DOWNINGTOWN, PENN. – The very first lot in the May 21 Americana and International auction at Pook & Pook was a carved cigar store Indian that a phone bidder took to $63,000, a price that was never beat by any of the 565 lots that followed it. The piece, which was carved by Thomas Brooks in New York, retained a very early dry finish and was on its original base that was decorated with the word “Tobacco.” According to the catalog note, it was made in 1882 and was on display at the tobacco shop of George Tucker on Kaighn Avenue in Camden, N.J. It was donated to the seller – a New Jersey educational institution – in 1928. It was one of 16 lots, all from the same museum, that opened the sale. Watch for a more extensive recap in a future issue.
