(ATLANTA, Ga.) – Red Baron – the premier auction house in the Southeast – has saved the best for last in 2010 with a fall auction that will be packed with over 2,000 lots that would impress even the most discriminating and seasoned collector. The weekend event will be held Nov. 6-7 in the Red Baron gallery, located at 6450 Roswell Road in Sandy Springs, near Atlanta.

“This will certainly be our greatest event of the year, and possibly ever,” said Bob Brown of Red Baron. “We have gone to great lengths to assemble an array of items that would suit the taste of any connoisseur: architectural antiques, fine furnishings, fine art, rare and vintage guns, guitars signed by rock ‘n’ roll legends, jaw-dropping gems, killer cars, vintage wine and more.”

The auction will feature several important presidential items, to include a bench handmade and signed by Jimmy Carter (with a photo of Mr. Carter building the bench), Ronald Reagan’s yearbook from his senior year at college (The Prism, 1932), with an autographed message from Mr. Reagan, and a wax figure of Ulysses S. Grant, in full uniform, from Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum in England.

Headlining the guitars category will be an acoustic guitar played and signed by the late musician Jimi Hendrix, a Galveston guitar signed by numerous rock legends, two Peavey Predator series electric guitars (signed by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia and others), a guitar signed in bold writing by blues legend BB King, and many vintage Gibsons and Martins.

Fans of royal couture will be amazed by a collection of clothing items from the collection of Princess Lucie Shirazi, a Belgian-born aristocrat who married Prince Ali Shirazi Parav of Iran. She died in 1994 at age 86. Pieces from the collection will include a Pauline Trigere’s tailored dress with bolero jacket, a circa 1930s black velvet opera coat and many other gorgeous items.

Rare, magnificent bars – a staple at most Red Baron sales and a wonderful addition to any fine home or office – will be led by “The Joker Bar,” an original back bar in Honduras mahogany, crafted for use on a Mississippi riverboat and so-named because of the four large joker masks integrated into the capitals. Also sold will be a nice towering antique Brunswick liquor cabinet.

Another jaw-dropping lot promises to be an original set of 15 stained and layered figural windows made in the late 19th century by the Tiffany Glass & Decorating Company and still in their original wood frames. The set, titled Parable of the Sower, was commissioned by Noah Pomfrey’s children and installed in St. Paul’s Universalist Church in Meriden, Conn., in 1893.

Speaking of Tiffany, vintage lamps made by the renowned manufacturer will include a 10-inch Damascene shade on a hand-blown glass base (circa 1900-1910), a blown glass linen fold shade on a dore adjustable counterbalance base (circa 1910-1920), and a harp floor lamp with gold Favrile shade and signed, numbered base. Very nice Pairpoint lamps will also be sold.

From the fine art category, just a few lots of note include an oil on canvas by Jules Ghobert (Belgian, 1881-1971), titled Bath Time; two original oil on board works by Wayne Morrell (Am., b. 1923); an oil on canvas by Giuseppe Puricelli Guerra (It., 1825-1894), titled Hawking; and a grand scale oil on canvas by W. H. Smith, on the subject of “Eve” (circa 1900).

Wild and wonderful vehicles are another Red Baron trademark, and this sale will be no exception. Where else can you bid on a veritable fleet of 1960s Good Humor ice cream trucks? Other offerings will include a 1958 custom-bodied one-of-a-kind MG MGA hot rod, a 1963 Land Rover, a 1965 British armored scout vehicle, and restored Willys Jeepsters (1924, 1948).

From the open road to outer space, Red Baron has got it all. Sold will be a massive 397-pound meteorite that landed in Chile and will now be auctioned. Other finds will feature a rare white quartz crystal from Brazil weighing over 1,000 pounds, a large fossil of amenorites, and an authentic baby dinosaur skeleton from the Cretaceous period, originally unearthed in China.

Guitars won’t be the only musical lots on the menu. Other items of “note” will include a completely restored Wurlitzer jukebox (Model 850), a very nice signed harp in mahogany with a gilt edge, a rare musical clock in European walnut with fine carvings, and a large Regina 25-disc polyphone music box in a mahogany cabinet with foliate carvings and 12 additional music discs.

Red Baron Antiques is one of the oldest, largest and widely-known fine antiques sources in the Southeast. The firm is celebrating over 35 years of providing its customers with world-class service and unique inventory, displayed at its gallery facility, which is open to the public Monday through Friday, from 9-6, and Saturday from 9-4. Red Baron is closed on Sundays.

Red Baron also has several affiliate operations, such as The Red Baron Collection, Gallery 63, King Galleries and Queen’s Garden. These are profiled in the ‘Affiliates’ tool bar of the firm’s website, at www.rbantiques.com. Red Baron also owns Southern Seasons Magazine, a high-society lifestyle publication dedicated to the arts, culture, entertainment, style and class.

Red Baron is always in the hunt for quality merchandise for future sales. If you have an item, estate or collection to be considered, you may call them directly, at (404) 252-3770. Or, you can e-mail them at info@rbantiques.com. To learn more about Red Baron Antiques and the Nov. 6-7 auction, log on to www.rbantiques.com. A free color catalog is available on request.

The sale, which saw 2,340 lots cross the block over the course of the weekend, featured all three versions of the Mills violano. It might be the first time in auction history that all three Mills violano versions were offered in the same sale. The bow front sold had a midi player with wireless system that permits the user to operate it from 90 feet away. Included were three Mills rolls and four midi albums.

The featured collector of the sale was Sandy Rosnick, the founder of the Antique Advertising Association of America (AAA) and a dedicated collector of country store tins in many categories. A top earner from his collection was a very rare Mohawk Chief cigar tin with just some minor scuffs and scratches but otherwise in very good condition. The tin, once containing nickel cigars, brought $1,800.

“Sandy Rosnick was the featured collector, but we had so many items in such a broad range of categories this was our most diverse auction ever,” said Mike Eckles of Showtime Auction Services. “We weren’t sure what to expect, because the financial crisis hit the week before the sale, and things were still in is a state of turmoil that weekend. But I was very pleased with the outcome. It was great.”

A strong crowd of more than 400 people enjoyed the balmy weather and packed the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds. The Friday session was held solely for in-house bidders. On Saturday and Sunday, phone and absentee bidding was brisk, while about 2,500 registered bidders participated online via LiveAuctioneers.com and eBayLiveAuctions.com. In all, the auction grossed around $2.2 million.

Following are additional top lots from the sale. All prices quoted include a buyer’s premium that ranged from 10-20 percent.

A paper sign advertising Buffalo Brewing Company of Sacramento, Calif., and depicting a nude Indian maiden on the back of a buffalo, in a period walnut frame and in mint condition, hammered for $45,100. Also, a Brunhoff light-up Coca-Cola advertising sign, inviting patrons to “Lunch With Us” and depicting a fountain glass, in excellent original condition (12 inches by 14 inches) fetched $12,650.

An original oil painting by the German-born American artist Edmond Osthaus (1858-1928) realized $44,000. The hunting scene, depicting two Irish setters and a pointer, measured 24 inches by 36 inches (32 inches by 44 inches framed). Osthaus was commissioned by the major firearms and gun powder manufacturers of the day, such as Remington and Winchester, for their posters and calendars.

A Watling Cupid trade stimulator (coin-operated, five cents, with gum vendor) in excellent condition and with keys, went for $38,500. Also, a limited-production exact replica of a Mademoiselle Zita fortune teller, in excellent working order, hit $17,050. The original was made by Roovers Bros. Mfg., Brooklyn, N.Y., around the turn of the century. The replica was manufactured by Mike Gorski.

A “Happy Jap” gum vendor, coin-operated and made around 1902, in good original condition (10 inches by 13-1/2 inches by 10-1/2 inches), went to a determined bidder for $39,000. Also, a four-gallon mechanical butter churn with no chips or cracks – a wonderful example of grey stoneware pottery – made $3,000. The piece, 35 inches tall, was made by Jos. Hamilton Mfg. of Greensboro, Pa.

A Buster Brown Shoes tin sign, depicting Tig pulling Buster in a big shoe, measuring 40 inches by 24-3/4 inches and made by American Art Works Lithographers of Coshocton, Ohio, and in overall excellent condition, climbed to $20,900. Also, a Boyce Moto Meter die-cut tin flange sign, two-sided, measuring 21-1/2 inches by 18-3/4 inches and with a bullet hole and a few bb dents, brought $18,700.

A child’s sled intended as a Christmas present for a little boy in Pennsylvania in1893 who died before the holidays, retired to an attic ever since and in original excellent condition, with a beautiful hand-painted rendering of the Finger Lakes in New York, wood with iron runners and geese head pulls, coasted to $5,775. Also, a Popeye Bag Puncher tin wind-up toy, with the original box, reached $4,125.

Showtime Auction Services’ next big sale will be held the weekend of March 27-29, also at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds in Ann Arbor. Mich. The featured collector will be Fred Bahlau who, over the course of 57 years, has amassed an impressive accumulation of leaded glass windows, Nickelodeons, lamps, signs, country store, petroliana, advertising and other items – 1,800 lots in all.

Select items from other estates will also be offered. Showtime Auction Services is always accepting quality consignments for future sales. To consign a single item, estate or collection, you may call Mike Eckles, at (951) 453-2415. His e-mail address is Mikeckles@aol.com. To learn more about Showtime Auction Services and its calendar of upcoming sales, visit www.showtimeauctions.com.

By Michele Alice
AuctionBytes.com
July 20, 2008

“French harp. Moothie. Tin sandwich. Any of these terms strike a chord? How about gob iron, mouth organ, or Mississippi saxophone? If you guessed that they all refer to the harmonica, then you probably already own at least one.

…Collectors are quite willing, however, to pay a premium for models that had limited production runs, feature special logos, or have unusual colors, shapes, or designs. For example, The Beatles edition by Hohner often sells for up to $250, while one collector on the Internet is at present offering up to $400 for a German, WWI-era, Koch Company harmonica shaped like a ship.”

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Guitar Guru | GadsdenTimes.com
Published February 28, 2008

“Serious collectors often go to great lengths to add to their collections. They might search flea markets, trade days, yard and estate sales or even shop at stores offering collectibles for sale. But there is one place many collectors overlook when searching out their collectibles, and that is pawn shops.

…While there have been many guitar makers, Greer specializes in three major brands, Gibson, Martin and Fender.

“The value of guitars which I collect, buy and sell can be surprising,” Greer said. “They can bring anywhere between several hundred dollars to $14,000 or $15,000.”

“There’s a very good chance that an average person could have a valuable guitar laying around their houses. It’s just not that unusual to find vintage guitars left in estates, and most people have no idea of their worth,” Greer said.”

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Amped about this ax

Los Angeles Times
By Mike Anton August 21, 2007

“The Burst guitar, with its lush finish and rich sound, has gone from pawnshop castoff to $500,000 collectible. Its devotees are ‘relentless.’

Only about 1,500 Bursts, as they are known, were made between 1958 and 1960. They were a commercial flop. But today the Burst is considered the Stradivarius of solid-body electric guitars. Its distinctive, syrupy sound, mythic back story and cherry-and-gold wood finish have made it the world’s most sought-after ax.”

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Stradivari violin goes for $2.7M

Yahoo! News
April 3, 2007

“NEW YORK – A centuries-old Stradivari violin sold Monday for more than $2.7 million, well above its estimated worth before the sale, Christie’s auction house said.”

Another instrument, a string instrument called a cittern, and believed to have been made at the turn of the 17th century, sold for $180,000 in spite of an original estimated value of $4,000 to $6,000 to the National Music Museum at The University of South Dakota.

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Vintage Guitar Magazine Releases 2007 Price Guide

January 26, 2007

“On the surface, guitar collecting may appear to be a rich person’s game, and it’s true that classic 1950s models by Gibson and Fender continue to set price records. But guitar collecting offers something for anyone who loves music, the players, and the wood-and-wire wonders that helped those players make that music. No matter how deep you’re looking to go or how much money you bring to the table, you can get into guitar collecting.

The Official Vintage Guitar Price Guide is the industry standard when it comes to determining the values of collectible guitars. The most timely, accurate, and detailed publication of its kind, the best-selling Guide, published annually by Vintage Guitar magazine, lists true research-based values on thousands of vintage and recent-model guitars, amps, basses, effects pedals, mandolins, lap steels, ukuleles, and banjos. The 2007 edition is 520 pages of historical data, market analysis, valuations on thousands of models by nearly 1,400 manufacturers, and more than 1,000 photos. From the $400 Framus Sorrento to the $400,000 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard or the $200 Harmony Singing Cowboy to Martin’s $250,000 1936 Martin D-45, The Guide covers it all.

The Guide combines the most thorough research in the vintage-instrument market with a user-friendly format employing quick-find page headings, a comprehensive index, and a dealer directory listing guitar sellers in every region of the country. Also included is an in-depth look at the factors that drive the collectible instrument market.”

Buy the The Official Vintage Guitar Magazine Price Guide, 2007 Edition (Official Vintage Guitar Magazine Price Guide) here on Amazon.

The Australian
From correspondents in New York
May 12, 2006

“AUCTION house Christie’s unveiled a Stradivarius violin today that it said could fetch more than $US2 million next week to become the most expensive musical instrument ever sold at auction.

The violin, known as the Hammer, goes on the block in New York on Tuesday. It was made by Antonio Stradivari in 1707 in Cremona, Italy, and Christie’s estimates its value at $US1.5 million to $US2.5 million.”

UPDATE: “An anonymous bidder paid $3.54 million for a Stradivarius violin made in 1707 at auction house Christie’s on May 16, 2006, making it the most expensive musical instrument ever sold at auction.”

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