Single-owner collection of Coke items, antiques will headline Bruneau & Co.'s July 13th auction

Posted 7/10/19

The single-owner collection of Russell Buteau of Millville, Massachusetts - a lifelong collector of Coca-Cola items and antiques for over 40 years - is an expected highlight of Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers' upcoming Antiques, Collectibles & Fine Art Auction

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

Single-owner collection of Coke items, antiques will headline Bruneau & Co.'s July 13th auction

Posted

The single-owner collection of Russell Buteau of Millville, Massachusetts – a lifelong collector of Coca-Cola items and antiques for over 40 years – is an expected highlight of Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers’ upcoming Antiques, Collectibles & Fine Art Auction planned for Saturday, July 13, at noon. The auction will be held online and in the Bruneau gallery at 63 Fourth Ave., Cranston.

“I’ve known Russell since my first job working at a local auction house when I was 13 years old,” said Travis Landry, a Bruneau & Co. specialist and auctioneer. “I’ve watched my father and him buy advertising signs together. He even lives in the town where my dad is police chief. He’s been around me for as long as I’ve been in antiques. It’s an honor to handle his collection.”

Coca-Cola is Buteau’s specialty. One lot that should draw intense bidder interest is a circa 1939 Coca-Cola salesman's sample ice chest cooler in the original paint, including advertising booklets. The metal chest, 9¾ inches tall and 12¼ inches by 7¼ inches, displays very well and is in all-original condition, with just some light paint wear. The lot should realize $1,000-$1,500.

Also from the collection is a 20th century Jacobs model JSC-160 Coca-Cola vending machine, red, made of metal and 54½ inches tall by 31 inches wide and 19 inches deep. The machine shows an old restored surface and there are scratches and surface wear commensurate with the age of the piece. It’s untested but is in overall good condition and should command $600-$900.

The first 136 lots of the 405-lot auction will be dedicated entirely to Buteau’s collection, an assemblage of vintage soda fountain items including Coca-Cola machines, coolers from many brands, over a dozen advertising clocks, several tin, porcelain and paper advertising signs, and rare Coca-Cola and other brand gum and novelties.

The auction then goes on to feature a large selection of European furniture, art glass, porcelains, Asian objects and original art by artists such as Hunt Slonem and Charles Henry Gifford.

“This catalog holds many surprises,” company president Kevin Bruneau said. “The Daniel Sturges map is truly one of a kind, and with records of maps by him fetching up to $80,000, who knows what a hand-drawn one will bring. The Chinese robin’s egg vase should also drive collector bidding as well.”

The Sturges map is a rare, hand-drawn and colored map of the Georgia territories by Daniel Sturges dated 1808 and executed for a client, Bohl Bohlers (est. $4,000-$6,000). Included is the original 63,000-acre land deed issued to Mr. Bohlers in 1775, plus more than 10 letters of correspondence, including one that appears to be from Sturges's friend Andrew Jackson before he was president. The map, 16¾ inches by 21¼ inches, is in a remarkable state of preservation.

The fine Chinese Qing dynasty robin’s egg blue vase, 12¾ inches tall, is potted bulbous baluster form with corseted quatrefoil neck and rim with archaic handles and finished in a mottled robin's egg blue glaze on a finely ground foot. The high-quality piece of porcelain bears a Qing dynasty mark to the underside and has been drilled, showing only minor kiln pitting (est. $2,000-$3,000).

Two lots both estimated in the $6,000-$9,000 category could well end up being the top two earners of the auction. The first is a diamond and platinum lady's wreath brooch, boasting 16 marquise-cut and 24 round-cut diamonds arranged as a wreath and with embellished floral accents. The brooch, about 1½ inches by 1½ inches, has a total diamond weight of 6.60 carats.

The other is an expressionist painting by Hunt Slonem (N.Y./Me./La., b. 1951), titled “White Sulphur” and depicting white butterflies over a powder blue background. The work was executed using Slonem’s signature sgraffito technique and is housed in a 40-by-40-inch frame. It is artist signed (“Hunt Slonem”) and titled and dated (1988) on verso. In May, Bruneau & Co. sold a similar painting by Slonem, titled “Butterfly’s” (2003). It was the sale’s top lot, hitting $15,000.

Another lot to watch is the Syrian mother of pearl abalone inlaid Orientalist parlor set from the 19th century (est. $1,500-$2,500). The set includes three chairs and a settee with reticulated carved back splats heavily inlaid with mother of pearl and abalone shell, with floral upholstered seats and intricately inlaid aprons supported by flared legs.

Also sold will be an English late 19th or early 20th century set of Copeland Spode plates, finely decorated with a unique exotic bird amongst foliage and insects within a cobalt blue and enameled floral scalloped rim with individualized gilt insects (est. $800-$1,200). Each plate in this magnificent set is 10 inches in diameter and each carries a Copeland mark on the bottom.

A few more expected Coke items of interest in the Buteau collection:

• A huge, 20th century Coca-Cola fishtail form advertising metal sign measuring 72 inches by 34 inches; a well-preserved example exhibiting only minimal wear (est. $800-$1,200).

• A vintage 20th century Vendo model 44 Coca-Cola 5-cent vending machine with original paint, 58 inches tall by 21½ inches deep by 15½ inches wide, untested (est. $600-$900).

• An early 20th century Coca-Cola New Orleans wood crate and six 72-oz. blue-tinged glass bottles; crate reads "Built to Last S.T. Alcus & Co. Ltd. New Orleans" (est. $300-$500).

• A circa 1950 “Drink Coca-Cola Ice Cold” cooler advertising radio in original condition made of plastic and metal with minor surface wear; may need rewiring (est. $200-$300).

Previews will be held Thursday and Friday, July 11-12, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the gallery.

For those unable to attend, internet bidding is conducted via bidLIVE.Bruneauandco.com, LiveAuctioneers.com, Bidsquare.com and Invaluable.com, or by downloading the mobile app "Bruneau & Co." on iTunes or GooglePlay. Telephone and absentee bids will also be accepted. Pre-registered is recommended for online platforms.

Doors will open at 8 a.m. on auction day; the first gavel falls at noon. An in-gallery pre-sale is at 10 a.m.

To learn more about Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers and the July 13 Antiques, Collectibles & Fine Art Auction, visit bruneauandco.com. Updates are posted frequently. To contact the company, email info@bruneauandco.com or call 533-9980.

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here