Barber shop antiques, carousel animals highlight Inman's Dec. 8-9 auction Bid on sports collectibles, contents of a barber-shop museum, duck stamps and more in Randy Inman’s 1,200-lot Dec. 8-9 General Antiques auction in Allentown, Pa.
News-Antique.com - Nov 30,-0001 - ALLENTOWN, Pa. – On Dec. 8 and 9, Randy Inman Auctions will present a 1,200-lot auction of antiques and sports collectibles at the Allentown Fairgrounds Agri-plex. The sale is highlighted by two museum collections, one featuring barber shop antiques, and the other, carousel animals, 18th-century guns and other curiosities. The inventory is rounded out by several private collections of signed baseball cards, coin-operated slot machines, antique advertising and a large and very complete selection of artist-signed duck stamps.
The Friday evening session contains an extensive collection of baseball cards built over many years by Dr. Leon Strohecker. The sports card sets were obtained through Perez-Steele Galleries, which actually produced the cards. Through his friendship with Perez-Steele co-owner Dick Perez, Dr. Strohecker was able to obtain athletes’ autographs on the cards, which date to as early as the 1970s. All of the autographs have been certified as authentic. Two sets of complete women’s league cards are among the more unusual items in the grouping. Estimates on the baseball cards range from $100 on the low end to $2,500 at the top. Among the players featured on the cards are Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Waite Hoyt, Joe Cronin, Lloyd Wainer and Walter Alston, among others.
Dr. Strohecker also acquired many signed baseballs. Among those to be sold are balls autographed by Johnny Bench and Duke Snider – the latter of which is being offered with a signed picture of Snider.
Other sports- and celebrity-related items include a Nolan Ryan bronze bust, program books, two seats from the Philadelphia Phillies’ former stadium, signed prints of various athletes, a circa-1920s golf bag with clubs, and a fishing rod and reel with case, also circa 1920s. An additional grouping of autographed photos to be auctioned includes shots of such celebrities as George Burns, Carol Burnett, Henry Winkler and Phyllis Diller.
The second Strohecker collection to be dispersed in the Friday session comprises approximately 130 lots of duck stamps issued to hunters in years past. Each is signed by the artist who designed it. “They come from all over the country, plus there are a few from Britain,” said auctioneer Randy Inman. “They’re all in excellent to near-mint condition and have been professionally matted and framed.” Inman said the collection is literally complete, with an example of every duck stamp issued from the 1970s through the 1990s. Estimates range from $100 to $800.
The Saturday session features the contents of the remarkable Lester Dequaine barber-shop museum that once operated by appointment only in Meriden, Conn. “This collection covers every corner of an old-fashioned barber shop,” said Inman. Among the many barber chairs are four novelty kiddie chairs that incorporate an actual Garton pedal car; as well as an old oak example by Eclipse with decorative carved lion’s heads. Barber poles include four porcelain models with lights, globes and motion mechanism; and one early painted-wood pole. The most elaborate of the bar backs is of oak with marble backing, estimate $12,000-$15,000.
Additionally, there are floor-model shaving mirrors
