Great items sold in private sales

Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association, Inc., The, Mar/Apr 2002 by Wells, John G

TOOL AUCTION NEWS

The weather in San Diego seems to be always beautiful for the PAST tool show, and this year was no exception. The January 24-26 meeting was held in the Four Points Sheraton Hotel adjacent to Montgomery Field for light aircraft. When my wife Jan and I arrived on Wednesday afternoon, tool collectors were beginning to settle in and by that evening trading had begun in a few of the guestrooms.

I was fortunate to witness several great items that were sold in private transactions. A very rare cast iron level by C. Bede, patented May 26,1914, which uses a battery-operated lamp to illuminate the level bubbles (see photo), was sold to a collector from the Pacific Northwest. There are only three or four examples of this level known and this one was in fine condition with nearly all of the shiny black japanning and gold highlighting intact.

An early cast iron smooth plane, patented July 6, 1852, by Birdsill Holly of Seneca Falls, sold to the same collector. Early Holly planes were the first planes in America to use screw lock lever caps.

I also saw a rare 15-inch O.R. Chaplin jack plane, patented May 7,1872, with a nickel-plated metal handle and knob, and with the inside surfaces of the bed finished in red japanning. There was a very rare 15-- inch jack plane, patented by the Davis Level and Tool Co., August 31, 1875, in wonderful condition; and a Bailey Tool Co. Defiance No. 27, 21-inch jointer plane (c. 1875) also in excellent condition. I even came across a Metallic Plane Co. iron filletster plane with skew cutter and the delightful open grillwork sliding fence.

On Thursday morning, January 24, trading began in the parking lot well before sunrise. A lot of the merchandise was the lower quality stuff one expects to find there, and I didn't hear of any great pieces being offered or of any great finds. There was a lot of camaraderie and swapping of tool lore until noontime when everything shifted back to the rooms flanking the two hotel atriums used by the PAST tool show.

Late Thursday evening trade tables were set up in the two atriums and early Friday morning trading was in full swing.

One of the best things I saw in the trading room was a Stanley Hogg patent slide rule in boxwood with German silver slide and binding in fine condition offered by Don and Ann Wing. James Hogg, of Lawrence, Massachusetts, developed Hogg's improved slide rule for use in the textile industry prior to 1886. Hogg published a book of instructions in 1887 for using the rule to solve problems encountered in the textile industry.

Saturday's auction was a great success and created the sparkle one usually finds at the PAST Winter Old Tool Show. The auction included an excellent range of quality tools with a number of stellar high-end pieces for the discerning collector, a good run of interesting mid-range material, and a few low-end lots to please bargain hunters. Many of the tools were very attractive and were from one of the world's great collections, put together by Roger and Eleanore Phillips over many years of travel throughout Europe and the United States.

A good variety of types of tools and makers were represented. As expected, Stanley tools were prominent but there was also a good selection of English tools as well as a nice assortment of planes, rules, trammels, saws, and levels by various makers.

Auctioneer Tom Ceaton began promptly at 10:00 A.M. and moved the 501 lots along at an easy-to-- follow pace of about 110 lots per hour to finish in 4 1/2 hours. The suspense in an auction is sometimes daunting: there is always the fear that you won't be able to buy the item you want because someone else will be determined to have it at any price.

The auction included an almost complete range of Stanley Type 2 bench planes: No. 3 through No. 7. (Type 2 planes were the earliest examples of Bailey patented bench planes made by Stanley Rule and Level Co. in New Britain after they purchased Bailey's patents.) A very nice No. 3, Type 2 smooth plane, in excellent condition and with a nicely repaired handle horn, brought $225 and a No.4 smoother sold for $175.

A Stanley Miller's Patent No. 41 plow plane, patented June 28, with a wrap around fence and filletster bed in fine condition was hammered down for $1200. In 1870 Charles G. Miller of Brattleboro, Vermont, designed some of Stanley's prettiest planes.

A mint Stanley No. 95 Edge Trim plane in the original box sold for a very reasonable $140, and a mint No. 148 Tongue and Groove plane in the box brought $150. A No. 289 skew cutter Rabbet Plane, rarely seen with the correct fence, went to a New York dealer for $250.

A Stanley No. 93 brass bound, mahogany level in unused condition in the original box brought $375 from another New York dealer. A No. 386 jointer gauge also in the box sold for $200.

There was a nice run of rules early in the auction. A scarce Stanley No. 62C two-foot, four-fold, brassbound rule with caliper, offered 1910-1933, sold for $125. A rare Stanley No. 94 four-foot, fourfold, brass bound rule offered 1879-- 1943, which is very difficult to find in mint condition, brought $250.