The May 21 Americana and International Auction continued a season of strong results for Pook & Pook Inc. It was the first of their sales at which face masks were not required, if people are vaccinated. First on the block of the 567-lot sale was a collection of 15 antique historical firefighting items and Americana from the vaults of a New Jersey museum. Lot 1, a very good cigar store Indian by Thomas Brooks of New York City, stood at 88 inches tall and was in an excellent state of preservation, including the original plinth. After a lively bidding war, the statue commanded $63,000. Brooks learned his trade from ship and figure carver John Cromwell, had a shop beginning in 1848, and went on to mentor Samuel Robb, New Yorks most well-known carver. This Indian figure is thought to have been made in 1882 and on display in a Camden, N.J., tobacco shop. It was donated to the museum, which deaccessioned it in 1928. Prices reported include a 23-percent buyers premium if sold in house or 26-percent online. Other spectacular prices from the New Jersey museum included two Philadelphia, Pa., painted firemans parade hats. Lot 2, from the Taylor Hose Company, decorated with a vignette of General and President Zachary Taylor, brought $22,680. Lot 9, from the United States Hose Company, with a vignette of a seated Liberty and inscribed, United We Stand, Divided We Fall, sold for $25,200. The action was really heating up. Lot 15 was called for assistance. An early fire pump wagon, ca. 1747, purportedly made in England for a Philadelphia volunteer fire company, rolled in with a cool $8,820. Folk art continued to perform strongly, with many pieces exceeding their estimated value. The second star of the day was lot 235, an exquisite miniature watercolor portrait by Mrs. Moses B. Russell. After intensive bidding, the boy with riveting blue eyes sold for $40,320, from the Barbara Gordon collection. For more, see page 14 of A Shared Legacy: Folk Art in America. From the same collection was an 8.5-inch-tall Wilhelm Schimmel rooster, which realized $16,380. Interest took flight for two Maine carved and painted 19th-century birds, as lot 504, a kingfisher, realized $10,710, and lot 505, a flicker, $8,190. Two fraktur bookplate lots sold well above estimate, with lot 133, a Johann Adam Eyer, Berks County ink and watercolor book plate, with its original story book, selling for $4,788, and lot 134, a Christian Alsdorf ink and watercolor book plate with its original German scrip song book, bringing $10,080. Painted furniture was in high demand. Lot 362, a Pennsylvania painted pine drysink with an old pale green surface over the original red and an original blue interior, crossed the auction block at $6,930. Lot 416, a diminutive Pennsylvania painted pine bucket bench with an old red surface, inspired spirited bidding, selling for $5,292. American artists were widely represented, with works from Charles Hoffman, Ben Austrian, Russell and Xanthus Smith, George Inness, William Merritt Chase, and the Philadelphia Ten. Of particular note was lot 550, a Wilhelm Gottfried Bauer oil-on-canvas family portrait selling for $8,820 and a rare collection of Civil War drawings. Confederate soldier John Jacob Omerhausser, an Austrian immigrant candy maker, was a prisoner of war at Point Lookout, Md., who whiled away the time by drawing everything around him. Oberhausser detailed many aspects of daily life for the prisoners as well as interactions with the Black soldiers assigned to guard them. Sold in pairs, and originally bartered for food and art supplies, 185 and 190 each sold for $5,796. Amongst eight lots of Georg Jensen silver, a blossom pattern covered vegetable dish, lot 517, proved particularly desirable, selling for $6,300. Lot 525, an exceptional pair of miniature 18th-century Dutch silver sconces, lit up the room, reaching $10,710. The surprise item of the day was lot 551, a set of four Meissen painted porcelain portrait plates, which sold for $32,760, over 15 times the low estimate. Overall, the sale exceeded high estimate, with competitive bidding from the audience, phone, and online buyers. There was strong interest throughout the sale and across categories. The sell-through rate was 97 percent, with 36 percent of lots selling above high estimate. To learn more, call 610-269-4040 or email info@pookandpook.com.