Miller & Miller's Online-Only Petroliana & Advertising Auction, April 23rd, Features 481 Choice Lots

2024-04-26 10:24:10 Art & Entertainment

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New Hamburg, Ontario, Canada, April 9, 2022 -- An exceedingly rare Winchester cartridge board from around 1884 ? one of the most sought after, iconic examples of American sporting advertising ? is an expected highlight lot in an online-only Petroliana & Advertising Auction planned for Saturday, April 23rd, by Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd., starting promptly at 9 am Eastern time.

The monumental and historic Winchester cartridge board, which measures 38 inches tall by 28 inches wide, is a lithographed hardboard with an applied representation of one of Winchester?s earliest lines of ammunition. Few survived intact due to their size and the fact that they were often displayed in store windows and areas exposed to light. The one in the auction, in the original frame, is in untouched, original condition and is expected to sell for $35,000-$50,000.

All estimates in this report are in Canadian dollars.

The rest of the auction is a wonderland of offerings for every level of petroliana and advertising enthusiast ? 481 lots of fresh-to-the-market, investment-grade advertising signs, tins and related memorabilia from the 1890s to the 1970s. The petroliana, soda and general store advertising signs include many high-grade and seldom-seen examples.

Also included is a clean offering of Canadian motor oil quarts, gas pumps and petroliana, and a recently discovered hoard of advertising from the Black Horse Brewery. The Helen and Gordon Vokey collection includes a run of Coca-Cola trays from 1910-1961, as well as a curated gathering of signs and related collectibles. There?s something for everyone.

?Advertising is one of the hottest categories of collectibles we sell,? said Justin Miller of Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd. ?Demand outweighs supply and fresh-to-the-market signs are becoming very difficult to find as collectors fight over what does turn up. Many collectors are building long term collections. The Vokey collection contains many items that should get collectors excited.?

Mr. Miller said the Vokeys purchased most of their collection in the 1980s, ?when you could find quality signs without as much trouble as today. A favorite of mine in the auction is lot 296 ? a sign that has everything going for it: porcelain, die cut, curved corner sign and condition to boot. On top of all that, it was just discovered less than a month ago here in New Hamburg.?

He was referring to the circa 1905 Carhartt?s Overalls corner sign, recently discovered during the liquidation of a longtime business in town, Murray?s Clothing & Footwear. The single-sided porcelain sign, graded 9 for condition and 22 inches tall by 18 inches wide, features a mint green car and is known to have been produced for the Canadian market. It?s expected to fetch $5,000-$7,000, although Mr. Miller said he wouldn?t be surprised if it brought much more than that.

A Cities Service Koolmotor double-sided porcelain curb sign, known as the ?Kite Sign? for its shape, was produced in America in the 1930s and used in the Canadian market. Graded 9 for condition, with bold colors and a glossy finish, it should bring $12,000-$15,000. Also, a 1947 two-door, right-hand drive MGTC roadster convertible car, a true ?survivor? car with just 24,790 actual miles, fully restored in 1982 and with a good engine, has an estimate of $9,000-$12,000.

Internet bidding will be via the Miller & Miller website (www.MillerandMillerAuctions.com), as well as the popular online bidding platform LiveAuctioneers.com. Telephone and absentee bids will also be accepted. The major categories include advertising signs, advertising tins, soda advertising, breweriana, petroliana (gas station collectibles), toys, clocks, general store and tools.

While this is an Internet-only auction, with no in-person event to attend, bidders can tune in to the live webcast on Saturday, April 23rd, to watch the lots close in real time. Here is a link to the auction: https://live.millerandmillerauctions.com/auctions/4-5C60JW/petroliana-advertising.

To learn more about Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd. and the auction on April 23rd, please visit www.millerandmillerauctions.com.