Did you know that St. Patrick’s original signature color was blue? Just maybe, St. Patrick himself was ahead of his time and could have eventually been a collector of Americana where blue is the hottest color around.
A Hanging Tobacconist Sign from the collection of The Late J. Garland Warren’s estate will open the sale on Friday. The triangular American cigar trade sign is 19th century pine with original paint and highlights of black, blue gray and yellow (estimate: $800-$1,200). A rare wool and cotton dark-blue Michigan Coverlet is sure to heat up the collectors vying for the lot. The 80” X 82” covert was woven by Abram William Van Doren, Avon, Oakland County in 1842. The inscription reads, “Michigan” and the signed corner block includes the name “Marsha Smith Bo(rn) 1794”. The coverlet is expected to sell for $1,000-$2,000. Another piece with cobalt blue as its central decoration is a large American Stoneware Crock. The “20” gallon crock with applied handles features a stenciled, double label with an American eagle and “Jas. Hamilton & Co., Greensboro, PA”. (Estimate: $1,500-$3,000).
If this winter has you sitting by the fire, sipping cocoa and playing games (often without the benefit of electricity), Garth’s MArch auction is the right place to spice up your gameboard collection. A Parcheesi Gameboard with original paint will be offered at the beginning of the sale for $1,000-$2,000. If checkers is more your speed, make sure to catch lot 513, an American Decorated Gameboard with carved stars and pine trees. It represents the best of both worlds with Parcheesi is offered on the opposite side (estimate: $1,500-$2,000). Have you been looking for a piece of taxidermy above that warm-stone fireplace, try the American Bison Taxidermy Shoulder Mount on a custom wooden stand which is expected to sell for $1,000-$1,500.
The furniture buyers will have many quality items to choose from including a 19th century Dry Sink which retains old red paint (estimate $800-$1,200). A Classical Chest of Drawers will be offered from Don Whitemyers’s collection of Zoar, Ohio. The chest was originally used in the boy’s dormitory in Zoar in the early 19th century. (Estimate: $500-$1,000). A Soap Hollow Decorated Blanket Chest from Somerset County, Pennsylvania is dated 1845. This chest is among the earliest dated examples of Soap Hollow furniture. Based on this, the best candidate for the maker is John Sala, though Tobias Livingston cannot be ruled out. The chest is expected to bring $1,500-$2,500.
A Plains Indian Beaded Pipe Bag and Catlinite Pipe with lazy stitched geometric designs including greasy yellow and white heart red beads. The piece has descended down through the original family. (Estimate: $2,000-$3,000). For our Texas collectors make sure to see the Half Plate Ambrotype Of An Armed Man, American, 1855-1865. The three-quarter length, seated portrait is of a bearded gentleman holding what appears to be a Colt revolver and a bone-handled bowie knife in his lap. This unidentified man is probably a Confederate soldier, and may well be from Texas. This photograph descended in a Texas family that included many railroad workers, as well as Confederate soldiers. Estimate: $1,500-$2,500
Garth’s Country Americana catalog may be viewed online at www.garths.com. Preview hours in the Delaware, Ohio main gallery will be available March 7th through March 15th or by special appointment. For further information or to order a catalog, please contact [email protected] or call 740-362-4771.
