MT. CRAWFORD, VA.- Important historical items including Presidential tablewares; rare Virginia, Shenandoah Valley, and other American furniture and folk art; early American coin silver including many Southern examples; and a fine assemblage of 17th and 18th century English and European Delft are just a few of the highlights for the 31st Semi-Annual Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates Americana and Fine Antiques Auction to be held November 12, 2016. With many fresh-to-the-market consignments from estates and private collections in Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and California, the auction includes a diverse range of material and promises to be a noteworthy event.

Most anticipated among the folk art is an important group of three Shenandoah Valley of Virginia cut-work / scherenschnitte valentines and an embroidered show towel, each created by Sarah Weaver (1839-1918) of Rockingham County in the 1850s. The extremely rare and desirable forms (only four other Shenandoah Valley show towels have been documented), descended directly in the family of the maker, and are certain to generate a great deal of interest from collectors and institutions alike. Numerous other outstanding examples of folk art will be offered in the sale, including fraktur, portraits, hooked rugs, and carousel and carnival objects, the latter group highlighted by a fine carved and painted hollow-body donkey in dry original surface, from the workshop of Gustav Bayol (Angers, France, 1859-1931).

The sale also incorporates a fine assortment of items of American historical interest, ranging in date from the early Federal period through the Civil War. Feature lots in this category include an important wineglass cooler from the Andrew Jackson / Franklin Pierce-pattern White House service, and a rare 1789 George Washington inaugural button in excellent condition, retaining much of its original lustre, with a history of ownership in the Whitney family of Bedminster, New Jersey. Civil war material will also be featured in the auction and includes a group of items descended directly in the family of General William Skeen, CSA of Alleghany County, Virginia, highlighted by an important war-time letter from Robert E. Lee to Virginia Governor John Letcher, inscribed “Headquarters / Richmond, VA / 9 May 1862”, describing the “removal of the telegraphic (sic) lines between Covington and Jackson River”. The auction will also include Native American material from the personal collection of Wallace Gusler, former master gunsmith at Colonial Williamsburg.

Company president Jeffrey S. Evans commented, “We are very excited to bring such an outstanding and strong group of fresh material to the market for this auction of which most will sell unreserved. The American political and historical items are especially exciting to handle and offer collectors a rare opportunity to acquire pieces that seldom come to market.”

The JSE&A Sixth Annual Fall Lecture Series will take place Friday evening before the auction, November 11, 2016, at 6:00 p.m. Ceramics Department Head, Brenda Hornsby Heindl, will present The Political Table: a Conversation on Dining in which she will discuss items in the upcoming sale, including the aforementioned Jackson/Pierce White House wineglasss cooler, the White House china of President Rutherford B. Hayes, plus other objects. This is a free event.