(St. Charles, Mo.) – Hundreds of high-end items in a broad array of categories will be offered at a multi-estate auction slated for Saturday, October 25, at the St. Charles Convention Center. Lots will include over 2,000 silver spoons from a lifetime single-owner collection; about seven Rogers Groups; 26 vintage clocks; art glass; R.S. Prussia; Moser; Wave Crest; five decorated Tiffany vases; and more.
“This will be an exciting sale because there is so much here and the merchandise is so diverse,” said Jason Woody of Woody Auction, based in Douglass, Ks., which will conduct the sale. “These are high-end, highly collectible, fresh-to-the-market items, from several important estates. It isn’t every day we get this much quality merchandise all at once, but this will be such an event. Mark your calendars.”
The mostly sterling silver spoons came from the collection of Jim Miller, who passed away earlier this year and whose extensive collection of American Brilliant Cut Glass (ABCG) was sold in August, also by Woody Auction, at the St. Charles Convention Center. The top lot of that sale was a mushroom shade table lamp in the Aberdeen pattern by Jewel Cut Glass. It changed hands for $14,000.
Highlights of the spoon collection follow. All lots will be sold absolutely, without reserve.
• Examples of Plique-a-Jour, a type of spoon with enamel coloring fired within a wire frame. The result is an opaque bowl, with light allowed through. These spoons are highly prized by collectors.
• About 15 “Gorham Round” coin spoons, all sterling, with round bowls on which a scene or object is embossed (some examples: a silver dollar, the President’s mansion, the George Washington Bridge, and tributes to Virginia, Cleveland and Cincinnati).
• About five “banner buggies” — silver-plate spoons from the late 1800s with advertisements of buggies shown on the bowls.
• Over 100 Naval spoons – many sterling, some sterling with enamel – from the early 1900s, with bowls depicting a specific Naval ship. These appeal to spoon collectors and marine collectors alike.
• More than 20 high-quality Russian enamel spoons, made in the late 1800s.
• About 200 sterling Indian spoons, depicting Native American scenes, many of them quite fancy and elaborate. In some cases, even the handles serve as artful depictions. All are made circa early 1900s.
• State spoons, with just about every state in the Union represented – except Arkansas, the Millers’ home state. They donated that spoon to the Crystal Bridge Museum there, now under construction.
• Some spoons that are also examples of Black Americana, a rapidly growing genre of collectible.
Of the 26 vintage clocks to be offered, one in particular is certain to pique the interest of the crowd: a pre-1900 Howard # 1 Regulator, about 50 inches tall, secured from an estate in Wichita, Ks. The clock, in fine working order, is highly desired by collectors. It is expected to bring $5,000-$10,000. Also offered will be statue clocks, mantel clocks and more. They, too, will be sold without reserve.
Rogers Groups were three-dimensional chalk figure statues in group settings, made in the 1860s and 1870s, usually depicting everyday life situations. About seven Rogers Groups will be offered, including one showing President Abraham Lincoln huddling with Grant and Stanton, in a grouping titled “The Council of War.” It is an original casting from the era, as are the other groupings to be sold.
The auction will also feature a gorgeous French enamel jewelry box with 23 painted scenic panels; about 30 examples of Wave Crest; Moser; R.S. Prussia; assorted pottery pieces; pickle castors; and more. The sale will begin promptly at 9:30 a.m., October 25, in the Grand Ballroom of the St. Charles Convention Center. A preview will be held on Friday evening, October 26, from 4-7 p.m.
Then, on Saturday, November 15, Woody Auction will hold yet another American Brilliant Cut Glass Auction, with consignments that promise to rival the Millers’ collection in terms of rarity and value. That sale will also be held in the Grand Ballroom of the St. Charles Convention Center in St. Charles, Mo. All Woody Auction sales feature online bidding, facilitated by Proxibid (Proxibid.com).
For more information about Woody Auction and its calendar of upcoming events, you may click on www.woodyauction.com. Watch the website for pictures and details as the auction dates approach. Woody Auction is always accepting quality consignments for future sales. To consign an item, estate or collection, you may call them at (316) 747-2694. Or, you can e-mail them at [email protected].