Cortes, Schulz iconic works each bring $27,000 in 1,048-lot sale

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- An oil painting by Edouard Leon Cortes and a comic strip by Charles Schulz each sold for $27,000, a signed Kentucky rifle brought $4,100, and a 5.13 CTW brooch in an unusual form brought $7,000 at Cordier Auction & Appraisals’

Summer Two Day Firearm & Militaria and Antique & Fine Art Auction on August 23 and 24. The 1,048 lot auction was held at the company’s auction house located at 1500 Paxton Street in Harrisburg.

The Multi-Consigner sale featured items from more than 150 consigners. Almost two hundred people were in attendance over the two days in addition to phone and absentee bidders, while more than 3,500 bidders were pre-registered to bid over the internet. Prices quoted are hammer prices.

Saturday’s sale offered firearms, militaria & collectibles, coins, silver, and jewelry. Online bidding for the firearms was enthusiastic. A German DWM 1916 dated Luger hammered at $1,200, and a Colt 1860 Army revolver sold for $1,600 on an estimate of $800-1,200. In long guns, a W.L. Evans Model 1816 flintlock musket sold for $1,200 while a Colt 1878 SxS 12 ga shotgun with side hammers hammered down at $1,400, within the estimate of $1,000-2,000. A John Moll signed Kentucky rifle sold for $4,100 to an online bidder after spirited bidding. John Moll was one on the very early gunsmiths in America. A Parker Brothers “D” grade SxS shot gun with an extra barrel set with matching serial numbers sold for $4,000 after heavy competition to an out of state bidder in the room. In militaria & collectibles, an Early 19th century A.W. Spies marked saber sold for the low estimate of $800. A large scale model of a Colt 1911 pistol standing 33 inches tall with a moving slide and hammer and removable magazine sold online for $6,500.

Coins featured aa 1854 Liberty Head gold piece graded very fine that sold for $1,500, and a 1924 St. Gaudens $20.00 gold piece in choice brilliant uncirculated condition that sold for $1,400. Collectibles offered several notable items including a Continental sterling owl form vessel with articulated wings that sold for $1,800. The athletic medal archive of Clara M. Schroth (born in Philadelphia), which included medals for gymnastics as well as track & field, sold for $900 after heavy bidding. A Baily, Banks & Biddle sterling water pitcher in a floral and scroll motif sold for the high estimate of $750.

In jewelry, diamonds stole the show. A 5.13 CTW diamond and 18k white gold brooch in the unusual form of a compote of fruit sold to a phone bidder for $7,000. A dazzling 2.49 CTW diamond & platinum 3 stone ring also sold to a phone bidder for $6,500, just above the estimate of $3,500-5,500. An unusual Joseph Johnson Liverpool 18k fusee pocket watch hammered down at $1,700.

Sunday's session featured furniture, ethnographic and Asian arts, collectibles and textiles, decorative arts, art, clocks, and lighting. The day opened with furniture, a highlight of which was a Pennsylvania walnut Chippendale high chest that sold to an online bidder for $3,400. A stunning oak side by side desk and bookcase sold to the room for $900, exceeding the estimate of $500-750. Two antique Persian Serapi room sized rugs sold for $3,400 each. In Asian Arts, a Chinese scholar’s stone hammered down at $1,100 and a Chinese Qianlong cloisonné candlestick sold for $4,900 after heavy bidding.

The star among collectibles was an original hand drawn comic strip by Charles M. Schulz (American 1922-2000) that sold after very enthusiastic bidding for $27,000. Another lot that drew aggressive bidding was a Leica M3 outfit that hammered to the floor for $2,400. There were a number of lots from the family of Robert Fleming (PA Senator 1836-1839) including the Pennsylvania Senate chair of Robert P. Allen (Robert Fleming’s son in law, PA Senator 1875-1878) that sold to an online bidder for $450. Another outstanding lot was an applique album quilt top that finally hammered down to the internet for $1,200.

Among porcelain, pottery, and glass, 10 pieces of Royal Copenhagen Flora Danica sold for $2,300 on an estimate of $1,500-3,000. An art glass vase in the King Tut pattern attributed to Durand saw spirited bidding before selling to the internet for $800, just over the $400-600 estimate.

Art buyers had an eclectic mix to choose from. A mixed media by Edna Hibel (American, 1917-) depicting a mother and two children sold to an online bidder for $850. The Ned Smith (American, 1919-1985) print Dutch Country Bluebirds sold to the floor for $1,200. An art archive of Henry A. Wright that included etchings, crayon drawings and poems, and the artist’s personal notebook, sold after very enthusiastic bidding for $600. The star of the art category was a Parisian street scene by Edouard Leon Cortes (French, 1992-1969) which hammered down to a phone bidder for $27,000 after very enthusiastic bidding.

Information on Cordier Auctions & Appraisals can be found at www.CordierAuction.com. Questions can be directed to mhartman@cordierauction.com or by calling 717-731-8662.