AMESBURY, Mass. – A three-session Memorial Day weekend auction featuring a vast array of items from prominent estates in the Boston area – to include the Hoes family of Wayland, direct descendants of President James Monroe, plus a fabulous collection out of Bolton – will be held on May 28th, 29th and 30th by John McInnis Auctioneers, in the firm’s gallery at 76 Main Street.

Session I, on Saturday, May 28th, starting at 4 pm Eastern time, will feature vintage clocks and pocket watches, including French, English and American examples, and an outstanding collection of model steam engines.

Session II, the following day, starting at 11 am, will be an important sale of high-quality items, many of them fine decorative arts and merchandise from the Belle Epoque.

Session III, on Monday, May 30th, starting at 10 am, will be an old-fashioned country Americana auction, featuring something for nearly every budget. Items will include fine country primitives, folk art, paintings, glass, period furniture, rugs, advertising and Americana. For those unable to attend in person, online bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com.

Fans of horology will be thrilled with the selection of clocks and timepieces in Session I. Top lots will include a handsome Patek Philippe 18kt gold pocket watch with open face movement, 18 jewels and eight adjustments, estimated to bring $2,000-$3,000; and a Tiffany & Company traveling repeater clock with original travel case and instructions, expected to realize $500-$750.

Also sold will be a French Louis XVI Lerolle Freres shelf clock boasting white marble with ormolu mount, an onyx urn, swags of fruit, ropes of leaves and other decorations, estimated at $3,000-$4,000; and a very large Victorian carved shelf clock having a fuse movement with five chimes and heavily carved oak case, retailed in London and expected to garner $1,000-$1,500.

A wonderful example from the model steam engines category is the finely detailed and well engineered 1.8 scale mechanical model of a Case compound engine steam tractor (or general purpose engine). The model was built by Arnold E. Thompson (1931-2010), a master machinist and passionate boat and train builder from Marblehead, Mass. It’s expected to hit $4,000-$6,000.

Session II will be packed with Continental items and decorative accessories, bronzes, jewelry, paintings, porcelain, silver and an important Asian collection. Some of the lots will be from the Belle Epoque – the French phrase meaning “Beautiful Era” that was a golden age from around 1870-1914, when Europe, especially Paris, was brimming with optimism and artistic expression.

Lots from the session will feature an Art Deco Cartier French 18kt gold case with engine turned decoration and a sapphire clasp, hallmarked with an eagle’s head and maker’s mark, with a pre-sale estimate of $5,000-$6,000; and a circa 1920 Louis Vuitton steamer (or cabin) trunk, with the original key and a hinged lid opening to the original lift-out tray, estimated at $2,000-$4,000.

Also up for bid will be a pair of 18th or 19th century Chinese carved jade table screens, titled Figures Among Stream and Mountainous Landscape. Each panel is 5 inches by 6 inches; both are mounted on hardwood stands. The lot should reach $5,000-$10,000. A William Bateman armorial sterling silver footed tray with the coat of arms (“Fidelis”), nicely hand-engraved with scrolls and florets and weighing in at 79.5 troy ounces, is expected to sell for $1,000-$2,000.

Certainly the oldest item in Session II is a framed 15th century watercolor and gouache on vellum painting, titled The Ascension and measuring 10 inches by 10 ¼ inches (sight); The painting’s provenance is impressive: it was once owned by James Howard Bridge, the first curator of the Frick Museum and consigned through his family. It is estimated to hammer for $4,000-$6,000.

Session III promises to be a fun, old-fashioned Americana sale, featuring unique and interesting items. An example is a White House dinner invitation, dated 1802 and written in then-President Thomas Jefferson’s own hand. It is addressed to Nathan Read (1759-1849), a Congressman and inventor of the first true high-pressure steam engine. The invitation should bring $1,000-$2,000.

A Gustav Stickley quartersawn oak bride’s chest, made around 1902 and featuring great, hand-hammered copper, with an old original deep brown patina finish, 25 inches by 41 ¼ inches, is estimated at $7,000-$10,000; while an important late 18th century carved eagle painted on wood, by Joseph Wilson (Newburyport, Mass.), 28 inches tall and once appearing on the rooftop of a carriage house in Newburyport in a circa 1860s photograph, should finish at $5,000-$10,000.

An early and important glazed stoneware vase, beautifully executed by Ed and Mary Scheier, 14 ¾ inches tall and with a central band of figures depicting birth or entrapment, carries a pre-sale estimate of $5,000-$8,000; and a pair of “Patchwork” stools, made with three distressed metals in 1974 by Paul Evans (1931-1987), with the original upholstery, should rise to $3,000-$5,000.

A maritime oil on canvas painting by Marshall Johnson, Jr. (1850-1921), titled Crossing the T / USS Constitution at Sail, 30 inches by 40 inches, signed and framed, should change hands for $4,000-$6,000; while a rare, 1930s-era horse form parade velocipede, with a horse’s head that bobs as the off-set rear wheels produce a galloping effect, is estimated to fetch $1,500-$2,500.

Exhibitions will be held May 28th from 10-7; May 29th from 10-6; and May 30th from 8 am on, and throughout the day. Bidders are also reminded that they are free to view all three sessions throughout each auction day. In addition to live and internet bidding, phone and absentee bids will also be taken. The full catalog may be viewed online now, at www.mcinnisauctions.com.

In all, nearly 1,400 lots will cross the auction block over the course of three days. John McInnis Auctioneers is the largest full-service auction house on Boston’s North Shore. The company’s 12,000-square-foot gallery is a 1930s-era brick Art Deco building that once housed a grocery store. A staff of experts is proficient in 18th, 19th and 20th century fine and decorative arts.

John McInnis Auctioneers is always accepting quality consignments for future auctions. To consign a single piece, a collection or an estate, you may call them at (978) 388-0400; or, you can e-mail them at mcinnisauctions@yahoo.com. To learn more about John McInnis Auctioneers and the major upcoming Memorial Day weekend auction, please visit www.mcinnisauctions.com.

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