Date: Fri 25-Sep-1998

Publication: Ant

Author: DONNAM

Quick Words:

Foster

Full Text:

Modest Candlestand At G. Foster

w/4 cuts

By Rita Easton

EPSOM, N.Y. -- George S. Foster, proprietor and auctioneer of his own company,

conducted an antiques and collectibles sale of more than 813 lots on September

2, following a preview period.

The seven-and-a-half hour event featured a majority of items from an early

Gilmanton, N.H., home, with various additions. Over 450 people holding 262

bidding numbers were in attendance.

An unassuming candlestand provided the top bid of the day, $10,100, which

doubled the $5,000 high estimate and surprised all, except perhaps the

competitive bidders.

The spider-foot lot was executed in pine and bore old red paint. The square

top had a large stain, but this didn't deter those who felt sure that the

piece was made by a Dunlap. It was purchased by a dealer who "probably had it

sold before he even came to the auction," said Jean Foster of the gallery.

A Duncan Phyfe card table with split top damage reached $4,600; a stenciled,

arrow-back rocker achieved $1,000; a 3«-inch oval Shaker box brought $1,425; a

painted chair/table made $925; an early tap table sold at $400; and a red

painted lift-top blanket chest went out at $1,800.

An interesting and unusual tintype depicting a baseball player sitting on a

bench wearing a Civil War type of cap, a mitt over his knee, and a ball in his

right hand rang up $425.

A buyer willing to put time into repairs went home with a bargain, a set of 16

stacking oak bookcase sections. He paid $1,050. A grain painted washstand

realized $325; a Victorian bookcase was purchased at $160; an early oversized

slat-back rocking chair brought $275; a four-section stacking oak bookcase

reached $425; and a W.F. Morris Vermont chair garnered $325.

An Empire game table fired some competition, going out at $2,000, as did a

Thomas Tennant surveyor's staff compass, which reached $2,100. A Windsor chair

sold for $250; a banister-back chair sold at $375; a deacon's bench sat out

the competition at only $110; a five-foot-high walnut veneer secretary fetched

$700; an "as is" revolving oak bookcase was purchased at $600; a wooden

fireplace mantel garnered $475; and a decorative display board of arrowheads

made $250.

Books held their own with solid prices: A set of four Godeys books, 1861-1864,

went at $300; an Egyptian Book of the Dead fetched $160; a history of Nutfield

brought $180; a history of Antrim made $140; and a history of Weare sold at

$130.

A small bronze statue of Venus de Milo sold at $400; a framed sampler dated

1806 achieved $450; a fire bucket went out at $425; a fine purse with a beaded

scene was worth $525 to a buyer; a grain painted lift-top blanket chest

reached $450; a pair of Oriental porcelain covered jars brought $650; and a

pair of tin candle sconces sold at $500.

The Foster company, a family business that has conducted 40 sales annually for

22 years, holds each without reserve, and without phone or absentee bids.

"We sell to people who are under the tent, and that's the way it goes," said

Foster. "People who used to buy on impulse have now learned to value

condition. That's what's important." He then repeated a variation on the real

estate mantra: "Condition, condition, condition."

Prices quoted above do not reflect a required ten percent premium.