A rare 1800s Washington folk art drawing, hidden for 60 years, sold at auction for $226,600

A rare early 19th-century Pennsylvania Dutch folk art drawing showing George Washington and an American eagle with 13 stars has sold at auction for $226,600 (£175,000). The artwork had remained hidden in a plain manila folder for more than six decades. The double-page ink and watercolour fraktur bookplate was made in Pennsylvania in the early 1800s. According to auction details published by Pook & Pook Inc., the piece came from a private collection where it had remained untouched inside a folder for more than 60 years. Bidding at the auction house's salesroom in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, far exceeded the original estimate of $15,000 to $25,000. The artwork eventually sold for $226,600, including the buyer's premium.Rediscovery of a hidden folk art treasureFraktur is a distinctive folk art tradition that Pennsylvania German settlers practised from the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century. These works were usually made with ink and watercolour on paper. They often appeared in family Bibles, birth certificates and religious books as decorative bookplates or pages used to record important details. The recently sold piece features a detailed design spread across two pages, pain...