The story behind Pook & Pook Inc.'s Saturday, Oct. 3, Americana sale begins with stellar provenances and ends with a catalog full of rare and intriguing offerings. The sale draws its strength from a group of dedicated collectors and family members who have brought the past to light with their finely-curated estates and carefully preserved heirlooms. Fine art, folk art, furniture, ephemera and other decorative pieces will engage bidders for their aesthetics in this fall sale that will have collectors scrambling to own their own piece of American history.
As they have in the past, Pook & Pook Inc.'s auctioneers will kick off the sale with an assortment of fine art. An impressive oil-on-canvas still life by James Peale crosses the block early, to be followed by a rare group of Andrew Wyeth watercolors coming directly from the artist's family. The first Wyeth, titled “Concord River near Needham Massachusetts,” is accompanied by an original musical score by Ann Wyeth. The next series of four paintings, all titled “Dollhouse Window,” provide a glimpse into Andrew Wyeth's childhood. Painted when he was 12, they demonstrate the skills that would make him one of the most famous American artists of the 20th century.
Transitioning from fine to folk art, Pook & Pook Inc. will present a characteristically strong group of Pennsylvania offerings, including a pair of Jacob Maentel ink and watercolor portraits and two carvings by itinerant artist Wilhelm Schimmel. Pook & Pook Inc. will also feature a large number of stoneware items, including a rare man-in-the-moon decorated Evan R. Jones Pennsylvania batter jug and a M. & T. Miller of Newport, Pa., two-gallon crock.
Pennsylvania furniture shines with an important Lancaster Queen Anne cherry tall-case inlaid clock, dated 1762, its brass face inscribed "Rudy Stoner." There are only a small number of documented American clocks with such extensive pewter inlay. Another clock of note appears at the end of the sale. The Chester County Chippendale tall-case clock, ca. 1775, has a brass works signed "Joel Baily Bradford." Baily was recorded as a surveyor, gunsmith and astronomer, and his clock making endeavors were strictly hearsay until the present clock surfaced in the 1940s. It is the only extant example of his work and is illustrated on pages 37-47 of Arthur James' “Chester County Clocks and Their Makers.”
The Oct. 3 auction also proudly features five isolated collections throughout the catalog. The collection of Dr. William Thomas Thorwarth includes a historic pair of Salem, Mass., Hepplewhite mahogany dining chairs, ca. 1795. With carving attributed to Samuel McIntire, the shield-back chairs feature square tapering legs with relief-carved grapevine decoration. A private Berks County, Pa., collection adds to the excitement with a Mahantongo Valley painted pine blanket chest, dated 1829, the front adorned with exotic birds perched on potted tulips. The third collection, descended through a Bristol, R.I., family, includes a group of presidential signed documents from Monroe, Tyler, Madison, Polk, and Jefferson in addition to a George Washington signed letter written from "Headquarters, West Point," on August 26, 1779. It is addressed to "Sir" and is inscribed to Governor Greene. Washington asks for supplies, mainly clothing, blankets, shoes, and spirits, for the troops after dealing with serious shortages. The letter appears to be written in Alexander Hamilton's hand.
Interested bidders are encouraged to contact Pook & Pook Inc. at info@pookandpook.com or 610-269-4040 with questions regarding condition reports, in-house, phone, or absentee bidder registration, or to purchase a catalog. Catalogs can also be viewed online at www.pookandpook.com or www.Bidsquare.com. A catered reception will take place from 4 to 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 2 (rsvp to info@pookandpook.com). The sale will begin at 9 a.m. EST on Saturday, Oct. 3.