So that Edward Hicks Penn's Treaty, the cover lot, did not sell. I've never been a fan of when a sale is considered to be a great success when actually the sale is a disaster but one thing breaks out. On the flipside, I don't think the cover lot passing makes a sale much less successful when the rest of the story is as positive as this one was.
Here are the numbers: 9% unsold; 6% sold below estimate; 21% sold within estimate; 64% sold above estimate. SIXTY-FOUR PERCENT! And this was not the most untouched stuff in the world. I'm not saying it was rough by any stretch, but it was not collected for condition. There were still bargains.
After the Schorsch sale last January, I think this was a great step forward for the Pennsylvania hardwood market. At that sale a lot of things that had been bought recently sold for nickels and dimes on the dollar. Sometimes provenance is great to have and makes a sale easier, but in the case of this sale I think it was helpful that the things had been off the market long enough that they weren't fresh in everyone's mind. I'll leave you with one of the stars from this year's Americana Week, and the top lot from the Peggy du Pont Smith sale.