By Sharon Coolidge
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The son of the late George E. Theders Sr., whose renowned music box collection will be sold at an auction Sunday, tried unsuccessfully Wednesday to halt the sale.

George Theders Jr. asked a Hamilton County Common Pleas Court judge for a temporary restraining order, saying the trustee of his father's estate hired an auction company that lacks the knowledge and expertise required to obtain the highest price for the collection.

The nationally known collection of mechanical musical devices - estimated to be worth up to $1.2 million - will be auctioned by Forsythe's Auctions at Sharonville Convention Center.

In court papers, the collection is called "the most important collection to have been auctioned through the world in the last five years."

But Judge Thomas Crush said Theders Jr. acted too late. Crush said Theders Jr. knew about the auction for two months, during which more than $50,000 was spent on advertising and brochures for the auction.

"Temporary restraining orders are not to be granted easily. It's a drastic remedy," Crush said. "He could have asked for it before the money was spent."

Theders Jr. did not knowingly wait until the last minute, said his attorney Robert Meyers: "He just became aware of the problems in the last week and a half."

Theders Jr. is also accusing the trustee, Frank Lienesch, of not acting in the best interest of the trust. He says by hiring Forsythe's Auctions, the collection will not be sold for the highest possible price. And, he accuses Lienesch of withholding two music boxes from the auction, which he would instead purchase himself for $13,000 - substantially less than the $80,000 an independent appraiser says they're worth.

The court will rule on those allegations at a later time.

The owners of the auction house declined to comment, and Lienesch could not be reached for comment.

Theders Sr. began collecting unusual music boxes in the 1950s, buying them cheaply and then restoring them. The Northside resident died in July at age 87.

Theders Sr. named Lienesch, a friend, to oversee his estate, which was to be split among Lienesch and his two sons, one of whom died a few months before his own death.

E-mail scoolidge@enquirer.com