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
lots to be sold, many pieces carry the ultimate provenance having once been a part of the Jack E. Adamson collection. Adamson wrote the quintessential book, Illustrated Handbook of Ohio Sewer Pipe Folk Art in 1973. Pieces of note include a 5” high bank in the form of a child's head ($300-500), a figure of a boy in baseball uniform seated atop a baseball which, while unsigned is by Robert Wilson, Tuscarawas County and was purchased from Robert Wilson's son ($150-300), and a crow seated on stump incised "EJE", a molder from Tuscarawas County, possibly Edward J. Ellwood ($1,000-1,500). According to Jack Adamson, Ellwood, prior to his passing, told the author that this is one of only six crows that he made. Other sewer tile figures of animals to sell will include dogs, lions, an owl, eagles, a frog, and a wonderful ground hog.
Fine furniture is a constant in any Garth’s sale. A Classical desk and bookcase from Cincinnati should catch the eye of many a bidder. The 1815-1825, mahogany and poplar piece has a peaked pediment and fully turned columns, over a lower section with a long drawer with writing surface, flanked by carved flowers, all resting on boldly turned legs. This desk-and-bookcase is part of a growing group of classical furniture from the same unidentified Cincinnati shop. The most striking characteristic of this group are the boldly turned legs that often include robust spiral turning and ball feet (estimate $3,500-$4,500). A fine diminutive cupboard from Zoar, Ohio is visually quite stunning. A pair of solid crotch walnut doors are flanked by split columns with a drawer above and below, all resting on blocked feet (estimate $1,500-3,000). At just 38.5"high, it is clearly related to the full-sized, blocked-foot cupboards made in the Zoar cabinetshop, but the present cupboard is distinguished by its unusually high level of refinement and small size. Interestingly, according to Zoar descendant and historian Hilda Morhart, this cupboard was originally gifted by the Society to a young girl named Peterman for her kindness to an elderly woman upon her passing.
From the refined to the sublime, several pieces of painted furniture in the sale will arouse the viewer with vibrant surfaces. An American pine and poplar server in the late classical style with two short drawers over one long drawer over two cupboard doors, all flanked by split columns, and resting on block feet, retains its vibrant, original red over yellow vinegar paint decoration. Minor imperfections should not affect the sale given the reasonable estimate of $3,000-6,000. The server, as well as a New England New mule chest with its original paint decoration ($1,000-1,500) and a decorated two-piece corner cupboard with two 6-pane doors, shaped shelves, and its original, stylized faux mahogany-grain paint ($4,000-8,000), are all from the collection of Paul Jacques Gordon, Jr. of Iowa.
Other items of note will range from firearms to samplers to lithographs. A Griswold and Gunnison .36 caliber revolver has a six-shot cylinder, 7.5" round barrel with octagonal lug,
