Over 200 antique bottles, flasks and more will be sold in Heckler's online auction, May 13-22

WOODSTOCK, Conn. - April 5, 2013 - PRLog -- (WOODSTOCK, Conn.) – An impressive selection of over 200 antique bottles, flasks and more from several prominent collections will be offered in absentee Internet auction #104 slated for May 13-22 by Norman C. Heckler & Company (www.hecklerauction.com). It is being billed as a May Opportunity Auction – digital online only – with no printed catalog or call-backs.

   Headlining the sale will be bottles from the collection of John April, a broad-based collector and fan of early bottles, and 42 pictorial and historical flasks from the collection of Mike Roberts, an expert on Washington-Taylor flasks and double eagle flasks.

   Also offered will be rare antique bottles from the collections of Dr. Paul S. Andreson, Ralph Finch, Gary Hatstat and Bernie Robert – all dedicated lifelong collectors. Bidding will officially begin on Monday, May 13, at 9 a.m. (EST) and conclude on Monday, May 22, at 10 p.m. In addition to online bidding, phone, fax, absentee, postal mail and e-mail bids will also be accepted.

   “This is shaping up as our most important Opportunity Auction to date,” said Norman C. Heckler, owner of Norman C. Heckler & Company. “Offered will be early glass whiskeys, historical flasks, black glass, bitters, fruit jars, inks, medicines, hat whimseys and more. There really will be something for just about everybody and at price points for all levels of collector.”

   The Mike Roberts collection will feature a group of eight scroll flasks, all made circa 1845-1860 (probably by Louisville Glassworks, Ky.) and carrying pre-sale estimates ranging from $500-$4,000; and a half-dozen cornucopia-urn pictorial flasks, some dating to 1820-1840 and a few made by Lancaster Glass Works (N.Y.). These are estimated to bring $200-$800 each.

   Also from the Roberts collection is a group of three clasped hands/eagle historical flasks made in Midwest America circa 1855-1870 and expected to sell for $300-$800 each; and four “Union” clasped hands/historical flasks, all made in Pittsburgh, Pa., in the mid-19th century by numerous glass houses and overall very rare and beautiful. They should fetch $600-$4,000 per bottle.

   A few other selections from the Mike Roberts collection include a summer tree/winter tree pictorial flask, made circa 1840-1860, possibly by the Baltimore (Md.) Glass Works (est. $1,000-$2,000); a Masonic eagle flask, made circa 1825-1835 in Zanesville, Oh. (est. $1,000-$2,000); and a pattern molded flask with 24 vertical flask, circa 1800-1840 (est. $1,000-$2,000).

   The expected stars of the Ralph Finch collection are fancy and figural cologne bottles, to be offered in multiple lots. All are attributed to the Boston and Sandwich Glass Works (Mass.), and were made in the mid-to-late 19th century. What will attract bidders is the fine condition and beautiful colors displayed by these examples. They are estimated to fetch $300-$1,000 per lot.

   The Dr. Paul S. Andreson collection boasts numerous free-blown and pattern-molded glass hat whimseys, by possible makers hailing from the East Coast to the Midwest. A Pitkin Glass Works (Manchester, Conn.) whimsey was made circa 1787-1830 and features a cylindrical hat form and nice medium olive amber color (est. $600-$1,200).

   Also from the Dr. Andreson collection: a blown three mold hat salt (Boston and Sandwich Glass Works, circa 1825-1835), in a brilliant cobalt blue (est. $500-$1,000); and a rare and desirable blown three-mold toy hat (probably Boston and Sandwich Glass Works, circa 1830-1848), cylindrical and colorless, in fine condition (est. $400-$800).

   The top lots of the entire sale could very well come from the John April collection. Expected to do well are a National Bitters figural bottle in the form of an ear of corn (circa 1860-1880) in fine condition and in a brilliant yellow color (est. $2,500-$5,000) and a Clark’s Superior Record Ink (Boston) master ink bottle, made in New England around 1820-1848 (est. $2,000-$4,000).

   Other bottles from John April will include a blown three mold decanter probably made by Keene Marlboro Street Glassworks (N.H.), circa 1820-1840 (est. $2,000-$4,000); an N. Wood (Portland, Me.) medicine bottle, probably made in Stoddard, N.H., circa 1840-1860 (est. $2,000-$4,000); and a Newburgh Glass Co. (N.Y.) lettered flask, circa 1866-1880 (est. $1,500-$3,000).   

   Previews will be held from April 22-May 21 at Norman C. Heckler & Company’s gallery facility, located at 79 Bradford Corner Road in Woodstock Valley, Conn. There, bidders will be able to inspect the bottles being offered, during regular business hours of 9-4, Monday through Friday. For more information, or to schedule an appointment, bidders may call (860) 974-1634.

   Norman C. Heckler & Company was founded in 1987 as a full-service auction and appraisal firm. Today it is the foremost auction house in the U.S. for antique glass. In Oct. 2010, the firm set a record for an antique glass bottle at auction when a General Jackson eagle portrait flask went for $176,670. In addition to glass, the firm also offers early American antique items.

   Norman C. Heckler & Company is always accepting quality consignments for future sales. To inquire about consigning a single piece or an entire collection, you may call them at (860) 974-1634; or, you can e-mail them at info@hecklerauction.com. To learn more about the upcoming May Opportunity Auction (May 13-22), visit www.hecklerauction.com.
   
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