Two diverse yet complementary estates will be sold Jan. 21 in Panama City, Fla. An amazing array of merchandise – hundreds of eclectic lots in categories too numerous to list here – will cross the block Saturday, Jan. 21, at The Specialists of the South, Inc., in Panama City, Fla
creations will include a wall cabinet (spice cabinet) made from old shoe dye crates, and small cigarette boxes.
Fans of folk art will be drawn to the pair of hand-painted wooden signs, one saying “Gents” (indicating the men’s room) and the other announcing, “Absolutely no smoking in the basement.” A pair of duck decoys from the 1940’s or ‘50s (by unknown maker or makers) will change hands, while sizable and rustic bird houses (one of them 1 foot by 2 feet) will be sold.
Rounding out Mr. Jankowski’s portion of the auction will be a small collection of tricycles and scooters; wood, metal and rubber toys from the 1920s-1950s, a pair of wooden hand-made trunks used by electricians in the circus (like a large toolbox); and original artworks by Mr. Jankowski.
For those unfamiliar with Matthew Jankowski’s work, he is a self-described “visionary intuitive folk artist,” whose creations may contain found objects incorporated into artworks made from a variety of mediums. He also makes three-dimensional metal sculptures and is a veteran photographer. It was unclear at press time exactly which of his artworks would be in the auction.
The other major consignor will be offering a rainbow of diverse lots, starting with a wonderful Pennsylvania polychrome folk art storage chest with perforated bottom drop drawer. Native American items will also be sold, such as a Seminole Indian drum (marked on the bottom, “Seminole Indian Tom Tom from Musla Isla – Banana – Miami, Fla., Presented to Major Edward Bowes, Jan. 26, 1936”), an Indian war club with beaded handle, some beautiful bird points and framed small Indian tools. Also offered will be a powder horn, a brass bugle, decoys, weather vanes, a wooden mask, decoys, a primitive discus, butter presses, dough bowls and a nice cast-iron eagle.
Fans of cartography will be intrigued by an 1863 Phelps & Watson military map of the border and Southern states (with a tag that reads, “G. Smith, Member 1st Confederate Congress of State of Alabama”), a map of Gen. John Sullivan’s 1779 Indian Expedition (published in 1929 by the Harrisburg, Pa., Historical Commission), and a 1945 silk map of Japan and the South China Sea (for use during World War II by the Departments of the War and the Navy).
Additional items will include vintage hickory-handled golf clubs (plus one club with a metal shaft with a built-in flask), smoking memorabilia (including an Art Deco table/smoking stand), andirons, an 85-year-old tennis racket, indentured servants’ documents, glass and ceramic eggs, a Dahlia spatter ware handle-less cup and saucer, insulators, postcards and old Christmas items.
Glass and pottery pieces will feature a circa 1750-1770 Colonial covered salt crock, large and small crocks (including decorated ones, plus water coolers and “cyder” jugs), Red Wing, Agate ware, old bottles (including labeled case gin), ink wells and master ink bottles, an enamel glass decanter, Cherokee pottery, a Spongeware pitcher, handle-less cups and many seals from bottles.
Collectibles will feature a 1937 Mickey Mouse belt buckle (marked Tiffany Studio,
