CHESTERFIELD, Va. – A truly remarkable single-owner lifetime collection of mostly country store, soda, gas and oil collectibles, gathered over the course of 40-plus years by Johnny Cole, will be sold at auction on Saturday, Oct. 24, at the home of Mr. Cole’s son at 9810 Family Lane in Chesterfield, located just south and west of Richmond. The start time is 10 a.m. Eastern time.

The auction will be conducted by Tom’s Auctions & Appraisals, based in Suffolk, Va. It will be an old-fashioned 'live-cry' country sale – held under a tent, with no online internet bidding – but absentee and phone bids will be accepted on most or all of the over 500 lots to be sold. Lots may be viewed online, via Auctionzip.com (enter ID #1328). Or, log on to www.TomsAuction.com.

“This is a collection four decades in the making, and now that Mr. Cole has retired and is looking to simplify his life, he’s ready to share these treasures with other like-minded people,” said Tom Perry of Tom’s Auctions & Appraisals. Many rare and unique items will be offered, along with local Virginian memorabilia, furniture (mostly Victorian-era furniture), country store showcases (to include a handsome wall unit and several nice counter-top showcases) and estate collectibles.

The auction will feature thermometers, an eclectic selection of advertising signs, cigarette-related items (Mr. Cole was a printer for WestVargo Company, printing boxes for the Philip Morris Tobacco Company), railroad collectibles, a few firearms, and (not from the same collection) six pieces of rare stoneware, by Virginia makers J. P. Schermerhorn and H. Lowndes, some signed.

Soda collectibles will be dominated by Coca-Cola, although there are many highly sought after pieces by other drink-makers (like the circa 1950s Pepsi-Cola enamel-on-tin bottle cap sign). One Coke item certain to draw attention is a 1930s-era mechanical coin-operated ice box, cooled with ice (not electricity), made by Industrial Carton Coolers (Lincoln, Neb.), the rare eight-bottle model. It is very clean, in all original working condition.

Other Coca-Cola items will include two large porcelain button signs, both large at 36 inches in diameter; a Vendo ten-cent drink box (“Drink Coca-Cola in Bottles”), and other Vendo drink boxes; a “Drink Coca-Cola” carrier with the original rope handle; a double-sided porcelain sign (“Coca-Cola – A Sign of Good Taste”); and a hard-to-find porcelain soda fountain service sign.

Rounding out the category is a pair of unusual Coke offerings: a metal, triangular sign in red and gold, showing a bottle with wreath backdrop, circa 1930; and an equally visually arresting metal and wood sign saying “Drink Coca-Cola Ice Cold” with a red, white and silver round disc, and a bottle of Coke with an arrow. Both were made by Kay's Displays, based in Grand Rapids, Mich.

The petroliana collectibles (gas and oil) will feature a Pure Oil gas pump in fine condition; a Phillips 66 Ethel Fuel globe (complete, circa 1930s); a very rare and unusual American Gas pump; a Mobil Paint (yes, Mobil made paint at one time, in addition to gasoline) light-up clock, made in the USA; a red Esso neon clock (circa 1950s); and a 1950s Sinclair Gasoline globe.

Automotive items will include a calibrated and balanced Eco Air tire inflater, model 96 (John Woods Company); an early porcelain Ford sign (“Property of Ford Motor Co.”), 25 inches by 39 inches, found in Goochland, Va.; and a huge cast-aluminum Ford dealership sign that at one time graced the side of a dealership building, approximately 3 feet tall by 9 feet wide, in great shape.

Advertising signs in general will also be offered. Examples include a pair of Piedmont Tobacco chairs with porcelain signs, very rare because the signs are two-sided and both mention Virginia; and a rare Zellers Baby Food Products painted metal sign, with a graphic of a baby sitting on top of the world. Also being sold is an early Philco Projection television set, from the dawn of TV.

Angle signs are very popular and this sale has many, to include a double-sided “Drink Coca-Cola” double-sided angle sign; a Martin Senour Paints porcelain angle sign; a red and white “Drink Coca-Cola” double-sided angle sign; a round American Agricultural Chemical Company porcelain angle sign; and a porcelain General Telephone System Public Telephone angle sign.

As for the six stoneware pieces in the sale, John P. Schermerhorn (1788-1850) was trained in the Germanic salt-glazed tradition and began his career in New York, New Jersey and the James River Valley. He arrived in Richmond, Virginia in 1811, having answered an advertisement by Benjamin DuVal for potters “who understand working at the wheel.” He enjoyed great success.

Henry Lowndes (birth date unknown, died 1842) was the son of Thomas Lowndes, an English potter who arrived with his family in Petersburg, Virginia in 1805 with an enviable repertoire of pottery skills. Lowndes stoneware features uniquely identifiable brushed cobalt botanical motifs (thought to represent cotton). Lowndes Pottery also made earthenware, but none survives today.
Previews will be held on Saturday, Oct. 24, the date of sale, from 8-10 a.m. All off-site bidders must be registered by October 23rd -- contact Tom to register, at (757) 539-2498. A 13 percent buyer’s premium will be applied to all purchases (3 percent discount for cash or check). Terms will be cash, good checks and all major credit cards. Bring a chair and a friend, and arrive early.
Tom’s Auctions & Appraisals is one of the premier auction firms in the mid-Atlantic states. The firm is always accepting quality consignments for future sales. To consign an item, an estate or a collection, you may call them at (757) 539-2498, or (757) 617-9647. Or, you may send them an e-mail, at tom@tomsauction.com. For more info, visit their website, at www.TomsAuction.com.

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