Rare, circa 1884 Winchester cartridge board hits the mark for CA$70,800 at Miller & Miller Auctions

NEW HAMBURG, Ontario - May 4, 2022 - PRLog -- A very rare, circa 1884 Winchester cartridge board – one of the most sought after, iconic examples of American sporting advertising – hit the mark for $70,800 in an online-only Petroliana & Advertising Auction held April 23^rd by Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd. The cartridge board was the top earner in a 482-lot auction that grossed $538,581.

All prices in this report are in Canadian dollars and include an 18 percent buyer's premium.

The Winchester cartridge board, 38 inches tall by 28 inches wide, was a lithographed hardboard with an applied representation of one of Winchester's earliest lines of ammunition. Few survived intact due to their size and the fact that they were displayed in store windows and areas exposed to light. The one sold was housed in the original frame and was in untouched, original condition.

The rest of the auction featured offerings that appealed to every level of petroliana and advertising enthusiast – fresh-to-the-market, investment-grade advertising signs, tins and related memorabilia from the 1890s to the 1970s. The petroliana, soda and general store advertising signs included many high-grade, seldom-seen examples. These all did well.

"The prices for gas and oil advertising surged at the outset of the pandemic and appear to be holding," said Ethan Miller, the president and owner of Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd. "Signs, gas pumps and even quart cans were bringing strong numbers throughout the day."

Mr. Miller added, "Diecut porcelain signs are the hottest. The heart-shaped porcelain Carhartt Overalls corner sign sold for over triple the high estimate of $8,000. We are having difficulty predicting where certain signs will sell these days."

He was referring to the circa 1905 Carhartt's Overalls corner sign, recently discovered during the liquidation of a longtime business in New Hamburg: Murray's Clothing & Footwear. The single-sided porcelain sign, graded 9 for condition and 22 inches tall by 18 inches wide, featured a mint green car and was known to have been produced for the Canadian market. It finished at $25,960.

Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd. has three sales planned for May and June: a Canadiana & Decorative Arts auction on Saturday, May 14^th; a Watches & Jewels auction on Saturday, June 11^th; and a Petroliana & Railroadiana auction on Saturday, June 18^th. All will be online auctions.

To learn more about Miller & Miller Auctions and their calendar of upcoming events, visit www.millerandmillerauctions.com.