Andrew Haswell Green (1820-1903) is known as "The Father of Greater New York". He was instrumental in bringing together the five boroughs which now comprise New York City. In 1869 he headed the Central Park Commission and helped to create The American Museum of Natural History, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Bronx Zoo. Recently, the City of New York acknowledged Andrew H. Green and his achievements by dedicating 1.5 acres of land and 4.5 million dollars to build a park in his memory.
Oliver's was retained to sell the estate of John Green, a direct descendant of Andrew H. Green. Some of the estate contents dated back to 17th c. America. After approximately one year of research, cataloging, and auction preparation, Oliver's assembled over 2500 lots to be sold in six separate auctions: 1. Toys, Dolls & Games; 2. Tiffany glass, silver & other Decorative Items; 3. Vintage Clothing, Jewelry, Linens; 4. A.H. Green Memorabilia, Presidential Letters, F.L. Olmstead Letters, Daggeurreotypes; 5. Stamps, Coins & Paper Money; 6. Paintngs, Antiques & Estate Items.
The auctions were held at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA. and simultaneously on the internet for live world-wide bidding.
Mr. Pate was regarded as one of the world’s foremost big-game fly fishermen. He held more significant saltwater fly fishing records than any other angler. Along with Captain George Hommell, he started World Wide Sportsman in Islamorada, Florida – a premier tackle shop and angling travel agency. He was the founder and/or past board member of the following: Everglades Protection Association, Trout Unlimited, Bonefish & Tarpon Trust, the Don Hawley Foundation and the Pate Foundation. He was a member of the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame, the Miami Beach Rod and Reel Club, Islamorada Fishing Club and Club Limited.
Oliver's was commissioned to sell the Pate estate. The contents of the estate was researched, cataloged, and auctioned on site at the Pate residence in Islamora, Florida. The sale consisted of over 500 lots of assorted flyrods and reels, along with hundreds of tarpon, sailfish, and marlin flies. Also included were world-record mounts such as tarpon, sailfish and marlin. The collection also included clothing, fishing gear as well as art work, books, photographs, photo albums, and other Pate memorabilia relating to the early life of Billy.
Lowell Innes, author of Pittsburgh Glass 1797-1891, is considered by many of the foremost glass experts in this country to be the definitive work on mid western glass. Oliver's was commissioned to sell the author's glass collection. The auction, held in Kennebunk, Maine, consisted of over 450 lots.
Oliver's grew from a one-person operation to a serious organization with many specialty departments which included Americana, Fishing Collectibles, Golf Collectibles, Decoys, Toys & Dolls, Victoriana, Fire Arms, Fine Art, and Advertising.
The well-researched and well-written catalogs are continually sought after by dealers, collectors and researchers; the catalogs are found in antiques shops, fleamarkets and online (e.g., Ebay, Abebooks, Amazon.com).