great selection of early gus...does anyone know who or what Vancroft is? lots of custom one of a kind stuff. it would be fun to go to lambertville just to see this even if you dont place one bid...just like a museum visit.

the treadway auction on the other hand is much more in the mission affordable line. lots of things of good quality and reasonalbe price. if i hadnt just spent so much on the grove park trip, i might have tried to get a few pieces.

it could still be fun just to drive up for the day and watch the action...only about 4+ hours from me.

i guess its ok to answer my own question...at least i know it comes from an intelligent source.....

this link is to craftsman auction site. it provides background on the vancroft mansion and what is inside.
http://www.craftsman-auctions.com/main.php?html=curr_select.php&cat=898

A quick search on the web for Joseph Vandergrift, the gentleman for whom the house was constructed turns up some quite interesting info. Information related to the parties held at the home, a fire, a potential murder and ghost sightings. Sounds like a fantastic place in its day.

I'm lucky to only be 45 minutes from Lambertville so I get to see all of the auctions he holds. I really love the Gus dinner gong from Vancroft, although I know it is unlikely to sell anywhere even in the estimated range. It will be fun, as usual to see the offerings.

A review of the Treadway catalog for the upcoming auction is much different. They have very few higher end pieces and instead seem to have large collection of Native American and Shaker items. I think as far as a&c materials some very good (and affordable) bargins are likely.

do you think it will be significantly higher or lower than the estimate?

could this be like the lantern sold several years ago, estimate $14,000, hammer of $364,000?

Although you never know, it just seems like a really neat accessory piece that almost never comes up for sale. I've seen one similar and photos of a later model. Depending overall condition and how it presents, I would guess it will easily exceed the high estimate but I don't think we are talking about anything in the range of the lamp.

Maybe I should focus on expanding my house so I can fit the 23 ft. dining table from Vancroft.

What a cool place - how many more of these are tucked away around the country? The sideboard has the highest estimate - could be a candidate for our over 100 grand list. The Grueby tile top tabouret could be a sleeper. Nice pottery in the sale as well, but is it just me or what, I don't get it when it comes to the George Ohr stuff.

Pretty dang lucky that you get to see all these sales, casequarter < green with jealousy here

Here's a interesting comparison between the two sales:

Craftsman - Roycroft andirons est. 6000-9000


Treadway - unmarked andirons est. 500-700

The hexagonal Grueby tile top tabouret will be a very interesting lot. As the describtion notes it is exceedingly rare, however the piece does have some condition issues (from the online catalog - Excellent restored finish, removed overcoat. Grueby tile has glaze bubbles, and has had restoration to hairline and chip). I never seem to know how condition issues on a piece like this will move the buyers with deep pockets. I guess the answer is at what point does rarity overcome the condition issues. We shall see.

As far as Ohr pottery, I didn't really get it at first, however after seeing and handling fifty or so pieces my opinion changed. It is amazing how thin and delicate the pottery is, and when you look at the manipulation and twists, it is hard to believe any of it survived. For me, although the range and depth of the glazes are amazing, the bisque pieces are my favorites.

For me I don't understand the attraction to 99.9% of the Rookwood pieces, however they are widely collected. In the end, it is about what speaks to each of us.

Just checked some results - the dinner gong and the tile top both met the high estimate and didn't take off. I don't see the big sideboard however. It was supposed to be lot 37 and the results posted on eBay skip over it - they go lot 36 then lot 38??? casequarter were you there? what happened?

the only piece i tracked was the Shop of the Crafters morris chair which went for $8000

The big Gus sideboard is listed now - closed at 17,500 or maybe this is what they tried to start at and it didn't move at all..Wow, no interest. There was a Shop of the Crafters trestle table up today - made estimate range at 1,900. The knockout punch looks like the folk art screen - sold for 150,000 with an estimate of 30-50,000...wild stuff (no pun intended)!



...follow up as I scroll the results...

Rhead Santa Barbara vase, estimate 40-50,000, made 430,000, with damage!!!!!

Just got home. Was an interesting day yesterday and I'll spend some time later tonight writing more comments. The vase was quite a bidding war. The big sideboard sold for $60,000.

OK, finally have some time to sit down and type some of my observations.

We had a chance to preview on Friday afternoon and look everything over prior to the Saturday morning crowd. Previewing these auctions are perhaps the best part for me and I get the chance to learn something each and every time we go. The room was packed on Saturday (probably as croweded as I have seen it in the last 6 years) and I recognized some of the big spenders in the room. The question in my mind was what are they here to buy?

Below are my observations about specific pieces. These are from my memory and some brief notations in my catalog, so I apologize in advance if I didn't capture everything

- the $430,000 piece of Rhead pottery (lot 71) was amazing and I fully expected it to bring $250,000 plus if the right bidders were present. I think it ultimately sold to Rudy Ciccarello for his already amazing collection. I think it took about 5 minutes to sell the lot, but it seemed like an eternity. It was underbid on the phone without hesitation up to about $350,000 when the phone bidder asked for a moment to consult with their client, who ultimately stopped after bidding $420,000

- the sideboard, plate rail,2 morris chairs, leather topped table, 2 folk art chairs, 3 panel screen, billard chairs and Samuel Yellin gates (lots 36,37,42,43,49,50,51,55,66 and 144) were all sold to a single buyer in the room. I didn't recognize him (if anyone knows who the buyer was, please let us know), however he didn't have to go crazy with the bidding. The sideboard and plate rail were an amazing combination and I'm happy to have had the chance to see and touch them. I was a little surprised to see the pair (although sold individually, I don't think you would buy one without the other) sell for only $68,500. I've seen really nice servers and side tables in that price range and this piece was one of a kind.

- the dining table and chairs (lots 39 and 40) were one of the nicest sets I've ever seen. The leaves for the table were over an inch thick and weighed a ton. We were speculating how much the wood to build the table would cost, if you could even find it today. Ultimately the table had to go to a home that could accomdate its massive size (fully extends to 23 feet) and that probably held the price back a little. I've seen the chair form before, but only in a single. It was really nice to see such an amazing original set of that form, possibly the only surviving full set.

- the tile top tables were both cool forms, however the hexagonal form (lot 61) was far superior to the plant stand (lot 62). the plant stand sold under estimate, however I think its size and a decent crack in the tile held it back

- the Shop of the Crafters morris chair was a nice lot. Nice strong prarie school influence, in very nice condition, however pretty darn uncomfortable to sit in, even compared to the Gus spindled morris chair sitting next to it (which is also a pretty small morris chair.

- I won't go through all of the pottery since many amazing pieces were sold, however I wanted to mention the Van Briggle vase on stand (lot 237). When looking through the catalog the picture of this pot stood out. In person it was an even more amazing piece, and as hard as it is to believe looking at the catalog as it type, I don't think the picture does the piece justice. It was just amazing to me in every way. Estimate was $7,000 - $9,000 and it sold for $35,000.

- the Samuel Yellin gates (lot 144 mentioned above) were museum quality and although difficult to use in most homes, it was hard not to want to own them. The level of detail in the iron work is impossible for me to describe.

- the Fulper lamp (lot 242) was another piece that struck me as a standout and it ultimately was one of the two lots we focused on. The size of and glaze on the lamp were spectacular and the new owners are quite lucky to have it, although I do wish it could have been me.

- outside of the pieces from Vancraft, a handful of other really nice pieces you don't get to see too often were on display. Lot 203 (I really like this form with spindles) needed some work but was still nice to see. Lot 205, the early bookcase was in nice shape and someone got a good deal at $15,000. Lot 197 the Walfred Thulin blanket chest was a cool piece and turned into a battle ultimately won by a phone bidder. Lot 198, the Ellis inlaid desk is always a treat to see and the form without the inlay, although nice, just isn't in the same league.

I'm sure I missed some other pieces, and I'd be glad to answer any specific questions anyone may have about particular lots or the sale in general. Only bad news, six more months until the next sale.

I went to Rago's auction and thought there were some good buys...the plate rack only sold for 8,500...but I guess without the sideboard you might not have a use for it...Maybe they should have auctioned the plate rack first..

In answer to your question about who bought the bulk of the vancroft pieces...I believe he was a dealer from the west...with some hi end customers...but who know who's bidding for who..there were a lot of big players in the room but didn't see much bidding from them...

Ed K - I believe you may be correct that the buyer was a dealer from the West Coast. Someone mentioned to me the name of the person, although they couldn't confirm that's who it was.

I should have mentioned in my post above that I heard from multiple individuals over the weekend (none of whom were actually connected to the auction house) that the Vancroft pieces were being purchased for Brad Pitt. That is pure rumor and perhaps speculation, but a possibility none the less.

I thought the auction had some good deals and several instances where people were competing strongly for no good reason (lot 232 - $2,800 for the Grueby stag tile).

I don't understand the stag tile..I believe I saw rudy bid on it but dropped out at 2600.00...I don't understand..What did you think of the bow arm reverse taper?

Someone mentioned the dealer's name to me too, but I can't recall it...

I was surprised to see the gus wall sconce bring 2600.00 when one on ebay couldn't get 1500.00 ...even the limbert 3 door bookcase was a surprise at 8500 when i think one went at fontaine's for around 2500..I thought the set of early bungalow chairs were great and only brought 9k...and the bowarm seemed cheap at 9500.
changing the subject does anyone know how much the early reverse taper #413 library table did back in january at cock hill farms auction in new hampshire...great piece..

The bow arm was a nice chair with some issues, although in the end it sold for a fair price. I prefer the version with the thin arms as I think it brings out the reverse tapered legs a bit more. I was surprised the L&JG bow arm didn't sell, although it had condition issues as well.

It was neat to see an entire set of bungalow chairs, however I think the drop in seat frames were replaced. It just seemed unusual the oak corners were sitting higher than the front rail and just didn't seem to be of the same quality as the rest of the chair(they didn't appear uniform in shape/size like I would expect).

The stag tile was underbid by Rudy, although I'm not sure why, guess he just liked it. He also bid and won a Roycroft helmet lamp with a cleaned patina. He did let a handful of higher priced items go, the Rookwood tile and the blanket chest come to mind.