1850 rosewood bed brings $26,400 at Stevens sale A Mitchell & Rammeslsberg high-back rosewood queen bed, made around 1850 and in remarkable condition, sold for $26,400 at a multi-estate sale held Oct. 21 by Stevens Auction in Aberdeen, Mississippi.
News-Antique.com - Nov 30,-0001 - MITCHELL & RAMMELSBERG HIGH-BACK ROSEWOOD QUEEN BED,
CIRCA 1850, BRINGS $26,400 AT STEVENS AUCTION’S OCT. 21 SALE
(Aberdeen, Miss.) – A Mitchell & Rammelsberg high-back rosewood queen bed, made prior to the Civil War and in remarkable condition, sold for $26,400 at a multi-estate sale held October 21st by Stevens Auction Company. It was the firm’s first sale since a June fire gutted a mansion in Aberdeen, Miss., that had served as its showroom.
“We’re back,” Dwight Stevens said emphatically. “Work on the mansion is coming along beautifully and we expect to have it fully restored and better than ever before too long.” In the meantime, auctions are being conducted at a 10,000-square-foot former lumber company showroom located less than two blocks from the mansion.
“This was without a doubt our best sale of the year,” Stevens said. “The prices realized were nice and high, but nobody was overpaying. The bids were correct for the merchandise offered, which was superior by anyone’s yardstick. I was simply amazed at what we had. Just beautiful stuff.” Prices quoted include a 10% buyer’s premium.
The second top lot was also a bed, attesting to the popularity of antebellum and Victorian-era beds and bedroom suites. A rare and unusual self-supporting half tester Victorian bed, made around 1850, went for $19,800. “The people who want these beds will travel any distance and pay any price to own them,” Stevens said with a chuckle.
Other pieces of period furniture also did well. A rosewood Victorian turtle-top table (Alexander Roux, circa 1855) changed hands for $12,650, while an unsigned rosewood console-style half parlor table (quite possibly Alexander Roux, circa 1850) found a new owner for $9,900.
A museum-quality period Sheraton sideboard, with wine drawers (circa 1790) rose to $4,290; a 12’ long Empire banquet table fetched $7,150; a flame mahogany Empire cabinet, mint julep with claw feet (circa 1840) garnered $4,180; a pair of Pier mirrors, both on marble bases (circa 1850) went for $2,970 and $1,650.
Antique clocks chimed right on time for the winning bidders. One was a Chippendale-style mahogany grandfather clock, 9’ tall, with lots of ornate carvings. Made around 1890, it sold for $11,550. The other was an Eli Terry post (or table) clock. With a Chippendale look and wood works, it rang out at $3,520.
Original Southern art, like Victorian beds, always does well at Stevens sales. This time, the star lot was a large unsigned oil painting done around 1860 and depicting a family of the time. It sold for $10,450. Also, an oil on canvas of a deer pulling a sleigh (circa) hit $1,540, while several other smaller works sold for $660 to $1,100.
Stevens Auction Company’s next big sale is scheduled for November 11th, also in Aberdeen. Originally, it was to comprise six estates, but that has been whittled down to two. One is the estate of the late Dr. Frances Cabannis Roberts of Huntsville, Ala. The other is the living estate of Ambassador and Mrs. Robert Pugh, of
