Collector Auction, December 31, 2022
Open House. Friday, December 30th. 3 PM to 5 PM.
Doors open 8 AM, Saturday, December 31st. Auction starts at 9 AM.
On the Threshold of a Dream
Cool air brushed our cheeks as we crossed the threshold. Summer sunlight and all its bustle soon vanished behind us. In here we found shelter, a peacefulness fit for a manger. The sweet smell of hay and straw offered up a certain aroma. Horses. It took a moment for our eyes and noses to adjust.
Torbert's Dairy delivery wagon, Newtown, Bucks County, Pa.
A lesson in photographic chiaroscuro.
Along the righthand wall, stretching the length of the barn, were horse stalls. The occupants raised their heads, their meals interrupted, and studied our presence. A pet on the head, an apple in the palm, and all was good. One after another nodded her approval as we walked along. Unanimous ballot. On the opposite wall rested farm machinery, its strength and stamina, ironically, measured in horsepower. An unbalanced equine equation. No matter. In this sanctum there was room for both.
A Painted Lady
We continued walking. Past the equipment and the curious eyes, we came upon a corner alcove, separated, seemingly forgotten, perhaps avoided. Miles of cobwebs spun a Miss Havisham barrier. Charlotte's magnum opus. Gossamer woven with straw and dust insured isolation. No welcome mat here. We swept aside the Jericho wall and stepped forward. It's over here, spoke Virgil, my guide. This is where the sidewalk ends. She laughed. She wasn't kidding. Unlike the rest of the barn, the floor in this space was unfinished. Packed dirt at best. I stopped. Transfixed. My eyes disbelieving. This had to be a dream. There, balanced on wooden planks, sat the most remarkable sight.
A nodding duck. Store window display for a butcher shop, 21" H.
Later label attached to apron - James W. Clark, Watches, Jewelry. Bristol, Pa
Amos Shontz, oil painting, An Old Ewe, 16" x 20"
Sunlight slipping through the cracks in the walls sculpted its shape. No words were spoken. There were none to be found. How could this be? Before us stood a horse drawn wagon, remarkably in original condition. It defined the word barn find. My eyes followed its lines, its proportions golden ratio good. Pin striped wooden spoke wheels anchored each corner, their tread hammered in traditional blacksmith iron banding. The wagon's upper half still retained its glass windows. And below, the body hinted show-stopping colors it once displayed.
A tradesman's wagon for sure, but what for?
We walked closer. Hints of lettering layered beneath the dust spoke to me. I traced my finger through the dirt. Torbert's Dairy Newtown Pa Milk and Cream. We study the tools, the wood, the iron, but rarely do we catch the essence. That fleeting ephemeral essence. This wasn't just a farm wagon. This was a piece of art. This, Bucks County. I had just slipped into yesterday, a world known only through legacy. But here, here was a direct link. A toll-call with no charge.
Two-seat Doctor's buggy, resting alongside theTorbert Dairy wagon. Both bedded down for a long long winter's nap.
Gathering our senses, my guide and I retraced our footsteps back through the barn. As we walked, I talked. What a gem. Just to touch this wagon is an honor. It represents a world of noble horses and dedicated people. The labor alone... As we exited the barn I glanced back, hoping for a final glimpse. One can never be sure how the eyes can deceive, but I am almost certain those steeds in the stalls were smiling.
A Ghost of Christmas Past
Hot air soothed our faces as we crossed the threshold. Despite winter's blast outside, here we were safe, warmed by the potter's kiln. Welcome to Henry Mercer's Tile Works, a pride of our Bucks County community.
Top left clockwise: The Swain Garden, Fonthill, 1941; Interior photo of Moravian Pottery tile bins; Clarence Rosenberger & Ben Barnes, outside Moravian Pottery: Season's Greetings Christmas card signed on reverse - To Clarence & Margaret from the Swains.
A slow walk through the arched cold catacombs today is eerily quiet.
A coolness prevails. Hushed words echo empty chambers. But step back one hundred years and you meet a Sorcerer's Apprentice world. People bustling. Carts rolling through the corridors. Wood stoking the kiln. Glazing vats mixed and stirred. Stacked tiles to move, sort, and store. And the red clay, arriving often. Never enough. An essential ingredient extracted from Bucks County soil itself. This Saturday we enter this menagerie through pamphlets and papers, photographs and publications, surviving ephemera from Clarence Rosenberger, a now passed employee. It gifts us a perspective into the inner workings of the Works. Tile selections. Chemical formulae. A signed Frank & Laura Swain Christmas card. Welcome to our world. It is a job for gentle hands and insatiable curiosity. Although we are immersed in history, our task never grows old.
Lovely to See You Again My Friend
A bit of nostalgia and passion slaps our faces as we cross the threshold at Brown Bros. each week. It is the lure of discovery, the excitement knowledge offers. The bidding. Nothing quite equals this power play. But there is something else. Something far more important. It is a basic human need that lifted us from our caves thousands of years ago. The opportunity to mingle, to converse face-to-face, forging relationships and meaning something to someone. Celebrated for individualism, not earmarked as one of those. Oh, there is much to gain on a walk through a Bucks County barn or the Tile Works' corridor, but all would be for naught if we didn't have you. This, our Christmas present to one another. Saturday's auction can be described in one word. Novelty. It just doesn't get any better. Our last auction in 2022. But wait, the first Saturday in 2023 is no slouch. Wait until you see...Stop! Let's not put the dairy wagon before the horse. See you Saturday.
German candy container with Simon & Halbig doll, 10" H.
Many thanks for all your kindness expressed in words, gifts, and food. We couldn't exist without your input, certainly not without your soft pretzels and Cramer's treats. Best to all of you this holiday season.
PA AU 1265L [bb]