| ROCKLAND, Mass. – After 45 years in the auction business, auctioneer Willis Henry has not lost his enthusiasm for selling good antiques. For his upcoming Dec. 2 sale, Henry is like the proverbial kid in a candy store. “The longer I look at these things, the more I fall in love with them,” he says. “It’s really going to be a fun auction.” And, what isn’t there to love in the eclectic mix of more than 300 lots he will be selling at his auction gallery at 929 Hingham St., in Rockland, Mass.? Included, are antiques from an exceptional lifelong collection from Albany, N.Y., complemented by several fine antiques from the local Massachusetts towns of Hingham, Marshfield, Duxbury and Yarmouth. Included in the auction are several skater’s lanterns, of all colors, including cobalt blue, cranberry red and green, all different sizes and shapes. “Those – particularly the colored ones – are fairly rare,” Henry says. “They’re from the 19th century, mostly used after the farm chores were done and skaters took to the ice-covered ponds in the evening.” Also, for sale are several early railroad lanterns, including one example that used whale oil for fuel. Also coming from the Albany collection, are several Bohemian glass lamps with scenes of special American tourism sites including Niagara Falls, Horseshoe Falls, and Saratoga Springs, in addition to a rare tankard with a pewter top. A 30-inch signed Rodin bronze, the famed The Thinker, in addition to other sculptures by Antonio Canova, Antoine-Louis Barye and Claude Michel Clodion, will be offered for sale. There is a healthy offering of fine art, including three highly desirable paintings by the itinerant folk artist Fritz G. Vogt who roamed the dirt roads of New York counties between 1890 and 1900 selling his illustrations of farms and homes to owners throughout the countryside. Contact: (781) 871-0545 www.willishenryauctions.com |
