Ship Models and Nautical Antiques
September 27th, 2015
Boston Harbor Auctions, Boston, Massachusetts
Photos courtesy Boston Harbor Auctions
Boston Harbor Auctions held a two-day marine antiques sale on September 26 and 27 at the company headquarters in the 99 High Street Office Tower in Boston. The top lot of the two-day sale was a company-built model of the iconic ocean liner Imperator, which was later the Cunader Berengaria. The model had been purchased in London from Langfords on Kings Road for a private collection and was its centerpiece for years. The model was big, measuring 111" long x 11" deep x 34" high. The model brought $43,200 (includes buyer’s premium).
The top lot of the auction sold to a phone bidder. It is a spectacular, around 9' long, company-built builder’s model of the iconic ocean liner Imperator, later a Cunarder renamed Berengaria. According to the catalog, the model, not part of the Der Scutt collection, was purchased in London from Langfords on Kings Road. With several competing phone bidders, the model opened with a $25,000 bid and quickly reached $43,200.
Day one of the sale offered plenty for the nautical antiques enthusiast, with nearly 300 lots. Day two featured the collection of the world-renowned Modernist architect Der Scutt (1934-2010), who designed Trump Tower and the Grand Hyatt, and who had, according to a 2010 New York Times article, “an affection for the sea.” At the sale, auctioneer Larry Lannan described Scutt as a collector who could “never say no.”
Several framed vintage travel posters designed by George Taboureau (1879-1960), a.k.a. Sandy Hook, circa 1928, from the Der Scutt collection, attracted bidders’ interest. The 42" x 28" poster “Sud-Atlantique” brought $2040. Another Taboureau travel poster, dating from 1922 and 30" x 23", “Messageries Maritimes / Méditerranée Inde. Indo-Chine. Extreme-Orient,” showed a docked ship and cargo being moved. It sold for $1440.
From the Der Scutt collection, this poster, “Sud-Atlantique,” circa 1928, 42" x 28", by Sandy Hook (George Taboureau, 1879-1960) attracted the interest of phone and Internet bidders as well as several left bids. It opened with a $1600 left bid, and with Internet and phones competing, it sold to the phone for $2040.
Scutt’s love of anything maritime included ephemera. A rare Andrea Doria book in a presentation sleeve showed every detail of the Andrea Doria, including art installations, cabin classes, and ballrooms. It had an estimate of $500/1000 and sold for $840. Another Andrea Doria artifact was a hardcover photo book of the ship. Catalog notes called it a “gorgeous” book of black-and-white photographs showing the interior of the ship. Estimated at $100/200, it brought $1140.
A model of the 1934 yacht Rainbow, a 1934 J-Class yacht owned by Harold Vanderbilt and built by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, with a planked mahogany deck with skylights, cabins, wheel, etc., fitted into a mahogany display case, was presented early on day one of the sale. The 38" high x 33" long x 12" wide model sold for $2160.
A dockyard builder’s model of the steamship Kamenetz Podolsk had countless brass fittings and basswood decks outlined in India ink. It measured 62" long and brought $8400. The original ship was 400' long with a 52' beam. A solid brass gong, a 24" diameter plate fitted to a heavy mounting flange and hinge, from the liner Amerikanus sold for $1140.
For more information, contact Boston Harbor Auctions at (617) 451-7447 or see (www.bostonharborauctions.com).
This “monumental” maritime beacon constructed of brass and copper has a Fresnel glass lens. It measures 40" tall x 20" in diameter and sold quickly for $6600.
Marine artist Michael Keane (1948-2015) painted this luminous depiction of the Vigilant and Sir Thomas Lipton’s Shamrock. The oil on canvas brought $27,600.
J.P. Morgan’s yacht Corsair served as the flagship of the New York Yacht Club when Morgan was the commodore. This cased model of the Corsair, 77" long x 18" deep x 69" high, sold quickly for $7200.
This magnificent model of the U.S.S. Constitution includes details such as cannons on carriages, pumps, long boats, gratings, stove pipe, and more. The mahogany and glass display case has marquetry inlay, and the overall dimensions are 63" high x 46" long x 19" deep. It sold for $6300.
Elisha Taylor Baker (1827-1890) painted this oil on canvas of the steam yacht Stranger of the New York Yacht Club. The Stranger and her sister yacht Corsair were among the first large steam yachts in the U.S. The yachts, designed in 1880, had a principal dimension of about 189' long. The painting measures 24" x 42" and brought $16,800. It was offered at Bonhams in New York City in January with a $15,000/25,000 estimate but failed to sell. Bonhams reoffered it in June with a lower estimate, and it brought $9375.
This model of the Great White Fleet cruiser Olympia, from the Der Scutt collection, has detailed masts and rigging, all-original armament, and a red and white hull. It is mounted in a glass case and measures 21½" long x 4" deep x 11" high. Estimated at $800/1200, it sold for $2160.
Originally published in the December 2015 issue of Maine Antique Digest. © 2015 Maine Antique Digest
