- Out on the Auction Trail Once Again -

12 - 14 August 2013

More interesting finds!

This Monday morning dawned clear and cool so Linda and I packed up our truck and headed to the McInnis Auction in Amesbury on the historic Massachusetts North Shore. It was our first visit to McInnis and we came away with three new pieces and a very positive impression of John McInnis and family. Many smalls were auctioned as well as early American furniture and art work that saw bidding rise as high as $40,000. 

A Jelly Cabinet, Tilt Top Tea Table and a Sack back Windsor Arm Chair fit comfortably into the bed of our pickup truck.

Leaving the McInnis parking lot in Amesbury, Mass. John McInnis's entire family is involved with his and their own auctioning businesses. I met one of his sons, a young fellow who starts his freshman year at Maine Maritime Academy this September. Not only was he working the auction, but he bid on and won a four drawer, antique, Hepplewhite bureau that he said he needs when he starts school. Now how many kids purchase an antique bureau when they leave for college. He's way ahead of the next generation of collectors and was a very nice kid to boot. 

I purchased this very late 18th century, probably 1790, sack-back Windsor arm chair, that came out of a home in Amesbury. The term bow-back is also used with this Windsor chair style which gets its name from the town in England from where they originated. By the mid 1700's American artisans, particularly from Philadelphia, had tweaked this design into a finer, more refined, less bulky look and they were often called Philadelphia Chairs.

Handsomely proportioned with great strength, it will easily withstand everyday use. (Although I wouldn't use it that way.) It displays beautifully here next to our 18th century, maple and birch secretary. 

This design was very popular in the colonies by 1750. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson owned many and the Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, used them in their chamber. Others from this era fond of their Windsor chairs were James Monroe, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and Benedict Arnold. 

Closer inspection reveals its wonderful patina and detail. Quality, "new," sack-back Windsors sell upwards of $500. They're beautiful... but they're "new" with no patina or mystery about them. Thomas Jefferson is known to have written the Declaration of Independence while sitting in a Sack-Back Windsor Chair... it may very well have been this one! If you're interested, call or email as we plan to market this sea port "original" for $575.

Just in case you think I'm exaggerating (because occasionally I get carried away) here's a picture of an engraving by Edward Savage that shows Congress debating independence with Franklin and Charles Carroll sitting in Windsor chairs. Four Windsors are easily  discernible in this engraving. Carroll, from Maryland, was the longest lived and last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence, dying in 1832 at age 95.

This is a tiger maple tea table with a turned base, cabriolet legs and snake feet. It is in very good condition with excellent cleats and its original metal locking mechanism.

This is a mid 1800's piece from a home in Amesbury, Mass and will add elegance to yours. But why would a furniture maker from the 18th or 19th century design this so it would tilt? Answer: So they could save space when it wasn't in use. Look at the picture above to see how much space this table takes. Now look at the picture below. It tilts up so it can fit flush against a wall and you can now hold a dance in your parlor. Ingenious!

Here's a nice view of the top surface. Depending upon which books you study, this could be refereed to as a curly maple tea table as well. For Sale for $675

What a great find. A single door, pine cupboard or jelly cabinet with exceptionally beautifully patina that could be the signature piece for any kitchen or a means to showcase many of your collections. Linda looked at this picture and said, "where did you buy the outhouse?" I told her that if it were an outhouse, it would have a half moon cutout on the door. Come on!

It has four shelves, stands 57" tall, 30.5" wide, 16" deep and came out of a home in Newburyport, Mass.

The back of this mid to late 1800's cabinet and I guarantee that it's never seen duty as an outhouse. For sale at $725.

After finishing our business in Amesbury we headed for Hampton, NH where we found these architectural pieces languishing in a pile of granite. They're granite balustrades and we learned that they came from the Museum of Fine Arts on Huntington Avenue in Boston. They were part of a fencing complex that enclosed a garden behind the museum in the Fens section of the city. We've kept one and placed it in our garden with a pot of flowers prominently displayed. They're certainly unique, have a fabulous provenance and are for sale for $195 a piece. 

Or get really creative and try one next to your dining room fireplace supporting a plant or some other fine antique that you've collected. Get used to hearing, "where did you find these," as you explain that they came from the MFA. 

Here's the balustrade that we've kept and have placed in one of our gardens at home.

I did a google search of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and found a picture of the fence that I referred to above. It appears that these granite pieces were mined from the Quincy Granite Quarry. This quarry came to be in 1825 when a committee was formed to find appropriate granite to construct the battle monument at Bunker Hill, which was dedicated in 1843.

And our last little treasure. Skinner recently held an on line, computer bidding only auction. It was different but may be the way of the future. No floor bidders, no auctioneer, no phone participants and no banter. Simply enter your bid on line and see what happens when the time runs out. All lots and I think that there were 700, end at the same time, which makes it difficult to budget your resources. If I win lot 100 for instance, but have to extend myself to do it, I may not have enough left to purchase lot 110, but I won't know this until the auction terminates and it's too late. You can however, enter a max bid that will incrementally increase as the bid moves forward solving part of this problem.  

I did win this late 1700's, Bannister-back armchair that was the object of my attention though. 

It's in extraordinarily good shape with an excellent seat, great finials and downward sloping arms ending in scrolled handholds. 


If you're interested in these or any of the previous pieces that I've posted, call me at 603.930.2866 or email me at randpeckantiques@gmail.com. Thanks for looking and as soon as I have space, I'll move these down to the NH Antique CO-OP in Milford, NH.