Beginning @ 10AM in the WAREHOUSE &

1 PM in the FRONT SHOWROOM
Previews: Monday,

August 2, 9AM – 5PM

Tuesday (Sale day) from 9AM

Please note the 1 PM start time in the front room!

Furniture at 5 PM in the front room!

2 pc mahogany breakfront with Egyptian head mounts

9 pc carved mah French BR set with white antiqued finish

Pierced tin pine pie safe in old paint surface

Sample of bisque figurine and decorated porcelain collection

Furniture at 4:30 PM in the back room, 5 PM in the front.

STERLING SILVER & PLATE, GLASS, CHINA & PORCELAIN, LAMPS, CLOCKS,
NEAT STUFF, JEWELRY,
ARTWORK, FURNITURE INCLUDING
COUNTRY AND VICTORIAN
CUSTOM AND REPRODUCTION, MUCH MORE!
WAREHOUSE @ 10 AM: TOOLS, HOUSEHOLD, COLLECTABLES, 1000′S BOOKS, EPHEMERA, TOYS, DOLLS, MUCH MORE!

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MULTI-ESTATE DISCOVERY
AUCTION

Tuesday, September 14

Beginning @ 10AM in the WAREHOUSE &
10 AM in the FRONT SHOWROOM

Previews: Monday, September 13 , 9AM – 5PM
Tuesday (Sale day) from 9AM

STERLING SILVER & PLATE, GLASS, CHINA & PORCELAIN, LAMPS, CLOCKS,
NEAT STUFF, JEWELRY,
ARTWORK, FURNITURE INCLUDING
COUNTRY AND VICTORIAN
CUSTOM AND REPRODUCTION, MUCH MORE!
WAREHOUSE @ 10 AM: Our Warehouse is LOADED! TOOLS, HOUSEHOLD, COLLECTABLES, 1000′S BOOKS, EPHEMERA, TOYS, DOLLS, MUCH MORE!

2 Session Multi-Estate
Catalog Auction
Of Fine and Decorative Arts
Beginning at 12 Noon each day,
Monday & Tuesday, September 20th & 21st, 2010

Preview Sunday September 19th from 12 PM to 5 PM
Monday, September 20th from 9 AM to 5 PM
Tuesday, September 21st from 9 AM

On Monday at 12 PM, we will sell 185 lots from a single owner collection of Venetian and other European glass, 41 pcs Gouda pottery, 200 plus pcs of Delft and other Dutch/Continental pottery, to be sold singly and in lots! Also a small collection of above average floral and scenic early 20th c European porcelain by various Limoges, Austrian, German, Czech, and other factories, plus a small but nice collection of Victorian art glass. About 250 lots in total for Monday afternoon!!

On Tuesday, from many Delaware Valley estates, collectors, and private consignors,
500 plus lots of fresh to the market fine art, decorative arts, much more!
Oriental rugs, silver, jewelry, pottery, large selection of fine Chinese porcelain and other Asian decorative arts, 18th-20th c furniture, fine art, works on paper, clocks, 19th c tortoise boxes, fine 18K gold mounted Steuben crystal, George Washington Order of Cincinnati document, Bryant Baker’s “Young Lincoln” in a 10″ bronze casting, folk art steam locomotive, much more!!

Artist List: Japanese woodblock prints, Harry Dunn, George Cope, Seymour Zayon, Charles Jay, Marc Chagall, Philip Jamison, James Whistler, Paul Davis, Arthur Clifton Goodwin, Geoff H Flavelle, James Turner, Henry Harold Vickers, manner of Worthington Whittredge, Samuel Bouquet,Bernardus Petrus Viegers, much more.

1981 Triumph Spitfire with only 33,000 original miles

A fully illustrated catalog will be available by the end of this week on our website at williambunchauctions.com.

Terms: 20% buyer’s premium with 3% cash/check/wire transfer discount, V/MC accepted

LIVE ONLINE BIDDING via LiveAuctioneers.com and AuctionZip.com, 3% fee

MULTI-ESTATE CATALOG AUCTION

TUESDAY, June 22, 12 PM

AN ESTATE COLLECTION OF MUSIC BOXES, HISTORICAL FLASKS, FINE BOOKS AND EPHEMERA, CLOCKS, FURNITURE, JEWELRY, SILVER, ART GLASS, POTTERY, FINE ART, 1920′S TO 1950′S MOVIE POSTERS, PHOTOS, AND EPHEMERA, MUCH MORE!!

Grif Teller, American, 1899-1993, o/c, 38″ x 57″, “”Speed, Safety, and Comfort”, southbound electric passenger train at Claymont, Delaware, Milepost 19.5.” Original artwork for the 1936 PRR calendar, depicting electric locomotive #4823 with 3 r ed Pullman cars rounding a gentle curve near Claymont, DE, with the Delaware River in the background

THIS PAINTING BROUGHT $61,000 PLUS PREMIUM
WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO CONSIGN TO OUR
FALL CATALOG SALE?

Masonic Eagle Flask 11" Galle vase 1795 English sampler
1 of 22 lots of flasks 1 of 2 1 of 4 good samplers

Reginaphone Model 240 Regine Hexaphone

These 2 machines are from a collection of about 50 music boxes in all featuring 2 other Regina uprights, 8 Regina tabletop machines, Swiss cylinder music boxes, some with interchangeable cylinders, paper roller and cob organs, Edison cylinder record players, clocks, and ond other mechanical stuff!!

Featured lot in our April 13, 2010 catalog sale.

Lot 276
Robert Aitken, printer; The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments: Newly translated out of the Original Tongues; and with the former Translations Diligently compared and revised. Philadelphia: Robert Aitken, 1781-82. 2 parts in one volume, 12mo.
Said to be more rare than the Gutenburg Bible!

Estimate $40,000 to $60,000

SOLD FOR ALMOST
DOUBLE LOW ESTIMATE AT $78,975, INCLUDING BP!!

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One Hillman Drive (Rt. 202 and Rt. 1)
Chadds Ford, PA 19317
Phone: (610) 558-1800
Fax: (610) 558-0885
E-Mail: info@williambunchauctions.com

But the latest hip trend I see is antiquer’s taking what we call “findings” which are pieces of antique or vintage items (not the entire thing) and resourcing them. In short, we are recycling recycled items!

How does one do that? I’ll give you a few examples:

Rice grain bags – currently very hot in the Southern market. What does one do with them? Covering antique chairs, or making pillows for the couch with them. They are so popular, that Restoration Hardware has caught on and is selling reproduction pillows.

Jewelry – I’ve seen jewelry artists taking lone earrings, single shoe clips, buttons, etc and adorning jackets with them, or creating necklaces with the older pieces as pendants or parts.

Photographers are taking cool old painting frames and using them to showcase great black and white photography.

I remember the first time I saw something like this was several years back when I saw typewriter keys being used to create names on a necklace.

Then it was mahjong tiles incorporated into bracelets; vintage bottle caps used to embellish purses…

I have also met dealers that specialize in “found” objects. Interior decorators have been recycling antiques for years. Take a look at how interior designer Kelly Giesen works with vintage doors, hardware and mixes vintage lighting with traditional:

I’d love to hear your suggestions on making old new again. Tell us about it here!

Reyne

Metal smelting, plating, and shaping skills were believed to have developed among the Roma more than a millennium ago and have since been passed down from one generation to the next. As a result, the most beautiful and prized antique jewelry of this century is often set in or composed of various metals, specifically copper and gold. Gold cuff bracelets and earrings, gold belts, and gold medallions made by Roma are often more valuable then the gold used to make them– worth more than their weight, so to speak. But there are other reasons why these pieces are so sought after, many originating in aspects of the Roma culture and lifestyle.

For example, as a nomadic people, Gypsies historically limit their possessions to what they can carry or wear, so jewelry has become a form of wearable currency. But this exposes items to damage and loss and so, as generations go by, truly antique jewelry can become harder to find. The Roma also traditionally bury possessions with their owner upon the owner’s death, the possible exception being a single ring given to the owners oldest daughter. Jewelry belonging to a deceased person cannot be sold, and even as these restrictions have changed and lifted over the years, it still remains taboo to sell this jewelry within the Roma community. All of these factors contribute to a general attrition of truly authentic antique jewelry displaying Roma metalwork. The current rarity of these items can also be traced to the 1930’s and the great depression which left many families in financial circumstances that forced them to pawn or melt antique jewelry pieces down in order to sell the gold.

A few features to look for when evaluating antique jewelry with Gypsy origins: First, the metalwork. Gems and stones are often set in the pieces, but Gypsy owners typically preferred to invest in gold, since gold is more difficult to counterfeit. Intricate wirework, or filigree, is also a common feature of authentic Gypsy pieces.
Keep an eye out for Gypsy motifs as well, the most popular being horseshoes, hearts, and the head of a beautiful woman in profile, often referred to as “the Gypsy queen.” If you happen to own antique jewelry displaying these images, keep in mind the Gypsy belief that such pieces are good luck to own, but bad luck to sell. This also, of course, escalates the pieces in both rarity and value.

- Erin Sweeney

As all bear collectors—arctophiles—know, both Michtom and Steiff bears were a huge success. And since their popularity began to surge in 1904, any bear created before that year is considered one of the very first teddy bears in America, a rare and valuable find in the world of antique toys.

A wide diversity in teddy bear styles and features began to proliferate in 1906, and during the century that followed, many famous bear manufacturers rose and fell on the same waves that shaped American and European history. German bears, for example, experienced a reduced distribution to America during World War I. Only one German bear maker, Bing, managed to continue production during the war. This allowed British and American toymakers a new foothold in the teddy bear market, and when a certain British bear created by J. K. Farnell and Co inspired A. A. Milne to write the immortal Winnie-the-Pooh books in 1926, their ensuing popularity led Farnell bears to take their place beside Steiff and Bing bears as one of the most collectable antique toys of the present era.

So what sets Steiff, Bing, and Farnell Bears apart from other bears and from one another? As far as early Bing and Steiff bears are concerned, not much. In fact, Bing fought legally with Steiff over many early similarities between the two bears, including the famous button-in-ear feature. Early Bing bears had a metal plate attached to the ear with the letters GBN imprinted in a triangle. But after Steiff’s legal challenges, this identifier was called a “mark”, no longer a “button”, and it was moved under the left arm.

Both early Steiff and Bing bears had boot button eyes, usually black. Early Farnell bears had button eyes too, but later Farnell versions were distinguished by eyes made of amber colored glass. All three companies made their first bears with long, curved arms, spoon-shaped paws, and seams running up the front of the bear rather than the back. They also made their bears out of mohair and gave them features meant to resemble real bears, such as humped backs and longish, realistic-looking noses. Farnell bears often had stitched “claws” on the backs of their paws.

Among antique toys, Farnell, Steiff and Bing teddy bears are considered relatively safe items to collect since they are difficult to counterfeit. But always check the tags on your antique bear and keep an eye out for certain features like real mohair (not synthetic), velvet paw pads (rather than cotton), hand stitching, and wooden rather than metal or plastic joints. Also keep an eye out for “wood wool” stuffing, a kind of soft wood shaving. Even when the era of wool stuffing began in the 1920’s, Steiff, Bing, and Farnell were still using wood wool to stuff their bears’ heads.

Is your Steiff, Farnell or Bing bear valuable? As with all antique toys, the answer depends on the prevailing market and the condition of the bear. But recent buying guides have placed a Steiff jointed bear with a blank ear button, circa 1905, at about $1,225. Farnell and Bing mohair bears made before 1917 may be offered at similar prices. If you own a bear made during this period, or any plush antique toy, keep it safe. If you need to clean it, do so gently with a damp cloth. Better, have it cleaned by a professional. It’s easy enough to explain the popularity of the teddy bear—teddy bears are huggable! But this also makes them rare and valuable among antique toys, because they don’t tend to last long.

- Erin Sweeney

Ms. Haines founded Houston’s eponymous Reyne Gallery, as well as The Finer Things in New York City. These two firms emphasize fine 20th century design in art glass, pottery, furniture, fine art and jewelry. Ms Haines expertise ranges from vintage watches to art glass to decorative arts. She has written for and has been interviewed extensively by publications including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, Home and Garden, Traditional Home, and 002 Magazine. She is the author and contributor to a number of books about auctions, appraising and collecting.

Michaan’s Auctions is the leading full service auction house on the West Coast. Specializing in the appraisals and sale of antiques and fine art, Michaan’s has specialists in the fields of Furniture and Decorative Arts, Modern, Contemporary Art, European and American Paintings and Prints, Books and Manuscripts, Jewelry, Asian Works of Art and Ethnographic Art.

Established in 2002, Michaan’s Auctions holds up to thirty sales each year attracting a broad base of buyers and consignors from all over the world. With one of the largest facilities in Northern California and the Bay Area’s lowest buyers premium, Michaan’s offers buyers and sellers the opportunity to preview and bid on many unique and desirable property. Some of these pieces realized world record prices. In 2005 A.D.M. Cooper’s oil painting, “Three Graces 1915” sold for a record $21,060 and an Eduard Gaertner oil “German City Street Scene 1831” sold for $266,000.

Michaan’s has built its reputation on its ability to accept single items, groups or entire estates with its “no risk consignment policy” free of hidden fees and charges. Michaan’s specialists are dedicated to staying current on the latest issues and developments in the market and are committed to providing personalized and professional attention throughout the entire auction process.

For more information, additional photographs or to consign your own fine property contact Reyne Haines at 713.253.7505 or reyne@michaans.com. For a complete listing of Michaan’s other Fine and Estate Auctions visit: www.michaans.com

PRESS RELEASE
Press Office Contact:
Talesa Santos
510-740-0220
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