We know our bidders like to know where our auction items come from. Is it really an Estate? We don’t overuse the word “Estate” because we know not every situation is a true “Estate” sale/auction. In today’s market, that word is overused. A moving sale should be called a moving sale and a downsizing sale should be called a downsizing sale. I believe that’s what sets Auctioneers apart from the rest. We are licensed and trained professionals and we are regulated by the Department of Commerce and Insurance. If we do something wrong, the public is protected and has recourse. We try to stay true to what we’re selling and we call it what it is. Only when it’s what we consider to be true “Estate” do we call it that.

This month, we are selling several partial true “Estates” from the Middle Tennessee area. We thought you might want to know a little more about these families.

Our Dickson Estate includes items from Frank and Florence Wood. They literally gathered and collected items along their travels from the back roads of Kentucky to southern Indiana. “If my Father saw a house he thought might be interesting, he would just go up to the door and ask if they had anything old they wanted to sell”, states their daughter Evelyn Jennings. “Mom and I sat in the car and tried to look innocent till they gave us the okay to come in”.

Evelyn said her Father drove an Oldsmobile Delta 88 that had huge fins and plenty of room on top of the car in the car top carrier. She remembers the Hoosier Cabinet and RJ Horner Hallway Bench we are selling in the auction and other pieces of furniture that he strapped on to that carrier. For 60 years, she said her parents searched attics, basements and auctions. It was more about the hunt sometimes, than it was about the pieces they acquired.  They amassed quite a collection and were known for that. As a matter of fact, the Ansonia clock we are selling in the auction was stolen twice from their Real Estate office and recovered each time at the police station.

Another seller’s Father, Marvin Leeds, had a dream of a career in songwriting. When he turned 18, he joined the US Army seeking adventure. When he was 20 he was wounded in action and after recovering from Walter Reed Hospital, life steered him in another direction.

He loved history, art and guiding young minds, which led him to teaching. He also studied and collected antique art glass, folk art and artifacts related to WWI and WWII. We are selling a WWII German Hat from his collection along with a period Top Hat. The cast iron toy banks and the “Pore Lil Mose” Black Americana prints are also from his collection. His daughter Erica says she remembers how diverse his collections were, and is happy to share a few of these items with our bidders.

Nancy Teasley Rickey owned the Pen & Paper, Inc. store in Green Hills for over a decade. Prior to that, she was a stockbroker with Hillard Lyons. Her daughter, Sarah told us her Mother had always wanted to own her own business and sell nice things. Thus, she opened the Pen & Paper store selling fine writing instruments like the Pelikan and Montblac among other items we are selling in the auction.

Now you know a little bit more about the story behind this month’s “Estate” auction.