Stickley Sideboards, Grueby Green and Yellow, and Pleasing Patinas: Highlights from the AcStickley Auction

by Kate Nixon

 

On March 26th, 2022, California Historical Design hosted the latest AcStickley Auction, offering furniture, ceramics, lighting, metalwork, textiles and more Arts & Crafts era crafts. The Alameda auctionhouse on the golden coast offered up Arts & Crafts Furniture by Gustav Stickley, L&JG Stickley, Stickley Brothers, Charles Stickley, Limbert, Roycroft, Lifetime, Lakeside, JM Young, Mathews Furniture Shop, Bernard Maybeck, Karpen, Harden, Michigan Chair Co and several other lots in an impressive 956-lot auction and hosted both in-person and online bids.

While there were a number of lots that caught the attention of collectors both in-person and online, here are just a few of the several highlights in the AcStickley Arts and Crafts Auction this past weekend.

 

Furniture highlights

From left to right: circa 1910 furniture sold last week at AcStickley. Gustav Stickley Eight-Leg Sideboard c1910, Limbert #92 Sift-Seat Hall Bench c1910, and a Lakeside Crafts Shop Cutout Magazine Stand c1910.

 

• A refinished Lakeside Crafts Shop Cutout Magazine Stand made circa 1910 sold for $3,000 on Saturday. The Lakeside Crafts Shops firm, out of Sheboygan, WI, a lesser known firm, typically produced Jardiniere stands, footstools, waste baskets, bookracks, and umbrella stands, etc., the items not typically produced for modest prices of a few hundred dollars; great news for new collectors filling their houses with Arts and Crafts era designed pieces. To see one sell for $3,000 is rare.
• The works of Gustav Stickley are always , and this last weekend saw some respectable hammer prices. Recently seen at the National Arts and Crafts Conference & Shows in Asheville, N.C., a beautiful eight-leg sideboard from Gustav Stickley ($7,500 – $9,500) with a “mostly original finish” sold for $12,000. Meanwhile, a Gustav Stickley signed two-door bookcase ($5,000 – $6,000) sold for $8,000 and while the highest hammer price of Stickley’s two door bookcases range in the tens of thousands, I’d attribute this respectable price to the unmistakable signature 1912 ink stamp mark and the original finish. An early Stickley lamp table made in 1902 ($3,500 – $4,500) sold just outside the high estimate at $4,750; the table, similar to model #439, had a rubbed-out original finish and a signed Trestle table ($1,500 – $2,000) from Stickley’s Craftsman Studios sold for $3,000 as well.
• A sift-seat hall bench from Charles Limbert, signed with a branded mark, sailed past the high estimate of $3,500 and sold at a hammer price of $4,750. The high quality original finish with the handy element of a collector’s item that can be used as storage is a lovely addition to any Arts and Crafts collector home. Speaking of Limbert, a spade cutout daybed of Limbert’s also sold during the AcStickley auction for the rock solid high estimate of $3,000. The daybed was signed with Charles Limbert’s branded mark with its original finish
• An additional rare sight: A Grove Park Inn wicker rocker! While the Roycrofter-made chairs for the Grove Park Inn, commonly known as the GPI chairs, are known well in the collecting world, this rare sight sold for $1,600.

 

Ceramic highlights

From left to right: a large Grueby Pottery matte green vase with a stacked leaves design, a large Newcomb College lunar scenic vase designed by Anna Frances Simpson, and a Taxile Doat University City Alpine Village Scene Tile.

 

• A large signed Grueby Pottery Matte Vase ($6,000 – $8,000), complete with stacked leaves design and the Grueby Faience shopmark, is a desirable item in any Arts and Crafts collection; this verdant vase sold for $7,500, well within the estimates. Later on in the auction, another Grueby vase, with a matte two-color mustard yellow glaze, would sell for $5,500; it’s a good deal considering the signature and rare color combination.
• A beautiful example of a large Newcomb College from Anna Frances Simpson, described as a Lunar Scenic Vase circa 1928, sold at its estimate of $6,000. The crisp example was signed and in perfect condition.
• A Taxile Doat University City Alpine Village Scene tile ($2,500 – $3,500), made in 1914, sold for $4,250. This tile was a collaboration with William Bragdon who worked with Taxile Doat at University City in 1914 and assisted with the glazing. These glaze samples are from the William Bragdon Estate and match the tile, courtesy of Kirby Brown, grandson of William Bragdon. Pictured page 195, California Faience Book by Kirby Brown. Signed. Perfect condition. Tim Holton custom oak frame measures 14.5″h x 17.25″w (17.25″h with glaze samples). Tile 8.5″h x 11.5″w.
• An honorable mention goes to a beautiful Rookwood Pottery Peacock Feather Vase made in 1896 by John D. Wareham, sold for $2,700. Signed and with gorgeous hues of blue, golds, and greens, the owner of this vase can make great use of this vase in the spring and summer. While many Rookwood artists used the design of the peacock feather in their designs, this gorgeous example displays a realistic aesthetic ahead of its time.

 

Metalwork highlights

From left to right: a signed Rebecca Cauman hammered copper & carved covered box, a large Dirk van Erp shell casing lamp c1902-1908, and a recent hammered copper & iron log holder from Michael Adams of Aurora Studios from Gustav Stickley design #405.

 

• A Rebecca Cauman signed hammered copper & carved covered box ($4,000 – $5,000), ca. 1905, saw an excellent hammer price of $9,000. Cauman was a Master Craftsman member of the Boston Arts & Crafts society and a highly involved member of both the Boston and New York Arts and Crafts communities and and yet, relatively little is known about her works. This high-selling example, along with a small hammered copper and enamel compote, are two of several of Cauman’s works of copper and enamel works in the collector’s market today.
• An Aurora Studios, Michael Adams designed, copper and iron log holder ($3,500 – $4,500) sold for $4,250. This signed example of metalwork is one of the highest selling log holders to date, the first being a Gustav Stickley with an early circular mark and original patina.
• The works of Dirk Van Erp turn heads and this one got plenty of attention this past weekend. A large Dirk van Erp Shell Casing Lamp ($2,000 – $3,000), circa 1902-1908, with its original patina, sold for $6,000! The inscription on the lamp indicated some historical significance and this lamp has also been included in the 2014 exhibition Dirk Van Erp book on p. 22. The lamp base is inscribed with the following: “Spanish American War Naval Engagement Santiago de Cuba July 3, 1898 Flagship U.S.S. Brooklyn Commodore W.S. Schley U.S.N. Lt Geo. H. Warford U.S.N. 8 inch Shell Casing From Main Battery”.

 

To see more highlights of the AcStickley auction, please click here to see all prices on AcStickley.com.

 

Upcoming Auctions:

Interiors, hosted by Toomey & Co Auctioneers

April 6th, 2022 at 10:00am Central

Interiors will feature a large Rookwood landscape charger by Albert R. Valentien ($800-$1,200) from a large collection of Rookwood Pottery and several other offerings from Fulper, Wheatley, Roseville, Cowan, Cincinnati Art Pottery, Peters & Reed, Weller Pottery and more. The Arts and Crafts furniture offerings will include Stickley, Limbert and The Roycrofters in addition to the contemporary lots. While metalwork offerings include Heintz Art Metal,  lighting will include American Deluxe/Lundberg Studios, Quezal and post Adler & Sullivan. The rest of the Interiors catalog offers contemporary works, several Native American style weavings and craft, Art Nouveau decorative items, Art Deco table lamps and metalwork, mid-century decor and home design for the modern home.

Interiors on Wednesday, April 6 and Prints & Multiples on Thursday, April 7 will both start at 10:00 a.m. Central Standard Time. The sales will be held at Toomey & Co. Auctioneers, 818 North Boulevard, Oak Park, Illinois, but they will not be open to the public. Those who wish to preview in person or virtually should email [email protected]. Bidders may also participate by phone (708-383-5234) or leave absentee bids ([email protected]). The catalogs are posted online at toomeyco.com and early registration is recommended. Alternatively, bids may be placed via two real-time, third-party platforms (LiveAuctioneers and Invaluable). Later this spring, Toomey & Co. will hold four more auctions: The Ira Simon Collection: Sold for the Benefit of the Art Institute of Chicago on Wednesday, April 27; Modern Design + Post-War & Contemporary Art on Wednesday, May 18; Fine Art + Furniture & Decorative Arts on Wednesday, June 8; and Keramics & Rookwood: American & European Art Pottery on Thursday, June 9. Consignments are invited for upcoming sales and photographs of items may be sent to [email protected] for estimates. To learn about past or future auctions, please visit toomeyco.com.