The highest price of session two, and the sale as a whole, went to this West Troy Pottery (New York) six-gallon stoneware crock with a cobalt walking elephant, Nineteenth Century, 13½ inches tall by 14 inches in diameter, which sold to the trade on behalf of a client for $177,800 ($20/30,000).
Review by Kiersten Busch
DOWNINGTOWN, PENN. — The collection of Alice and Art Booth of Wayne, N.J., was sold by Pook & Pook through a three-day auction series spanning April 15-17, where 913 lots crossed the block spanning various collectible and antique categories. With all but 11 lots going unsold for a 99 percent sell-through rate, the sale totaled $2,272,050 across all three days.
Company president Deirdre Pook Magarelli commented, “The event was an outstanding success, exceeding all expectations. Anticipation leading up to the auction was remarkable, with inquiries via phone, email and text beginning months in advance regarding its unveiling. Demand for catalogs reached an all-time high, surpassing any other sale in nearly 20 years.”
Magarelli continued, “The gallery exhibition was exceptionally well attended, and the reception and stoneware lecture the evening prior to the first session drew nearly 50 attendees. The strong turnout continued through the opening sessions of the auction. It was truly a pleasure to connect in person with so many of our wonderful clients.”
The highest price of session one went to this Weber painted pine dresser box, Lancaster, Penn., 1848, 5¾ inches tall by 10¼ inches wide by 5¾ inches deep, which sold to a fairly new buyer to Pook at $69,850 ($15/25,000).
“Bidders came ready and did not hold back,” added vice president Jamie Shearer of the 1,232 bidders signed up to bid for the auction via phone, absentee bid, in person or online. “The room, phones and online platforms were alive with competition, driving prices to thrilling heights and rewriting the record books. New benchmarks were set, including a world-class result for stoneware with an elephant decoration and a record-shattering price for a stoneware chicken feeder. This was fresh-to-the-market material in the truest sense — assembled over a lifetime, with many pieces quietly tucked away for over 50 years.”
Session one was led by a Weber (Lancaster, Penn.) painted pine dresser box dated “1848” and inscribed “Sarah M. Shaffer,” which sold for $69,850. It was “Bought by a determined phone bidder who has become a recent buyer at Pook, honing in on exemplary examples of Pennsylvania Germanic arts,” explained Shearer of the dresser box, which was decorated with a house and flowers on a blue and green ground. It had provenance to the Pennypacker Auction Centre, where it previously sold on October 10, 1977.
According to Shearer, “Another recently new buyer to Pook & Pook who has focused on great American antiques” won the other highest earning lot on day two — a Soap Hollow, Somerset County, Penn., painted poplar chest of drawers — also for $69,850. Dated to 1866, the chest of drawers, which retained its original stenciled gilt decoration, was initialed “FKM” and was signed by maker Jeremiah Stahl.
This Soap Hollow (Somerset County, Penn.) painted poplar chest of drawers by Jeremiah Stahl, 1866, 51¾ inches tall by 39 inches wide, was illustrated in Charles R. Muller’s Soap Hollow: The Furniture and its Makers and was bid to $69,850 ($5/10,000).
A painted yellow pine oval bentwood box did well and was “bought [for $50,800] by a Pennsylvania collector who was a major bidder and buyer over the course of the first two days, bidding from the front of the gallery,” said Shearer. It was attributed to Shenandoah County, Va., artisan Jacob Barb, Jr, and retained its original floral decoration on a salmon ground. According to catalog notes, it was “found at St Thomas Episcopal Church, Camden, Maine” sometime in 2018 and was then sold by Holden Antiques at The Coastal Maine Show in August of the same year.
Three seed chests were offered during session one, led by a painted poplar example by Joseph Lehn of Lancaster, Penn., which still displayed its original red and brown surface with green and white pinstriping and decoupage highlights. It was purchased in the salesroom for $48,260 by dealer Greg Kramer. It was followed by a painted pine and poplar seed chest with a fall front top and 22 drawers by John Boyer (Brickerville, Lancaster County, Penn.) ($30,480) and a Lancaster County painted pine and poplar seed chest from the late Nineteenth Century which retained its original ochre grained surface ($5,080).
Stoneware did exceedingly well during session one, with a T.H. Wilson & Company (Harrisburg, Penn.) crock made between 1852-05 earning $58,420. The crock had a large cobalt decoration of a three-masted frigate and was “the finest known example from Harrisburg’s first generation of stoneware,” according to catalog notes. “It was bought by dealer Greg Kramer, who was a very active buyer in the first two days, sitting in the back corner of the salesroom,” explained Shearer. “He outbid the phone bidders.” A large Ohio two-handled stoneware crock from the Nineteenth Century attributed to Muskingum County featured a cobalt owl on its front and a loop design on its reverse followed at $38,100 against an $8/12,000 estimate.
Purchased by dealer Greg Kramer for $58,420 was this T.H. Wilson & Company (Harrisburg, Penn.) stoneware crock with a cobalt decoration of a three-masted frigate, 1852-55, 8½ inches tall ($20/30,000).
Cumberland Valley, Penn., artisan Wilhelm Schimmel had several carved works earn top prices during both sessions one and two. Session one’s winner was a carved and painted group of two eaglets flanking a basket of fruit, which sold for $35,560. A carved and painted squirrel holding a nut and sitting on a plinth, noted as “an exceedingly rare form of Schimmel,” realized $27,940 during session two, won by “a Pennsylvania collector bidding in the salesroom who was the underbidder 26 years ago” when its previous owner purchased it from Conestoga Auction Company’s sale of the collection of Clyde Youtz in 2000.
A West Troy Pottery (New York) six-gallon stoneware crock made in the Nineteenth Century sold for the highest price of session two, $177,800, earning almost six times its $30,000 high estimate. The crock featured a cobalt image of a walking elephant and measured 14 inches in diameter. It had provenance to the Keno family and was illustrated in Leigh and Leslie Keno’s 2002 book Hidden Treasures: Searching for Masterpieces of American Furniture (New York City: Grand Central Publishing). “[The lot] sold to the trade, bidding on behalf of a client, underbid on the phone by a vacationing overseas client,” shared Shearer.
Kramer was back in the auction action during session two, sweeping up a Pennsylvania Remmey-type double-sided stoneware feeder from the Nineteenth Century for $50,800, the second highest price of the day and an auction record for the form. It had cobalt tulip decorations and was the only decorated example of the rare form currently known, according to catalog notes.
Greg Kramer won this Pennsylvania Remmey-type double-sided stoneware feeder with cobalt tulip decorations, Nineteenth Century, 10½ inches tall by 9½ inches wide, for a record $50,800 ($4/6,000).
Another stellar stoneware purchase was an important Fulper Brothers (Flemington, N.J.) three-gallon stoneware crock from the Nineteenth Century, bought by a collector who will take it back to New Jersey for $15,240. Inscribed “Fine Butter P.J.N.,” likely referring to Flemington merchant Peter J. Nevius, the crock featured a cobalt decoration of a woman churning butter.
Carved boxes were popular during session two, with a painted pine seed chest by Joseph Lehn selling to a Pennsylvania collector and dealer for $24,130, surpassing its $12/18,000 estimate. It retained its original red and brown surface with green and white pinstriping and was previously sold by Horst Auctioneers in 1985 during its sale of the Musselman collection. The Lehn seed box was followed by a Nineteenth Century painted poplar hanging wall box by Rufus K. Peachey (Mifflin County, Penn.) ($13,970) and an 11⅛-inch-tall New England painted pine dresser from the mid Nineteenth Century which still had its vibrant salmon, yellow and green surface ($12,700).
Session three shifted focus to vintage German Christmas, Halloween and Easter collectibles, led by an early to mid Twentieth Century Santa Claus riding a camel pull toy, which far surpassed its conservative $400/600 estimate to make $10,795. The lot “sold to the trade on the phone, outlasting heavy interested bidders in the salesroom as well as on the phone,” commented Shearer. A 19½-inch-high composition Santa Claus candy container with a long brown coat, feather tree sprig and a small splint basket with ornaments followed at $7,620, then a 26½-inch-high composition clockwork “nodder” Santa came after at $6,096.
Galloping to the highest price of session three — $10,795 — was this German Santa Claus riding a camel pull toy, early to mid Twentieth Century, 11½ inches tall by 9 inches long, which sold to the trade over the phone ($400/600).
It’s never too early to start celebrating Halloween, and bidders agreed, taking a German composition witch candy container in her original outfit and with broomstick to $8,255, thanks to a New England collector. A pressed cardboard smiling Jack o’ lantern candlestick candy container was won by a Virginia collector for $5,842, while a 1¾-inch-diameter German veggie people cardboard candy box from the early Twentieth Century made $5,344. “It was bought by a longtime Pook & Pook client from New England who drove down for the sale to bid live,” shared Shearer.
Easter was also thrown in the mix, with a collection of 36 German Easter egg candy containers selling for $4,826; a Pennsylvania dealer and collector in the gallery had the winning bid. Each egg contained a portrait of a rabbit, and all were in “various rare colors” according to catalog notes. For a real Easter egg hunting flare, the set was sold with a rye straw gathering basket.
Pook & Pook will have a two-day Americana auction June 11-12, followed by a two-day online-only Decorative Arts auction July 8-9. Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, 610-269-4040 or www.pookandpook.com.
