Tool Auction News

Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association, Inc., The, Nov/Dec 2004 by Wells, John

Sale of the Rodier Set Smashes All Previous Records

During Martin J. Donnelly's Live Free or Die Auction on Saturday, September 18,2004, at the Nashua, New Hampshire, Holiday Inn Hotel, the sale of a small carrying case containing four woodworking planes wrote a new chapter in the chronicle of antique tool collecting. The incredible sale price of $83,000 ($91,300 with the buyer's premium) not only set a new world's record for the sale of a single auction lot of antique tools but almost tripled the previous record of $31,900 set by an Israel White plow.

The story of this extraordinary event began almost twenty years ago in 1985 when auctioneer Richard Crane received a letter from Charles L. Rodier of California. The letter described a mahogany traveling display case containing four planes (a jack plane, a smooth plane, a block plane, and a bull-nose block plane), an original patent certificate, and a drafting set that had belonged to his grandfather, Louis C. Rodier. It had been handed down to him through his family and its provenance was impeccable. The box had an oval label with the inscription: "L. C. Rodier's Single Iron Planes Patented March 4, 1879, April 21,1885."

In volume 2 of his Patented Transitional & Metallic Planes in America (PTAMPIA), Roger Smith noted that the Rodier planes were "personal prototypes and/or patent models that incorporated the 1885 design." The two bench planes were a little smaller than his production models 2-1/16 inches wide with 1-5/8 inch wide irons. They had smooth rather than fluted sides, and the soles were smooth rather than having the wavy corrugations used on production planes. All four planes had the 1885 patented mechanism described in P-TAMPIA. Apparently Rodier did not succeed in getting financial backing and planes of this design were never put in production.

The traveling box of planes and his drafting set were offered in Richard Crane's auction catalogue for the March 30,1985 sale at the Nashua Holliday Inn Hotel, almost exactly 100 years after Rodier was granted his second patent for planes.

The Crane auction took on a very serious tone when the lot containing Rodier's traveling case and four planes was announced. Interest in patented planes was just beginning to develop and collectors had only a hint of the significance of the set.

When the hammer fell, Dr. Daniel Weinstock was the new owner. He had bid $5,000 for Rodier's planes and an additional $200 for the drafting set offered as a separate lot.

Now fast-forward almost twenty years to Saturday, September 18, 2004. Richard Crane had retired. At the Nashua Holiday Inn Martin J. Donnelly's Live Free or Die Auction was continuing the tradition of the tool auction, the parking lot sale, and the dealer's sale with a new spirit and vitality. When Dan Weinstock decided to pass on the stewardship of the Rodier Set, one of the most important artifacts in the world of antique tools, to its next custodian, Martin's auction became the natural choice.

On Friday evening when the Saturday auction lots were put on preview, the interest and anticipation about the Rodier Set, Auction Lot 500, intensified. By early Saturday morning there were always people huddled around Lot 500. People began making private speculations and bets on the opening and closing bids. Twenty-five to thirty thousand dollars opening and fifty to sixty-five thousand dollars closing were figures bantered about.

As the auction approached lot 500, chatter in the room intensified. When auctioneer Paul Wilmott announced lot 500 and said: "With your permission I want to take a sip of water before selling the next lot," a hush fell over the room. Then he said "I have an opening bid of $43,000."

For a few seconds the audience was too stunned to respond. There was an almost audible gasp. Then bidding proceeded between the room and a high absentee bidder until the absentee bidder was toed out at $58,000. Amazingly, bidding continued in the room between two determined bidders, back and forth without any hint of hesitation.

Finally, only one bidder-EAIA member Andrew D'Elia-responded and the hammer dropped at the almost unbelievable closing bid of $83,000.

It took several minutes for the reality of what had happened to settle in. In just a few minutes the world of antique tool collecting had been catapulted to a whole new level of appreciation for the value of the artifacts collectors pursue.

BY JOHN WELLS

Berkeley, California