BROOKLYN, NY.- SJ Auctioneers’ first major event of 2023 will be an online-only Winter Watch for Wanted Collectibles auction, slated for Sunday, January 29th, beginning at 4 pm Eastern time. Of the 244 lots, two stand out as rare and highly collectible: a 1930 Popeye the Pilot tin wind-up toy plane and a 1934 Popeye pocket watch in excellent working condition.
Popeye items are highly desired by collectors. The fictional cartoon character, created by Elzie Crisler Segar, first appeared in a King Features comic strip in 1929 and has been beloved by millions ever since. Collectibles relating to Popeye are a multi-million-dollar industry. The Popeye the Pilot tin wind-up toy plane was made by Marx and has an estimate of $1,000-$1,500.
The Popeye pocket watch was made only one year (1934) by New Haven Watch Co. (Conn.). It has a nickel finish and a colorful and detailed dial, picturing many characters from the strip and Thimble Theatre Players (where Popeye originated). Popeye’s die-cut arms tell the time, while a second wheel shows Wimpy chasing a hamburger. The watch should hammer for $1,000-$5,000.
Collectors of Disney items will be attracted to the Mickey and Minnie Mouse puppets in the original boxes, made by Pelham Puppets (est. $250-$500). Each puppet stands 11 inches tall. The rest of the auction features lots of hard-to-find racers, toy trains and tin friction toys, sterling collectibles, glass arts paperweights, rare jewelry and décor – something for nearly everybody.
The artists, designers and silversmiths include Cartier, Tiffany, Dominick & Haff, Jose Hess, Emile Delaire, Gorham, Movito, Reed & Barton, Watson, Wallace, Wm. B Kerr, Sackermann Hessenberg & Co., Italian Vetreria, Murano, Arte, American Flyer, Lionel, Nintendo, Tootsie Toy, Buddy ‘L’, Matchbox, Lesney, Steuben, Disney and Baccarat.
Tin friction toys will feature a Japanese Ichiko Mercedes-Benz 330 extra-long tin friction vehicle with box, about two feet long (est. $1,000-$2,500); a very rare Japanese 1950s Marusan tin friction jet car with working mechanism (est. $500-$1,000); and a Japanese SAN Marusan “Champion 2-J” battery-operated tin toy speed boat with driver in the original box, in good working condition, model 3811, 10 ½ inches long (est. $250-$500).
Other toys include a collection of four sets of Britains metal figurines, totaling 17 toy soldiers (est. $150-$5,000); a group of three 1947 Captain Marvel automatic tin wind-up vehicles with keys included: #2 orange, #4 blue and #1 olive, Fawcett Publications (est. $750-$1,000); and an 11-inch-tall wooden Schoenhut toddler doll with label, on a walker body (est. $1,000-$5,000). Walking dolls without the holes in the feet were made in 1919.
The sterling silver category is packed with lovely and desirable items, to include the following:
• A 60-piece Reed & Barton flatware set in the Francis 1st pattern, in a green zip-up box and fabric top, no monograms, in excellent pre-owned condition (est. $3,500-$8,000).
• A Gorham mixed metals Y50 sterling silver copper jardiniere vase with applied 3-D strawberry plant and spider, never polished, with original patina, 3 ½ inches tall, marked on the bottom “Y50” and “O” (“O” is Gorham date mark for 1882) (est. $2,500-$5,000).
• A pair of Tiffany & Co. sterling silver salt and pepper shaker owls (est. $1,000-$3,500).
• A pair of 1948 Reed & Barton sterling silver dishes (or bowls) in the Narcissus pattern, 8 3/8 inches long by 5 inches wide with a total weight of 8.99 troy oz. (est. $1,000-$5,000).
A Daum pate-de-verre (opaque, dense glass, having a frosted surface; also known as glass paste) cameo vase landscape signed “Devez”, about 8 ¼ inches in height, should realize $3,000-$5,000; while a signed Daum pate-de-verre trotter horse by Jean Francois Leroy, light to dark amber in color, box included, 4.3 inches tall by 5.7 inches in length, carries an estimate of $700-$1,000.
Two beautiful and outstanding vases have identical estimates of $1,000-$5,000. One is a signed Daum pate-de-verre fig leaves lizard art glass vase, purple/green in color. The other is a signed Edward Hald fish design cased glass vase made by Orrefors, approximately 5 ½ inches tall and weighing about 7 pounds, in excellent used condition. Also having the same estimate is a signed 1414 Steuben blue aurene (iridescent glassware) perfume bottle with stopper, 8 inches in height.
The jewelry category will feature a pair of 18kt gold diamond stud pillow earrings featuring pave set round brilliant cut diamonds weighing 3.00 carats (est. $4,500-$6,500); a pair of 14kt gold textured dome earrings weighing approximately 4.89 grams (est. $1,500-$5,000); and an 18kt white gold Tahitian pearl diamond enhancer necklace with a 16-inch-long 14kt white gold chain, the pearl 10-11 mm, the three round brilliant diamonds totaling 0.24 carats (est. $1,000-$2,000).
As in SJ Auctioneers’ previous sale, this one will also feature pieces by Herend, the Hungarian porcelain maker. They include an artist-signed, extra-large, hand-painted bunny rabbit figurine in the White Dynasty (or Siang Blanc) pattern, with lots of green, pink and yellow flowers, 12 inches tall (est. $2,000-$2,500); and a pair of rust fishnet, 12 7/8 inches tall (est. $750-$1,500).
Online bidding is via LiveAuctioneers.com and Bidsquare.com. A link to the catalog on LiveAuctioneers is here: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/catalog/273425_winter-watch-for-wanted-collectibles/A link to the catalog on Bidsquare is here: https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/sj-auctioneers/winter-watch-for-wanted-collectibles-11683.
No phone bids will be taken, but absentee bidding is available now online. Pre-bidding is also available, meaning for those who are unable to attend the online auction, they can still leave their bids now.
