Horst Auction Center in Ephrata, Pa., held a 598-lot two-day sale, Nov. 19 and 20, which grossed $181,705. Horst does not charge a buyers premium. There is a 10-percent premium for absentee bids and online bidding. Internet bidding for catalog sales is through Invaluable.com. Loaded with country gear, the first session kicked off with several lots of Carl Snavely folk carvings. Snavely (1915-83) of Lititz, Pa., belonged to the Lancaster County Wood Carvers group and by profession was a shipping clerk at the Badorf Shoe Company. A part-time antiques dealer, Snavely set up at several regional shows. Thanks to Dick and Rosemarie Machmers 1991 book Just For Nice and accompanying exhibition, Snavelys work gained a much larger recognition than while he was working, which was primarily in the 1960s and 70s. A nearly 9-inch-tall unpainted finely carved bird, lot #1, brought $900. A pair of painted 4.25-inch-tall goony birds sold for $400. His work is signed with a CS underneath the base. The initials are carved into the wood. Assorted contemporary folk art, vintage Christmas ornaments, antique china, and various accessories also sold day one. Pottery, glassware, iron hardware, woodenware started the second session. An autumn auction scene by folk painter and antiques dealer Hattie Brunner (1889-1982) sold for $11,000. A ca. 1958 (early in her career) watercolor farm scene titled Making Apple Butter sold for $8,600. Both went to a local collector. This particular collector has just recently entered the Brunner painting market buying others at Horst sales. Another local collector underbid. Among the most unique items in the sale was an antique wooden carved ornately decorated horse-drawn black painted hearse. It was thought to be from a funeral home in Schuylkill Haven, Pa., late 19th/early 20th century, and sold for $17,500. It has finely carved drapery motif panels and doors and ionic columns. The buyer was a business in Connecticut that plans to restore and use it for actual funeral processions. The piece went through the Horst salesroom before. We sold the same hearse in 2005 for $9,900, commented Brent Horst. The horse-drawn hearse was of the same style and time period as one used by Levi Mellinger of Denver, Pa., and depicted in a Hattie Brunner painting. Another local folk artist, Luke Gottshall (1899-1993), depicted Mellingers hearse in paintings and models. The photos and captions showcase a cross section of other material sold and the prices realized. The next catalog sale at Horst is set for mid-February 2022. To learn more, call 717-738-3080.