About Augusta Auction Company
Augusta Auctions represents museums, historical societies, universities and other institutions bringing to market museum deaccessions and patron donations, with sale proceeds earmarked to benefit their permanent collections. Our company also represents individuals and select estates in the auction of rare fashion items.
Consignors, both institutional and individual, are assured that their textile treasures will be treated with respect and will benefit from our targeted marketing programs directed to our customer base around the globe.
Serious buyers from the international fashion, museum, film and textile worlds travel each year to New York City, Vermont and Massachusetts to attend our specialty auctions. Consigned lots benefit from lively bidding online or at our various sale venues.
Our founder, Karen Augusta, passed away on October 26, 2019 after a courageous battle with endometrial cancer. During her life, she had dedicated her knowledge and talents to increasing the appreciation of fashion and textiles as an overlooked art form. She purchased, sold and appraised antique clothing, rare laces and textiles over a five decade career. A link to her obituary can be found here.
Augusta Auctions was created in 2000 to assist the family of Sue Varner from The Suzi's, in Farmville, Virginia. Karen and Sue were colleagues from the early days of the vintage movement. Karen and her husband developed the company to market Sue's historic clothing collection upon her passing. From this sale 25 years ago evolved America's premier company for auctioning vintage clothing and historic fashion.
Karen was a member of The Costume Society of America and The Textile Society of America. She served for thirteen seasons as the lead fashion and textile appraiser on the popular PBS series, Antiques Roadshow.
The guiding principles throughout her life were to treat everyone fairly and with compassion. She always went the extra mile to help others and make everyone feel comfortable. Her warmth, kindness and concern for people's needs were the qualities that made her special and became the guiding principles of Augusta Auctions.
Incredibly proud of her website and the information it contained, Karen constantly updated its contents as she learned more about any of the treasures offered. She viewed the site as a teaching tool and the best way to document the incredible pieces that crossed her path. Her past sale archives, photo galleries and the searchable database are maintained on our servers and made available for free to fashion students and researchers around the world.
The staff of Augusta Auctions continues to incorporate Karen's principles to guide the business as it expands into the future and serves a new generation of fashionistas.
Bob and Karen met in college in 1969. They had been married and worked together in their historic farmhouse for almost four decades. Their 1863 property and grounds reflect Bob's love and commitment to historic preservation and living on the land. In addition to Augusta Auctions, Bob has built several area businesses and non-profits over the decades living in Southern Vermont. He loves solving problems and creating new things . He's very proud of the searchable historic fashion catalog he developed for Karen, now used daily as a resource for researchers, students and fashion lovers around the world.
Augusta Auctions adds more than ten thousand fashion and textile images to our catalogs each year. Our past sale archive is free and available for all who love beautiful objects. It has evollved into one of the most comprehensive searchable historic clothing and textile price guides available on the web.
With Karen's passing, Bob has been working to build a team that will continue Karen's legacy and in her spirit. Their son, Emery, has joined the team to ensure that these archives will remain available to all for years to come. Karen spent much of her life and career appreciating and promoing the beauty of historic fashion and textiles. This website is a tribute to her love of these amazing objects and her wish to share that love and knowledge with others..
Dakota Clement Walsh studied Art History at Marlboro College, writing her undergraduate thesis on early American schoolgirl needlework. Growing up in New England surrounded by antiques, she became fascinated by historic fashion at a young age. She turned to selling as a college student when her collecting habits exceeded closet space. Over 12 years of sourcing, researching and styling fine vintage clothing has equipped her with a discerning eye, and many of the practical skills she uses in the studio today.
Joining Augusta Auctions in March 2023 as Head Costumer, dressing each lot for the camera in period-perfect silhouettes, Dakota's role soon expanded as a result of her skill and passion. She now heads catalog production, researching and collaborating with select experts, and oversees studio operations, consignment intake and inventory management. She looks forward to welcoming a new generation of collectors, while maintaining a sterling standard for established collectors and institutions.
Rachel joined Augusta Auctions in 2021 as a studio assistant. With an art background from Rhode Island School of Design, Montserrat College of Art and the Academy of Art University San Francisco, she expanded her role by helping develop the visual brand of this highly regarded auction house. Engaging her keen artistic eye, she oversees the photographing and editing of the beautiful photos Augusta Auctions is known for.
Rachel also explores her talents with the creation and management of content across multiple social media platforms that attract the eyes of thousands of vintage lovers everyday. When she’s not having fun in the studio with her fellow crew mates, she’s at home with her elderly cat Evie, writing and drawing her fantasy graphic novel.
River moved to Vermont in early 2024 and shortly after joined the Augusta Auction team as an office assistant, stepping into the position of Office Manager in early 2025. With over a decade of general office, system administration, and management experience, River quickly settled into their role at Augusta Auction Company.
Using an eye for efficiency, River accepted the task of upgrading and streamlining the company’s internal systems, always working with the goal of improving the customer and consignor experience. When not at work, River can be found working on a craft project or visiting one of the many wonderful local shops in the area.
Edward Maeder has been involved in the world of textiles since he began to embroidery at the age of three. Fascinated by all forms of textile creation - from weaving to knitting, lace making, tailoring and historic pattern making, printing and dying, beadwork to porcupine-quill work - as well as textile conservation. As a textile conservator he studied with Karen Finch, OBE at Hampton Court, and at the Abegg Stiftung, in Switzerland.
A Wisconsin native, Edwards undergraduate degree was from the U of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, in theatre, art, art history and textiles. A graduate of the Courtauld Institute of Art, History of Dress program, University of London, he has held curatorial posts at FIT [Fashion Institute of Technology] NY, The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Founding Director of the Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto, Ontario, CA, and Historic Deerfield in Massachusetts.
Edward is the President of the Board of Directors of the National Museum of the American Coverlet in Bedford, PA, on the board of the Honorable Cordwainers’ Company, Williamsburg, VA, a Fellow of the Costume Society of America and a frequent lecturer and consultant across the country and abroad. He acts as an expert witness for court cases involving shoes and fashion. He is a Research Associate in the Theatre Department at Smith College, Northampton, MA.
Edward had known and worked with his dear friend -company founder Karen Augusta - for more than two decades. Upon her passing, Edward was hired to continue identification and description of the historic garments and textiles found in our catalogs.
Emery Ross, son of Karen and Bob, has been immersed in the clothing and auction life since birth. He made his first auction purchase at age five and hasn't looked back. He traveled with his parents to early vintage shows and honed his business skills selling cookies to other vintage dealers.
He graduated from the Compass School in Westminster (started by his parents) and studied international business management at Bryant University. He continued his studies in India and Japan and worked with commodity businesses in Brazil and China before returning to his family home in Vermont. He sold general antiques for many years before joining the specialty auction company.
Emery brings his diverse business skills to Augusta Auctions and has instituted many systems to streamline the company's expansion. He has benefitted the family business with the development of improved Augusta Auctions operations. Emery has been a Vermont-licensed auctioneer with the company since 2021 and has been calling our sales since that time.
He is now working to streamline the operations to make our internal systems simpler to use. His knowledge and strategic planning skills positively impact daily operations and simplify our offerings to our clients and customers.
Eden Love has had a passion for the artistic, elegant and whimsical since childhood with an intense interest and love of the objects and stories from the past. Eden received a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the Hartford Art School in Painting and Printmaking, and brings her artistic eye and creative flair to her work with Augusta Auctions.
Always bringing her unique talents to every job she has held, she has been a sign maker, designed logos, created window displays, decorated event spaces, and styled and photographed culinary creations. She strives to present the amazing historical pieces in the catalog with faithfulness and accuracy, while also highlighting their incredible beauty and historical interest.
Eden’s other passions include nutrition, herbalism, gardening, and making chocolate! She is a mother to two wild and spirited daughters. Eden feels incredibly grateful to work with a wonderful team at Augusta Auctions and get to immerse herself in the enthralling world of vintage fashion!
- Brooklyn Museum of Art
- Montclair Art Museum
- Connecticut Historical Society
- National Heritage Museum
- Chrysler Museum
- Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
- Museum of Fine Arts
- New Bedford Whaling Museum
- Ohio State University
- Cleveland Museum of Art
- Ithaca College
- Fairfield Historical Society
- Actress Mia Farrow
- Fashion Institute of Technology Museum
- Denver Art Museum
- Kent State University Museum
- Maine Historical Society
- Montclair Historical Society
- Strong Museum
- Sue Varner Estate
- Philadelphia Museum of Art
- Northwestern College
- Walpole Historical Society
- Shippensburg College
- Wadsworth Athenaeum
- Tasha Tudor Historic Costume Collection
- Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising