My goal is to publish new posts twice a week — Mondays and Thursdays. However, if you don’t see a new post on Thursday, it’s because I was too busy, so please look for a new one the following Monday.

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Heritage Auctions held its Illustration Art Signature Auction on October 17-18, 2014. Included in the sale was original art from the Norman Jacobs Starlog collection — a monthly science fiction magazine — which met with an enthusiastic response. Usually the works of Gil Elvgren top the auction, but this time it was science fiction.

Lot #72019 was a huge (6′), 1977, acrylic on canvas painting by Robert Theodore McCall, entitled Earth Orbit 98. It led the sale with a final price of $245,000, including buyer’s premium, against a pre-sale estimate of $200,000 – $250,000 — just below the low estimate. (Remember the estimate does not include the buyer’s premium.)

The result for the second best lot, #72004, was a big surprise. Chesley Bonestell’s Beginning of the World (The Earth is Born), a mixed media on board painting, flew past its pre-sale estimate of $15,000 – $25,000, to realize a stunning $197,000. The painting had been used for the December 8, 1952 cover of LIFE Magazine, which no doubt added to the enthusiasm.

12 examples of Gil Elvgren’s art were sold in the sale, with lot #72113 leading the way. The 1957 painting, entitled What a View!, was used as a calendar illustration for Brown & Bigelow. It sold for $68,750, against a pre-sale estimate of $40,000 – $60,000.

For the complete results of the sale, click here. You will be required to sign in (free) to see the results.

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Our first show of four in a row will be held next weekend in New Jersey at the Morristown Armory, November 1-2. Then we travel to Chicago for the Antiques + Modernism Winnetka show, followed by the Kansas City Antiques Expo, ending up back at the Pier in NYC for the usual November show. Remember to check my website for the latest items and keep reading my blog. We’ll spend a lot of time finding some great new items for our November circuit.

Click here to view our new website and look around. We always strive to offer the finest objects for sale on our website and at every show. There are many items for sale, sold items with prices and free lessons about glass and lamps.