Original "Peanuts" strip brings $37,000 at Philip Weiss Seven original comic strips by Charles Schulz sold for a combined $152,550 at a multi-estate sale held March 24-25 by Philip Weiss Auctions in Oceanside, N.Y. A Sunday "Peanuts" strip brought $37,000.
News-Antique.com - Apr 02,2007 - SEVEN ORIGINAL COMIC STRIPS BY CHARLES SCHULZ GROSS OVER $150,000
AT THREE-SESSION MULTI-ESTATE SALE HELD MARCH 24-25 BY PHILIP WEISS
(Oceanside, N.Y.) - Seven original comic strips by the renowned cartoonist Charles Schulz sold for a combined $152,550 at a three-session, weekend multi-estate sale held March 24-25 by Philip Weiss Auctions. The strips included a Sunday “Peanuts” page from 1963 that alone realized $37,000; three “Li'l Folks” strips; and four “Peanuts” dailies. Prices quoted include a 13% buyer's premium.
“This was a monster sale for us, in all three sessions,” said Philip Weiss of Philip Weiss Auctions. “Saturday afternoon saw over 800 lots of fresh-to-the-market stamps and coins sold. Saturday night featured estate items from Chicago and New York, with nearly 400 pieces of artwork, period furniture, art glass and other merchandise. Sunday was dedicated to comics and animation art.”
In all, about 1,800 lots changed hands over the weekend. At any given time, there were between 100-200 people on hand, at Philip Weiss Auctions' spacious showroom facility in Oceanside, N.Y. There were over 2,600 registered Internet bidders, plus about 1,000 bidders registered through the website and gallery. “The sale had 3,600 participants and grossed around $800,000,” Mr. Weiss said.
Highlights from the Saturday afternoon session included:
Ancient coins did well, as expected. A French gold coin struck circa 633-635 AD – the Gold Triens of Marseilles, from the Merovingians region of France – surged past its high estimate of $800 to sell for $2,145; and an ancient Greek coin – the Archaic Tetradrachm, struck in Athens circa 560-490 BC and featuring the head of Athena in a crested helmet on the reverse side – fetched $3,320.
Other top achievers of the day included a 1909 Barber half-dollar, PCI graded PR65 ($2,680); a single lot comprising about 1,300 stamps, to include 232 mint blocks of four, a C18 plate block of six, Columbians in quantities, and U.S. $2 presidential used plate blocks of four, all sold as-is, with a high catalog value ($7,625); and an erotic Meerschaum pipe, in case, circa 1920s/'30s ($2,360).
Saturday night was devoted in large part to estate merchandise and fine art. The top lot was a fabulous two-piece Herter Brothers bedroom set, comprising a bed and dresser. Hand-made around the 1920s, the suite gaveled for $22,600. “The quality and craftsmanship of these pieces spoke for themselves,” Mr. Weiss remarked. “They were truly beautiful.”
Artwork dominated the evening's proceedings. A bronze bust by the French sculptor Eugene Emile Herbert (1828-1893), 25” tall and titled “Winged Woman on a Warrior” (circa 1890), soared to $10,735. Herbert was a Romanticist, noted for his blending of historical detail with fantasy. This piece, of Semiramis, an Assynan queen of the 13th century, was well suited to his talents.
An oil-on-canvas painting by the Russian-born American artist William Samuel Schwartz (1896-1977), titled “Spreading Chestnut” and signed by the artist in the lower left, realized $15,820. The painting had never before been offered at auction, and was purchased directly by the consignor
