Laughlin’s 39th Spring Auction | Maine Antique Digest

Laughlin Auctions, Edinburg, Virginia

Photos courtesy Laughlin Auctions

Laughlin Auctions hosted its 39th annual spring antiques and sporting auction March 5-19. The two-week online-only sale provided ample time for potential buyers to sort through the nearly 1100 lots offered by the Edinburg, Virginia, firm. Laughlin uses the HiBid bidding platform.

In addition to the expected wide range of Americana, several large groups were offered: over 200 firearms and related items; nearly 100 knives; 116 gas and oil items, including signs, gas and oil cans, etc.; and a small but extremely well-received group of new old stock items from a long-closed Virginia country store and post office.

This recently discovered early 19th-century Federal style yellow pine mantel is attributed to an unknown maker in Shenandoah County (now Page County), Virginia. Below the shelf is a tapering cornice-like step-molded detail. Above the firebox opening is a wide header with five framed panels, four with painted decoration, and the fifth with an applied floral stem cutout. The legs are slightly tapered and topped with applied cutout tulip and urn elements. The mantel displays an overall worn blue-gray surface with polychrome accents to the cutouts and panels. Overall measurements are 55½" x 55½". There is some evidence of animal damage to a small area at the back of the shelf. The mantel enjoyed active bidding, ultimately selling for $29,095.

The high lot of the day was decidedly Americana. An early 19th-century decorated yellow pine mantel sold for $29,095 (including buyer’s premium). Laughlin Auctions does not provide presale estimates for its lots. The mantel was recently discovered, and no information was available as to its maker or history. The new owner will likely pursue both lines of inquiry.

Laughlin’s fall sale had been highlighted by a barn find 1956 Chevrolet Corvette. This sale offered another early, albeit less sporty Chevrolet, a low-mileage 1955 Bel Air red-and-white four-door sedan. The classic family Chevy Bel Air sold for $8280.

The most intriguing lots of the sale came from the former Shenandoah Valley of Virginia general store and post office mentioned earlier. While they cannot be classified as “barn finds,” the new old stock toys and clothing items that had been in storage for decades and were now uncovered were extremely well received. Several examples are shown among the accompanying photos. Hoyle Laughlin III stated that more items from the store will be showing up in future sales.

For additional information, contact Laughlin Auctions at (540) 984-8080 or see the website (www.laughlinauctions.com).

Eli Whitney (1765-1825) is best remembered as the inventor of the cotton gin. He is also credited with beginning what would become the mass production of firearms. In 1798 he established the Whitneyville Armory in Hamden, Connecticut. Top lot among Laughlin’s firearms offerings was this .44-caliber large frame lever-action rifle marked “Whitneyville Armory.” This rifle has a walnut stock and is marked with patent dates of 1873 and 1879. The Whitney Arms Company was sold to Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1888. This collectible rifle sold for $1955.

The Shenandoah Valley of Virginia oak splint basket features a carved mulberry handle and a decorative eight-splint wrap at the handle/rim juncture. The basket measures 8" wide at the rim. The body displays several coats of white paint. It sold for $546.25.

This fraktur celebrates the 1832 birth and baptism of Samuel Spigle of Shenandoah County, Virginia. The document is a hand-colored template that was commercially printed by H. W. Villee in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The central registry is surrounded by figures and by celebratory and cautionary poems and pronouncements. The 17¼" x 13¾" fraktur sold for $747.50.

It is not surprising that these two dome-lid boxes display very similar bold grain-painted surfaces. Both feature dovetail construction and began life in the early 19th century. At some point in the 20th century the boxes came into the possession of Jacob G. Kibler, who lived in the area of New Market/Woodstock, Virginia, and is known for decoratively painting reclaimed furniture. These boxes were painted as gifts for Kibler’s daughters, Maud and Mattie. The smaller box, 12" x 17½" x 10¾", inscribed “Painted by Dad / for Maud / 1926,” sold for $661.25. The larger box, 15" x 19½" x 12", inscribed “Painted by Dad for Mat 1926” and “Painted by J.G. Kibler 1922 / for Mattie,” brought $920.

This heavy aluminum sign is likely a railroad marker. Lettered “STATION / 1 / MILE,” the 23" x 26" sign is designed to be bolted to some sort of a standard. It sold for $115.

This one-gallon tin once contained Billups’ Brand Oysters, “Taken from the Mobjack and Chesapeake Bays,” and packed by H. K. Billups, Motorun, Virginia. The lithographed can depicting an oysterman’s work boat sold for $241.50.

This 4" high glazed redware creamer from Round Hill Pottery, Winchester, Virginia, is attributed to Theodore “Thedy” Fleet (1866-1946). The little pitcher, fashioned in a classic Shenandoah Valley form and impressed “WINCHESTER VA” at the base below the spout, sold for $1322.50.

The framed Coca-Cola Pepsin Chewing Gum sign sold for $1265. The date of this 11¼" x 19" sign is not known. Pepsin gum, sold as a digestive aid, was the product of the Coca-Cola Chewing Gum Company, not to be confused with the iconic beverage company. The beverage company licensed the use of its name in 1903, and that agreement lasted through various marketing iterations until the mid-1920s, when the beverage company regained control of the name.

What more could a weary traveler ask? The double-sided lollipop sign likely invited people to stop at a hotel, motel, or guest cabin. It is an example of early 20th-century repurposing. The sign was originally a familiar black-lettered yellow oval Pennzoil sign, and in fact it retains its original standard and cast-iron base that is marked “PROPERTY OF / THE PENNZOIL COMPANY.” The sign sold for $316.25.

Actor Harold Lloyd (1893-1971) is best remembered for his large round glasses and his outrageous stunts in silent films. This 11" tall lithographed tin “Funny Face” Harold Lloyd wind-up toy by Marx dates from the late 1920s or early 1930s. This example is complete but in unknown working condition. It sold for $253.

The colorless glass one-pint whiskey bottle once contained Roxbury Rye, “The Purest Rye Whiskey made in the United States.” The 7½" tall bottle retains its original paper label and cork. The whiskey was bottled by W. H. Willis in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The bottle sold for $354.

Here is photographic evidence of the strength of the Winona Wagon Company’s wagons and their outer bearing axles and metal-covered hubs. The Winona, Minnesota, firm was a preeminent midwestern wagon maker in the late 19th and early 20th century. As part of its marketing plan the company staged various opportunities to celebrate the strength of its wagons, sometimes loading them with people, stones, or concrete pillars. The young lady dressed in the costume of a Dakota Native American princess may have been a play on the similarly named “princess” in the popular turn-of-the-20th-century book Wenonah’s Stories for Children by Clara Louise Burnham and Warren Proctor. This 7" x 9" photo sold for $40.25.

In addition to dust and spider webs, this one-gallon can of Gulfpride oil retains very desirable graphics. The Gulf logo, winged 100, and bold script lettering set it apart among the petroliana offerings. This can sold for $287.50.

The countertop Clark’s Teaberry Gum display/sales stimulator is made of green uranium glass. The customer is enticed to “Take your Change in Clark’s Teaberry Quality Gum.” There is a space for sticks or packs of gum to be displayed. The 6" x 9" piece appears to be undamaged and sold for $575.

The Gene Autry Melody Ranch lunchbox is complete. Labeled as a “Child’s Kit,” it retains its original shipping box with corrugated paper packaging as well as instructions for using the Universal brand vacuum bottle and cork. The lunch kit dates from 1954 and sold for $488.75.

Order now for Christmas 1957! The back of this point of sale display instructs the retailer to begin to take deposits and orders for this U.S. Army Mobil Unit but to only include the display with the final order taken. The set is from the Deluxe Premium Corporation of Newark, New Jersey, and consists of a canvas-top transport truck, a howitzer that shoots harmless projectiles, a battery-powered search light, and ten “unbreakable” combat soldiers. All this for only $7.99; but remember, act now—the supply is limited. The set sold at this sale for $1897.50.

There are always surprises at auctions, and Laughlin’s offerings of new old stock clothing from a general store provided several. This lot consisted of two pairs of Blue Top brand denim pants; one Big Favorite brand denim work shirt, one pair of Big Favorite khakis; and one pair of side-zipper women’s Big Favorite Dungarettes. This lot was indeed a big favorite. It sold for $17,825.