Bernard Langlais (American, 1923-1977) Gulls on Rock painted wood 48 x 45 inches.
Condition
Break to one shell, minor chips and nicks throughout, chip to corner of backing panel. For condition inquiries please email [email protected]

softly tanned hide; with red, cream, black, and blue plaited quillwork on front; edges bound in alternating red and white quills, length 10 in.; with a W. Greaves & Sons cartouche knife, having a brass handle with horn inlay, length 10 in.
early 19th century

Provenance:

Mr. McLoughlin, England
James B. Scoville, Illinois

Keith Haring 1958–1990
Untitled
1988
ink on paper
22½ h × 30 w in
57 × 76 cm

HENRY OSSAWA TANNER (1859 – 1937)
At the Gates (Flight into Egypt).

Oil on panel, circa 1926-27. 610×483 mm; 24×19 inches. Signed in oil, lower left.

Provenance: Grand Central Art Galleries, New York; J. J. Haverty, Atlanta (1929); thence by descent to the current owner, private collection, Massachusetts.

This significant Henry Ossawa Tanner painting has a remarkable provenance as it has been passed down through the descendants of James Joseph Haverty (1858 – 1939), its original purchaser. Haverty was an important Atlanta businessman, art patron and the organizer of paintings exhibitions with Grand Central Galleries at the Biltmore Museum in Atlanta which led to the founding of the High Museum. He purchased At the Gates and The Road to Emmaus from the Grand Central Art Galleries, New York, NY in July 1929 for $1,250. Haverty was an important patron of Tanner’s – he owned five paintings by Tanner. This painting remained in his family’s collection and passed from his descendants to the current owner. Haverty and Tanner also corresponded about this painting and its title in a series of letters between July 1929 and January 1930, now in the Archives of American Art (Tanner papers, Box 1, Folder 23, Archives of American Art).

OLEG TSELKOV

b.1934

MEAL

signed in Cyrillic l.r.; further signed and titled in Latin and dated 1987 on the stretcher

oil on canvas

Canvas: 74¾ by 92½in., 190 by 235cm

Framed: 77 by 95in., 195.5 by 241cm

SSP. One of the rarest signs in all of the Gas & Oil hobby, and this particular piece is by far the best example of this sign ever offered in a public sale. An outstanding example of this beautiful sign from Bengal Gasoline. Sign shows incredible color & gloss, with an outstanding tiger graphic. Sign shows one small porcelain nick in the A of Bengal, as well as some light surface scratches at the left side of the sign. There is some minor chipping at a few of the mounting holes, as well as along the outer edge in a couple of areas, but the field is very clean, full of graphic and great color. Overall an incredible example of a highly sought after sign, that would be nearly impossible to improve upon. Sign is Maker Marked St Thomas Metal Signs.

SN 227556, double action 6 shot revolver having a 5 1/2″ barrel, smooth wood grips, lanyard strap with U.S Army stamped on the butt, United States Property stamped on the underside of the barrel, overall good condition considering its age, areas of light speckled rust, bluing fading and wear, and a light turn line on the cylinder, bright shiny bore, timing and action appear correct. 1703 R/CR

1910 Flying Merkel 884cc Twin
Engine no. V 2857
• Rare example of an early Flying Merkel V-twin
• Technically advanced for the day with front/rear suspension
• Mike Hanlon restoration, bench-tested engine
• Built from a largely original and complete bike

Like Halley’s Comet, which purportedly inspired its name and streaking logo graphics, The Flying Merkel motorcycle burned brightly and was quickly gone. In business from 1902 until World War I, the brand set engineering standards, won considerable glory on racetracks, and today is rated among the rarest and most highly collectible of American classics.

The man behind the machines was Joseph Merkel, considered to be one of the finest engineers in early U.S. motorcycling. He came up with dozens of innovative designs, many of which were copied by other motorcycle makers. A Michigander who apprenticed on the railway of his father’s logging outfit while barely a teenager, at 15 he was honing his metalworking skills in a machine shop, followed by enrollment at Michigan Agricultural College to study mechanical engineering. At 24, Merkel found himself in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, employed as a draftsman at the E.P. Allis Co., makers of industrial steam engines. Circa 1900, Merkel struck out on his own, designing and producing bicycle components initially, before moving on to internal-combustion engines and then complete motorcycles. His first 316cc singles were recognizable by their “loop” frames which situated the mass of the engine in line with the axles to enhance handling on the primitive roads of the day.

Always chasing funding, Merkel moved the operation to Pottstown, Pennsylvania in 1909 to merge with the Light Manufacturing Co. Here Merkel’s reputation for advanced engineering was further enhanced when he added a truss-style telescopic fork and cantilevered swingarm suspension to the chassis – this at a time when most other bike makers made do with crude girder forks and rigid rear ends. “All roads are smooth to The Flying Merkel,” became the advertising slogan.

As admirably represented by the first-year example on offer here, Merkel was quick to embrace V-twin powerplants, introducing his take on the more-powerful configuration in 1910, a year before Harley-Davidson made the move to V’s. The new 884cc engine only added to Merkel’s reputation for reliability, already at a high level due to use of German-made ball bearings, rather than the more common bronze or babbitt bushings, plus fitment of a throttle-dependant engine oiler before either Harley or Indian adopted that feature. “Technology was changing pretty rapidly at that time, and competition was fierce,” says Mark Mederski, special projects director at the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, Iowa. “Merkel was an innovator. He wanted his bikes to stand out.”

The company rightfully played up build-quality in its showroom brochures, telling prospective buyers, “In presenting The Flying Merkel we believe we are offering you the world’s finest motorcycle. No effort or expense has been spared to place The Flying Merkel on the top rung of mechanical achievement and it is today, without doubt, America’s premier machine for comfort, speed and reliability. It is a machine to depend upon – a machine whose reliability is a thousand times a proven fact.”

Ernie Eugene Barnes Jr. (American 1938-2009), oil on canvas titled Quintet, signed lower right, 36″ x 60″. Exhibited: Grand Central Art Galleries, The Beauty of the Ghetto, 1990.
Condition
Good condition. No apparent damages or repairs. Provenance: Pennsylvania consignor.

Mounted on an adjustable wooden tripod with chromatic elements.
Japanese WWII monocular was manufactured in 1940 to be mounted on a battleship.

Issued: 1940
Dimensions: 56″H x 18.5″W
Country of Origin: Japan
Condition
Good; working