In the early hours of Wednesday, July 12, 2017, Hake’s Americana & Collectibles began closing Auction #221, presenting political, historical, and baseball memorabilia. Many outstanding results were achieved among the political memorabilia. All five of the top political item sales in this auction sold beyond their pre-auction estimates.
“The political section was outstanding. I haven’t seen any official totals yet as we are still in the middle of the auction as a whole, but it looks like it could be an all-time record. We saw interest across the board and many dormant bidders emerged to take part in the event highlighted by the first offerings from the collections of Leon Rowe and Ron Koot,” Americana Specialist Scott Mussell said.
Taking the top spot, the “For President, Abraham Lincoln” parade flag closed at $40,124, over the $20,000 to $35,000 estimate. The glazed cotton flag from 1860 was, as Hake’s described it, “The crown jewel of the Leon Rowe Collection.” The rare find features additional text, “For Vice President, Hannibal Hamlin” and 33 stars.
“Early political textiles have always been coveted by collectors of 19th century campaign material with Lincoln flags being at the top of collectors want lists,” Mussell said. “The example we offered was fresh to market having been in Leon Rowe’s collection for 30 years since he obtained it at a Pennsylvania flea market. Adding another facet was the unusual star pattern in the canton that always excites those looking to preserve historical American flags. Combine those factors ‒ rarity, desirability, story, historical importance ‒ and you have the makings of something special which this flag most certainly is. While this piece exceeded our valuation we were not surprised to see it do so.”
Taking the second spot on Tuesday closings was the important John Bell constitutional union party hand painted two-sided banner that realized $13,700, nearly tripling the high estimate of $5,000. The hand painted silk banner from 1860 is the first example Hake’s has encountered.
A remarkable 1912 Debs/Seidel locket motif jugate button surpassed its $5,000 to $10,000 estimate to realize $11,682. With a beautiful art nouveau design it contains heart shaped frames housing portraits of the candidates.
The 1960 “Vote Straight Republican” Nixon/Lodge jugate button cleared $8,112 over the $2,000 to $5,000 estimate. The Keystone Badge Co. button features the smiling elephant and blue-toned floating head portraits of the candidates.
A surprising result landed in the fifth highest political spot when the large real photo button for “Wilson Day/Dutchess County” New York went well beyond the $400 to $700 estimate to reach $6,046. Essentially in Mint condition, the 1916 button features a portrait and is a rarity among Wilson items.
“This was a stunner,” Mussell commented. “While this is certainly among the top Wilson portrait buttons, the final value is attention-worthy and speaks to the markets favor for rarely offered or previously unknown material, not to mention the difficulty in gauging its value.”
All prices include the 18% buyer’s premium. Stay tuned to Scoop and visit hakes.com for more details on prices realized in Hake’s Auction #221.