Americana & International Auction at Pook & Pook, Inc., Downingtown, PA

If you have been stuck inside for too long, dreaming of traveling across the eastern United States and beyond, dream no more! Pook & Pook Auctions has brought the world to you. The esteemed Downingtown, PA auction house’s upcoming two-day sale on October 9th and 10th will have items coming across the auction block from countrywide collections. From Ohio to Michigan, from New England to Florida, this sale is an important one with select items sure to pique your interest and make you start desperately creating room to add these pieces to your treasures. This is the one auction that you cannot possibly afford to pass up. 

The sale will kick off with items from the collection of Edson J. Brown and Ross M. Trump from Ohio, beginning with a beautiful Soap Hollow chest of drawers followed by a plethora of pipsqueak toys. This folky collection includes many fine pieces of furniture, chalkware items, a dizzying number of wallpaper boxes, and an impressive carved and painted cigar store Indian Chief ($8,000-12,000). Also worth mentioning is an outstanding Pennsylvania treenware canister ($6,000-8,000). This turned and sponge-painted canister with its unique fish design is one of the finer examples of American treenware known and definitely one of the can’t-miss items to watch at this sale. The Brown/Trump collection opening the sale is full of one-of-a-kind items like a bird Ferris wheel – not a bird tree – a Ferris wheel! With four beautifully painted birds riding along and a fifth perched on top, this fun piece is sure to be highly coveted ($3,000-5,000). The collection closes out with an impressive assortment of spatterware.

Lot 78, Pennsylvania treenware canister; Estimate $6,000-$8,000

The opening night of the auction will also include the continuation of the sale of a truly incredible selection of mocha coming from a collection so big, it couldn’t all fit in a single sale…or even two…or three! Astute bidders will remember Pook & Pook’s previous Americana auction featured some superb examples of mocha, and the items coming across the block Friday evening are from the same collection. Probably the most impressive collection of mocha around, every piece is special in its own right. But the prized piece among them Friday night will be a large presentation cup ($3,000-5,000) with dotted bands and an inscribed cartouche.

Session One will finish up with more than two dozen pieces of timeless fine art and sculptures including a large piece by Ben Austrian depicting a mother hen and eleven (count them!) baby chicks ($5,000-8,000), and a beautiful landscape titled Winter Interior Woodstock New York by Emile A. Gruppe ($6,000-9,000).

Session Two on Saturday morning begins with the collection of Ann G. Sickles and features some of the most exquisite samplers to come across the auction block in recent memory. For instance, a silk on gauze crewelwork sampler by a Harriet Hayden from New Hampshire in 1817 ($10,000-12,000). This sampler has a broad outer band of flowering vines surrounding a center panel depicting a maiden beneath a tree in an altogether a beautiful scene. 

Lot 359, Large American painted soldier whirligig, 19th c; Estimate $15,000-$25,000

After the Sickles collection, expect to see lots more spectacular items, beginning with an important American whirligig of a soldier ($15,000-25,000). At 26” high, this carved and painted whirligig commands attention and bears long, sweeping paddles and an intimidatingly stern expression behind his bushy, black mustache. The sale continues with more artwork, a collection of carved whimsy canes, and plenty of classic antique furniture such as an incredibly wide 19th century corner cupboard with original flame grained surface, a walnut Dutch cupboard ca. 1800. Fifteen tall case clocks are up for auction, one of which is inscribed by John Smith of Lancaster who is referenced in Clockmakers and Watchmakers of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and is one of only two known clocks of such provenance known to the author. The clock boasts fully carved tympanum and sides, an eight-day works, and a proud carved rooster atop the broken arch bonnet ($10,000-20,000). An incredible clock in any context, this one is a masterpiece. For the baseball fans, the sale will also feature a baseball signed by the 1932 New York Yankees with signatures from Lou Gehrig, Lefty Gomez, and Babe Ruth himself among others ($4,000-6,000). The Saturday portion of the sale will continue with two more single owner collections from Michigan. The first is comprised mainly of New England antique furniture. The second features some striking 18th and 19th century oil on canvas portraits, including one of a young girl holding a doll ($2,000-3,000), as well as several very nice miniature portraits, brass pieces, and Delft pottery. A huge selection of silver follows, including a rare Tiffany & Co. lap over edge sterling silver flatware service, ca. 1880 ($5,000-8,000).

Lot 631, American oil on canvas naïve portrait of a young girl, late 18th c; Estimate $2,000-$3,000

The next collection coming across the block is the collection of Mr. and Mrs. George P. Bissell, Jr. The pair spent their lives amassing a lovely collection that is full of heart and warmth and character, as well as more than a few incomparably delightful and important pieces. The sale will include a marvelous selection of silver, such as a Georgian silver flatware service ($10,000-15,000), a set of eighteen English silver dinner plates ($10,000-15,000), and a New York silver tankard bearing the touch of Adrien Bancker ($10,000-15,000). After the silver, the Bissell collection continues with an important Philadelphia Chippendale mahogany dining chair elegantly carved by an unnamed maker dubbed the “spikey leaf carver” ($15,000-20,000). Another cigar store Indian will be offered just in case you missed the one from Friday night, this one a counter top sized Indian Maiden attributed to Samuel Robb, ca. 1900 ($5,000-8,000). Two Schimmel carved birds, the first of which is a spread winged eagle in classic Schimmel style ($15,000-20,000), and the second, a very unusual painted eagle on a nest ($20,000-30,000), a rare form for Schimmel, with very few known similar examples. Both pieces by the carver are sure to catch the eye of many a folk art collector.

Lot 826, Miniature Dutch Marquetry Inlaid China Cabinet; Estimate $2,000-$3,000

There will be something for everyone in this sale. Whatever you are looking for, you will find it at Pook & Pook’s October Americana & International sale on October 9th and 10th. If buyers do not find any full size furniture they desire, a collection of antique miniature furniture will come towards the end of the sale. Some of these pieces, like the miniature china cabinet with marquetry and inlay ($2,000-3,000), are just as impressive as their full-size counterparts. Rounding out the sale is a selection of international material from across the pond. If you’re looking to add some prestige to your office or home library, perhaps consider the pair of Newton & Son globes on mahogany stands ($5,000-8,000). Rare enough to find one in such condition, it is even more lucky to find a matching pair where the celestial globe hasn’t been lost or separated from its terrestrial partner. The only thing classier than that would be a golden harp, but that might border on ostentatious. Bidders will have to make that decision for themselves, as there is in fact a Sebastian Erard bird’s-eye maple and giltwood English harp crossing the block ($1,000-2,000). The sale will close out as usual with a selection of fine carpets, with a few outstanding palace-sized carpets, such as an early 20th century Heriz ($8,000-12,000).