DOWNINGTOWN, Pa. – Celebrating Earth Day, Pook & Pook Inc. held its spring auction on April 23 and 24, with a complimentary cocktail and dinner service provided to attendees prior to the opening session.
“It was an exciting two hours in which potential buyers were able to socialize with old and new friends and discuss the various antiques and fine art offered,” said Pook & Pook associate Deirdre Pook Magarelli. “Purchasing antique furniture and accessories is a smart way to ‘go green,’ as these pieces are generally sturdy, utilitarian and quite beautiful, lending a wonderful ambience to those rooms in which they are incorporated.”
Evidence that new buyers are coming into the field was seen by the increased number of people registering to bid online through LiveAuctioneers.com (2,266) and in house (611). “Overall, it was a very successful sale that reflects a steady improvement in our economy and the field of antiques,” Magarelli said.
The auction showcased a wide array of American and Continental furniture, paintings, oriental rugs and all ranges of accessory items from several important collections and educational institutions, including the National Clock and Watch Museum, the Estate of Bernice Cramer, the Chester County Historical Society, the Dixon Family Trust and others.
The sale began with over 100 lots of fine art and sculpture. The first four lots, from the estate of Robert J. Young, included a vibrant floral still life by Hobson Lafayette Pittman, which started the sale on a high note bringing $25,740; and an oil-on-board interior scene, also by Pittman, that sailed to $12,870. All prices quoted are inclusive of 17% buyer’s premium.
Lot number six was an illustration of a passenger train by Stevan Dohanos, estimated at $2,000-$4,000, was bid to $16,380. Walter Koeniger’s oil-on-canvas winter landscape was quite an attractive piece and brought over the high estimate $11,700. A double-sided pencil study titled Miss Lala au Cirque Fernando by Edgar Degas was bid to $7,605; and a woodcut by German artist Albrecht Durer titled The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse did extremely well at $11,115.
After Benjamin West, a well-executed period rendition of West’s Death of General Wolfe attracted the interest of buyers and sold for $17,550. Daniel Garber is known as one of the most original of the Pennsylvania Impressionists, depicting the woodlands and landscapes of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. A brilliant autumn landscape by Daniel Garber titled Brinton’s Mill brought $128,700. after intense bidding. A lovely portrait of Helen Velasquez Chase by her father William Merritt Chase was an enchanting piece at $46,800. It was originally sold at the Chase estate sale in May 1917.
Other works included a courtyard scene by French artist Theodore Levigne for $12,870, a John Dare Howland buffalo hunting scene for $5,148, a charming Ben Austrian depiction of a chick and puppy for $8,775; and a terrific watercolor of ducks landing in a marsh by Frank Weston Benson for $49,140.
The Joseph Townsend family Samuel Malkin slip-decorated charger dated 1726 was sold on Friday evening. The large plate had a dotted border surrounding three arched panels, the center one inscribed in raised press molded lettering “Remember Lot’s Wife Luke 17:32 1726,” surmounted by an image of Lot’s wife flanked by trumpeting angels and the makers initials “SM” in raised relief. The extensive notes and genealogy that accompanied this plate suggested that it might be one of the earliest pieces of English tableware used in the colonies. For $81,900, the plate found its new home to be Winterthur Museum in Delaware, adding a very important object to their collection.
The Friday night session also included oriental rugs, furniture, folk art and various accessory items. A pair of Delaware Valley Chippendale shell-carved dining chairs made $9945; an unusual Pennsylvania alphabet quilt, $5,382; a Pennsylvania Federal tall-case clock by David Gobrecht, $8,190 and a Baltimore Hepplewhite mahogany card table brought $14,040.
Several fine pieces of pottery were offered. There was a vibrant stoneware jug with fanciful eagle decoration impressed “Wm E. Warner West Troy” that did well at $4,680; and a redware charger from the Titus Geesey collection with slip decoration of a leaping stag for $8,190. Two rare Reading, Pennsylvania stoneware water coolers were sold, one impressed “Wells & Richards, Reading Berks Co. PA,” that soared to $17,550.
Pennsylvania dower chests brightened up the sale. Originally sold in the George Horace Lorimer collection in 1944, a Mahantongo dower chest attributed to the fraktur artist and cabinet maker William Otto presented a great opportunity for a buyer to add a rare item to their collection. It sold over the phone for $56,160. A Berks County unicorn dower chest brought $3,744; a heart and star-decorated chest went for $10,530; and a Lebanon County chest made $3,978.
A rare, unique double portrait watercolor from the Reading Artist drew a lot of attention and set a record at $23,400. A circa-1915 American carved and painted pine whirligig depicting a gentleman wearing a bowler hat and black jacket crossed the block at $14,040; while a swell-bodied copper dexter horse and jockey weathervane finished at $6,435.
Several clock deaccessioned by the National Watch & Clock Museum interested buyers. A Chester County, Pennsylvania tall-case clock by Chandlee brought $6435; and a French Louis XV kingwood and tulipwood ormolu-mounted tall-case clock fared well at $10,530.
Another museum item from the Mauch Chunk Historical Society, a Pennsylvania tiger maple corner cupboard, made $16,380. Three unusual pieces of Wharton Esherick furniture, purchased by the parents of the consignor from the Esherick workshop, included a coffee table for $28,080; and a set of library steps for $32,760.
A Russian five-piece silver tea service stamped in Cyrillic “K. Faberge” drew a final bid of $64,350; and a lot of three Russian silver enamel kovsh went for nearly triple the high estimate at $5616. An unusual intricate Italian micromosaic, estimated at $800-$1,200, surprised everyone by bringing $19,890.
Other unusual items included an important Confederate Civil War flag for the Second Louisiana Cavalry, captured at Henderson, Louisiana, March 21, 1864 by William Ayers, second sergeant of Company H, 35th Iowa Volunteers, Fifth Infantry. The flag was recently deaccessioned from the Southern Oregon Historical Society where it has resided since the 1950s. It sold to a private buyer for $51,480. A mixed metal and carved articulated wood figure of a knight on horseback went to a phone bidder at $23,400, a wonderful result for a local museum. Saturday’s session concluded with a selection of firearms, including a British Long Land pattern Brown Bess flintlock musket that garnered $12,870.
For additional information on Pook & Pook sales, call 610-269-4040 or log on to www.pookandpook.com.
Click here to view the fully illustrated catalog for this sale, complete with prices realized.
ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE
