Auction August 28th, 2010

Featuring:

Property of the Estate of Leila Hadley Luce, Porcelain and Pottery, Furniture, Decorations, Jewelry and Coins, Musical Instruments, Paintings, Prints and other works of Art, Carpets and Rugs, Lighting, Silver, Silverplate and Metalwork.

One dealer shows Reyne two rare plates from the 1930’s he picked for one tenth their true value and another dealer tells the story of how she picked (right out of a bird cage) a rare sewing accessory in the form of a bird, which was made in 1839.

You’ve just brought home a piece of antique furniture and underneath a bit of grime or an ugly coat of paint, you recognize an item that may be valuable, or beautiful, or possibly both. What do you do next?

Will a simple cleaning and restoration suffice? Or would you prefer a complete refinish?  How can you decide?

The First Step: A Closer Look.

Examine the piece carefully for clues about its origins. Search every surface for anything that looks like a signature or manufacturer’s label. If the piece isn’t antique it may still be valuable, and we’ve all seen episodes of Antiques Roadshow featuring refinished American masterpieces that should have been allowed to retain their original patina.

If you find a mark that you aren’t able to interpret, take the piece to a local museum curator for an expert opinion before you do anything to the finish.

Next: Cleaning.

Clean the piece thoroughly and gently using water and a bit of oil soap. Cleaning alone may bring a beautiful piece of antique furniture back to life. Add a little glue to the loose joints and replace the brass fixtures and this may be enough to win over a skeptical spouse and help the new-old furniture find welcome in your home.

Stripping the Old Finish Off

If you’ve decided to go forward with a refinish, your best and safest option is have the work done by an antique restoration professional. But if you’re comfortable with the risk and have the tools and a ventilated space in which to work, few DIY projects are as satisfying as this one.

Some Notes About Strippers

Furniture strippers are highly toxic to breathe and should not be allowed to come in contact with skin. Methylene chloride based strippers work the fastest, but are also the most dangerous. Gel strippers are a safer and slower alternative, but neither of these options can really be considered “safe.” Work outdoors if possible, wear gloves, and dispose of any rags or stripper-soaked items outside since they’re highly flammable and can spontaneously combust. Always read and adhere to package directions.

Furniture strippers develop a waxy skin when exposed to air. This keeps the product from evaporating before it can sink into the wood. So if you’re trying to remove a thick coat of paint, apply one generous layer of stripper—don’t keep brushing or you’ll break the skin and allow the product to evaporate.

Then let the stripper work. Be patient. Before it dries, test with a plastic scraper to see if the old paint is ready to come off. If you wait too long and the stripper dries out, just apply another coat.

When you’ve tested a section and the old finish comes off easily, go forward and scrape all of it off. For hard-to-reach grooves and spindles, use a piece of string or a toothpick to work the old finish away. You can go back and reapply stripper to any stubborn patches.

After the entire piece of antique furniture is stripped, clean it with denatured alcohol and let it stand for at least twenty-four hours.

The New Finish

After that, you’re ready to sand the piece, prime it, and apply a new finish or coat of paint. Research historically appropriate finishes or paint colors if you like. Otherwise you may want to match the new finish to another piece of furniture or an existing room in your home.

Remember: just like furniture stripper, varnishes and paints are toxic and should always be used in areas with good ventilation. Read the package carefully for safety warnings, disposal rules and application instructions.

By Erin Sweeney

For Antiques.com

Recently I had the chance to attend the Alameda Point Antiques Faire in Alameda, California.  I had heard about the show from friends and thought I’d check it out personally.

Can you say “Pickers Paradise?”

The first thing I noticed was the size of the show.  On this particular day there were about 900 dealers exhibiting.

The show opens to the die- hard buyers at 6am (please note, this is no longer me!)  It costs a little more (entry fee) to get in that early, but is worth the investment.  Bring your flashlight!

The next thing that caught my attention was the varied array of merchandise.  Inexpensive to WOW!  American, Italian, French, German, etc.  Victorian, Modern and everything in between can also be found.

I spoke with Allen Michaan, the show promoter, who mentioned the show is vetted.  This I found surprising.  What an undertaking!  According to Michaan, everything must be pre-1970.  He spends his day looking to make sure the dealers all follow the rules.  If anything newer is found, he insists the dealer must put it away.  Anyone setting up with a full booth of new items is asked to leave.

This is a plus for dealers and buyers alike.  The dealers like keeping the show standard, as they know quality merchandise equates to more sales.  Buyers hate digging through new things to find the old.  It won’t take long for customers of a show to spread the word when merchandise falls short of their expectations.

It was reported that over 10,000 visitors attended the show that day, and might I add they came to shop.  You saw plenty of people carrying bags (not just myself), armfuls of smalls and wheeling large pieces of furniture to their cars.  I saw a lot of things I wanted to buy, including the prop for The Wizard of Oz (the Wicked Witch of the West’s legs!) and I also saw someone carrying them out!

The show is open one day a month.   As a dealer, you love this. It’s a lot of work setting up and tearing down all in a day, however, you know the people that attend the show come to buy. They know they have little time to make up their mind and execute a purchase.

Alameda Pointe Antiques Faire is held the first Sunday of every month.  The dealers come from near and far, so don’t expect to see the sale local dealer merchandise at the show you’ve seen in shops around the Bay area.

For more information, visit their website at:  ww.antiquesbybay.com

Auction August 21st, 2010  10am

Marketplace Auction – August 25th – 26th, 2010

For more than a decade, Marketplace auctions have been a staple of the Leslie Hindman Auctioneers experience. Known for eclectic offerings, our Marketplace auctions feature reproduction furniture and accessories and decorative fine art from estates, collectors and institutions, perfect for both the novice and seasoned collector.

Our August 21st auction catalog is now online! This sale catalog will start at 10am with a 2nd ring for jewelry and a Discovery session immediately following. Absentee bidding is currently underway until 8am day of sale. Please attend our gallery preview Friday evening until 7pm if you are available.  Submit absentee bids on our website to insure your participation and login Saturday at Artfact Live to bid live, listen and view live during the sale!

This electronic sign stands in front of Dan Morphy Auctions’s current facility, seen in background. Dan Morphy Auctions image.

DENVER, Pa. – Construction crews have broken ground at Dan Morphy Auctions’ south-central Pennsylvania premises to initiate a 6-month expansion project that will nearly double the firm’s existing gallery, office, preview and storage space to 35,000 square feet. Upon completion, Morphy’s full-service venue will rank among the largest of all eastern U.S. auction houses.

“Our growth has been explosive. We’ve more than tripled the number of sales we conduct annually – from six or seven a year to more than 30 a year,” said the company’s owner and CEO, Dan Morphy. “We’ve been bursting at the seams and need more display space, more storage and office space, and a large, purpose-built auction room to handle the volume of sales.”

When completed, the preview gallery will feature an additional 4,000 square feet of display area, enabling consigned articles to be viewed for several months prior to sale.

Eight additional office spaces, a conference room and individual executive offices are part of the plan, as are three self-contained photography studios. “Based on the number of collections that had been coming in, we could foresee that we were going to need these additional studios,” said Morphy.

An architect’s rendering of what the auction gallery’s saleroom will look like reveals an Arts & Crafts flavor in the choice of furniture and fabrics. Image courtesy of Althouse, Martin & Associates.

The jewel in Morphy’s crown is the proposed 4,000-square-foot ballroom-style auction gallery with 110 theater-style seats, each with a fold-over lap desk and cup holder. Four of the seats will accommodate physically challenged bidders. The acoustically perfect saleroom will be independently climate controlled and specially wired for the latest electronic and Internet devices, and will be enhanced by a chandeliered tin ceiling, marble floor and professionally designed dais for phone-bidding lines. Auction attendees  will be able to dine in the adjacent café – where they’ll be able to follow the sale on a 5-foot TV screen – or out on the patio, where additional seating will be provided.

The new construction will also create a fully enclosed loading and unloading dock with a hydraulic lift that adjusts to any truck or van height, and an adjacent 1,000-square-foot holding area for goods to be loaded in or out. From there, incoming consignments are easily movable to a custom-built 9,000-square-foot storage space with a 25-foot-high ceiling and museum-quality storage rack system that can accommodate everything from fine art to jukeboxes.

Other amenities to be added are a black-light room, more restrooms and a 600-square-foot checkout and packing room where Morphy staff, or the customers themselves, can pack up their purchases.

A top-notch security system will be installed, adding another 26 surveillance cameras to those currently in use. A new digital phone system has already been installed.

Eighty new parking spaces will be created, and the gallery’s façade will undergo a mini makeover with the installation of a beautiful hotel-style canopy extending from the front door. “This new feature is more than just cosmetic. It’s also functional,” said Morphy. “Our customers will appreciate it when it’s raining or snowing, or if they’ve purchased a large or heavy item and want to drive up to collect it.”

Left to right: Tom Sage Jr., chief operating officer; Kris Lee, general manager; and Dan Morphy, owner and CEO of Dan Morphy Auctions examine the architectural plans for the gallery expansion. Dan Morphy Auctions image.

Morphy said he feels very fortunate that his auction business and on-site Adamstown Antique Gallery have performed as well as they have in the midst of an economic recession. “I think our growth can be attributed to the way we run our operation and the way we treat our bidders and consignors, who tell us they like the way we promote and advertise our sales. They especially like the extended preview period, which is something Morphy’s is known for.”

“We’re a relatively young company, now in our seventh year. The antiques community has welcomed us, and the word has gotten out about how we change with the times and reinvest our profits into new technology and marketing strategies,” Morphy said. “We’ve been putting more money and effort into Internet exposure, and it has paid off. Five years ago, our auctions were 70 percent sold to in-house bidders, with 30 percent going to the Internet and phones. Now we sell 80 to 85 percent to the Internet and phones. People are more confident about buying through the Internet and know they can trust our catalog descriptions and condition reports.”

The World Wide Web has made it possible for Dan Morphy Auctions to become an international presence, Morphy said. “The Web has exposed us to international clients who might not have found out about us as quickly through traditional methods. It’s a cheaper, faster, easier way of doing business.”

Morphy, a 38-year-old graduate of Penn State, said he has a 25- to 35-year business plan in mind and that the expansion is essential to its success. “The future of this company is very bright. In undertaking this expansion project, I’ve had the unwavering support of my family and my loyal, dedicated staff, who are very excited about what lies ahead for us.”

Morphy said others who are playing a key role in the evolution of Dan Morphy Auctions are Susquehanna Bank, who provided the financing for the new expansion, architects Althouse, Martin & Associates; and the award-winning local firm Benchmark Construction, which is widely known for its upscale commercial projects.

To contact Dan Morphy, call 717-335-3435 or e-mail dan@morphyauctions.com. Visit Dan Morphy Auctions online at www.morphyauctions.com.

Metal pharmaceutical company sign advertising veterinary product Kreso Dip. Sign features images of horses, turkeys, roosters, pigs, sheep and cows; est. $800-$1,200. Dan Morphy Auctions image.

DENVER, Pa. – In 1960, Frank Zeager, a Mennonite minister from Lancaster County, Pa., attended his first auction and impulsively purchased a pair of old door hinges. His father-in-law, who was with him at the auction, asked Frank where he planned to use the hinges. Frank replied, “I just want to look at them.”

Little did Frank suspect his first auction purchase would lead to a 50-year pursuit of country antiques and farm-related Americana. Together with his beloved late wife, Rhoda (who passed away in May), Frank wended his way through thousands of flea markets, antique shops and auctions over the decades, as the two of them amassed a collection of objects they would proudly display and enjoy in their home, a 100-year-old homestead.

The Zeager collection is a living testament to rural Pennsylvania’s early agrarian culture. It encompasses hundreds of rare dairy bottles, glass jars, railroad and skaters’ lanterns, insulators and farm utensils. There are tractor seats and tools, utensils, chicken feeders and graniteware, and an assortment of fascinating kitchen implements including corn shellers and cherry seeders.

Their wonderful array of advertising signs, numbering in the hundreds, includes some real gems that advertise, for example, Vitalic Tires & Motorcycle, Old Fort Seeds, and a veterinary product called Kreso Dip No. 1. A double-sided flange sign emblazoned with the image of a comical, scraggly-looking rooster advertises Conkeys First Aid Products. Many of the rare and colorful signs are in pristine condition.

Circa-1934 emerald green glass eggnog bottle from East End Dairy, Harrisburg, Pa.), 9 ¼ inches, near mint, extremely rare, est. $1,500-$3,500. Dan Morphy Auctions image.

Frank’s interest in milk bottles began more than 30 years ago when he purchased a Foltz Dairy bottle for $40. Today, that bottle might be worth $2,000-$3,000. Rhoda, on the other hand, had a passion for peanut butter tumblers – the decorative glasses that served yet another utilitarian purpose after the contents had been consumed.

On Aug. 14, 2010, the Zeagers’ collection will be auctioned at Dan Morphy’s gallery in Denver, Pennsylvania (approx. 1 hr. 20 mins. northwest of Philadelphia). “Many outstanding collections pass through our doors, but we’ve never seen anything like the collection Frank and Rhoda Zeager built over 50 years’ time,” said auction company owner, Dan Morphy. “Frank grasped one of the most important lessons about collecting with that very first purchase of door hinges. He bought something he genuinely wanted to look at, and that’s something he and Rhoda continued to do throughout their collecting journey. They bought what they liked, and they always went for quality first.”

The auction of the Frank and Rhoda Zeager collection of farm antiques, glass lanterns, dairy bottles and advertising signs will begin at 10 a.m. Eastern Time on Saturday, Aug. 14, 2010, at Dan Morphy Auctions, 2000 N. Reading Road, Denver, PA 17517. All forms of bidding will be available, including live via the Internet as the sale is taking place through Morphy Live (www.morphyauctions.com) or LiveAuctioneers.com.

All items are available to preview now at Dan Morphy’s gallery. For additional information on any item in the sale, call 717-335-3435 or e-mail dan@morphyauctions.com. View the fully illustrated color catalog online at www.morphyauctions.com.