COMPLIMENTARY COPY
VOL. 44, NO. 23 FRIDAY JUNE 7, 2013
Published Weekly By Joel Sater Publications www.antiquesandauctionnews.net
Rich Penn Auction Upholds Promise To “Rack ’em, Sack ’em, and Rock ’em!” Billiard, Country Store, & Rock ‘n’ Roll Lots Bring Fierce Bidding interested, and there were significant pieces throughout the auction. One of the pieces was the Willimantic Linen Exposition Spool cabinet. The impressive display features a towering structure of spool thread in the form of a building. It likely was made for the Philadelphia or Columbian expos. The piece quickly attracted a winning bid of $2,200. Another piece that sold at that $2,200 price was the coino p e r a t e d Blackhawk Brand aspirin vendor. In excellent original condition, the machine came nearly full of original tiny canisters containing aspirins. Also selling at the $2,200 price...but Spice containers were popular at auction. A five tin set, featuring Dandy-Line by Colter, much larger in size, Sunset Gold by Piggly-Wiggly and Burke’s by Burke Grocery Co.-Cinc, all with product, was the 12-foot-long beautiful graphics and coloring, VG to Exc. cond, 2.25”-3.75”H, sold at $1,000. Also, two rare advertising tins, Daisy Dell Brand Allspice from Daisy Dell Distributors-Cinc. in Exc. oak Sherer seed Correct, cond, 3”H x 2”W, and Foltz Maid Cloves, The Foltz Grocery & Baking Co.-Cinc, in Exc+ counter. with all its signed cond, 3”H x 1.75”W, both sold for $850 each. The Rich Penn May Auction Event was billed as “Rack ‘em, Sack ‘em & Rock ‘em,” and they did all of that! The two-day auction event held in Des Moines, Iowa, on May 3 and 4 brought billiard, country store and rock ‘n’ roll collectors from across the country. In-house bidders competed fiercely with 2,000 online bidders from nearly 40 countries across the globe, and the majority of pieces sold to in-house bidders. When the auct i o n
excitement. The top lot in the Saturday session was the Montelaise Vigorola Syrup dispenser. Penn told the audience, “We’ve sold hundreds of syrup dispensers, and this one is the most pristine dispenser we’ve ever sold. It looks like it was never used.” The dispenser ended up bringing a $6,750 price. (Reported prices do not include the 10 to 20 percent buyer’s premium.) Spice t i n s were a l s o popular in
ple glass Mobilgas globe crossed the block. With two glass panels showing the iconic Pegasus logo, and even with a small crack in the collar, the globe still metered a $2,100 top bid. Even though t h e Saturday session featured 600 lots, guest auctioneer
$4,000. Two framed Brunswick “Billiard Experts of the World” posters, in the red and green versions, sold for $2,800 and $2,500 respectively. For those ready to shoot a classic game of billiards, the Brunswick Emanuel heavily inlaid table sold at $4,500. An equally striking pair of ornately carved spectator chairs sold for nearly as much at $4,000. With Rock ‘n’ Roll pieces mixed in, the Sunday session had an interesting harmony! Both collections reflected the main pas-
A spool cabinet from Willimantic Linen Exposition, which features a magnificent towering display of spool silk thread, likely a one-of-a-kind display, featuring glass that is reverse painted but barely legible, Very Rare, VG cond, 40”H x 18”Sq., brought in $2,200.
F r e d Va n M e t r e kept the p a c e throughout and finished the session in late afternoon. Sunday’s session was shorter, with just over 400 lots and began promptly at 9:00 a.m. Sunday’s session featured the billiard collection of Dave Laney and the Rock ‘n’ Roll collection of Sarah and Ryan King. And things did “rock,” with the billiard pieces racking up top bids. With dozens of classic Brunswick pieces, midway through the Sunday session came the very rare J.M. Brunswick & Balke “Nonpareil” cue rack. With all its
times of the young in their respective generations. So it wasn’t surprising that the 1979 Bally “Kiss” pinball machine played well, for a winning bid of $2,300. A collectable set of four posable Kiss “action” figures, in their original boxes, walked up to a top bid of $600. A set of composition Kiss heads, each one
opened at 9:00 a.m., Rich Penn the auction and Norton had hunthanked all those in attendance for dreds of them. Many commanded making the trip to Des Moines, “spicy” prices too! One lot of five, including Dandy-Line by which was precariColter, Sunset Gold by ous for many. Piggly-Wiggly and According to Burke’s by Burke Penn, “This is Grocery Co.-Cinc, shook the first time our out a top bid of $1,000. spring auction in Two other lots, A Daisy early May was Dell Brand Allspice and a greeted with 5 Mobilgas Special gasoline globe, Foltz Maid Cloves each inches of snow. early ripple glass frame with identical autosold for $850. But the top But this is Iowa. curved glass lenses on both sides, Very graphed, spice lot was the rare Dove So if you don’t like Rare, 2” crack in flange, otherwise Exc. consold for Brand 5 drawer oak spice the weather, wait dition, 17”H x 16”Dia., sold for $2,100. $500. A cabinet from the Frank Tea 15 minutes and it’ll original lettering, it attracted both signed Frank Zappa concert con& Spice Co., Cincinnati, be something difstrong in-house and Internet bid- tract brought $400, and a Beatles Ohio. It brought a tasty ferent!” He was ding. The successful in-house bid- third state Butcher album brought $3,500 top bid. correct; the balance der came from California and took $475. Another album, c.1971, Led From spices to of the weekend razors...the interest held up. Soda fountain syrup dispenser, the rack home for $10,000. Zeppelin IV, with all four band warmed up and Small things continued to Montelaise ended up being Vigorola, “The Another rare Brunswick cue rack member autographs, sold to a bring big prices. A small, 7- Invigorating Beverage,” ball-shaped was the elegant rotary, in ebonized Zeppelin fan for $850. quite nice. Everyone wondered about the inch-by-7-inch counter top ceramic dispenser with original paint cherry wood with gold gilding, it According to display for Tree Brand in Mint condition, complete with a spun up quickly to an equally ele- Gibson Les Paul guitar. In its origPenn, “Quality and inal case, it strummed its way up to Razors, sliced off a big bid correct old plunger-style pump with gant top bid of $8,500. condition are still blank porcelain flavor insert, early Decorative billiard pieces did a respectable $750 bid. But one of of $2,700. bringing strong 1900s, dispenser is 11”H x 9”Dia, well too. A framed souvenir poster the more surprising lots in the aucThe disprices, and the marwith pump 14.5”H, sold at $6,750. from the 1883 World tion was at the end of the session. play, from ket seems to be H. Boker picking up pulls and appropriate transfers and Championship Billiard Match in Lot #1034 had six comic books, & Co., strength.” His comtags, it will make a keystone piece Chicago shot straight to a winning (Continued on page 2) came with to any country store collection. bid of $5,000. A reverse paint on Billiard cue rack, a selection Petroliana collectors were pumped glass sign for the Metropolitan J.M. Brunswick & Billiard Hall of six miswith excitement Balke Rotary Cue sold at cellaneous when a rare ripRack, ebonized cherc e l l u l o i d ry with heavy gold gildstraight razors. ing, c.1870s, holds 16 Advertising colcues, most likely a “onelectors all of-a-kind” specimen that appreciated revolves perfectly and is expertly restored, in the beautiful Exceptional condition, lithography in the 86”H x 22”Dia., sold at two excellent condi$8,500. tion stone lithos for Cascarets Candy ments were supported by examples Cathartic. The large throughout the auction. Saturday’s paper signs, 28 inches by session largely included the Phil 41 inches, commanded an Norton Country Store Collection impressive $2,300 and Kiss memorbilia garnered attention, with a classic coin-operated pinball machine, c.1979 in VG working cond, 71”H x 30”W from Ohio. Phil attended the auc- $2,250. x 52”D, selling for $2,300. In addition, a complete set of four KISS poseable figures, all in original boxes, c.1978 in Good contion with his two granddaughters, The variety at Penn’s dition, ea 12.5”H, sold at $600, while four decorative KISS heads from Illusive Originals, No. 1,975 of 15,000, with original and all three seemed to enjoy the auction kept bidders paint and signature in Exc. condition, 13.75”H x 13.75”W, brought in $500.