From gum machines to rare occupational shaving mugs, Morphy's May 28-30 sale is a blue-chip offering Antique coin-op chewing gum dispensers, rare occupational shaving mugs, a superb antique paper doll collection, Bakelite jewelry and art glass are all part of Morphy's eclectic May 28-30 auction.
DENVER, Pa. - Morphy's $1.5 million Early Spring Sale held in March charted a bullish course for 2009, according to the company's chief operating officer, Dan Morphy, and with a lineup of fresh merchandise waiting in the wings, Morphy expects continued strong interest in toys and antique advertising in his May 28-30, 2009 event. “The great collections continue to come to us,” he said. “We've had no problem in getting quality consignments.”
“Chewsy” collectors won't be disappointed with the May sale's featured collection of rare chewing gum vending machines and gum-related ephemera belonging to Dwight Strouse. A mature collection, it includes more than 100 antique and vintage dispensing machines, point-of-purchase display pieces, and more than 250 additional gum items including scarce wrappers.
A highly specialized collection with crossover interest throughout, the Bob Miller occupational shaving mug collection includes more than 60 examples. A top entry is the boxing-themed personal shaving mug of Charles Hitte, a celebrated turn of the 20th century pugilist who died tragically and ironically of a non-boxing-related injury. In a New York Times report published Jan. 19, 1905, Hitte's throat was cut by one Joe Gosha, a knife-wielding oyster opener with whom he had quarreled outside a hotel in downtown Albany. The Hitte shaving mug is unquestionably authentic, said Morphy. “We have an old photo of the mug, which appeared on the cover of Ringside magazine in the 1950s,” he said.
Morphy's sale will feature more than 300 pieces of early advertising. As usual, Morphy's resident antique advertising experts Gary and Mary Pat Metz have brought together a top-quality selection of Coca-Cola material and other desirable advertising items for collectors of that particular specialty.
An array of more than 100 mechanical and still banks is sure to please collectors at all price points. Mechanicals are led by a beautiful Butting Buffalo bank, a Magician (in fine condition), a Jonah & the Whale, and a Boy on Trapeze bank. Stills include a Two-Faced Devil and the first Apple bank in truly mint condition that Morphy has ever seen.
The auction also includes 175 pedal cars - all from a single collection and to be sold in one day - as well as 75+ pieces of excellent pressed-steel automotive toys from makers including Buddy 'L,' Keystone and Smith-Miller.
A special section of the May event is devoted to the late Phyllis Grindle's extraordinary collection of antique, vintage and postwar paper dolls. The approximately 200-lot grouping includes some of the earliest known paper dolls, like the late-18th-century “Profile People.” Carol Sullivan, who cataloged the paper dolls for Morphy's, described the Profile People as “amusements for the upper classes…They have a Marie Antoinette look to them.”
Another highlight is the set known as The Boy and His Horse - a double-riding doll for children. The set is printed in four languages: German, English, French and Italian. Each 6-inch rider in the set can be matched up with one of several 6-inch-tall by 8-inch-wide “mounts,” including a dual-entity horse/bear or zebra/bird. Presented
