ANTIQUES NEWS, P.O.BOX 500 MOUNT JOY, 17552 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
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VOL. 44, NO. 19 FRIDAY MAY 10, 2013
Published Weekly By Joel Sater Publications www.antiquesandauctionnews.net
A Soap Hollow Showcase Shultz’s Biennial Sale of Americana Held in Blair County, Pennsylvania By Karl Pass tery, guns, jewelry and painted furLongtime auctioneer and cattle niture. He buys a lot privately and farmer Wayne Shultz held his 19th does not miss any noteworthy aucbiennial sale of country Americana tion or antique show. April 27th in the small town of Martinsburg in rural Blair County, Pennsylvania. In years past he used the Duncansville Community Center, also located in Blair County. Here is a Soap Hollow paint-decorated one-drawer sewing stand dated “1873,” which sold for $5,750. It had two minor repairs.
This was the second sale Shultz has held in the Memorial Park Sports Complex Building. The standing-room-only crowd held its energy throughout, signaling an ever-evolving and slightly stronger market. “This was one of the nicest crowds I’ve worked with. I had a lot of positive comments and quite a few new faces. They really appreciated the offerings,” said Shultz following the sale. Shultz gathers his own material for his sales throughout the central Pennsylvania region, buying local country primitives such as hooked rugs, quilts, coverlets, baskets, wooden bowls, toys, ironware, pot-
After two years of accumulating, he schedules a sale and serves as the auctioneer. His auction rules are basic and a critical part of his formula: there are no consignments, reserves, buyer’s premiums, or
This “JS” Soap Hollow blanket chest sold for $2,000.
absentee, telephone or online bidding. It is what most people want in a sale, and both dealers and collectors came in droves, filling the building to capacity. Highlights in the painted country furniture category included bucket benches, dry sinks, corner cupboards, single-drawer stands, and blanket chests. An unusual and dated 1873 Soap Hollow sewing stand with painted floral decoration, bracket feet, a drawer and spool holders sold for $5,750. Another sewing stand with one drawer and gilded floral stenciled decoration from Somerset County, Pa., also sold for $5,750. The buyer was a local private collector. Both stands were found in Somerset County. The dated example was certainly from the Soap Hollow school of cabinetmakers. Also in the sale was a Soap Hollow midsize blanket chest decorated with initials “JS” and a large stenciled basket in the center holding two watermelons. It sold for $2,000. Soap Hollow furniture was produced from roughly 1830 to 1890 in Somerset County, Pa. The name was reportedly coined from the brown soft soap produced throughout the region, which lies in a hollow. This western Pennsylvania enclave of Mennonite cabinetmakers worked predominately north of Davidsville in Conemaugh Township. Collectors and dealers alike highly value Soap Hollow material as folk art in today’s marketplace. The primary forms were the lift-top blanket chest and the chest of drawers, although sewing boxes/stands, cradles, rope beds, Dutch cupboards, hanging cupboards and a tall-case clock were also produced by these unique regional craftsmen. Eight cabinetmakers are associated with the Soap Hollow School
of cottage craftsmen, most prominently John Sala, Christian Blauch, Peter Thomas and Jeremiah Stahl. All produced furniture of similar design, construction and decoration. This western Pennsylvania paint-decorated onedrawer sewing stand was found in Somerset County and had gilded floral decoration. It sold to private collectors for $5,750.
The majority was paint-decorated and incorporated cutpaper stencil decoration. Dark red or maroon with black moldings and feet was a popular color combination. Some later
This western Pennsylvania one-drawer stand with stenciled date “1856” and old washed surface sold for $1,000.
pieces were grain-decorated and had floral decals as embellishment. The stencil decoration was often done in gilt and included floral and geometric design work. More unusual stencil images are spreadwing eagles, pairs of facing horses, compotes, stars, hearts and lyres.
Many Soap Hollow chests possess the owner’s initials on the front left and the date on the right. Alternately, this information was often placed on the sides of chest of drawers. This unique body of work expresses a material culture rooted in both Germanic and Neoclassical traditions. Shultz is known for assembling fine Pennsylvania quilts at his sales. This one was no exception. There were 28 pieced and appliquéd quilts dating from 1850 to 1945. Most were in original unlaundered condition. A fine circa 1900 Bedford County, Pa., appliquéd quilt with twenty birds and four large potted floral plants was the highest priced one, selling for $3,400. It was made by Lizzie Vickroy McClellan. Most of the quilts sold in the $1,000 to $3,000 range. “The categories I felt did well were quilts, stoneware and the gold and silver coins. The toys brought good but average prices. There were some bargains to be had in some of the art pottery, cut glass and music boxes,” stated Shultz. About two dozen pieces of stoneware were in the sale. Much of it was local to the central Pennsylvania region. A four-gallon water cooler decorated with three cobalt flowers made by Thomas & Bro. of Huntingdon brought $3,750, while a miniature unsigned jug approximately 2 1/2” high with (Continued on page 7)
Virginia Decorative Arts Seminar To Focus On Punched-Tin Paneled Furniture Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates Inc. of Mount Crawford, Va., is conducting its third annual Virginia Decorative Arts Seminar on Saturday, June 15, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The all-day event will
Valley Lane in Mount Crawford. The deadline to register is Friday, June 7. The exciting, one-day colloquium will feature three expert guest speakers, who will present
be focused on the regional Virginia furniture form known as a “safe,” informally known as a pie safe, and the event will be held at the Jeffrey S. Evans (JSE) & Associates auction gallery, located at 2177 Green
lectures related to this year’s topic, “A Safe Place: Punchedtin Paneled Furniture of the Valley of Virginia.” Speakers include Jeffrey S. Evans, president of Jeffrey S.
Evans & Associates Inc.; J. Roderick “Roddy” Moore, director of the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum at Ferrum College; and Kurt C. Russ, independent scholar and former director of Washington and Lee University’s Anthropology Laboratory. The event will be preceded by an informal tailgate sale in the JSE & Associates parking lot, beginning at
8:30 a.m. The tailgate sale will only be available to attendees of the seminar; participants in the tailgate sale should bring their own tables. The cost per person for the seminar is $75.00 (with lunch) or $65.00 (without lunch). Visit the Education>Classes/ Seminars page at www.jeffrey
sevans.com for links to the printable registration form, speaker bios, a program schedule, and directions, as well as information about last year’s seminar. For information and/or to arrange registration for the seminar, call 540434-3939 and press 0 for the office, or email info@jeffreysevans.com.