COMPLIMENTARY COPY TM
The Most Widely Read Collector's Newspaper In The East Published Weekly By Joel Sater Publications www.antiquesandauctionnews.net
VOL. 45, NO. 37 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 12, 2014
Morphy’s Advertising & Coin-Op Auction Hits $3.1 Million, Second-Highest Gross In Company’s History 1900 Coca-Cola Calendar From Gordon Breslow Collection Sells For Record-Setting $210K otivated bidders and an unprecedented selection of antique advertising and coin-op machines found common ground at Morphy’s gallery over the weekend of Aug. 22 to 24, with the result being a $3.12 million total for the rapidly growing Pennsylvania auction house. The event marked a dual milestone for Morphy’s. It was their most successful antique advertising/coinop sale to date and the secondhighest-achieving auction of any type in the company’s history. Morphy’s continues to hold the record for highest-grossing one-day auction of a single-owner toy collection: the $7.7 million sale of Stephen and Marilyn Steckbeck’s antique bank collection on Oct. 27, 2007. All prices quoted in this report include a 20 percent buyer’s premium. “There was interest in virtually every category we offered, both
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before and during the sale. Bidding was strong, both in the room and over the Internet,” said Dan Morphy, founder and president of Morphy Auctions. “World auction records were set in many categories, but the real scene stealer was the Gordon Breslow calendar collection, which included an example of every calendar issued by Coca-Cola since 1896. Many of the calendars were the finest known examples and the very ones pictured in Petretti’s ‘Coca-Cola Collectibles Price Guide.’ You can’t beat that level of provenance.” In fact, each and every one of the top five Coca-Cola calendars sold at Morphy’s three-day sale broke the previous world auction record for Coca-Cola (paper) ephemera of any type. Most refreshing of all the CocaCola items offered was Lot 719, which Morphy’s experts believe to be the only existing near-mint-plus Coke calendar from the year 1900. It featured an image of model and
actress Hilda Clark, the first beauty to appear in the soft drink company’s ads. Entered in the sale with a $50,000-$100,000 estimate, it spurred a salesroom battle that ended with a selling price of $210,000. Another high-flyer from the Breslow collection was Lot 711, an 1896 Coca-Cola calendar that, like the aforementioned 1900 calendar, is believed to be the only known survivor of its condition and type. Retaining a partial calendar pad, it was presented in a deep shadow box with an ornate gilt frame. Against an estimate of $30,000$60,000, it sold for $105,000. Coke was not the only beverage in demand at Morphy’s. Recordsetting prices were paid for soda
The top lot of the sale and the only known near-mint-plus 1900 Coca-Cola calendar featuring the image of model and actress Hilda Clark, the first beauty to appear in the soft drink company’s ads, sold for a record $210,000.
This Mills Double Dewey upright slot machine, 5/25 cents with original music, sold for $114,000. The 1896 Coca-Cola calendar in shadow box with gilt frame sold for $105,000.
fountain memorabilia touting other brands, as well. Lot 1034, a petite 1900 Hires “Munimaker” salesman’s sample, replicated a type of full-size root beer dispenser in use around the turn of the 20th century. Against a $40,000-$60,000 estimate, it served up an $84,000 selling price, the most ever paid at auction for this particular type of item. Lot 1090, a Pepsi-Cola Art The Pepsi-Cola Art Nouveau china Nouveau china syrup urn, swept soda fountain syrup urn sold for past its $30,000-$40,000 estimate $69,000. to settle at $69,000, while Lot 996, a 1909 Pepsi-Cola tin straw holder estimated at $4,000-$8,000, retired at $18,000. Uncommonly seen, Lot 1145, a circa-1918 Montelaise Cheriola
ceramic syrup dispenser, was pumped up to $46,800 against a presale estimate of $12,000$18,000. But even higher prices would follow in the soda-fountain category. As the name suggests, a Grapefruitola ceramic syrup dispenser, cataloged as Lot 1163, was shaped in the form of a plump, leaf-embellished grapefruit. In near-mint condition and estimated at $15,000-$25,000, it squeezed a much healthier $66,000 from one of the many competitors hoping to add it to (Continued on page 2)
This 1900 Hires “Munimaker” salesA fine circa-1918 Montelaise man’s sample replicating a full-size The circa-1900 jeweled leaded-glass Cheriola ceramic syrup dispenser root beer dispenser of the period sold Drug Store street sign sold for A 1900 Coca-Cola embossed-card- This Grapefruitola ceramic syrup sold for $46,800. for $84,000. board calendar sold for $45,000. $31,200. dispenser sold for $66,000.