Rare Victorian Forum

Bonhams is opening their first ever furniture sale with a BANG, the victorian furniture is in last few pages of online catalog, some of it Herter.

http://www.bonhams.com/cgi-bin/public.sh/pubweb/publicSite.r?sContinent=EUR&screen=indexEUR

If you click the main link, halfway down page, click "american furniture and decorative art online catalog"

John, yeah, they have some early american thats not to shabby either. I say Bonham is trying to make a statement here and i think they have done it.

GEE WIZ, where is everybody at. One would think this thread would have generated a ton of posts considering the offerings. Maybe everyone is away on holiday.

(I'll update this post as the lots sell, or don't... ... and I think I got them all.)

Lot 1284 Renaissance Revival Wooton patent desk
sold for bought in  (estimate $10,000 - 15,000)

Lot 1285 American Renaissance marquetry library table 
sold for bought in  (estimate $4,000 - 6,000)

Lot 1286 American Aesthetic inlaid and ebonized parlor table 
sold for bought in (estimate $4,000 - 6,000)

Lot 1287 American Renaissance parcel-gilt and carved walnut pedestal; Herter attrib. 
sold for $30,500 (estimate $15,000 - 20,000)

Lot 1290 American Renaissance parcel-gilt and carved walnut folio stand; Herter/Thurlow Lodge 
sold for $85,400 (estimate $40,000 - 60,000)

Lot 1291 American Renaissance parcel-gilt, carved and inlaid rosewood and maple music cabinet; Herter/Thurlow Lodge 
sold for $85,400 (estimate $80,000 - 120,000)

Lot 1292 American Renaissance inlaid and carved walnut buffet; Herter/Thurlow Lodge 
sold for $194,000  (estimate $100,000 - 120,000)

Lot 1293 American Renaissance parcel-gilt, carved, inlaid and ebonized bedstead; Herter/Thurlow Lodge 
sold for $326,000 (estimate $300,000 - 500,000)

Lot 1294 A pair of American Renaissance carved, inlaid and ebonized night stands; Herter/Thurlow Lodge 
sold for $23,180  estimate $12,000 - 18,000)

Lot 1295 American Renaissance carved, inlaid and part-ebonized shaving stand; Herter/Thurlow Lodge 
sold for $61,000    (estimate $50,000 - 70,000)

Lot 1296 American Renaissance parcel-gilt, carved and ebonized cabinet; Herter/Thurlow Lodge 
sold for $230,000  (estimate $80,000 - 120,000)

Lot 1297 American Renaissance inlaid, carved and ebonized mirrored dresser; Herter/Thurlow Lodge 
sold for $103,700  (estimate $100,000 - 120,000)

Lot 1298 American Renaissance carved, inlaid and ebonized mirrored dresser; Herter/Thurlow Lodge 
sold for bought in  (estimate $100,000 - 120,000)

Lot 1299 American Aesthetic inlaid and ebonized slant-front desk; Herter/Mark Hopkins Nob Hill 
sold for bought in  (estimate $40,000 - 60,000)

Lot 1300 American Aesthetic carved and inlaid ebonized center table; Herter/Mark Hopkins Nob Hill 
sold for $48,800      (estimate $40,000 - 60,000)

Lot 1301 American Aesthetic inlaid rosewood center table; Herter/Mark Hopkins Nob Hill 
sold for bought in   (estimate $60,000 - 80,000)

Lot 1302 American Aesthetic carved and inlaid rosewood secretary cabinet; Herter/Mark Hopkins Nob Hill 
sold for $91,500      (estimate $80,000 - 120,000)

Lot 1303 American Aesthetic inlaid and carved rosewood center table; Herter/Mark Hopkins Nob Hill 
sold for $97,600  (estimate $80,000 - 120,000)

Lot 1304 American Aesthetic carved and inlaid rosewood sideboard; Herter/Mark Hopkins Nob Hill 
sold for bought in  (estimate $150,000 - 250,000

Prices realized are inclusive of Buyer's Premium, thusly:
   22% of the Hammer up to and including $100,000.00
   20% of the Hammer above $100,000.00, up to and including $500,000.00
   12% of any Hammer above $500,000.00

I have the same questions as TexMac... can anyone who follows the market make sense of this sale for us and place it into a historical context?

I'm wondering if we can really take anything away from this sale as a sign of the market as a whole.  There are some things about this sale which make it unique, and thus maybe not the best barometer:

1) Bonham's first ever NY sale
2) Warner Brothers/Hollywood tie-in to the items - when else will you get that again?
3) The largest sale ($) of Victorian lots in decades, probably
4) The largest sale of Herter in 60 years
5) Very uncommon to have such a concentration of the highest end Victorian pieces
6) It wouldn't surprise me if 1/2 of these items were bought by museums

my 2c

I attended the preview of this sale and bought a catalogue as well.  It was wonderful to touch/handle the pieces and discover little surprises.  All of the items really felt of a much higher quality than most victorian furniture I'm exposed to.  The solidity, thickness of woods, wonderfully detailed hinges and quality of the interior fittings are just some of the things I noticed.  Of course the carving, inlay work, finishes and overall design were great but these aspects can be observed the usual way, in museums, books, etc.

Some misc. thoughts:  Interestingly the mirrors on the back of the Hopkins slant-front desk had some very old looking glaze on them, (probably to avoid reflections in movie productions).  I noticed the Warner Bros. logo burn-branded onto the bottom of one of the tables.  As has been discussed, every piece had condition issues.  The Thurlow Lodge pieces seemed to have had more wear than the Hopkins House items.  The bedroom set in particular was quite bumped around with many small details and carvings broken off.  The bed was extensively touched up with black paint.  The marble/stone tops of all the ebonized pieces were missing and wood marbleized replacements were on each, (parlor cabinet, dressers, night stands, etc.)  These replacements weren't very well done but I supposed good enough for filming.  I really fell in love with the Hopkins House furniture as I love rosewood, the aesthetic movement and Herter inlay work.  The original finishes were in pretty good shape too!  I had to open every drawer and door and had a hard time walking away from each piece.

I really should have posted these observations before the auction.  I'll remember to do so next time.  It's too bad I'm not in a position to afford victorian furniture of this quality but maybe another day!  How lucky I feel to have experienced these pieces first hand!