MOUNT CRAWFORD, VA. — Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates’ Americana and fine antiques auction, featuring Virginia and the South November, 12 featured an important Shenandoah Valley of Virginia folk art cut-work/Scherenschnitte valentine, watercolor and ink on paper that attained $22,230, including the buyer’s premium and well over its $6/9,000 estimate.

The vibrant example made by Sarah Weaver (1839–1918) of Rockingham Co., Va., has a design with a central eight-point star within an inner border of eight cut-out seven-point stars, outer border of eight large elliptical cut-outs, each featuring a bird perched on floral / foliate devices and heart, sawtooth scalloped edges, vivid polychrome watercolor embellishment .

This valentine came to the auction directly from the family along with two other cut-work valentines and an embroidered show towel. Born to parents Samuel Weaver (1790–1857) and Elizabeth Rhodes (b 1792), Sarah married James William Sharps (1843–1916) in 1866 in Harrisonburg, ten years after she made this valentine in which she proclaimed in script, “Sarah Weaver is my name and single is my life and happy is the man gets me for a wife.”

A complete review of the auction will appear in a future edition.