COMPLIMENTARY COPY TM
The Most Widely Read Collector's Newspaper In The East Published Weekly By Joel Sater Publications www.antiquesandauctionnews.net
VOL. 46, NO. 34 FRIDAY AUGUST 21, 2015
MORPHY’S AWARDED RIGHT TO AUCTION KYLE D. MOORE PETROLIANA COLLECTION an Morphy, founder and president of Morphy Auctions, recently announced that his firm has been chosen to auction the prestigious Kyle D.
Moore petroliana collection, now owned by a private investor. According to Morphy, it is the most valuable collection ever to pass through Morphy’s doors, having an estimated value of $15,000,000 to $20,000,000. Containing more than 900 gas globes, 150 vintage gas pumps and 2,000 petroleum-related advertising signs, the collection was amassed over a 40-year period by Moore, a cable TV entrepreneur who died in March 2014. Eight years prior to his death, Moore sold the entire collection to an Oklahoma businessman. “Even though the collection belongs to another individual, it is so famous within the hobby, it is still widely known by the nickname ‘Kyle’s Collection,’” said Dan Matthews, head of Morphy Auctions’ Petroliana Department. “After the collection was purchased, the buyer decided it should remain at Kyle Moore’s house. It was a wise move, since the collection was purchased as an investment and was secure This Musgo Gasoline porcelain advertising and well cared for right where it was.” sign is from the Kyle D. Moore collection. Matthews said he had visited the
D
collection at Moore’s home seven or eight signs worth up to $100,000 apiece and times over the last 15 years and that it is pumps worth as much as $30,000, said “the greatest of them all, the Holy Grail Matthews. among collections of its type.” There are The collection will be dispersed in a series of four or five auctions, with the opener slated for Monday, Oct. 5. Subsequent auctions will be held in 2016, starting with a January session. “We are honored to be handling such a prestigious and highly regarded collection,” said Morphy, whose Lancaster County, Pa., company holds world auction records in many categories, including antique advertising. “The market for petroliana is red hot right now, and the Kyle Moore collection is the best of the best in terms of quality, rarity and condition. We’re expecting a very exciting series of sales.” Auction items will be on display at Morphy’s gallery approximately 30 days before each auction session as well as online at www.morphyauctions.com. To learn more, call 717-335-3435. This gas pump globe advertising Independent Gasoline is from the Kyle D. Moore collection. Images courtesy of Morphy Auctions.
THE HEAT IS ON WITH JULIA’S AUGUST FOUR-DAY SUMMER AUCTION ames D. Julia’s annual August Fine Arts, Asian, & Antiques auction will take place on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, Aug. 25, 26, 27, and 28. This summer sale is in its 35th year. It is a signature event for the company and will be one of the largest summer auctions in the country. The 2,500-lot event will be so large in scope and quality that it has been extended from three days to four and promises to offer an astonishing array of fine and decorative arts, antiques, folk art, Asian articles, historical items and archives. Highlights will include the Rodney G. Fuller collection of Native American artifacts from western Nebraska, the John W. Armiger Jr. collection of early American flags and political ephemera from Baltimore, Md.; the Michael Urioste estate collection of fine antiques from Gadsden, Ala.; and the third installment of precious and rare Asian items from the estate collection of a renowned Taiwanese diplomatic family (Cai Wanjun,
J
An archive of important documents from Amelia Earhart, the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, will be estimated at $40,000$50,000.
Xu Shaochang, & Ye Gongchao). This auction also will offer many top-caliber items from private estates and collections from both here and abroad. Day one will include 450 lots of paintings and sculpture. About 300 different artists will be represented. Highlights will be the “Gloucester Doorway” painting with provenance by Maine artist Abbott Fuller Graves (estimated at $20,000-$40,000); “Rockport, Mass. 1936 No. 3” by Cape Ann School artist William Glackens (estimated at $175,000-$250,000); “Der Menschen Frosser” by German artist Friedrich Wilhelm Kuhnert (estimated at $150,000$200,000); and approximately 25 paintings by Waldo Peirce, sometimes referred to as “the American This green Tiffany Studios Acorn Renoir,” which were acquired hanging lamp will be estimated at directly from the artist’s daughter. $10,000-$15,000. Fine bronzes also play a heavy
role in the auction’s debut day. Julia’s is honored to offer Edgar Degas’ masterpiece “Danseuse Agrafant L’epaullette De Son Corsage” (#64D). This bronze was gifted to and descended through the consignor’s family from Justin Thannhauser, the influential German art dealer. It is estimated at $150,000-$250,000. Other highlights will include leading wildlife artist Carl Rungius’ “Big Horn Ram,” accompanied with full documentation and provenance (estimated at $125,000-$175,000), and American sculptor Paul Manship’s extraordinary “Adjutant Stork,” estimated at $30,000-$50,000. Overall, about 30 bronze artists are represented in Julia’s summer sales event, including outstanding examples from Demetre Chiparus, Georg Kolbe, and Jud Hartmann. Auction days two and three will feature over 1,300 lots of fine
antiques, furniture, and accessories at center stage. There is truly something for everyone amongst these carefully curated and fully cataloged selections. Featured will be almost a dozen important clocks, two of the finest being a Chippendale block-and-shell carved Goddard Townsend mahogany tall case clock by Thomas Claggert (estimated at $70,000-$150,000) and a Classical Revival carved mahogany tall case clock, with a movement by Walter Durfee (estimated at $5,500$7,500.) Antique furniture highlights will include a magnificent Chippendale cherry highboy from a private Maine residence (estimated at $10,000-$15,000) and a Chippendale cherry secretary bookcase (estimated at $5,000$7,000.) Painted furniture is also well represented in this sale. Highlights to please every “palette” will include a finely painted decorated chest, a stepback grain painted cupboard, and an Ohio pie safe. And, for clients
interested in more contemporary furniture, this sale will not disappoint, with a selection of George Nakashima furniture, including a freeform coffee table (estimated at $8,000-$10,000), and a matching set of six chairs and a dining table with ties to the prominent Asian art dealer Alice Bonney (estimated at $8,000-$12,000). Julia’s summer sale will feature selections from the most famous and desirable lighting manufacturers, including a grouping of outstanding lamps from a coastal Maine residence. Enthusiasts will be aglow over a marvelous green Tiffany Studios Acorn hanging lamp (estimated at $10,000-$15,000) and stunning burnt orange Acorn table lamp (estimated at $5,000-$8,000), as well as a fine Handel reverse painted scenic table lamp (estimated at $3,000-$5,000). First rate selections from Porcelli Studios and Pairpoint are also included in this sale. Like all of Julia’s large auctions, (Continued on page 2)
Here is a grouping of weathervanes to be offered.