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Gator spoon – The top spoon of the sale was this full figure gator handle with a Seminole in the enameled bowl. It brought $935.
Highwayman – A brightly colored royal poinciana tree as depicted by Highwayman Johnny Daniels in 2003 sold for $2035.
Gator band – This ensemble of musical gators will play a new tune for $440.
Match safes – These two sterling silver match safes were the pick of the litter. The one on the left with the gator head flip top made $505 and the gator Florida scene on the right, pictured in the book, went for $825. Antique Week, March 26, 2007, By Fred Taylor One of the largest collections of Florida souvenirs and memorabilia crossed the block at Turkey Creek Auctions in Citra on March 3. The owner of the collection, Larry Roberts, was the author of the authoritative 2001 book “The Golden Age of Florida Souvenirs 1890-1930.” Roberts had been ordered to dispose of the collection and the inventory of his retail shop as part of a divorce decree. Turkey Creek Auction owner David Glynn, working in concert with Roberts, packaged the 25,000 smalls and 50,000 – 60,000 postcards into 1,000 lots and divided the sale into two consecutive portions, postcards and souvenirs. While Glynn has a familiar crowd of antiques buffs at his regular monthly sales, this event brought an entirely new set of faces to the auction. The 240 box lots of postcards crossed the block first bringing some eye opening bids. The top postcard lot was a box of 495 Florida location cards. The winning bid was $990 including the ten percent buyer’s premium offered by Roberts himself who was allowed by agreement to bid. A mother/daughter team of Internet dealers had carefully staked out some lots in the preview and aggressively pursued them at bidding time. At one point they won nine of seventeen consecutive Florida lots, acquiring over 7,000 cards for $3,768 in that run. Glynn was done with postcards in 1:45 and moved directly into the souvenir sale that continued the price runup but in this section it was hardnosed collectors who fueled the fires. A single sterling silver spoon with a full bodied alligator handle and an enameled bowl with a Seminole figure brought $935, pricing most dealers out of that lot. A porcelain ashtray featuring Uncle Sam and a Cuban fighting over a cigar brought $880 and a Highwayman painting by Johnny Daniels maintained the momentum in that category bringing in $2,035. The top lot of the sale was a hand painted polychrome porcelain “cameona” by Olive Commons, 6½in high in the frame, estimated at $3,000/$5,000. It brought a winner of $8,800. Many of the newcomers to Turkey Creek commented on how well the auction was run and they looked forward to coming back. Glynn had high praise for his crew who handled the large sale flawlessly, never breaking the rhythm established by Glynn at the outset. And Larry Roberts was happy to announce that he is back in business at his shop in Micanopy. http://antiqueauctionsfl.com (800) 648-7523 PHOTO CAPTIONS Prices include ten percent buyer’s premium.
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TURKEY
CREEK AUCTION, Citra, FL, May 20, 2006 Printed with the permission of the author Fred Taylor for Antique Week.
In the late spring of May in Central Florida, before the rains start, the afternoons can be a little sultry and the air very still. But the bids were flying at Turkey Creek Auctions late in the afternoon on May 20 under the big tent outside the red barn. The object of the most interest was a painting by Edmund Henry Osthaus (1858-1928) a German born artist who came to America in 1883. He became the principal of the Toledo Academy of Fine Arts in Toledo, Ohio and later devoted his life to his painting, specializing in sporting dogs.
His O/C “Hunting Dog” circa 1900, descended in the family of the original buyer, was hotly competed in the tent and on the phone. The phone bidder was a sporting club in Washington, DC but it could not quite match the desire of the local bidder from Tampa. This dog did hunt for $29,000 plus the 10 percent buyer’s premium. That bid placed it among the top five or six realized prices for an Osthaus in recent years. The high was $57,360 at Christie’s, New York in 2002. On a more local level, a bucolic Florida riverscape by Florida Highwayman Al Black sold for $900. The consignor was happy. She had acquired it at a yard sale recently for $6!
After the art came the furniture. An elaborately carved seven piece mahogany bedroom set, circa 1900, consisted of a bed, a tall chest with mirror, a low chest with mirror, a vanity with mirror, two chairs and a rocker. Very much in the manner of R. J. Horner but unsigned, the set went for $6,500 to a dealer from Ohio. A mid 19th century step back cupboard with a provenance from a Louisiana plantation, featuring two six pane doors over nine lower drawers brought $2,300 and a Federal one drawer stand, tiger maple and birdseye maple reached $1,200. A nice mahogany Pembroke table by noted Colonial Revival maker Charak of Boston made $400.
A pair of clocks sold slightly under the money. A Gustave Becker tall clock in a dark walnut case, circa 1910, with a glass front sold for $1,200 and a long drop regulator by Earl Fernbach reached $700.
Auctioneer Profile, Antique Week, by Starr Shuppert. 5/11/06
by Fred Taylor, Antique Trader (June 7th) and July edition of Cotton and Quail
The third week of May is normally the height of the dry season in Central Florida and dead summer has not yet set in so outdoor activities flourish throughout the area, including auctions. While David Glynn, owner of Turkey Creek Auction in Citra, just north of Ocala, doesn’t exactly conduct his sales outside, there is a definite outdoor flavor to the events since they are held under a large circus type tent. But the weather in Florida has been anything but normal for the last year or so, with four hurricanes last year followed by an unusually warm winter. So it was not a complete surprise when the skies opened up an hour before the May 21 sale and as Glynn said. “It just came down by the bucketload for the next hour.” But in the long run it didn’t deter the more than 250 die hard auction fans who were on site for another of Glynn’s eclectic presentations.
This time around Glynn had assembled over 500 lots mostly from local estates in the Gainesville and Ocala area and came up with some fine 19th century lots. One such example came from the estate of the Turpin family in Gainesville. Family ancestors had been active in the settling of California and a pair of scrimshaw articles showed scenes from the era. A polychrome powder horn, circa 1845, depicted hunting scenes using a bow and arrow and several figures of men dressed appropriately for the period in long coats, top hats and high riding boots. The central figure on the powder horn was the eagle from the Great Seal of the United States, created in 1782, bearing the crest on his chest, clutching the olive branch in his right talon, lightning bolts in the left and a flowing ribbon bearing the inscription “E pluribus unum” in his beak. Since California was not admitted to the Union until 1850 this may have been an attempt to hasten the event. Five phone bidders fiercely competed for the patriotic artifact with the winner from Virginia bidding $8,500 plus the 10 percent buyer’s premium. A companion lot, a wooden cup, was obviously decorated by the same hand. It bore the likeness of an Indian maiden surrounded by native flora, a striding American male in high waisted jacket with tails and centrally featured the same eagle from the Great Seal, as did the powder horn. Below the eagle were the initials “D.R.T.”, presumably those of the Turpin ancestor. This family heirloom was also competed mostly on the phone, being won by a bidder from Ohio for $8,400 plus the premium.
Another 19th century family heirloom also was of great interest to bidders. This was a Renaissance Revival 10ft tall half tester bed made of walnut. It originally was purchased by famous Civil War diarist Judge Felix Pierre Poche of Convent, LA who built a plantation house on a 186 acre sugar plantation in 1867. The house was built in the Renaissance style of the day and his furnishings were ordered to match. Judge Poche lived on the plantation until 1880 when he moved to New Orleans and used the house as his summer home. He sold the house and furnishings in 1892 to Judge Henry Himel. The Himel family sold the house in the 1960s to the Irwin family who eventually retired to Live Oak, FL and consigned the bed to Turkey Creek. The bed was signed on the rear of the headboard with the initials “JA”, presumably the cabinetmaker in New Orleans who made the bed and the matching armoire. The nearly queen size custom bed will require a custom made mattress to fit but since the winner paid $6,000 for the bed, the mattress should not be a problem. The two door armoire with two lower drawers sold to a different buyer for $2,300. A final representative of the Renaissance Revival style of the third quarter of the 19th century was a marble top sideboard with a tall architectural crest above the high shelf that shaded the oval mirror. Below the marble top, which had cookie corners, were two drawers with acorn pulls above two panel doors with concentric circles in the center. This interpretive example of the style sold for $3,500.
The last part of the 19th century was also certainly well represented. An eight piece continental salon suite, consisting of a marble top console table, pair of marble top stands with cherub’s heads, a settee, a pair of fauteuils and a pair of bergeres, was ornately carved and painted with gilt accents and polychrome floral decorations. The suite was broken into its components before crossing the block. The big winner of the set was the elaborate console table, selling for $2,100. The pair of marble top stands made $1,700 and the pair of fauteuils brought $1,600. In all, the components of the suite sold for $6,700. Another lot from the same period, this one from France or Belgium, a small carved curio cabinet with bowed glass in the door, sold for $1,100 and a similarly styled lift top sewing table was a good buy at $300.
American oak from the turn of the century held its own. A 60in s-roll top desk with ten drawers and a prospect door in the fitted interior and total of nine drawers in the pedestals rose to $2,100 and a smaller single bank s-roll version with raised panels brought $600. A press back office chair with cane seat and wheels that would have gone well with either desk sold for a surprising $500 bid and a four drawer oak file cabinet with a very nice original finish completed the office setting for someone for $450. On the home front an unusual hooded oak hall seat with coat hooks and a mirror was a star with a winner of $1,200. A combination oak china/server with curved leaded glass in the door and two beveled mirrors in the server was also an excellent buy at $1,200 and a curved glass china in nicely done tiger oak with carved feet received a respectable $900 top bid.
Other highlights of the sale included a 17th century walnut Italian cassone that had been deaccessioned from the Ringling Museum in Sarasota which sold for $1,200, a Limoge set of nine plates and a serving platter with game animal scenes went to a New Hampshire collector for $1,850 and a large Florida Highwayman beach scene by deceased artist Alfred Hair sold for $1,400.
Printed with permission of the author Fred Taylor, P.O. Box 215, Crystal River, FL 34423, 800-387-6377.
by Fred Taylor, Auction Highlights, Antique Trader, March 16, 2005
Art was the interest of the day for many bidders at Turkey Creek Antique Auctions' February 19 sale. Every third Saturday of every month, weather permitting, Turkey Creek Auction owner Charles David Glynn sets up his big striped tent in front of his red barn on US Highway 441, about 13 miles north of Ocala, Florida near the small town of Citra. And the weather usually permits. For the February 19 edition of Turkey Creek Auctions, while Boston hovered around the freezing mark and Minneapolis shivered at 20 degrees near the 6PM auction start time, Citra basked in Florida mid winter balm with the temp hanging out in the mid 70s. By the time the big tent was packed with over 300 bidders Glynn had to raise the sides to cool it down.
The 200 house chairs had quickly filled up and there were more than 100 people standing. After the sides were raised they could mill around outside and change positions for a better view. It also allowed better access to the food. Turkey Creek’s regular vendor, Gram’s Mobile Snack Cart owned by Jenny Rosselot, was on the scene to fuel hungry bidders with soda, hamburgers, hot dogs, Philly cheese steak and assorted goodies like fries, cheesecake and fresh strawberries.
Glynn noted that the “usual crowd of doctors, lawyers and Indian chiefs” showed for the event but there was an unusually large number of new bidders trying to register before the sale and it turns out many of them came to buy. A surprising number of bidders stayed until the 11:45PM end when the last of the 515 lots crossed the block.
Art was the interest of the day for many bidders. Works from the 1950s and 1960s by the group of black Florida artists known by the name of “Highwaymen” have enjoyed a revival in recent years. Their landscapes and seascapes have preserved scenes of undisturbed Florida now hard to find in the rapidly growing state. Two modest examples of work by deceased artist Livingston Roberts each sold for a bargain $500 plus the 10 percent buyer’s premium. But the real bargain in Highwaymen art was the large work by Mary Ann Carroll, the only female member of the famous group. Ms. Carroll is still active in her art and her work is highly sought after. A Florida buyer in the room took home the scene of crashing waves on Florida rocks and sand for $400.
The most interest was generated by a harbor scene, oil on canvas laid on board, executed in the late 1940s by Australian born artist Hayley Lever (1876-1958). Born in Adelaide, Lever was educated in London where he was influenced by the Impressionist and Fauvist movements. Encouraged by his friend Ernest Lawson, an American Impressionist painter, he immigrated to New York in 1911 where he was well received, becoming the Director of the Studio Art Club and was an instructor at the Art Students League from 1919 - 1931. The best showing by a Lever work was at Doyle New York in 2003 when his “Impression of London Bridge” sold for $40,000. The recent average for Lever sales has been in the $5,000 range. His 16in X 30in depiction of “Tanker Ships, Port of Newark, New Jersey”, in overall good condition, was hotly contested both in the room and on the phone. The winner was a phone bidder from New York who parted with $6,500 plus premium.
The outstanding art bargain buy of the day may turn out to be an oil on canvas of a woman and child by Percival DeLuce (1847-1914). The late 19th century painting of a female child sitting in her mother’s lap reading from a book had some condition problems but it sold on the phone to a dealer in South Florida for $3,000. Skillful restoration no doubt will add to the value of the work.
But art is not found only in oil on canvas. To some, jukeboxes from the 1940s and 1950s are works of art in themselves. One bidder thought the Wurlitzer Model 1100 “Arch Top” from 1948 or 1949 was such a fine piece of art that he spent $2,000 to take it home. The Wurlitzer Model 1250 was the first by the company to handle the new 45rpm records. Introduced in 1950 it changed the course of jukebox history. This one sold for $1,000, as did a Seeburg “Bubble-Front”, circa 1953. From slightly later “The pause that refreshes” was available from a tall red and white vending machine that demanded a dime for an ice cold Coke in 1960. But this time the price was $1,500 for the entire machine. An example of another genre of art was the Inaba cloisonné vase in pale blue with a striking carp on the side. This vase, found in Inverness, Florida, belonged to a man sent to China during World War II as the chief meteorologist assisting Gen. Chiang Kai-shek in his battle with Mao Se Tung. This vase accompanied the man home after many years spent in the Orient. It sold for $2,500.
Furniture was not completely abandoned for this sale. A simple honest three piece oak or elm bedroom set in faint Eastlake styling from the late 19th century, tall headboard, dresser with cheval mirror and dry sink with towel rack, went for $1,100 and a stately mirrored hall seat with applied carving and four double hooks, from the same period, made $800. Another fairly plain piece, a poplar open top, step back cupboard with two double blind panel doors, late 19th century, did very well at $1,100 as did a Colonial Revival breakfront with bubble glass in the four upper doors above the secretary pull out. An English glazed two door bookcase from the Renaissance Revival period, in ebonized wood with gilt incising, may have been missing the two lower original wooden panels in the doors. Modern glass apparently had replaced them. That question held down the price to $700. One slight disappointment was seen in a set of six George III upholstered side chairs. In good condition with acanthus carved knees, the set could muster only $300. Glynn said the consignor had paid $250 each chair about twenty years ago and commented “Chairs are under appreciated in this country.”
by Fred Taylor, Antique Week, Eastern Edition 12/27/04
CITRA, Fla.-- In preparation for the annual overindulgence this time of the year, Turkey Creek Auction owner Charles David Glynn spread a mighty feast of more than 550 lots for his 16th annual pre-Thanksgiving auction on Nov. 20. The Florida weather cooperated and the big white tent outside the Turkey Creek Auction red barn was packed with around 275 bidders. Unlike many recent auctions at the auction site, the inventory for this event did not come from New England but was found mostly in Florida.
The big fish in the sale was a landscape by Herman Herzog. It was signed on the back Rattlesnake Run, Pike Co Penn 1884 H Herzog and depicted a small sunlit clearing littered with fallen trees in a heavily wooded area. Herzog was born in Bremen, Germany, in 1832 and attended the Dusseldorf Academy where he established quite a name for himself. His patrons included Queen Victoria and the Grand Duke Alexander of Russia, as well as a growing band of admirers in the United States.
After winning Honorable Mention at the Paris Salon in 1863 and 1864 he relocated to Philadelphia. He adapted readily to his new country, winning a bronze medal at the Centennial Exhibition in 1876, but his real passion was to see the entire country, border to border and coast to coast and to paint as much of it as possible. He left a pictorial legacy of the unspoiled American landscape of the 19th century. Late in the century, when Herzog's son lived in Gainesville, Herzog made frequent trips to the area, completing a body of work consisting of more than 250 Florida scenes before his death in 1932. This painting, though not one of the Florida works, was found in the community of Beverly Hills near Inverness, Fla.
When Rattlesnake Run crossed the block there was an onslaught of phone activity with 10 lines in action. The winner was a private collector in Texas who called in with the winning number of $47,000 plus the 10 percent buyer's premium.
But no art sale in Florida is complete without some Highwaymen paintings and this sale had two by Harold Newton. The Highwaymen is the name given the group of 26 African American artists working around Fort Pierce, Fla., in the mid 1950's. Influenced by A. E. "Beanie" Backus (1906-1990), the artists sold their landscape and seascape renditions out of their cars Along Florida roads. Highwaymen art has enjoyed a renewed popularity in the last decade after years of oblivion. There are now a number of galleries and dealers, mostly in Florida, who specialize in the subject. One of Newton's oil on board, a portrait oriented scene of a palm tree and shoreline sold for $2,800 plus premium. The other, a sedate river scene, reached $1,500.
The best art buy of the sale was probably a portrait of a woman signed D.V. Bond Detroit 1853. Charles V. Bond, American, 1825-1864, was a portrait and landscape painter from Livingston County, Mich., whose work today generally sells in the $650-$1,000 range. This pre-Civil War portrait went for $400.
Furniture was soft in spots but good pieces did well. A very impressive Eastlake tall sideboard had a marble deck above five drawers and a raised panel door and a mid-rise shelf supported by turned columns below a dome-top mirror. In walnut with walnut burl accents on major flat panels, this 120-year-old dining room piece sold for $1,600. A late 19th century oak baker's cabinet with a dry sink in the main surface featured three chip carved blind panel doors and three small drawers in the top section and two drawers, two blind panel doors and a pullout flour bin below. It looked sufficiently mellow but still crisp in a refinish, rising to $1,500. An elegant three-piece oak bedroom set from the turn of the century was encrusted with applied molding and carving. The 7ft tall headboard was topped by a crown panel of what appeared to be a nautical theme. The dry sink and the dresser each had the same top panel above their mirrors. This set was a very good buy at $1,300.
Oak seemed to be the wood of the day in general. A nice quarter sawn oak china server with curved glass panels below and a beveled mirror above, with a top shelf supported by lion's paw columns, sold for $900. An oak 60in S-roll top desk, with raised panels, a spacious fitted interior and seven drawers plus a file drawer, in an old refinish, hung in there for the same price, and an oak china cabinet with curved side glass, a beveled and leaded glass door and lion's head columns crossed at $800.
Several English pieces of furniture did surprisingly well. A George III mahogany chest three over three with string inlay on the drawer fronts with ring pull hardware, standing on French feet, sold for $700 as did another mahogany George III chest, two over three, on a bracket base. A rosewood tea poy, circa 1840, brought $350.
Pairpoint lamps are generally well received, especially those with puffy shades. The example at Turkey creek had a base with a gold wash and 14 in shade with a rose and butterfly theme. The lamp had a late Art Nouveau feeling to it, dating from around 1910. It felt like a $6,000 lamp to a local bidder in the tent.
Jewelry was also on several bidders' shopping lists. A Victorian gold slide bracelet with carved stones and gems made $1,300 and a lady's cocktail ring with 3.08 carats of emerald and diamonds sold for $900.
Printed with permission of the author Fred Taylor, P.O. Box 215, Crystal River, FL 34423, 800-387-6377.
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David Glynn, auctioneer at the Turkey Creek Auctions, Citra, takes the painting "Blue-Bonnets, Gray Day" off the wall after its auction, above. Below is the signature of the late artist Julian Onderdonk of Texas. The painting was formerly owned by Hubert Krantz of Ocala. JANNET WALSH/STAR-BANNER |
Published October 03, 2004 7:30AM, by SUSAN LATHAM CARR, Staff Writer
CITRA - The oil painting, "Blue-Bonnets, Gray Day," by Texas artist Julian Onderdonk, sold for $155,000 at Turkey Creek Auctions in Citra on Saturday night.
"I think it's wonderful," said Hubert Krantz, who was selling the painting.
"I am shocked," said his wife, Jane. "We were guessing earlier in the day -- tops $10,000."
Hubert Krantz said the 25-by-30-inch canvas, which depicts a field of wild bluebonnet flowers fading into a background of trees and hills, has been in his family for at least 60 years. He has no idea who bought the painting or where they bought it, but said he remembers that the painting hung in his mother's apartment in Jackson Heights, Queens, N.Y., for as long as he can remember.
"I don't ever remember not having it," Krantz said. "It was always there."
His sister, Keith Ann Krantz, lived with his mother. His mother died, and, when Keith Ann retired about 14 years ago, she moved to Chambrel at Pinecastle, an assisted living facility in southeast Ocala. She brought the furniture and the painting, which is signed by the artist in the lower left-hand corner of the artwork, with her to Chambrel. She recently moved into a nursing home and the family was selling the furniture.
"I didn't know it was valuable," Hubert Krantz said about the painting. "I didn't have a clue."
On the back of the painting is written "Blue-Bonnets, Gray Day," followed by "near San Antonio" and the dates "1919-21."
Hubert Krantz's son-in-law, Ken Jones, said the painting's auctioning reminded him of the Antique Road Show on television.
"Nobody wanted it," Jones said. "We almost tossed it. It's just an old painting."
But auctioneer David Glynn of Turkey Creek knew the painting had value. He had two absentee bidders for the artwork and about 10 people who planned to bid by phone on Saturday.
Glynn started the bidding at $75,000. Jane Krantz and her daughter, Pat Jones, who sat in the first row, kept giggling and looking at each other in disbelief as the price climbed higher and higher.
"It did exactly what I was hoping it would do," Glynn said. In addition to the $155,000 bid, the buyer must pay Glynn an additional 10 percent for his services, making the total cost of the painting $170,500.
Larry Jackson, owner of Jackson Uptown Art and Antiques in Fredericksburg, Texas, was the successful bidder. He placed the winning bid by phone. He was acting as agent for a "friend" and was happy with the price, he said in a telephone conversation from Texas. He said the painting will be hung in a private collection in a place not far from San Antonio, where the artist painted.
"It's going into a really nice art collection," Jackson said. "They have other art, but no other Onderdonk. They have been holding out for the great one, and this is that very, very great one."
Fredericksburg is about 60 miles from San Antonio.
"We live probably very close in the hill country where this scene was painted," Jackson said. "It actually looks exactly the same. The bluebonnets and hill country haven't changed in a long time. Our whole part of the state looks like that every spring."
Onderdonk, who died in 1922 at the age of 40, is one of Texas' most renowned artists of the early 20th Century, according to information from the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, and the Handbook of Texas Online. He was born in San Antonio in 1882, the son Robert Jenkins Onderdonk, also a landscape artist.
Julian Onderdonk painted impressionistic landscapes. He preferred painting in the open spaces rather than in a studio, as was customary at the time.
At 18, he studied at New York's Art Students League under the tutelage of William Merritt Chase, Frank Vincent DuMond and Kenyon Cox.
Onderdonk married Gertrude Shipman in 1902. Two years later, he moved with his wife and baby daughter to the borough of Staten Island in New York and opened a painting school. His wife also gave birth to his son.
Onderdonk often was in debt but still was able to sell his works through several dealers.
From 1906 to his death, Onderdonk organized art exhibits for the Dallas State Fair, one of the Southwest's major art shows.
He returned home to San Antonio in 1909. By then, Onderdonk's paintings had begun to sell well, with his paintings of bluebonnets becoming the most popular.
In 1913, two of his landscapes were accepted for exhibition at the National Academy of Design in New York. During World War I, he tried unsuccessfully to join the United States Army's Camouflage Service.
Onderdonk's death following a routine operation was sudden and unexpected. His works hang in a number of Texas art museums as well as others throughout the nation.
Susan Latham Carr may be reached at 867-4156 or susan.carr@starbanner.com
by Catherine Saunders-Watson, Antique Week 12/06/04
CITRA, FLA.-- The owners of an early 20th century painting of a field of wild bluebonnets are thanking their lucky stars the artwork didn't end up in the trash, but rather at an auction house that spotted its potential. On Oct. 2, Turkey Creek Auctions in Citra sold a previously unwanted 25 by 30in oil which they identified as being the work of renowned Texas artist Robert Julian Onderdonk (1882-1922), for $170, 500.
Co-consignor Hubert Krantz said the painting, Blue-Bonnets Gray Day, had hung in his mother's apartment in New York City for at least 60 years. After his mother's death, Krantz's sister who had lived in the same apartment, relocated to an assisted living facility in Florida. When she moved again, to a nursing home, family members decided to dispose of the New York apartment's furnishings, which had been transported to Florida many years ago.
Among the stored possessions was the painting, which no one in the family wanted. "We almost tossed it," Krantz's son-in-law told the Ocala (Fla.) Star Banner. "It's just an old painting."
Fortunately, the landscape ended up in the hands of aucti9oneer David Glyn, at Turkey Creek, who recognized it as a painting of considerable value. By auction day,10 phone bidders were lined up to vie for the artwork against several live and absentee competitors.
The lot opened at $75,000 and, within minutes, had sold over the phone to Larry Jackson, owner of Jackson Uptown Art and Antiques in Fredericksburg, Texas. Jackson later revealed the painting had been bought on behalf of a private collector who lives near San Antonio, where Onderdonk was born and did much of his work.
At one time, the most famous artist in Texas, Onderdonk was known to overpaint canvases that didn't meet his lofty expectations. His quest for perfection led him to New York, where he studied under several distinguished painters. It was only in the last decade of his brief life, which ended unexpectedly after routine surgery, that is panoramic views of the Texas countryside gained popularity. Today his works are held in many museums worldwide.
by Fred Taylor, Antique Week, December 2002
On the main road north of Ocala on the way to Gainesville sits a big red barn on a hill in the middle of a large field. The entrance road is deeply rutted indicating that there is some major activity going on up there at some point. That activity occurs when Turkey Creek owner David Glynn sets up his big white tent and throws an auction.
Saturday November 23, 2002 was such an event under the big top. The 2,000 square foot tent, warmed by propane heaters with turbo blowers, was filled to capacity in spite of the unseasonably cool Florida fall evening. Roughly 200 people took seats in chairs provided by the house, another 20 or 30 brought their own and everybody else stood for the 500+ lot sale.
The eclectic inventory featured a variety of items, ranging from rugs to jewelry to furniture to art to glass and even included a horse drawn sleigh - at a Florida sale no less. Sale lots came from an estate in Jacksonville, FL, one in Inverness, FL and one in Taunton, MA.
The tone for the evening was country casual. Almost everybody in the audience had been there before. Glynn said that new faces account for about 10% of the audience each sale. He kept up a running commentary with old friends and new and was not afraid to "speak right up". At one point a member of the stage crew tilted a large marble top table so the top could be seen. As the marble started to slide Glynn remarked "I can see the headlines in Antique Week now - 'Crowd Crushed by Falling Marble!' ".
The top lot of the evening was a diminutive, elaborately carved oak china cabinet from the Inverness estate, attributed to R. J. Horner of New York. Initial inspection of the carving revealed a lack of the sophistication seen in much of Horner's work but the presence of the correct label in the right place left little doubt as to its authenticity. Spirited action worked its way up to the winning bid of $2300 plus the 12% buyer's premium. The winner was a local area dealer who specializes in ornate, turn of the century oak. Mr. Glynn speculated that the piece would have sold for much more "up North".
Also generating a very spirited bidding bout was a small bird - a cut glass and enamel lamp in the shape of a parrot to be exact. It had been appraised by the estate at around $200. David Glynn felt it would bring between $500 and $800 because of the exceptional quality of the workmanship. He believed the piece was European from the 1920's, possibly Czechoslovakian, possibly Moser. The enameled parrot was ensconced on a cut glass perch, decorated with draped glass beads, all supported by a cut glass base. Offers by ten bidders, including one on the phone from Minnesota, pushed the top bid to $1900 plus premium, from another local dealer who made several excellent purchases during the sale including an unusual Art Nouveau lamp with children's figures on a brass base for $250.
The watchword of the evening for the large selection of rugs was "bargain." The top lot of the rugs was a 9ft X 12ft needlepoint at $600 followed by an 8ft X 10ft 7in Heriz which brought $550 and an 8ft X 10ft 2in Bidjar at $500. After that the prices dropped off sharply with most lots falling in the $75 to $300 range but with some, such as a 3ft X 5ft Dhurry, making only $20 - $25.
Brian Wilson, not the one from the Beach Boys but from Odyssey Antiques in Gainesville, FL was cherry picking case goods. He saw the long term value in an unusually tall Eastlake styled chest that needed some TLC and was willing to part with $275 for it. He also recognized the opportunity in a late 18th C. slant front walnut desk with tiger maple fitted interior and fluted corner quarter columns. The feet were a little short and the hardware needed some refinement but it was a very good buy at $1025. He also packed up a large 3rd quarter 19th C two over three chest with walnut burl panels and beveled mirror for $400.
Other late 19th century notables included a three piece M/T bedroom suite, unattributed, for $1500, a fairly plain Eastlake three piece walnut parlor set, in non-matching upholstery, $300, an Eastlake table with chocolate marble top with cookie corners, $350 and a sturdily constructed, solid cherry S curved roll top desk with raised panels and smoothly working tambour, in original finish, $1000.
Some 18th and early to mid 19th century pieces included a late 1700's pine blanket chest with three graduated drawers and nicely cut apron. In spite of recent refinishing and some doubt about the top, it brought $700. An Empire chest in finely figured flame mahogany, with two over cantilevered top drawer over three, flanked by round tapering columns supported by square plinths on paw feet had a mirror with mahogany and tiger maple frame supported between two columns capped by urn finials. The original single hole drawer hardware had been replaced with double drillings making the refitting of the earlier style more difficult. It went to a new home in North Carolina at $800.
A very clean Empire game table in flame mahogany with ogee skirt, square column and under turned C scroll feet made a bargain $305 and a mahogany swan carved slipper chair settled at $125 to a dealer from nearby Micanopy.
The early 20th century was well represented by an oak side by side with original curved glass in the door, two beveled mirrors and fitted interior. Nicely repaired and refinished it fetched $850 from the buyer of the swan carved chair. An oak partners desk with good carvings, a gadrooned top, early three ply drawer bottoms and an overall William and Mary taste to it found a new partner at $600. A tall oak and quarter cut oak veneer bed with applied carvings pushed to $450.
One early model for the current version of the CD player was present in the form of an Edison Model C19 (Chippendale) Diamond Disc Phonograph. Known as the "Official Laboratory Model", introduced around after World War I, this model utilized a diamond stylus to play a specially designed ¼in thick phenol resin disk that was not interchangeable with the more popular Victrolas of the period even though the fidelity of the Edison recordings was superior. This one, in need of some cosmetic attention but in working order, made the expected $300. A more sought after music maker was a Swiss made, metal disc player, designed for the British market. Carrying a "Britannia Silver Star Depot" brand name but also the identification "Ste Croix, Switzerland", it had painted doors with zebra stripe edge banding. The box sold for $1100 to a collecting couple from Raleigh, NC who made the trip to Florida just for this item,. While they were here they picked up the next musical lot, a circa 1920 unmarked disc player in a plain walnut case, for $900.
Good art glass, pottery and porcelain brought good prices. An elegant Victorian blown, four stem, green opalescent epergne rose to $550. A Roseville "Rosezane" jardinière on stand, circa 1915, competed on two phone lines and in the room. The lady in the room stood her ground and took it home for $775. A Royal Vienna plate, with a woman and cupid, in ornate gilded frame reached $575 and a pair of Dresden vases with elaborate floral band went on the phone at $850.
While David Glynn was generally very pleased with the results of the sale he noted several soft spots, especially the rugs, small jewelry and mid 20th century furniture. He said the mix of merchandise at this sale was about the typical mix for his auctions. He feels that his tightly focused mailing list is largely responsible for a good buying audience, attracting people like the North Carolina couple for specific items. Sale results indicated an almost equal mix of buying from dealers and private collectors. He also indicated that good food is essential to night auctions and he has a very good vendor on site. The food people were serving generous portions at very reasonable prices and there was always a line, indicating lots of people, including me, liked the food. By the way, the sleigh made $400 and will be ready for our next snowstorm.
Antique Week, December 2002. Printed with permission of the author Fred Taylor, P.O. Box 215, Crystal River, FL 34423, 800-387-6377.
by Fred Taylor, Antique Shoppe, July 2003
Turkey Creek Auction owner Charles David Glynn had a full house on hand for his Saturday evening sale on May 17. Or rather he had a full tent. Glynn provides 250 seats in his spacious 70' X 30' auction tent but there were at least 100 more people standing or seated outside for the sale at the auction facility on US 301 between Ocala and Gainesville.
Most of the 490 lots in the inventory for the event came from a local estate "just down the road" and the eclectic selection made for some interesting bidding, some good buys and some good prices on selected items.
Top lot of the sale was an oil on canvas by the German/American painter Paul Weber (1823 - 1916). Although he is categorized as being of the Hudson River school of painting this particular painting had to do with cows. According to Glynn the art market is not that enthralled with cows, preferring other animals such as sheep and goats. Nevertheless, this 39" X 57" signed original work made $6000 plus 10% buyer's premium. It went to a local dealer with New York connections.
Another Weber original oil on canvas, 23" X 37½", this one by British painter Theodore Weber (1838? - 1907?), had runner up honors at $5500 plus premium going to a South Florida dealer. An offering of three signed prints by famed Art Deco era French artist Louis Icart, "Venus in the Waves," "Smoke," and "Sound of the Sea" brought local interest. The more common of the lot, "Smoke" hammered at $1200 while "Sound" made $1700 and the enchanting "Venus" surfed to a new home for $2200.
An Art Deco hood ornament from a Pierce Arrow, featuring a nude archer, signed "R. Lalique" brought an eyebrow raising $2800, benefiting from a small two-way bidding war in the tent but a large contemporary re-strike of Remington's 1903 bronze, "Coming through the Rye" was a bargain at $1300. A bronze of a man on a horse by Morris gathered in $500.
Furniture and accessories were a little soft in spots but there were highlights. An oak Tantalus with cut glass decanters in a fitted interior, complete with secret compartment closed at $1000. An American cased tall clock with an English movement by London clock maker Elliot brought a very nice $4100 winning bid. Two elaborately carved oak pieces were offered. An elegant desk, supported on sphinx columns, from a New Orleans estate, circa 1900, commanded $1000 and a late 19th century bookcase, having two leaded glass doors in a floral pattern brought the same price. A turn of the century cheval dresser, in excellent original finish and with original hardware was a good buy at $700.
Printed with permission of the author Fred Taylor, P.O. Box 215, Crystal River, FL 34423, 800-387-6377.
October 13, 2003--Reprinted from Antique Week National Section, by Fred Taylor
Citra, Fla--The rolling countryside of central Florida around Ocala, in Marion County, is home to many of the state's horse farms specializing in raising thoroughbreds, hunter/jumpers and polo mounts. The main house on Oak Lane Farm and Polo Club, just north of Ocala, is also about to be the subject of razing. Since the 4,000 square foot stone and brick, Spanish-themed house, circa 1970 sites in the ideal location to appreciate the 450-acre panorama, it is about to be demolished and replaced with a country French villa featuring modern conveniences. When the owners, retired business executives from Ohio, asked David Glynn owner of nearby Turkey Creek Auctions in Citra, to conduct a sale of the contents and fixtures of the house, he gladly obliged and sweetened the pot with some additional treasures from an estate in historic Duxbury, Mass., which also had been consigned to Turkey Creek, and a few individual lots from other consignors.
The Sept. 20th sale, conducted in the front yard of the Oak Lane house under Glynn's famous yellow-and-white tent, attracted more than 275 registered bitters from all over the US, and accumulated an uncounted pile of absentee and left bids just before the sale began. Due to the rural nature of the location, Glynn enlisted the help of many auction regulars who volunteered their cell phones for use in contacting phone bidders. The effort paid off handsomely.
The top lot for the sale was a rare 19th century Pennsylvania sampler, silk on silk, featuring a young girl walking among flowers and animals, wearing an ankle-length white dress with a high bodice. The notation "Inocense" (sic) appears in the lower right corner. The signature in the left corner reads "E. McClinkick." Miss McClintick was born in 1812 and died in 1896 in Bedford, Pa. She produced this work around 1826. Still in the original mahogany frame with silk ribbon border, the 13 by 17 inch piece, in excellent original condition, was fiercely competed among six phone bidders, primarily from the Northeast. The winners were renowned antique sampler and needlework dealers, Steve and Carol Huber of Old Saybrook, Connecticut, who parted with $26,000 plus the 10 percent buyer's premium. Mrs. Huber said this early needlework of silk thread on a silk background was actually classified as a "silk embroidered picture," a very expensive and difficult project, generally executed only by privileged young girls attending the finest schools. "This work is very special," she added. The overall excellent condition and the quality of the graphics made it even more appealing. The weeping willow tree is frequently seen in silk embroidered memorials, but since this is not a memorial piece, Huber suspects it will attract a broader audience.
While there was some reference before the sale to the picture's possibly being from what author Betty Ring called the "Towering Ladies of Lebanon," a small group of samplers made between 1822 and 1835 in Pennsylvania, Mrs. Huber noted the work was more refined and pictorial and was probably more closely aligned with the Buchanan school of needlework. She also suggested that the inspiration for the work might have been an early print source, which resulted in the misspelling of "innocence." The consignor was from the northern Florida town of Lake City. The same consignor also had listed in the sale a heavy 9 inch sterling Tiffany bowl which brought $325.
But there was a much more important Tiffany piece in the sale. From the Duxbury estate came a 4 1/2 inch tall lava glass vase signed "LCTiffany, Favrile 8426K." Glynn had photos from the estate dating from the 1920's which shoed the blue and silver vase sitting on a table in the house. This time, the competition on the phone narrowed quickly to only three bidders, but the result was nearly as dramatic. The winner, well-known art glass dealer, Reyne Gallery of Cincinnati, had the winning number of $24,000. Gallery owner Reyne Haines said it was a fair price, considering the last time a comparable Tiffany lava glass vase had gone to market in 1999 it sold for $29,000 at Sotheby's. "They seldom come up for sale and if you want one, you had better open your purse and buy it when you see it," Haines said.
Also from around the turn of the 20th century was an oak Arts & Crafts bookcase with double doors and 12 panes of what appeared to be original glass. It had come from an estate in the Gainesville, Florida area. Casters had been added to the bottom of the cabinet, and one ring pull had been replaced, but that didn't seem to matter to much to the bidders. The famous Stickley red mark, the cabinetmaker's compass enclosing "Als Ik Kan" above the Stickley signature in the rectangle, identified the bookcase as being from 1920-1903, probably a no. 542 in Gustav's model book, with mitered mullions and iron hardware. Four phone bidders competed among themselves, as well as against bidders in the room. The winner was in Titusville, Florida at the hammer price of $8,500 with the underbid coming from Orlando, Florida. Another Stickley Arts & Crafts piece, a rocker marked by Gustav's brothers, L & JG (Leopold and John George Stickley) also did well at $750, while an unmarked Arts & Crafts style oak library desk went for $300 to a bidder who had dropped out of the rocker bidding.
Signatures brought good prices. One such signature was not a maker's mark, but an owner's claim. A late 18th century mahogany slant-front desk with fan inlaid interior central drawer and very nice oxbow-shaped front, all over claw-and-ball feet, had the owner's name on the bottom of another interior drawer. The inscription read in part, "Plymouth, September 2, John Attwood and his wife..." John Attwood was born in 1776 and the desk descended through the Spencer family of Duxbury. Even with replaced brasses, the desk was strongly competed on the phone and in the room, eventually being won inside for $6,000. Also with replaced brasses was an 18th century Pennsylvania walnut tall chest, three over two over three, on an applied bracket base, which made $5,000 in the tent.
Several lots of art were well received. An oil-on-board landscape in an Arts & Crafts gilded frame by Pennsylvania artist Henry Asbury Rand (1886-?), painted in 1936, had four bidders going on the phone. Originally purchased from Rand in 1936 by the consigning family for $40, "Tulip Poplars in October" was pushed to $4,100 by a bidder in New Jersey, very near the top of the range for a Rand work. Another landscape signed T.B. Griffin, (Thomas Bradley Griffin?, 1858-1918), sold on the phone for $2,600. A serene seascape, oil on upsom board, by one of the original Florida Highwaymen, Sam Newton, had previously been seen at the Appleton Museum of Art in a 2002 Highwaymen exhibition. This time it was acquired for $2,200 by a left bid. An 18th century watercolor of Swedish ships, with some slight water damage, sailed out for $700.
Seventeen lots of Eskimo ivory and scrimshaw ranged from a miscellaneous lot comprised of three ivory buttons and two ivory letter openers, $25; to a seldom-seen baleen and scrimshawed ivory-covered box topped by a seal effigy, 5 1/2 by 4 inches, $1,000. Other lots included an Eskimo drawing on hide, mounted in a paperweight setted and signed by George Ahgupuk, $150; two pieces of scrimshaw jewelry signed by Howard Weyahok, $125; and an ivory pen holder with a carved polar bear on a carved fossil base, $85.
Cut glass was a bargain all day. One lot consisting of five hand-blown and cut pieces--compote, two master sales and two wine glasses--all circa 1820, went to an Americana dealer for $140. An 8 inch diameter cut glass bowl signed "Hawkes" made $130, a tall cut pitcher with applied handle, 10 1/2 inches high, $110; and 8 inch Brilliant Period bowl, $65; and another Brilliant 8-inch bowl with a heart motif, $125.
The auction staff saved a real treasure while organizing the sale. While sorting out lots from the Oak Lane house between those for the sale and those to be sent to the Salvation Army Thrift Store, a pair of sharp eyes spotted an inconspicuous oval box headed for charity. It turned out to be a 19th century Shaker piece with four-finger construction. The 10 3/8 inch long box was rough in spots and had a scratch in the top, but it sold for $1,100. A Shaker armed rocker, Mount Lebanon, with original tape seat and label, made $600. Another hidden treasure from the house was a decorative suit of full medieval armor. Even though it was only around 30 years old, it brought a surprising high bid of $600.
Several lots of early 19th century furniture were affordable, considering their quality. A Federal flip-top game table with a crisply carved acanthus pedestal and well-figured single boards in the mahogany tops, in excellent condition, garnered $1,050 from a Gainesville, Florida dealer. The same dealer took home a tilt-top stand with porringer corners for $875. An Empire secretary with inlaid knobs, missing a few minor pieces of dentil molding, was an excellent acquisition at $700, as was the Duncan Phyfe-style drop-leaf table, 42 inches long with two drawers, circa 1830, signed "Jacob Stearns," at $500. A fairly plain Empire four-drawer mahogany chest with tall splashboard circa 1840, went out at $400, and an Empire bed with crotch mahogany paneled headboard and tall octagonal posts sold for $700. A delicate looking Sheraton step-down mahogany dressing table with an elaborate splash and crisply turned legs brought $900.
The late century also had its share of good buys. A quarter-cut oak tall shaving stand with shelf and an oval mirror was hammered down at $800. A tall clock with a Chippendale-style mahogany case, signed on the face by Boston Luxury jeweler, "Shreve, Crump and Low," had been presented to E. Bertrams Sampson by the Boston and Philadelphia Steamship Company on the occasion of his retirement after 48 years of service in 1902. After 101 years, it sold again for $1,500. A late century drop-leaf sewing stand in Federal Revival style with ornate carvings made $350, and an elaborately inlaid Centennial kneehole desk, circa 1880, reached $800.
By the end of the day, the owner of the property was pleased, most of the winning bidders were happy, and Glynn was making jokes. Be he wasn't joking when he said, "Go to garage sales and look for Shaker boxes, Tiffany vases, and samplers." He also probably wasn't joking when he said that Citra, Florida is going to be known as the new home of Americana in the South.
Printed with permission of the author Fred Taylor, P.O. Box 215, Crystal River, FL 34423, 800-387-6377.
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