Full Text:

JOE BAYLES CELEBRATES TENTH ANNIVERSARY

(with 22 cuts)

By Bob Jackman

TEWKSBURY, MASS. -- On December 16, auctioneer Joe Bayles conducted his tenth

anniversary sale. Inventory was consigned by estates scattered from Randolph

to Gloucester. Highlights were in the fields of toys, furniture, and ceramics.

With the exception of paintings, more than 90 percent of the lots offered were

sold.

As the audience arrived, they exchanged holiday greetings and briefly recapped

personal and business news from the past month. Eventually they dropped coats

and snacks at their regular seats, and some were overheard commenting on the

presence of many fine art dealers at the event.

Bayles' advertisements of the inclusion of one collection of 52 paintings and

other works in the auction had attracted those dealers from as far as Dedham

and Newburyport. Some of the artists represented had solid market histories.

Most oils on canvas had been relined, with considerable inpainting.

Most dealers in attendance, however, came searching for quality inventory

below retail prices, and the general public sought inexpensive home

furnishings. About 165 bidding paddles were issued, with an additional 30

absentee bidders.

Previewers admired a group of toys from the first third of the century. Two

articulated wooden wrestlers remained in a century-long clasp. Fine old paint

accentuated the contrasting attire and stature of the rivals. Later in the

auction they leaped into new ring when the bell sounded on a $275 bid.

Three wooden buildings, with all the gears, pulleys, latches, and hoists that

fascinate boys, were also offered. The most elaborate of these was a large

barn and barnyard complete with a selection of livestock, fence, and even a

farmer. For $440, a Boston dealer acquired this piece of country living. Other

wooden buildings included a Happy Valley Warehouse Company, which sold for

$440, and a stable, complete with a large white horse, which realized $248.

Winning bidder on the barnyard group was Steven Jubin of Le Vieux Cirques des

Antiques on Charles Street in Boston. He was one of a half-dozen Boston

dealers who attended the auction. Another was art specialist John Curuby of

The Vault. One of the more active local buyers was Wagon Shed Antiques in

Billerica.

Toys appropriate to the Christmas season were also offered. The most

successful of these was a papier mache Santa Claus mask, which covered one's

entire head. He opened at $50, but eventually went for a jolly $330. Another

was a windup drum major fashioned from lithographed tin. He marched off for

$132.

As with most general auctions, furniture attracted the largest chunk of money.

The earliest furniture lot was a classical footstool, which brought a strong

$413. Good Victorian furniture also found eager buyers. A curio cabinet with

curved glass ends led that field at $715. A Victorian loveseat with grapes on

the crest and upholstered with deeply set buttons sold for $468.

Turn-of-the century furniture also did well. Two Arts and Crafts china

cabinets brought $358 and $242. Other selections from that era were a

Heywood-Wakefield cane and wicker table which realized $605; an oak roll top

desk, which brought $605; and a brass and iron bed, which fetched $358.

Centennial furniture was well received. Top lot of the auction was a dining

room set with a table, sideboard, and six chairs, which sold to a dealer for

$1,540. One mahogany secretary sold for $440, and another brought $468. A pair

of Sheraton Revival walnut nightstands sold for $292.

The most successful painting was a portrait of a man painted in Munich by

American artist Walter Shirlaw (1838-1909), which sold for $495. Other

successful paintings were a 1923 Vermont landscape by Joseph Gilmartin, which

brought $358; a 1933 Walter Korder portrait of a lady which rang up $303; and

a Nineteenth Century Italian painting of an adolescent girl, which garnered

$248. Topping the graphics field was a Barbizon etching of a country road, by

Charles Francois Daubigny (French, 1817-1878), which sold for $303.

The types of ceramics offered and the prices they brought varied widely. At

the primitive end, a Norton jug from Bennington, Vt., with a blue bird

decoration, brought a strong $248. At the formal end, Shelly porcelain

appeared to average about $25 per cup and saucer. That price was fair to the

consignor, but left a good profit for the buyer.

Four Hummel lots were sold, with a pair of children in the rain topping the

field at $275. In blue and white, historic Staffordshire brought strong

prices, while a huge, 19-piece set of Czechoslovakian kitchen canisters went

for only $83.

Paper lots had a good evening. A postcard album sold for $495, and a Victorian

valentine in a fauve tortoiseshell box, sold for $154. A full campaign poster

for John Kennedy, 1960, brought $55.

Bayles' staff includes many family members: Auction manager is son Joey, and

another son, Michael, works in the holding area. The check-out area is managed

by wife Denise and daughter Jennifer. On auction day, numbers are issued and

cashed out by mother-in-law Marge Burton, aunt Verlene Brackley, and Bayles'

son Matt.

The family lives in Wilmington, Mass., and conducts the sales at the Knights

of Columbus function room in neighboring Tewksbury. Joe schedules auctions in

response to the supply of merchandise at hand, but there are either one or two

auctions each month. Previews open at 4 pm, and the auction opens at 6 pm.

Even if some merchandise has not come to the block, the sale will end at 9:30

pm.

During his first decade in business, Joe Bayles has developed a dependable

network of estate lawyers and trade contacts who provide a steady inventory.

He has helped furnish more than a few Tewksbury homes, and has a strong

following among local collectors, such as Marsha Bowman of Billerica.

"Joe's a good guy," she volunteered. "He's honest with us, and we appreciate

that."

Along the way Bayles has been able to provide additional income for family

members as well as co-workers at the local Polaroid plant. Knowledgeable

dealers have found those auctions worth an hour's drive to search for quality

merchandise.