Rare Garfield carte de visite brings $4,068 at Weiss sale A signed carte de visite of former President James A. Garfield, taken when he was a Union Brigadier General during the Civil War, sold for $4,068 at an auction held Nov. 14-15 by Philip Weiss Auctions
Mr. Weiss’s favorite lot of the sale was a 1/8 plate hand-colored ambrotype of a fireman (circa 1870s), seated with a fire helmet with an insignia reading ‘Howard 34.’The fireman’s bib was colored red and the piece was in overall excellent condition. It went to a determined bidder for $1,800. Also, a Waterloo medal issued in 1815 to Sgt. T. Wright of the 13th Regiment, Light Dragoons, reached $2,600.
Philip Weiss Auctions has a trifecta of important auctions lined up through January 2010. First up is a multi-estate sale scheduled for Friday, Nov. 27, starting at 1 p.m. Featured lots will include a monumental Francois Linke 4-door dore bronze mounted cabinet with ram’s head and lyres, and a large-size original oil painting attributed to the renowned Hudson River School painter Girlando Marsiglia.
The Nov. 27 sale will also feature an array of fine decorative accessories, to include a mirror plateau with French ormolu mounts by G. Bointaburet (Paris, circa 1880); a pair of F. Barbedienne bronze plaques; a 19th century gilt bronze plaque with dancing putti; porcelains; an Argy-Russeau powder box; a collection of Mettlach and Satsuma; Sevres pieces; and 19th century Oriental porcelains.
Other decorative accessories will include hand-painted plates; a gilt and signed bronze and enamel box; pottery and art glass; hand-painted and enameled vases; a monumental gilt bronze center piece; tons of French porcelains; Oriental rugs; a monumental gilt French Trimue mirror with top center painting; clocks; a collection of vintage phonographs and cylinder players; and dozens of works of art.
Then, a three-day “Let’s Go Hog Wild Sale” is planned for the weekend of Dec. 18-20. The sale will feature a wonderful single-owner collection of pig-related memorabilia – everything but the oink. Also featured will be toys and dolls, like a rare boxed GI Joe Australian doll and GI Joe French and German soldiers; items from the German and French Resistance; circus items; and Coke memorabilia, to include early signs and a rare clock.
The weekend will break out as follows: Friday, Dec. 18, will be dedicated primarily to dolls and toy soldiers; Saturday, Dec. 19, will feature a Christmas collection, an advertising collection and premiums, to include a very rare Little Orphan Annie Altascope ring; and Sunday, Dec. 20, will have the pig memorabilia and circus items. Mr. Weiss said pulled pork might be served in honor of the theme.
Philip Weiss Auctions is saving the best for last, when the original marriage certificate issued to Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley on May 26, 1994 in the Dominican Republic will be sold as part of an important multi-estate sale planned for the weekend of Jan. 22-24, 2010. The certificate was signed by both Jackson and Presley. “It’s anybody’s guess how much it will sell for,” Mr. Weiss said.
That same weekend, another important slice of music and pop memorabilia will be sold: a large photo of the Beatles, signed by all four members of the group
