Toomey & Co. Launch Successful Auction
On April 9th Toomey & Co. Auctioneers held their first Oak Park, Illinois, auction since dissolving their long-standing partnership with the Treadway Gallery. Under the leadership of new CEO Lucy Toomey, the auction generated a great deal of interest, starting with a fresh look to their printed catalog.
The Art & Design auction was carefully organized, with the first section devoted to art, the middle section to Arts and Crafts, and the final section to mid-century modern. The auction generated more than $1.3 million and had an equally as impressive sold rate of 88%.
Afterwards Lucy Toomey commented, “We are very pleased with the results of our first sale under the new brand. We’ve been overwhelmed with positive feedback and we’re very grateful for the support.
“The changes to the catalog format, remodels to the auction house, and the new website have been well-received by both old and new clients. We had more bidders than we’ve seen in a long time and considerable interest leading up to the sale. We’ve been very active on social media (Facebook and Instagram) and are hoping to continue to keep clients engaged through those platforms.
“We saw strong prices for Arts & Crafts in all categories, from furniture to pottery, lighting, and metalwork. Among the top Arts & Crafts lots in the sale were Dirk Van Erp and Tiffany lighting, a Gustav Stickley Director’s Table, and a high price for a pair of Jarvie Art Nouveau candlesticks, which sold for nearly $10,000.
“We’re looking forward to our June 24th auction — we’re still accepting consignments through early May.”
Highlights of the Arts and Crafts portion of the sale included:
A Tiffany Studios “Daffodil” leaded glass table lamp standing 26.5 inches high, with both the base and shade signed. With a pre-sale estimate of $40,000-$50,000 it sold for $43,750.
Three Dirk van Erp table lamps sold at prices beyond their pre-sale estimate. The first, standing 24 inches high, featured an unusual copper overlay of a peacock design over the mica shade. It sold for $27,500 with a pre-sale estimate of $20,000-$25,000.
A more typical Dirk van Erp table lamp standing 22 inches high and made early (ca. 1911) in van Erp’s lamp-making career came in with a pre-sale estimate of $7000-$9000, but left with a sale price of $15,000.
One made a year earlier when designer D’Arcy Gaw still worked with Dirk van Erp stood a few inches shorter but also soared to $15,000.
A maple inlaid sewing cabinet (#630) with two drop-leaves made in the Craftsman Workshops of Gustav Stickley sold for $11,250 versus a pre-sale estimate of $7000-$9000. To put the importance of the inlay in perspective, the same model made in oak, but without any inlay, sold a few minutes later for just $1625.
Also from the Craftsman Workshops, a rare signed “paper rack” (newspaper stand), model #551, doubled its pre-sale estimate of $4000-$6000, selling for $12,500.
Perhaps the largest piece in the sale, an eight-foot long Director’s Table, model #631, and also from the Craftsman Workshops sold for $18,750 against a pre-sale estimate of $15,000-$20,000.
For more information on these and other sale results, please go to www.Toomeyco.com.