Market Shows Strength At Pook & Pook
Among notable items sold in the auction was a small four-inch tall Schimmel carved and painted eaglet, which sold to the trade for $13,420. It had last sold at auction for $14,040 at the legendary Dr. Donald and Esther Shelley sale in 2007 at Pook & Pook, going to David Wheatcroft on behalf of Midwest private collectors. Several very good things in the sale came from this Midwest collection. All unreserved, said Shearer.
A well-preserved red toleware bread tray sold for $10,980 to a dealer. It brought $17,775 at the Eugene and Dorothy Elgin sale at Pook & Pook in 2011. A Jacob Maentel watercolor-and-gouache portrait of a gentleman in military dress and dog in lower right sold to a collector in the salesroom for $7,930. In 1999, at the John Gordon sale held by Christies, it sold for $4,370. Another Maentel, a portrait of an elderly woman seated in a chair in profile view, ex. Hattie Brunner, failed to sell at $1,200 at the John Gordon sale in 1999 and here brought $1,342. A very nice Lehn saffron cup with blue ground went for $6,710, and a paint-decorated doll chair once sold by David Wheatcroft brought $4,148. A carved lollipop handle style butter print dated 1816, with tulips, sold for $2,928.
The Soap Hollow, Western Pennsylvania, painted poplar chest of drawers, dated 1871, signed by the maker, Manufactured By John Sala, retaining its original untouched red surface with stenciled highlights, the sides with black painted recessed panels with date and initials LC with minor wear and one scallop repair to backsplash, sold for $32,500 (est. $15,000-$20,000).
A Dutch cupboard, also by Sala and initialed LC, possibly made for the same customer, is illustrated in Charles Mullers Soap Hollow: The Furniture and Its Makers, on pg. 19.
The photos and captions show more that sold and for how much.
An upcoming sale at Pook & Pook that is sure to excite collectors of Pennsylvania decorative arts will be the auction of the lifetime collection of Ruth Bryson set for April of 2018. The collection will be sold in its entirety, said Ron Pook. The late Ruth Bryson and her husband, Jack, of Quarryville, Pa., specialized in Lancaster County antiques. For example, they had seven Weber boxes. Stay tuned for more on this auction.
For additional information on this or upcoming sales, call Pook & Pook Inc. at 610-269-4040.