SAN FRANCISCO, CA.- Bonhams presents the Warden Family Americana Collection on September 30 at Bonhams in San Francisco. The single-owner auction features approximately 500 lots of American furniture, folk art and decorative arts - all offered without reserve.

The private collection includes property from Mrs. Jean Warden, a collector and antiques dealer for more than 50 years. Jean had shops throughout southern California, and for more than a decade she participated in the Pasadena Antiques Show. She grew up in Texas in a family that cherished antiques and the study of American cultural history. Her mother was an antiques dealer. Jean loved collecting throughout her life and researching the field of Americana. She constantly upgraded her personal Americana collection and she traveled throughout the U.S. searching for gems to add to it. Jean’s work as a portraitist spurred her interest in collecting portraits of Americans by renown artists and folk artists, alike. She was a member of the Rush Light Society, and as a former resident of Williamsburg, Va., she has also been a supporter of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

Jean commented, “I grew up in south Texas in a family that focused on all aspects of history, particularly family history and the antiques that had been passed down within the family. My mother was an avid collector and a dealer in Victorian antiques at that time, so I guess collecting antiques is in my blood!”

Furniture offered by the Warden family includes a Massachusetts mahogany serpentine front desk, circa 1770 (est. $5,500-7,500); a Federal inlaid tall chest from the mid-Atlantic states (est. $6,000-8,000); and a large, late 18th century, Pennsylvania step back cupboard (est. $4,000-6,000).

Decorative arts of varying estimates include Nantucket baskets; paint-decorated boxes; American burl wood bowls; 17th-18th century brass candlesticks; African American cloth dolls; mirrors; portrait miniatures; and folk art paintings and portraits, such as an oil on canvas of Catharine Walton attributed to John Wollaston (est. $5,000-7,000). There will also be 18th-19th century iron and pewter; 19th century quilts; a great collection of redware pottery; salt glaze crocks; samplers; Shaker boxes; shorebirds and decoys; a large grouping of silhouettes; and whirlygigs.

Brooke Sivo, vice president and director of Bonhams’ American furniture and decorative arts department, commented, “This fantastic collection encompasses a broad spectrum of Americana that will appeal to all levels and types of collectors.”