LCA's success story is the story of satisfied consignors and exciting sales over the past decade. Since 1994, LCA has held approximately 60 sales, selling tens of thousands of items of fine art, furniture and decorative art for hundreds of clients. Year by year, gross sales totals have grown from a first auction of just over one hundred thousand dollars to a ten-year anniversary sale that grossed nearly a million dollars, and which included the sale of a single painting for $94,000, not far from the entire total of that very first auction.
In the Spring of 2004, LCA was delighted to purchase a 10,000 square foot building in Litchfield which now functions as an auction gallery, offices and warehouse all under one roof.
In the early 1980's, Weston Thorn purchased the building at 940 Bantam Road in Bantam, CT which became Weston Thorn Antiques. Throughout the 1980's Weston Thorn Antiques offered antiques, fine art and decorations. "The Shop" was Mr. Thorn's entree into the Litchfield County antiques community, and helped him to establish a devoted clientele and a very positive reputation. Weston Thorn Antiques continued to be a successful antiques business for over twenty years. When Mr. Thorn started Litchfield County Auctions in 1994, Weston Thorn Antiques continued to serve as a retail store as well as becoming office space for LCA. The Weston Thorn Antiques building is currently in a transitional period as LCA's operations have all moved to the new building at 425 Bantam Road, in Litchfield.
By 1994, the winds of change were in the air. With the economy slackening since the early 1990's, it was no longer as easy to sell property as it had been in the 1980's. Dealers were turning to a number of alternatives. Many were becoming more and more specialized, others were doing more and more shows. Those that did not adjust to the changing tides had a very hard time. For Mr. Thorn, the answer was to return to his first love, the auction business, where he had begun his career. A number of factors pointed him in this direction: a prominent auction gallery in Litchfield had closed a few years before leaving an open niche in the market place, clients were asking him to offer their items at auction and he had years of experience in the auction business. He opened Litchfield County Auctions, Inc. and held LCA's first auction at the Foreman School. The sale was a quiet success, selling nearly all of the items in the auction and grossing over one hundred thousand dollars. LCA was on its way.
For the next auction, LCA rented the American Legion Hall in Litchfield. The space was larger and more regularly available than the Foreman school. Over the next three years, LCA held a variety of successful auctions there. While most of the auctions went very smoothly and sale totals that began around $100,000 climbed to over $200,000, two stories of not-so-smooth auctions stand out from those years, and show how Litchfield County Auctions “goes the extra mile”, when the need arises.
The first near-disaster was on a cold afternoon in December. The auction hall was packed and the auction was rolling along at an exciting pace. Outside, however, the weather was also rolling along at an exciting pace and by the middle of the sale a North East blizzard had settled in. The auction continued, as the winds blew outside, when suddenly the electricity went out. The lights flickered and went out and the microphone went dead. LCA had two choices-- to somehow carry on or to give up and stop the sale. At this point, with half of the auction over and a crowd that was unable to leave, LCA decided that the best thing to do would be to finish the sale. Candles were brought out as the afternoon light began to fade, and the audience was asked to keep quiet so that the auctioneer's voice could be heard over the wind from outside. In the end, with the excitement of the storm, the "captive" audience, and the romance of the candle light, the sale did even better than expected.
Another hitch occurred during an auction of important historical documents. Boxes of papers that had been left in a barn since the end of World War II were to be brought up for auction by the current owner of the barn; however the daughter of the original owner of the documents heard about the sale, rushed to her lawyer and acquired a court injunction to stop the sale. At the time it seemed a horrible disaster, and over the course of the following five years it took a lot of time and legal expense to sort the matter out. LCA, however, held the documents in safe storage and insured them at their own expense, and provided service and information to both parties throughout the dispute. In the end, LCA was finally able to hold the sale for the original consignor, five years later. Due to an upswing in the market, the drama of the story, and most importantly, the broad reach that the internet allowed-- which had not been available five years earlier-- the documents flew past their originally estimated values.
It was also at the American Legion Hall that Litchfield County Auctions developed their fun and exciting “Three-Day Priced Estate Sale”. Over the years, these sales grew in popularity and soon one find would fifty to 100 customers lined-up at the door early on a Friday morning, rain or shine, to get the first chance at discovering a hidden treasure. One sale, in fact, the chance to be first in line was auctioned off for the benefit of the American Legion Hall, and the price rose to $100!
Very soon after LCA began holding auctions, it became clear that the volume of property that was being auctioned was too much to be contained in the storage area at Weston Thorn Antiques. To make room for the expanding business, LCA leased this 2000 square foot warehouse, on Route 202 in Litchfield. The space served both as a warehouse and cataloging area for property before it was moved to the exhibition hall. LCA also used the warehouse as a photography studio and a packing and shipping center.
As Litchfield County Auctions sales began to grow, both in size and dollar amount, LCA needed more space, better light and the possibility of multiple telephone lines to handle more and more "telephone bids," and eventually fax lines, internet service and credit card service. So, in 1998, LCA moved its exhibition space to The Litchfield Fire House. This new space allowed LCA to expand in many ways, most importantly to be able to reach beyond the local area market; first by the use of telephone bidding, then by the use of the internet, LCA began to develop a national and international clientele. Auctions at the Firehouse ranged from 1/4 million - 3/4 million dollars per sale, interspersed with the ever growing "Priced-Estate Sales" that local customers began to expect and enjoy.
Among important auctions held at the Firehouse were: Items from the Estate of Horst P. Horst, Items from the Collection of Melitta Loew Blin and Continental Fine Art & Antiques from the Woodhuysen Collection. Specialty sales and collections included an auction of Early American glass, an American Folk Art Collection, an Art Pottery & Art Glass auction, a collection of historical documents and a single-owner auction of Americana. During the six years that LCA spent at the Firehouse in Litchfield, the auction company grew from a local auction house into one of the best-known and most well respected auction houses in the state of Connecticut.
Some of the most memorable of Litchfield County Auctions sales over the years have been the several "Onsite" sales that LCA has held. These sales are events that bring the action to the Estate rather than the other way around. For buyers, sellers and LCA itself, these can be the most exciting opportunities, hosted on the beautiful sprawling grounds of Roxbury, Kent and Oyster Bay, LI estates, or the glittering turn-of-the century elegance of an Albany, NY Town House.
LCA's first On-Site event was in the summer of 1999 at the Oyster Bay, Long Island residence of floral designer and author J. Barry Ferguson. The sale was a terrific success, as crowds came to see the lovely grounds and gardens of the well known florist, who also had an impeccable interior decorating sense. The sale featured both an auction and a tag-sale element. The next Onsite sale that LCA held was at a beautiful large white house in Roxbury, CT, in the Spring of 2000. Again, the beautiful landscape and the popularity of the owners contributed to a very healthy turn-out. The following spring, on a recommendation from those very clients, LCA had the opportunity to host a similar sale at the magnificent Dragonfly Farm, in Kent, CT. Both of these events were "Priced-Estate Sales.
The most impressive of LCA's Onsite sales was held at the 19th Century Townhouse of the Estate of Lieutenant Colonel Arthur B. Scherrer, at 439 State Street in Albany, NY. Set amongst sparkling crystal chandeliers, rugs laid out on parquet floors, up staircases with carved mahogany bannisters and marble fireplaces on every floor, the magical atmosphere of the residence contributed to LCA's most successful sale to that point. Among the highlights of the sale was a Linke bedroom set that sold for $28,000, a pair of Paul Sormani pier tables which sold for $16,000, and a small pair of paintings by Edgar Hunt which brought $14,000.
By summer of 2003, LCA was again "bursting at the seams." Renting "The Grey Barn" also on route 202 in Litchfield, LCA held several sales in this rustic feeling environment. The most memorable of these sales featured property from two terrific estates, one from Palm Beach, Florida and then from the collection of the esteemed interior Richard V. Hare. The 3000 square foot barn was full to the point of overflowing, with chairs hung from the rafters and outdoor and garden furniture spilling out the door into the parking lot.
Litchfield County Auctions began selling items on the internet in 1999 and has continued to do so ever since. The process began with a phone call from Lark Mason, then Chinese expert at Sotheby's and a long-time friend and associate of Weston Thorn. Invited to join Sothebys.com, LCA responded by creating a website and purchasing a digital camera. Over the following years, the business has changed drastically, and LCA has kept selling through online auctions.
The most successful auction to date in Litchfield County Auctions history was the Collection of Mrs. Melita Loew Blin in February of 2003. Mrs. Blin had once lived at the Pembroke House on Long Island, a famous, enormous estate that was torn down ion the 1960’s. Mrs. Blin was the former wife of Arthur Loew, founder of Loews Theaters, and had put together a stunning collection of Fine Art and first rate Antique Furniture and decorations. Highlights from the sale included a Rodin Bronze, a Picasso Vase, 2 Pierre Alechinsky works, Picasso and Mattisse Prints and on and on. The sale grossed three-quarters of a million dollars, well over its high estimate.
Litchfield County Auctions, Inc. is pleased to be working with iGavel.com and has purchased a 10,000 sq. ft. permanent Auction Gallery in Litchfield, where auctions and estate sales are held 6 times per year.
