Auction On Sunday—

Winning Bid Takes Home A Tankard Fit For A King

A silver tankard presented in 1905 to the Crown Prince Fredrich-Wilhelm of Germany as a wedding present will be sold on Sunday at Fairfield Auction of Newtown. The gilt silver imperial tankard measures 16 inches high and weighs close to ten pounds. Decorated in the medieval style it features castle form legs and a chained dragon spout.

The Crown Prince Fredrich-Wilhelm was the first son of the Kaiser, Wilhelm II. Wilhem II was an important figure in 20th Century Europe as he built the Germany military and eventually steered his country to disaster in World War I. He abdicated the throne in 1918.

Fredrich-Wilhelm assumed the head of the house of Hohenzollern in 1941. Hitler courted the approval of the royals as he rose to power, but by 1944 Fredrich-Wilhelm’s son, Louis-Ferdinand, was plotting against the Nazis and would likely have assumed the head-of-state had the Stauffenberg bombing attempt on Hitler’s life been successful. Fredrich-Wilhelm died in 1951. His son lived to see the fall of the Berlin wall.

How the royal tankard came to the consignor is a mystery, but family records show it was accepted in lieu of a $500 debt in 1939. The tankard is now expected to bring considerably more.

Furniture to be sold includes a ten piece dining set by Schmieg & Kotzian of New York circa 1920. Schieg & Kotzian were British trained cabinetmakers that came to America in the early days of the century and quickly earned a reputation as the finest cabinet shop in New York. The set to be sold consists of a twin pedestal dining table with eight chairs and a sideboard, all in the George III style of the late 18th Century.

According to Jack DeStories of Fairfield Auction, “This is the most extensive group of furniture by this maker I’ve seen on the market in years.”

Also attracting collectors should be an extensive collection of baseball tobacco cards accumulated by a Newtown lady’s father in Philadelphia about 1910. As a boy he befriended the men of a local firehouse who gave him the cards as they purchased cigarettes. His collection of over 400 cards nearly completed the vast T206 set, but as chance would have it, does not include the famous T206 Honus Wagner that has sold individually in excess of $400,000. A signed Babe Ruth baseball is also included in the sale.

A selection of paintings includes a large portrait of Lady Ann Dashwood by Sir Peter Lely, painter to the court under Charles II. Lely was the preeminent portrait painter of the late 17th Century in England, painting dozens of members of the royal family and their court.

Works by Aimee Perret, William Hughes, Charles LaSalle, H.M. Gabriel and a study attributed to Edward Potthast will all be offered. Two silver gelatin prints by famed marine photographer Morris Rosenfeld will also go on the block.

Additional items of interest include an important 11-inch Indian pot circa 1890 presented to Captain Richard Henry Pratt. He was a career officer who gained national prominence as a result of his 40 years working with Native Americans both in the West and back East, where he founded the Carlisle Indian School.

Also being offered is a selection of Rookwood pottery, a Vom Hoffe trout reel, several large Dresden porcelain groupings, a large early carved Chinese jade bowl, a World War I poster titled “Enlist” by Fred Spear, and a selection of sterling including Steiff repousse flatware. Over 20 carpets will go under the gavel led by a Kerman measuring 13 by 21 feet, circa 1920.

Preview will be Saturday, March 13, from 1 to 6 pm, and on auction day from 9 to 11 am.

Fairfield Auction is at 53 Church Hill Road in Newtown. Further details can be found at www.FairfieldAuction.com or by calling 364-1555.