One of Morgantown’s best-known real estate investors, James Giuliani and his wife, Karen, are auctioning off a number of folk art paintings and sculptures, antique pottery, glassware, furniture and toys this Friday and Saturday on the grounds of their Prairie Avenue home in the Chancery Hill Historic District.
Giuliani, who has a Florida home as well, said it was time for them to downsize and get rid of some of the items in their extensive, 40-year collection, many of which are duplicates.
“We collect these things because we love them,” said Giuliani during a tour of his home, the Alexander Wade House, next to Morgantown High School. (Alexander Wade was an educator credited with developing a system of grade promotions and exams that was widely accepted and adopted in the late 19th Century. Wade lived in the house until his death in 1904.)
Joe R. Pyle Complete Auction and Realty Service of Shinnston will conduct the two-day event. Bidders may also go online at joerpyleauctions.com.
Describing all of the items to be auctioned off during a tour of the 22-room home is an impossible task to do justice to. Some of the rarer items slated for sale include a delicate white-and-blue Cosmetique box made by Philadelphia Pottery to hold cosmetics. Another rare item pointed out by Giuliani is a decorated blue, wooden box with tulips on the front — the size of a shoebox — which has its original till.
There are numerous — and colorful — Gentile Glass paper weights and walking sticks, as well as local pottery, numerous antique quilts, handwoven rugs, antique furniture, walking sticks and granite ware.
“This is the kind of auction for the young collector to get started with,” said Ethan Moore, assistant general manager of Joe R. Pyle.
“But, there are also items that will appeal to the seasoned collector.”
Other unique items to be sold include items from the career of Frank “Gunner” Gatski, a local resident who played for the Cleveland Browns football team in the 1940s and 1950s. Gatski, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, was the father of Karen Giuliani.
Overall, there are 700 lots slated for sale. The sheer volume of the items — more than 1,000 — to be sold necessitated two days and a full-time staff for the auction house for the last three weeks. Three, large blue-and-white striped tents have been set up on the Giuliani property for the auction.
Friday’s auction starts at 4:30 p.m. and will be held on the lower grounds of Giuliani’s property. Charlotte Pyle will be the lead auctioneer that day and Joe R. Pyle will be the main auctioneer Saturday. The auction begins at 9 a.m. Hot food will be available both days.
Parking is available at Morgantown High School.
