COMPLIMENTARY COPY TM
The Most Widely Read Collector's Newspaper In The East Published Weekly By Joel Sater Publications www.antiquesandauctionnews.net
VOL. 45, NO. 14 FRIDAY APRIL 4, 2014
Noel Barrett To Auction Flora Gill Jacobs’ Personal Collection Of Dollhouses And Miniatures isionary collector, author and founder of the revered Washington Dolls’ House & Toy Museum, Flora Gill Jacobs (1918-2006) was a potent and influential force in the hobby of dollhouse and miniature collecting. Her devotion to the famed Washington, D.C., museum that played host to the children of presidents and diplomats helped bolster the dollhouse and miniatures hobby during the last quarter of the 20th century. Inside the museum, which attracted some 20,000 visitors annually, were breathtaking displays of miniature residences, each one painstakingly decorated with luxe furnishings and tiny accessories. In 2004, Noel Barrett auctioned the museum’s collection under instruction from Mrs. Jacobs. Now, on Friday and Saturday, April 11 and 12, collectors will have the opportunity to bid on the items Flora Gill Jacobs chose for her personal collection that was displayed in her elegant suburban residence. As before, Noel Barrett Auctions has been chosen to conduct the sale. “What is different about the April auction is that we’re selling the dollhouses and furnishings separately. At the museum sale, we left the dollhouses intact,” said Noel Barrett, owner of Noel Barrett Auctions. “We’ve organized it so
V
An extravagantly detailed Moorish Revival Christmas Garden House with stained, textured and etched window glazing is estimated at $3,000-$5,000.
that the dollhouse is sold first, followed by 20 or so lots of furnishings that decorated that particular house. This gives the dollhouse buyer the freedom to put their own stamp on the décor.”
The early to mid 19th-century English Baby House is a classic British form with finely crafted architectural details, a painstakingly hand-painted fauxbrick exterior and interior walls covered in early papers. This house is pictured and discussed on pages 161-163 of Jacobs’ 2005 reference “The Small World of Antique Dolls’ Houses.” It is Three grand estimated at and well-docu$8,000-$12,000. mented dollThe third feahouses occupy tured house is the top tier of the known as the sale, the first being Somerville Mansion the celebrated South and replicates an American Jersey House (est. $12,000- Victorian townhouse of the style seen in mid $18,000), which was one of the to late 19th-century Somerville, Mass. museum’s top showpieces. While very similar in form and construction This house, which launched to the famed Tiffany-Platt dollhouse, this the Jacobs collection when it imposing city dwelling has was purchased in 1945, its own unique acquired its name architectural because it came features, with from an antiques double doors, large dealer in the glazed windows, southern New and painted and Jersey town of stained wood fireM a l a g a . place mantels. It, Thirteen years too, was included later, the South in Jacobs’ 2005 Jersey House book. The estimate served as the is $10,000focal point of $15,000. Jacobs’ first In all, the aucself-published tion includes about c h i l d r e n ’s 25 major dollhousbook, “The Doll es and buildings, House Mystery.” It plus 35 to 40 fully was referenced in all subsequent outfitted antique books Jacobs authored, as well. kitchens, shops and The three sides of the stately South room boxes. A preThe Somerville (Mass.) Jersey House are graced with several mier example Mansion, American Victorian, styles of windows and crowned with a among the shops is circa mid to late 19th century, checker-painted mansard roof. The similar in form to the famed the charmingly interior is comprised of four deep Tiffany-Platt House, described a c c e s s o r i z e d rooms separated by a hall on the first by auctioneer Noel Barrett as German Toy Stall. and second floors. The staircase with “one of the most celebrated A perennial landing and two fireplace mantels are houses in the Jacobs collection,” favorite with original features. The ceilings in the is estimated at $10,000-$15,000. museum visitors, it four main rooms have elaborate depicts a European-style vendor’s street stall medallions with hooks for chandeliers. The with lockable fold-up doors to secure merhouse is offered with painted cast-iron fenc- chandise overnight. The shop displays a ing, a circular wood base and two urns. The variety of goods made of painted wood or elaborate array of furnishings will be offered gum tragacanth, a substance early 19th-cenin 42 subsequent lots. tury cooks mixed together with meal and The centerpiece of the auction: The South Jersey House, circa 1870, the first house acquired by Flora Gill Jacobs and one that she chose to keep for her personal collection when the Washington Dolls’ House & Toy Museum closed and its contents were sold. The estimate is $12,000$18,000.
A 2004 photograph of Flora Gill Jacobs and Noel Barrett in front of the Washington Dolls’ House & Toy Museum. Photo was taken shortly before Barrett’s auction of the museum’s contents.
The German Toy Stall, formerly in the Washington Dolls’ House & Toy Museum, German, early 19th century, elaborately accessorized with antique miniatures (accessories to be auctioned separately), is estimated at $6,000-$9,000.
This Louis XVI-style room furnishings, including parlor suite, upholstered sleigh bed, silk-paneled screen, silk and lace curtains, and many other pieces, are estimated at $900$1,500.
sugar, then molded into novelties with written mottos concealed inside. The stall comes with nearly 70 early wares, including (Continued on page 2)
An English Baby House, early to mid 1800s, featuring double chimneys with capped pots, scrolled arches under side eaves, shutters and beveled lintels, is estimated at $8,000-$12,000.
A set of Victorian period rooms, German, richly detailed with oak paneling, brass-ornament- The circa-1800 Nuremberg Kitchen with painted faux-brick stove and shelving for display of ed pilasters, and dentilated crown molding. The lavish accessories will be auctioned separate- miniature pewter, brass and wood accessories, including many rare examples (accessories to be ly. The estimate is $4,000-$6,000. auctioned separately), is estimated at $5,000-$8,000.