Although picking up a pair of Meeks Stanton Hall pattern chairs seems like it could never be a bad investment, that all depends on the price of the acquisition, and with this pair, the asking price of $4,400 is above where auction activity has put these chairs.

A pair of abused chairs sold at Cowan’s for $1,700, though I wouldn’t use them for comparison for a set that hasn’t seen major repairs.  John Moran auctioned off a pair for $3,250 in November, and Neal sold a pair for $2,350 in ‘06.   You can’t compare prices with armchairs since they tend to nearly double those of chairs without arms so I ignore those prices.

If you were to buy these chairs in a retail environment, then a price like the $4,400 or more would not be unexpected.  However, on Ebay or at auction I would not be a buyer and assuming I had time to wait, would expect to find a pair pop up in the months ahead that could be grabbed at a $2,500-$3,500 range, including any fees.  … Or about the price that each of us Americans will owe on the $700 billion bailout.

The listing for the set on Ebay is here.

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Coming up for sale is another historically unified parlor set being split into separate lots. This time it is a “Stanton Hall” parlor set from J & JW Meeks. I won’t revisit the topic of splitting these historic sets apart again but you can revisit the prior post on the Belter set here. By the way, those three Belter lots collectively sold for $79,000 plus buyer’s premium.

This set is comprised of a sofa, one armchair and two sidechairs. The pattern is named after Stanton Hall in Natchez, Mississippi. The home was built for wealthy cotton commission broker, Frederick Stanton, who commissioned many decorative pieces for the house, including the original pattern set of this design.

This set is being sold from the Evelyn Church Royston Trust by John Moran Auctioneers, Inc. in Pasadena, CA.

There are some condition issues and evidence of old woodworm infection, which you can see is the topic of this conversation on the message board.

Bidding ends on November 20th and you can view the lots here:

Meeks Stanton Hall Armchair
Meeks Stanton Hall Sidechairs
Meeks Stanton Hall Sofa

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Another Meeks Stanton Hall sofa is available for sale here. This one seems to be fairly priced at $7,500 and the pictures show no noticeable cracks, splits or repairs.

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