Many of the 78 lots in the collection are furniture dating to the early-18th-century William and Mary period. William and Mary pieces tend to be bulkier than the period of Georgian furniture they preceded and tend to bring lower prices.
A prize among the lots is a Southeastern Pennsylvania William and Mary banister-back armchair made around 1735, which is illustrated in Schiffer's book. It has a presale price estimate of $15,000 to $25,000, according to the auction catalog, accessible at www.pookandpook.com.
A mystery collection. The next offering is from the Studdiford family of Point Pleasant, N.J. According to the auction catalog, it includes a rare New Jersey Queen Anne walnut tall case clock dating to around 1750 that has a presale estimate of $12,000 to $18,000.
Pook & Pook had no immediate information on the identity of the consignor. And, to be candid, Point Pleasant is better known for its boardwalk arcades than for residents with valuable antique clocks.
But the auction catalog hints at how the collection came to Pook & Pook. Besides the presale estimate, the clock's catalog description says it has a label identifying its owner as John F. Schenk.
A Google search revealed that in September 2010, the Hunterdon County Democrat reported that Johanna Schenk Studdiford of Point Pleasant had died at age 74 and identified her as the daughter of John F. Schenk, onetime mayor of Flemington.
Back in the 1950s, John Schenk had a home in the town next to Point Pleasant, the oh-so-exclusive Bay Head, where many prominent Philadelphia families also had summer homes. So did a Dr. William E. Studdiford, a New York physician listed in the Social Register. (His nickname, according to several former Bay Headers, was "Frog.")
