The small birds would originally sell for between $35 and $65, reported Scott Tyson, son of carver Paul Tyson. Today, Paul C. Tyson of Royersford, Pa., (1921-84) is mostly known as a carver. On Aug. 26, an online-only sale at Pook & Pook sold a grouping of Tyson carvings, including a group of three small songbirds which brought $2,540. Prices reported include a 27 percent buyers premium. Following service in WWII, Tyson entered the family auto business as a mechanic and also salesman. Always having an interest in the arts and with hopes of going to art school when young, when the business was sold in 1974, Tyson took up wood carving. It was the hope and assumption that the auto business would be passed down in the family, but when Pauls father sold it in 1974, it greatly unsettled Paul, prompting both depression and anxiety that became deep seated, as discussed with Scott. He really enjoyed carving and eventually the reception he got from customers. He was carving as a job, said Scott. He received permission from Clyde Youtz (show manager) to bring a few of his pieces to shows I was doing and would always sell them. This is how he began to take orders. The New Holland show was one of these, explained Scott. Paul Tysons work is highly intricate, with exceptional detail to both the wood carving and paint. His various birds, animals, and figures were often numbered. According to Scott, his father made around 1,000 pieces from 1974 to 1983. An article in the Antiques Trader published in 1978 provided some publicity, as did posthumously the 1991 book Just For Nice by Dick and Rosemarie Machmer. Highly stylized in a folky Pennsylvania German vein and exceptional paint detailing, the work has a folk art appeal, and the market today has depth. The Tysons lived in Pottstown, and, due to bad arthritis, Paul stopped carving at the very end of 1983 around the time of receiving a lung cancer diagnosis. Paul would pass away six months later. From a Lancaster, Pa., consignment, the Pook & Pook sale consisted of 25 Tyson carvings in 17 lots. A large goat realized $1,397; a turkey, $1,016; a peacock, $1,079.50; an angel holding a bird, $1,651; a beehive, $381; two rabbits (one with repaired ear), $533.40; and an exotic style bird perched on a wooden base sold for $825.50. In Kutztown, Pa., through Sothebys on May 24, 1997, at the Dick and Rosemarie Machmer sale a lion sold for $1,495. A comparable lion sold at the Aug. 26 sale for $431.80. On Oct. 24, 2008, Pook & Pook held a two-day sale for Dick and Rosemarie Machmer when a Tyson pelican feeding its young in a nest sold for an auction record $7,020. A version of this carving sold for $1,270 at the Aug. 26 sale. The pelican in Christian faith is an ancient symbol representing Christ and sacrificial love. The symbol of the bird piercing its breast feeding young is an allegory referred to as the Pelican in her Piety. My dad took that design from a fraktur, that I still own. My mom and dads friend artist David Ellinger also copied the design of the fraktur, but David took it from bookplate size to a larger scale, stated Scott. Upon becoming friends, it turned out David (when young) had worked on my great-grandparents farm in Trappe, finished Scott. The photos show many of the Tyson carvings sold on the Aug. 26 sale. To learn more, call Pook & Pook at 610-269-4040.