Noel Barrett offers 'Something for Everyone' in his May 21 auction Noel Barrett will present 714-lots, from fresh-to-market holiday items and antique games to coveted clockwork toys and salesmen’s samples, in his May 21 'Something for Everyone' auction.
News-Antique.com - May 03,2011 - NEW HOPE, Pa. – As its title promises, Noel Barrett’s May 21 auction has “something for everyone” within its 714-lots, from fresh-to-market holiday items and antique games to coveted clockwork toys and salesmen’s samples. The Saturday event commencing at 10 a.m. at the Eagle Fire Hall in New Hope, Pa., will feature items from the collections of Philip and Ann Henderson, and Rex Horchem.
The eclectic array of treasures opens with a small selection of Christmas Dresdens and diecuts; Thanksgiving candy containers and decorations; and an extremely rare clockwork Halloween veggie man with moving eyes.
Auction company owner Noel Barrett commented that the early 20th-century papier-mache veggie man, which stands an impressive 16 inches tall, was quite likely used as a store window display piece, a k a sales stimulator. “This is only the second such vegetable man to have surfaced in recent memory,” said Barrett. “The other example had significant repair, including the fabrication of the missing left hand. This example has the complete, fully fingered hand, which needs only minor restoration.” The whimsically wide-eyed mechanical veggie man is estimated at $10,000-$15,000.
A colorful grouping of valentines to be offered at the auction runs the gamut of materials and styles, with a timeline from the late 18th century to the 1940s. There are early woodcuts, fold-downs with “honeycombs,” celluloids, lace-edged greetings, and dimensional cars, ships and architectural structures, among many other types. The 90-lot offering also includes some highly desirable crossovers, such as the circa-1861 Civil War valentine of heavy embossed paper with a hand-colored engraving of a soldier returning home to his wife and child. It is estimated at $250-$350.
An additional ephemera highlight is a 1904 “Our Sailor Boy” mechanical calendar depicting a youngster in naval attire, with British and American flags in the background and a cannon in the foreground. The “smoke” emitted from the cannon is embossed with calendar pages from all 12 months and is retractable to fit back into the cannon. Estimate: $100-$200.
A broad mix of early games and puzzles – both German and American made – will keep bidders amused as they work their way through the many themes that were popular at the turn of the 20th century, such as transportation, military, sports and animals. An unusual entry that reflects how safety standards in toys have changed is the 1924 Zulu Blowing Game consisting of blow darts, targets and an instructions sheet extolling the game’s health benefits. “Develop the Children’s Lungs,” the paperwork encourages. Estimate: $300-$400.
Some very nice dollhouses, room boxes and shops will be auctioned, including two Gottschalk productions: an apothecary and grocery store; two German stables with figures, a confectionary shop and a kitchen plentifully outfitted with metal utensils, vessels, plates and other miniatures. Worth of special note is a Parisian perfumery stocked with various fragrances in glass bottles, as well as powders, soaps and pomades, all arranged on mirror-topped counters and on vanity shelves. The deluxe tableau is accompanied by a well-dressed bisque-head doll and is
