Collector’s Estate Auction Holds Much of Local Cleveland’s History

Thousands of items to be auctioned from the amazing estate of Larry Southworth.

Collector’s Estate Auction Holds Much of Local Cleveland’s History

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(PRWEB) October 8, 2005 -- On Saturday November 12th, the small town of Wellington, OH will witness another fascinating auction opportunity. Antiques and Estate Auctioneers, located at 44777 State Route 18, Wellington 44090, (Also available online at www.estateauctioneers.com) will host Larry Southworth’s incredible estate auction. John Farkas and Connie Rose are your host auctioneers. An insurance salesman who had a passion for auctions and possessed enviable skill in carpentry, he built his home incorporating antiques and architectural pieces from local Cleveland’s history. His oldest son remembers that auction going was scheduled into every trip the family took, in the smallest to the largest of places, resulting in an eclectic collection of surprising proportion.

It was not from auctions alone though that the bulk of Larry’s collection accumulated. He was a pioneer at heart—departing from the tourist group during a trip to China; Southworth went with guides deeper into the remote parts of the country. There he came across a small town that makes silk rugs, each rug taking years to complete. For $14,000 he bought one of these rugs, nearly twenty by thirty feet, and brought it back to the U.S. This rug, in the company of a Gorgar pinball machine, Euclid Beach memorabilia, a horse drawn sleigh, Capodimonte clowns, railroad memorabilia, cranberry glass and Fiesta Ware will be available in the auction.

“Who wants to bid on everything else?” was the closing phrase that son, Jeff Southworth, remembers hearing at the many auctions he attended with his father. All else that did not sell individually was what Southworth would buy. Then with bolt cutters and sledgehammers in hand, father and sons would disassemble and relocate the architecture of stairwells, a bar, and an entire restaurant. An impressive example is Cleveland’s Kon Tiki restaurant, housed in the down town Sheraton Hotel. In four, 40ft. trailers he stored the wall, ceiling, and floor decorations until they could be refigured into the architecture of his home
Another famous Cleveland haunt, The Clip-Joint Bar, was similarly acquired. The Clip-Joint was a barber shop where customers were also served drinks. Southworth acquired the full decor for his wife who was a Cosmetologist and a teacher of Cosmetology, and as with the Kon Tiki the architecture of the retired bar was adapted to his home.

Southworth’s friend Barbara Sindelar remembers, “He wanted his house to be a collection of all the pieces that establish our past, that’s what antiques do, they link the past with the present. He wanted his Indian one armed bandit to greet you at the door on the right, and the old nickelodeon player piano to greet you on the left.”

Both items will be included in the auction November 12.
Southworth collected an amazing amount of items over his lifetime. His son recalls the family 4-car garage that one could never park a car in. Larry was fascinated by the history of each item, and loved to relate their tale with the ease of a storyteller. As an insurance salesman he was drawn to the stories of Fire Marks—these were an old form of fire insurance where if you hadn’t purchased a Fire Mark and your house caught on fire, well the fire brigade just wouldn’t show up. He collected many of these and was also a member of the Fire Marks Association. He collected Cigarette tins, Fire Mark tins, salesman samples, slot machines, old carnival and fun house items, and Desert Rose place settings, an eclectic collection indeed.

It would only reason to hold an auction in his honor. His highly intriguing, varied, and outstanding lifetime dedication to collecting is bound to hold many treasures for others. The Antiques and Estate Auctioneers will make this auction easy and convenient to attend in a spacious gallery with a large digital screen display, or live-internet bidding available straight from your own home. Do not miss this rare opportunity to participate in Cleveland’s history. The gallery is located at 44777 St. Rt. 18 in Wellington, OH 44090 and can be contacted at 440-647-4007. Reported by Laura Lazorski.