Sixth Annual Ohio Valley - Americana Auction at Garth's On May 18, Garth’s Auctions in Delaware, Ohio will host the Sixth Annual Ohio Valley Auction which features an extraordinary combination of all the best Ohio has to offer, alongside Americana and acce
Francis King (1854-1945) descended in the artist until a real estate purchase left them in the hands of the present consignor. The consignor bought a house and its contents from the estate of the artist's granddaughter. The new owners nearly just had a charity come in to clean out the place and take what they wanted, but luckily they looked around and found the King paintings and a family photo album showing several images of the granddaughter and the artist. Of the two still lifes and two landscapes to sell, an oil on canvas still life of peaches and grapes will be the most sought after (estimate $2,500-4,500). Each painting has information verso that was added in 1967..
The pottery offered during the one day event will be just as strong as the fine art. A rare Ohio stoneware churn will definitely be a highlight of the sale. The Summit County, six-gallon vessel dates to 1865-1880. Of typical form, the piece is special as it is adorned with elaborate decoration of a bird on a branch, holding in its beak a banner reading "Akron, Ohio” and under the name "D.S. Alexander.” D.S. Alexander likely refers to David Alexander, a farm implements dealer and the older brother of noted businessman , J. Park Alexander (1834-1908). The younger Alexander engaged in a variety of successful business ventures, however is perhaps best known for the development of a stoneware distribution network. He worked with a number of local potters and maintained warehouses in Akron, Detroit, and Chicago. This churn carries an estimate of $15,000-$20,000 and is illustrated in Treichler, A History of Northeast Ohio Stoneware,p. 55, along with a monumental jug retailed from Alexander’s Detroit warehouse. A candidate for the maker of this churn is William McBurney, a potter who came to the Akron area in the early 1860s. Another churn, signed by McBurney and with a similar bird to the present churn, is illustrated in Treichler, p. 57.
The aforementioned churn is part of a larger collection of stoneware and sewer tile consigned by longtime collectors, Jack and Susan Batdorff. Well-respected and passionate about antiques, the Batdorffs are offering choice pieces from a 40-year collection including a rare marked, Thurston and Clemmer stoneware ovoid jug. From Mogadore, Ohio, the mid 19th century piece has an impressed mark and a large brushed cobalt tulip (estimate $600-900). Five other pieces of stoneware, each with bird motifs with be sold. A water jug with impressed label for "S. Hart, Fulton" (New York) and retailer's mark "J.A. Griffin, Oswego, N.Y." with a brushed cobalt "3" and pair of lovebirds is estimated at $1,000-1,500 and an American jug, ca.1855-1858, with brushed cobalt swan on a foliate nest. Impressed "J. Reiley & Co., Lansingburgh, 2" (New York), the jug has an applied handle and is pictured on pg. 104 of Pottery Works of New York (estimate $ 700-1,000).
The sewer tile from the Batdorffs' collection is even more whimsical than the decoration on the stoneware. Of the 45
