Americana and Country Americana
March 20th, 2020
Cowan’s Auctions, Cincinnati, Ohio
Photos courtesy Cowan’s Auctions
This one wasn’t normal. No sane individual would have expected it to be. When Cowan’s Auctions held a two-day sale of Americana on March 19 and 20 in Cincinnati, Ohio, the doors were locked and the showroom floor was empty. Ohio’s statewide stay-at-home order wouldn’t go into effect until three days after the sale, but Cowan’s wasn’t waiting. Caution and common sense led the auction house to shift to an absentee format, with four online bidding platforms carrying the weight of the activities.
“About ten days before the sale, we recognized that we probably weren’t going to have a live sale. We don’t want to endanger the public and endanger our staff,” said Wes Cowan, vice chair of Hindman LLC, which owns Cowan’s. Appointments were required to preview the auction, allowing the company to limit the number of clients in the building. Online bidding was encouraged.
Cowan said the response was positive. The closed salesroom proved inconsequential. 
Potential buyers took to the Internet. Cowan said about 30% of the active bidders (not just those registered to bid) were new to the auction house, as were 30% of the winning bidders. He credited the company’s social media presence for part of the boost. There was another factor.
“I think it’s also a reflection at that point that people are sitting at home, not going out, looking at their computer. If you’re a collector, you’ve got to collect. You’ve got to buy somewhere. The success we had was a reflection that people are sitting at home. If auction houses can make property available for people to bid live on the Internet, then they will still continue to have a successful auction.”
The merchandise also helped. “The property was all fresh,” Cowan added. “It was estimated reasonably. The first day a lot of furniture passed, but we knew that was going to happen. Overall I would say we were pleased.”
There were some challenges, especially at the upper end. The top four lots of the sale—a folk art portrait, a vintage automobile, and two heavily carved pieces of Victorian furniture—were initially passed but sold after the auction.
Leading all sales was a full-length portrait of a boy, Jonathan Southwick, holding a hoop toy. Oil on canvas, circa 1835, and measuring 39¾" x 295/8", the folk painting realized $18,750 (including buyer’s premium) against an estimate of $25,000/35,000. The catalog noted an intriguing detail. The boy, in a red outfit having white lace trim, stood next to a window showing a view of multi-story buildings along a street. In that background was the same child rolling the hoop.
Portrait of Jonathan Southwick holding a hoop toy, oil on canvas, circa 1835, 39¾" x 295/8", period gilt frame, conserved in the late 1980s, $18,750 (est. $25,000/35,000).
Several early automobiles were offered, including a 1938 Chrysler Royal sedan used in the film Lost in Yonkers. In good condition and with new paint, it sold for $11,250 (est. $20,000/30,000).
The best of the furniture included a Victorian hall tree by Mitchell and Rammelsberg of Cincinnati, circa 1860, in walnut with an arched mirror over a marble shelf with two openings for umbrellas. Carved with oak branches, leaves, acorns, and a stag head, the hall tree stood 8'11" x 53¼" and sold for $10,000 (est. $7000/9000). A Victorian hunt board by Alexander Roux of New York, 19th century, walnut, carved with hanging fruit, fish, game, and a stag head flanked by dog heads, 8' high x 6' wide, also brought $10,000 (est. $10,000/15,000).
Victorian hunt board by Alexander Roux of New York, 19th century, walnut, carved fruit, fish, and game, the top with a stag head flanked by dog heads, 8' high x 6' wide, areas of minor loss to the carvings, overall surface wear, $10,000 (est. $10,000/15,000).
Victorian hall tree by Mitchell and Rammelsberg of Cincinnati, Ohio, circa 1860, walnut with an arched mirror over a marble shelf having two openings for umbrellas, carved oak branches with leaves and acorns, a stag head at the top, 8'11" x 53¼", $10,000 (est. $7000/9000).
Although Americana was the dominant theme, with furniture, decorative art, and folk art among the lots during the first day and country Americana highlighting the second day, the overall mix was varied, ranging from Regina music boxes to Asian rugs, and from trade signs to boot scrapers.
There were some surprises scattered throughout the two days, such as a Rhode Island pictorial sampler, with an alphabet, verse, figures, animals, and trees, all on a black ground, selling for $6875 (est. $1000/2000).
Pictorial needlework sampler, Bristol, Rhode Island school, 19th century, black ground with alphabet, verse, figures, animals, and trees, 19" x 15½", two small holes along the center crease, $6875 (est. $1000/2000).
However, with most prices hovering near normal, the key story of the auction might not have been what happened, but rather what’s likely to come next as the current COVID-19 pandemic and the possibility of future threats continue to affect the market.
Among the immediate issues is access to auction material, beginning with items in storage. “The auction houses playing at our level, everybody has property in their warehouses. Whether they can get in to process that material is the question,” said Cowan.
Finding new consignments is another concern, especially as much of the country faces stay-at-home orders. “If we can’t go on house calls and visit people who want to consign property, at some point the rubber will hit the road, and there will be a slowdown in our industry. Hopefully we can get through this in the next couple of months,” said Cowan. “The question is whether we can just weather the storm. I have to be optimistic that we can.”
Even so, some changes are a possibility, Cowan added. “I do wonder whether this will turn out to be a watershed for our industry that results in a tipping point where so many people are used to bidding live online that we see that become the dominant way people bid, at least at middle-market auctions like Skinner, Cowan’s, Brunk, and Rago. I’m not talking about onsite auctions that take place in Loogootee, Indiana.”
Cowan also envisioned a shuffling of the auction calendar. “If we get through this, we’ll see the traditional auction season shift and have more auctions in the summer, July and August.”
Such changes remain to be seen. However, current adjustments, such as the closing of showrooms and the move to online bidding, indicate a resiliency within the industry. Cowan’s most recent Americana sale clearly demonstrated that point. It wasn’t normal, but it worked.
For more information, phone Cowan’s at (513) 871-1670 or visit (www.cowans.com).
“The State of Ohio” needlework, metallic thread and silk, 19th century, 20" x 29¼", $2000 (est. $1500/2500).
“Flying horse” game board, 19th century, black horses, red and yellow elements, blue ground, 24¼" x 18", $2688 (est. $2000/3000).
Scrimshaw whale’s tooth having a design of people and a dog, inscribed “Bark Kathleen” (a whaling ship) and “My fingers Are Cold,” mid-19th century, 51/8" high, a 1" split from the bottom, $3125 (est. $1500/2500). The Kathleen was sunk by a sperm whale in 1902.
Carl Worner whimsy, two patrons and a bartender under a sign reading “Bock, Zimmerman / Saloon,” one wooden block marked “Made 1917 That’s All,” 117/8" high, $2000 (est. $600/800).
Toleware candle sconce, likely Berlin, Connecticut, 1800-50, initialed, 9¾" high, $1625 (est. $800/1200).
Fishmonger’s trade sign, heavy-gauge copper with forged brass fins and hanger rings, leaded seams, coastal New England, mid-19th century, 14" high x 42" long, remnants of paint and verdigris, several repaired bullet holes, minor seam perforation, $4688 (est. $4000/6000).
Optician’s trade sign, metal frames with reverse-painted and foil-decorated lenses, early 20th century, blue eyes on one side, green eyes on the other, 9" high x 23" wide, some reglazing and touchup, $2304 (est. $1500/1800).
Chest of drawers in tiger maple, Midwest, circa 1810, carved details and inlay, 46½" x 39½", some inlay popping, $4063 (est. $6000/8000).
Koken hanging barber pole, leaded glass and porcelain, St. Louis, early 20th century, 34" high, a few glass panels with old cracks, $2000 (est. $1000/1500).
Stepback cupboard in pine with punched-tin lower panels, original red paint, 19th century, 84¼" x 47¾", repair to rear left foot, $3625 (est. $800/1200).
Bald eagle hooked rug, last quarter of the 19th century, 2'9" x 5'4", $1125 (est. $800/1200).
Cow weathervane in copper and cast zinc with parcel gilt, likely made by L.W. Cushing & Sons of Waltham, Massachusetts, second half of the 19th century, 28¾" long, $7500 (est. $8000/10,000).
Regina Corona floor-model 27" disc changer music cabinet, New Jersey, circa 1900, oak case with glass doors, “Regina Corona” lettered on the bottom pane of glass, 73" x 40", $9375 (est. $6000/8000).
Regina upright 15½" disc music player, New Jersey, late 19th century, the two doors with decorated panels showing flowers and Classical scenes, an interior disc holder also decorated with a Classical scene and lettered “Regina” over a musical staff, 51¾" x 23", sold with 29 discs, $9375 (est. $5000/7000).
Painted paper silhouette of a dog, 19th century, églomisé border, 7" x 5½", framed, some foxing, $1000 (est. $100/200).
Six cobalt glass vessels (four bottles, a carafe with a stopper, and a lidded jar), 19th and 20th century, largest 8¼" high, three bottles with inclusions, one bottle with a rough mouth, one bottle with a chipped stopper, $5938 (est. $200/400).
Cobalt-decorated five-gallon crock stenciled for G.A. McCarthey & Bro., Maysville, Kentucky, 19th century, 15½" high, chips to handles and rim, firing cracks, surface imperfections, cobalt loss, $1125 (est. $800/1200).
Vindex cast-iron John Deere hay loader, 6½" high x 8" wide, touchups to red paint, one wheel mismatched, one metal band missing from the top, $2250 (est. $1000/2000).
Rock-Ola model 1428 Magic Glo jukebox, circa 1948, 60" x 32" x 26", $2944 (est. $2000/4000).
Dodge Brothers touring car, 1919, retractable top, restorations, minor paint flakes and loss, very good interior, sold with various extra parts, last driven in November 2019, $8125 (est. $8000/12,000).
Chrysler Royal 1938 sedan used in the film Lost in Yonkers, overall good condition, new paint, restorations, $11,250 (est. $20,000/30,000).
Originally published in the June 2020 issue of Maine Antique Digest. © 2020 Maine Antique Digest
