A collection of art, furniture and personal belongings from descendants of the family that began the F.W. Woolworth five-and-dime department stores will be offered at auction this week.

The auction, to be held Thursday at James D. Julia Auctioneers in Fairfield, is expected to bring in between $1 million and $1.5 million.

The items to be sold come from a lakeside estate on the shores of Cobbosseecontee Lake in Monmouth. This was where members of the European Woolworth department store chain bought property in the early 1900s and build a large and impressive complex.

The family eventually expanding the compound to more than 1,000 acres and dozens of buildings, including a two-lane bowling alley and a pristine horse farm with barns and stables.

The personal belongings from one of those homes, owned by Pamela Woolworth Combemale of Monmouth, will be auctioned Thursday, the first day of a three-day sale that also will include items from hundreds of other consignors.

“The Woolworths were savvy collectors over a long period of time and collected both in Europe and America,” said Bill Gage, sales coordinator for Julia Auctioneers. “It’s just a very nice collection of things and very eclectic. It crosses different borders, from glass to porcelain to art to furniture.”

Highlights include a portrait of a bonneted young girl painted by Lilla Cabot Perry, with a presale estimate of $60,000 to $80,000. A mahogany Chippendale breakfront with inset mahogany panels and multi-pane glass doors is estimated to sell for between $10,000 and $20,000.

A sophisticated gilt mirror, carved with flower heads and ribbon twist, likely will bring between $15,000 to $25,000, Gage said. The estate also includes English silver from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, Tiffany glass and Royal Worcester porcelain.

During the 1970s, thieves burglarized the estate on three occasions and made off with dozens of paintings, including some by Andrew and N.C. Wyeth. Many of the stolen works have not been found; included in Thursday’s sale will be the empty antique frames that once housed the stolen art work.

Gage said the Woolworth portion of the auction has generated interest from across the world.

“I have received calls from Australia, England, Austria, Germany and France and all over the United States,” he said.

Combemale declined to discuss the sale, referring questions to the auctioneers. Separate from the auction, Combemale has listed her eight-bedroom, 6,300-square-foot home, built in 1915, at nearly $1.5 million.

AP-ES-01-07-04 0217EST