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Americana

GCADA auction May 23 features star-spangled Americana

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf
Americana
Set of bicycle flags and mount, about 11in. tall, circa 1940s-1950s, 48-star flags. Estimate: $110-$150. Jasper52 image

NEW YORK – Successful antique dealers and pickers have a knack for scouring America’s countryside for interesting if not unique items that appeal to collectors. An attractive selection of Americana and folk art has been hand-picked by members of the Genesee Country Antique Dealers Association to be sold in an online auction through Jasper52 on Thursday, May 23. Bid absentee or live online through LiveAuctioneers.

The 127-lot auction has a patriotic theme, from a bicycle flag holder with original U.S. flags (above) to a folk art Great Seal of the United States.

Patriotic fervor ran high in America during World War II and the peacetime that followed. A fine example is the folk art rendition of the Great Seal of the United States with the phrase “God Bless America” added. Found in Maine, the wall hanging (below) is cut from a single quarter-inch-thick piece of plywood and retains its original painted surface in great condition. It measures 14½ inches in diameter (est. $350-$400).

Americana
Folk art Seal of the United States, 1940s, cut out of plywood, 14½in. diameter, original painted surface. Estimate: $350-$400. Jasper52 image

A great addition to a kid’s bike in the 1940s or early ’50s was a set of U.S. flags clamped to the handlebars. The example in the GCADA auction includes all five original 48-star flags, everything in exceptional condition – perfect for decorating a bike for a Fourth of July parade (est. $110-$150).

Several Native American items are offered including a Chilkat totem frontispiece that features a carved raven, beaver and human figure. Dating to the 1930s or ’40s, the frontispiece retains its original polychrome surface ($2,250-$3,250).

Americana
Northwest Coast aboriginal totem frontispiece, circa 1930-1940, 15¼in. high x 9½in. wide on a 10 7/8in.-wide base. Estimate: $2,250-$3,250. Jasper52 image

A silver cuff bracelet, either Navajo or Zuni, shows wear to the turquoise stones expected on a piece of 80-year-old jewelry. This rare example was purchased in Arizona in the late 1930s (est. $1,200-$1,500).

Americana
Navajo or Zuni silver cuff bracelet, 1930s, 3¾ in. tall, robin’s egg-blue turquoise. Estimate: $1,200-$1,500. Jasper52 image

A handful of paintings by listed artists are included in the auction. Carl Hirschberg’s Low Tide, Northeast Coast, an 11-by16-inch oil on canvas, depicts a quiet harbor scene with sailboats (est.  $1,500-$2,000).

Americana
Carl Hirschberg (American, 1854-1923), ‘Low Tide, Northeast Coast,’ oil on canvas, 11in. x 16in. Estimate: $1,500-$2,000. Jasper52 image

Martha Herpst’s The Black Hat, a 36-by-29-inch oil on canvas, pictures a style-conscious young woman dressed in black ($2,000-$2,500).

Americana
Martha Herpst (American, 1911-1986), ‘The Black Hat,’ oil on canvas, 36in. x 29in. Estimate: $2,000-$2,500. Jasper52 image

An unusually large mid-20th century hooked run in the auction features many of the motifs usually found on a needlework sampler crafted more than 100 years earlier: a house flanked by trees, potted flowers, a dog and cat, and hearts. All that’s missing is a verse and the alphabet.

Americana
Hooked folk art rug, mid-20th century, 62½in. x 22in. Estimate: $450-$550. Jasper52 image

The GCADA auction also offers antiquarian books, decorated stoneware and vintage advertising, including a 19th century painted barber pole.

To learn more about the Genesee Country Antique Dealers Association visit www.antiquesrochester.com.

The auction will be held Thursday, May 23, at 7 p.m. Eastern.

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Americana