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A drawer containing 171 early-20th-century German prosthetic glass eyes sold for $2,640, including the buyer’s premium, at a Potter & Potter auction on Oct. 1. The 569-lot sale also featured tattoo memorabilia and outsider art, showing how online catalogs can connect specialized collectibles with buyers; other listed prices were estimates, not confirmed results.
A drawer of 171 early-20th-century German prosthetic glass eyes sold for $2,640, including the buyer’s premium, at a Potter & Potter auction on Oct. 1, according to the auction house’s listing. The sale was part of a 569-lot catalog of curiosities, tattoo memorabilia and outsider art, illustrating how online auction access can bring buyers to objects with few obvious conventional retail comparisons.
The glass eyes were arranged in a wooden grid drawer and attracted 11 bids, the listing said. Its condition report noted light dust and that some of the glass ends were sharp. The stated sale price includes the buyer’s premium; the source does not provide a separate hammer price or identify the buyer.
Potter & Potter titled the sale “Weird Tales! UFOs, Curiosities and Tattoos.” Its 569 lots included medical curiosities and outsider art alongside tattoo-related material. Among the paintings was Hairy Creature in Shower by New Jersey artist David Huggins, who depicts what he describes as encounters with otherworldly beings. The painting’s presale estimate was $4,000 to $6,000; the supplied report does not confirm a final sale price.
The catalog also included original tattoo designs. Bidsquare’s preview listed a hand-colored sheet by Don Nolan dated 1980 and a blueprint sheet by Percy Waters dated to about the 1920s. Each had an estimate of $1,000 to $2,000. Those figures are pre-sale estimates, not reported outcomes.
How Online Catalogs Find Niche Buyers
The reported sale offers a concrete example of an online-accessible auction giving an unusual object a route to a group of potential buyers beyond a local shop or in-person sale. A collection of antique prosthetic eyes is unlikely to have a routine retail benchmark; in an auction, bids provide a transaction price shaped by the interest of participants in that particular sale.
That does not establish a broad market value for similar objects. The $2,640 result applies to this drawer, in this auction, and includes the buyer’s premium. But the process points to a practical role for digital catalogs: they make specialized merchandise searchable and visible to collectors who may be seeking a particular period, craft or subject.
The commerce involved is less unusual than the item. Buyers need descriptions and clear charges; sellers need payment processing; and fragile objects need packing and delivery. Potter & Potter’s conditions of sale set out obligations involving the purchase price, buyer’s premium, applicable taxes and other charges. The eye listing also said shipping expenses include labor, materials, insurance and transportation.
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Inside the 569-Lot Curiosities Sale
The Oct. 1 sale combined material that can appeal to very different collectors: outsider art, tattoo history, UFO-related material and medical curiosities. Its breadth is reflected in the 569-lot catalog, while the individual objects had their own descriptions, condition information and, where provided, estimates.
For collectors, a tattoo design or medical object may have artistic, historical or personal significance that is not apparent to a casual browser. A catalog allows prospective bidders to review an item remotely rather than relying on the chance that a local retailer will carry it. In this case, the auction house’s listing recorded the glass-eye drawer’s bidding and final price, while the other examples in the report show estimates rather than confirmed results.
The distinction matters when reading auction coverage: an estimate is an advance guide, not evidence that a lot sold for that amount. The only completed price specified in the supplied report is the $2,640, premium-inclusive result for the drawer of eyes.
“The drawer sold after 11 bids for a reported $2,640, including the buyer’s premium.”
— Potter & Potter auction-house listing
vintage medical curiosities display
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Unreported Prices and Buyer Details
The report does not identify the buyer of the glass-eye drawer, provide a separate hammer price, or state whether the buyer plans to display, resell or otherwise use it. It also does not give a breakdown of the final amount beyond saying that $2,640 includes the buyer’s premium.
The final results for Huggins’ painting and the two tattoo-design sheets are not supplied. Their stated ranges were presale estimates only, so it is unclear from the available information whether they sold or what they brought. The report also does not provide total sale proceeds, the number of online bidders, or a comparison with earlier auctions of similar objects.
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Sale Results and Delivery Details
The available account confirms the glass-eye lot’s completed sale but does not describe the next steps for the buyer or give a delivery timeline. The auction house’s stated shipping terms indicate that packing, insurance and transportation costs may be part of arranging delivery, with the actual expenses dependent on the purchase and shipment.
Further information about the other featured lots would clarify which objects sold and how their final prices compared with their estimates. Until those results are available, the glass-eye drawer remains the only lot in the supplied report with a confirmed price.
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Key Questions
How much did the drawer of glass eyes sell for?
It sold for $2,640 including the buyer’s premium, according to Potter & Potter’s listing. The drawer contained 171 early-20th-century German prosthetic glass eyes.
How many bids did the lot receive?
The auction-house listing reported 11 bids. The source does not provide a separate hammer price or identify the winning bidder.
Did the David Huggins painting sell for its estimate?
The report gives a presale estimate of $4,000 to $6,000 for Hairy Creature in Shower, but does not state whether it sold or give a final price.
What else was in the auction?
The 569-lot “Weird Tales! UFOs, Curiosities and Tattoos” sale included outsider art, medical curiosities and tattoo memorabilia. The report also lists two tattoo-design sheets, each estimated at $1,000 to $2,000.
Does the $2,640 cover shipping and taxes?
Not according to the details provided. The figure includes the buyer’s premium, while the sale terms separately address applicable taxes and other charges. Shipping expenses include labor, materials, insurance and transportation.
Source: rss
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