Vintage Desk Is Purchased By A Man For $40, But What He Finds Inside Changes A Stranger’s Life
Auctions are always exciting with tons of people at loggerheads trying to buy something they believe will fetch them a fortune. Such is also what Phil LeClerc thought when he coughed up $40 for a vintage Governor Winthrop desk at Kelley Auctions in Holbrook, Massachusetts. Little did he know that this desk’s secret compartment was about to change a stranger’s life.
Run by Marg-e Kelley, Kelley Auctions always attracted a decent amount of people genuinely interested in buying what was on display. For instance, in 2007 Kelley Auctions sold a Gustav Stickley desk organizer for a whopping $214,500 instead of just a few hundred dollars that the initial owner had expected. Not long after during a house clean up for another client, Kelley Auctions sold an antique rug they found in a dumpster for a solid $9,700.
Coming back to our story, residing in Weymouth, MA, LeClerc landed his vintage Governor Winthrop desk for just $40. Named after one of the founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, John Winthrop, it wasn’t until 1924 that it was introduced to the world by the Winthrop Furniture Co. located in Boston. Kelley agreed that the desk didn’t look vintage at all, in fact, she’d seen similar desks practically every day.
Run by Marg-e Kelley, Kelley Auctions always attracted a decent amount of people genuinely interested in buying what was on display. For instance, in 2007 Kelley Auctions sold a Gustav Stickley desk organizer for a whopping $214,500 instead of just a few hundred dollars that the initial owner had expected. Not long after during a house clean up for another client, Kelley Auctions sold an antique rug they found in a dumpster for a solid $9,700.Coming back to our story, residing in Weymouth, MA, LeClerc landed his vintage Governor Winthrop desk for just $40. Named after one of the founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, John Winthrop, it wasn’t until 1924 that it was introduced to the world by the Winthrop Furniture Co. located in Boston. Kelley agreed that the desk didn’t look vintage at all, in fact, she’d seen similar desks practically every day.
The desk belonged to a 94-year-old man who requested Kelley Auctions to sell it so he could use the money for his assisted living unit. In fact, the old man’s son requested Kelley Auctions to clear out the entire house so the funds could help his father in his new home. After winning the desk LeClerc stated that the desk was known for its numerous secret compartments, and he was right. After taking it home, he searched all the secret storage compartments or but came out empty-handed. Except for one.
One of the desk’s drawers had a knob stuck under it, so when LeClerc cranked it open, he was shocked to find an envelope filled with United States Savings Bonds worth a jaw-dropping $127,000. The savings bonds he found were in 50s, 100s, 200s, 500s, and a massive stack of six $10,000s. LeClerc knew what he had to do. He immediately contacted Kelley Auctions and requested them to trace the owner of these bonds.
After tracing the old man and his son, Kelley learned that they spent years looking for the bonds, a handsome amount that his son could use to care for his old father. And this is how a man’s purchase of $40 changed a stranger’s life for the better!
