From time to time, an auction will catch our eye. Ever since Dwain saw an ad for an auction 2-1/2 years ago near Clifty in Madison County, Arkansas, we study auction fliers. That was the auction of Billy Poorboy, and it will always be the measuring stick, for us, of estate auctions.
Here is a link to that blog, if you missed it: Unseen spirits
The above ad in the Harrison Daily Times last week promised Native American artifacts and Western "collectibles." So we set our compass for Highway 76, east of Lake Taneycomo in Branson, Missouri. The auction would be indoors, so the weather had to be perfect, with free concessions.
When we walked in the door, the auction hadn't started. So we milled about to see what caught our attention.
There were many framed pictures and prints, but this license caught Megan's eye. If you can believe this, Megan had to pull Dwain across the room to look at it. Look at the bottom right of the picture.
Can you read what the August, 12, 1878, license said? We tried to find the address through Google maps, 114 Cheyenne Street, Abilene, Kansas, but it doesn't exist today ... and neither does that trade .. at least openly in Abilene, Kansas.
While we were examining this license, the auction started, and another, similarly framed "license," sold for $80. We don't want that license's bad juju in our house, so we just took a picture.
This gold chariot didn't get much attention, but guns and gold jewelry will always bring a crowd to auctions. We saw more than 2-carat solitaire diamonds inlayed in gold sell for $1,700. Again, we're just not jewelry people. But the turquoise inlayed in a Navajo wide, silver bracelet was tempting.
Back to the guns, Dwain was drawn to the old double-barrel shotgun at the left of the picture with a gold plaque on top of the pistol grip.
The plaque and carved in the stock said it belonged to Wells Fargo & Co. And the tag tied to the trigger guard said it was a .10 gauge carry gun manufactured for Wells Fargo & Co. All Dwain knows is the barrels were too short to be legal for sporting or other use. Owning it'll get you arrested.
Anyone want to buy an old bass? Or two? Probably the framed Native American artifacts (spear points) and turquoise necklace drew more attention. In the 21st Century, how can you legally deal in Native American artifacts?
As you can see, the auction floor and walls were lined with Western pictures. Here's a colored lithograph of Annie Oakley that went for $120. Probably the frame was worth that, if you're into frames.
Here's our animated auctioneer. He had a story for everything, and there was no order to how the lots were sorted and sold. Here (on the left) is a guy holding longhorn horns, and another pair were just below us. We found out, if you wanted to bid on something, they would take it up and sell as a special request.
Here's another example of random lots - a dainty, complete 62-piece tea set, a soup tureen that sold separately for $60 and a glass-topped table that sold later. This among guns at an auction that was billed as Western and Native American. How strange, along with French furniture, Greek statues, oriental urns, and French and Spanish objects. Oh, don't forget the South American shiny, black pottery.
We didn't stay long enough to see the price for these gents. But it was interesting. Good to see you again, Curly, Larry and Moe -- the Three Stooges. Megan wonders if they would start hitting each other when they got home. We bet they sold together, but priced individually.
For goodness sake, what would you do with these chandeliers? Did giants live in this house? We're not sure we could hold one up, and there were lots of chandeliers, from rustic to very fancy. But they were all huge.
Urns, dozens of urns, big urns, some so big the muscular display guys could barely hold them up. What in the world do you do with those urns? Some of those things could store a whole body. Then we have French furniture and statues of partially dressed women parading around as fountains.
Don't forget the Greek statues to go with that 1878 license for Holly Sneed's avocation. Where do you put these statues in the house, anyway?
If you're into old oak whiskey barrels, you could have owned this one for a Benjamin Franklin ($100).
Snowshoes, old snowshoes, also went for about $100. We hope we don't need them this winter, so we passed. Another pair, just like them, was on the wall.
Where do you put this stuff? Hoarders are us?
Dwain was seriously interested in this "loveseat," and Megan kept trying to get him to raise that No. 62 bid card. But gosh, it must have weighed 300 pounds and required a dolly to move it. Talk about solid. We reasoned that our dogs and cats couldn't tear it up. But by the time we reasoned through it, the fast-talking auctioneer had lowered the gavel on $600. A steal! Somebody else got it, and the dolly moved in and someone else carried it out.
We had Dwain's pickup truck in the parking lot.
We have a friend who's always on the lookout for fine glassware to impress the widows at his church. If he had just been there and waited ...
... He also could have loaded up on a box of little, green hurricane lamps. Talk about setting the mood.
Now look there. Megan decided she could start a band with these three instruments. She could be a one-woman band. We bet a drum was hidden somewhere under a table. You should see what all is hiding under the tables.
It's always Christmas, and the season is always hiding in your house, somewhere. Look at that, a centerpiece and wrapping paper under a table. They also sold two sculptured trees with lights that could be used for a holiday other than Christmas. They were some of the first items sold - for $50 apiece. You had to listen, everything sold individually, including two old Winchester straight edge razors that were mounted together under glass. They drew spirited bidding wars.
We bet this guy knows his way around auctions, kind of like the daily betters at Oaklawn.
Aren't you the lucky one, Megan! Our bid number was 62, her age for another six weeks, and a young man leaned over her shoulder and gave her a fresh, red rose. A Valentine's Day miracle.
Sorry, these two urns were already bought. Yep, the usual price, $50 apiece. What do you do with them? Hide Easter eggs. The auction was in the Lions Club building on Highway 76 East. Free concessions are in the corner. We shared cookies, a nice touch.
We finished off our auction adventure by sharing an Ole' Pizza and a Blue Moon at Pizza by the Chef. One of our favorite places.
Life's an adventure.
Megan and Dwain
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