PHILADELPHIA — You, too, can live like the Chairman of the Board. Or at least you could be using one of his toilets, if you’ve got a spare few grand laying around.
About 200 items from Frank Sinatra’s “Chairman Suite” in Atlantic City’s original Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino will hit the auction block on today, courtesy of Swedesboro’s S&S Auction. The opportunity gives us “mere mortals” the chance to “own a piece of American history,” S&S sales manager David Berenblit said.
“It’s nonsense. It’s insanity,” Berenblit said of Sinatra’s suite furnishings. “This guy had some gravitas. He could have the best of the best, and that’s evident when you’re looking at this furniture.”
Most recently known as the now-closed Atlantic Club Casino Hotel, the Golden Nugget opened in Atlantic City in the 1980s at the direction of casino mogul Steve Wynn. A few years later, the Atlantic City Press reported, Wynn had an apartment constructed on the 23rd floor to entice Sinatra to perform at the Golden Nugget exclusively.
As part of the deal, Berenblit said, Wynn “basically gave (Sinatra) a blank check” to furnish the apartment, and Sinatra decorated the space with lavish items from around the world.
Here are some of the items hitting the auction block, which you can bid on today online at LiveAuctioneers.com.
FRANK’S MARBLE THRONE
As Berenblit said, “not everyone needs a marble toilet with a gilded seat to sit at,” but evidently the Chairman did. This piece is made of carved gray Italian marble with black and white veins, and comes from Sherle Wagner. With an expected price of $2,000 to $4,000, it’s about as opulent as a toilet can reasonably be.
A SUITE FOUNTAIN
If you need a water fixture that is more lavish than a carved marble toilet, consider this bronze fountain from sculptor Enid Yandell that is dated 1909. As Berenblit notes, “not everybody has their own private fountain,” but you could, for an estimated $30,000 to $50,000.
ART DECO BED
With this particular item, you could own a bed that Sinatra “actually slept in,” Berenblit said. Bolstered by a king-size brass frame, this Art Deco headboard features etched glass in a sunrise motif and an upholstered headboard that should have you sleeping like Sinatra, even if you can’t sing like him.
MALACHITE OBELISKS
These monumental Romanesque obelisks are “out of this world” in Berenblit’s words, and not just because they look like alien artifacts. That otherworldly look comes from their black marble construction, which is offset by inlays of malachite. At nearly six feet tall, these pieces are balanced atop gilt bronze turtles, and could sell for as much as $9,000.
BERTHOUD CLOCK
As they say, time is money, and keeping track of it with this piece could cost you upward of $50,000 if auction estimates are correct — though that’s a bargain, considering that a similar clock went for more than $500,000 at a Sotheby’s auction. Created by Ferdinand Berthoud, Sinatra’s version stands more than eight feet tall, and is constructed of ebonized wood, gilt bronze and marble.
