DOWNINGTOWN, PENN. – For its June 20 Americana sale, Pook & Pook Inc., reopened its saleroom to in-person bidding for the first time since the company was shuttered because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The sale of nearly 500 lots was led by a silk on linen sampler wrought in 1775 by Martha Thomas of Chester County, Penn., which realized $51,250 against an estimate of $5/8,000. The work, which was in an inlaid cherrywood frame dated 1786, had been illustrated in Schiffer’s Furniture and Its Makers of Chester County, Pennsylvania; the sampler also claimed provenance to the Wyomissing Collection and the Collection of Mr and Mrs Francis E. Judson.

Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house.

Watch for a longer sale review in a future issue.