Fortune-telling machines, vintage arcade games, and antique trains at our Nov 18th auction
Our upcoming auction on November 18th features 160 lots of vintage arcade games, antique trains and fairground amusements as well as locally relevant historical artifacts. Highlights of the auction include an American-LaFrance steam fire pumper built for the Greensboro, North Carolina Fire Department in 1904. It is a horse drawn steam pumping engine built shortly after the merger of the American Fire Engine Company of Cincinnati OH and the LaFrance Fire Engine Company of Elmira NY. This company thereafter became known as the American LaFrance Fire Engine Company with a factory in Elmira. This engine was of the LaFrance pattern and was the 496th such engine built by the LaFrance Company, but was the first engine built under the new company name and might well have been numbered American LaFrance No. 1. It is, therefore, an important machine in regard to the manufacturer's own history. The fire engine was completely restored by Cedar Point in 1971. The estimate is $150,000 – 250,000.
Steam powered vehicles are a significant portion of the auction. The Fleming steam traction engine no 4 from 1907 is the only known steam garden tractor of its kind in the US. It is being sold together with its own water carriage and carries an estimate of $10,000 – 20,000. There are eleven scale model steam locomotives including lot 23 a very handsome English 9 1/2 in. Gauge Great Northern Railway 4-4-2, #251 Live Steam Locomotive, Tender and Box Car estimated at $8,000 – 10,000. Lot 28 is an English Live Steam 2-6-4, 5 in. Gauge, 1 in. Scale Locomotive together with a partial track and is expected to fetch $4,000 – 6,000. Some of the locomotives come with tenders and some within passenger cars.
#23. GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY STEAM LOCOMOTIVE, Estimate: $8,000 - $10,000. View lot >
#28. ENGLISH LIVE STEAM 5IN GAUGE LOCOMOTIVE, Estimate: $4,000 - $6,000. View lot >
Fairground amusements and early coin operated games start of the auction. Featured lots include lots 4 and 5, two Play-the-Derby arcade machines from 1929 manufactured by the Chester-Pollard Amusement Co. NY and lots 2 and 3, two Rock-Ola 1937 World Series Baseball Arcade Machines. All the machines have condition issues and are in need of restoration. They all carry an estimate of $2,000 – 4,000. There are machines that tell fortunes, predict love, read palms and characters, there’s even a screen test arcade machine and vintage Mutoscope movie reel viewers. The auction has a coin operated Mills Novelty Violano Virtuoso, an automatic music player from the early 20th century playing violin and piano music from perforated paper rolls. The Violano Virtuoso is lot 19 and is expected to fetch $5,000 – 7,000.
#4. PLAY-THE-DERBY ARCADE MACHINE, Estimate:
$2,000 - $4,000. View lot >
#10. CHARACTER READING ARCADE MACHINE, Estimate: $800 - $1,200. View lot >
#3. ROCK-OLA 1937 WORLD SERIES ARCADE GAME, Estimate: $2,000 - $4,000. View lot >
#12. SCREEN TEST ARCADE MACHINE, Estimate: $800 - $1,200. View lot >
Fairground curiosities include a full size apothecary store display from Crestline, Ohio, a full barbershop display and the post office from Miller City, Ohio. They are wonderful historical displays from yesteryear. The accoutrements from the stores are also all available at this auction include cash registers, antique druggist’s bottle, antique medical implements, barber chairs, a barber pole and various display cases.
#64. ANTIQUE HARDWOOD BARBER SHOP DISPLAY, Estimate: $1,000 - $2,000. View lot >
#69. GLASS AND HARDWOOD POST OFFICE DISPLAY, Estimate: $200 - $400. View lot >
While antique and vintage amusement park treasures abound, arcade games from the latter half of the twentieth century are also featured. How about the Sega Outrun 2 video game or the Bally Midway Ms. Pac-Man, or Namco’s FourTrax Racing Game that you would play with a friend? The auction includes several boxed lots of hard to find parts, and manuals for many arcade game machines. They’ll be a treasure trove for video game enthusiasts from around the world.
#96. SEGA OUTRUN 2 VIDEO ARCADE MACHINE, Estimate: $200 - $400. View lot >
#93. BALLY MIDWAY MS. PAC-MAN ARCADE MACHINE, Estimate: $300 - $500. View lot >
The last lot in the auction is sure to attract interest from Trekkies near and far - A reproduction Starfleet Command, Captain’s Chair for Captain Picard built by the Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, it is electrified and lights up, and can be yours for $80 – 120.
REPRODUCTION STARFLEET COMMAND CHAIR, Estimate: $80 - $120. View lot >
The auction takes place on Monday, November 18 at 11am. Peruse the catalogue and bid on your favorites! You can either visit us for the live auction, or bid from anywhere either online, or by using our award-winning app.
If you missed this auction and want to get updates, plus stay informed about the exciting and ever-changing world of art and auctions - whether you’re a seasoned collector or just getting your feet wet. We curate & deliver the most essential & exciting art and auction news, once a week (in a way that won’t make you fall asleep.) Sign up via the form below!