Handcrafted Americana Brings The Charm
Charming handmade items are featured in this week’s expertly curated Americana auction. From tramp art boxes to collectible bird decoys, wooden frames to vintage gameboards, there are treasures galore found in this collection filled with unique origins and histories.
Following the motto “Waste Not, Want Not,” home crafters once made hooked rugs from rags and fabric remnants, useful items which have since become valued as folk art. A fine example that depicts a trotting horse will pace this auction. In excellent condition, the rug has been professionally cleaned and mounted for hanging.
Hooked rug, 1920s, professionally cleaned and mounted for hanging, 22 x 40 in. Estimate: $800-$900. Jasper52 image
Another hooked rug in the auction has a nautical theme and pictures a tall ship under a full sail. Also cleaned and mounted for hanging, it has a $400-$500 estimate.
Immigrants to America practiced their carving skills on cigar boxes and other discarded wood in what is commonly called Tramp Art. A fine example is a rather large and elaborately chipped-carved clock case, which is dated 1919 in large numerals across the crest. The inner compartment is accessed through a door on the front.
Tramp art clock case, chip carved, embellished with hearts, a horseshoe and inset rounds, dated 1919, 15 x 17.5 x 6.5 in. Estimate: $300-$400. Jasper52 image
Another 20th-century carving features an American eagle, its wings spread, and grasping an arrow. The carved pine plaque is ready to be hung above a mantel.
American eagle carving, 20th century, pine, approximately 23 x 8 in. Estimate: $150-200. Jasper52 image
While not necessarily carved by Americans, stone fruit is an attractive handmade collectible. Lifelike and nearly life-size pieces of fruit were carved from stone and carefully painted, mostly by Italian artisans. Nine pieces of 1930s stone fruit in the auction are certain to be hotly contested.
Collection of vintage stone fruit, carved stone, 1930s. Estimate: $200-$300. Jasper52 image
As hard as stone is a sewer tile that is nearly a foot tall. Novelties and ornamental items like it were sometimes made in potteries where the primary products were sewer tile and pipe.
Sewer tile dog, Ohio origin, 1920s, 11 1/2 x 7 x 5 in. Estimate: $700-$800. Jasper52 image
Collectible advertising in the auction includes a wooden three-dimensional sign listing a variety of Heinz Soups, which was originally a fixture in a 1950s luncheonette.
Heinz Soups café sign, wood, 1950s, 27 x 13 in. Estimate: $300-$400. Jasper52 image
View the full collection of Americana and take a trip down memory lane here.
