The Mary Ann Furnace stove
plate, which went for $11,000 to a phone bidder, was dated 1763
and featured the name of George Ross, one of the signers of the
Declaration of Independence.
YORK, PENN. - York Town Auction's sale on February 22 highlighted
antiques and fine arts, with more than 800 cataloged lots. The
sale began with a collection of contemporary wild fowl paintings
and carvings from the estate collection of Perce Trone of York,
which included a carved loon by Bob Biddle, 1975, selling for
$650, an Art Lamay watercolor for $320, and a John Taylor oil
onboard for $400.
Trone's estate also included a collection of doorstops, focusing
on animals, with a quail at $375, a left-facing bulldog at $200
and a bulldog facing forward selling for $350.
A York County collector, moving to smaller living quarters, had
among her collection being sold some examples of advertising,
including a Dr Lesure's Veterinary Cabinet, which sold to a
collector in Texas for $6,000. Also from the collection a small
painted wood grocery sign in the form of an arm brought $1,000,
and of local interest, a collection of Foust and Moul items. This
local advertising stoneware and ephemera has attracted rising
interest. Estimated at $2/300, a miniature Foust jug brought
$575. The last Foust shot glass with red seal sold here this year
brought $450, while one from this collection brought $500, plus
the premium.
Two Philadelphia candlestands brought $12,000 and $14,500.
There were a few unusual, but not necessarily overly attractive,
stoneware jugs that commanded good prices, including one
stenciled "E.S.B., Jefferson," selling for $850, and a brown and
white Moul with paper label for Hellam Pure Rye Whiskey, $700.
Period furniture held its ground for a slacking economy. There
were two Pennsylvania candle stands with dish tops. The first
Philadelphia candlestand, estimated at $10/15,000, realized
$12,000, while the second sold for $14,500 ($12/15,000). A
Lancaster County blind door walnut dutch cupboard sold for
$12,500, and a walnut Philadelphia flattop highboy did $11,000,
both selling within their estimates. A cherry Hagerstown tall
clock reached $19,500, and a folk art painted fireplace insert
brought $2,600.
Another walnut piece that garnered interest was a corner cupboard
with oversized ogee feet, which did well at $13,500. A
Pennsylvania dower chest went to a collector for $5,600.
Stephen Etnier paintings were in demand. A Nassau scene titled
"The Green Boat, Nassau" sold for $8,000, against an estimate of
$4,5/6,500, going to a Nassau collector. Another Etnier, a
Jamaican scene, brought $3,000. Among other paintings, an Emille
Walters painting sold for $1,300.
Among York Town's diverse offering of accessories, an oak
trumpeter clock sold at $4,100 ($1,4/2,000); a Virginia Record
Book Artist fraktur realized $5,750; a folk art cutout watercolor
of a Confederate horse-drawn ambulance sold for $2,300; a small
stoneware inkwell did $2,000; a redware measure stamped "V.
Rudolph" (Shippensburg, Penn.) fetched $2,300; an early folk art
portrait of a young girl ($1,2/1,500), brought $2,900; a small
George Cope painting ($1,5/2,500) sold for $4,000; and a sawtooth
bars quilt brought $1,600.
"The Green Boat, Nassau," Stephen Etnier, $8,000.
The surprise of the auction came late in the day. Lot 1331 was a
Mary Ann Furnace stove plate, which was estimated at $800 to
$1,200. The lot reached a final hammer price of $11,000, going to
a telephone bidder against one in the audience. "This has to be a
record price for a Pennsylvania stove plate," said York Town
manager John McClain. A particularly nice specimen, the plate had
Dutchy tulips, the date 1763, and the names George Ross/ George
Stevenson. (Ross was one of the signers of the Declaration of
Independence).
"The house was packed," McClain said. "A lot of new faces and a
lot of regulars."
The above prices do not reflect the 12.5 percent buyer's premium.
