FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – October 12, 2004

This October 1, 2 and 3, Neal Auction Company presented their greatly anticipated annual Louisiana Purchase Auction ™. Showcasing the American South, the Louisiana Purchase Auction ™ offered fine antique furnishings, fine art, and decorative objects that stimulated great interest. Over three days of bidding, a crowd of local, national and international collectors and dealers filled Neal Auction Company galleries. The auction sales totaled over $2.8 million.

Neal Auction Company was pleased to feature the Estate of Dee Tankersley Faulker that was sold for the benefit of St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, in Jackson, MS, and held a special Friday session focusing on this important estate. Also, property consigned especially to this important annual auction by discerning collectors included a Gentlemen’s collection of Paris Porcelain; furniture and decorative arts from a distinguished Collection of Acadiana; Chitimacha Baskets from the Collection of Emily Cyr Bridges, Albania Plantation; property from the Old Spanish Customs House, Bayou St. John, New Orleans; and paintings from the Collection of Alonzo Lansford, former Director of the Delgado Museum of Art, and Gretchen Lansford, the well-known art conservator.

American paintings, watercolors and drawings all excelled. Significant oil paintings include William Henry Buck’s (American/New Orleans, 1840-1888) signed “Lake Pontchartrain” (lot 701), 18 1/2 in. x 30 in., realizing $178,500.00. The three William Aiken Walker lots performed well including (lot 204) “Gates to St. Augustine, Florida”, a signed oil on academy board, dated “Mar. 8th, 1890”, 8 3/4 in. x 11 1/2 in. fetching $31,050.00. Ivan F. Summers’ (American, 1889-1964) signed “Plantation Cabin, Charleston, South Carolina” (lot 775), c. 1927, 6 in. x 20 in., achieved $6,670.00; while the “Portrait of Lafayette Murdock”, attributed to George Esten Cooke (American, 1793-1849, active New Orleans, 1844-49), 33 in. x 25 in., sold for $9,775.00. Thomas Satterwhite Noble’s (American/Kentucky, 1835-1907) signed “The Jester” (lot 735), 1877, 35 in. x 25 in., realized $14,950.00 and had previously descended in the family of the artist, in Georgetown, Kentucky. Knute Heldner’s (Swedish/New Orleans, 1875-1952) three pieces sold well including, from the collection of the Duluth Art Institute, Minnesota, “The Pig Woman-A Southern Idyl” (lot 777), signed, 1932, 42 in. x 40 1/2 in., that brought $76,750.00. Two oils by Louis Oscar Griffith (American, 1875-1956, active New Orleans, 1916-1917) were the “Old Absinthe House” (lot 748), 21 in. x 32 in., selling for $39,100.00, and the “Old Basin Canal” (lot 869), 14 3/4 in. x 18 1/2 in. for $21,850.00. William S. Robinson’s (American/Mississippi, 1861-1945) “Bioxi, Mississippi” (lot 867), oil on board, 1939, 12 in x 16 in., secured $8,625.00. “Interior Scene” (lot 933), a signed oil on masonite by Hobson Lafayette Pittman (American/North Carolina, 1900-1972), 15 in. x 26 in. fetched $7,200.00. All four works by Alexander John Drysdale’s (American/New Orleans, 1870-1934) sold strong, including “Tugboat in the Mist” (lot 863), on canvasboard, signed, 1910, sight 7 1/2 in. x 9 1/2 in. for $4,600.00.

John McCrady’s (American, 1911-1968) “Private Property-Keep Out” (lot 914), a signed carbon acrylic painting, 16 in. x 21 3/4 in., realized $13,800.00, with a hand-painted frame by artist. An acrylic by George Rodrigue (American/Lousiana, b. 1944), “The Music Men” (lot 921), 1978, signed, 40 in. x 30 in., brought $28,750.00.

Multiple watercolors by George David Coulon (French/New Orleans, 1824-1904) brought solid figures including (lot 200) the signed “Duck Blind in Louisiana Bayou”, dated “‘92”, sight 11 in. x 17 in., achieving $8,625.00. Other signed watercolors included “Landscape” (lot 865) by Alice Ravenel Huger Smith (American/Charleston, 1876-1958), 9 in. x 12 in., that fetched $11,212.50; and Ellsworth Woodward’s (American/New Orleans, 1861-1939), “Rowboats on Shore, Mississippi Gulf Coast” (lot 879), sight 7 in. x 10 1/2 in., securing $10,637.50. Walter Inglis Anderson’s (American/Mississippi, 1903-1965), four pen and ink drawings (lots 890-893) realized a total of $11,155.00, including “Pigs and Doves” (lot 892), 11 1/2 in. x 8 1/2 in., matted and framed, that sold for $3,335.00.

Other paintings from Southern Estates included Emil Brack’s (German, 1860-1905) “The Discussion” (lot 684), signed, 29 1/2 in. x 37 1/2 in., that was discovered in a private estate in New Orleans and realized $27,000.00; and the 19th c. American School, “Portrait of Young Girl in Blue Dress and White Gloves Holding an Egg” (lot 66), 17 in. x 13 in., from a Jackson, Mississippi Estate, achieving $14,375.00.

Other important American oil paintings sold were “Provincetown Landscape” (lot 920) by Wolf Kahn (American/New York, b. 1927), c. 1958, signed, 32 in. x 38 in., an important early work fetching $18,975.00, and “In the Garden” (lot 923) by Lillian Mathilde Genth (American, 1876-1953), c. 1915-1925, signed, 35 1/4 in. x 29 in. realizing $21,850.00.

American Furniture stimulated strong bidding, with (lot 708) a Louisiana Creole Walnut and Cypress Armoire, c. 1790, bringing $55,200.00; and, from The Old Spanish Customs House, Bayou St. John, New Orleans, (lot 194) a Louisiana Cherrywood Cabriole Leg Armoire, early 19th c., went for $13,800.00. A Rare Carved Mahogany “Butac” or “Campeche” Chair, early 19th c., Louisiana, found in New Orleans, achieved $8,337.50, and found en suite lot (lot 710), an American Carved Mahogany Curule Stool, early 19th c., fetched $7,475.00. A Petite Louisiana Creole Painted Cypress Armoire in the Louis XV Taste (lot 718), c. 1790, height 76 3/4 in., achieved $39,100.00; an important Louisiana Cypress Table (lot 760), c. 1790, realized $26,450.00; and a Louisiana “Swamp Maple” Chair (lot 719), late 18th/early 19th c., brought $3,450.00. A Southern Federal Cherrywood Sugar Chest (lot 768), early 19th c., from Madison County, Kentucky, sold for $5,750.00. An American Rococo Carved Mahogany Half Tester Bed by C. Lee (lot 864), mid-19th c., stamped in multiple places, realized $16,100.00, while a Southern Walnut Hunt Board (lot 904), 19th c., secured $6,037.50.

Strong prices also were achieved for other American Furniture. A Chippendale Carved Mahogany Highboy (lot 699), c. 1770, that had come from Ginsburg and Levy in New York, captured $46,000.00. A Classical Revival Carved Mahogany and Gilt Pier Table (lot 665), late 19th c., labeled Annesley & Co., Albany, NY, secured $9,775.00, and a Cherrywood Two-Part Dining Table (lot 235), c. 1800, went for $4,025.00. A Pair of Gothic Carved Walnut Armchairs (lot 966), mid-19th c., attributed to J. & J.W. Meeks, New York, height 59 in., realized $11,212.50, while a Rococo Carved Rosewood Poster Bed (lot 1282), mid-19th c., fetched $10,062.50. Classical pieces include a Mahogany Center Table (lot 695), early 19th c., Boston, attributed to William Hancock and signed in old script “W. Hancock” that achieved $7,187.50; a Philadelphia Carved and Stenciled Mahogany and Marble Top Sideboard (lot 728), c. 1830, attributed to Anthony Quervelle for $10,925.00.; and a Classical Carved Mahogany Card Table (lot 394), early 19th c., Boston, attributed to Elijah Lerner and branded #20, that brought $5,750.00. Also, a set of eight Antique Classical-Style Mahogany Gondola Chairs (lot 410) realized $5,750.00, after descending through a New Orleans family.

A stand out English piece was (lot 413) a Good Late Regency Mahogany Extension Dining Table, c. 1820, that was de-accessioned by the Hermann-Grima Historical House, New Orleans, and sold for $10,062.50. A strong French lot was (lot 527) a Good Louis XV Provincial Carved Walnut Commode, 18th c., realizing $11,500.00.

A Group of 8 Newcomb College Art Pottery pieces in a variety of forms, sizes and decoration totaled nearly $32,500.00, with Lot 882, a Vase of baluster form, 1925, decorated by Henrietta Bailey with gardenias, achieving $10,062.50. A Group of 6 Shearwater Pottery Pieces in a variety of forms, sizes and decoration, including some by Walter Anderson, totaled over $7,500.00. An Early Nonconnah Art Pottery Vase (lot 897), c. 1905-1910, Memphis, decorated with a poem by Memphis Judge Walter Malone and marked “Nonconnah”, height 11 in., brought $7,762.50.
Several books, documents and prints generated enthusiastic bidding. A rare First United States Census 1791 (lot 769), “Return of the Whole Number of Persons within the Several Districts of the United States”, signed by Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State, fetched $92,700.00; with significant provenance, it had been purchased in Baltimore in 1865 by a prominent New Orleans physician and collector, and later was acquired in 19th c. from the above by a New Orleans antiquarian, where it then descended in the family until the present. The Birds of America: From Drawings Made in the United States and Their Territories (lot 733), 1840-1844, 7 volumes, octavo, first edition, with 500 hand-colored lithograph plates after Audubon, printed by J.T. Bowen and George Endicott (plates 136-150) realized $59,700.00. An autographed letter (lot 959) signed from Huey Long to Sheriff Pecot, Franklin, LA, dated Aug. 16, 1924, sold for $2,530.00. “Views of the Himalaya Mountains” (lot 846), 1820, engraved and colored by Robert Havell and Son, with an Elephant portfolio of 7 (of 20) and aquatints of Himalayan mountain views, captured $6,440.00. Other Books included A History of Louisiana (lot 961), four volumes, octavo, published by Goupil & Co., Paris, 1904, for $2,990.00; The Illustrated Book of Poultry (lot 1026), published by Cassell, Petter and Galpin, 1880, with 50 chromolithograph plates, bringing $2,530.00; and the Civil Code of the State of Louisiana (lot 757), printed by J.C. De St. Romes, St., New Orleans, 1825, achieving $2,300.00.

An American Rococo Coin Silver Water Pitcher (lot 797), Hyde & Goodrich, New Orleans, c. 1850, height 10 7/8 in., weight approx. 27 troy ozs., 7 dwts., sold for $4,600.00. An Antique Sterling Silver Flatware Service (lot 945), 1890, Gorham, “Versailles” pattern, (105 pieces), from a New Orleans Estate, went for $4,600.00.

From the Collection of Frank and Eileen Kemp, New Orleans, a Regulator Clock (lot 871) by Stanislaus Fournier, New Orleans, c. 1858-1875, fetched $20,700.00.

A Group of Chitimacha Baskets, over 17 lots, realized a total of nearly $43,000.00, with a very large Chitimacha Double Weave Storage Basket (lot 823), in the “muscadine rind” pattern, height 7 1/2 in., realized $14,950.00.

A Rare Louisiana Creole Gros Rouge Painted Punkah (lot 722), late 18th/early 19th c. realized $50,600.00. A Pair of Antique Blown Glass and Copper Wheel Engraved Hurricane or Storm Shades (lot 964), height 23 in., sold for $8,912.50.

An American Cast Iron Sugar Kettle (lot 912), mid-19th c., Kelly and Co., Kentucky or Ohio, diameter 55 in., from a New Orleans estate, brought $4,312.50; while a 19th c. Antique American Cast Iron Plantation Bell Mounted on a Frame (lot 1264), from Donaldsonville, LA, achieved $4,370.00.

Neal Auction Company’s Holiday’s Estates Auction will be held December 4th and 5th, 2004. If you have further questions, please contact Katherine Soloway (800.467.5329).