Tim's Auctions Uncovers 40-year-old Collection

BRISTOL, Conn. – Excuse Tim Chapulis, owner of Tim’s Auctions, if he’s more than a little giddy these days as he sifts through a treasure trove of antiques and collectibles left behind by a former auctioneer that has sat undisturbed for forty years. The dust and discovery put a smile on Chapulis’ face.

“It’s like going under the Christmas tree every day opening up a present,” Chapulis said of poring over a lifetime collection pulled from a twelve-room home with a barn, three-bay garage, basement and attic chock-full of estate goodies.

Auctioneer Tim Chapulis with a featured Buddy L Tow/Wrecking Truck with original paint and dust, just the way you like to find them. Courtesy Tim's Auctions

The collection, with an estimated 1,000 lots, comes to auction at noon, Saturday, February 19, in person at Tim’s Auctions. The event is also open to online bidders on www.Invaluable.com or over the phone at 860-459-0964.

Chapulis promises the event will be one of the largest single-day auctions the forty-year-old auction house has offered. “The quantity and quality of the sale speaks for itself,” Chapulis said.

Purple and emerald green Cornucopia flasks with grapes and leaves on both are among the many flasks and bottles in the Tim's Auctions sale. Courtesy Tim's Auctions

Among other things, the auction will feature early American New England flasks and bottles, lighting, clocks, rare and extensive collections of art glass, pottery, furnishings, artwork, lamps, Carnival glass, Pairpoint Ambero glass, Roseville, Weller and Hull, and a large collection of vintage toys, musical instruments, furniture, coins and currency, and much more that is still being discovered. The auction will also feature a Black Forest double cuckoo clock and Harriet Beecher Stowe’s classic Uncle Tom’s Cabin Volume 1 and 2.

Black Forest Hunters trumpeter double cuckoo clock with crossed rifles, game, fabulous deer head at top with birds and rabbits. Three weights all original condition and in working order at approximately 30 inches tall. Courtesy Tim's Auctions

One added attraction to the auction is the sale of items in the condition they were discovered – which often means dust comes at no extra charge.

“I’ve always been one who specializes in showing items as they’re found,” Chapulis said. “I know our buyers enjoy that. Some auction houses like to clean everything up, polish it all and make it look pristine. To me, that takes away from the discovery. I enjoy seeing things the way they are found.”

Tim Chapulis displays an 1832 Harper's Ferry Civil War Rifle, stamped "J. H. Hall. H. Ferry US 1832." Courtesy Tim's Auctions

The lifetime collection of a local auctioneer who left the business some forty-three years ago has been one of Chapulis’ most enjoyable events. “He put the right things away,” Chapulis said of the former auctioneer.

Now those things are coming to light.

For more information on the auction, contact Tim’s Auctions at 860-459-0964 or go to www.TimsAuctions.com. To attend and bid in person, contact Tim’s Auctions for seat reservation.