BROOKLYN, N.Y. – SJ Auctioneers’ first major event of 2023 will be an online-only Winter Watch for Wanted Collectibles auction, slated for Sunday, January 29th, beginning at 4 pm Eastern time. Of the 244 lots, two stand out as rare and highly collectible: a 1930 Popeye the Pilot tin wind-up toy plane and a 1934 Popeye pocket watch in excellent working condition.

Popeye items are highly desired by collectors. The fictional cartoon character, created by Elzie Crisler Segar, first appeared in a King Features comic strip in 1929 and has been beloved by millions ever since. Collectibles relating to Popeye are a multi-million-dollar industry. The Popeye the Pilot tin wind-up toy plane was made by Marx and has an estimate of $1,000-$1,500.

The Popeye pocket watch was made only one year (1934) by New Haven Watch Co. (Conn.). It has a nickel finish and a colorful and detailed dial, picturing many characters from the strip and Thimble Theatre Players (where Popeye originated). Popeye’s die-cut arms tell the time, while a second wheel shows Wimpy chasing a hamburger. The watch should hammer for $1,000-$5,000.

Collectors of Disney items will be attracted to the Mickey and Minnie Mouse puppets in the original boxes, made by Pelham Puppets (est. $250-$500). Each puppet stands 11 inches tall. The rest of the auction features lots of hard-to-find racers, toy trains and tin friction toys, sterling collectibles, glass arts paperweights, rare jewelry and décor – something for nearly everybody.

The artists, designers and silversmiths include Cartier, Tiffany, Dominick & Haff, Jose Hess, Emile Delaire, Gorham, Movito, Reed & Barton, Watson, Wallace, Wm. B Kerr, Sackermann Hessenberg & Co., Italian Vetreria, Murano, Arte, American Flyer, Lionel, Nintendo, Tootsie Toy, Buddy ‘L’, Matchbox, Lesney, Steuben, Disney and Baccarat.

Tin friction toys will feature a Japanese Ichiko Mercedes-Benz 330 extra-long tin friction vehicle with box, about two feet long (est. $1,000-$2,500); a very rare Japanese 1950s Marusan tin friction jet car with working mechanism (est. $500-$1,000); and a Japanese SAN Marusan “Champion 2-J” battery-operated tin toy speed boat with driver in the original box, in good working condition, model 3811, 10 ½ inches long (est. $250-$500).

Other toys include a collection of four sets of Britains metal figurines, totaling 17 toy soldiers (est. $150-$5,000); a group of three 1947 Captain Marvel automatic tin wind-up vehicles with keys included: #2 orange, #4 blue and #1 olive, Fawcett Publications (est. $750-$1,000); and an 11-inch-tall wooden Schoenhut toddler doll with label, on a walker body (est. $1,000-$5,000). Walking dolls without the holes in the feet were made in 1919.

The sterling silver category is packed with lovely and desirable items, to include the following:

• A 60-piece Reed & Barton flatware set in the Francis 1st pattern, in a green zip-up box and fabric top, no monograms, in excellent pre-owned condition (est. $3,500-$8,000).
• A Gorham mixed metals Y50 sterling silver copper jardiniere vase with applied 3-D strawberry plant and spider, never polished, with original patina, 3 ½ inches tall, marked on the bottom “Y50” and “O” (“O” is Gorham date mark for 1882) (est. $2,500-$5,000).
• A pair of Tiffany & Co. sterling silver salt and pepper shaker owls (est. $1,000-$3,500).
• A pair of 1948 Reed & Barton sterling silver dishes (or bowls) in the Narcissus pattern, 8 3/8 inches long by 5 inches wide with a total weight of 8.99 troy oz. (est. $1,000-$5,000).

A Daum pate-de-verre (opaque, dense glass, having a frosted surface; also known as glass paste) cameo vase landscape signed “Devez”, about 8 ¼ inches in height, should realize $3,000-$5,000; while a signed Daum pate-de-verre trotter horse by Jean Francois Leroy, light to dark amber in color, box included, 4.3 inches tall by 5.7 inches in length, carries an estimate of $700-$1,000.

Two beautiful and outstanding vases have identical estimates of $1,000-$5,000. One is a signed Daum pate-de-verre fig leaves lizard art glass vase, purple/green in color. The other is a signed Edward Hald fish design cased glass vase made by Orrefors, approximately 5 ½ inches tall and weighing about 7 pounds, in excellent used condition. Also having the same estimate is a signed 1414 Steuben blue aurene (iridescent glassware) perfume bottle with stopper, 8 inches in height.

The jewelry category will feature a pair of 18kt gold diamond stud pillow earrings featuring pave set round brilliant cut diamonds weighing 3.00 carats (est. $4,500-$6,500); a pair of 14kt gold textured dome earrings weighing approximately 4.89 grams (est. $1,500-$5,000); and an 18kt white gold Tahitian pearl diamond enhancer necklace with a 16-inch-long 14kt white gold chain, the pearl 10-11 mm, the three round brilliant diamonds totaling 0.24 carats (est. $1,000-$2,000).

As in SJ Auctioneers’ previous sale, this one will also feature pieces by Herend, the Hungarian porcelain maker. They include an artist-signed, extra-large, hand-painted bunny rabbit figurine in the White Dynasty (or Siang Blanc) pattern, with lots of green, pink and yellow flowers, 12 inches tall (est. $2,000-$2,500); and a pair of rust fishnet, 12 7/8 inches tall (est. $750-$1,500).

Online bidding is via LiveAuctioneers.com and Bidsquare.com. A link to the catalog on LiveAuctioneers is here: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/catalog/273425_winter-watch-for-wanted-collectibles/A link to the catalog on Bidsquare is here: https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/sj-auctioneers/winter-watch-for-wanted-collectibles-11683.

No phone bids will be taken, but absentee bidding is available now online. Pre-bidding is also available, meaning for those who are unable to attend the online auction, they can still leave their bids now.

SJ Auctioneers is always seeking quality items for future auctions. To inquire about consigning an item, an estate or a collection, you may call 646-450-7553; or, you can send an email to sjauctioneers@gmail.com. To learn more about SJ Auctioneers and the online-only Winter Watch for Wanted Collectibles auction slated for Sunday, January 29th, beginning at 4 pm Eastern time, please visit www.sjauctioneers.com. Updates are posted often.

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