Holabird's Pikes's Peak or Bust! Auction, Jan. 19-22, Honored The Great Colorado Gold Rush of 1859

2024-05-01 10:47:02 Art & Entertainment

509

Reno, NV, USA, February 2, 2023 -- A ten-dollar 1902 red seal banknote from The Farmers & Merchants National Bank in Reno, Nevada sold for $12,500, a runaway slave broadside from 1862 brought $8,750, and a circa 1868 lime green Dr. Boerhaave?s Stomach Bitters bottle finished at $8,435 at a four-day auction held Jan. 19-22, live and online, by Holabird Western Americana Collections, LLC.

The auction, officially titled Pike?s Peak or Bust! Western Americana, Bottles, Numismatics & More, was named in honor of the great Colorado Gold Rush of 1859 and featured a healthy dose of Colorado and Western states material, plus collectibles in many categories, including bottles, railroadiana, Native Americana, mining, numismatics, art, antique stocks and general Americana.

The 1902 Farmers & Merchants National Bank $10 red seal note was the second finest known of just the five red seals reported on the bank. It was PMG graded Very Fine 20, with some minor restorations on the reverse, but red seals are rare and coveted by collectors in any condition. It was signed by W. J. Harris and president Richard Kirman, the only president the bank ever had.

The folded slave broadside, 9 ? inches by 13 ? inches, dated Sept. 28, 1852, offered ?a liberal reward for the apprehension of (two) Negroes, who ran away Saturday night, the 21st, having stolen fifty dollars in money and a large lot of clothing.? The runaways were women: Eliza (in her 20s, ?well made, rather on the slender side?) and Fanny (about 50 and ?fond of smoking?).

The circa 1868 Dr. Boerhaave?s Stomach Bitters bottle with an applied top, 8 ? inches tall, was one of ?probably less than six known? (Wichmann, 1999) and ?extremely rare? (B133 in Ring). Little is known about this very scarce Western bitters bottle. Other examples of just the handful known are amber and yellow-olive. The one sold is possibly the only dark green lime one extant.

Following are additional highlights of the auction, held live in the Reno galley located at 3555 Airway Drive, as well as online via iCollector.com, LiveAuctioneers.com, Invaluable.com and Auctionzip.com. Phone and absentee bids were also accepted. Prices include buyer?s premium.

Day 1, on Thursday, January 19th, featured 514 lots of general Americana, which included geographic sort and miscellaneous categories, to include cowboy, sports, books and toys.

The runaway slave broadside was the day?s top lot, but other items included a City of Tombstone, Arizona business license, dated Aug. 1, 1881 (two months before the shoot-out at the OK Corral), and issued to the Peck Bros. (for ?Peddlers?), signed by Town Marshall Virgil Earp (Wyatt?s brother) ($3,250); and A McLellan model 1885 cavalry saddle with an A.D. Laidley Ordinance inspection stamp, complete with tack, hammered for $2,625. A.D. Laidley inspected leather goods for the U.S. Ordinance Dept. from the Civil War thru the Indian Wars.

A copy of Amy's Marysville (Calif.) Directory, for the Year Commencing June 1858, Being a Register of this City and of the County of Yuba, Embracing a General and Business Register of Citizens, etc., 108 pages, went for $2,000. Also, a rare, unframed lithograph of the infamous Andersonville Confederate prison in Georgia during the Civil War, titled Sparks From the Campfire, copyright 1890, measuring 17 inches by 22 inches, found a new home for $2,625.

Day 2, on Friday, January 20th, had 546 lots of transportation (railroad and steamer passes and transportation ephemera) and bottles and saloon (featuring Colorado whiskey and medicines).

The Dr. Boerhaave?s Stomach Bitters bottle was Day 2?s top achiever. Also sold was a tan-colored jug for the ?Bountiful Co-Operative / Mercantile Institution / Bountiful, Utah?, 11 inches tall, with five base chips but no apparent cracks ($3,625); and a near-mint, unlisted variant of a Preble (J 32) Old Kentucky Liquor House (Cripple Creek, Colo.) slope shoulder jug, 7 ? inches tall and very scarce, with a brown glaze on the top and a lighter glaze on the bottom ($3,500).

An autograph letter dated April 14, 1829 and signed by Peter Haywood, whose naval career was clouded by the misfortune of being a 16-year-old seaman aboard the merchant vessel HMS Bounty at the time of her famous mutiny in 1789, rose to $5,625. Also, a United Verde & Pacific Railway Company pass No. 103, issued to W.C. Potts for the year 1900 and signed by W.A. Clark (one of the ?Copper Kings? ? or mining millionaires ? of Montana) finished at $1,062.

Day 3, on Saturday, January 21st, was filled with 533 lots of art, Native Americana, political collectibles, militaria, firearms and weaponry, minerals and mining, and stocks and bonds.

To learn more about Holabird Western Americana Collections, LLC visit www.holabirdamericana.com. Updates posted often.

read full press release: https://www.prpocket.com/2023/02/holabirds-huge-four-day-pikes-peak-or-bust-auction-january-19th-22nd-honored-the-great-colorado-gold-rush-of-1859.html