June 12-13, 1999
Beverly Hills, CA
A black cat appropriately greeted visitors entering the grounds where the Elizabeth Montgomery estate sale was held. With mixed emotions in the air, many of Elizabeth Montgomery's personal belongings were offered on June 12-13, 1999. The sale took place in the tennis court of the Beverly Hills home she occupied and raised her family in for 4 decades until her passing in 1995. Overseeing the sale were 2 of her children, Bill and Rebecca Asher and her former husband actor Robert Foxworth. The day began at 1 PM and ended at 6 PM Saturday and Sunday. The family decided to advertise the event ONLY in Variety Magazine, so only a very limited number of people knew about the sale. If you happened to be passing by the house that day, you would have just seen a small sign that read "garage sale".
Items ranged the gamut from Christmas and Halloween decorations to Elizabeth Montgomery's 1977 Bentley car ($15,000). The license plate (well-known to Beverly Hills residents) reads simply "BENTLIZ". I have a feeling there was some humor involved in that, but just am not sure exactly where...........
Elizabeth collected many, many different things and was said to be someone who "never threw anything away". This made for a large collection of antiques and other eclectic items being offered. One of Elizabeth's great loves was horses and horseracing, and there were a few tables just devoted to horse figurines and lithographs. We bought 2 nice horse lithographs, one which had been hanging in their dining room for many years. Another table held miniature furniture samples which were used by traveling furniture salesmen long ago.
(Left) Rough days are made easier when you have a loving sibling nearby :-)
Anyone for a shave? There was also a white 1970 Oldsmobile Cutless in very good condition selling for $4,000, a brass bed, wicker baskets and lots of cozy handmade quilts & linens. More assorted knick knacks were displayed here. Liz liked collector plates, and one of my favorites was a very old plate with a Bulldog on it that belonged to her mother and is now in our care. She also had Kentucky Derby collector plates from every year they were made which were lovely as well. There was some clothing and hats Elizabeth had worn. The "sports area" had Elizabeth's tennis rackets and paddles, sleds for the kids, and a polo mallet. The movie "Face To Face" Elizabeth and Bob starred in sparked an interest in African jewelry, and some of this was displayed as well. Many items were made by the natives and were brought back from Africa by Liz and Bob. A certificate of authenticty was written up for all items purchased signed by Robert Foxworth.
Many thanks to Jessica, Rebecca, Bill, and Bob for allowing us to attend, to share some stories and entrusting us with some of Elizabeth's belongings. It was a memorable day! All photos © 1999 The B&EM Site (us!)
