The auction will be conducted by Stevens Auction Company, based in Aberdeen, Mississippi
BROOKHAVEN, Miss. – The contents of two majestic and architecturally important homes in the modest town of Brookhaven, Miss. – located along I-55, south of Jackson and northeast of Baton Rouge, La. – will be sold in an on-site auction slated for Saturday, Nov. 6, at 9 a.m. CST, at one of the residences: the Edgewood Mansion, the largest house in Brookhaven.
The auction will be conducted by Stevens Auction Company, based in Aberdeen, Miss.
Edgewood, begun in 1908 and completed in 1912, is a Greek Revival structure built by Charles S. Butterfield, a wealthy timber baron. For the past 54 years it has been lovingly cared for by David Lovell, a native of Brookhaven and considered one of the region’s premier interior and exterior designers and authority on antiques. He resides in Edgewood (which is not for sale).
The contents of Edgewood includes antique furniture, porcelains, marble sculptures, palace-sized rugs, crystal chandeliers and lighting fixtures, original works of art, rare clocks, china, silver, glassware, Civil War swords and guns and unusual collectibles. An open house will be held Friday, Nov. 5, from 10-7, and Saturday, Nov. 6, from 7 a.m. until the start of sale.
Also sold will be the original furnishings from another historic Brookhaven home: the Captain Jack C. Hardy House, built in 1877 (and for sale by its owner, Mr. Roy Segers). The home is a rare surviving example of an Italianate town villa, one of only nine houses in this form in Mississippi. Also offered will be items from another prominent estate, in Germantown, Tenn.
Period furniture, much of it by renowned makers, will be served up in abundance. Pieces by Herter Brothers will include a rosewood parlor cabinet with Sevres plaque (circa 1870), a small rosewood center table, a rosewood sideboard with floral inlays on the doors, a walnut Victorian marble inset parlor table, and a cheval walnut Victorian Aesthetic Movement dresser.
From the studios of John Henry Belter will come a rosewood parlor suite in the Rosalie pattern, consisting of two sofas, four side chairs and one arm chair; and a pair of rosewood parlor side chairs with blue upholstery, in the Rosalie with Grapes pattern. Also sold will be a mahogany game table with twisted base and claw feet, possibly manufactured by Duncan Phyfe.
Pieces by other noted furniture makers include a rosewood rococo fire screen attributed to J. & J.W. Meeks, 4 feet tall; a rosewood marble-top parlor cabinet with etagere top and pierce-carved top (also attributed to Meeks); a walnut sideboard with marble top, 7 feet 9 inches tall, attributed to A. Roux; and a set of walnut Victorian parlor arm chairs attributed to John Jeliff.
Rare clocks will include a mahogany 3-weight, 5-tube grandfather clock crafted in Cincinnati, Ohio, 8 feet tall; an oak Gothic bracket clock with a rack of bells and chimes, 25 inches tall; and a pair of examples by Lenzkirch: a grandfather clock with music box that plays 15 ½ inch discs, and a rare Black Forest clock converted for use into a house cylinder box.
Mitchell & Rammelsberg is a maker often seen at Stevens Auction estate auctions. This sale’s got two pieces, but neither one is a bed. The first is a rosewood rococo marble-top dresser with wood carved pulls (99 inches tall, circa 1850); the other is a rosewood rococo marble-top half commode that matches the dresser (also circa 1850). Both of these pieces are attributions.
Looking for an antique bedroom suite? This sale’s got a good one, made by T. Brooks around 1870. It includes a walnut Victorian full-size bed with wraparound footboard, a walnut marble-top dresser and a walnut marble-top wash stand. Other beds will include a full-size rosewood rococo carved bed (circa 1850) and a gorgeous walnut Victorian drop-side baby bed.
Decorative accessories will include a pair of monumental fantasy pedestals, 4 feet 11 inches tall; a walnut Renaissance pedestal with Majolica dish inside the top, 4 feet 8 inches tall; a large beautiful mirror (8 feet 2 inches tall by 4 feet 7 inches wide); a walnut Victorian fire screen with needlework insert (circa 1875); and a pair of Dresden porcelain wall sconces with figurals.
Also slated to cross the block are a pair of cobalt blue mantel lusters with birds painted on the rim, in cased glass (16 inches tall); a palace-sized antique Kirman rug (12 feet by 24 feet); and, speaking of palaces, a palace-sized mahogany banquet table with veneer top, 18 feet 7 inches long by 66 inches wide, with 8 leaves and 24 straight-leg Chippendale dining chairs.
Returning to antique furniture: a mahogany highboy with bonnet top, gadrooned edge and claw feet (circa 1850, 7 ½ feet tall); a Federal mahogany recamier with blue striped upholstery and gold trim on the legs; a Federal mahogany sideboard (circa 1800); a mahogany Federal two-drawer sewing stand with feather carved feet; and a pair of walnut Victorian wall pocket tables.
Also offered will be a round mahogany Empire dining table with acanthus carved base and three leaves (circa 1880); a Victorian drop-front ladies’ desk with gallery (circa 1875); a walnut Victorian canterbury or music stand (circa 1875); a Federal mahogany three-drawer night stand with drop leaf; and an extra large walnut Victorian double pedestal with white marble.
There will be no Internet bidding component to this auction, but absentee and phone bids will be accepted (with advance arrangements). Light refreshments will be served on auction day. Terms of sale are major credit cards or pre-approved check. A 12 percent buyer’s premium will be applied to all purchases, with a 2 percent discount for cash, approved checks or wire transfer.
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 directly, at (662) 369-2200; or, you can e-mail them at [email protected].
To learn more about Stevens Auction Company and the upcoming Brookhaven on-site auction, log on to www.stevensauction.com