PITTSFIELD, Mass. – A two-session antique estate auction totaling more than 500 lots and featuring rare and collectible firearms, duck decoys, stoneware, pottery, lighting and more will be held on Saturday, Jan. 31st, by Fontaine's Auction Gallery, in the firm's Pittsfield facility located at 1485 West Housatonic Street. Session 1, with over 250 discovery lots, will begin at 11 a.m. Eastern time. Customers must be present in the gallery to bid on items in Session 1. Session 2 will start immediately following at 1 p.m. In addition to live and internet bidding, phone and left bids will also be accepted for Session 2.

“We have been commissioned to sell the complete and unreserved contents of a Hockessin (Delaware) estate, which is packed with fine antiques, collectibles and hundreds of related accessories,” said John Fontaine of Fontaine's Auction Gallery. “Many of these items have been stored in the attic and cellar, literally for decades.”

The list of categories (in addition to those named above) is extensive and impressive. Sold will be period furniture, original artwork, stoneware, country store items, vintage lighting (to include angle lamps and skater lamps), Black memorabilia, Civil War collectibles and more. For those unable to attend in person, internet bidding for session 2 will be facilitated by LiveAuctioneers.com. and Invaluable.com

Collectors will have a field day with the dizzying array of choices. These will include apple corers, butter churns, coffee grinders, toy banks, old canteens, tip trays, swords, postcards, arrowheads, powder flasks, a pen collection, pencil sharpeners, tobacco cutters, miniature wood planes, spool cabinets, sponge ware, mousetraps, typewriters, radios, fire extinguishers and parade belts.

Also offered will be ink bottles, camp stoves, Mettlach steins, pie crimpers, tobacco tins, peanut butter tins, shaving mugs, fire bombs, target balls, lodge badges, advertising mirrors, pins, letter openers and shoe horns. Previews will be held on Friday, Jan. 30, from 10-5, and on Saturday, the day of sale, from 8-11 a.m.

The carbines (cavalry muskets, with no bayonet attachments) are by makers that will pique the interest of even the most seasoned collector. These include Maynard, Burnside, Palmer, Sharps, Joslyn, Richardson & Overman, Remington, Smith's and Gwyn & Campbell. Also sold will be a B. Kittredge & Company copper Civil War cartridge box. It is estimated to realize $750-$1,500.

A strong candidate for top lot will be a Palmer Civil War bolt action carbine in good condition, with a bolt that slides and locks smoothly and a frame that reads “Wm. Palmer, Patent, Dec. 22, 1863” (est. $3,000-$5,000). Another is a Maynard 1863 second model breech loading carbine with .50 caliber bore, 20 inch barrel and walnut stock with cartouche marks (est. $2,000-$3,000).

Two antique firearms carry pre-sale estimates of $2,500-$3,500. One is a rare Sharps & Hankins (Philadelphia) model 1861 Navy rifle with 32 ½ inch long round barrel, rifled bore, walnut stock and dark brown patina. The other is a Remington (Illion, N.Y.) type 2 split breech carbine, the first Remington to use metallic cartridges, made under a sub-contract with the Savage Arms Co.

A type 1 Gwyn & Campbell (Hamilton, Ohio) model 1862 carbine with a round 20-inch barrel partially octagonal at the breech, rifled bore, .52 caliber, marked on the frame “Union Rifle,” should fetch $1,500-$2,500; and an 1857 Smith's (Baltimore, Md.) patent percussion carbine, .50 caliber, with 21 ½ inch partial octagonal barrel, is expected to change hands for $1,500-$2,000.

A Joslyn (Stonington, Conn.) 1862 first model carbine with 22-inch barrel, rifled bore, breech loading, .52 caliber, signed by the maker on the lock plate, having clean metal with no patina, should hit $1,800-$2.200; and a Sharps (Hartford, Conn.) 1865 new model carbine, .52 caliber, with 22-inch barrel and rifled bore with maker's mark on the barrel, should make $1,500-$2,000.

A Richardson & Overman (Philadelphia) model 1860 carbine with a 22 ¼ inch long barrel and .50 caliber rifled bore, signed on the lock plate “Gallagher's Patent – June 17, 1860,” should command $1,500-$2,000. Also, a Burnside (Providence, R.I.) single-shot 1864 carbine, 5th model, rifled .54 caliber with 20 inch long barrel, twice maker marked, should hit $1,000-$1,500.

In the lamps and lighting category, a Pairpoint Puffy yellow rose table lamp with 10-inch puffy shade decorated with a bouquet of beautiful yellow roses on a green background, on a Pairpoint base, is estimated to bring $3,000-$5,000. Also, a six-arm angle lamp chandelier with rare brass 6-arm fixture with etched glass globes and opalescent swirl shades, should garner $3,000-$5,000.

Fontaine's Auction Gallery's next big event after this one is a cataloged antique auction slated for Saturday, Feb. 28, also in the Pittsfield gallery, starting at 11 a.m. Sold will be rare and antique Tiffany lamps and lighting, art glass shades, bronzes and marble statuary, paintings, art glass and cameo glass, KPM porcelains, art pottery, gold estate jewelry, sterling silver, furniture and more.

With over 40 years in the auction business, Fontaine’s Auction Gallery is a name that has earned the trust of collectors, investors and gallery owners around the world. All cataloged lots receive nationwide exposure to the firm’s expansive database of more than 18,000 select buyers. Seven times Fontaine’s Auction Gallery has been voted “Best Antique Auction Gallery” by the public.

Fontaine’s Auction Gallery is actively seeking quality items, to include furniture, lighting, clocks and watches, paintings, porcelains, bronze and marble statuary, Asian items, art glass and cameo glass, Russian items, silver, musical, coin-op, advertising, toys, banks, gaming and carousel items for future sales. Consignments are being accepted for all upcoming spring 2015 auctions.

The firm will buy outright or accept on consignment fine antiques, collections or entire estates. Call (413) 448-8922 and ask to speak with John Fontaine, or you can send Mr. Fontaine an e-mail, at info@fontainesauction.com. For more information about the upcoming January 31 and February 28 auctions, please visit www.FontainesAuction.com. Updates are posted frequently.

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