Dirk Soulis to auction Edward P McHugh III Historical Railroadiana Collection on Saturday, Dec. 14th
Highly refined estate collection includes very rare rail transportation artifacts, locomotive hardware, 60 porcelain signs, station clocks, gate & station signage, more
LONE JACK, Mo.: Collectors won't need a ticket to "ride the rails" at Soulis Auctions' December 14 sale of the late Edward P McHugh III's railroadiana collection. All are welcome to view, enjoy and bid on the historically significant relics from the golden era of rail travel (1865 to 1960) amassed over a lifetime of involvement in the hobby.
The McHugh collection consists of rare and iconic railroadiana, historical locomotive hardware, mid-20th-century transportation artifacts, 60 porcelain signs, and a specialty sub-collection of nautical antiques. To refine the railroad-related items even further, there are locomotive bells and lights, lanterns, china and silver, railroad station clocks, gate and station signs, and much more.
If the objects in the McHugh collection could talk, perhaps none would have more interesting tales to tell than the builder's plate from the SS President Warfield. Christened in 1927 by Bessie Wallis Warfield, niece of the ship's namesake Solomon Davies Warfield and the future Duchess of Windsor, the SS President Warfield plied the waters of Chesapeake Bay without fanfare for 20 years. That is, unless you count the experiences of folks like Hans and Frieda Marx of Baltimore.
Before the Warfield – later renamed the SS Exodus 1947 – became historically important for transporting displaced Jewish refugees during World War II, it was Hans and Frieda's "honeymoon boat." Throughout the 1930s and '40s they would take many other pleasure trips aboard the Warfield, thus strengthening their ties to the vessel. However, when Hans learned that the Warfield was to be dismantled, he rushed to the shipwreckers' scrapyard and obtained permission to take a few souvenirs, including the builder's plate. Soulis Auctions will offer the bronze plate, together with period photos of the ship and passengers Hans and Frieda Marx, with a $3,000-$5,000 estimate.
Dirk Soulis' Saturday, Dec. 14, 2019 Auction of the Edward P McHugh III Railroadiana Collection will begin with an uncataloged session at 10 a.m. CT /11 a.m. ET, followed by the cataloged session, which starts at 11 a.m. CT/12 noon ET. All forms of bidding will be available including absentee and live online through LiveAuctioneers. The gallery preview will be held on Friday, Dec. 13 from 2-5 p.m.; on auction day from 8:30 a.m. till start time, or by appointment.
