Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-03-08
ROMANCE OF AUCTIONS.
Small Fortunes Which Have Fallen to
Astonished Bidders.

OF course | have met with good
many interesting experiences during
my career as an auctioneer. but the
most striking of them all occurred, |
think. in connection with great
auk's egg.
Some years ago a young fellow
rode over to an obscure furniture sale
at the country village in the hope of
securing Il bargain to help i'm fur
nishing Il home in view of his in
, tended marriage. And a bargain he
did get, though not of the kind he
originally thought of.
One of the lots put up for sale was
a basket full of shells. eggs and 9TH
er oddments which had attracted the
attention of an old lady who hap
pened To be present. Just as they
were on the point of being knocked
down to her the young man was
struck with the appearance of two
large eggs i'm tho basket. and think
ing he might as we'll have them as
curiosities he started to bid, with the
result that the lot was Knocked down
to him for 50.
Upon examining the eggs it occur
red to him that he might be able to
make a slight profit on their sale He
accordingly wrapped them up i'm a
me.
AS soon as | had washed off the
CRIME which covered them l discov-
cred that they were eggs of no less
bird than the great aux. and as the
result of their sale a few weeks later
| handed the astute young bargain
hunter q check of $4,000. which was
sufficient to set him up in business.
Another sale which | conducted
there was an old picture so covered
with dirt and CRIME that it was al
most impossible to see what it was
like. This was hung upon the wall
in a prominent position. but did not
apparently find favor in the eyes Of
any of the dealers who were present.
No reserve price was placed upon
this picture, which had been put into
the sale by a local pawnbroker. to
whom it had been pledged and not
redeemed.
In spite of every effort on the part
of the auctioneer it was eventually
knocked down to a young man who
had looked into the sale quite cas-
ually i'm order to waste half an hour
during which he had to wait for a
train. Taking a great fancy to the
frame, which was of oak, blackened
with age. he hazarded a bid of IS
at which price it was knocked down
to him without any competition.
As he did not want the picture he
asked the auctiOneer whether he
would mind trying to get a bid for
it if he cut it out of the frame: and
being answered in the affirmative, he
took out his knife and neatly cut
through the canvas all round the
edge.
Imagine the aStonishment of him
hind the canvas ne discovered five
bills for 500 each. Evidently the
picture had been used to conceal the
savings of some previous owner who
had died without disclosing the Sc
cret. and whose hard won fortune
thus came into the hands of a total
stranger.
I should quote as very interesting a
sale at Rutland Gate. where there
were only the remains of the furni-
ture. a firm having been allowed to
take what they chose to their rooms.
II was accordingly after the nature
Of a rummage sale. but in one cup
board, which had been overlooked,
were what the junior clerk described
as three silver cups. The auctioneer
was sitting in his office when a gen.
tleman drove up in a handsome cab,
anxious to speak about these cups
for which he offered no less than
$500.
The auctiOneer was so much sur
prised that he thought his visitor
must have some reason for this high
bid and he wisely determined not to
take the first offer he received. "Oh,
don't think they will take that" he
said. and with this answer the gen.
tleman had to be content. An expert
was called on to examine the sO-call-
ed cups. and he discovered them to
be in reality sixteenth century
chaliceS for which he himself made
an offer of $2,100. The three cups
were subsequently sold for $3.50,
but il was only by the slightest
chance that they had not gone for a
mere song.
| shall never forget an incident
which occurred in connection with
the sale of some valuable shell. The
bidding for one large shell in par
ticular was much more brisk than
| had anticipated, but the reason for
this became apparent when at last
it was knocked down to Il gentleman
i'm very excited condition, who di-
rectly it was handed to him, flung ii
upon the ground and trampled it to
atoms. at the same time shouting out
in a loud voice that now that one was
destroyed he possessed the only spe-
rimen i'm the world.-Henry Stevens |
in the Strand.