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The highest price of the sale was for this ring: its approximately 2.25-carat round cut diamond, VS clarity and K color, was set in 14K yellow gold. The size 6 ring was won by a local Maryland buyer for $7,475 ($5/7,000).
Review by Carly Timpson
TIMONIUM, MD. — Wrapping up the summer season on August 29, Over & Above Online Auction and Estate Sales, LLC, conducted its End of Summer Spectacular auction. The End of Summer sale presented 515 lots in categories including jewelry, handbags, fashion, cameras, tools, toys, holiday, porcelain, art glass, ephemera, lamps and clocks. According to Over & Above’s owner, Laura Gast, most of the items from the sale came from estates in the Baltimore and Washington, DC, area. Gast also noted, “The buyers were mostly online, bidding through LiveAuctioneers and BidSpirit. We had several absentee bidders and phone bidders as well.” Boasting a 99 percent sell-through rate, the auction realized $93,908.
Gold jewelry led the sale, claiming the top two spots, the highest price being awarded to a 14K yellow gold diamond ring. The abstract-form ring was set with a single 2.25-carat round cut diamond. With the stone rated VS for clarity and K for color, the size six ring was in good to very good condition, according to the auction catalog. A local Maryland buyer claimed the piece for $7,475, just exceeding its $7,000 high estimate.
Following the ring in price was an 18K yellow gold necklace. The necklace, a large oval link model with a toggle-style closure, had a puffy heart-shaped pendant set with a dark, round cabochon stone. Similar larger cabochons were embedded elsewhere on the necklace and additional round gold beaded accents were strung along the chain. Stamped “Italy 18 Kt” and “DAG,” the necklace more than tripled its high estimate, going for $3,321.
Earning $3,321 was this 18K yellow gold oval link necklace with a puffy heart pendant and dark cabochon stones, 16¾ inches long ($700-$1,000).
Another dominant category in the sale was vintage cameras, which were led by a Hasselblad 500C medium format camera. The Hasselblad was paired with several accessories including a Carl Zeiss Sonar 150mm f/4 lens with shade, film holder, chimney viewfinder, prism viewfinder, handgrip, strap and Hasselblad focus ring lever. Cataloged as being in very good to excellent condition, the camera and accessories sold together for $1,392.
A movie camera, the Bolex H16 REX-3 Reflex, was the second-highest earner in the category. Sold with a custom carrying case, the camera, its Kern Paillard Vario-Switar 86mm EE lens and all original papers went out for $1,353. Also included in the lot were the lens cap and shade and a Rexofader fading device.
A Leica M3 camera body, without any lenses, brought $1,160. The 1962 single-stroke camera sold with its original leather case, body cap and two instructional books. Collectors of the popular brand may have also been interested in the Leitz Leica Elmar 50mm f/3.5 lens, which was being sold separately. Retaining its front cap and in very good condition, the lens sold for $800, far exceeding its $150 high estimate.
Earning $2,091 was a letter written and signed by Harry Houdini (1874-1926), which was consigned by the recipient’s grandson. The July 1919 letter, written on stationery from the Santa Fe Railroad’s The California Limited, was addressed to a Mr Philip Pesky, the owner of Schulte’s Bookstore in New York City. Houdini’s brief note read, “Finished up in Calif. Will be back — in fact we are on our way back” and had an additional message, seemingly an afterthought, wedged beside his signature. This addition read, “Broke my wrist again, it almost OK now.” The catalog description mentioned that Houdini broke his wrist while filming a movie in California that year.
Harry Houdini’s handwritten July 29, 1919, letter to Mr Philip Pesky and its envelope were in very good condition, driving bids to $2,091 ($1/1,500).
A four-volume set of Kawanabe Kyōsai’s woodblock printed books, Kyōsai gadan (Kyōsai’s Treatise on Painting), sold within estimate for $923. Each volume was bound with paper covers and included polychrome woodblock illustrations. According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which houses a set in its Asian art collection, the books date to 1887, just two years before the artist’s death.
A Civil War era revolver made by the Bacon Manufacturing Company of Norwich, Conn., found its way to the sale highlights, selling for $748. The five-shot percussion pocket revolver was engraved on the cylinder and side plates, though the etchings are now worn and somewhat hard to decipher. According to the auction catalog, the gun had a four-inch hexagonal barrel, which was rifled, and walnut stocks. A note in the catalog mentioned that “the cylinder does not always revolve to next chamber, possibly needs cleaning.” Despite this and its wear from age, it was in good to very good condition and sold over estimate.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For additional information, www.overandaboveonline.com or 410-458-5768.
