Hess Auction Group, Manheim, Pennsylvania
Photos courtesy Hess Auction Group
Hess Auction Group in Manheim, Pennsylvania, known for its sales of real estate and farm and commercial equipment, continued the long tradition of sales of antiques at 768 Graystone Road in Manheim when it acquired Conestoga Auction Company in 2014. Conestoga’s former owner Jeff DeHart, who cataloged sales for Conestoga, travels from Florida to Manheim to catalog Hess’s quarterly sales of sales of antiques and Americana and the occasional single-owner estate sale.
Extremely rare circa 1865 Cowden & Wilcox three-gallon crock, 8¾" high, with decoration of a proud prancing cobalt eight-point buck, stamped “Cowden & Wilcox / Harrisburg, PA,” a bulbous form with a flattened rim, tooled shoulder, and lug handles, with one upper rim chip, sold for $64,800 (est. $15,000/25,000) to Greg Kramer, underbid by a Lancaster collector.
The summer antiques and Americana sale held August 30 featured the collection of Michael E. Ford (1948-2024) with some additions from other consignors. “Mike was a quiet collector. I really had to watch for his bids,” said DeHart after the sale. Ford was a scholarly chemist with a Ph.D. who held 44 U.S. patents. After working for much of his career at Air Products in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania, he was a research associate and mentor in the chemical engineering department at Lehigh University. He was known in the trade as stickler for perfection, and his collection was in very good condition. “It was the cleanest,” said Robesonia, Pennsylvania, dealer Greg Kramer, a major buyer at the sale.
Kramer had competition; at the peak of the sale there were about 60 bidders in the salesroom battling active bidders on the phone and online. DeHart said about 1000 online bidders had logged on to LiveAuctioneers and HiBid.
Mike Ford’s main focus was ceramics: stoneware, spatterware, and Leeds. The top lot in the sale, however, came from another consignor. It was a rare Cowden & Wilcox prancing deer crock that sold for $64,800 (including buyer’s premium) to Greg Kramer, underbid by a private Lancaster collector. DeHart said he knew of another Cowden and Wilcox crock with a deer with straight legs, not a prancing deer, and in repaired condition that had sold at Crocker Farm about seven or eight years ago for $13,800, and he knew this one was better. “That’s how I came up with the $15,000 to $25,000 estimate,” he said.
Yellow spatter thistle pattern covered footed sugar bowl, 8" high, a paneled form with open handles and double-sided decoration of a red flower and green leaves, sold for $7200 (est. $5000/8000).
The rare yellow and blue rainbow spatter tulip pattern waste bowl with a red and blue flower with green leaves, 3½" high x 6½" diameter, in very good condition, sold for $6000 (est. $3000/5000).
The rare green and black rainbow spatter thistle pattern cup and 61/8" diameter saucer, each with a red thistle with green leaves, sold for $3840 (est. $1000/2000).
Leeds soft-paste china four-color cup plate, 3 7/8" diameter, with a scalloped edge and an embossed foliate and fish-scale border, impressed “Adams,” from the Eugene and Vera Charles collection, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, sold for $540 (est. $200/400).
Although prices for spatterware are down from their highs, prices for rarities were strong. Nothing came close to the $37,400 paid for a purple, red, and green spatter plate sold at Conestoga November 17, 2007, or the $39,780 paid for a five-color rainbow spatter platter at Pook & Pook in April 2009. But at Hess in August a yellow spatter thistle pattern covered sugar bowl with open handles, with double-sided decoration of a red flower and green leaves, 8" high, in very good condition, sold for $7200 (est. $5000/8000). A rare yellow and blue rainbow spatter tulip pattern waste bowl with a red and blue flower with green leaves, 6½" diameter, in very good condition, sold for $6000 (est. $3000/5000). A rare green and black rainbow spatter thistle pattern cup and saucer with a red thistle and green leaves went for $3840 (est. $1000/2000).
Leeds in mint condition brought modest prices. A 3 7/8" diameter cup plate with four-color free-brushed decoration of blue and yellow flowers, impressed “Adams” and with provenance of dealers Eugene (d. 2021) and Vera (d. 2017) Charles, sold for $540, but many of the pieces of free-brushed Leeds ware sold in the $150 to $300 range.
Benjamin Witman walnut tall-case clock, 97" high, Reading, Pennsylvania, circa 1795, with a shell-carved raised turtle panel flanked by fluted quarter columns, on ogee bracket feet with spurs, with an eight-day movement, a moon phase dial having a courting scene and a spread-wing eagle and shield, floral and foliate painted spandrels on the dial, Roman numerals with a sweep second hand, and a date dial. Marked on back of the dial “Made in Reading 1795,” it sold for $9600 (est. $8000/12,000). It is in very fine condition, with minor wear and small age cracks on the base panel. The clock is pictured as #29 in Berks County Tall-Case Clocks 1750 to 1850 by Richard S. and Rosemarie B. Machmer.
A well-preserved Benjamin Witman walnut tall-case clock, 97" high, made in Reading, Pennsylvania, circa 1795, was not overlooked. It sold for $9600 (est. $8000/12,000). It has an eight-day movement, a moon phase dial with a courting scene and a spread-wing eagle, Roman numerals, a sweep second hand, a date dial, and a shell-carved raised turtle panel flanked by quarter columns. The clock is marked on back of the dial “Made in Reading 1795,” and it is pictured as #29 in the 1995 book Berks County Tall-Case Clocks 1750 to 1850 by Richard S. and Rosemarie B. Machmer.
The rest of the furniture was sold at bargain prices. The remainder of the Mike Ford collection will be offered at Hess November 16 along with pottery, fraktur, and textiles from the collections of Eugene and Vera Charles and other works from the estate of Harrisburg attorney Jan Paden. For a priced catalog for the end of summer auction, visit the website (www.hessauctiongroup.com).
Cowden & Wilcox one-and-a-half-gallon stoneware milk bowl with cobalt foliate burst decoration, 6" high x 11 3/8" diameter, sold for $2640 (est. $200/400).
Pennsylvania 19th-century painted footstool, 8¼" x 12¾" x 8¾", the underside of the seat carved “H. W. Ziders / Chairmaker / Mifflin PA / July 19—1869.” It has a grain-painted ground with bold fruit, foliate, and scroll decoration, shows minor wear from use, and sold for $570 (est. $100/200).
Five-color rainbow spatter pitcher with a red spatter foliate scroll handle, 6½" high, sold for $3240 (est. $1000/1500).
Rare Leeds soft-paste china cup and 55/8" diameter saucer with decoration of a pineapple in a vase, with minor glaze wear on the base rims, sold for $480 (est. $200/400).
Set of six Pennsylvania 19th-century plank-seat side chairs with their original green ground with fruit, floral, and foliate paint decoration. The seats are 17" high, and the chairs are 32½" high overall. In very good condition with minor wear, the chairs sold for $840 (est. $200/400).
Ben Austrian (1870-1921), oil on canvas landscape painting, 48" x 36" (sight size), depicting an ethereal summer landscape with a view into an open vista in the background. The painting is signed lower right “Ben Austrian 1919” and signed and titled on the reverse “A Glimpse into Another World.” It is pictured in the biography Ben Austrian, Artist (1997) by Geoffrey D. Austrian. Ex-Lester Breininger, in very good condition with one small patch, and in a later frame, the painting sold for $2160 (est. $3000/5000).
Rare A. J. Buttler three-gallon stoneware jug, 15" high, stamped “A. J. Buttler, / Manufacturer / New-Brunswick, N.J.,” decorated with a cobalt standing deer, sold for $3960 (est. $800/1200).
Pennsylvania country Sheraton painted footstool, 8¼" x 13¼" x 9", in the original green paint with floral decoration, with a scrolled top with turned, splayed legs and with wear from use, sold for $300 (est. $100/200).
This 1841 Berks County, Pennsylvania, four-color, two-part woven jacquard coverlet, with “Daniel / Bordner / Millers / burg.Berks / County / 1841” in the corner blocks, sold for $1320 (est. $200/400). The coverlet measures 84" x 96" not including the fringe.
Punch-decorated wrought-iron dough scraper, 4½" long, initialed and dated “M F 1835,” with a pierced stylized heart design, showing wear from use, sold for $1800 (est. $400/600).
Pennsylvania 19th-century softwood blind-door cupboard, 70" x 42" x 20", with a molded cornice, six-paneled single door, chamfered corners, interior shelves, and arched cutout feet, in a later painted finish, sold for $720 (est. $200/400).
Pennsylvania 19th-century red-painted softwood hanging cupboard, 27" x 22" x 13½", sold for $240 (est. $100/200).
Iron fencing with a gate, 69 linear feet in total length, the gate 43" high, with scattered rust and pitting, sold for $2160 (est. $500/800).
Purple and black rainbow spatter tulip pattern cup and 5¾" diameter saucer with red sprigs and green foliage, with provenance from dealers Eugene and Vera Charles, sold for $2160 (est. $800/1200).
Originally published in the November 2024 issue of Maine Antique Digest. © 2024 Maine Antique Digest