The Lifetime Collections of Carol Schulman of Chesterland, Ohio and Joanne and Dr. David Woodyard of Granville, Ohio will sell in the former Garth's Auction Barn in Delaware, Ohio on Saturday, November 30, 2024. Below is a letter excerpted from the printed catalog accompanying the auction. To learn more about the auction, or to browse individual lots online, click here.
It is a well-worn old adage among auctioneers that our businesses survive on “the 4D’s: death, divorce, debt, and downsizing” - and none of the four are generally positive life events. For me, walking with consignors through whatever life has thrown their way is a part of what I love about what we do. My sensitivity to the emotions involved is a result of having experienced some tough life experiences; and, in a way, has been a silver-lining for me.
The two lifetime collections comprising the bulk of day two of this auction are coming to auction via the “downsizing” route - remarkable, given the age of the consignors and the length of time they have been collecting. Without mentioning precise numbers (at the request of at least one of them!), suffice it to say that if I am living on my own at their ages, in my home and surrounded by a collection I have built over 50-70 years, I will count myself very, very lucky. The collections of Carol Schulman and Joanne and Dr. David Woodyard were dismantled by our team in two very distinct ways - speaking to the challenges of both managing the sale of a lifetime collection and running a business that serves people whose needs and items can be vastly different.
Carol and I first met to discuss her intent to sell in late 2023. Though I had known her for years, it was my first visit to her charming, lovingly maintained early home in Chesterland, Ohio. Carol welcomed me to the sitting room and proceeded to ask where she should sell her collection - citing at least one auction house in New England. Without an ounce of indignation, I shot back with enthusiasm and confidence - “Carol, what do you mean?? You should sell with me, of course!” And so began our regular visits during which I personally reviewed the collection with her, and sifted and sorted through stacks of receipts and paperwork. Those hours spent together revealed a spitfire of a woman (“do you do this with every consignor??” she question me on more than one occasion) - whose dogged determination to live independently and remain engaged with the antiques community is nothing short of inspirational to me. Also, I never have to guess where I stand with Carol - she is as direct as she is sharp, and I so relate to her spirit. I am ever-so-grateful she decided to sell with us, and I hope the way that we have integrated her items (numbering more than 300 lots) with the other consignments in the auction helps to provide context in a way that highlights her eye and deep desire to buy special items from trusted and quality dealer friends over the decades. Each of Carol’s items in the session are denoted with an asterisk before the title, with a footnote at the bottom of each page. The water color shown with this letter (lot 707 and from her collection) is an ode to my firecracker of a friend.
Interspersed with Carol’s collection are approximately 100 lots from Joanne and Dr. David Woodyard of Granville, Ohio. Dr. Woodyard left a voicemail for me back in May, referencing an important American antiques collection in a town not 45 minutes from where I have worked in the antiques auction business for almost 30 years. Having never heard the Woodyards’ name, I was a skeptic until I walked into their large living room where Mariner’s Daughter (the cover image and lot 575 in this auction) hung over the fireplace, flanked by their Massachusetts secretary bookcase and Connecticut high chest. Having had a series of unfortunate events, the Woodyards had to move quickly and the burning question was whether we could move quickly to secure the collection until it could be sold this fall. As a result, my team and I have had the rare opportunity to “live” with their collection for nearly six months - getting to know their items (and as an extension, the Woodyards) very well. It is tough to say goodbye to some of these old friends now, but it is my hope that we are able to get them into the hands of those who will caretake them next.
Surely this auction includes, pound for pound, some of the best objects I have been privileged to handle across my career. It is with great gratitude for the opportunity that my team and I present them to you. Thank you, thank you for joining us for a tradition begun long ago in a dusty old barn in Delaware, Ohio, and Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
Warmly,
Amelia Jeffers
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