The Collection of Charlie Huntress | Maine Antique Digest

Gurley Antiques Gallery, Limington, Maine

Photos courtesy Gurley Antiques Gallery

On Monday, October 28, Rachel and Joshua Gurley, the brother-and-sister team best known for producing a large slate of antiques shows, offered the collection of collector Charlie Huntress via LiveAuctioneers. The sale was held entirely online in a timed format.

It was a single-owner sale and the kind of sale that in years past would have been held on site, with runners bringing lots right out of the house and a large crowd gathered under a tent. Those days are mostly gone. The advent of the Internet has made the bidder pool global, and the site didn’t have enough room for a sale like that. The preview was held on site at Huntress’s home in Limington, Maine. The Gurleys spent a month and a half preparing the sale and the house for the preview.

“The auction was great,” said Joshua Gurley. “I managed to hit the high points of his collections. It was a lot of glass, and we’re getting to have fewer and fewer of those customers.” There were about 54 lots of glass, some lots with multiple pieces included. The bestsellers—and the most examples—were opaque twist wine glasses.

Chippendale side chair with trifid feet and with shells on the crest rail and knees, cataloged as probably Philadelphia, sold for $1680 (est. $200/400).

“I was happy with the side chairs,” said Gurley. There were approximately 50 chairs in the sale, mostly single side chairs. The top chair was a Chippendale side chair cataloged as probably Philadelphia that sold for $1680 (includes buyer’s premium), well above the estimate of $200/400.

There were bargains. An inlaid card table, probably from Baltimore, according to Gurley, was knocked down for $240. Six card tables were offered, and the highest price was for an example branded by Boston maker Benjamin Lamson, who worked from 1813 to 1836. It sold for $720 (est. $300/500).

Huntress, 82, passed away July 21, 2024. He was born in Portland, Maine, and earned a degree in economics from Boston University. His career included holding various commercial underwriting and executive positions at insurance companies. He was also the chair of the local school board, president of the Maine Rose Society, and a selectman in Limington.

“He was a wonderful customer of mine for a long time,” said Thomaston, Maine, dealer Ross Levett. “His father was a collector before him, so he was a second-generation collector. Charlie’s focus was on several things, but I’d say he spent the most on candlesticks.” Levett is currently selling almost 700 of Huntress’s candlesticks. “If you walk into my shop, it looks like a candlestick factory. There isn’t a surface without a candlestick on it. Of course, that’s how his house was.

“He was also a silver collector. He bought textiles and metalware. He had a large appetite for collecting. He was one of the nicest people you could ever meet—just a happy guy, buying stuff.”

The sale totaled approximately $113,000. For more information, contact the Gurleys at (207) 229-0403.

This 19th-century redware butter stamp, 1½" tall x 4½" diameter, sold for $840 (est. $400/600). According to redware scholar Justin W. Thomas, there’s an example of a redware butter stamp in Winterthur’s collection (1982.0320) that the museum attributes to Maine. On his website (www.earlyamericanceramics.com), Thomas writes that another example “was discovered in the walls of the John Alld (1811-1865) house in Hollis, Maine. It also matches an example that I purchased at a Tim Gould sale in Augusta, Maine, in 2014.” Alld, Thomas notes, “is a highly sought after Maine potter today.”

The inlaid mahogany card table, 28½" high x 34" wide, is stamped “B. Lamson,” indicating it was from the shop of Boston cabinetmaker Benjamin Lamson, who worked from 1813 to 1836. Lamson is listed in “The furniture trade in Boston, 1810-1835” by Page Talbott in the May 1992 The Magazine Antiques and in American Cabinetmakers: Marked American Furniture, 1640-1940 by William C. Ketchum, Jr. A stamped chest by Lamson is advertised in the September 1980 The Magazine Antiques (p. 425). This table is ex-C. W. Lyon, Inc.—a February 1945 receipt is attached to the underside. It sold for $720 (est. $300/500).

This pair of paktong candlesticks measuring 93/8" high sold for $1560 (est. $600/800). Each has a small engraving of an arm with a hammer. According to the Antique Metalware Society, the arm-and-hammer motif seems to be associated with Scottish town guilds of “hammermen,” i.e., metal workers.

Watercolor family record register from Limington, Maine, signed “Written by Isaac Mitchell, Limington [Maine], Feb. 1834.” Estimated at $400/800, it sold for $660. The 11¾" x 9¾" watercolor chronicles the family of William Johnson and Betsey Lord, who were married November 9, 1797. According to Saco Valley Settlements and Families. Historical, Biographical, Genealogical, Traditional, and Legendary, volume I (1895), Mitchell “was for many years one of the most public-spirited, capable, and useful of townsmen. He was justice of the peace and served in the municipal offices. The beautiful penmanship found in the town records shows that he was a master of chirography. He was postmaster for many years. In every position to which he was called to serve his fellow-citizens, Squire Mitchell faithfully performed the duties devolving upon him and held the respect and veneration of the people.”

A lot of redware was offered. This redware pitcher with manganese decoration attributed to William Pecker from Merrimacport, Massachusetts, sold for $780 (est. $600/800). It’s 6 3/8" tall x 5 3/8" diameter and has rim chips, a hairline crack, and some missing glaze. William Pecker died in 1820 when a kiln collapsed on him.

There were high hopes for this 19th-century oil on board by Harrison Bird Brown (1831-1915). Estimated at $3000/5000, the 12½" x 23¾" painting managed only $960. It is signed “HBB.” Another seascape by Brown (not shown) sold for $900.

The bow-back Windsor armchair in old blue paint over the original red sold for $1200 (est. $300/600). The chair, 38½" x 23", was acquired by Charlie Huntress from Nan Gurley, mother of Joshua and Rachel Gurley. Pennington photo.

Charlie Huntress had an extensive reference library. The Gurleys brought in a book expert to lot the books. “I turned his library into something like ten grand,” said Joshua Gurley. “We separated it all out, and I was amazed how well the books did, and they are getting shipped all around the country.” The top lot was a set of four books about Rhode Island furniture: Art & Industry in Early America: Rhode Island Furniture, 1650-1830 (2016); John Townsend: Newport Cabinetmaker (2005); Master Craftsmen of Newport: The Townsends and Goddards (1984); and The John Brown House: Loan Exhibition of Rhode Island Furniture Including Some Notable Portraits, Chinese Export Porcelain & Other Items (1965). The lot sold for $510 (est. $50/100). Pennington photo.

It wasn’t all Americana. The 18th-century French wrought-iron birdcage candlestick was estimated at $400/600 but sold for $780. It is 7¾" tall x 6½" wide.

This earthenware master salt with stamped decoration is dated “1836” on the bottom. Measuring only 1¾" x 3" x 1 7/8", it was estimated at $100/300 and sold for $420.

There was plenty of glassware. This lot of four 18th-century opaque twist wine glasses sold for $720 (est. $800/1200). Each is 4¾" tall with a 2½" diameter foot.

Brother-and-sister team Joshua and Rachel Gurley at the auction preview. Pennington photo.

The high chest sold for $1800 (est. $800/1200). Measuring 74½" x 38" x 19", it has its original finish and a tag that denotes it is probably from Connecticut.

Two slip-decorated redware milk pans, each 4¼" high x 13" diameter, sold for $720 (est. $100/200).

The Chippendale mirror, 18" x 10", sold for $900 (est. $100/200). It has an old label pasted on the back reading “This glass was used by the Rev. J...[illegible] while a student at Y...[torn] who graduated in 1780.” We assumed “Y” referred to Yale, but we searched the graduates of Yale in 1780 and couldn’t find a suitable match.

The inlaid card table, 29" x 36" x 17½", went way under the money, selling for $240 (est. $400/600). Pennington photo.

The period house was full. Pennington photo.

The preview was held on site in Limington. Pennington photo.

Dealer Deirdre O’Callaghan (left) of Partridge Hill Antiques and Rachel Gurley examine the back of a small (8" x 12") oil on board by artist Vivian Akers (1886-1966). It sold for $480 (est. $300/600). It is signed in pencil on the back “This little study was made July 19 - 1910 - at 11 AM. To the North across an open water. 100 acres of brooks. Windy, very, very clear...direct from the West- from Mt. Washington and all the others. - V. Akers- Norway, Oxford Co. Maine.” Pennington photo.