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FRIDAY NOVEMBER 10, 2023 • VOL. 53, NO. 45
J.P. Beck Long Rifle Achieves $33,000 Two-Day Catalog Sale At Horst Included Two Rare Lititz Moravian Embroideries
A J.P. Beck long rifle sold for $33,000 to a buyer in Oklahoma.
By Karl Pass J.P. Beck (John Philip Beck) is widely considered among the finest early American gunmakers. His name is mentioned when discussing the Golden Era of the American long rifle, and his rifles today are viewed as much as a work of fine art as they are a weapon. Born in 1752, he died in 1811 in Lebanon Township, Dauphin County, Pa. One of his flintlocks, relief carved curly maple stock; normal wear, mechanically; lock working, trigger not; a fine example, yet not “exemplary” as one sale goer put it, sold to an out-of-state absentee bidder for $33,000 at Horst Auction Center on Oct. 21. “I think it could have brought double if the barrel was in better condition,” mentioned another person in the salesroom. The marketplace for J.P. Beck rifles is healthy thanks to the craftsmanship and top tier name recognition/desirability. His long guns have sold for over $100,000. The 918-lot multi-consignor sale at Horst in Ephrata, Pa., was held Oct. 20 and 21. The total gross was $351,170. Horst does not charge a buyer’s premium for in-house
bidders. Online buyer’s premium is 14 percent, reduced to 10 percent for cash or check. An absentee bid is charged 10 percent. Another highlight was a scrimshaw decorated powder horn, ca. Revolutionary War, map type decoration, with scenes along the Hudson River reading “John Fitzpatrick,” which sold for $13,750 to an online bidder. A Compass Artist small paint decorated dome-top box, blue ground, some restoration, sold for $8,200. It previously sold for $19,250 at Conestoga Auction Co., in 1999. I think the difference speaks to there being a smaller pool of currently active buyers for certain specialized categories and current buyers being less accepting of restoration. Another paint-decorated early wooden box, a slide-lid with tulip decoration and dot stippling, possibly Southeastern Pennsylvania in origin, realized $6,400. Ten lots came from the late Don and Trish Herr. The two Lancaster, Pa., veterinarians, antique dealers, authors, scholars, and collectors were well-known in the area. Among those lots was a large mounted cross stitch wool rug, 50by-40 inches, with names Leah Gingrich and Kate Lingle, very colorful star, floral and bird decoration on dark ground, probably Mennonite origin and through research likely from the Elizabethtown area near the Lancaster and Dauphin County border, late 19th century, which sold for $4,900 to a local private buyer. The Herrs bought it for $5,175 at Christie’s sale on behalf of Richard Continued on page 2
Wharton Esherick Museum’s 30th Annual Juried Woodworking Exhibition Theme Is “Rhythms” Deadline For Entries Set For Jan. 5 Often defined as a strong, regular, repeated pattern of movement or sound, rhythm is a significant theme in Wharton Esherick’s life and career in numerous guises. “Rhythms” and “Rhythms II” are tall, flowing abstract forms that Esherick made from cottonwood in the 1960s which have the word as their title. Four decades prior in the print “Rhythms, Opening” (1923), Esherick composed a tangle of figures in ecstatic motion, building the energy of the image through strong contrast and abstracted form. This print was used as the cover illustration for a brochure for the “Ruth Doing Camp for Continued on page 10
Final Installation At Frick Madison Reunites Two Masterpieces By Giorgione And Giovanni Bellini After Centuries Apart Paintings Once Hung Together Over 400 Years Ago This fall and winter, visitors to Frick Madison, the temporary home of The Frick Collection, will have an unprecedented opportunity to view two Renaissance masterpieces reunited for the first time in more than 400 years. Continued on page 10
In This Issue
A Mennonite Community “Around the World” pattern quilt from the first half of the 20th century sold for $425.
This large mounted Pennsylvania German cross stitch wool rug, 50-by40 inches, with names Leah Gingrich and Kate Lingle, vibrant colorful star, floral and bird decoration on dark ground, very likely Mennonite origin, late 19th century, sold for $4,900. Read the story for more.
SHOPS, SHOWS & MARKETS . . . . . . . . . starting on page 3 SHOPS DIRECTORY . . . . . . . . . on page 5 EVENT & AUCTION CALENDAR . on page 6 AUCTION SALE BILLS . . starting on page 7 AUCTIONEER DIRECTORY . . . . on page 7
FEATURE AUCTION: Hake’s Pop Culture Auction - November 14 & 15 - Page 5
CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . . . . . . . .on page 10