Late chief justice’s treasures on offer in unique estate sale
Have you always wanted a Masonic sword, a first edition of The Deerslayer or a flag from atop the U.S. Capitol but never had the opportunity? Now’s your chance.
Those items are among several thousand possessions of the former Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice George Carley and his wife, Sandy, that are now for sale in their Decatur home. Other treasures include a football signed by former University of Georgia head coach Mark Richt, a collection of sterling silver and a range of European antiques.
The couple’s son, George Carley Jr., spoke exclusively to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ahead of the estate sale’s opening. He said he felt good about his parents’ belongings bringing joy to others now that they have passed.
“There’s a lot of cool stuff in this house, but I can only keep so much,” he said Thursday afternoon as sale organizers finished pricing objects. “It’s going to go to good homes.”
Carley Jr. said many of the things he grew up with in the Glendale Avenue home were collected over time by his mother, an interior designer who regularly brought antiques back from Europe. He said his father — an avid reader, Bulldogs fan and Mason — also amassed a range of unique objects, some tied to his time on the bench.
Beside the judge’s desk Thursday was a framed certificate and a newspaper article commemorating his 1991 muleback journey through the Grand Canyon while wearing his signature coat and tie. Nearby stood the American flag his parents gave him after it was decommissioned from topping the U.S. Capitol building.
In another room, the judge’s pipe collection became a talking point.
Elsewhere, ornate wooden furniture was laden with crystal and china, including pieces from Burma, now known as Myanmar, from the 1950s. That’s where the judge spent a couple of years in school while his father was stationed there with the U.S. government.
“This is what you want an estate sale to be,” said Lindsay Short, whose company, Bennett and Sudderth, is handling the three-day event. “There are some very unique pieces here.”
From the most valuable English antiques each worth several thousand dollars down to small items priced around $10, there is something for everyone, Short said, adding upward of 1,000 people could pass through the house by the sale’s end Sunday afternoon.
“There will be a line,” she said. “Get here early. Bring a chair.”
Buyers will pay full price on Friday, get a 25% discount on Saturday and half off on Sunday. The sale runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.
Carley Jr. said he and his wife plan to move into his parents’ Decatur house, which he left in 1981. He said his father bought the home in the early 1970s from the now-deceased Robin Harris, an attorney, banker and political strategist who agreed to let an appraiser set the price.
A couple of Oriental rugs and ornamental tables are among the items Carley Jr. said he is keeping.
Objects for sale include his grandfather’s cufflink collection, a Time magazine from 1936 and a first edition of the novel “Watership Down.” Carley Jr. said his parents loved animals and once had a pet rabbit.
For law nerds, there is a first edition of “The Common Law” by Oliver Wendell Holmes, who wrote the seminal book in 1881 before becoming a U.S. Supreme Court justice.
Carley served on the state Supreme Court from 1993 until 2012, when he retired as the chief justice. He died in November 2020 from COVID-19, aged 82. His wife died in February, at the age of 84.
About the Author
Journalist Rosie Manins is a legal affairs reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
