Stukey estate auction in Lamoine expected to draw many collectors

LAMOINE — A rare collection of Canton china to be offered at an estate auction is expected to draw a number of major antique dealers and collectors to Lamoine this weekend.

Described as a significant antique auction by auctioneer and antique appraiser Robert E. Croul, Saturday’s sale will feature the furniture and china collection of Lamoine resident Mary E. (Tempe) Stukey, who died last fall.

Croul said Wednesday that the Lamoine auction has generated wide interest among antique dealers and collectors, including some in Canada and England.

Unlike other auctions, which often represent a mixture of items from several homes, only the Stukey collection will be auctioned this weekend.

“Nothing is from the outside,” Croul said, “so that creates a special aura about the sale. I have a feeling it may be a very important auction, and there may be some records set.”

Stukey’s Canton china collection, which Croul said had been passed down in her family, has been described as rare and significant. The more than 200-piece collection includes pieces such as candlesticks, butter dishes, salt and pepper shakers and vases, in addition to platters and cups.

The china, Croul said, dates from the second to third quarter of the 19th century, the heyday of Maine trade with China.

Stukey’s estate also includes significant American furniture. To be auctioned are pine corner cupboards, dating from the early 19th century, and pine hutch tables and drop-leaf tables. Croul described a Queen Anne highboy, circa 1760-65, as a “very lovely and important piece.”

Of particular interest may be her Hepplewhite furniture, which includes a butler’s desk and chest of drawers.

Stukey’s family, Croul said, had lived in Lamoine for several generations and had maintained and continued to add to the superb collection. “It is unusual today to find such an intact collection,” he said.

Stukey continued to occupy the family home during the summer months throughout her adult life, while a resident of Washington, D.C. Over the last several years, she lived in Lamoine year round. She is remembered by neighbors as having a great affection for her family’s home, striving to maintain the house and collection as her parents had done before her.

Her spring and summer flower gardens were another reminder to neighbors of Stukey’s fondness for collections of color and beauty.

Stukey’s father is remembered in Lamoine as having helped to preserve the small town’s historical record through oral histories and photographs. An avid collector of the natural world as well, his butterfly and insect collections have been given to College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor.

An auction preview will be held from noon to 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 10, at the Stukey home on Route 184 near Lamoine State Park. The auction, a catalog sale, will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 11. More than 335 items are listed in the catalog.

The remainder of the household items will be auctioned the next day, Sunday, beginning at 12:30 p.m. A preview of those items will be held from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sunday.