Auctioneer Rick Schadel of Lykens sold part two of the Tom Umholtz estate on April 7 at the Gratz Community Building in the rural upper Dauphin County town of Gratz, Pa. Part one was held last fall. Gratz is roughly 40 miles north of Harrisburg. The late Tom Umholtz of Valley View, Pa., was a longtime local historian and collector of epic proportions. There was no buyer’s premium or sale’s tax.
The sale began at 8 a.m. with outside lines of material in-the-rough, such as old doors, benches, chairs, rag rugs, and more. Inside the community center’s gymnasium, the sale began at 8:15. Material was set up on the stage, and most furniture in an adjoining room. Due to the amount of material and pace of selling, the sale went into the early evening. Several people in attendance arrived at sunup and left at sundown. Due to the building being used the Friday evening prior to sale day, no preview was able to be offered. “A preview would have been nice, but we just weren’t able to have the building. It was a hectic day for us,” said Schadel. In light of the circumstances, Schadel did a good job pulling off the sale. If the building had been available, a dedicated tool session and/or book session should have been conducted on Friday. There was a lot of material sold in one day, with many specific categories with limited crossover appeal. The same occured at the sale in the fall, where a broad variety of tools, books, various country items, and furniture was sold. There will not be a third sale.
Schadel, along with auctioneer Liz Stamm, conducted the auction selling groupings “by choice,” which also made for a long sale. Nearly 100 wooden planes alone were sold. Also, saws, hatchets, chisels, augers, squares, countless other tools, early books, ledgers, printed taufshein, certificates, land surveys, early local postcards, advertising, milk bottles, cutting boards, feed bags, and about 75 pieces of country furniture were sold.
Tom’s widow, Joyce, was in attendance. Her late husband’s passion was local history. Most of his life was spent studying the Mahantongo Valley of central Pennsylvania. “He was truly an historian of the Mahantongo Valley,” said Dr. Jim Bohn, who flew in from Florida to attend the sale. Umholtz received his degree in Industrial Arts from Penn State University. He never missed a local farm sale and knew nearly everyone in the entire valley. Umholtz studied the work of the early cabinetmakers from the region, identifying pieces to their makers by the specific tools used. He was also asute in identifying fakes and embellished pieces.
Today, the Mahantongo Valley or Schwaben Creek Valley remains a geographically isolated region. It is typically described as encompassing parts of Northumberland County to the north and Schuykill and Dauphin County to the south, roughly between Line Mountain and Mahantongo Mountain. The Susquehanna River is to the west, and the Schawben Creek flows through the region. It was a culturally and geographically remote Pennsylvania German enclave in the 18th and 19th century. Several well-known names associated with the area include Reitz, Masser, Mayer, Rebuck, Ganser, Stiely, and Braun. The group of paint-decorated furniture produced in the area was the focus of Henry Reed’s book, “Decorated Furniture of the Mahantongo Valley,” published in 1987. A number of things in Umholtz’s collection were illustrated in the book. Mahantongo Valley paint-decorated furniture has been recognized and considered iconic Pennsylvania German folk art for over a century. Among the most legendary examples, the Peter Braun lift-top chest was advertised in the December 1926 issue of “The Magazine Antiques” by Bethlehem, Pa., dealer A.H. Rice. (Today, the chest resides in the Dietrich American Foundation).
The story of the estate auction in Gratz was condition. Much of the paper and books had condition issues, as did much of the furniture. In today’s resale market, fewer flaws are accepted, yet it is harder and harder to find quality things. A generation or two ago, both supply and demand were higher. Umholtz bought what he was passionate about regardless of condition and with disregard for the resale marketplace.
A Sheraton paneled end chest of drawers with tall turned feet and swirl decorated salmon paint that at one time had been overpainted sold for $950. It sold for $3,200 on Sept. 21, 1991, at a Clyde Youtz catalog sale held at Horst in Ephrata, Pa. At that time, it had wooden pulls. The chest came out of the Hornberger estate in Hegins, Pa., in the 1970s. To Umholtz’s credit, he took meticulous notes and recorded as much provenance and background information as he could on things he acquired.
A wooden molding plane stamped “J. Braun” sold to Maryland tool collector Jack Sciara, seated in the front row, for $850. A single-door jelly cupboard in red with moldings black over blue, some moldings replaced, attributed to furniture maker J. Braun, sold to the trade for $2,500. The name Braun has since been anglicized to Brown. Descendants of Braun attended the sale.
A group of 13 planes, some stamped “J. Mayer” for furniture maker Johannes Mayer (1794-1883) of Upper Mahanoy Township (buried in Howerter’s Church) also sold to Sciara. They brought $1,850 as one lot.
A paint-decorated lift-top chest that stood at the foot of the auctioneer’s podium during the sale sold for $13,200 to a young local collector, underbid by the trade. Made for Anderres Ganser and dated “1828,” it had a loose lid, some damage to one of the feet, and repair to a drawer front. Umholtz bought it in 1981 from the late Pastor Fred Weiser. Ganser lived in the Greenbriar area, which was close to Himmel’s Church. The chest was considered by some as being the nicest piece of furniture in the sale.
Two hand-drawn taufshein by the Sussel-Unicorn artist were sold. Thanks to both Dr. Don Yoder and Dr. Donald Herr, the identity of this artist is known. Christian Beschler is the Sussel-Unicorn Artist. Taufshein marked “gemacht von CB” (made by CB) helped unearth the mystery. Schoolmaster Christian Ernst Beschler taught in one of the first German schools in the Mahantongo Valley, located on the Casper Hepler farmstead in Eldred Township, Schuylkill County. There is a village named Hepler, south of Leck Kill.
The reason for the Sussel-Unicorn name was due to an example bearing unicorns from Arthur Sussel’s collection, sold in 1958. Regardless of condition, his work is very rare, and only about 10 examples are known to have survived. They have distinctive bright orange, often with yellow, drawn floral work, parrots, compass stars, lions with faces, angels, hearts, and potted tulips, and have rectangular text blocks. For more, read Dr. Donald Herr’s article titled “Christian Beschler: The ‘Sussel-Unicorn’ Artist” in the Spring 2008 issue of “Antiques & Fine Art.” An example with the “CB” initials was part of the Joan Johnson gift to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
A fully decorated hand-drawn birth and baptismal certificate with unicorns, hearts, and birds made for Jacob Jaekle, measuring 13.25-by-16.5 inches, by Christian Beschler, ca. 1796, with losses, sold for $39,500 to Lancaster, Pa., scholar and author Dr. Donald Herr, underbid by Downingtown, Pa., dealer Philip Bradley. “This is one the best ones, that is why I went after it,” stated Herr following the sale.
The fraktur’s text translation read, "Jacob Jaekle was born in the year of our lord 1796 the 16th of October and was baptized the 14th of November 1796 by Pastor Andony Hauss (Anthony Hautz), the sponsors were Jacob Jaekle and Anna Maria Höhn, both single. The parents were the esteemed Conrad Jaekle and his much loved house wife, Catharina, nee Höhn." Text in the left heart reads, "All your life keep God before your eyes and in your heart, and guard yourself against committing sins." Text in the right heart reads, "Fear God and keep his commandments, for that is the duty of all mankind." The young Jaekle (1796-1870) went on to marry Catharine Schroyer (1800-1874). Both were born in Northumberland County.
The other fraktur by the artist was Lydia Hass’s taufshein (baptismal certificate) taken place at Howerter’s Church (Upper Mahanoy Township, Northumberland County) with angels in upper corners, parrots throughout and potted tulips in lower corners. It sold for $5,100 to Philip Bradley, underbid by a collector. It had large losses associated to ink gall.
To understand Pennsylvania German material culture, it is necessary to understand their faith communities. Some collectors are interested in such information as congregation, pastor, and sponsors as much as the decorative elements. On average, these personal documents of faith are seen today strictly as art, but they represent much more.
A Johann Valentin Schuller printed taufshein for Maria Schneider, illustrated in Reed’s book, sold for $1,900 to dealer/collector Bob Conrad. Alfred Shoemaker wrote an article on Schuller in the “Pennsylvania Dutchman” (Oct. 15, 1951, issue). Schuller had a farm between Mandata and Herndon in Northumberland County on Fiddler’s Run (not far from the Susquehanna River). He died there in 1812. His son, Johann Valentin Schuller Jr. also made fraktur.
Peter Montelius was a printer and associated with Himmel’s Church. A rare confirmation certificate printed by Montelius for Jane Montelius (Himmel’s Church) sold for $320. It was also illustrated in Reed’s book.
Among other items sold were three boxes of early tallow candles. Each box sold for $790 to the same dealer. They each contained 16 candles and came out to $2,370 for 48 candles. Another dealer paid $3,000 for three hearth brooms. One sold for $1,100, $1,050, and for $850.
The photos and captions tell more of the story.
To contact Rick Schadel, call 717-365-3008.