On offer in our Fall Collector’s Auction are a wide range of items, from vintage industrial to the purely decorative, and items that are a little of both – cutting edge technology a century ago, that now offers a window into the craftmanship and ingenuity of past generations – almost inconceivable in our era of mass production and often indifferent quality. Our little Victorian spirit bubble level (lot 447) is a prime example, with its elaborate cast iron design, and signed brass centre. It is always fascinating to see the artistry and embellishment put into the most prosaic of tools.
The Jules Richard WWI aviation barometer (lot 96) is sure to fire the imagination of any military or aviation buff. In a hand stitched, fitted leather case, stamped with the Captain’s name, and “Captain A.C Reid” and “Dunkirk, 1918” etched into the back of the chrome housing of the barometer, this is a portable altimeter/barometer used in Dunkirk, where the United States Navy opened a naval air station during the last year of World War One. Operating seaplanes and combat U-boats, it faced continuous bombardment from land, sea and air, before closing after the November 11 armistice. Captain Reid was a British military aviator who served with the Royal Naval Air Service and later the Royal Air Force. Its extraordinary condition belies the fact it is over 100 years old, and likely saw fierce military engagement.
Once again we have an extensive collection of tobbaciana, particularly vintage lighters and ashtrays. The signed Pierre Forsell brass table top lighter (lot 55) is a masterpiece of mid century design. Designed for Skultana of Sweden, it works as well today as it did when it was new, in the 1960’s. Our novelty lighters are always popular – with lighters designed to resemble military tanks, pistols, miniature model engines, bar carts(!), microphones and jet planes. Not to mention the more ornamental, such as the green malachite table lighter with the dancing muses (lot 15) and the brass and onyx lighter with ashtray combination. We have automobile themed ashtrays, including a brass ashtray with the Rolls Royce “Spirit of Ecstasy” mascot mounted in the middle (lot 252), as well as an aluminum trench art ashtray (lot 104), and an inscribed RAF ashtray, made from a Rolls Royce “Merlin” engine piston (lot 242). By far the most unusual in this category is the 1930’s “Van-Lite” lighter fluid dispenser (lot 14). On an hexagonal aluminum base, it is a penny coin operated dispenser, made by Arthur C. Kautz, Lockport, NY. Designed to look like a gas pump and placed on general store counters, a penny inserted into the slot allowed customers to fill their pocket lighters – with Van-Lite lighter fluid only, of course! A rare find, in excellent condition.
Finally, for its “cool factor” alone, we have to mention our 1930’s Route 66 highway sign (lot 115). Painted metal, it employs the road sign lighting technique used before flourescent and reflective paint was available – concave glass “cat eyes”. Placed around the shield shaped border and the numbers, it very effectively lit up the sign as cars headlights swept past. This iconic route saw the migration of over 200,000 people escaping the dust bowl of the great depression, and continued as a cultural touchpoint for many generations to come- including John Steinbeck who called it the “Mother Road” in The Grapes of Wrath, a 1946 musical hit “Get Your Kicks on Route 66” and a 1960’s TV series, “Route 66”. Today, although officially decommissioned from the US Highway System in 1985, it continues to capture people’s imagination, as the quintessential cross country route, taking restless travellers the 2,448 miles from the midwest to the promised land of California.
This is just a very small sampling of what this auction has to offer. We encourage you to come and see us in Brantford for a preview.
