Three day Americana auction extravaganza set for October

DOWNINGTOWN, Pa. — Pook & Pook, Inc. is offering three Americana auction events on October 7th, 8th, and 10th. The three-day event begins with a single-owner auction of the Estate of Louis and Shirley Hecht of Maryland on Friday. The series concludes with a Bidsquare.com exclusive sale of the contents of Barbara Hood’s Country Store on Monday.

The majority of prominent collectors Louis and Shirley Hecht’s estate is slated for auction on October 7th in lots 1-216. The couple met at a barn dance in 1938 and married after Louis served in World War II. They were married for 67 years and during that time opened an antiques store in Pikesville, Maryland and were both actively involved in various decorative arts communities. Louis founded Louis G. Hecht Associates Ltd., an appraisal services firm specializing in American and Continental decorative arts, which continued to operate until just before his death in 2014. He was also involved in the Maryland Historical Society, the Jewish Historical Society of Maryland, Inc., and the American Ceramics Circle, among others.

Shirley was also an antiques enthusiast with a passion for the visual arts. She was a founding member of the Art Seminar Group and was actively involved with the American Wing at the Baltimore Museum of Art. The entirety of the Hecht Americana collection will be up for auction at Pook & Pook, Inc. this fall, including several strong ceramic, folk and fine art examples. October 7th’s auction concludes with an impressive assortment of fine art, with highlights by Daniel Ridgeway Knight, Hobson Pittman, Frank English, Elmer Wachtel, and Francis Devlan.

Pook & Pook, Inc.’s October 8th Americana auction begins with the Collection of Dianne Goldman, a grouping of American decorative arts with strengths in folk art and painted furniture. Other highlights include a rare American boneshaker bicycle by Wood Brothers Co. of New York and a Snap Wyatt seven-part oil on canvas circus banner from the Clarke Bros. miniature circus depicting six performers. The Collection of Frank and Sue Watkins follows the Goldman items and consists largely of fine examples of pewter tableware, folk art, and furniture.

As Saturday’s sale opens up to a variety of consignors, bidders will get the chance to purchase an important New York William & Mary walnut tea table, a seminal Lancaster County painted poplar dower chest with three arched panels and potted tulip decoration, a Pennsylvania redware pie plate attributed to the Diehl Pottery with rare tulip decoration, and many other epitomes of fine American craftsmanship. Also of note is a copy of Birch’s Views, formally titled The City of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania North America; as it appeared in the Year 1800. The last public sale of a copy of this rare publication was at Pook & Pook, Inc. in 2011. Other October 8th highlights include a uniquely impressed New England cobalt-decorated stoneware jug and three outstanding early brass candlesticks from a St. Louis, Missouri collection. A selection of European candlesticks, 15th and 16th century, was previously offered at Christie’s in 1998.

The excitement carries into Monday, October 10th. An online only sale of the contents of Barbara Hood’s Country Store will be presented. The store, located behind the Hood's home, was open several decades and featured thorough decoration and enticing displays. After the country store, Pook & Pook, Inc. offers a large collection of Gaudy Welsh tableware, as well as a variety of other accessibly-priced decorative items and interesting Americana. Additional highlights include groups of toys and advertising materials, Christmas collectibles, and folk art.

For more information about any of the three auctions, visit www.pookandpook.com or Bidsquare.com, email atinfo@pookandpook.com or call 610-269-4040.