The auction house Pook & Pook Inc. closed a sale on a 19th‑century Pennsylvania Dutch fraktur that had sat in a plain manila folder for over six decades.
The two‑page ink and watercolor work shows a full‑length portrait of George Washington on one side and an American bald eagle surrounded by thirteen stars on the other, a rare patriotic motif in early German‑American art.
Bidders from across the country joined in person, by phone and online, driving the hammer price to $226,600, a steep climb from the $15,000–$25,000 estimate set by the auction house.
Scholars trace the style to the Schwenkfelder tradition of southeastern Pennsylvania, where fraktur works were often found in family Bibles and birth certificates, but political subjects like Washington are uncommon.
The record price confirms a persistent appetite among collectors for well‑preserved, vividly colored pieces that link Pennsylvania German heritage to the broader narrative of the young republic.
The buyer’s identity remains undisclosed, but the artwork will likely enter a private collection, where it may remain hidden for decades to come.