A trove of 10 personal letters written from 1948-1950, mostly from Queen Elizabeth II to Sharman Douglas (Princess Margaret's close personal friend in the 1940s and '50s) and her mother, Mrs. Lewis Douglas, sold as a single lot for $4,320 at an auction held Jan. 15 by Los Angeles Auction House, at the Santa Monica Airport.
One of the letters was written to Ms. Douglas by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. It stated, "Dear Sharman, I take back everything I said and I am delighted that it is now certain that you can remain here indefinitely, I hope! Yours ever, Philip." Another was from "Bobbety" Robert Gascoyne, 5th Marques of Salisbury. All but one of the letters came with its original envelope.
The sales were part of Los Angeles Auction House's Winter Fine & Decorative Arts Sale, that included more than 300 lots of European paintings, sterling flatware and hollow ware (and silver smalls), fine estate jewelry, icons and religious artworks, prints and posters, pottery, ephemera, art glass and more. Online bidding was facilitated by Invaluable.com.
"We were fortunate to have been contacted by several consignors with serious collections, and that helped make the auction the success that it was," said Bryan Abbott, owner of Los Angeles Auction House and a former founding director of the Decorative Arts Department at Heritage Auctions in Dallas, Tex. "The quality of items was strong across the board, as were final prices."
Additional sales included a portrait for $14,400, a ceramic owl vase by Pablo Picasso for $16,800, an oil on canvas beach scene by Nicola Simbari for $3,950, a color lithograph by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec for $10,200; and a color lithograph by Marc Chagall fetched $7,200. A 204-piece silver flatware silver dinner service, depicting Dionysus (or Bacchus) on top of the handle, garnered $9,600. Also, a group of twelve Tiffany solid sterling dessert (or tea) knives in the multi-motif Japanese pattern (circa 1880), with bird and flower design and Tiffany mark, made $2,520.
A Southern antebellum coin silver pitcher rose to $3,840; and an American Federal period hand-made coin silver three-piece tea set by Fletcher & Gardiner (teapot, covered sugar and creamer), went for $3,600.
A 19th century Imperial Russian silver icon with silver oklad (protective metal cover), depicting Mary and Christ and rendered in oil on a multi-layered panel, circa 1844, realized $13,200; while an Imperial Russian sterling silver and shaded enamel cigarette case, with the mark of Dimitry Nikolayev (Moscow), circa 1900, made $2,040.
A sterling necklace, with original blue silk string, four silver beads and floral tulip design with hanging labradorite pedant in the center, achieved $3,720. Also, a sterling necklace composed of hand-engraved "X" form and ball links, with original finish, commanded $2,400.
A gold bracelet coasted to $8,400; and a yellow gold rhinoceros brooch with ruby-set eye, changed hands for $2,400.
A vase earned $3,480. Also, a gold pen achieved $2,150.
For more information about the upcoming sales or the company, visit www.losangelesauctionhouse.com, call (310) 391-4422 or email info@laauctionhouse.com.
