PANAMA CITY, Fla. – Items from the estate of the late Col. Cary Anderson Thompson, Jr., to include many of the treasures he and his wife acquired from around the world during his time in the military, will headline a multi-estate auction on Saturday, November 14th, by The Specialists of the South, Inc. in the firm's gallery at 544 East 6th Street in Panama City, starting at 8 a.m. Central time.

During World War II, Col. Thompson served as an Army Air Corps communications officer in India. What followed was a fascinating career where in the 1960s he served as the Registrar of the Air Force Academy and as Security Wing Commander at Misawa Air Force Base in Japan.
In between, he met and married his wife, Helene, an American Red Cross worker. The wedding was held July 1945 in Calcutta, India, and they enjoyed a memorable honeymoon bear hunting.

Items acquired by the Thompsons in Asia included a limited-edition (50/50) stenciled print on handmade paper by the Japanese artist Sadao Watanabe (1913-1996), Japanese dolls on stands (including Hakata), cast-iron cookware, lacquer ware, sake sets and kegs, Geta Kimono sandals, a large fishing buoy, a Hoya cut crystal vase in the original box and lovely brass chafing dishes.

While the Thompsons are the auction's headliners, the sale will also feature the personal radio collection and other items from Nick Magistro (former owner of a radio repair shop in Delray Beach, Fla.); the living estate of Margaret Williams of Tallahassee (mostly collectibles and china); and the estate of Ray H. Mixon, Jr. of Panama City Beach (furniture, decorative items).

In all, over 530 market-fresh lots will come up for bid, in what will be a wildly eclectic auction. For those unable to attend in person, internet bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com. Previews will be held the week prior to sale (Nov. 9-13) from 9 a.m.-4 p.m., or by appointment, and on auction day, from 7-8 a.m. For an appointment, call (850) 785-2577.

The Thompsons were huge fans of ceramics. Offered will be a Royal Crown Derby charger, Wedgwood (including Evenlode Corinthian china), eggshell dinnerware, a Van Briggle figurine of a Native American maiden grinding corn, and an Italian dessert set. They also collected silverplate flatware (Oneida Queen Bess II and Old Company Signature) and Hollowware.

Glass pieces will feature a covered Fenton Amberina dish and an American Fostoria bowl. Rugs will include a wonderful and large Iranian Sarouk rug and an Iranian Hamadan runner. Also sold will be a Thorens Swiss music box in excellent working condition, playing a variety of tunes and housed in a gorgeous case with one inlay, a mariner ship's clock, a ship's bell and two lanterns.

Victorian and Empire-style furniture will include a Duncan Phyfe-style sofa, an Empire-style desk with open cubbyholes, a 19th century Empire four-drawer chest with large glass knobs, marble-top side tables, pressed-back cane seat dining chairs, and a marble-top wash stand. The Spanish Revival dining room furniture will feature a table, chairs, a buffet and a china cabinet.

Ladies' fine and costume jewelry will include an 18kt gold bracelet, a sterling bracelet, a Morley-Crimi hand-wrought necklace, and a Rebaje designer necklace and bracelet. Fine linens will feature a Crazy Quilt (with names and dates), a hand-crocheted coverlet and cut work, and appliqué table linens. Also sold will be a Westinghouse wall-mounted oscillating fan in good condition.

Also from the Thompson estate will be a pierced wall-hung music rack, rocking chairs, a vintage tiered bookcase, a framed Chinese silk embroidery, wicker pieces (including a vanity), a steamer trunk, a Whiteways Devon Cyder dispenser jug and double-handled crock, a primitive wood grain scoop, a cast-iron piggy bank, a 1927 Royal Kenton cast-iron toy stove and kerosene lamps.

Other items will include a Victorian gingerbread clock, vintage clothing (ladies' evening wear, lace jackets, gloves, handkerchiefs and even Col. Thompson's full colonel military uniform, with ribbons), a vintage Remington Rand Model 1 portable typewriter, vintage cameras, men's vintage razors and a fitted travel toiletry kit with Bakelite accessories, pocket watches and opera glasses.

Items from the living estate of Ray Mixon, Jr. of Panama City Beach (who worked at the Navy Lab from 1951-1955) and his late wife Lynn will include cloisonné vases (desirable as much for their simplicity as their rarity), an English canning crock, a Chinese red rug and runner, a hand-painted milk glass covered wedding pedestal a carved storage bed bench and a cranberry scoop.

Furniture items will feature a beautiful Victorian marble-top center table, a Victorian-style armchair with crewel upholstery (tagged Grand Rapids, Mich.), a butler's chest with a top that folds down to a desk, a large leather top drum table, a leather-top drop-leaf coffee table, a desk with storage gallery back, dining chairs, some original artwork pieces and other merchandise.

Margaret Willliams hailed from Tallahassee, but she and her husband worked for a time on the Alyeska Pipeline in Alaska. Her estate will feature Hummel figurines and Hummel-marked Goebel dolls, Waterford crystal figurines, Hull and Roseville vases, souvenir spoons, blue and white china, demitasse cups and saucers and the two curio cabinets that housed these many items, plus Haviland Rosalinde china, a Stepping in Time and Classic Country Shoe collection, weaving loom shuttles and thread bobbins.

Nick Magistro's vintage radio collection is renowned throughout Florida. Examples include table radios by makers such as Zenith, Philco, GE, Realistic, Sears, RCA, Emerson, Farnsworth and Admiral. Star lots will include a Zenith Trans-Oceanic Wave Magnet radio, a Westinghouse Refrigerator table radio and a handsome floor-model Philco Console Model 4-380 vintage radio.

The Magistro estate also includes transistor radios, RCA Service Data reference books (Vols. I, II, 1923-1942; and Vol. IV, 1950), three binders from the Howard W. Sams Photofact Service, antique tools, a Moriage china tea set and Moriage planter, plus other collectibles and antiques.

Items from other prominent Florida estates and collections will feature firearms, to include 12-gauge shotguns (models by Remington, Pardner, Hopkins & Allen, two by Iver Johnson and one with an outside hammer, maker unknown), and a World War II German Luger. Also certain to attract keen bidder interest is a large tabletop stereoscope with double viewers and many cards.

Additional items will include furs (a white mink jacket, a mink stroller, a full-length mink coat and a mink stole), New Old Stock toys (including a Chad Valley Vibra Race Track), a European riding horse on wheels and metal soldiers, Royal Doulton Autumn Breezes, a blue cut glass perfume bottle, an Empire-style entry piece with large oval mirror, a Weilnachts tiered wooden nativity pyramid (23 inches tall), and items from the Panama City Rescue Mission, which the Thompsons supported.

The Specialists of the South, Inc., has been serving the Panama City community for over 35 years. The firm specializes in a broad range of services, to include estate auctions, furniture refurbishing, interior decoration, personal property appraisals and business liquidation services. It has been named the Small Business of the Month by the Bay County Chamber of Commerce.

The Specialists of the South, Inc., is always accepting quality consignments for future sales. To consign an item, estate or collection, you may call them at (850) 785-2577, or you may e-mail them at contact@sospcfl.com. To learn more, or to register for the November 14 auction, log on to either www.SpecialistsoftheSouth.com or www.PanamaCityAuctions.com. Updates are posted often.

- 30 -