ANN ARBOR, Mich. – A rare, antique Peters Ammunition poster with a bold, imposing graphic of a bear on a mountain clawed its way to $12,540, while a 1912 Peters Cartridge Company die-cut paper display sign depicting a duck hunter brought $18,240 at a three-day auction held April 10th-12th by Showtime Auction Services, at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds in Ann Arbor.

They were the top two lots in a sale of more than 2,100 items in many collecting categories. Headlining the event were the single-owner lifetime collections of Hal and Terri Boggess (firearms and gunpowder collectibles, mostly posters and calendars) and Mart and Kitty James (drug store and apothecary collectibles). Items from over 50 other collections were also sold.

The poster with bear graphic had an image area of 14 inches by 20 inches and was framed, under glass. It boasted the original bands, top and bottom. The 1912 die-cut sign featured two panels, each one 20 inches by 69 ½ inches.

“We had standing room only crowds of over 200 people on Friday and Saturday, which itself is an astounding feat considering the auction industry is trending toward online bidding,” said Mike Eckles of Showtime Auction Services. “Our auctions are so broad, and appeal to so many tastes, they compel people to come bid in person. Because we group categories together, the crowds were totally different from day to day.”

That’s not to suggest the internet didn’t play a big part, however – just the opposite. About 3,800 people registered to bid online, via LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com. More than half of all winning bids were placed online. Telephone and absentee bids were also taken. Following are additional highlights from the auction. All prices quoted include a sliding scale buyer’s premium.

Two other lots topped the $10,000 mark. An original oil painting by Edmund Henry Osthaus (1858-1928), done in 1892 and showing two English Setters on the scent, 20 inches by 31 inches, brought $12,000; and a scarce Ithaca Sign Works (Ithaca, N.Y.) tin sign with a locomobile image (“Miles to Church Street Garage, Liberty, N.Y., Autos to Hire”), framed, hammered for $10,080.

Two other lots flirted with five figures but just fell short. One was an ivory poker buck in very good original condition, 3 inches by 2 ½ inches, with “You Deal” on the front with crescent moons and “Jack” on the back ($9,000). The other was a very early coin-operated cigar vendor accepting one cent, in good working condition, 8 inches by 21 inches ($8,550).

A Fern Glen Rye self-framed tin sign with black memorabilia theme (“I’se in a perdickermunt”), made for the Fern Glen Distilling Company (East St. Louis, Mo.), in great shape and measuring 23 inches by 33 inches, realized $8,400. Also, a genuine Western Union telegraph ticker tape machine in all original condition, 8 inches in diameter and 13 ½ inches tall, gaveled for $7,980.

The original 1928 oil on canvas illustration artwork for Hudson-Essex Club Sedans, beautifully rendered by H. Brewer Wilson and boasting gorgeous color and graphics, found a new owner for $6,840; while an outboard motor made by Waterman Marine Motors Company (Detroit, Mich.), disassembled and then each part hand-polished and reassembled, circa 1904, soared to $6,600.

A hard-to-find Mercury Outboard Motors neon sign with reverse glass front, in fine working condition, with a letter from Kiekhaefer Corp., with a picture dated 1949, showing the sign being used in a sports show display, finished at $6,195. Also, a Golden West Coffee cowgirl poster (“A Famous Coffee With a Famous Name”), brightly colored, one of only four known, hit $4,845.

A beautiful 1934 Mobilgas porcelain neon sign with a rare star gasoline logo, in excellent working condition and measuring an impressive 54 inches by 53 inches, went to a determined bidder for $4,800; and a Pure Drugs mortar and pestle glass trade symbol, 11 ½ inches tall and 10 ¼ inches in diameter, with the only blemish being a minor edge chip in the lip, made $4,560.

Three lots posted identical selling prices of $4,500. They were an elaborate Whitall Tatum apothecary hanging show globe with original bracket, 37 inches tall with beautifully detailed cast brass base and bracket; a leather fire bucket from 1793 with original bale, beautiful original paint and stenciling and with an eagle motif, 13 ½ inches tall; and circa-1920s Keystone Packard Coast-to-Coast ride-on pressed steel toy bus with all original paint and decals, 31 inches long.

Rounding out just some of the auction’s top lots, a die-cut tin Uncle Sam sidewalk sign with stand, 29 ½ inches by 31 inches by 10 inches, breezed to $3,000; a signed Handel metal overlay table lamp with bronze base, presented to Duane Doty of Ann Arbor, an officer in the Civil War, 23 inches tall, lit up the room for $3,000; and a W. H. Schieffelin & Company Drug Store wall-hanging display case with reverse glass painted doors (“Soluble Pills”), with product, hit $2,160.

Showtime Auction Services’ next big auction will be held Oct. 2-4, also at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds in Ann Arbor. Already secured are two major collections: Richard and Dianne Goldman of Connecticut (coin-ops, tobacciana, country store) and Gordon Fosburg of Michigan (firearms and gunpowder, mostly posters and calendars). Also featured will be large collections of gambling, petroliana and country store, plus a huge barber shop collection with many rarities.

Showtime Auction Services is based in Woodhaven, Mich. The firm is always accepting quality items for future sales. To consign an item or an entire collection, you may call Michael Eckles at (951) 453-2415; or, e-mail him at mike@showtimeauctions.com . To learn more about Showtime Auction Services and the upcoming Oct. 2-4 auction, you may visit www.showtimeauctions.com.

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