of the larger consignments was from the Frank and Frances Auspitz estate. Material from the Auspitz collection was sold in all three sales. Frank Auspitz
Albert Abelt (1913-64) was a Navy serviceman who lived near Boiling Springs, Pa. Abelt carved and painted this period woodbox around 1963. It sold to private collectors for $10,800 (est. $5,000-$8,000).
(1923-2002) was an Army Air Corp veteran and served in WWII. He ran the Auspitz Cabinet Shop for 50plus years in York, Pa., specializing in designing and reproducing period furniture and architectural elements. The Schtockschnitzler Simmons bird tree with three carved and painted birds on a sassafrass branch and red painted wooden stand sold for $14,400 (est. $5,000-$8,000). “Schtockschnitzler” translates to “cane carver.” Active roughly 1885-1910 in the Moselem Springs region of Berks County, Pa., Simmons is known for making both canes, single birds, and bird trees. The shop was located in a brick warehouse between Market and Philadelphia Streets. His business partner was Rodney Boyer (1933-2008), an Air Force veteran who served in the Korean War. He worked for 45 years with Auspitz. A highly skilled furniture maker and carver, Boyer replicated early American furniture and also Wilhelm Schimmel style carvings. Both men went to William Penn High School. “The general consensus was that in today’s world the material did just fine,” said Jamie Shearer of Pook & Pook. A diminutive Queen Anne style walnut sugar chest-on-frame from the Auspitz shop sold for $1,476; a Queen Anne style mahogany
Bidding for Grey Flannel’s Summer Games Auction featuring game-used memorabilia from all major sports is officially underway. The 825-lot online auction will close on Wednesday, May 25. Muhammad Ali’s fight-worn trunks from “The Rumble In The Jungle,” offered as Lot #574, gets top billing in this sale. After being stripped of his title and suspended from boxing, Ali had to climb back to the top of the sport but was unable to reach its peak after losing the “Fight Of The Century” against Joe Frazier. But, as champions do, Ali rebounded, earning a title fight against a bruising, athletically superior George Foreman, a fighter with a perfect 40-0 record at the age of 25. Ali was an 8-to-1 underdog against the champion in the Oct. 30, 1974 match. It was one of the most promoted and widely covered events of the modern sports era. The trunks have documentation from Ali’s business manager, Gene
Kilroy, who could be seen in Ali’s corner on that historic night. It wouldn’t be a Grey Flannel Premier Auction without Michael Jordan. He arrives in a
on page 5
The 1957 Willie Mays New York Giants game-used home flannel jersey has a minimum bid of $25,000. big way via Lot #562, the finest known 1992 United States Men’s Olympic Basketball “Dream Team” jersey, which Jordan game-used and autographed. This jersey was sourced from NBA personality Craig Sager via the United States Olympic Continued on page 6
Boltz Sells Steely Furniture on page 6
The Muhammad Ali fightworn trunks from his historic 1974 “The Rumble in the Jungle” winning match against George Foreman have a minimum bid of $25,000.
Results From Cordier Firearms And Militaria Auction Cordier’s March 20 Firearms and Militaria Auction featured a fine assortment of Pennsylvania long rifles including one from Perry County that sold for $1,200. Other highlights at the Harrisburg auction house included Colt revolvers, sporting rifles, and militaria. Prices quoted are hammer prices and do not include buyer’s premium. Bidding started with an array of antique handguns, notably a Colt 1860 Army revolver, built in 1862,
Gratz Gallery & Conservation Studio To Host Bernard Harmon Exhibition
Major Exhibition At The Met Will Present Three Centuries Of Greek Art on page 13
which brought $1,600. In modern handguns, the highlights included a Colt Python revolver in .357 magnum, which sold for $2,100. Antique long guns featured a dozen Pennsylvania long rifles which spurred heavy competition Continued on page 4
Smack Dab In The Middle: Design Trends Of The Mid-20th Century on page 14
Continued on page 2
A U.S. Navy high altitude helmet sold for $2,800.
The WWII era U.S. A-2 flight jacket sold for $2,200.
Morphy Auctions’ Premier Advertising Sale Set For May 21 And 22 on page 18
In This Issue A very nice framed ink, watercolor, and needlework memorial for Andrew Jackson, dated “1845” and done by Emily Chew, 26.5-by-21-inches, sold in the online-only sale for $984 (est. $200-$300).
The watercolor portrait of Samuel Reber by the yet identified Reading Artist sold for $2,400 (est. $800-$1,200). The 10-by-7inch framed portrait sold for $1,638 on Oct. 24, 2008 at the Richard and Rosemarie Machmer sale at Pook & Pook.
SHOPS, SHOWS & MARKETS . . . . . . . . . . starting on page 3 A Colt 1860 Army revolver sold for $1,600.
SHOPS DIRECTORY . . . . . . . . . on page 5 AUCTIONEER DIRECTORY . . . . . on page 8 EVENT & AUCTION CALENDAR . on page 7
FEATURED AUCTION: Bertoia Auctions - May 20 & 21 in Vineland, New Jersey - Page 12
AUCTION SALE BILLS . . . starting on page 7 CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . on page 19