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

April showers typically bring May flowers, but this spring they are bringing an even greater selection of antiques, fine art, and decorative accessories than usual. Pook & Pook’s auction house’s upcoming Friday, May 21st auction in Downingtown, Pennsylvania will be the 6th auction already this spring and will include auction block wonders from all over the world. From New England to Pennsylvania, from Virginia and areas further south, from China, England, and France, 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 existing treasure trove. This is the one auction that you cannot possibly afford to pass up. The session begins bright and early at 9AM. Bidding for this auction is available live (by reserved seat), by phone, absentee bid, and online on Bidsquare.

Lot 2, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania painted fireman's parade hat for the Taylor Hose Company; Estimate $8,000-$12,000

The sale will kick off with a collection of items from a New Jersey educational institution. The collection may be small, but it packs a big punch leading off with an exquisitely carved and polychrome decorated cigar store Native American made by Thomas Brooks of New York ($30,000-50,000). Two wonderful examples of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania parade hats are up next ($8,000-12,000 and $5,000-10,000), along with a selection of firemen memorabilia. An early fire wagon is expected to pump some excitement into the sale with an estimate of $5,000-8,000. 

Fine art follows including listed artists such as Edward Henry Potthast, Edmund Darch Lewis, Edward Moran, lots of Ed’s apparently. Two oil on canvas pieces by American painter Maude Drein Bryant are expected to fetch $2,000-3,000 each. Several British and French pieces will also make their way across the block. The star of the art section is a piece by George Inness depicting a landscape with a castle seated amongst rolling hills ($10,000-15,000). Considered transitional between realist and impressionists, Inness painted over 1000 paintings during his prolific career. A large oil on canvas battle scene, possibly depicting the Battle of Sedan during the Franco-Prussian War, paints a picture of stark contrasts with the overwhelming crowded battle activity in the bottom half of the painting adjacent to a calm partly cloudy sky.

Lot 62, Large mocha bowl, with earthworm decoration; Estimate $3,000-$4,000

The continuation of the sale is a truly fantastic selection of mocha coming from a collection so big, it couldn’t all fit in a single sale…or even two…or even three! This fourth round of mocha continues to attract astute collectors and the items coming across the block on are just as fabulous as the last three installments from this Pennsylvania collection. Every piece in this selection is special in its own right, but the prized piece is surely a large mocha bowl ($3,000-4,000) with incredible earthworm decoration both inside and out. 

The day continues with folk art, samplers, redware, stoneware, hooked rugs, gameboards, embroideries, clocks, tables, chairs, and more from the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Peppered amongst these artistic treasures are dozens of beautiful silhouettes, still lifes, landscapes, fraktur, portraits, carved walking sticks, weathervanes, etc. A Charles Hofmann oil on canvas view of Daniel B. Lorah’s Farm in Berks County, Pennsylvania is expected to bring $4,000-8,000. A pair of watercolor profile portraits of a husband and wife standing atop a grassy knoll by Jacob Maentel are estimated at $3,000-5,000. A wonderful selection of butterprints and cake boards, along with other kitchen accoutrements, will cross the block. A large collection of fraktur bookplates, works on paper, and bibles will also be on offer. One of the most interesting collections in the sale are the nineteen Civil War drawings completed by John Jacob Omenhausser while he was a prisoner at Point Lookout, Maryland. These drawings detail many aspects of daily life at prison, as well as the prisoner’s interactions with the black soldiers assigned to guard them.

The Journell Estate from Lincoln, Virginia follows with one hundred lots of stoneware, furniture, weathervanes, art, doorstops, redware, coverlets, baskets, quilts, wrought iron and brass utensils, woodenware, and redware, most of which originated in Virginia or Pennsylvania. A small group of pewter leads the way to a selection of material from New England. A vibrant Maine painted pine one-drawer stand, ca. 1835, with its original floral decoration on a yellow ground, is estimated at $5,000-8,000. An amazing five New England high chests of varying styles, ages, and estimates are set cross the auction block. A wonderful selection of silver will transition the bidder from the New World to the Old. An incredible Georg Jensen sterling silver blossom pattern tea and coffee service is one of the top lots in this section with an estimate of $7,000-9,000. The rest of the auction is filled with a selection of material from overseas, including furniture, carpets, porcelain and art.