First-ever auction to benefit the Norfolk (Conn.) Lions Club to be held Feb. 17 An early 19th century Eli Terry pillar-and-scroll clock will be sold at the first annual auction to benefit the Norfolk (Conn.) Lion’s Club, slated for Friday, Feb. 17, beginning at 6 p.m. (EST).
News-Antique.com - Feb 09,2012 - (NORFOLK, Conn.) – An early 19th century Eli Terry pillar-and-scroll clock, guitars signed by some of the greatest names in rock ‘n’ roll history, fine pieces of Hitchcock furniture, and gold and silver coins are just a few of the items bidders will be vying for at the first annual auction to benefit the Norfolk Lion’s Club, slated for Friday, Feb. 17, beginning at 6 p.m. (EST).
The event will be held at the Blackberry River Inn, located at 538 Greenwoods Road West in Norfolk, a town situated along State Route 44 in northwestern Connecticut, not far from the Massachusetts border and at the foot of the Berkshire Mountains. A preview will be held from 5-6 p.m. All proceeds will go to benefit the Norfolk Lion’s Club, a non-profit organization.
“This promises to be a phenomenal first-ever auction to benefit a group that does a lot of good for the community,” said Tim Chapulis of Tim’s, Inc., the Bristol, Conn.-based auction firm that will conduct the sale. “Norfolk is a wonderful, historical town, home to some of this country’s earliest settlers, and it’s great to be able to help benefit the Lion’s Club in this way.”
Some of the items – like the Terry clock, guitars, furniture and coins – will have been consigned through clients of Tim’s, Inc. Other items will be donated by residents of Norfolk and surrounding towns. “That’s the beauty of this kind of auction,” Mr. Chapulis said. “Quality items will be pouring in right up to the date of sale. You never know what will be there ‘til it happens.”
The pillar-and-scroll clock is the auction’s expected headliner. Built in the early 1800s, with wooden works, it is an example from the workshop of Eli Terry (1772-1852), arguably Connecticut’s most renowned clockmaker. Pieces by Terry are highly sought after by collectors. The village of Terryville, Conn., was named after his son. Other antique clocks will also be sold.
The signed guitars are also certain to attract bidder interest. One is an Epitone Les Paul model guitar, signed by Les Paul himself, the man who ushered in the era of the electric guitar. The sale will also feature a 78 rpm picture record signed by Paul and his wife, Mary Ford, as well as sheet music signed by the couple. A Johnny Cash signed autograph will also be sold.
Other guitars are signed by Peter Townsend of the Who (Tommy, My Generation, Happy Jack), plus a Fender guitar signed by members of Jay and the Americans (Cara Mia, Come a Little Bit Closer, She Cried), the Tokens (The Lion Sleeps Tonight, appropriately enough) and Leslie Gore (It's My Party, Judy's Turn to Cry). Also offered will be a rare Rolling Stones poster.
The Hitchcock furniture pieces included a set of chairs, a rocking chair. A cherry drop-leaf table, and a lift-top blanket chest with drawers at the bottom (and with the original paper in the drawer), all with gorgeous stencil decorations. Other furniture pieces will also
