Punch cigar store figure, 1911 Indy jumpsuit, more will be sold March 1-3 at Philip Weiss Auctions

Jan. 31, 2012 - PRLog -- (OCEANSIDE, N.Y.) – A massive three-day sale that will feature as many as 2,000 quality, fresh-to-the-market lots in a host of categories will be held the weekend of March 1-3 by Philip Weiss Auctions, in the firm’s spacious gallery located at #1 Neil Court in Oceanside. New merchandise was pouring in at press time and the items were being photographed and catlaloged.

   A few of the expected top lots include a 19th century William Demuth Punch cigar store advertising figure; a jump suit worn by a driver at the first Indianapolis 500 car race, in 1911; a program from the first game played at Yankee Stadium, in 1923; a rare Montauk, N.Y., poster; and a goalie stick signed by players from the 1953-54 Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings.

   “This is shaping up to be one of the best three-day sales we’ve ever had – maybe the best of all,” said Philip Weiss of Philip Weiss Auctions. “The caliber of merchandise, combined with the fact that almost all of it is new to the market, is adding up to a blockbuster event.” Mr. Weiss expects a healthy crowd, to go with Internet bidding (via Proxibid) and phone and absentee bids.

   The auction will kick off Friday, March 1, at 2 p.m. (EST), with over 400 lots of sports-related items, non-sports cards, comics and comic art. Saturday, March 2, will feature more than 600 lots of transportation, militaria, historical, circus, posters and advertising, starting at 2 p.m. The Sunday session, March 3, at 10 a.m., will include 600+ lots of toys, trains and toy soldiers.

   The Demuth Punch cigar store figure will be offered on Saturday, March 2. The William Demuth & Co., Mfgrs. (N.Y.) was already a well-known distributor of carved pipes and cigar store trade figures when it formed a partnership in 1883 with Moritz Seelig, a Brooklyn foundry operator, to make the renowned Punch figures. An example sold at auction in 2008 for $207,000.

   The Indianapolis 500 jump suit is part of an archive of vintage race car memorabilia from the Henry Austin Clark Museum. It was worn by Indy driver Lewis Strang and is believed to be the only suit that exists today from that race. It will also be sold in the Saturday session, along with a pennant attributed to that same inaugural race and which was flown at the track that day.

   The exceedingly rare poster advertising Montauk Beach, N.Y., was made in the early 20th century and is one of possibly only three known. It promises to be the highlight of a large group of high-end and highly collectible posters that will change hands on Saturday, March 2. A few categories include World Wars I and II, travel and transportation, French Art Deco and more.

   The Yankee program and signed goalie stick will be headliners in the Friday, March 1, session. The Opening Day program from the Yankees’ first game played in the House That Ruth Built is dated April 18, 1923. The hockey stick was consigned by the estate of Terry Sawchuck, goalie on the championship 1953-54 Red Wings team. It is signed by all the players and coach.
   
   Also sold March 1 will be a cut signature of Nile Kinnick, the Heisman Trophy winner who was killed in a plane crash while young, making anything signed by him rare and desirable; two Babe Ruth cut signatures; a single-signed Honus Wagner baseball; a single-signed Babe Ruth baseball; a single-signed Hank Greenberg baseball; and a group of  T206 baseball cards.

   The Friday session will also feature a bat signed by members of the 1957 National League All-Star team (including Musial, Mays, Spahn, Aaron, Hodges, Banks); two circa-1870s original Warsaw early baseball broadsides; and a collection of non-sports cards. Comics and comic art will include a Peanuts Sunday page and a Katzenjammer Kids Sunday page from 1922.

   Returning to the Saturday session, noteworthy lots will include an original oil painting by marine artist Antonio Jacobsen (N.Y./N.J., 1850-1921); other maritime-related items; material from the Bushnell and Kulukundus estates (featuring ocean liner-related signs, prints, photos and souvenir items); and a rare 1838 Queen Victoria coronation broadside and commemorative dish.

   The Indy 500 pennant is one of many pennants to be sold March 2. Examples include the 1948 Long Island Auto Museum, the 1913 Decatur Road Race and the 1911 Savannah Grand Prix. Also sold will be personal belongings of anthropologist Dr. Albert Schweitzer, including an envelope opener with a silver eagle’s head and an elephant’s tooth engraved by Dr. Schweitzer.

   Military items will be highlighted by a frock coat, 1871 sword and scabbard from Naval Officer Howard D. Potts, who fought in the Korean Expedition; and a collection of early military saddles. Also offered will be a 1948 three-page handwritten letter from Ernest Hemingway; a folk art whirligig of Uncle Sam cutting wood; and a great Reed’s Tonic Cures advertising clock.

   The Sunday, March 3 session will feature toy trains (Lionel, American Flyer, MTH, HO Brass and more, with many boxed sets and boxed accessories); toy soldiers (Courtenay, Mignot, Tradition, Britains and more, many in their original boxes); pressed steel trucks (Buddy L, Smith Miller, Tonka, Lylint, more); vintage die-cast Dinky vehicles; and wind-up and battery-op toys.

   Philip Weiss Auctions will also have a one-day estate sale on Thurs., March 15, starting at 2 p.m. Sold will be quality lots from prominent regional collections. Philip Weiss Auctions is always accepting quality consignments for future sales. To consign an item, estate or collection, you may call them at (516) 594-0731, or, you can e-mail them at phil@weissauctions.com.

To learn more about Philip Weiss Auctions and the firm’s calendar of events, to include the upcoming three-day March 1-3 sale, please log on to www.WeissAuctions.com.

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Ken Hall writes pre-sale and post-sale press releases for auction houses, for a fee. He writes, submits and tracks stories for clients. Submissions are published in trade magazines, posted on industry websites and appear in local newspapers.