FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – August 10, 2005

The summer humidity did not dampen the bidders excitement and enthusiasm during Neal Auction Company’s August 6th and 7th Summer Estates Auction. Neal Auction Company’s offerings of fine antique furnishings, decorative objects, and art works, including Southern Regional artists, generated solid interest. The two days of bidding realized over 1.1 million dollars including buyer’s premium.

Neal Auction Company was pleased to feature select property of a distinguished gentleman of Bywater, New Orleans; early nineteenth century furniture from a Tennessee collection; property from the Andrew Norwood Townhouse, West 14th St., New York; remaining property from the Estate of Dee Faulkner, sold for the benefit of St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, Jackson, MS; and property of the noted antiquarian Stanley G. Levy, from his gallery at Louisiana Avenue and Magazine Street.

Highlights from the Neal Auction Company’s Summer Estates Auction are as follows:

American Regional paintings as well as Continental paintings stimulated strong bidding with Charles Wellington Boyle (American/Louisiana, 1861-1925), "Louisiana Live Oak, City Park, New Orleans, Louisiana", o/c, 22 ½ in. x 29 in., (lot 393) achieved $19,975.00, while Knute Heldner (Swedish/New Orleans, 1877-1952), "Sunset", oil on canvasboard, 20 in. x 16 in., (lot 428), brought $8,225.00. Clementine Hunter (American/Louisiana, 1886-1988), "Going to Church", c. 1959-60, oil on board, 6 ½ in. x 27 ½ in., (lot 423) sold for $7,637.50, and Clementine Hunter (American/Louisiana, 1886-1988), "Baptismal", c.1959-60, oil on board, 7 ½ in. x 27 ½ in. (lot 424) secured $5, 581.25. Walter Inglis Anderson (American/Mississippi, 1903-1965), "Toads", watercolor, 8 in. x 10 in., (lot 439) sold for $7,043.75, while Marie Madeleine Seebold Molinary (American/New Orleans, 1866-1948), "Shrimp Boat at Sunset", o/c, 13 ½ in. x 11 in., (lot 427) brought $5,875.00. Joseph Jefferson (American/Louisiana, 1829-1905), "Louisiana Bayou", oil on canvasboard, 13 in. x 9 in., (lot 809) achieved $4,465.00, and Knute Heldner (Swedish/New Orleans, 1886-1952), "Cabin on the Bayou", o/c, 16 in. x 20 in., (lot 395) reached $4,112.50. J. Gongelet (French, 19th c.), "The Death of Siegfried", o/c, 39 in. x 28 in., (lot 284) fetched $8,518.775, and after Guido Reni (Italian, 1575-1642), "Aurora", o/c, 24 in. x 60 in., (lot 314) sold for $3,172.50.

English and Continental furniture also captured buyer’s attention. A fine William IV Gothic carved mahogany secretary bookcase, (lot 380) secured $8, 225.00, while a George III mahogany bureau bookcase, 18th c., (lot 244) brought $ 6,168.75. An early English carved walnut table, 17th/18th c., (lot 238) sold for $5,581.25, and a good antique English walnut refectory table, (lot 147) achieved $4,700.00. A Dutch Neo-Classical carved mahogany cabinet, early 19th c., (lot 337) sold for $8,812.50, while an Italian Rococo walnut bureau, (lot 562) brought $7,637.50. A fine antique Empire-style mahogany and ormolu-mounted dressing table, mid-19th c., (lot 487) achieved $7,050.00, while an Italian inlaid walnut commode, 18th c., (lot 376) fetched $7,050.00. An Empire bronze-mounted mahogany armoire, early 19th c., (lot 488) sold for $6,756.25, and a good antique Continental walnut and inlaid writing cabinet, early 19th c., (lot 280) sold for $5,875.00.

American furniture also did well. A good American late Classical carved mahogany sideboard, c. 1830, Philadelphia, attr. to Anthony Quervelle, (lot 360) achieved $9,106.25, while a fine American Renaissance carved walnut and burl walnut half-tester bed, mid-19th c., (lot 800) brought $7,637.50. An American Classical gilt-decorated rosewood secretary bookcase, c. 1820, Baltimore, (lot 191) fetched $7,050.00, and an important American Classical birdseye maple dressing chest, c. 1830, probably Baltimore, (lot 364) sold for $6,462.50. A set of eight antique Chippendale-style carved mahogany dining chairs, (lot 482) brought $5,700.00, while a fine antique Black Forest carved walnut smoking stand, late 19th-early 20th c., (lot 497) achieved $5,512.50. A monumental American late Classical mahogany armoire, c. 1830, probably New Orleans, (lot 402) reached $5,875.00, and a good American Classical mahogany shaving stand, c. 1825, Boston, attributed to Rufus Pierce, (lot 187) sold for $1,880.00.

Oriental porcelain, American and Continental decorative arts and silver enticed bidding. A Chinese porcelain plaque of a warrior on horseback, early 20th c., (lot 5) achieved $11,637.50, while a pair of large Imari porcelain vases, early 19th c., (lot 249) brought $2,350.00. A pair of antique blown and cut glass hurricane shades (lot 480) fetched $4,993.75, and a pair of Federal inlaid mahogany knife boxes, early 19th c., Pennsylvania, (lot 359) sold for $4,112.50. A large Louis Philippe gilt bronze clock garniture, 19th c., (lot 144) brought $5,287.50, while an antique German polyphon disc music box, c. 1900, (lot 159) reached $3,877.50. An American Classical girandole set, 19th c., (lot 353) sold for $2,467.50, and a Reed & Barton "Francis I" sterling silver flatware service, (lot 670) achieved $4,406.25.

Mirrors, lighting and books also did quite well. A fine Neo-Classical creme peinte and giltwood trumeau, early 19th c., (lot 158) secured $9,106.25, while a fine carved giltwood overmantel mirror in the Louis XVI taste, late 19th c., (lot 221) sold for $4,817.50. A good Napoleon III gilt bronze, cut glass and rock crystal twelve-light chandelier, c. 1870, (lot 378) achieved $9,987.50, and a good American or English gilt bronze five-branch gasolier, mid-19th c., (lot 357) fetched $7, 050.00. An antique Empire-style patinated bronze six-light chandelier, (lot 200) brought $4,700.00, while a fine antique French hall lantern, c. 1800, (lot 201) sold for $3,290.00. Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), Walden; or, Life in the Woods, Boston, Ticknor and Fields, 1854, first edition, (lot 381) achieved $7,637.50.

Neal Auction Company’s annual Louisiana Purchase Auction will be held October 8th and 9th, 2005. If you have further questions, please contact Ms. Katherine Soloway (800.467.5329).