A 1954 Fender Stratocaster electric guitar and a fine collection of bronze sculpture from the Estate of Harold M. Garonzik will headline Cordier Antiques & Auctions’ Fall Auction in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. The single owner Stratocaster includes exceptional provenance and is estimated to sell between $20,000 and $40,000. Items from the Estate of Harold M. Garonzik, a lifelong collector from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, will include an exceptional 36” Sevres palace vase and over ten high quality bronzes including pieces by Claude Michel Clodion (French, 1738-1914) and Auguste Moreau (French, 1826-1897). Other auction highlights include a Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig signed baseball, paintings by Matthew Harris Jouett and Harry Leith-Ross, and a Russian Bolin silver and enameled cigarette case. Also to be included are collections of slave documents, Victorian Valentines and art glass, canes, and rolling pins. The 700 plus lot sale will be held over two days in Camp Hill, across the Susquehanna River from Harrisburg.
Saturday’s sale will feature a large and varied offering of books, documents and ephemera. Leading off the category will be a collection of slave and Civil War documents including several archives of soldier letters. A Civil War field desk with provenance tying it to the 9th New York Heavy Artillery is estimated at $500 to $750 while signed documents by Joshua Chamberlin and President Andrew Johnson are both estimated at $500 to $1,000. A single owner collection of Victorian Valentines will offer several lots of handmade pieces in fine condition. An important offering among books will be a copy of The Martyr’s Mirror printed by the Ephrata Cloister in 1766. This rare and important book is physically the largest volume printed in Colonial America and this copy features what may be a unique printed paper liner. It is estimated at $2,000 to $4,000. Among ephemera will be a rare copy of the German language Stages of Man broadside printed by G.S. Peters in Harrisburg during the 1830’s. Among the most important broadsides printed in Pennsylvania for the German market, it is estimated at $2,000 to $4,000. Autographs will also be featured and will include a set of The Beatles autographs signed on a single sheet (estimate $2,500 to $5,000) as well as autographs from Marilyn Monroe, Ernest Hemingway, Clara Barton, and James Buchanan.
The highlight among collectibles will be the single owner 1954 Fender Stratocaster electric guitar. Estimated at $20,000 to $40,000, the guitar was purchased in Carlisle in 1954 by the consignor John Hippensteel, lead singer of a popular 1950’s Central Pennsylvania Western swing band called The Blue Ridge Boys. Also of note is a Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig signed baseball obtained by the consignor’s maternal grandfather who ushered at Ebbets Fields. The ball was signed at an exhibition game at Dexter Park and is estimated at $5,000 to $7,500. Collectibles will also feature a Vendo V39 Coca Cola machine in original condition as well as single owner collections of rolling pins and canes. Among the weapons to be offered in Saturday’s session will be a Colt Model 1849 pocket revolver and a European military flintlock musket with bayonet, both estimated at $750 to $1,000.
Toys will offer several fine lots including a Roullet et Decamps automaton cat in a milk can (estimate $800 to $1,200). When activated, the piece plays a tune while the cat’s head rises up and licks the can. Other lots of note include a Lionel 390E standard gauge freight set (estimate $600 to $800), a Unique Art Jazzbo Jim tin windup (estimate $400 to $600), and a Wolverine Merry-Go-Round (estimate $250 to $500). Other tin lithographed wind-ups will be offered, including Marx, Chein and Alps, in addition to trains and dolls.
Silver will include many fine offerings including a Russian 88 silver, jeweled and enameled cigarette case circa late 19th century. Decorated with an elaborate scene of two swans on a tree lined stream, the case is marked for the well known Bolin family of court jewelers and is estimated at $3,000 to $5,000. An early 20th century Russian 875 silver cigarette case will also be offered as will a pair of Loring Andrews repousse compotes (estimate $500 to $750) and a unique sterling presentation box presented by the 19th century actor Lawrence Barrett to actress Mary Anderson (estimate $600 to $800). Many fine sets of sterling silver flatware will be sold including patterns by Gorham, Towle, Stieff, Westmoreland and Wallace.
Saturday’s session will conclude with over one hundred lots of jewelry and watches. Of note is a 2.71 ctw diamond and platinum ring featuring a center .97 carat diamond and a custom made 14K gold wrap (estimate $2,500 to $3,500). Among other diamond jewelry offerings will be a 3.70 ctw diamond bracelet (estimate $1,000 to $2,000), a 1.5 ctw diamond and platinum ring (estimate $1,500 to $3,000), a pair of 3.98 ctw diamond waterfall earrings (estimate $1,500 to $2,000) and a 1.55 ctw diamond cross pendant (estimate $600 to $1,200). Among other offerings will be a man’s 2.38 carat emerald and diamond ring and an 18K gold enameled owl pin. A fine selection of hand carved cameo pendants will also be sold as will over fifteen lots of Native American jewelry and a large 14K enameled Masonic badge. Among watches will be an American Waltham 18K Appleton Tracy pocket watch. With a beautifully enameled case, the watch is estimated at $1,000 to $2,000.
Sunday’s session will lead off with ethnographic, Asian and decorative arts. Several lots of Pre-Columbian artifacts will be offered as will a Greek Tanagra figure circa 4th century AD (estimate $200 to $400). A highlight of Asian arts will be a fine Chinese Export tobacco leaf cider jug. Decorated with tobacco leaves, flowers and bird in overglaze enamels, the jug is in excellent condition and estimated at $500 to $750. Two pieces from the collection of Langdon Warner (1881-1951) will be sold including a Chinese celadon bowl and a Chinese phosphatic glazed stoneware bowl. Mr. Warner was an expert consultant to the Arts and Monuments Section, G.H.Q. of the Supreme Commander during World War II and a well known expert, author and collector of Asian arts. Decorative arts will feature a Tiffany Studios letter rack in the lovely and popular Pine Needle pattern (estimate $750 to $1,000) and several high quality boxes including a large gilt bronze mounted box with hand painted porcelain inserts (estimate $600 to $800).
Ceramics will lead off with American porcelain and pottery including several lots of Dedham Pottery Rabbit dishes. A collection of redware and stoneware will be sold including a jug attributed to Cheevers Meaders (estimate $150 to $300) and a vessel attributed to Jacob Medinger (estimate $250 to $500). Art pottery will be well represented and will include a pair of Rookwood elephant bookends, an Anton Lang diminutive pitcher and two pieces of Hampshire Pottery including a large embossed lamp estimated at $700 to $900.
A large and ornate palace vase by Sevres will be the highlight of European ceramics. Standing an impressive 36” high, the vase features a large hand painted allegorical scene signed “L. Fournier d. Baudry” and well as a hand painted portrait to the back and recurring musical and stage themes overall. The piece is estimated at $8,000 to $12,000 and is one of many exceptional items from the Estate of Harold M. Garonzik, a lifelong collector from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Other pieces from the estate include a Royal Vienna portrait vase (estimate $1,000 to $2,000) and a pair of Continental bisque figurines. Also to be offered will be a fine Capodimonte figural covered stein (estimate $800 to $1,000), a Mintons Tiffany dinner service (estimate $1,500 to $3,000) and a single owner collection of over one hundred oyster plates.
Glass will feature Victorian art glass including over eighty jack in the pulpit vases as well as a fine amber cut to clear bowl with elephants and a Hawkes sterling mounted cocktail pitcher with original stirrer. Also to be offered is a large 19th century blown glass flip and a cobalt Stiegel type footed salt, both estimated at $200 to $400.
Fine art is set to offer many key lots in the two day sale including a portrait by Matthew Harris Jouett (American, 1788-1827) of Judith Swann Boswell, wife of Dr. William Hall Richardson. Consigned by the family, the painting carries an estimate of $10,000 to $15,000. Other important paintings by American artists include a landscape by Harry Leith-Ross (Pennsylvania, 1886-1973) (estimate $4,000 to $6,000), a still life of flowers by David Burliuk (Russian/American, 1882-1967) (estimate $3,000 to $5,000) and a watercolor of birds by George Miksch Sutton (American, 1898-1982). Artists local to central Pennsylvania will be featured and will include such well known names as Ira Deen, Victor Shearer, Talbot Alden Turner, Paul Bloser and Karl Foster.
European artists will also be offered among them a portrait of a soldier by Etienne Prosper Berne-Bellecour (French, 1838-1910) (estimate $2,000 to $4,000), a landscape by Otto Eduard van Pippel (German, 1878-1960) (estimate $2,000 to $4,000) and a portrait of a girl by Dorothea Sharp (English, 1874-1955) (estimate $3,000 to $6,000). Several important works on paper will be sold including a John James Audubon elephant folio Plate CCXCI Herring Gull from Birds of America estimated at $5,000 to $7,000. Of local interest is a rare uncolored version of An Attempt to Burn John Harris after the painting by William Reeder (estimate $2,500 to $5,000). Portraying the attempt by Indians to burn John Harris outside his home in Harrisburg, the original painting is housed in the Pennsylvania Governor’s mansion.
Exceptional bronze sculptures and artwork from the Estate of Harold M. Garonzik will be a significant addition to Sunday’s fine art offerings. Over twenty-five lots from Mr. Garonzik’s collection will be sold including a 31-½” bronze entitled “L’Aurore” by Auguste Moreau (French, 1826-1897). Estimated at $3,000 to $5,000, the piece bears a presentation plaque to the base indicating it was awarded to a Senator Duval by the Pharmacists of the Haute-Savoie, a French department in the Alps in 1898. An impressive 44” bronze sculpture lamp of a Norse warrior by Edouard Drouot (French, 1859-1945) will also be included as will bronzes by Marius Jean Antonin Mercie (French, 1846-1916), Claude Michel Clodion (French, 1738-1814), and Isidore Jules Bonheur (French, 1827-1901) to name just a few of the artists that will represented. Artwork from the estate includes paintings by Edouardo Vitali (Italian, 19th century), Fabio Cipolla (French, born 1854) and Paul Gagni (French, 1893-1962) as well as a fine French Monbro Fils gilt bronze clock. From a separate consignor will be a fine bronze 22” bronze entitled “Paysanne au Champ” by Alfred Boucher (French, 1850-1934). Circa 1890 with a Siot-Decauville Paris foundry mark, the bronze is estimated at $10,000 to $15,000.
Horology will be offering several tall case clocks including a fine Federal cherry and mahogany bonnet top by Samuel Hill, one of the best known Harrisburg, Pennsylvania clockmakers. It carries an estimate of $15,000 to $17,500. Another Pennsylvania clockmaker will be represented by a cherry castle top tall case by John Shellenberger, Thompsontown, Juniata County. Originally built for David Walker, founder of Walker Township, Juniata County, it has been consigned by the great-great-great-grandson of Shellenberger and is estimated at $10,000 to $12,000. Wall and shelf clocks will also be offered including a Marti & Cie for Tiffany marble shelf clock, two LeCoultre Atmos clocks and an Ansonia Queen Elizabeth wall clock. Lighting will follow and will provide several slag glass hanging and table lamps as well as a hand wrought Arts & Crafts floor lamp.
Furniture and rugs will conclude Sunday‘s session and will begin with an impressive 12’ by 8’ eight-fold coromandel room screen made in Hong Kong circa 1880 to 1920 (estimate $3,000 to $5,000). A late 17th/early 18th century English gateleg table with barley twist legs carries an estimate of $1,500 to $3,000. A unique offering will be a 19th century mahogany ship’s wash stand. Complete with pull down sink with ceramic bowl and storage compartments, the piece is estimated at $600 to $800. Continuing the fine items being offered from the Estate of Harold M. Garonzik is a 19th century Louis XV style bombe vitrine (estimate $2,000 to $3,000). It features upper and lower panels painted with figures and landscapes framed in ormolu. Other pieces to be offered include a Victorian cylinder roll desk secretary, a signed Windsor chair, a Classical carved drop leaf table and a Kittinger partner’s desk with chair.
A full online catalogue of the two day auction is available by visiting www.CordierAntiques.com. Questions can be directed to Cordier Antiques & Auctions at [email protected] or by calling 717-731-8662.
