Auction PR Publicity Announcements News and Information
Auction PR Publicity Announcements News and Information

THE CONTENTS OF GREEN GABLES – A STATELY VICTORIAN MANSION IN JACKSON, TENN – WILL BE SOLD ON-SITE JUNE 29th BY STEVENS AUCTION

Two other prominent estates will also be offered. In all, about 600 quality lots will be sold.

(JACKSON, Tenn.) – The contents of one of Jackson’s stateliest and most historic Victorian mansions – Green Gables, at 1287 Hollywood Drive – will be sold in an on-site auction at the mansion itself, on Saturday, June 29. The sale will be conducted by Stevens Auction Company, based in Aberdeen, Miss. Other prominent estates will also be featured.

Green Gables
The action will get underway promptly at 10 a.m. (CST) and continue throughout the day, with around 600 quality lots in a wide array of categories: Federal, Empire and late Victorian furniture; hundreds of brilliant cut glass pieces; Old Paris and other fine porcelains; exquisite china; antique clocks and oil lamps; original works of art; and decorative accessories.

“Green Gables is a lovely Victorian home built in 1895 and set on three and a half acres, not far from downtown Jackson and Jackson General Hospital,” said Dwight Stevens of Stevens Auction Company. “The grounds are beautiful and feature not only this ‘Victorian Painted Lady’ but three historic out-buildings, a three-unit grain bin, carriage house and caretaker’s quarters.”

Green Gables has been talked about by numerous historians and has been written about in many books about Madison County, Tenn. It has also been the scene of countless weddings and other special events. The property is for sale but will not be offered in this auction. Interested parties may call Mark Kennedy at Kennedy’s Auction Service in Selmer, Tenn. (731-645-3657).

Many of the furnishings being sold were lovingly crafted by some of the most renowned names in the industry: John H. Belter, J. & J.W. Meeks, C. Lee, Thomas Brooks, R.J. Horner and Alexander Roux. Belter pieces will include a laminated rosewood side chair in the Fountain Elms pattern with blue silk upholstery, crafted at the firm’s New York workshop around 1850.

Meeks will be represented in the sale by a laminated rosewood rococo four-piece parlor suite in the Stanton Hall pattern, with a sofa that’s 65 inches wide by 48 inches tall; and a pair of rosewood rococo side parlor chairs in the Hawkins pattern, with matching sofa (circa 1855). Also sold will be a C. Lee half tester youth-size bed (circa 1860), impressive at nine about feet tall.

Other furniture pieces by noted makers will include a rosewood cylinder secretary attributed to Thomas Brooks, with fitted satinwood interior; a heavily carved slant front desk with birds and winged griffin supports attributed to R.J. Horner; and a monumental rosewood marble-top console attributed to Alexander Roux, 5 feet 2 inches long, with incredible carving.

Vases and urns, always a hit with bidders, will feature a pair of Old Paris vases with figures, white with gold trim, 15 inches tall (circa 1860); a large Dresden scenic and figural urn, 3 feet 8 inches tall; a fine pair of period gilt bronze and cut glass Empire urns, 15 ½ inches tall (circa 1830) and an equally fine pair of 19th century palatial Royal Vienna scenic urns, 3 feet tall.

Artwork will include several 19th century oil on canvas renderings (one having a biblical scene); a large bronze of a nude girl by French sculptor Felix Carpentier (1858-1924), with Paris Foundry mark; a life-size marble figure of a maiden picking grapes; and a large 19th century porcelain plaque of a Roman beauty in the original giltwood frame (30 inches by 20 ½ inches).

Returning to furniture, additional offerings will include a large and rare oval walnut marble-top table with hairy ball-and-claw feet; a magnificent figural carved walnut secretary attributed to Luigi Frullini, 9 feet 10 inches tall; and a centennial Chippendale mahogany drop-front desk with onyx columns and interior, made for the Chicago Exposition, 44 inches tall.

Lamps and lighting will feature a rare three-piece gilt bronze and crystal Argand lamp set with a double arm and two single arms; a large antique Venetian seven-light grape bunch chandelier; a large 19th century gilt metal figural lamp with 19th century cut and acid etched shade, 4 feet 1 inch tall by 19 inches wide; and a fine cut glass and gilt four-light gasolier.

Also slated to cross the block is a fine carved oak 9-tube grandfather clock by R.J. Horner, and a 19th century giltwood bird’s-eye maple and bronze harp by P. Detveaus. Payment terms will be cash, major credit cards and pre-approved checks. A 15 percent buyer’s premium will be charged on the total purchase price, with a 2 percent processing fee for credit cards.

In the early 1900s, Green Gables was a Madison County showplace property. It was originally built by Caroline Jackson, who conveyed the house to W.H. And Viney Jackson. In 1912, it was sold to Richard Cyrus Smith (husband of Eddie Lee) and L.L. Fonville. Mrs. Eddie Lee Smith lived in the home until around 1990, with various family members and renters, too.

Mrs. Smith was a recluse who raised day lilies and wrote Japanese Haiku poetry. The most recent owners bought house in October 2008. They added some Old World charm to the back yard by adding a New Orleans fountain and plantings. An ongoing project is the restoration of the log houses in the back yard. Recent features include a new kitchen and fresh coat of paint.

This will be an old-fashioned country sale – with no Internet bidding component – but phone and absentee bids will be accepted. Open house previews will be held at Green Gables on Friday, June 28, from 10-7, and on auction day, June 29, from 8-10 a.m. Photos of many of the items being sold have been posted on the Stevens Auction website, at www.stevensauction.com.

Stevens Auction Company is always accepting quality consignments for future sales. To consign a single item, an estate or a collection, you may call them at (662) 369-2200; or, you can e-mail them at [email protected]. To learn more about Stevens Auction Company and the upcoming June 29 Green Gables on-site auction, log on to www.stevensauction.com