BOSTON, Mass. – November 27, 2002 - www.skinnerinc.com - SSkinner, Inc., one of the nation’s leading auction houses for antiques and fine art will host a two day Holiday Auction on Friday and Saturday, December 13th and 14th in its Bolton, Mass. Gallery. The auction offers something for every antiques collector on your holiday gift list. The auction will be held in three sessions: Session I on Friday, December 13th at 1:00 p.m. will feature over 300 lots of Dolls; Session II on Friday, December 13th at 5:00 p.m. will feature Estate Jewelry, Textiles, Couture, and Silver; Session III on Saturday, December 14th at 10:00 a.m. will feature Toys, Collectibles, Ephemera, Civil War Militaria, Books and Manuscripts, plus a wide array of Furniture, Decorative Arts, Paintings and Prints, and Oriental Carpets and Rugs.

Previews for the sale will be held Wednesday, December 11th, 2 to 5 p.m.; Thursday, December 12th, 2 to 7 p.m., Friday December 13th, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday, December 14th, 8 to 9:30 a.m. Skinner experts will be on hand at all auction previews to answer any questions regarding material in the sale. Also, in conjunction with the Thursday evening preview, Skinner will present a gallery walk discussing some of the auction’s more important offerings, and an informative lecture entitled “Demystifying the Auction Process: How to Buy Art and Antiques at Auction.” The lecture is a great opportunity for first-time auction goers to learn how easy it is to buy at auction. Thursday’s evening activities will begin at 5:00 p.m. Sale highlights are as follows:

Dolls
Among the diverse offerings in the doll section of the sale is a New England doll collection which includes two lovely Jumeau triste or long face bebes (lot 179, $15,000-$18,000) and lot 202, a small sized bebe estimated at 12,000-18,000, a petite size 3 E.J. Jumeau bebe, several Tete Jumeau and other French bebes. The several French ladies include an early “portrait” Jumeau (lot 43, $2500 – 3500), and a lovely L.D.-type lady (lot 82, $3000 – 4000). German closed mouth dolls include a Simon Halbig 719 (lot 50 $3000 – 3500), XI Kestner (lot 51 $2500-3000), plus other Kestner and Belton-type offerings.

A gaggle of Googy-eyed dolls is being offered, headed by the exceedingly rare Hertel & Schwab 172, lot 196 $10,000-12,000, a Demalcol googly, Nobbikids and other German offerings. Character toddlers, bisque girls and babies are plentiful, including K&R 128, Franz Schmidt, a large Simon Halbig 1329 Oriental girl, lot 173, $3000-3500, a pouty Fany (lot 189, $4000-5000) and a pair of Heubach characters, lot 188 ($3000-3500), which were sold through Skinner several years ago by the original owner who wanted them kept together, and the buyer, the current owner has chosen to do the same.

Steiff offerings include a rod-jointed Steiff bear (lot 235, $2000-3000) Collectible dolls from the 1950s include some lovely Madame Alexander and Ginny items, and additional Barbie items of old store stock are being offered. A sealed carton of twelve dolls (lot 298, $3000-4000) with an x-ray of its contents and an easel-back display unit are among the offerings. The session ends with Blythe, a highly collectible 1972 doll (lot 300, $500-700) with pull-string operated eyes.

Jewelry, Textiles, Couture and Silver
Wide assortment of late 19th century through late modern jewelry, watches, decorative accessories and couture and textiles. Jewelry lots include gold, silver, ethnic, designer and costume pieces. Gemstones and hard stones include diamonds, sapphires, rubies, amethysts, citrines, and emeralds. This session also features several lots of silver and silver-plate tableware and flatware, and a small offering of coins, currency and stamps.

Toys & Collectibles
This session includes the second half of a collection of Buddy L Outdoor Railroad trains, (lots 741-760) collected by a late Winchester, Mass, doctor. These trains were produced for a short time in the late 20s to early 30s and were designed to be run in owners backyards. The locomotives and freight cars were big enough for small children to ride on, and were propelled by either pulling or pushing them. The first half was sold in Skinner’s July auction to an eager group of collectors, with high prices going for most. Estimates range from $300-$1,500.

Among the other toys are some fine examples of what all collectors want.....boxed toys in excellent condition. Some of the better pieces are some boxed Tootsie toys (lots 792-795). Estimates for these range from $150-$600. There are also some fairly rare trains by the Ives Company(lots 843-6, 852-4) and some other good train lots, such as Lot 856, three 2-inch gauge mining cars. Train lots range in estimate from $100-$700.

For collectors in the holiday spirit, we have a collection of Belsnickels, German Santa figures (lots 885-885i) as well as other holiday ephemera including Victorian Christmas items, jack o lanterns, Noah’s Arks and the like. Estimates range from a few hundred to a $1,000.

For original Disney fans, the sale features some early Mickey Mouse items including a rare store/theatre Mickey Mouse Display (lot 915) from the early 1930s, Estimated $3,000-$4,000.

Civil War Militaria, Books, and Ephemera
The Holiday auction ends with an interesting selection of books and paper ephemera, relating to the Civil War and other subjects of American interest. Civil War highlights include two signed cartes-de-visites, one of Robert E. Lee (lot 1063) estimated $3,000-$4,000, and one of Jefferson Davis (lot 1116), estimated $1,000-$1,500.

Books offered feature a heavy concentration on rare Civil War related titles. Other offerings include autographed material from Colonial America, the War of 1812, several presidential items, aviation and flight memorabilia, rare maps, and photographs. Estimates range from $100-$2,000.

Other interesting paper lots include lots 1062J-1062M, a selection of winter sport travel posters, estimated $200-$600. Also, lot 1365, two sets of Eros Magazine, including the very first edition featuring photos of Marilyn Monroe, estimated $200-$400.

Note to Editors: Photos available upon request. Contact Catherine Riedel at 978-779-6241 x 231.

About Skinner:
With galleries in Boston and Bolton, Mass., Skinner is a one of the nation’s leading auction houses. As a full-service auction house, Skinner provides auction and appraisal services for all manner of antiques and fine art, and its appraisal experts are regularly seen on the PBS series, The Antiques Roadshow. Skinner conducts auctions year-round and has received world-record prices for many pieces sold at auction. Departments include American Furniture & Decorative Arts, Paintings & Prints, English & Continental Furniture & Decorations, Fine Ceramics, Jewelry, Couture, 20th Century Furniture & Decorative Arts, Fine Musical Instruments, Asian Art, Fine Judaica, Toys, Dolls & Collectibles, Science & Technology, Oriental Rugs & Carpets, American Indian & Ethnographic Art, and Discovery. For more information on upcoming auctions, visit Skinner’s web site www.skinnerinc.com.