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

MECHANICAL MUSIC PIECES, FINE DECORATVE ARTS AND FURNITURE, ASIAN ART AND OBJECTS, ORIGINAL PAINTINGS, MORE AT GREAT GATSBY’S, OCT. 14-16

The weekend event will be held in Great Gatsby’s Atlanta gallery at 5180 Peachtree Blvd.

ATLANTA, Ga. – An outstanding single-owner mechanical music collection, fine decorative arts and furniture from a Palm Beach, Florida philanthropist, original artworks by noted listed artists and fine antique Asian art and objects will be just part of a big, three-day auction planned for Oct. 14-16 by Great Gatsby’s Auction Gallery, in the firm’s gallery at 5180 Peachtree Boulevard.

D. Tayler oil on canvas of a three-masted clipper ship at sea
D. Tayler oil on canvas of a three-masted clipper ship at sea
Start times will be 10:00 am Eastern time on Friday, October 14th and 11:00 a.m. Eastern time on Saturday & Sunday, October 15th and 16th, with onsite previews beginning on Monday, Oct. 10th. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 10-4 during the preview, and at all other times by appointment. Online preview, auction registration, and live online bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.com, Bidsquare.com, and Invaluable.com. Phone and absentee bids will also be accepted.

More than 1,600 lots will come up for bid. The mechanical music collection is that of Marvin Horowitz of Florida, whose passion for these extraordinary pieces he attributes to his life-long interest in mechanical engineering and his early love for the upright player piano his family had in the 1930s. He purchased his first theater organ from the E. M. Lowes Theater near Boston.

The star lot of the Horowitz collection is the German Gebruder Bruder 80-keyless fairground organ, which features an elaborately painted case that has been expertly restored by the late Michael L. Kitner. Additional items on offer from the collection include a 1920s Calliaphone by Tangley Electric, an American upright oak and leaded stained glass Nickelodeon, and a 1930s Belgian Art Deco beer hall organ by Arburo.

“The Gebruder Bruder is one of the finest examples of mechanical music I have ever seen come to auction,” said Ted Tzavaras, the owner of Great Gatsby’s Auction Gallery. “For such a beautiful and well-preserved piece to also produce such a rich, high quality sound is very rare; the music transports you back in time to when these types of instruments were popular.” The Belgian Arburo organ will also attract keen bidder interest, with its sleek Art Deco design, vibrant colors, and fantastic sound. Also on offer from Mr. Horowitz’s collection is a fully restored 1926 Ford Model TT farm truck he used to transport and showcase the Tangley Calliope at fairs and parades. “I hope the current generation can appreciate these great pieces as much as I have,” Mr. Horowitz said, “and that they will preserve them for generations to come.”

From the Palm Beach, Florida collection of Mrs. Beverly Yaeger come a number of discerning pieces of 18th century English furniture. Mrs. Yaeger has enjoyed a celebrated career both in politics and philanthropy from her homes in Tallahassee and Palm Beach. She has held four presidential appointments, first beginning with Ronald Reagan and then continuing with Bill Clinton, most notably as a member of the Selection Committee for White House Fellows. Mrs. Yaeger has also chaired and co-chaired events for the Boys & Girls Club, The Salvation Army – herself a recent recipient of their prestigious William Booth Award – the Red Cross, the Cleveland Clinic, and the Palm Beach Society for the Arts.

Pieces from her collection will include a circa 1740 burled Queen Anne highboy, a George III flame mahogany serpentine dressing chest with fitted interior and fold-out mirror, a Regency style handkerchief card table, a George IV mahogany cellarette made circa 1825 of sarcophagus form, and a lovely 19th century English mahogany and Chinoiserie banjo barometer by Sheppard. “We are very excited to be offering such beautiful pieces at auction, especially in a category that we find to be underrepresented’ remarked Ted Tzavaras. “Mrs. Yaeger has not only had an accomplished political career, but her generosity and dedication to her home state is truly inspiring; we hope these items end up in the hands of collectors who will cherish the craftsmanship just as much as she did.”

Additional pieces of fine furniture will include an English Regency style breakfront bookcase in figured elm, a pair of George III mahogany lidded wine coolers from the 18th century, and a carved George II style parcel gilt mirror with swan’s neck pediment and phoenix motif. The category continues with an extravagant Steinway & Sons model “M” grand piano with a hand-painted, Venetian-inspired art case that is 66 inches in length, a boulle marquetry bureau Mazarin in the Louis XVI taste, and a six-leg Gaveau (Paris) grand piano dating from the 1920s with satinwood and rosewood inlay and dore bronze mounts, an impressive 76 inches in length.

A tour de force piece of American furniture will also be offered, in the form of an aesthetic-style mahogany two-door cabinet by the master Cincinnati-based carver William Fry. Dating from 1876 and first commissioned as a wedding present (and descended in the family ever since), the 91-inch-tall cabinet features fine bas-relief carvings of acorns, oak leaves and sycamore fruit (called “marriage trees”), plus intricate foliate and acanthus molding with two sides of shelving.

The October 14th session will kick off with fine Asian furniture, porcelains, and sculptures, such as a finely carved ebonized hardwood day bed with dragon and foliate motifs, a Chinese carved spinach jade bixie with flame-decorated shell, a Chinese russet and cream scholar’s stone on a wood stand, and a dry lacquer statue of Wei Tou, one of the eight protectors of Buddhism, 55 inches tall.

Also offered will be a unique Chinese parcel gilt Zisha gourd teapot, just four inches in height, and a beautiful Chinese pietra dura table screen depicting Li Tieguai, one of the Eight Immortals, and his apprentice, crossing the sea in a peach wood boat, 13 ½ inches tall by 7 ¼ inches in width.

Original works of art will include a pair of stunning full length oil portraits by the British artist Richard Buckner (1812-1883) of Sir George Jenkinson and Lady Jane Jenkinson (both measuring 92 inches by 55 inches), a serene landscape by Walter Oddie (N.Y., 1808-1865), two vibrant 19th century floral still lifes in the style of the Dutch Old Masters, an oil on canvas depiction of Acis & Galatea after the original 17th century work by Claude Le Lorrain (Fr./It., 1600-1682), and an impressive 18th century palace sized standing portrait of Queen Anne of Britain in all her rich finery by a follower of Sir Godfrey Kneller (UK, 1646-1723).

Also sold will be a tranquil oil on canvas painting of Lake Maggiore (located between Italy and Switzerland) by painter James Vivien de Fleury (Br., 1847-1891), a mysterious Spanish Colonial work depicting an allegory to fortune dating from the early 19th century, and a charming Dutch painting of townspeople waiting for a ship’s arrival by the 19th century artist Th. Schmied.

Modern and contemporary art will include a watercolor by Stephen Scott Young (Am., b. 1957) of a little girl holding a blue umbrella, an eclectic and colorful piece by the visionary artist Norbert Knox (Am., b. 1945), a playful illustration of clowns and police officers by Courtney Allen (Am., 1896-1969), and a maritime painting by the Ukranian realist Eugene Garin (1922-1944).

Additional modern and contemporary works will feature a beautiful rendering of a couple in 1930s-era eveningwear relaxing by a baby grand piano, an oil painting by pulp fiction artist James Alfred Meese (Am., 1917-1971) depicting a man with a young girl in his arms, and a post-impressionist pastel depiction of conversing ballerinas by Antonio G. Collado (Sp., b. 1930).

Maritime art will include an American oil painting of a steamship from the Inman Line outbound from New York and dating from the late 19th century, a masterly work by the American artist D. Tayler depicting a three-masted clipper ship at sea, and an early 20th century portrait of the luxury liner RMS Aquitania, considered to be the most beautiful of the four-stacker steamships.

Rounding out the category will be a 20th century American painting of the USS Maine at sea. Highly collectible ships’ models will also come up for bid, to include a whimsical nautical diorama in a chip carved tramp art frame and a classic model of a 1930s wooden motor yacht.

Items of Napoleonic interest from a private collection include a stately bronze sculpture by Louis Marie Morise (French, 1818-1883) of Napoleon on horseback, measuring 26″h, a 19th century Continental oil on canvas depicting the general greeting his soldiers in the field, 38.25″h x 59.5″w framed, a fine 19th century gilt bronze and verde marble encrier with central bust of Napoleon, 16” in length, and a beautiful Sevres style Napoleonic hand-painted porcelain covered vase.

Additional lots sure to spark collector interest are two extravagant arched stained glass landing windows of vases bursting with blossoms, each one a monumental 119 inches tall by 53 inches wide. The windows, housed in attractive oak frames, were custom-crafted by the late master Agnew Myers (Am., 1951-2008).

Great Gatsby’s Auction Gallery is always accepting quality consignments for future auctions. To inquire about consigning a single item, an entire collection, or an inherited estate, you may call them at (770) 457-1903; or you may send an e-mail to [email protected]. To learn more about the October 14th-16th auction, please visit www.GreatGatsbys.com. Updates are posted often.