THE ELLI BUK COLLECTION
Sale #137: April 25th - 28th, 2013

Elli Buk was legendary in the world of collectors who knew him as a self-made, prolific collector, curator and expert. E. Buk Antiques, located on Spring Stret in SoHo, New York, was a treasure trove for those who visited.  Whether spending time engaged in a conversation with Elli, studying a single object or taking in the enormous breadth of his collection, a visit to E. Buk Antiques was an experience that left a lifelong impression and often inspired new collectors.

For eight days, April 20-28, 2013, collectors and historians flocked to Dedham for a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the famed Elli Buk Collection. It took Buk forty years to amass his impressive collection of over 2000 objects spanning two centuries and over 30 collecting categories.  "This was the first time anyone, including Elli's closest friends and family, had ever seen the collection in its entirety," stated auctioneer, Michael Grogan.  "The collector response to the exhibition and auction was a combination of awe and enthusiasm." 

The highlight of the sale, a rare Mangels Cast Iron Shooting Gallery, comprised of over 150 targets, including rabbits, birds, lions, elephants, bears, ships, and submarines, sold to a phone bidder for $60,000 after competitive bidding.  William F. Mangels, a German immigrant, ran a small machine shop in Coney Island in the late 19th century, where he specialized in making cast iron targets for shooting galleries and earned the title "Wizard of Eight Street".   Intact shooting galleries such as this are rare due to so many being sold for scrap metal over the years.

 The discovery of the auction was an Edison Electric Light Two Wire Meter System, sold with a Thompson Watt Hour Meter, which together brought for $30,000 against a $200-300 pre-sale estimate.  The elated collector who won the lot was bidding in the room and told the auctioneer that he had been searching for this Edison item for thirty years.    A Pages Horizontal Double Beam Axial Engine, soared well beyond its $500-700 estimate to sell to a European phone bidder for $25,200.  One of Buk's prized possessions, an observatory size Henry Fitz Telescope, c. 1850, sold to a Telescope expert for $19,200; in addition, a Howard & Co. Gold Bullion Scale sold to a gentleman in the room for $19,200.  

An important assemblage of Architectural drawings, blueprints, and plans for the R.M.S. Queen Mary, sold for $20,910; while the Brass and Wood Toilet, with Blue and White Porcelain Basin, salvaged from Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's Yacht, 'The Victoria and Albert II', went for $20, 910.   

 The collection included a large number of items relating to the history of photography and cinema, including magic lantern projectors, box cameras, and movie cameras.  The highlight was a rare set of Eadweard Muybridge zoetrope strips, titled "Attitudes of Animals in Motion".   Copy written in 1882, the set brought $14,760 against a $5,000-15,000 estimate.

 An impressive selection of 19th century microscopes featured a Large Hugh Powell Microscope, circa 1841, which brought $10,500, while a Violin Vibrophone, a rare medical quack device used to cure Tinnitus, sold for $3,300.   Many laboratory teaching devices, medical instruments, x-ray tubes, and light bulbs were sprinkled throughout the collection. 

Elli's art collection was diverse and included many SoHo artists, including David Hare, Ernest Rosenberg, and Mike Leaf; however, it was a series of four sign language paintings by Martin Wong, "the Human Instamatic", that brought the second highest price of the four-day auction.  Silence, Voices, Money, and Danger, sparked competitive bidding from several phone bidders before it finally hammered down for $51,0000 against a  $12,000-15,000 estimate.   'Dean', an eight foot, scrap metal, folk art tin man created in the 1950's by George Dean, a tinsmith from Terre Haute, Indiana sold for $4,500 to a New Hampshire dealer with eclectic taste.   

The auction grossed over 1.9 million dollars and attracted bidders from over fifteen countries.

(All prices include buyer's premium). 

PDF Version of our Color Brochure

Lot 1805: Martin Wong Four Sign Language Paintings Sold $51,000
Lot 791: Early Riker Motor Sold $21,600	Lot 1075: Large E. Howard & Co. Gold Bullion Scale Sold $19,200
Lot 808: Violin Vibrophone Sold $3,300	Lot 50: Static Machine $4,920
Lot 275: GE Model HM171 Sold $6,000	Lot 1405: Salesman's Sample of the Estate "Fresh Air" Oven Sold $3,300
Lot 1105: Skeleton of a Dog Sold $1,105	Assortment of Electromagnetic Experimental Devices Highlight 1056: A Davis Example, Sold $6,600
Lot 900A: Rare Set of Eadweard Muybridge Zoetrope Strips Sold $14,760	Lot 300: Patent Model for the Huffman & Huff Pneumo-Electric Bath, Sold $3,300
Lot 1529: "Dean" Scrap Metal Folk Art Sculpture by George Dean, Sold $4,500	Lot 1404: Patent Model of Dr. Hathaway's Electro Magnetic Chair, Sold $6,000

FINE ORIENTAL RUGS & CARPETS
Sale #136: Sunday, January 20th, 2013

Michael Grogan and James Opie in front of Lot: 78, Opie's Impressive
Kampseh Rug, which sold for $18,880

On December 2nd, Grogan and Company conducted their annual December auction to a standing room only crowd.  The over 500 lots of Fine Art, Furniture, Decorative Works of Art, Silver, Jewelry and Oriental Rugs from various estates and collections, achieved over $800,000.

     The sale began with a selection of fine art, including four works by Alexander Calder that brought the highest prices of the day and sold over the phone to the same bidder. Red, Blue and Yellow Man and Skeleton Drinking Wine, two gouaches created in 1973 by Calder, were gifts to his neighbors, William and Virginia Chess of Connecticut.  The Man, inscribed  "To Virginia", sold for 36,580, while the Skeleton, inscribed "to Wm Chess", sold for $35,400.  A Calder hand hammered silver initial brooch brought $11,800, while a heart shaped brooch, brought $10,030.  Calder, an American modernist, best known as the inventor of the mobile, was a prolific artist creating sculptures, paintings, prints and over 1,800 pieces of jewelry.  The same collection also included a Molded Copper Weathervane in the form of a Grasshopper made by Cushing and White of Waltham, Massachusetts in the late 19th century.  The 40 inch three dimensional Grasshopper, which was acquired by Mrs. Chess in the 1930's at an Antique shop in Boston for a small sum, sold for $6,195 to an expert on Cushing and White Weathervanes. 

       Other highlights included Russian artist Jaroslav Vesin's Winter Trail, an oil on canvas which was bought by a European collector over the phone for $16,520 against a $5,000-10,000 presale estimate; while a 17th century portrait of Venus by Dutch Renaissance painter Gortzius Geldorp sold to a local collector over the phone for  $9,400 (presale: $10,000-20,000).   Phone bidders continued to enjoy success when French artist, Edouard Cortes' oil on canvas of the Boulevard de la Madeliene, sold over the phone to a bidder in the UK for $14,160 against a $10,000-15,000 estimate; while Still Life of Sweet Peas, Zinnias and Marigolds, by American pastelist Laura Coombs Hills, sold to a New York collector for $8,850.  A local collector made a discovery at a small auction house in Great Britain when he acquired what was listed as an unidentified modernist gouache from the estate of a Lady in Middlesex, London.  The 12 x 9 inch Geometric Composition, turned out to be the work of French artist Auguste Herbin.  Created in 1951, the lot sold for $8,260 against a $10,000-15,000 presale estimate. 

      An important 19^th century American School View of Daniel Webster’s Homestead in Marshfield, Massachusetts, generated a bevy of inquiries, due to it's rare view of Webster's home before it burned to the ground on February 14, 1878.  Peter Williams of Museum Services was the first to recognize the house while working on the painting, however, Barbara Carney of the Daniel Webster Estate & Heritage Center confirmed the finding and provided a detailed history of the estate from the time it was built in 1774 through Webster's occupation from 1837-1852 and it's burning in 1878.    The 22 x 27 inch oil on canvas sold to a gentleman in the room for $3,835 against an estimate of $2,000-3,000. 

     "This auction we witnessed an increase in participation from private clients acquiring decorative property for their homes," stated Michael Grogan, President and Chief Auctioneer of Grogan and Company, "It appears the auction market has withstood the downturn of the economy and continues to be the preferred place for buyers and sellers to acquire as well as liquidate their fine art and antiques."  

      Furniture highlights included an Aesthetic Movement Carved Walnut Marquetry Inlaid Bedroom Suite, attributed to Herter Brothers, which included a bed, two chairs, a side table, and a  bureau with mirror.  The elaborately carved and inlaid suite sold to a private New York collector over the phone for  $22,420 (presale estimate $10,000-20,000); while an Arts and Crafts Gustav Stickley Tall Chest of Drawers, designed by Harvey Ellis, brought $6,490 against a $3,000-5,000.  A Pair of 19th century Tiffany Studios Gilt Bronze Picture Frames soared beyond their $800-1,200 estimate to sell for $9,375; and a Pair of circa 1919 Caldwell and Company Champlevé Panels sparked competitive bidding, finally selling for $9,440 against a $1,000-2,000 estimate. 

     Highlights of the Jewelry and Silver offerings included a Twin Old Mine Cut Diamond Ring in a Platinum setting, with a total approximately diamond weight of 3 carats, far exceeded expectations when two bidders in the room aggressively competed, driving the price to $8,260.  It finally hammered down to a gentleman who bought it as a surprise for a very lucky woman, his mother.   Seven U.S. Gold Coins, with face value totalling $102, sold to a coin dealer for an impressive $11,210; while a circa 1879 Fine Kennard & Jenks Mixed Metal ‘Japanesque’ Bowl, hammered down for $3,835.