- Broehl auction offers a chance to obtain some local history.
It's Margo Broehl wish to give a happy home, through an auction, to the collection of Coxon Belleek and other unique antiques her late husband collected, and also lend a helping hand to people for years to come.
David Broehl was an avid collector and party host who loved his Wooster and Wayne County community. His passions for elegant entertaining included displaying his Coxon Belleek China, along with other glassware (Tiffin, Bryce, Morgantown, Bohemian), antique furniture from Wayne and Holmes County and other local memorabilia.
"David loved to entertain, and sometimes we would have a Coxon Belleek dinner, which was definitely more formal than your average Sunday night dinner," Broehl said with a laugh. "At the end of the evening, I would wash the dishes and David would put them away. We'd talk about the evening. It was kind of special. He often said it was fun to touch something so beautiful."
The auction will be held at 5 p.m. Tuesday at RES Auction, 375 Fry Road, Wooster. Steve Andrews will serve as auctioneer. It will offer hundreds of pieces and is meant for people to see and share, and to remember Wooster when it was thriving more than 100 years ago. The proceeds will be donated to the Wayne County Community Foundation.
As of last week Broehl already had delivered 96 boxes of items to the auction house.
Long and complicated process to bring the auction to fruition
She said it has been a long process getting the auction together. David Broehl died nearly four years ago from complications of COVID-19, and she was battling long COVID. She said she was filled with angst over what to do with the treasures, especially the Coxon Belleek.
"The biggest burden has been the Coxon Belleek," she said. "He felt so invested with that, with Wooster and the (Wayne County) Historical Society. I know people coming to an auction these days may not want fine china, but my thought was, if it was to find a loving home, it would be in Wooster."
Roots of Coxon Belleek China Company
She said the company's history with its roots on East Bowman Street in Wooster adds special meaning to the china collection.
Jonathan Coxon was a famous ceramist/potter in England who came to New Jersey in the late 1800s. All of Coxon's sons went into the pottery business in one form or another. One brother, J. Fred Coxon, who worked at the Dalton Pottery, and his brother, Edward B. Coson, started The Coxon Belleek China Company in 1927 after World War I, but the Depression soon followed and the company eventually fell apart.
"I had all this Coxon Belleek because David had bought it. He had done an exhibit at the Historical Society in 1998," Broehl said. "That's about when eBay got started, and I was able to buy some pieces to add to the collection. We learned a lot from that."
She said the back stamp on the china was not Coxon Belleek, but from the big fancy department stores that had ordered it, like Gump's or Marshall Fields.
David Broehl wrote a book about the history of the Coxon Belleek company in 2009. It is titled "Coxon Belleek: Wooster's Elegant China."
All for a good cause
The proceeds from the Broehl auction will go to the Wayne County Foundation to help fund many of the organizations he was passionate about.
According to his wife, David Broehl spent his life in social service and he knew the importance of volunteers. Wooster and Wayne County are blessed with an abundance of people willing to give of their time, she said.
"David would be thrilled to know that you are joining him in his mission to help support his favorite funds by taking part in the auction," she said.
Over the years, David Broehl touched many lives with his compassion for others, commitment to community, and personal generosity. He will forever be remembered for his unflagging service to Wayne County.
Through the auction, buyers will have a chance to buy a piece of local history and discover some of the pieces of china that were made in Wooster.
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