Shenandoah Valley Clock Leads Evans Sale

Walter C. Newman | November 10th, 2012

This Virginia walnut tall-case clock proved to be the high lot of the Evans sale. The circa 1800 clock is a rare signed example from the short-lived partnership of Woodstock, Virginia, clockmakers Jacob Fry and Caleb Davis (working 1796-1800). The hood features a broken-arch pediment with simple turned rosettes and original urn-form finials, plain straight columns with subtly turned ends, an arched tombstone door, and arch-top sidelights. The waist case features a central door in a molded serpentine shape at the top edge. The forward edges of the case display stop-fluted quarter columns. The base displays leading edges that are fluted and chamfered and is raised on turned feet. The clockworks are brass, and the face is painted iron. The artwork on the dial and moon phase dial is exceptionally detailed. The dial is thought to have been painted by Caleb Davis. The 100" tall clock shows minimal repair and replacement, the most obvious being an awkward touchup to the dial. Two telephone bidders wrestled for ownership of this clock, with the winner paying $92,000 (est. $15,000/25,000).

The hooded merganser drake decoy appears to have seen field use. It has wear to all painted surfaces, and it retains its original weight and attachment ring. The head is carved and connected to the body with a dowel. The paint appears to be original with no over- paint. The 7" x 14¼" bird sold to an Internet buyer for $632.50 (est. $200/300).

Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates, Mt. Crawford, Virginia

Photos courtesy Jeffrey S. Evans

Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates held its fall Americana and antiques auction on November 10, 2012, at the firm’s salesrooms in Mt. Crawford, Virginia. The sale offered the wide variety of lots that we have come to expect from Evans and his staff.

The high lot of the sale was a circa 1800 Shenandoah Valley of Virginia tall-case clock. The clockworks were from Fry & Davis of Woodstock, Virginia. The case was most likely from the Frye-Martin shops in Winchester. The rarity of the clock is punctuated by the fact that Fry and Davis worked as partners for only four years, 1796-1800, and as few as a half-dozen of their signed clocks are known to exist. This particular example sold for $92,000 (includes buyer’s premium), more than six times the low end of its presale estimate.

Over the years, it has been crocks, not clocks, that have been the mainstay at the Evans sales. This time was no exception. While there were several individual pieces that stood well out in front, the category as a whole performed very well. Of the 97 pottery lots, only a handful failed to meet estimates, and most lots sold near, or beyond, their upper range.

Along with the examples of pottery noted in the accompanying captioned photographs, there were several additional noteworthy pieces. A squat-form cobalt-decorated Shenandoah Valley stoneware jelly/preserves pot inscribed “Blackbury” [sic] sold for $2300; a J.M. Hickerson decorated stoneware pitcher brought $2415; and a one-gallon Emanuel Suter marked earthenware wide-mouth crock made $747.50.

One category that bears watching includes handwritten accounts, manuscripts, and correspondence. There have always been specialty sales for ephemera, but whenever these sorts of items appear at a general antiques auction, they seem to draw considerable interest from a broad group of collectors. The Evans sale included 15 lots that would generally fit that description, and all performed very well.

Folk art was also a strong category. Among the lots were a 19th-century folk art oil on wooden plank painting of a seated cat that brought $1150; a circa 1820 watercolor and ink portrait of an individual identified as Jacob Hockman, and possibly painted by Woodstock, Virginia, clockmaker Caleb Davis, that brought $7475; and a group of cutout and decorated paper hearts that sold for $373.75.

Furniture continues to be the question mark category. While certain specific pieces do command strong prices, bargains abound among brown case pieces. At this sale, several very nice chests of drawers sold for under $500. An 18th-century diminutive corner cupboard in southern yellow pine brought $1725, and one could choose among several single-drawer stands for less than $200.

For additional information, contact Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates at (540) 434-3939 or visit the Web site (www.jeffrey sevans.com).

This early photograph album contains 30 5¼" x 4" albumen prints showing scenes of the Rawley Springs resort in Rockingham County, Virginia. Rawley Springs was one of eight health resorts in Rockingham County that flourished especially during the fourth quarter of the 19th century. Patrons would frequent the spas to “take the waters” as a remedy for various ailments. This circa 1875 album contains images that are identified by a former owner. Among them is one of former Virginia Governor James L. Kemper. This lot includes a brochure announcing the planned 1885 reopening of the facility. Most of the resort is reported to have been destroyed by fire in 1886. This interesting piece of Rockingham County history sold for $2760 (est. $800/1200).

This cast-iron bird figure is likely to have been painted to resemble a parrot and used as a doorstop. Most of the paint is worn away, but traces of the original green and red remain. The bird dates from the late 19th or early 20th century and measures 7½" high and 3" x 4½" at the base. The heavy cast-iron bird brought a hefty $690 (est. $100/200).

Mary Causby is the maker of this finely woven white oak splint basket, 6½" in overall height with a 6" diameter rim. The Morganton, North Carolina, artisan is listed as a “basket maker” in the records of Burke County during the first quarter of the 20th century. Her baskets display a distinctive twist that finishes the weaving at the handle/rim juncture. The piece is in excellent condition and sold for $1725 (est. $1000/1500).

This handwritten diary was kept by Charles J. Berry, a Confederate soldier. The diary is an on-again, off-again account of Berry’s participation in various Civil War battles between 1864 and the end of the war. The journal contains 38 pages with entries and was written in a partially used diary from 1849. One entry indicates that Berry took part in the Battle of the Wilderness where he was severely wounded. The 5" x 3½" pocket diary is in poor overall condition. This first-hand account of the Civil War sold for $517.50 (est. $200/300).

This paint-decorated doll’s mammy bench rocker from Pennsylvania, 10" high x 15" wide, dates to the second quarter of the 19th century. The bench is thoroughly decorated with stenciled flower and grape images on both the crest rail and the seat, and there is detail striping on all elements of the bench. The seat and the unpainted walnut arms are a deep scroll shape. The legs are joined by flat stretchers, and the rockers are applied. The piece is in good condition, with some restoration and repair. It brought $1495 (est. $500/800).

These cherrywood Chippendale side chairs, circa 1770, from the Tidewater area of eastern Virginia, are constructed of walnut, with yellow pine as secondary wood. Each is 37" in overall height with a 17" seat height. The chairs feature a serpentine crest rail above a complex pierced back splat. The seat rails are finely molded. The chairs are raised on square legs with the side stretchers being outwardly offset to be flush with the outer plane of the legs. The front stretcher is mortised through the outer stretchers. The original yellow pine seat frames are present. The chairs feature a distinctive and unusual construction technique whereby a yellow pine block is inset into the upper interior edge of the seat rail. This block provides added support against “kick out” of the back splat extension. This feature has been observed in other Tidewater Virginia chairs but has not been attributed to a specific cabinet shop. This pair of chairs sold for $16,100 (est. $6000/9000).

The sugar chest or bottle case is inscribed in black paint “C A Butts/ Boston” under the bottom. That would be Boston, Virginia, a crossroads west of the central Virginia town of Culpeper. The chest is constructed of walnut with poplar as its secondary wood. It features a hinged top, with batten ends, and its original iron butt hinges. The interior is divided into three deep compartments. The case is raised on tall, turned legs. The piece measures 30½" x 20" x 18" and is in very good condition. This chest was hotly contested and sold in the room for $4025 (est. $800/1200).

This large (50" x 36") double-sided jeweler’s trade sign, constructed of both cast and sheet iron, dates from the late 19th or early 20th century. The jeweler is not identified, but the sign is reported to be from a shop in Roanoke, Virginia. The outer ring is cast with a decorative winding stem and with embossed and painted lettering “Watches/ Clocks/ Jewelry.” The central face is painted on sheet iron and is bolted to the rim. There is some rust and denting to the central panel. The sign received active bidding and brought $1955 (est. $400/600).

This Virginia walnut food safe, 66½" x 36"x 15½", features a single full-height door set with four large rectangular punched tins. The tins have punched borders and display stars, diamonds, and S-scroll designs within the field. The upper and lower pairs differ slightly in their overall patterns. This food safe is raised on turned feet. It performed well, selling in the room for $7475 (est. $500/800).