Featured Bartram Family Joiner

YIKES! This table really did belong to Thomas Jefferson, sold for $118,750.
I suspect institutional bidding on this one, probably including Monticello, in an attempt to get back what he let go many moons ago.

 

Wow!

 

Double WOW! It was over in a flash, less than a minute, bidders were prepared and SOMEONE was not gonna be denied! Whatever it takes kinda thang.

 

Well Kidz,
That concludes this years edition of the Americana Sales! I had fun! lots of interesting old furniture! see you same time, NEXT YEAR!

 

Even if TJ didn't own it before, he did now.(LOL) Yowza.

 

LOL, yeah, I hear you! but, in looking at provenance provided, I'd say that was going to be fairly easy to research. Early southern pieces often sell for more than similar form NE pieces, they are simply rarer because of war & climate but, not THAT MUCH more, almost 7 times the high estimate.
I'd say there were at least 2 bidders who were pretty dang sure it was a TJ table to drop that kind of money on that piece. It wouldn't surprise me at all if Monticello foundation bought that table, actually, that's probably where it belongs.

 

Another factor was the bidding process, FAST! not more than 1 minute, considering it started out for chump change, that was unusual. I got the feeling auctioneer had a bidder in his pocket with an unlimited budget, as soon as someone from the floor would bid, he clicked to the next higher amount, the floor ran out of gas at 118k and, that was THAT!
All in a min or less, i spent 3 hrs waiting and it was ALL OVER in a flash!

 

Book bids will do that. Nice when it happens, at least for the auction house.

 

Absolutely! he's just sitting there with a big smile on his face.

 

I would be too, if I made the commission on a sale that big in a minute flat!

 

"Ah well, it is all in a minute's work."

 

lol, Yes, very nice position to be in.... step on up kidz & place your bids, all the while he has the winning bidder in his pocket. The only question in doubt is, how much is he going to make off this transaction.

 

The table arrived today, the top is highly figured walnut, old growth timber and
1-1/4" thick, it's heavy & removable (thank god) . Although not original it does look good, great in fact & much better than the Sotheby photo.
The drawer is original and SIDE HUNG! with a single dovetail joining the maple drawer front, drawer sides are 1"+ thick & nailed at the back and bottom with hand forged iron rose head nails.
The turned feet/ legs & aprons are original & hard maple, the 4 corner "brackets" and 4 "finials"/drops are probably not original.
All in all, it's a really cool table & rare, there are only 20 of these early hi-lo stretcher tables extant in America and only 4 or 5 with a side hung drawer. Add in the pedigree/provenance and the fact that i stole it, I SCORED!

 

Wonderful news!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All that effort and detective work paid off. Good on you.

 

OOK. You stole that! Congrats! Somebody missed a trick; I'm betting that hung drawer detail should have jacked the price up by a fair margin.

 

Yes, side hung drawers are a feature of early work, no doubt. I'd guess 1680-1700 on this table. It's not in the William & Mary style like Sotheby's catalogue says, it is the style just before W&M which would be Charles II in england. We don't call furniture that here except for the generic term "pilgrim century" (1620-1720).
The correct American terms for this table are, Joined Table with Drawer, a little dry but that's what it is, it ain't william & mary, that's for sure.

DAMN RIGHT!! I stole it and happy as larry about it too!!
They had it in the wrong auction, wrong time, wrong place, Dad took advantage!
No telling what that table would have went for at say, Skinner, which is just west of Boston, afterall it is likely a Boston area table.

 

The auctioneers were asleep at the switch! Hen's teeth has to about cover bits from that era made in the USA.

 

No, they were not asleep they were just not paying attention, this was the VOGEL collection! which was VERY deep in outstanding examples of early american furniture. There must have been a dozen or more furniture pieces at 100k and up, there were lots of bargains at this sale, i was counting on it.
Results here, it was a 4 million dollar collection
http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/2018/collection-anne-h-frederick-vogel-iii-n10003.html?locale=en

 

I'm scrolling through some of it and I'm surprised how cheaply some pieces went. Some bits went nuts and some ... fizzled. That's auctions for you. If buying as a decorator I'd have been tempted to jump on that set of floor candlestands too. They'd look great in a modern loft and the provenance is ... Williamsburg. They went for relative peanuts.
http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions...nne-h-frederick-vogel-iii-n10003/lot.992.html

 

Well, when you have that big of a collection, everyone focuses on the very valuable pieces, they had english delftware up the ying yang and some went cheap, some went for over a 100k. Early boxes too, one went for 118k, turners chairs at 100k +, hell even a Sunflower chest.
Bottom line? with a collection that vast & deep, many of the lesser objects get passed over & lost in the commotion, AKA bargains!