The RSL Auction Company is very pleased to announce its adoption of a new auction format that shall henceforward be known as the “Crème de la Crème Auction”. This phrase originated in France perhaps three centuries ago. Its earliest use stems from culinary references related to cheese produced with the finest creams. In modern parlance, the phrase has simply come to mean the ‘very best’, whether in reference to people or things. As the phrase implies, these auctions will be extremely small with only the very best quality offerings on the market.
Our first crème de la crème sale will take place this summer on Saturday, August 21st at our auction facility in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey. The sale will showcase 300 stellar pieces that will include architectural still banks, dynamic themed spelter still banks, figural still banks, tin and cast iron mechanical banks, bell toys, cast iron animal drawn toys, European tinplate planes, trains, automobiles and novelty toys, rare examples of American tin and mechanical toys and several prized pieces of folk art. In the future, we will plan to create one crème de la crème sale every summer.
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LOT 301:
The Old Woman in the Shoe Iron Mechanical Bank
more...
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Sold for: $40,000
Start price:
$
12,000
Estimated price:
$25,000 - $35,000
Buyer's Premium: 27.5%
sales tax: 6.625% On commission only
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The Old Woman in the Shoe Iron Mechanical Bank
Made by the W. S. Reed Company. Leominster, Ma. - Pat.'d 11-27-1883. From Gertrude & Covert Hegarty. From the Al Davidson Collection. From Richard Goldstein Collection. The Old Woman in the Shoe Bank is perhaps the most sought after bank in the history of the hobby. An authentic specimen with period paint carries a book valuation above $500,000. But this is basically a moot point since few examples ever came to light and passed into the hands of collectors. In fact, only a single horde of these rare toy banks ever turned up and they were discovered decades ago by Covert Hegarty and F. H. Griffith. At the time they were unearthed, there were two relatively complete specimens with old period paint and there was a collection of loose unpainted parts. Both Hegarty and Griffith kept one good example for themselves. The Hegarty example came on the market in 1988 and subsequently traded hands three times over the next 25 years. It is currently in a major collection. The Griffith specimen has been in a collection for nearly forty years. I cannot comment about it because I have never seen it. After Covert Hegarty died in 1968, his widow Gertrude had the unpainted loose parts for the Old Woman in the Shoe bank assembled by a local ironworker. Remember, these parts had been discovered years before along with the two mostly complete specimens with old period paint. Gertrude painted them herself and passed them on to collector friends Al Davidson and Steve Steckbeck. The current bank for auction is the Davidson example that Gertrude traded to him in the 1970's. The anecdotal evidence brought to light in this descriptive entry was disclosed to me over many years by various sources that include Donal Markey, Al Davison, Floyd Griffith and Gertrude Hegarty. I hope this information is helpful.
