A spectacular lithograph signed by the important Native American artist Tommy Wayne (“T.C.”) Cannon (1946-1978), titled “Waiting for the Bus, Andarko Princess,” sold for $12,500 at a five-day Wigwam Auction, a celebration of the country’s Great Basin Native American heritage, held March 7 to 11, by Holabird Western Americana Collections.
The auction was conducted in Holabird’s gallery located at 3555 Airway Drive (Suite #308) in Reno, Nev., as well as online via iCollector.com and Invaluable.com. Headlining the event was the Moe and Mary Royels Great Basin Wigwam collection. The items in the Royels’ collections reflect the rich history the state of Nevada enjoys in the unique place known as the Great Basin.
The Wigwam collection is a fantastic array of Native American collectibles, art and artifacts. A number of items (mainly dresses) were made especially for Mary Royels, plus a few for Moe, by local Paiute friends. The collections included baby baskets, beaded baskets, art depicting early man in the Great Basin by William Moore, stone artifacts, moccasins and stone projectile points.
The T.C. Cannon litho, from 1978, was the auction’s top lot. Depicting a woman seated on a bench waiting for a bus, it was signed, numbered (#24/125) and embossed by the artist. The print was housed in a double mat frame, 37-by-30 inches. Another litho of the same work is on display at the Smithsonian Institute. Cannon, from Oklahoma, was a member of the Kiowa Tribe.
Day one featured rare vintage bottles (165 lots); saloon items (9 lots); cowboy collectibles (34 lots); firearms and weaponry (26 lots); gaming collectibles (10 lots); and numismatic items, including books, checks, coins, dies, ephemera, medals, “so-called” dollars, tokens and more. Over 500 lots crossed the block.
Day two was packed with 550 lots of Americana, including advertising, art, books and directories, calendars, Gold Rush, postal history, militaria, political lots, Wells Fargo and Express, silverware, flatware, non-mining stock certificates, toys and World’s Fair. A group of 10 orange Republic of China 6 percent two-year secured gold loan treasury notes from 1919 gaveled for $6,562.
Day three contained part one of the Native Americana, including artwork, apparel, gloves, moccasins, accessories, jewelry, trade beads, artifacts, pipes, dies and baby baskets. Also sold that day were 52 lots of artwork (including the T.C. Cannon litho) for a grand total of 604 lots.
It also included an outstanding vintage Navajo Squash Blossom necklace boasting 16 beautiful turquoise nuggets from the #8 mine in Eureka county, Nev. ($2,500), and a high-quality serigraph by Franz Scholder, titled Indian with a Gun, #49/80, artist signed and 22-by-33 inches ($1,875). Scholder’s artwork is distinctive, colorful and very popular among collectors.
Day four featured part two of the Native Americana, including pottery, baskets, dolls, books, photographs, postcards, rugs and weavings, ephemera and collectibles. Also offered were transportation (244 lots) and railroadiana (184 lots). There were 301 total lots in all.
It also featured a large, historical and possibly ancient cooking basket, 15 inches in diameter, not ceremonial, used for everyday cooking, found in northwest Nevada 50 years ago, never buried ($3,125), and a hand-woven Navajo rug with a tribal design, 39.5-by-44 inches, made by America’s Natives from the Russell Foutz Indian Room in Farmington, N.M. ($2,875).
A collection of 40 red Imperial Chinese government railway 100-pound bonds, issued in 1911 by the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp. in London, brought $2,625. Also, an unissued, unsigned and uncancelled first mortgage 10 percent gold loan in the amount of $500 for the Gilpin County (Colo.) Tram Railway Co., with all ten coupons, printed circa 1871-73, made $1,625.
A large, circa 1900-10 Mono basket, 19.5 inches tall, intended for utility or cooking but never used and probably made for sale to the Anglo market, displaying zig-zag patterns and classic Paiute four bi-symmetric starts, achieved $2,625, and a historic and possibly ancient flat cooking basket, 25 inches in diameter, possibly from Steamboat or McDermott (N.D.), realized $1,875.
A circa 1900 winnowing basket, 28.5 inches long with open basket twining, utilitarian (but never utilized), a pine nut harvest relic from the Great Basin, finished at $1,750. Also, a camp-size, vintage Washoe water pack basket “Tus” in a sacred red ochre color, 20 inches tall with close twined willow and hemp handles, reached $2,000.
Day five was dedicated to minerals (13 lots) and mining collectibles (578 lots). The mining portion contained artifacts and assay, books, explosives, maps, mine lighting, signs, spoons, mining stocks, ephemera and collectibles.
Top lots were a lavish hardcover prospectus ad accompanying map for the Keystone Silver Mining Company in Reese River, Nev., from 1865, in pristine condition ($2,000), and an 1884 stock certificate for the Harmony Borax Mining Company (Death Valley, Calif.), early #23 for 18 shares, issued to a Mr. William T. Coleman, with signatures ($2,500).
For more information, call Fred Holabird at 775-851-1859 or 844-492-2766 or email fredholabird@gmail.com.