By Eric C. Rodenberg Indiana Correspondent SHIPSHEWANA, Ind. – Vintage wagons drew bidders to the third largest Amish settlement in the United States, when Chupp Auctions conducted a sale Oct. 24-26. A U.S. Mail delivery buggy, complete with its Harrington Company, Peoria, Ill., makers tag took top honors with a final bid of $12,000. A horse-drawn G.H. Mortimore refrigerator butcher wagon, with original paint, sold for $11,000. An original John Deere goat wagon with seat, pole, shafts and sleigh runners sold for $9,750. The “wagon and accessory” crowd had to be pleased, with a single-horse Beck’s Beer Collection Department buggy with a Sear’s brass tag, original paint and eagle logo, sold for $6,500; an 1800s zinc “livery” horse-head trade sign sold for $3,100; a Weber box wagon made for International Harvester, with original paint, sold for $3,700; and an unusual galvanized wagon churn, designed to churn butter while the wagon was “churning” to its destination, sold for $1,200. And the wagons kept coming: a Huntingburg pony-size wagon with seat and original paint brought $3,750; a single-horse Rumschlag & Son bull wagon built by Smith & Schwartzbek of Tiffin, Ohio, with a bull head gate and original paint brought $6,000; a horse-drawn Amena Co-op Association oil wagon with original paint sold for $2,500; a Countryside Dairy delivery wagon with older repaint brought $2,500; and an early wooden, chain-driven Studebaker pedal car with early original paint sold for $2,000. An Oliver 50-Power pedal tractor brought $700; a restored Eska Allis Chalmers D17 pedal car sold for $650 and a 20-inch tall Vesper Manufacturing salesman sample wooden silo (with newer top) brought $2,300. A collection of more than 60 antique churns was one of the highlights of the second day of the Chupp auction. A stand-out was a 12-inch tall Funks salesman sample pump butter churn, marked Toledo, Ohio, with original pencil and clear stenciling, won top honors at $4,000. Also selling were a Coley’s patent 1860 hand-crank oscillating floor model churn with original paint and crock, $1,600; a “seldom seen” hand-crank floor model “Dashen” churn with original paint and a May 17, 1892 patent date, $1,400; and a rare double-handled hand-operated floor model churn with seat, $3,400; A 59 inch by 42-inch Minneapolis Moline Modern Machinery sign, with a wood frame back, sold for $3,600; a 4-foot by 14-inch Oliver Farm Implements sign, with shipping tag, $4,000; a 6-foot by 2-foot John Deere Farm Implements sign, $4,500; and a 28-inch by 16-inch Dreso Dip No. 1 sign, brought $3,250. Chupp, who is assisted at the auction block by his brothers Dale and Devon, said the company is already preparing for its Jan. 16-18 auction at their gallery in Shipshewana. “Yeah, we’re already getting a lot of calls for that auction, and we’re still out looking for more.” Contact: (574) 536-8005 |
