The Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates Premier Americana Auction held June 26 and 27 was a highly successful event and produced robust prices, along with a few surprises, in multiple categories. The two-day format consisted of 1,146 lots of high-quality material from across the country, much of which was fresh to the market, and, in a number of cases, had descended directly in the families of the original owners. Bidding was intense throughout each day, with thousands of registered bidders participating by phone and online in competition with a socially-distanced gallery crowd. Session one began with a special single-owner session of an upstate New York private collection assembled over the past 50 years, which included a wide range of American furniture, fraktur, folk and fine art, Shaker items, pottery, textiles, advertising and country store, toys, and early ceramics. The remainder consisted of Shenandoah Valley and other folk pottery, Native American material, baskets, early iron, Bennington pottery, and country accessories of all types. The top lot, one of several surprises over the weekend, was a fine Jose Formoso Reyes (1902-80) Nantucket Friendship basket purse. The exquisitely crafted object with carved seagull plaque to lid went to a collector online at $8,775, possibly an auction record for the form. All prices include a 17-percent buyers premium. Other noteworthy results included an unusual Midwestern decorated Anti-Temperance figural stoneware jug selling for $7,605; a labeled Ernest Vogt paint-decorated Civil War snare drum at $7,605; an H.C. Smith cobalt-decorated five-gallon stoneware jar, $7,605; and a Pennsylvania figural pottery pig flask, which realized $4,972. Session two consisted of the firms usual diverse selection of Americana and fine antiques, highlighted by fine American furniture, clocks, and folk art from the private collection of Jim and Sheri Swinehart, Cincinnati, Ohio; early firearms and Shenandoah Valley folk art from the private collection of Margie and Gordon Barlow, Augusta County, Va.; and an important group of California paintings from the Russell and Doris Evitt estate collection, Jackson, Calif. The offerings included a diverse range of rare objects that generated tremendous presale excitement from collectors and institutions. The top lot, at $52,650, was an important group of eight Brock Family (Madison County, Va.) folk art watercolor profile portraits. Descended directly in the family and fresh to the market, the newly-discovered group by an as-yet-unidentified hand went to a determined Mid-Atlantic private collector on the phone bidding against an East Coast institution. Other noteworthy results included a George Henry Burgess (1831-1905) panoramic watercolor view of San Francisco, dated 1868, that went to a determined West Coast private collector on the phone for $40,950; a luminous Thomas Hill (1829-1908) Yosemite landscape at $29,250; and a Cincinnati Stove Works cast-iron figural trade sign in original surface selling for $15,210. It was likely an auction record for the form. A Revolutionary War flintlock musket with bayonet sold for $14,040. Other top performers were a Goldsmith Chandlee (Winchester, Va.) engraved brass surveyors compass and case with historical Woolfolk Family provenance bringing $15,210; a fine Illinois River Vorhees-Rig paint-decorated Canada Goose field decoy, $12,870; and a rare New England Chippendale carved cherry miniature desk in outstanding condition selling for $11,700. We were very pleased with the strong interest across the board in this auction. It was good to see bidders back in the building on sale days (socially-distanced and wearing masks, of course), and it was particularly encouraging to witness the kind of robust, sustained bidding over the weekend that produced very strong results across all categories of the sale. A key part of that success was the fresh nature of most of the material offered. We worked very hard to secure these consignments, traveling from California to Texas to New York, and were pleased to see the market respond in a positive way to the collections being offered. It was an honor to work with the Swinehart and the Evitt collections, for instance, and we certainly hope to continue to attract more like consignments as they come to market. Our multi-session November 2020 Premier Americana Auction will feature several important collections of early glass and other fine material from across the country, so we are looking forward to another exciting sale, commented company president and auctioneer Jeffrey S. Evans following the sale. For complete auction results, a schedule of 2020 sales, or more information, visit www.jeffreysevans.com. To other information, call 540-434-3939.