DENVER, PA.- A blockbuster lineup of more than 800 lots of antique advertising opened the doors to a three-day marathon of consistently strong auction prices at Morphy’s, Dec. 5-7. The combined total for the sessions, which also included fine and decorative art, was $2,184,000. All prices quoted in this report include the 20% buyer’s premium.

The Friday advertising session’s prices realized were led by a historically important 1891 Coca-Cola calendar that came from the renowned Gordon P. Breslow collection. Years prior to Breslow’s acquisition of the near-mint rarity, it had surfaced in Louisiana within a pre-1900 pharmaceutical collection.

The calendar was especially significant to collectors because it also promoted Asa C. Candler & Co., a retail and wholesale drug business on Peachtree Street in Atlanta that served Coca-Cola at its soda fountain. In 1891, Candler paid $2,300 to become sole owner of Coca-Cola, and a year later, he dissolved his pharmaceutical business and formed the Coca-Cola Bottling Company along with four other partners. The early and iconic calendar – one of only two known examples of 1891 Coke calendars, each a unique version – reached its high estimate at auction, selling for $150,000.

Produced in 1902, a brilliantly hued Coke poster emblazoned “Drink Carbonated Coca-Cola in Bottles” featured a young woman in a fancy plumed hat and pearl-covered red dress holding a fountain glass of the fizzy beverage. It reached the top of its estimate range at $40,800.

An exquisite 1904 Coca-Cola boudoir clock, celluloid over cardboard with an embedded clock face showing the soft drink’s name in flowing script, was described in the catalog as being in excellent-plus condition. It featured an elegantly gowned model in a Gibson Girl hairdo, standing beside a 5-cent Coca-Cola display. The clock finished within estimate at $22,000. Not far behind at $21,600 was a rare version of a 1908 Coke calendar featuring a finely attired lady sipping daintily from a glass, a bottle of the popular beverage placed prominently on the sofa-fountain table before her.

Other highlights recorded on the Friday included a three-dimensional painted coffee pot trade sign touting T&K Coffee, $15,600 against an estimate of $3,000-$6,000; a 25- by 17-inch paper sign for Remington Auto Loading Rifles, $6,600 (est. $600-$900); and a richly graphic Canadian porcelain sign advertising King Cole Tea and Coffee, $7,200 (est. $2,500-$5,000).

The Saturday session, which introduced the first 634 of 1,400 lots of fine and decorative art to be auctioned over the weekend, included early photographica, fine jewelry, coins and bronzes, among other subcategories.

Leading the numismatic lots was an 1803 $10 gold coin with Lady Liberty on the obverse and an American Eagle, US Shield and stars on the reverse. It cashed out at $13,600. A beautiful 1876 20-cent proof MS65 coin with “mint luster” exceeded its estimate range in settling at $9,000.

The perennial appeal of Georg Jensen silver was evident with the above-estimate $6,000 price paid for a simple oval tea tray, 60 ozt, with reeded rim and beaded accents. An impressive 14K yellow gold and platinum ring with 1.2-carat solitaire diamond (VS1 clarity, G color) also exceeded expectations, reaching $5,800. The fine selection of bronzes included a Meroni Radice casting of Maurice Guiraud-Riviere’s anatomical figure of an athletic man, $4,800; and an 11-inch-wide classical bronze of a nude lady warrior in a dramatic pose with spear and shield, $4,000. A tinted stereoscopic daguerreotype of a nude woman with a sheer veil neared its high estimate at $3,600.

Sunday’s session opened with 275 rare antique telephones from the Peter D’Acosta collection. The former Texas broadcast executive spent 25 years amassing his premier collection, which included 30 telephones believed to be sole survivors.

Among the telephone lots ringing up the day’s highest prices were several rare “candlestick” types: an 1898 Manhattan Electrical Supply phone with “rope” shaft, $18,000 against an estimate of $6,000-$7,000; a historically important 1895 Western Electric No. 3-A “Potbelly,” $16,800 (est. $12,000-$15,000), and an unusual 1904 Western Electric No. 30-A 100-station peg dialer, which functioned as a primitive switching system exchange. Estimated at $4,000-$5,000, it connected with phone enthusiasts and was bid to $12,000.

Dozens of stunning American art-glass lamps followed the telephone selection, with all of the most desired brands represented, including Tiffany, Pairpoint and Handel. Results included $15,000 for a Pairpoint Apple Blossom on Tree Trunk base; and $8,400 for a Handel cameo lamp reverse-painted with the image of colorful parrots, which had been estimated at $1,500-$3,000.

The star of the Sunday session, to no one’s surprise, was an 1890 Martin & Bros., stoneware Wally Bird humidor. Its cheeky expression, rare-color blue eyes and perfect condition combined to take it to a lofty $37,200. Other standouts in the decorative art category included a Roseville “Tourist” 33-inch jardinière and pedestal, $7,800; and a signed George Ohr teapot with lid, $5,400.

Morphy Auctions’ next major Advertising auction will take place on March 28 and will feature scarce soda fountain syrup dispensers. On April 4, Morphy’s will hold its next Fine & Decorative Arts sale, for which consignments are currently being accepted. Contact Morphy’s by calling 717-335-3435 or emailing info@morphyauctions.com. Online: www.morphyauctions.com.