TAKE A TRIP TO EARLY 20TH-CENTURY AMERICA VIA THE HERITAGE AUCTIONS ARCHIVES
The Chicago Cubs defeat the Detroit Tigers in the World Series. Oklahoma becomes the 46th state in the United States. In a Seattle basement, teenage entrepreneurs Claude Ryan and Jim Casey start the American Messenger Company, which will become UPS, the world’s largest package delivery service. The Hurley Machine Company of Chicago releases its Thor washing machine, believed to be the first electric washing machine ever manufactured. Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia creates Mother’s Day.
SPORTS MEMORABILIA
Carl Horner’s simple portraits of players from baseball’s dead ball era served as the template for many of the tobacco and candy card issues of the day. This original 1907 photograph of Detroit Tiger Ty Cobb, which sold for $396,000 in an August 2019 Heritage auction, finds both artist and subject at the peak of his respective capabilities.
U.S COINS
The 1907 Rolled Rim Indian eagle is a classic rarity in the series, with examples prized by pattern collectors and series specialists alike. Two Rolled Rim examples reside in the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution, and two more are in the collection of the American Numismatic Society. Graded MS66 by PCGS, this example realized $810,000 in a July 2022 Heritage auction.
AMERICAN ART
Joseph Christian Leyendecker’s 44-year relationship with The Saturday Evening Post resulted in more than 300 cover illustrations for the iconic magazine. The artist’s work during this golden age of American illustration included The Rescue of Theophilus Newbegin, which appeared on the Post’s September 21, 1907, cover and sold for $187,500 in a November 2017 Heritage auction.
FINE SILVER
According to the Gorham Manufacturing Company archive, work on this shaped oval bowl began on October 31, 1907. Fifty hours were spent on the making of the bowl, and an additional 132.5 hours were required for the chasing. The net cost for production: $260. Nearly 100 years later, the bowl realized $23,900 in a November 2010 Heritage auction.
TEXAS ART
Sam Houston at San Jacinto, Philip Russell Goodwin’s action-packed depiction of the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution, shows far more drama than is usually found in the artist’s work. The 1907 painting of the 1836 battle, which sold for $75,000 in a May 2022 Heritage auction, features a saber-brandishing Houston leading his charging troops into battle.
ART GLASS
A talented artist and interior decorator, Louis Comfort Tiffany (son of Tiffany & Co. founder Charles Tiffany) was perhaps best known for his leaded glass lamps. Today the colorful lamps that once illuminated Gilded Age mansions are still highly sought-after by collectors. This circa 1907 Tiffany Studios Turtleback table lamp realized $30,000 in a June 2020 Heritage auction.