Leland Little: The Signature Winter Auction

Leland Little, the North Carolina auction house at 620 Cornerstone Court, Hillsborough, has composed an eclectic sale of highly curated lots that, for those who are prepared to reward themselves, they are going to want to consider a wide variety of possibilities. They are offering 270 lots.

If you're looking for collectible paper you are going to think you have not taken the right turn but, give yourself a minute or two to swing by the first 82 lots and don’t be surprised if you’re slowing down because they’re very a la 5^th Avenue. Selling is the interaction of item, illustration and presentation and you might find yourself making notes.

One way or the other you’ll be bumping up against ceramics after which a variety of classic Chinese forms. Beginning with Lot 96 the material that you’re expecting.

Two prints of Ohara Shoson (Koson), lots 97 and 98 there is an example of The Art of Japan in the very rare complete Shogun Edition. Well, who couldn’t get a copy? J. P. Morgan wanted to and had to settle for a later edition. Oh darn. For collectors who insist collecting copies that JP couldn’t get, you can email the J. P. Morgan Library, to let them know you found a honey.

Lot 100 is Philipp Franz von Siebold’s Five Nippon Folios. Altogether there are 4 volumes. The initial ask is $500. It’s nicely illustrated.

Lot 104 is Sun Tzu’s Art Militaire des Chinois. It’s not the first edition. Nope. The first is thought to date to the sixth century. But nevertheless, it’s quite interesting as it’s the first European edition. The opening ask is $1,000.

Lot 106 gets into another category, early English printing. St. Augustine of the Citie of God, Englifhed by J. H. Printed by George Eld. 1610. These early printings go high and low and 40 years ago I acquired many of them reasonably and sent them to auction in 2009 for great success. This lot starts from $1,100 but prepare to spend more.

Lots L08 and 109 are woodcut prints by Albrecht Durer. They are very old. Think of them as the baseball cards of their day. They are roughly 600 years old. If you are willing to play the long game, your great grandchildren, will praise the day you were born. The start prices are $550 and $650. Plan to study.

William Hogarth, one of the great illustrators of the early 18^th century, is on the menu. Lots 110, 111, and 112 are sets of his illustrations, Industry and Idleness (complete suite of 12), A Rake’s Progress (Complete Suite of 8), and Four Stages of Cruelty (Complete Suite of 4). Consider yourself Adam in the Garden of Eden. Them apples look good.

Then there are 20 lots of paintings. I know nothing about them but if you have a few on your walls, your guests are going to be impressed. Among them Cupid is making his appearance, a shipwreck, even two scenes painted 500 hundred years ago. Think about them this way. How many lottery tickets have you bought last year? Spend the equivalent on one of those paintings and you’ll be a highly certain winner.

And there’s more, antique furniture in many forms; statues any one of them on your home desk, is going to be radiating subtle messages about your sophistication. And there is more; furniture and furnishings: a piano or guitar, 3 Tiffany Lamps, 19^th century stuffed furniture, and many classic traditional brown forms.

If you slowly become undone with delirium over the choices, ask your partner to tie your hands back of you. Ask her don’t, no no no don’t unplug the computer. Let her protect you until the spell is passed. And then, quickly, go on line and register to bid, saying I’m doing this for you honey, for our grandchildren who’ll remember us as Auntie Um and Uncle Oh, who was certainly inspired.

Wow, have some fun!. It’s an appealing sale.

See the sale yourself at https://www.lelandlittle.com/auction/the-signature-winter-auction/151079/