Date: Fri 14-May-1999

Publication: Ant

Author: LIZAM

Quick Words:

advertising-Opfer-Easton

Full Text:

Advertising Nostalgia At Opfer

(with 4 cuts)

By Rita Easton

TIMONIUM, MD -- Antique advertising and country store items were the subject

of an April 17 auction held by Richard Opfer Auctioneering, Inc. The lifetime

collection of Robert and Virginia Schaefer was offered, along with several

other collections, and included tin, porcelain and paper litho signs, shoe

advertising, a pocket mirror collection, dye cabinets, clocks, tins,

calendars, and much more.

Two previews preceded the event. The sale presented 773 lots crossing the

block for a gross of $190,000.

"A Busy Day in Dollville," a litho tin over cardboard advertising sign for

Diamond Dyes, reached $2,900. The 17-inch long sign, depicting a winking child

in a blue dress and Mary Jane shoes dying a doll's dress in a large cauldron

while five dolls on a bench observe, had a dent in the upper left center, a

paint drip on the right edge, and minor scratches and stains.

A Coca-Cola paper calender fetched $4,500, but due to a possible discrepancy

in the pre-auction descriptive material, the 1919 calender may be resold at a

future auction.

A Westminster Rye Whiskey sign, "Settled Out of Court," depicting the

aftermath of a motor accident in which a pig was run over, the motorist

standing in duster and cap offering the farmer a glass of Westminster, the

dead pig on the ground between them, sold at $2,300; and a rare Red Goose

die-cut cardboard stand-up, 23 inches long, the three-dimensional piece with

tape repair on the back of a wing, with minor scuffs, brought $2,000 from a

collector.

The sign, which featured two aviators sitting on the wing of an airborne

single propeller plane, declared, "Red Goose double welt Shoes, `They're half

the fun of having feet.'"

Forming a peacock-like shape when fully opened, a National Brewing Co. fan of

die-cut paper featured an 1877 calendar, framed under glass, with original

souvenir label, within a painted tramp art frame, 22 inches wide, reached

$1,800; a Wrigley's Gum sign of heavy porcelain, having chips and slight rust,

36 inches long, featuring two packs of Wrigley's gum and the advice "After

Every Meal" and "Good for Teeth, Fine for Breath...Aids Digestion," garnered

$1,900; and a double-sided porcelain sign, 56 inches high, in the form of a

red owl on which were the words "Red Owl Store," brought $1,700.

"Condition, condition, condition," Opfer spoke of the first rule of selling

well, "we always prime people by telling them `if your stuff isn't in the best

of condition, it can be nice, saleable, decorative, but sometimes you've gotta

throw out these big numbers.'

"Overall, a lot of the current consignments were not `9's and `10's," he

continued. "They were what had been picked up over the years, yet it was a

very strong sale. Early country store tins did exceptionally well."

An E. Maginn's red tin advertising its contents of "Excelsior Crackers and

finest Confections," a red store bin 11¬ inches high, was purchased at $500;

and a counter bin, 33 inches wide, with six drawers, labeled "Mustard,"

"Ginger," "Allspice," "Pepper," "Cinnamon" and "Cloves,"

realized $1,450.

The sign most used in publicity for the auction reached $2,100. It was a Hub

clothing sign of dimensional metal, a figural sign of a black boy in a straw

hat, 53 inches high, holding a sign saying "Buy your clothing at the Hub."

"That sign's been all over the board," said Opfer. "There were four or five of

them found in the Midwest recently. I've sold that sign and seen that sign

[elsewhere] for $3,000 to $5,000. This one had roughness on the leg, but it

was probably a little under the money."

Prices quoted do not reflect the ten percent buyer's premium charged.