People squeezed past each other to eye pieces of glassware, furniture, dolls and fine paintings during a preview of a Blue Willow Auctions sale on July 6.

The sale took place at the Insight building just north of Brighton in Genoa Township.

The items for this auction were from several different estates in the area.

A number of pieces had price tags on them from previous sales. Someone noted that a lithograph by Jane Wooster Scott had a price tag on it of $395.

’That will have no bearing on what it will sell for,’ said Tom Moody, the auctioneer for Blue Willow Auctions.

In fact, the lithograph, Moonlight Turning, a hand embellished stretched canvas lithograph, sold for $145. Things seemed to be pretty reasonably priced this day. Some pieces of beautiful furniture sold for under $100. For example, a Victorian parlor chair with pink upholstery, in what looked like flawless condition, sold for $60. A carved balloon-backed Victorian chair with a different upholstery pattern and color sold for $95. The prices on these chairs were about the going rate, said Cheryl Rivard from Blue Willow Auctions a couple days after the sale.

”A single chair, that’s about what it goes for. If it’s a set, that’s different,” she explained.

One item that stood out was a life-size cement statue of a woman in the style of ancient Greece. It was weathered-looking and must have been outside a lot, but wasn’t broken or noticeably gouged or chipped.

It isn’t the sort of thing that shows up at every auction, said Gary Gray, an antiques aficionado who was helping Moody.

Despite its apparent distinctiveness, the statue brought only $100, but that’s how thing seemed to go.

“I think it was a way better statue than what it sold for,” Rivard said. She said it was tagged for $3,000 at a previous estate sale, and that someone told her he regretted not buying it for his garden.

One of the most expensive items of the afternoon was a secretary-bookcase complete with Victorian hardware, and it brought a winning bid of $350. A solid oak bookcase with glass doors, made in the arts and crafts mission style, brought a winning bid of $325. Another impressive piece of furniture was a large grandfather clock from the 1940s. Someone acquired that for $275.

“The chime was questionable on it, so that’s why it sold for $275,” Rivard said.

Other items of note included a Civil War bookcase, which sold for $155, a Civil War dresser made of solid walnut, which sold for $90, and a cute mantle clock with little columns on the front, which sold for $90. Another large piece of furniture, a marble top dresser with mirror, brought a winning bid of $250. An oak map case with a glass door sold for $90. It had a prominent crack that ran along its top.

Some of the smaller items that are notable included some Belleek pieces: A Belleek round bowl garnered a winning bid of $50, while a Belleek lamp brought $70. Finally, a Belleek teapot brought $85. A brass lamp with pink glass, which had a shade that was white on the outside, pink on the inside, brought a winning bid of $50. A cranberry glass vase brought only $30, while a cranberry vase with cups brought $80. Also, a cranberry diamond quilted covered jar with a sterling top garnered $85.

“Pink glass is fairly hot right now,” Gray said at one point during the auction preview.

Another notable item was a signed and numbered framed, matted original etching of Lucille Ball, which sold for $65. Some smaller items included a small wooden storage chest which, Moody said, was a little uncommon in this size. It sold for $60. A Lionel bank - ’not old but cute,’ Moody said - choo-choo’d for a mere $25, while a set of crystal French cordials found a new home for five bucks. Some periwinkle blue Fostoria glasses had a winning bid of $10. Rivard said the color of the glasses affected their value somewhat negatively.

A handsome mahogany flag case with an American flag inside brought a winning bid of $20, while a Chinese porcelain garden seat found a new home for the price of $25.

Blue Willow Auctions charges a three percent buyer’s premium on credit card purchases only. No buyers premium is charged on cash or check purchases. Moody warned that in September the buyer’s premium on credit card purchases would be raised to five percent.

Blue Willow Auctions is located at 3824 Herbey St. Canton, Mich. 48188. The telephone number is (734) 326-9890, and emails may be sent to welldone227@aol.com.