2025 Americana Week: The Collection of Martha Hamilton
THE COLLECTION OF MARTHA HAMILTON
JULY 22, 2025 I PART OF AMERICANA WEEK
Americana Week
Auction runs July 22-25, 2025, with each session beginning at 9:30 a.m. Eastern. The Hamilton Collection comprises Lots 7001-7238.
Please see separate catalogs for The Peter and Judi Hersey Collection of Hingham, Massachusetts History, and the Collection of Arun and Barbara Singh. Lots comprising the property of other consignors can be viewed online at www.eldreds.com. A text-only catalog with all lots to be sold during Americana Week is available upon request.
Bidding Options
In-person, online, phone and absentee bidding is available. To register for absentee and telephone bidding, visit our website, or call 508-385-3116. Online bidding is available through www.eldreds.com.
Terms
A buyer’s premium will be added to the hammer price of all purchases. The buyer’s premium is 26 percent of the final bid price up to and including $500,000, and 10 percent of the final bid price over $500,000.
We accept checks, cash, money orders, wire transfers and major credit cards for payment. Please note we will not accept credit card payment for lots of jewelry, credit cards may only be used for up to $5,000 of the invoice total, and the credit card must have a U.S. billing address.
Bidders holding a resale number must provide the certificate or copy thereof when registering to bid or otherwise will be required to pay 6.25% Massachusetts sales tax on purchases. Items picked up in or shipped to Connecticut are subject to 6.35% Connecticut sales tax. Residents of other states may be subject to state and local sales taxes.
Condition Reports
Prospective bidders should satisfy themselves by personal inspection as to the condition of each lot. It is the bidder’s responsibility to obtain a condition report, by either visiting our website or contacting us. Although condition reports may be given on request, such reports are statements of opinion only. The absence of a condition report does not imply the property is in good condition. Regardless of whether or not a condition report is given, all property is sold subject to Item 1 of our Conditions of Sale, which provides that all property is sold as is.
All dimensions are approximate.
Shipping Information
We require prompt payment and removal of your purchases. If you plan to pick up your purchases, please call ahead. We provide very limited shipping services but can help coordinate shipping with alternative agents.
Please review our Conditions of Sale at the rear of this catalog before bidding.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Joshua F. Eldred CEO and President Head of American and European Paintings jeldred@eldreds.com
Mary Ann Giddings Eldred Chairwoman of the Board maeldred@eldreds.com
William Bourne Vice President Head of Americana and Maritime Arts bill@eldreds.com
Wendy A. Dunford Treasurer wendy@eldreds.com
Eric S. Mulak Vice President Head of Sporting Antiques, Folk Art & Collectibles Consignment Manager eric@eldreds.com
Sarah Eldred Taylor Vice President of Human Resources sarah@eldreds.com
SPECIALISTS AND ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
Mara Alvarado Assistant Photographer malvarado@eldreds.com
Christine Berlane Prints and Multiples cberlane@eldreds.com
Madison Casale Head of Photography mcasale@eldreds.com
Steve Dunaway Jewelry, GIA Certified jewelry@eldreds.com
Susan Eastman Client Services seastman@eldreds.com
Duncan H. Gray Head of General Merchandise Hanover Gallery dgray@eldreds.com
Devyn Henry Administrative Assistant dhenry@eldreds.com
Glen Krawczyk Head of Oriental Rugs glen@eldreds.com
Suzanne King Inventory Associate, Sandwich Auction sking@eldreds.com
Jennifer Lacker Mystic Gallery jlacker@eldreds.com
Anne G. Lajoie Head of Asian Arts and Contemporary Art annie@eldreds.com
Camille Lajoie Head of Modern Art + Design, Fashion + Accessories camille@eldreds.com
Cheryl Stewart Head of Marketing, Catalog and Design Maritime Arts + Scrimshaw cheryl@eldreds.com
Katie Callaghan, Nick Fowler, Al Gray and Mark Renkawitz Shipping and Inventory
Mary M. Kuhrtz and Christine Leofanti Gallery Assistants
Martha Hamilton, 1933-2025
In the early 2000s, I accompanied my dear friend Jonathan Fairbanks to preview Skinner’s upcoming Americana auction at their gallery in Bolton. We were warmly greeted when we arrived by an elegant lady with striking white hair, whom Jonathan introduced to me as Martha Hamilton. Over the next hour or so we looked at several wonderful pieces and Jonathan and Martha discussed them in a way that only true a true antique lover can, with no mention of an item’s monetary value, only its intrinsic beauty and historic significance.
Preserving and celebrating history was a constant in Martha’s life. Her 25-year career as an Americana specialist at Skinner was preceded by years as a history and civics educator. At age of 50 she changed careers to pursue her love for antiques, earning a Master’s degree in Fine Art from Boston University in 1983. With her dry wit, clever turns of phrase and spirited enthusiasm, she quickly became a beloved figure in the field of American decorative arts. (She wryly joked making paint colors with 19th Century formulas can’t be done at the local hardware store.)
Her impressive resume includes working with Brock Jobe on his book, New England Furniture: the Colonial Era, restoring The Nathan Hosmer house and cabinet shop in Concord, Massachusetts, for which she received the Massachusetts Historical Commission’s Preservation Award in 1987, and curatorial and volunteer positions at museums and historic societies including Old Sturbridge Village, the Museum of Fine Arts, Strawbery Banke and Historic New England.
In 2013 she was honored with the Old Sturbridge Village’s President’s Award for the impact she had in bringing relevance, inspiration and new scholarship on New England life and history to the public and the museum field.
The collection that Martha left behind reflects her deep love and dedication to Americana. As you will see, her focus was on the rare and unusual. For those, like Martha, who spend a lifetime handling objects, it is often the charming, clever and unique items that speak far louder than trophy pieces by famous cabinetmakers.
It is our honor to share her collection as part of Americana Week. We hope her treasurers will find new homes with collectors who care just as deeply and guard them for the next generation.
Miniature painting of strawberries on the vine. Unsigned. Housed in a grain-painted frame. Watercolor on paper, 3.25” x 2.5” sight. Framed 5.25” x 4.25”. 400/600
Provenance: Skinner, Inc., Massachusetts, Auction #1794 (date unknown), Lot #137.
7001
7002
7003. MINIATURE PUTTY-PAINTED PINE CHEST
Cream and beige decoration against a green ground. Molded hinged top lifts to reveal an interior till. Full-width drawer below compartment. Cut-out ends. Shaped feet. Height 8.25”. Width 9.5”. Depth 4.75”. 1,000/1,500
7004. MINIATURE PINE STEP-BACK CUPBOARD
America, 19th Century
Under old red paint. One-piece construction. Upper portion with molded cornice and a medial shelf. Lower portion with a shaped base and a paneled door enclosing a single shelf. Height 18”. Width 10.5”. Depth 8”. 800/1,200
7005. SET OF MINIATURE SOFT-PASTE PORCELAIN
England, Late 19th Century
Transfer decoration of classical figures. Includes five plates, a platter and a tureen with undertray. Plate diameters 4”. Tureen height 4”. 200/400
7006. MINIATURE PUTTY AND GRAIN-PAINTED BLANKET BOX
America, Circa 1825
All-over deep brown decoration against a yellow ochre ground. Molded top and base. Bootjack ends. Initialed in chalk on interior, possibly “EPR”. Height 10.25”. Width 14”. Depth 7.75”. 700/1,000
7003
7004
7005
7006
7007. SCHOOLGIRL MAP OF THE WORLD Groton, Massachusetts, 1840
By “Charlotte A. Rugg Groton Mass. 1840 aged 12”. Shows views of the Eastern and Western hemispheres within colorful floral wreaths. Watercolor and ink on paper, 21.5” x 29.5” sight. Framed 24” x 31.5”. 5,000/10,000
Provenance: Skinner, Inc., Massachusetts, October 27, 1990, Lot #175.
Charlotte Rugg was born September 11, 1828 in Lexington, Massachusetts to Joseph Rugg and Olive Studley Rugg. She died in Groton in 1877.
7007
7008. PAINT-DECORATED BIRD’S-EYE MAPLE DRESSER BOX
America, Circa 1820
Probably the work of a female academy attendee. Top depicts a compote of fruit flanked by flower-filled cornucopias. Front and sides with fruit arrangements. Mirror on the underside of the hinged lid. Interior fitted with a six-section lift-out compartment, each section with black floral and foliate decoration. Bun feet.
Probably pine under a dark finish. Wonderfully exaggerated shaped sides and shelves. Height 28.5”. Width 25.75”. Depth 8.5”. 400/600
7010. DIMINUTIVE PAINT-DECORATED BLANKET CHEST
19th Century
Possibly for a child. Decoration of cream-colored dandelions against a dark green-black ground. Hinged domed top.
Height 11”. Width 26.25”. Depth 13.5”. 500/700
7008
7009
7010
7011. COUNTRY QUEEN ANNE PAINT-DECORATED MIRROR 18th Century
White floral sprigs and flourishes against a black ground. Height 17.5”. Width 9”. 1,500/2,500
7012. AMERICAN SCHOOL 19th Century
Rare miniature landscape painting with a colonial house, a river, trees and distant mountains. Unsigned. Watercolor on paper, 2.75” x 4.5”. Framed 4.5” x 6”. 500/1,000
7013. CARVED AND PAINTED WALL POCKET
Possibly Pennsylvania, Early 19th Century
Polychrome peacock and stylized floral decoration against a black ground. Extended backboard in a floriform design. Tapering pocket. Height 7.5”. Width 5.5”. 500/800
Provenance: By descent through the family of Charles D. Cook.
7011
7012
7013
7014. COUNTRY FEDERAL PUTTY-PAINTED DEMILUNE TABLE
New England, Circa 1825
Original mustard and brown paint. Tall backsplash with voluted ends. Demilune top on a triangular base. Square tapered legs. Height 35”. Width 29.25”. Depth 14.25”. 1,000/2,000
7014
7015. EXCEPTIONAL YELLOW AND RED GRAIN-PAINTED COUNTRY TALL-CASE CLOCK
Connecticut, Circa 1820
Dial signed “R. Whiting Winchester”, most likely Riley Whiting of Winchester, Connecticut. Grain-painted surfaces with bold, sweeping strokes that contrast with the delicate and finely rendered floral and geometric pique borders. Bonnet with traditional fretwork, three brass ball and spire finials on plinths, an arched glazed dial door, and full turned columns. Rectangular trunk, pendulum door and base. Painted wooden face with a red drape and gilt cornucopias in the lunette and similar cornucopias at each corner. Arabic numeral dial with 15-minute outer ring and two subsidiary dials. Height 89”. Width 17.5”. Depth 9.75”. 4,000/6,000
Martha’s family noted she bought this inexpensively at a Skinner auction because a later dark varnish hid its stellar beauty. Martha knew what was likely underneath and hired a SPNEA conservationist to lift off the heavy varnish.
Riley Whiting (1785-1835) married into the Hoadley family of clockmakers in 1806, and in 1807 they formed a partnership under the name Samuel Hoadley & Co. After Luther Hoadley’s death during the War of 1812, Samuel Hoadley and Riley Whiting changed the name to Hoadley & Whiting. In 1819, Samuel Hoadley sold his share of the business to Riley, who established his own business in Winsted, Connecticut, close to Winchester. It was around this time he began signing his clocks, typically across the middle, as seen here. He was known for his innovative wooden clock works.
JAMES SANFORD ELLSWORTH
Connecticut, 1802-1874
James Sandford Ellsworth was an itinerant artist, believed to be self-taught, who typically painted Connecticut and Massachusetts farmers and their wives. Almost all his known miniatures feature distinct characteristics: the subjects are in profile, seated in similar early Victorian salon armchairs, and their faces (and sometimes their torsos) are framed within wispy clouds. The clouds give the appearance they are floating in air, but probably alludes to their status as faithful Christians, buoyed by God’s protection.
Ellsworth is also believed to have also worked in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Kentucky and Missouri in the 1860s.
7016, pair
7016. Miniature profile portraits of Mr. & Mrs. C.T. Gunn, probably of Windsor or Norwich, Connecticut, circa 1845. Sitters identified verso. Watercolors and pencils on paper, 2.75” x 2.25” sight. Framed 3.75” x 3.25”. 3,000/5,000
Provenance: Collection of Joseph B. Martinson, co-founder of the American Folk Art Museum.
Illustrated: American Folk Painting by Mary Black and Jean Lipman (N.Y.: C.N. Potter, 1966), p. 94, fig. 87.
7017. Miniature profile portrait of Mrs. Elvira Warriner dressed in blue and holding a pink rose. Signed “Ellsworth Painter”. Housed in a mahogany veneer frame. Watercolor and pencil on paper, 2.5” x 3.5” sight. Framed 4.5” x 3.5”. 4,000/6,000
Reference:
“The Paintings of James Sanford Ellsworth, Itinerant Folk Artist, 1802-1873: Catalog of an Exhibition Presented by the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Collection, Williamsburg, Virginia, October 13December 1, 1974”. This work was possibly part of that exhibit.
7017
New Hampshire, Mid-19th Century
Lush floral border surrounds a list of family members and a scene of a stately homestead in a mountainous landscape. Watercolor and ink on paper, 19” x 14.5” sight. Framed 21” x 16.25”. 800/1,200
7018. CLOUGH FAMILY RECORD
7020.
20th Century
20th Century
A wild white cat and brightly colored flowers, leaves and stylized mushrooms against a variegated dark charcoal field. 39” x 46”. 200/400
Field composed of colorful concentric scallops. 38” x 65”. 200/400
7021.
New England, Circa 1820
Undulating leafy vines and flowers against a blue ground. Fringe on all four sides. 26” x 61”. 150/250
7019
7019. HOOKED RUG WITH WOODLAND SCENE
GEOMETRIC HOOKED RUG
FLORAL HOOKED RUG
7022. PAINTED MAPLE ROUNDABOUT CHAIR
Likely Massachusetts, Late 18th Century
Under old black paint. Shaped pillow-back crest continuing to out-scrolled arms and handholds. Back with three vase and ring-turned supports. Rush seat. Four block, vase and ringturned legs joined by bulbous ring-turned front stretchers and squared rear stretchers. Front leg with Spanish foot and three rear legs with ball feet. Back height 29.5”. Seat height 17”. 1,000/1,500
7023. AMERICAN SCHOOL
19th Century
Brilliantly colored primitive landscape with a single figure, a homestead and distant mountains. Unsigned. Watercolor on paper, 10.5” x 14.75”. Framed. 1,000/1,500
Martha owned and loved this for a long time, attracted to its colors, its fantasy world-like nature and its naivete. She believed it was likely done by a child.
7022
7023
7024. FEDERAL CLEAR GLASS AND BRASS HALL LANTERN
19th Century
Blown smoke bell with grape and grape vine etching and strawberry pontil mark. Suspended from canopy by three chains that attach to peacock-shaped hooks on an embossed band. Three sockets. Electrified. Bell height 13”. Diameter 10.75”. 800/1,200
Depict figural portraits, memorials and scenic views. Two en grisaille. Diameters approx. 2”. 300/500
7026. DELFT BLUE AND MANGANESE PUNCH BOWL
18th Century
Probably English. Exterior with bountiful decoration of leaves, flowers and insects. Interior with floral sprays and festoons. Height 7”. Diameter 12”. 300/500
7024
7025
7026
7027. FINE ASSEMBLED SET OF FOUR ENGLISH OR DUTCH BRASS CANDLESTICKS
18th Century Heights approx. 9.5”. 3,000/5,000
18th Century Heights 9.5” and 9.75”. 500/1,000
7028. TWO SIMILAR ENGLISH OR DUTCH BRASS CANDLESTICKS
7027, four
7028, two
7029. FEDERAL MAHOGANY AND FLAME BIRCH VENEER SOFA
North Shore of Massachusetts or Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Circa 1800-1810
Flame birch veneer panels on the arching crest rail and both the inside and outside of the sloping arms. Reeded baluster arm supports continuous with the outer legs, interrupted by a block inlaid with bird’s-eye maple veneer panels. Reeded baluster legs fitted with casters. Green striated upholstery with brass tacks. Over-upholstered rail. Back height 33”. Seat height 14” to rail, 18” including cushion. Length 77”. Depth 24”. 2,000/3,000
Provenance: Christie’s.
7030. KAZAK RUG: 5’6” x 7’7”
Late 19th Century
Red field with columns of blue and ivory stylized branches, blossoms and geometric medallions. Blue main border with red, blue, tan and ivory rudimentary stylized blossoms. 800/1,200
7031. SET OF FIREPLACE EQUIPMENT
Likely New England, Circa 1800
Includes a pair of Federal brass andirons, a brass and wirework fender, a pair of brass tongs and a brass and steel poker. Andirons with belted ballform finials and conforming log stops, turned shafts, and arched spurred legs with pointed slipper feet. Andiron heights 16”. Fender height 13”. Tool lengths approx. 26”. 500/1,000
7029
7032. PAINT-DECORATED OVERMANTEL BOARD
19th Century
From the Sprout-Ward House, Lakeville, Massachusetts. Depicts two monumental urns of flowers. Oil on pine board, 36” x 36.5”. Framed 39.5” x 40”. 800/1,200
The Sprout-Ward house was built circa 1708 in a garrison style, with several additions added later. When the house went on the market in 1996, one of the rooms was largely untouched from when it had been decoratively painted nearly 200 years prior. The walls depicted green bunting and red and gold tassels, and the floor was stenciled gold, black and red. The owners hoped to salvage the room intact before the house was sold, and offered it at auction at Skinner, Inc. as if it were a work of art, with the buyer responsible for dismantling, moving and reassembling the wooden walls, floor, ceiling and doors. Martha notes this piece was rescued from the porch of the house.
7033. FEDERAL MAHOGANY LOLLING CHAIR
New England, 19th Century
Sharply serpentine crest. Molded arms, curved arm supports and tapered front legs. Back height 47”. Seat height 16.5”. 2,000/3,000
Provenance:
Possibly from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Eddy Nicholson sold at Christie’s, January 27-28, 1995, but with differing upholstery.
7032
7033
7034. FEDERAL MAHOGANY INLAID CARD TABLE ATTRIBUTED TO JOHN AND THOMAS SEYMOUR
Boston, Early 19th Century Flame birch lunette and panel inlay, typical of Seymour. Shaped top with hinged leaf and outset corners. Bowed apron. Tapered turned and reeded legs. Height 28”. Width 34.5”. Depth 17.25”. 4,000/6,000
7035.
Rhode Island, Dated 1735/6
Arched crest continuing to S-scrolled wings and scrolled arms. Curving front rail. Cabriole legs joined by block and turned stretchers and end in pad feet. A maple rail inside the back of the chair inscribed in ink “This chair was begun to be maid the 9th of March 1735/6 [all sic]”. Back height 47.5”. Seat height 14”. Width 33.5”. 3,000/5,000
QUEEN ANNE WALNUT EASY CHAIR
7034
7035
7036. CHIPPENDALE INLAID MAPLE DISH-TOP CANDLESTAND
18th Century
Top inlaid with a contrasting wood six-pointed star. Baluster pedestal raised on three cabriole legs ending in padded slipper feet. Height 26.75”. Diameter 16.75”. 500/1,000
Provenance: Skinner, Inc., Massachusetts: Fine Americana, October 30, 1993, Lot #220.
7037. SMALL CHIPPENDALE MAHOGANY SERPENTINE CARD TABLE
Probably Rhode Island, Circa 1760 Old surface. Overhanging top with spade-shaped corners. Conforming apron. Linenfold legs with interior chamfering. Height 28.75”. Width 25.5”. Depth 13.5”. 1,200/1,800
Provenance: Collection of Charles D. Childs, Boston.
7038. PAIR OF THUMB-BACK CHAIRS
19th Century
Under a red-yellow stain. Bamboo-turned legs. Back heights 33”. Seat heights 16”. 300/500
7036
7037
7039. FEDERAL BIRCHWOOD SOFA
New England, Early 19th Century
Vasiform arm supports continue to block and turned front legs. Back height 33”. Seat height 16”. Length 77”. Depth 24”.
500/1,000
7040. FEDERAL WING CHAIR
Circa 1790
Back with serpentine crest and gently flared wings. Slightly tapering molded front legs and square canted rear legs joined by a simple H-stretcher. Back height 44.5”. Height to seat rail 14”.
700/1,000
7039
7040
7041. FINE QUEEN ANNE TIGER MAPLE SLANT-LID DESK
New Hampshire, Circa 1750
Slant lid opens to a two-tier stepped interior with valanced pigeonholes, pull-out document boxes fronted with columnar trim, and assorted small drawers. Case with four graduated thumb-molded drawers. Molded base with central drop and scrolled cabriole legs ending in pad feet. Height 41.75”. Width 37”. Depth 19”.
Provenance:
5,000/8,000
Purchased at summer NHADA auction, Manchester, New Hampshire.
Reference:
For a desk with stylistic and construction similarities see Some Queen Anne Furniture from New Hampshire’s Federal Period ... by Walter A. Backofen (1988), p. 13, fig. 5.
7042. QUEEN ANNE PAINTED AND CARVED MAPLE SPANISH FOOT ARMCHAIR
New England, Circa 1730-1750
Showing early black paint with olive green accents, with very minor imperfections. Deeply carved crest rail with C-scrolls. Back with spooned vasiform splat and molded spooned stiles. Old rush seat. Block and turned legs terminate in deeply carved Spanish feet. A beautiful example, believed to be in its original condition. Back height 41.5”. Seat height 15.5”.
3,000/5,000
Provenance:
Descended through the family of Edmund Page (17091879), its first owner. Page was a founder of Atkinson, New Hampshire, in 1727; at the time Atkinson was part of Haverhill, Massachusetts. The Page farm still stands in Atkinson.
7041
JOSEPH H. DAVIS
New Hampshire/Maine, 1811-1865
7043. Portrait of Jonathan and Mary Dockum of New Hampshire, and their two cats. Mr. Dockum, reading the Dover Gazette, and Mrs. Dockum, holding open her book, are seated at a table below a memorial for “Hollis Dockum. Ag. 21 Months.”. A top hat, a quill pen, a letter, a Holy Bible, a compote of fruit and another small book cover the table, while the two cats, probably a mother cat and kitten, play on the patterned carpet below. Inscribed lower margin “Jonathan Dockum. Aged 55 April 30th 1837.” and “Mary Dockum. Aged 48. Decembr 28. 1837” flanking verse “When I can read my title Clear To mansions in the Skies, I’ll Bid farewell to every Fear And wipe my weeping Eyes.”. Watercolor, pen and ink on paper, 10.75” x 15.5” sight. Framed 15.5” x 20”. 8,000/12,000
Provenance:
Marguerite Riordan Antique Furnishings & Works of Art, Stonington, Connecticut, 1998.
Acquired by the above from a descendant of the sitters through an intermediary. It had never before been offered for sale.
Joseph H. Davis was an itinerant portraitist, most prolific between 1832 and 1837 when he is said to have painted about 150 small-scale watercolor likenesses, mostly residents of New Hampshire and Maine.
His typical portraits depict a husband and wife in profile, seated on opposite sides of a table, often accompanied by a cat. The details of their belongings -- newspapers, Bibles, letters, top hats, bonnets and books-- and their parlor interiors -- decorated with paintings, boldly patterned carpets and tablecloths, banjo clocks, maps, swags of greenery, and lively compotes of fruits and flowers -- often provide clues to their profession, political leanings, and levels of education and refinement.
While Davis’s paintings give us a unique snapshot into the everyday lives of the comfortable New Englanders of the era, little is known about Davis’s own life. He identified himself as a “left-handed painter” on one portrait, but because quills, paper and pots of ink figure prominently in so many of his works, some scholars hypothesize he may also have been a traveling calligraphy teacher. This is supported by the strong calligraphic line seen in his work and the particularly fine script used to record the subject names.
The display of a mourning picture in this portrait is rare for Davis.
JOSEPH H. DAVIS
New Hampshire/Maine, 1811-1865
7044. Portrait of John and Nancy Phelps, their daughter Nancy, and their cat Inscribed lower margin “John Phelps. Born Feb.y 27th, 1800.” and “Nancy Phelps. Born Sept. 28th 1799.” flanking “Nancy M. Phelps. Born May 15th, 1836. Painted Jan 1838”. Watercolor, pen and ink on paper, 10.75” x 14” sight. Framed 15.5” x 18”.
Provenance: Skinner, Inc., Massachusetts, February 28, 1999, Lot #115.
5,000/10,000
7044
7045. Portrait of Clement Parker, his wife Rachel, and their cat, circa 1835
Inscribed in flourishing script lower margin “Rev. Clement Parker aged 53. Mrs. Rachel Parker aged 50”. Unsigned. Watercolor, pen and ink on paper, 8” x 10.25” sight. Framed 9.75” x 12”. 7,000/10,000
According to genealogical records Clement Parker was born January 4, 1782, in Parsonsfield, York, Maine. He married Rachel Taylor (1785-1864) about 1808 in Cabot, Washington, Vermont. Rachel, of Windsor, Vermont, was born to Jonas Taylor, aged 32, and Hannah Blood, aged 27. Clement and Rachel had at least three sons and seven daughters, and they settled in Sanford, Maine.
7045
JOSEPH H. DAVIS
New Hampshire/Maine, 1811-1865
7046. Profile portrait of Gideon Varney playing with his puppy Unsigned. Inscribed lower margin “Gideon G. Varney aged 12 years -- 1833” and with proverb “Hear Thou My Son and be Advised and guide thine Heart in the way of virtue and happiness”. Watercolor, pen and ink on paper, 7” x 6” sight. Framed 8.5” x 7.25”. 4,000/6,000
Provenance: Found in New Hampshire. Bihler and Coger, Ashley Falls, Massachusetts. Collection of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch.
Exhibited:
The Art Institute of Chicago, the Saint Louis Art Museum, the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Collection and the Currier Gallery of Art: “Three New England Watercolor Painters” traveling exhibit, November 16, 1974-September 1, 1975. Illustrated in the exhibit catalog, p. 39, fig. 25.
According to “Joseph F. Davis: Identity Established” by Arthur and Sybil Kern in the Summer 1989 issue of The Clarion: America’s Folk Art Magazine, Joseph Davis painted several Varneys Varney, who probably lived in the Dover area of New Hampshire or the Berwick area of Maine. A portrait of Sarah Elizabeth Varney is in the collection of the New York State Historical Association, one of Delia Varney is part of Karolik Collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and one of Mary D. Varney is in the New York State Historical Society collection.
7046
7047. Portrait of Sally B. Buzell standing at a table. Inscribed lower margin “Sally B. Buzell. Aged 21 years & 7 months. 1834”. Unsigned. Watercolor, pen and ink on paper, 11.25” x 9.25”. Framed 11.5” x 9.5”. 3,000/5,000
Provenance: Skinner, Inc., Massachusetts, October 27, 1989, Lot #201.
Genealogical records list a Sally Buzell in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, one of ten children born to Eliphalet Stowel Dean (1771-1852) and Linda Dean. It is interesting to note the resemblance between Sally and the woman in the portrait seen behind her, possibly her mother.
7048. Profile portrait of J.W. Sanborn
Handwritten on label verso “J.W. Sanborn Aged 17 Painted JHD 1835”. A rare example signed with the artist’s monogram. Watercolor, pen and ink on paper, 10.5” x 7.5” sight. Framed 13.5” x 10.5”. 1,000/1,500
Exhibited:
The Art Institute of Chicago, the Saint Louis Art Museum, the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Collection and the Currier Gallery of Art: “Three New England Watercolor Painters” traveling exhibit, November 16, 1974-September 1, 1975.
7048
7047
JOSEPH H. DAVIS
New Hampshire/Maine, 1811-1865
7049. Portrait of the Willey family. A particularly charming work by the artist, with the young boy playing a toy drum while interacting with his mother, who is holding a nosegay and a purse. Unsigned. Inscribed lower margin “Daniel F. [?] Willey, aged 31. 1833. Charles Henry Willey, aged 4 years. Mary Willey, aged 29. 1832.”. Watercolor, pen and ink on paper, 10.5” x 14.5” sight. Framed 13” x 17”. 8,000/12,000
7049
Late 18th Century
Under old red paint. Octagonal posts with a lamb’s tongue above the rails. Bow-shaped headboard. Height 80.75”. Length 75.75”. Width 54”. 1,000/2,000
Massachusetts, Circa 1830
Colorful basket of flowers design against a dark brown wool ground. Fringe on three sides. 78” x 84”. 5,000/7,000
7050. CHIPPENDALE PENCIL POST BED
7050
7051. EXTRAORDINARY CREWEL EMBROIDERED COVERLET
7052. QUEEN ANNE WALNUT EASY CHAIR
Massachusetts or New Hampshire, Circa 1760-1780
Front cabriole legs with Dutch feet in unusually good condition. Square canted rear legs. Back height 47.5”. Seat height 14.5”. 5,000/10,000
New England, Probably Connecticut, 19th Century Loose dark brown sworling against a reddish ground. Turned pedestal raised on three arched legs. Height 30”. Diameter 15.75" to 16”. 500/1,000
7053. GRAIN-PAINTED MAPLE AND CHERRY DISH-TOP CANDLESTAND
7052
7053
7054. RARE, POSSIBLY UNIQUE, FEDERAL INLAID MAPLE TWO-TIER BUREAU
Eastern New Hampshire, Circa 1820
Upper section with six half drawers, the upper drawers slightly overhanging and the lower drawers separated by a vase and ring-turned half column. Projecting lower case with four full-width drawers, the upper drawer also slightly overhanging. All drawers with bird’s-eye maple fronts, mahogany crossbanding and cock-bead molding. Lower case drawers with mahogany quarter-rounds; upper case with paint decoration simulating matching inlay. Cases fronted by vase and ring-turned columns terminating in turned legs. Fitted with casters. Old finish. Brasses appear to be original. Height 59”. Width 39”. Depth 19”. 5,000/10,000
7054
7055. FEDERAL INLAID CHERRY STAND
New England, Early 19th Century
Molded-edge overhanging top with a fruitwood pinwheel inlaid at center, quarter-pinwheels at each corner and stringing along the perimeter. Hidden drawer in apron. Tapered legs with a contrasting diamond inlaid at tops and stringing down the lengths. Height 28”. Width 18.5”. Depth 18”. 500/1,000
7056. FEDERAL MAPLE DISH-TOP CANDLESTAND
New England, Circa 1810
Old red-brown and brown paint, possibly old stain and varnish, simulates mahogany. Round top with slightly raised rim. Slender baluster pedestal. Interesting construction of cabriole legs. Height 27”. Diameter 15.5”. 500/1,000
7057. FINE PAINT-DECORATED STAND
New Hampshire, Circa 1800
Original red wash. Square overhanging top. Single cock-beaded drawer painted to simulate bird’s-eye maple and cross-banded veneer. Slender ring-turned tapered legs end in elongated turned feet. Height 28.5”. Width 16.5”. Depth 16.25”. 700/1,000
Connecticut River Valley, Late 18th Century
Old red surface. Single-board serpentine top with outrounded corners. Baluster and urn pedestal raised on three cabriole legs ending in padded pointed slipper feet. Height 25.25”. Top 17” x 16.5”. 800/1,200
7057
7055
7056
7058
7058. CHERRY CANDLESTAND
7059. FOUR NEAR-MATCHING PRESSED CLEAR GLASS LAMPS
19th Century
Loop pattern fonts. Electrified. Total heights 20”.
7060. ROOM-SIZE HOOKED RUG
Late 19th/Early 20th Century
Pink, red, ivory and green maple leaves arranged in a lattice on a striped field of coordinating colors. Black binding. Approx. 104” x 124”. 400/600
SMALL CHIPPENDALE LOOKING GLASS
18th Century
Profusely scrolled pine frame painted black. Glass with significant loss of mirroring. Height 19”. Maximum width 15”. 1,000/1,500
7060
7061
7062. AMERICAN SCHOOL 19th Century
Bouquet of pink, yellow and blue flowers in a blue compote. Unsigned. Mixed media on paper, 15.5” x 19” sight. Framed 19.25” x 13.25”. 500/800
Provenance: Skinner, Inc., Massachusetts, circa 1980.
7063. AMERICAN SCHOOL
19th Century
Fruit in a basket backed by drapery. Background and basket executed in watercolor, while the fruit are watercolored paper cutouts. Unsigned. Housed in a stencil-decorated frame. Mixed media, 9.5” x 13.5” sight. Framed 12” x 16”. 800/1,200
7064. LARGE GEOMETRIC HOOKED RUG
Early 20th Century
Parquet-style field of olive green, cream, gray, lilac, pink, red and blue rectangles forming squares outlined in charcoal and olive green. Variegated charcoal and olive green border.
54” x 86”. 300/500
7065. THREE HOOKED RUGS
20th Century
Two in a floral design and one with concentric squares.
26” x 41”, 30” x 35” and 40” x 72”. 250/350
7066. FLORAL HOOKED RUG
Early 20th Century
Vine of red and pink flowers and leaves against a cream-colored ground. 30.5” x 49”. 150/200
7062
7063
7067. NEEDLEWORK SAMPLER WROUGHT BY DESIRE E. DAMMEN
Scituate, Massachusetts, Dated 1804
Silk on linen. Upper panel with rows of alphabets interspersed with flowering plants. Lower panel with weeping willows arching over memorial monuments, flowering plants, a stately home with a fenced garden, and verse “Virtue is the cheifest [sic] beauty of the mind The noblest ornament of human kind.” and maker’s inscription “Desire E. Dammen’s [or Dommen’s] Sampler Wrote by her in 1804”. Unusual sawtooth border with flowering plants emerging from each valley. 18.75” x 15.25” sight. Framed 21” x 18”. 4,000/6,000
Exhibited:
Museum of American Folk Art, 1978, per label verso.
7067
New Hampshire, 1800-1815
Retaining its original surface and brasses. Subtly bowed and slightly overhanging top with string inlay along edge. Conforming apron with string and tri-part panel inlay. Full-width apron drawer with string inlay, an oval figured panel with ebonized border at the center, and contrasting diamond panels with lighter borders behind brasses. Slender turned and tapered legs. Height 29.5”. Width 36”. Depth 16.5”. 3,000/5,000
7068. FEDERAL BIRCH AND FLAME BIRCH VENEER INLAID CARD TABLE
7068
7070. BLUE PAINTED CANDLE BOX
America, Early 19th Century
Peaked backboard. Slant lid attached with wire hinges. Height 6.5”. Width 13.25”. Depth 5.25”. 1,000/1,500
7069. FOUR CLEAR GLASS SPARKING LAMPS
19th Century
Includes two finger lamps and one with a blown font and pressed base. One retains pewter burner. Heights to 5.25”. 350/500
7071. DIAMOND-SHAPED PEWTER AND TIN MIRRORED WALL SCONCE
Late 18th Century Height 13.25”. 1,500/2,500
7072. PAINT-DECORATED PINE BLANKET BOX
New England, 19th Century Red-brown medallions and trim against an ochre-colored ground, somewhat simulating crotch-grain mahogany and crossbanding. Six-board construction. Hinged lid. Interior with open ditty box. Shaped bracket base. Height 21.5”. Width 37.25”. Depth 15.75”. 500/1,000
7070
7071
7072
RUTH HENSHAW MILES BASCOM
Leicester, Massachusetts, 1772-1848
7073. Profile bust portraits of Betsy Wadsworth and her two daughters, Susan Gates and Elizabeth Gates
Unsigned. Mother inscribed in pencil verso “Betsy Wadsworth Roxbury N.H. Sketched at Ashby June 1845 by R.H. Bascom”. Daughter noted verso “Property of Mr. Howard White Ashby, Mass”. Mixed medias, 17” x 12” sight and 17.5” x 12.5” sight.
Framed 22” x 17.25” and 20” x 14.75”. 30,000/50,000
Provenance: Skinner, Inc., Massachusetts, June 5, 1993, Lots #158-160.
Ruth Henshaw Bascom, sometimes referred to as “Aunt Ruth”, was born in Leicester, Massachusetts to William Henshaw and Phebe Swan Henshaw. She was married to her first husband, Asa Miles, for only a year before his death in 1805. She married her second husband, the Rev. Ezekiel Lysander Bascom, in 1806, and she began painting as a hobby during his tenures at churches in Phillipston and Ashby, Massachusetts.
Her hobby, however, progressed to a career as she began receiving portrait commissions. Her extensive collection of journals, which she kept from 1789 to 1846 and are now part of the American Antiquarian Society collection in Worcester, Massachusetts, meticulously documents more than 1,000 portraits for which she received money or services in kind. Her most prolific output was in the 1820s and 1830s, as she traveled throughout Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and as far south as Savannah, Georgia.
All her known portraits are in profile, life-size or just slightly smaller, and the backgrounds are plain. She started by tracing the shadow of the sitter and either created collages or colored in the outlines with pastels.
7074. QUEEN ANNE WALNUT AND MAPLE EASY CHAIR
New England, 18th Century
Slightly arched back with elegantly flared and out-scrolled arms. Short front cabriole legs end in Dutch feet. Square raked rear legs. H-shaped vasiform stretcher. Rose-colored damask upholstery with contrasting welt. Back height 46”. Seat height 14”. Width 34.5”. 6,000/9,000
7075. PAIR OF PAINT-DECORATED FOOTSTOOLS
New England, Possibly Maine, 19th Century
Oval tops with green borders and strawberry and vine decoration against a black ground. Four painted splayed legs. Both signed on underside, one “Willis” and the other “Eastm[?]”. Heights 6.5”. Lengths 10.75”. 2,000/3,000
Provenance: Northeast Auctions, Portsmouth, New Hampshire (one stool retains lot sticker).
7076.
Late 18th Century
Probably birch. Slant lid encloses valanced pigeonholes, pull-out document boxes fronted with columnar trim, and a variety of drawers. Case with four drawers, a slightly projecting molded base and shaped bracket feet. Willow brasses. Height 42”. Width 38.5”. Depth 20”. 400/700
QUEEN ANNE HARDWOOD SLANT-LID DESK
7074
7075
7076
7077. RARE AND FINE WILLIAM AND MARY CHERRY BUTTERFLY TABLE
Connecticut, Circa 1750
Circular overhanging drop-leaf top with gracefully sweeping and properly executed butterfly supports. Skirt contains a thumb-molded drawer. Splayed block, vase and ring-turned legs joined by square beaded stretchers. Superb untouched surface condition retaining color on underside. Height 27”. Length 14” plus two 11” drop leaves. Width 36”. 5,000/10,000
Provenance:
The home of John and Mary Linsley, North Branford, Connecticut, Mid-18th Century.
Martha visited the house where this table had been and saw something she had never seen before: a form that is known but not well-known, and a genuine example of a piece that is frequently faked.
7078. CHIPPENDALE CHERRY TILT-TOP CANDLESTAND
Probably New England, Circa 1770-1790
Dish top on a straight pedestal ending in a ball knop. Cabriole legs with padded slipper feet. Old refinish.
Height 27”. Diameter 18.5”.
400/600
7077
7078
7079.
New England, Probably Massachusetts, Early 19th Century
Trompe l’oeil of a ceramic vase of flowers in a brick-lined fireplace bordered by green, blue and white foliate tiles. Includes a trestle-foot stand. 27.75” x 38”. 4,000/6,000
Provenance:
Estate of Mina Curtiss, Weston, Connecticut.
Reference:
For similar examples see American Decorative Wall Painting by Nina Fletcher Little, p. 74, and Little by Little: Six Decades of Collecting American Decorative Arts by Nina Fletcher Little, p. 97, fig. 130. Little notes the artist’s “unmistakable style” has been recognized in several other New England fireboards.
18th and 19th Century
Differing forms and designs. Includes one pair. Heights to
7081.
19th Century
Reddish-brown finish. Shaped arms with scrolled handholds. Bamboo-turned splayed legs joined by a simple box stretcher. Back height 33”. Seat height 17”. 200/400
PAINT-DECORATED PINE FIREBOARD
7079
7080. SIX BRASS AND IRON HEARTH TRIVETS
13.5”. 400/800
WINDSOR ARROW-BACK ARMCHAIR
7082. HEPPLEWHITE CHERRY ONE-DRAWER STAND
America, 19th Century
Height 28”. Width 18.25”. Depth 18”. 300/500
7083. THREE BRASS CANDLESTICKS
18th/19th Century
A pair of push-ups with octagonal bases and a single with a square footed base. Heights 6” and 7”. 300/500
7084. CLASSICAL BLACK IRON ARGAND LAMP
19th Century
Probably E.M. Caldwell, New York. Lion’spaw tripod base. White glass shade. Electrified. Height 17”. 250/350
7085. SET OF PAINT-DECORATED LIBRARY OR BED STEPS
Late 19th/Early 20th Century
Treads painted and lightly stippled to simulate tooled leather. Height 20.5”. Width 18”. Depth 20.5”. 300/500
7085
7082
7084
7086. HAND-PAINTED TOLE TRAY
19th Century
Outer basketry design border interrupted by panels depicting fruit. Inner border with fruit, flowers and vines against a gilt ground. 22” x 16.25”. 200/400
7087. FOUR-TIER WHALE-SIDE WALL SHELF
19th Century Height 30.5”.
7088. FLORAL HOOKED RUG
Early 20th Century
300/500
Brown field with clusters of roses at each corner. White elliptical medallion at center contains a colorful bouquet and is bordered by pink and red scrolls. 29” x 45”. 150/250
7089. FLORAL HOOKED RUG
Early 20th Century
Cream-colored field with a cluster of several types of pink and blue flowers. Pink, red and olive brown drape and tassel border. 32” x 52”. 150/250
7090. ROOM-SIZE OVAL HOOKED RUG
Early 20th Century
Depicts a floral bouquet surrounded by S-scrolls, floral and foliate elements and scrolling acanthus leaves, all rendered in shades of red, pink, green, cream, brown and black. Approx. 104” x 142”. 400/800
7091. TWO FLORAL HOOKED RUGS
19th/Early 20th Century
1) Variegated blue and gray field contains an oval celadon green medallion with vine borders, an empty center and colorful flower blossoms. Believed to have been made by Eliza Atwood Childs (1801-1891) of New Hampshire. Approx. 45” x 82”.
2) Acanthus leaves bracket a multicolored stylized floral medallion on a variegated deep olive green field. 37” x 44”. 300/500
7087
AMERICAN SCHOOL 19th Century
Interior meeting scene. Unsigned. Housed in a period frame. Oil on canvas, 25” x 30”. Framed 30” x 35”. 3,000/5,000
Provenance: Vose Galleries, Boston.
New scholarship suggests this may be the work of Deacon Robert Peckham (Worcester, Massachusetts, 1785-1877).
7092.
7092
7093. CAMELBACK SOFA
New England, Late 18th Century
Gracefully flaring scrolled arms. Slightly tapering front legs joined by cross-stretchers. Back height 34”. Height to rail 18”. Maximum length 80”. 1,000/1,500
7094. SMALL TOLE OIL LAMP
19th Century
Green with gilt trim, showing substantial loss. Glass font. Candlestick-style base. Electrified. Height 10.5”. 150/250
7095. ANDREW ARCHER GAMLEY
United Kingdom, 1869-1949
“Westhaven 1890”. Signed “A.A. Gamley” and titled lower right. Watercolor on paper, 7” x 9.5” sight. Framed 11.5” x 13.5”. 200/300
7093
Cotuit, Massachusetts, 1910-1982 and 1905-1999
Low table with painted decoration of a Cape Cod seascape with a sandpiper, eel grass, shells, seagulls and two sailing vessels. Signed on a rock lower right “M & R Cahoon”. A fine and quintessential example of a collaborative work by the couple. Height 17.5”. Width 32”. Depth 15.5”. 3,000/5,000
19th Century
Portrait of a square-rigged ship. Possibly the work of a child or young adult. Unsigned. Watercolor on paper, 21” x 27.5”. Framed 25” x 31”.
300/500
7097. AMERICAN SCHOOL
7096
7097
7096. RALPH AND MARTHA CAHOON
19th Century
Depicts three figures in an expansive coastal landscape, with sailboats and buildings in the far distance. Scrolling acanthus leaf borders. 22” x 29.5”.
200/400
7099. JOSEPH LEE
California/France/England, 1827-1880
Schooner Louisa Morrison, probably in San Francisco Bay. Signed lower right “Joseph Lee”. Obverse of frame inscribed “Schooner Louisa Morrison Built by Howlett for John Morgan & Co. [...]”. Oil on canvas, 20” x 26”. Framed 24” x 30”. 8,000/12,000
Provenance:
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco / M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California, deaccessioned 1972. Hirschl & Adler, New York.
7098. TOLE TRAY WITH LANDSCAPE
7099
7100. ANTIQUE CHINESE EXPORT PORCELAIN TUREEN WITH UNDERTRAY
Chien Lung Period, Circa 1790
Made for the Marsh family of Vermont. Cover, tureen and undertray bearing the Marsh arms featuring a horse crest and a quartered shield. Blue diapered and lappet borders. Cover’s fruit-form knop and tureen’s entwined handles with some gilt highlights. Height 9”. Width across handles 14”. 2,500/3,500
Provenance: Elinor Gordon.
7101. TWO PIECES OF CHINESE EXPORT ARMORIAL PORCELAIN
19th Century
A coffeepot, height 10”, and a covered sugar bowl, height 5.5”, both with blue and gilt decoration.
1,000/1,500
19th Century Heights 3.25”.
7103. CHINESE EXPORT BLUE AND WHITE PORCELAIN COFFEEPOT
19th Century
Bulbous body with S-shaped spout and shaped handle. Domed cover with flattened knop. Scenic decoration of fishermen and sailboats on a river, with floral elements on handle and spout. Diapered and spearhead borders. Height 10.5”. 500/1,000
100/200
7102. PAIR OF CHINESE EXPORT CANTON BLUE AND WHITE PORCELAIN SALT AND PEPPER SHAKERS
7100
7101, two
7103
7105, sampling
7104. SET OF CHINESE EXPORT BLUE AND WHITE CANTON PORCELAIN PLATES
19th Century
Five salad plates, diameters 9”, and 22 dinner plates, diameters 10”.
Slight variation in patterns.
500/1,000
7105. GROUP OF CHINESE EXPORT BLUE AND WHITE PORCELAIN
19th Century
1-10) Set of ten plates (one broken) with shaped edges. Central scenic decoration of fishermen and sailboats on a river. Elaborate floral, butterfly and lattice borders. Diameters 9”.
11-22) Set of 12 shallow soup bowls with shaped edges. Similar scenic decoration and borders to above. Diameters 9”.
23-52) Set of 30 Canton dessert plates. Diameters 7.25”.
500/1,000
7106. SET OF THIRTEEN CHINESE EXPORT NANKING PORCELAIN SOUP PLATES
Mid-19th Century
Central river landscape decoration of a figure crossing a bridge while holding an umbrella. Diapered and ellipse borders.
Diameters 10”.
7107. CHINESE EXPORT BLUE AND WHITE CANTON PORCELAIN ASSEMBLED TEA SERVICE
19th Century
Some slight variation of pattern. Consists of:
1 teapot, height 6”
1 covered sugar bowl
11 cups
300/500
1 trivet, diameter 6.25”
1 cream pitcher
12 saucers 300/500
7108. CHINESE EXPORT BLUE AND WHITE CANTON PORCELAIN ASSEMBLED AFTER-DINNER SERVICE
19th Century
Some variation of patterns. Consists of: 6 dessert plates, diameters 7.5” 10 shallow fruit bowls, diameters 6” 6 cups 11 saucers 1 cream pitcher
300/500
7109. COLLECTION OF CHINESE EXPORT BLUE AND WHITE CANTON PORCELAIN TABLEWARES
19th Century
Approx. 22 items, including plates, master salts, bowls, serving pieces, etc. See complete list at www.eldreds.com. 400/800
7110. COLLECTION OF CHINESE EXPORT BLUE AND WHITE PORCELAIN
19th Century
Approx. 32 items, including dinner plates, bowls, serving pieces, etc. in Fitzhugh, Canton and other patterns. See complete list at www.eldreds.com
500/1,000
7111. TWO PAIRS OF EARLY FEDERAL TIN MIRRORED WALL SCONCES
Circa 1810
Diameters 9.5”. 2,000/3,000
7112.
America, Early 19th Century
Peaked top with slanted lid. Wire hinges. Height 5.25”. Width 11.25”. Depth 6”. 1,000/1,500
Late 18th/Early 19th Century
Painted dark green. Pine body with punched tin barrel top, four glazed panels, and rudimentary iron handle, hinges and door latch. Punched tin candle holder nailed to interior. Height 16.5”. Width 7.25”. Depth 7.5”. 400/600
19th Century
Compote height
SLATE BLUE PAINTED CANDLE BOX
7113. CANDLE LANTERN
7114. WIRE COMPOTE FILLED WITH STONE FRUIT
8”. 500/1,000
7111, two pairs
7112
7113
7114
CHARLES
GIFFORD Massachusetts, 1839-1904
Readying the boat. Signed and dated lower right “C.H. Gifford 94”. Oil on canvas, 12” x 16”. Framed 14” x 18”. 12,000/18,000
7115.
HENRY
7115
Possibly New Bedford, Massachusetts, 19th Century
Coastal scene with net gathering. Signed and dated lower left “B.S. Jenkins 1887”. Oil on canvas, 18” x 30”.
Framed 23.5” x 35”. 3,000/5,000
While there are no obvious auction records or listings in artist databases for a “B.S. Jenkins”, the Historic New England collection includes a billhead for “B.S. Jenkins Dr. House Sign and Fresco Painter [...] 431 Acushnet Ave.”.
7117.
19th Century
Seascape with two figures by a beached sailboat in the foreground, and other vessels and a prominent rocky promontory in the distance. Oil on canvas, 18” x 24”.
Framed 20.5” x 26.5”. 1,000/1,500
7116
7117
7116. AMERICAN SCHOOL
AMERICAN SCHOOL
7118. FINE PAINTED PINE PEWTER DRESSER
New England, Circa 1750
Untouched condition with worn old blue painted surface. Top section with beaded and molded sides and three shelves. Projecting base with a raised paneled cupboard door enclosing three shelves, and an open compartment with a single shelf. Height 78”. Width 62”. Depth 14”. 2,000/3,000
Provenance:
Mary Allis Collection at the David Ogden House, Fairfield, Connecticut. Peter Eaton, Newton Junction, New Hampshire.
Illustrated:
The Magazine Antiques, November 1969, p. 759.
The Chamberlain Selection of New England Rooms 1639-1863 by Samuel Chamberlain, p. 54.
7119. SEVEN PIECES OF LEAD-GLAZED REDWARE New England, Early 19th Century All with manganese decoration. Includes a pitcher, two handled crocks and four jars. One crock with bands of wavy and straight lines; some other pieces with bands of straight lines or a single incised line. Heights to 10.75”. 800/1,200
WITH MIRRORED BACKPLATES 19th Century Domed crests with piecrust edges. Heights 15”. Widths 5”. 800/1,200
7119
7120, pair
7120. PAIR OF TIN WALL SCONCES
7121. MOCHAWARE PITCHER
England, 19th Century
Banded earthworm decoration against cream and sienna-colored grounds. Height 8”. 500/700
7122. TWO BLUE AND WHITE STRIPED MOCHAWARE PITCHERS
England, 19th Century One with cover. Heights 7” and 9”. 300/500
7123
7123. SPLINTWORK FOUR-TIER WALL POCKET 19th Century
Probably Northeast Native American. Most surfaces painted blue-green, though some left natural. Hanging bracket over four graduated pockets. Height 25”. Width 11.25”. Depth 4.5”. 700/1,000
7124. YELLOWWARE BOWL 19th Century
White banded decoration. Height 5.5”. Diameter 13”. 150/250
7121
7122, two
7125. AMERICAN SCHOOL
Early 19th Century
View of a horse and carriage outside a Federal house, probably the Wheeler Homestead in Berlin, Massachusetts. Unsigned. Pen and ink on paper with red and green watercolors, 6.5” x 10” sight. Framed 8.25” x 11.75”. 2,000/3,000
7126. WILLIAM AND MARY GATELEG DINING TABLE
New York, Circa 1710-1730
Ash, pine and cherry. Oval top. Drawer at both ends of apron with old etched bat’s-wing brasses, probably replacements. Baluster and ring-turned legs end in knob feet. Boldly turned stretchers. Height 29.5”. Length 22” plus two 24” drop leaves. Width 58.75”. 5,000/10,000
7125
7126
7127. IMPORTANT ASSEMBLED SET OF EIGHT PAINTED HIGH-BACK WINDSOR ARMCHAIRS America, 1800-1810
Original black paint with Late 19th Century black-on-red graining and more recent varnish. Bambooturned eight-spindle backs. Gracefully curved arms and handholds. Bamboo-turned legs joined by slightly bulbous stretchers. Back heights 41.5”. Seat heights 19”.
20,000/30,000
Six of these chairs were discovered by Robert C. Eldred, Jr. in a Hingham, Massachusetts, home in the late 1980s, and Martha acquired them at Eldred’s, Spring Americana Auction, March 25-26, 1988, Lot #359. She later found two virtually identical chairs by the same hand from the collection of Joshua Logan, the Pulitzer Prizewinning playwright.
7127
THOMAS M ac DONALD
Canada/Scotland, 1784/1785-1862
7128. “Miss Ann Nichol” with a book and her mending. Purportedly the artist’s sweetheart. Identified in panel in lower margin. Watercolor on paper, 8.25” x 6.25” sight. Framed 10.5” x 8.5”. 15,000/25,000
Reference:
“The Discovery of Thomas MacDonald, Canada’s Elusive Portrait Painter” by Michael Bird and Terry Kobayashi in The Clarion: America’s Folk Art Magazine, Winter 1988, p. 37-43.
For a similar example see Northeast Auctions, August 2-3, 2014, Lot #542.
Although considered an important early Canadian folk artist, Thomas MacDonald, sometimes spelled McDonald, remains a bit of a mystery. Some biographies claim he was born in Scotland and emigrated to New Brunswick in 1819, while others say he has a Scottish-American background and was born in Canada. It’s believed he was a Scottish Loyalist, based on his known associations.
MacDonald flourished as an itinerant portrait painter in the 1820s and 1830s in the area of the St. John River Valley, working probably for room and board, as he died penniless. Almost all his known portraits depict the subject in Regency dress situated in a fashionable middle- or upper-class interior, but one that contains Canadian-American furniture forms rather than French or British. The subjects are typically identified in similar fancy block lettering along the lower margin.
7128
7129.
TO THOMAS MACDONALD Canada/Scotland, 1784/85-1862
Full-length portrait of “Mr. G McGregor”, a well-dressed gentleman holding a quill pen while standing at a grain-painted desk in an interior further decorated with a fancy Windsor chair, a patterned rug, red swagged drapes and a botanical painting of thistle on the wall. Unsigned. Subject identified in fancy block lettering at lower margin. Watercolor and ink on paper, 9.5” x 7.5” sight. Framed 13.5” x 8.5”. 15,000/25,000
A signed example, with an interior and sitter identification very similar to that seen here, was sold at Northeast Auctions, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, August 3, 2014, Lot #542.
ATTRIBUTED
7129
7130. ASSEMBLED SET OF THREE WINDSOR ARMCHAIRS
Pennsylvania, Late 18th/Early 19th Century
Slightly differing black painted finishes showing remnants of earlier paint. All with nearly identical construction. Backs with one-piece arched hoops and nine bamboo-turned rod spindles. Sloped arms are mortised into hoop and supported by one vasiform upright and one rod. Deep incised lines on arms continue to the undersides of the scrolled handholds. Bamboo-turned splayed legs and box stretchers. Back heights 37.25”. Seat heights 17.25”. 500/1,000
7131. DIMINUTIVE QUEEN ANNE MAPLE DROP-LEAF TABLE
18th Century
Demilune drop leaves. Arched apron. Cabriole legs with arris knees and pad feet. Height 27”. Length 13” plus two 12” drop leaves. Width 35.5”. 700/1,000
7130
7131
7132. FEDERAL CHERRY CANDLESTAND WITH RARE INTEGRATED DRAWER
Connecticut, Circa 1790
Old red finish. Square top with modified ogee edge. Candle drawer slides open at both ends. Boldly turned and incised pedestal with subtle scalloped carving. Three cabriole legs end in padded slipper feet. Height 26”. Width 17”. Depth 16.75”. 500/1,000
7133.
18th Century
Overhanging top with breadboard ends. Deep apron drawer. Straight tapered legs end in diminutive pad feet. Height 26.75”. Width 30”. Depth 23”. 2,000/3,000
7134. QUEEN ANNE LADDERBACK RUSH-SEAT ARMCHAIR
America, Circa 1790-1810
Constructed of native hardwoods, probably maple. Bold sausage- and ring-turned stiles join four arched slats. Shaped arms with scrolled handholds. Turned front stretcher. 400/600
7135. CHIPPENDALE CHERRY AND TIGER MAPLE CANDLESTAND
Connecticut, Circa 1770-1790
Old red surface. Square top with molded edge. Wonderfully figured tiger maple turned and chip-carved base. Three cabriole legs end in padded slipper feet. Height 25.5”. Top 16” x 16.5”. 1,000/1,500
QUEEN ANNE CHERRY AND WALNUT TEA TABLE
7132
7133
7134
7135
JOSEPH STEWARD
Connecticut/Massachusetts, 1753-1822
7136. JOSEPH STEWARD
Connecticut/Massachusetts, 1753-1822
Portrait of Samuel Tracey Coit, circa 1790. The young boy wears a red jacket and a white ruffled collar and stands before a yellow building and a latticework fence. Unsigned. Oil on canvas, 19” x 17”. Framed 23” x 20.5”. 100,000/150,000
Provenance:
Descended in the Coit family. Vose Galleries, Boston, 1979. The Bertram K. & Nina Fletcher Little Collection, Sotheby’s, New York, October 21-22, 1994, Lot #712. The Collection of Richard & Joy Kanter, Sotheby’s, New York, January 18, 2002, Lot #691.
Exhibited:
Lyman Allyn Museum, New London, Connecticut. The Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford: “Joseph Steward”, November 1981-January 1982. Illustrated in the catalog, p. 163, no. 71.
Joseph Steward was an artist, clergyman and entrepreneur born in Worcester County, Massachusetts. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1780, at age 27. He had some lessons in painting from John Trumbull in Hartford in 1792, and in 1793 trustees of Dartmouth College commissioned him to paint full-length portraits of board member John Phillips and founder Eleazar Wheelock.
He is known to have been was a mentor to fellow painters John Brewster, Samuel L. Waldo and Sarah Perkins.
The Sotheby’s auction cataloging indicate Nina Fletcher Little noted Samuel Tracey Coit was born May 8, 1790, and that this appears to be part of a group of family portraits of the Coit family of Norwich, Connecticut. The Coits came to Norwich and New London from Salem, and the background seen here could be of the Thames River.
7136
7137. SET OF FOUR SHAKER PAINTED PINE PILL BOXES
Enfield, Connecticut, 19th Century Red, yellow, green and blue. Heights 2”. Diameters 2.5”. 500/1,000
Provenance: Skinner, Inc., Massachusetts: The Shaker Auction, October 31-November 1, 2003, Lot #15.
A charming set, particularly beloved by Martha.
The Enfield Shaker Community, founded in the 1780s, was the only Shaker settlement in Connecticut. It was a large and prosperous community in the Early 19th Century, mostly due to its thriving seed business and its income from traditional Shaker manufactured goods sold to tourists. The settlement slowly declined in numbers as the century wore on and the last eight Shakers in Enfield sold the remaining property to tobacco growers in 1917 and moved to Hancock, Massachusetts and New Lebanon, New York. Only a few buildings survive, including one on the grounds of a Connecticut Department of Corrections facility.
7138. OVAL SHAKER COVERED BOX 19th Century
Under old gray-green paint. Height 2.5”. Length 6.25”. 300/500
7138
7139. HARVARD SHAKER COMMUNITY PAINTED PINE WORK TABLE
Harvard, Massachusetts, 19th Century
Ochre-colored grain-painted finish. D-shaped overhanging top. Cabinet base with latching door and two interior shelves. Open at back and bottom. Height 31”. Top width 30.5”. Depth 21”.
400/600
7140. HARVARD SHAKER COMMUNITY PAINTED STORAGE BENCH
Harvard, Massachusetts, 1800-1840
Holders for tools on left side. Hinged top lifts to reveal two open compartments. Back height 24.5”. Seat height 19.5”. Width 34.25”. Depth 18”.
800/1,200
Martha notes this was bought filled with wood directly from the Harvard Shakers as they sold things off to pay bills.
Located about 30 miles outside of Boston, the Harvard Settlement, the second Shaker community in America, was established in the 1780s by sect leader Mother Ann Lee. The village there was similar in layout to other Shaker communities, with a Church and North, South and East complexes, dwellings, barns and shops, a burial ground, and agricultural fields and outdoor religious spaces totaling more than 2,000 acres. The population peaked at about 200 members in the 1850s, then fell to less than 40 by 1890. It was at this point the Shakers were forced to begin selling property, with the remaining eldresses selling the last parcels in the Early 20th Century.
7139
7140
Early 20th Century
With swing handle. No cover. Height 12”. Rim diameter 11”. 100/200
7142.
19th Century
Under old red paint. Upper section compartment with hinged lid. Lower section with single paneled door enclosing shelves on both sides. Height 36.25”. Width 36”. Depth 16.25”. 700/1,000
Under a white-gray wash. Rudimentary X-shaped base. Height 62”. Maximum width 37”. 200/300
SHAKER TWO-LEVEL DRY SINK
7143. SOFTWOOD DRYING RACK, POSSIBLY SHAKER
7141
7142
7141. SHAKER FIRKIN
7143
7144. PAINTED WOODEN PAIL
Possibly New Lebanon, New York, 19th Century
Under original ochre brown paint. Pine staves with tongue-and-groove joints. Iron hoops with clipped ends. Pine base plate. Handle with coffin-shaped bail plates and stained hardwood handhold. Height to rim 9.25”. Diameter 12”. 200/300
7145. MAPLE AND PINE TALL WORK CHAIR
19th Century
Old yellow paint over salmon red. Back with straight crest and pencil post stiles. Plank seat with straw-filled leather covering affixed with tacks. Splayed legs joined by pencil stretchers. Back height 40.75”. Seat height 28”. 300/500
7147.
7146. RED PAINTED WINDSOR STOOL
19th Century
Oval seat with incised band around perimeter. Four bamboo-turned splayed legs joined by straight stretchers. Height 13”. 200/400
19th Century
Circular top on chamfered pedestal. Four arched and chamfered legs. Height 25”. 300/500
7144
PRIMITIVE GREEN PAINTED SIDE TABLE
7145
7146
7147
7148. COBBLER’S BENCH 19th Century
Mixed wood construction. Leather seat affixed with brass tacks. Drawer in base fitted with compartments and leather loops for tools. Height 16.75”. Width 46.75”. Depth 22”. 300/500
7149. COLLECTION OF AMERICANA
1) Pair of stencil-decorated bellows. Length 21”.
2) Stencil-decorated bucket. Height 9.5”.
3) Painted wooden drying rack. Height 28.5”.
4) Colonial-style clay pipe, possibly of the period. Unadorned and unmarked. Length 12”. 200/400
7150. TWELVE-DRAWER CHEST WITH COLLECTION OF BUTTONS
Late 19th and 20th Century
Large number of mostly vintage and contemporary buttons, as well as other sewing notions. Chest height 18”. Width 14.5”. Depth 5.5”. 200/300
7151. AMERICAN SCHOOL
Mid-19th Century
Memorial “In Memory of Elizabeth H Covington who died at Plymouth Sept 23d 1799 Aged 15 Months. and of Clement Covington who died at Middleborough Oct 23d 1826 Aged 3 Years.” Depicts a woman wearing a black veil leaning against a monument topped with two urns and nestled below a weeping willow. Rolling fields overlook a church, churchyard and stand of trees. Watercolor on paper, 7.25” x 8.75” sight. Framed 10.25” x 11.75”. 2,000/3,000
Provenance:
Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York, October 25, 1994.
The Collection of Mr. & Mrs. Eddy Nicholson, Christie’s, New York, January 28, 1995, Lot #860.
7151
7152. AMERICAN SCHOOL Circa 1829
Another memorial to Amos Tyler, with matching dates and similar composition but differing verse, is in the Museum of Fine Arts
Boston collection, gift of Maxim Karolik for the M. and M. Karolik Collection of American Watercolors and Drawings, 1800–1875, accession date June 7, 1956.
Genealogical research indicates Amos Tyler was born August 14, 1791 in Warren, Massachusetts, son of Abner Tyler and Bethia Muzzy. He died in nearby Palmer, Massachusetts.
Memorial “Sacred to the memory of Amos Tyler, who died Jan. 15, 1829. Ag. 37. He is on his Saviours bosom laid And feels no sorrows there”. Depicts a woman resting against a monument nestled below a weeping willow and bedecked with pink roses. Watercolor on paper, 6” x 8” sight. Framed 7.25” x 9.25”. 500/1,000
Reference:
For a similar example, see The Arthur & Sybil Kern Collection of American Folk Art. Skinner, Inc., Massachusetts, August 12, 2018, Lot #340.
7152
7153. EXCEPTIONAL FOLK ART NEEDLEWORK PICTURE
Vermont or Pennsylvania, Dated 1834
“Mary Ann Rowe’s Work, Reading, 1834”. Reminiscent of the Mason School, Kutztown, Pennsylvania. Depicts a lush floral landscape with an elegant house, an oversized bird and two finely dressed children and their dogs. Finely worked in a variety of complex stitches and accented with beadwork details, mostly in shades of aqua, cream, peach and gold. Housed in the original tiger maple frame with original glass. 17.75” x 22” sight. Framed 18” x 22.5”.
2,000/3,000
7153
7154. PAINT-DECORATED PINE AND POPLAR BOX
Possibly New York State, 19th Century
Top and sides with vibrantly colored tulips and leaves against a cream ground. Ball feet. Height 5.75”. Width 12.75”. Depth 7”. 1,000/2,000
7155. PAIR OF UPHOLSTERED PINE AND MAPLE WINDSOR FOOTSTOOLS OR CRICKETS
New England, Second Quarter of the 19th Century Tops with brown wool upholstery in multicolored floral designs and bullion fringe. Turned legs stained red. Notably fine condition. Heights 8.25”. Lengths 16.5”.
Widths 11”.
700/1,000
7156. PAINT-DECORATED BOX
New England, 19th Century
Front depicts pink roses in a basket. Top and sides with a four-leaf cluster. Lid with a simple bail handle and cotter pin hinges. Interior with covered till. Height 5”. Width 9.75”. Depth 5.25”. 1,000/1,500
7154
7155
7156
7157. FINE AND RARE SET OF SIX DANIEL STEWART PAINT-DECORATED STEP-DOWN WINDSOR SIDE CHAIRS
Farmington, Maine, Circa 1815-1825
Red and green decoration against a pink ground, the crests with a foliate design. One labeled on underside “Daniel Stewart, Chair-Maker & Painter, Farmington, Me.”. All marked illegibly in pencil on underside, possibly “Carson”. Back heights 35.5”. Seat heights 17.5”. 3,000/5,000
Reference:
This set, and the additional two attributed to Daniel Stewart offered as the following lot, are similar to a set of six seen in Simple Forms and Vivid Colors: Maine Painted Furniture, 1800-1850 by Edwin A. Churchill (Indiana University, 1983), p. 17 and 82.
7157
Daniel Stewart worked in Farmington from 1812 to 1827. He was also a painter in addition to making chairs, and his artistic talent is evident in the decoration he used to accent the lines of his Windsors.
Maine, Circa 1820
Original pink paint accentuated by exuberant red and green decoration. Back heights 34.25”. Seat heights 18”.
Provenance: Don Walters Art and Antiques.
800/1,200
7158. PAIR OF FEDERAL PAINT-DECORATED STEP-DOWN WINDSOR SIDE CHAIRS ATTRIBUTED TO DANIEL STEWART
7158, pair
7159. AMERICAN SCHOOL
Early 19th Century
Memorial “Stern’s Maria 1807”. Round vignette of a mournful woman and her dog below a tree. Foliate garland above vignette. Titled in banner below. Unsigned. Watercolor, 9.5” x 7.5” sight. Framed 11” x 9.25”. 1,000/1,500
7160. AMERICAN SCHOOL
19th Century
Memorial “Sacred to the memory of Mrs. Rebecca Barber who departed this life September the 4th 1828 Aged 48 years”. Depicts a woman mourning at a monument, accompanied by her dog. While the monument is below a weeping willow, as typical for memorials, it is located between imposing homes in a setting far more urban than the bucolic landscape traditionally seen. Watercolor and ink on paper, 18.5” x 14.75” sight. Framed 23” x 19”.
1,200/1,800
Genealogical research indicates Rebecca Hosmer Barber was born November 18, 1780, the daughter of Stephen Hosmer and Sara Davis of Acton, Massachusetts. She married Jonathan Barber, a farmer, on September 14, 1800, and she died of consumption in Charlestown.
7160
7161. ATTRIBUTED TO WILLIAM KENNEDY
Maryland/Massachusetts/New Hampshire, 1817-1871
Portrait of a young girl wearing a blue dress and holding a floral sprig and a tiny basket. Unsigned. Oil on canvas, 24” x 20”. Framed 29” x 25”. 7,000/10,000
7162. RED-PAINTED BEDSTEAD
America, Late 18th/Early 19th Century
Short turned head posts with compressed ball finials and tapered legs. Triangular arched headboard. Conforming foot posts. Molded rails. Maximum height 31”. Width 48”. Length 73.5”. 300/500
Provenance: Joe Kindig, Jr. & Son, York, Pennsylvania.
America, 19th Century
Red, blue, yellow and brown stripes. Approx. 10’0” x 12’0”.
500/1,000
7165. GREEN PAINTED PINE CRICKET
19th Century
Paint on top almost entirely worn away. Charmingly shaped skirt and legs.
Height 7”. Length 12”. Width 6.25”. 100/200
7164. WINDSOR ROD-BACK ROCKING ARMCHAIR
19th Century
Under layers of paint and varnish. Bamboo-turned splayed legs joined by a box stretcher. Rockers attached to legs with wooden pins. Back height 32.5”. Seat height 16.5”. 200/400
7163. RARE SURVIVING INGRAIN CARPET
7162
7163
7164
7166. CHARMING COUNTRY FEDERAL GRAIN-PAINTED TWO-DRAWER STAND
New England, Early 19th Century
Original mustard yellow paint. Serpentine rectangular top with canted corners. Straight skirt fitted with half drawers. Square tapered legs. Signed in pencil on underside of one drawer “B.F. Rollins March 1818”. Height 29”. Width 24.75”. Depth 16”. 1,000/1,500
19th Century
7168. FEDERAL TABERNACLE MIRROR
19th Century
Gilt and ebonized split-column frame with ormolu rosettes mounted on the corner blocks. Reverse-painted glass upper tablet depicts an actress. Height 34”. Width 15.5”. 200/300
7167. DIMINUTIVE SIX-BOARD BOX WITH OLD RED FINISH
Both with fixed handles. Heights 6” and 7.5”. 150/250
7170. SMALL RED PAINTED COVERED BASKET
19th Century Height 3.75”. 150/250
7171. FEDERAL PAINT-DECORATED PINE CHEST OF DRAWERS
New England, Early 19th Century Red and yellow grain paint simulates crotch-grain veneer. Top with porringer corners. Ring-turned three-quarter columns at sides of case terminate in turned legs. Height 38.75”. Width 41”. Depth 22”. 1,000/1,500
7172. WINDSOR ROD-BACK SIDE CHAIR
First Quarter of the 19th Century Yellow-red finish. Bamboo-turned spindles, legs and stretchers. Back height 34.25”. Seat height 17.5”. 200/400
7169, two
7170
7171
7172
7173. COUNTRY FEDERAL INLAID LAMP STAND
Massachusetts or New Hampshire, Late 18th/Early 19th Century
Cherry or mahogany. Rectangular overhanging top inlaid with a bird’seye maple diamond outlined with stringing, and cross banding and stringing around perimeter. Single drawer in apron. Square tapered legs with inlaid cuffs. Height 28”. Width 19.5”. Depth 17.75”. 500/800
Design of palmettes and leaf fronds. Approx. 90” x 86”. 200/400
7175. INDIGO-DYED LINSEY-WOOLSEY QUILTED COVERLET
America, Early 19th Century
Design of diamonds, hearts, flowers and pinwheels. Gold-colored backing. Approx. 99” x 97”.
200/400
7176. SET OF SIX PAINTED BOW-BACK WINDSOR SIDE CHAIRS
Massachusetts or New Hampshire, 18th Century
Under original dark green paint. Back heights 37” to 37.75”. Seat heights 17” to 17.5”.
1,000/1,500
7176
7173
New England, 18th Century Pine top. Hardwood base with block and turned legs and stretcher showing several layers of old paint. All original components save for the breadboard ends, which were done by Gates Moore, possibly 1956. Height 23”. Top 23.5” x 14.25”. 1,000/1,500
7178.
19th Century
Starburst design on hinged door to access candle. Similar starburst and geometric designs on body and conical chimney. Hard-wired. Height 11”. 200/300
7177. RARE DIMINUTIVE TRESTLE TABLE
PUNCHED TIN REVERE CANDLE LANTERN
7177
7178
19th Century Melon-shaped backplates. Candle cups with piecrust edge. Heights 10.5”. 400/600
America, 19th Century Old finish. Interior with three compartments and two drawers. Height 7.75”. Width 15.75”. Depth 11”. 300/500
Probably 19th Century Diameters 12.25”, 14.25” and
7182. SPLINTWORK GATHERING BASKET
Probably New England, 19th Century Painted dark blue-black. Bentwood swing handle. X-wrapped rim. High concave base. Height to rim 8”. Diameter 15”. 200/400
7179. PAIR OF PEWTER WALL SCONCES
7180. GRAIN-PAINTED PINE SLANT-LID WRITING BOX
7181. THREE WOODEN BOWLS, ONE BURLWOOD
16.5”. 150/250
7179
7180
7181
7182
7183. EARLY TAVERN TABLE
18th Century or Earlier
Dark red finish. Long oval top nailed to a simple splayed base, the square legs joined by a box stretcher. Stretchers worn from resting feet. Height 23”. Top 32” x 19.5”. 500/1,000
7184. EBONIZED QUEEN ANNE RUSH-SEAT SIDE CHAIR
18th Century
Back with a yoke-shaped carved crest rail and vasiform splat. Bold block and turned front legs end in Spanish feet and are joined by a turned stretcher. Painted finish probably of the 19th Century. Back height 41”. Seat height 18”. 300/500
7185. EARLY STAND
Late 17th/Early 18th Century
Probably walnut with old green painted surfaces. Vase and ring-turned pedestal. Crossed mortised base with shaped toes. Height 24.5”. Diameter 20” to 20.5”. 2,000/3,000
7183
7184
7185
7186. ATTRIBUTED TO WILLIAM MATTHEW PRIOR Massachusetts/Maine, 1806-1873
Portrait of two children, the girl dressed in red and holding an implement, possibly a pen, and the boy dressed in blue and holding a pony whip. Unsigned. Oil on board, 14” x 22”. Framed 17.5” x 25.5”.
30,000/50,000
This painting can be compared with William Matthew Prior’s portrait of the three Sweetser children, sold at Christie’s, January 24, 2014, Lot #248, in which one of the children is wearing a similar red dress to the one seen here, and another child is dressed in blue. In another unsigned portrait attributed to Prior, sold at Brunk Auctions, September 16-17, 2022, Lot #1314, the boy is seated in a similar pose and holding nearly the exact same object as the one seen here, described as a fishing pole.
7186
7187. PINE CORNER CUPBOARD
19th Century
Under later blue-green paint. Molded top and sides. Canted corners. Upper section with three shelves and lower section with a paneled cupboard door. Height 79”. Takes a 21” corner.
300/500
7188. COLLECTION OF BLUE FEATHER-EDGE CREAMWARE
Early 19th Century
Approx. 16 pieces including plates, dishes, serving bowls, platters, etc., together with a plate with shaped edge and rooster decoration, and a contemporary Copeland Spode leaf-form tray. See complete list at www.eldreds.com
400/600
7189. COLLECTION OF AMERICANA
19th and 20th Century
A lantern, a candle box with sliding lid, a wooden bucket and a splint one-handled basket. Heights to 12.5”.
300/500
7190. FOURTEEN PIECES OF ALABASTER FRUIT
19th Century
200/300
7191. CUT OVERLAY GLASS LAMP, PROBABLY SANDWICH
Mid-19th Century
Cased glass font with white cut to clear floral design. Brass collar and stem. Marble base. Electrified. Total height 17”.
150/250
7192.
19th and 20th Century
A rare alabaster halved peach on a black pedestal, a cluster of stone cherries with wire stems, and a carved and painted wooden sliced apple. Heights 2.25” and 3.5”. 200/400
19th Century
Pine staves and base plate. No handle. Height 10”. Diameter 12”. 200/300
New England, Mid-19th Century
Possibly Shaker. Painted mustard yellow and brown. Three graduated straight-front shelves above a shaped shelf. Scalloped sides. Height 35”. Width 25.5”. 500/1,000
Martha recalled purchasing this at Christie’s.
America, Circa 1873
Shaped handle between two compartments with hinged lids, one marked “Knives.” and the other “Spoons.”. Sides with applied panels, one marked “To My Wife.” and the other “Sept 1873.”. Height 7”. Length 13”. Width 8.5”. 2,000/3,000
THREE PIECES OF FRUIT DECOR
7193. BUCKET WITH OLD RED STAIN
7194. GRAIN-PAINTED WALL SHELF
7195. UNUSUAL CARVED AND PAINTED WALNUT CUTLERY BOX
7192
7193
7194
7195
7196. SET OF FOUR GREEK REVIVAL PAINT- AND STENCIL-DECORATED SIDE CHAIRS
New England, Circa 1830
Painted black over what appears to be red original paint. Crest rail and front of seat with gilt and ochre sun, crescent moon, tulip and vine decoration. Gilt highlights on stiles, flaring spindles, turned front legs and turned front stretcher. Seats with cream, green and brown grain-painted decoration. Back heights 32”. Seat heights 17”.
Illustrated:
400/800
American Furniture and the British Tradition to 1830 by John Kirk in the “Original American Statements” chapter, fig. 397.
7197. QUEEN ANNE MAPLE DROP-LEAF DINING TABLE
Massachusetts, Circa 1730
Round top with old washed surface. Skirt with cupid’s-bow at ends. Cabriole legs end in pad feet. Height 28.25”.
Length 13.5” plus two 13.75” drop leaves. Width 42”. 1,000/1,500
Provenance: George W. Samaha, Wellesley, Massachusetts.
7196
7197
7198. AMERICAN SCHOOL
19th Century
“Readying for a Day Trip: View of the Robert Dean House Taunton, Massachusetts”. Depicts figures readying horses by the stables in back of a stately home. Unsigned. New York canvas preparer’s stamp verso. Oil on canvas, 14” x 20”. Framed 18” x 24”. 2,000/4,000
Provenance: Skinner, Inc., Massachusetts, March 21, 1992, Lot #109.
7199. FEDERAL GRAIN-PAINTED SCHOOLMASTER’S DESK
America, Circa 1800
Painted to simulate bird’s-eye maple and mahogany. Slanted top lifts to reveal an open compartment. Single drawer in skirt. Square tapered legs. Height 50”. Width 28”. Depth 19”. 1,500/2,500
7200. RARE WINDSOR STOOL
America, First Quarter of the 19th Century Painted green. Bamboo-turned legs joined with bulbous stretchers. Height 27.5”. Seat diameter 14.5”.
500/1,000
The Robert Dean House, which was located on Williams Street, was destroyed by fire in the 20th Century.
7198
7199
7200
7201. AMERICAN SCHOOL
Massachusetts/Maine, 1806-1873
Portrait of a little girl wearing a red dress and holding toys. Unsigned. Oil on canvas, 28” x 24”. Unframed.
30,000/50,000
Provenance:
Skinner, Inc., Massachusetts, February 24, 2002, Lot #275, sold attributed to Deacon Robert Peckham (Worcester, Massachusetts, 1785-1877).
Martha had fond recollections of this painting, a testament to how rare and wonderful she found it to be.
7202. AMERICAN SCHOOL
Vermont, Circa 1835-1840
Composition study with a basket of fruits and leaves, a compote of fruit, two palm trees, a grape cluster on a vine and a cornucopia of flowers. Mixed media on paper, 17” x 20.5”. Framed 21.5” x 24.75”. 800/1,200
7203. AMERICAN SCHOOL 19th Century
Theorem painting “A Sister’s Offering”, depicting a compote of fruit. Possibly Shaker. Inscribed in ink below compote foot. Watercolor on paper, 12.25” x 16.75”. Framed 14.5” x 18.75”. 1,000/1,500
7204. AMERICAN SCHOOL 19th Century
Theorem painting of a basket of fruit enclosed within floral spandrels, circa 1845. Wonderful color and composition. Housed in a period red painted frame, probably the original. Watercolor on velvet, 18” x 18.5” sight. Framed 20.5” x 21.5”. 500/800
7205. AMERICAN SCHOOL 19th Century
Theorem painting of a basket of flowers. Unsigned. Paper label verso inscribed “Done by Lavinia Kimball about the year 1830”. Watercolor and ink on velvet, 17.5” x 22”. Framed 20.5” x 25”. 500/800
7202
7203
7204
7205
7206. QUEEN ANNE GRAIN-PAINTED CHERRY AND PINE TEA TABLE
New England, Circa 1750
Tray top with concave and convex moldings, giving the illusion of a tray placed on top of a stand. Graceful slender cabriole legs end in delicate pad feet. Top painted with veining to simulate marble. Height 26.5”. Length 26.75”. Width 18.5”. 7,000/10,000
Reference:
The design of this table is similar to ones from the Faith P. & Charles L. Bybee Collection of American Furniture and the Bertram K. & Nina Fletcher Little Collection.
The rise of tea drinking as a popular social activity in the 17th Century spurred the development of specialized serving devices, from strainers and teapots to trays and tables. Tea tables were built at a height to best suit seated tea drinkers, and the molded rim on tables like this helped keep any spills at bay. The delicate design of the legs on this table could be the cabinetmaker’s poetic nod to the fragile handles on porcelain teacups.
7206
ATTRIBUTED TO DUPUE (THE GUILFORD LIMNER)
Kentucky, Dated 1820
7207. Portrait of Mr. and Mrs. James Ragland on their Kentucky estate Housed in the original black and gold ogee frame, the backboard inscribed “Mr. Jas. Ragland and wife taken August 1820 on Clark Co., Kentucky by Dupue”. Watercolor, pen and ink on paper, 12.5” x 15.5” sight. Framed. 20,000/30,000
Provenance:
Clark Bayley, Newbury, Massachusetts, 1958.
The Bertram K. Little & Nina Fletcher Little Collection, Sotheby’s, New York, January 29, 1994, Lot #193.
The Folk Art Collection of Jon & Rebecca Zoler, Sotheby’s, New York, January 22, 2005, Lot #623.
Little by Little: Six Decades of Collecting American Decorative Arts by Nina Fletcher Little (1984), p. 153, fig. 204.
Reference:
“The Conversation Piece in American Folk Art” by Nina Fletcher Little in The Magazine Antiques, November 1968, p. 744-749.
“The Guilford Limner” by Jim Schlosser in O. Henry: The Art & Soul of Greensboro magazine, February/March, 2012, p. 16-18.
James R. Ragland of Clark County is listed in the 1820 Kentucky census. His wife was Frances (Burrus) Ragland.
This portrait bears several stylistic similarities to the body of work attributed to the “Guilford Limner”, several of which are in the collection of the Greensboro History Museum in North Carolina. The subjects are typically depicted seated in similar chairs, one leg crossed over the knee, and their hair is wispy, their eyes are unusually large, and their hands are flaccid, often described as “boneless”. The women are usually sewing or knitting and the images are often bordered by flowers or vines, as seen here.
Many of the subjects were from the area around Greensboro, in Guilford County, which led to the moniker. This is the only known signed work associated with the Guilford Limner, and no bills, advertisements or receipts have been linked to any works, so his or her identity remains unknown. Several men named Dupue, or close variations thereof, are listed in the same Kentucky census as James Ragland, but it’s believed the Guilford Limner traveled throughout North Carolina, Kentucky and Virginia.
7208. RED-WASHED BIRCH TALL CHEST
New Hampshire, Circa 1815
Coved molded flaring cornice above five thumb-molded drawers. Deep top drawer simulates five, the central with a deeply carved pinwheel. Four graduated drawers below. Molded shaped bracket base. Finish and hardware appear original. Height 53”. Width 39.25”. Depth 19.25”. 2,500/3,500
Provenance: George W. Samaha, Wellesley, Massachusetts.
7210. CLASSICAL GRAIN-PAINTED AND GILT-DECORATED LOOKING GLASS
America, Second Quarter of the 19th Century Eglomise upper tablet depicts a lady posing on a klismos chair before drawn curtains. Height 34”. Width 15.75”. 300/500
7211.
7209. PAIR OF RUDIMENTARY BEDS
300/500
PAINTED PINE TRUNK
19th Century
Loose red and black grain-painted decoration, most distinctly on front. Remnants of leather strap handles at sides. Hinged lid with shaped edge. Chalk and pencil inscriptions on interior of lid, mostly arithmetic and names. Height 12.5”. Width 33.5”. Depth 14.5”. 400/600
7208
7210
7211
7212. QUEEN ANNE TIGER MAPLE DROP-LEAF TABLE
New England, 18th Century
Oval top with exceptional figuring. Red painted base with molded skirt and cabriole legs ending in high pad feet. Original surfaces. Height 28.5”. Length 14” plus two 14” drop leaves. Width 44”. 1,500/2,500
Provenance:
The Collection of Marna Anderson, Skinner, Inc., Massachusetts, March 21, 1998, Lot #102 (retains collection sticker).
George W. Samaha, Wellesley, Massachusetts. David Pottinger.
7213. AMERICAN SCHOOL
Early 19th Century
A vase of flowers on a tabletop. Unsigned. Mixed media on paper, 11.5” x 8.5” sight. Framed 14” x 11.25”. 400/600
7214. COUNTRY FEDERAL BIRCH WORKSTAND
New Hampshire, Early 19th Century
Top with cyma-curve edge. Full-width drawer in apron. Below drawer is an unusual small oblong swing-out work surface. Square reverse-tapered shaft raised on four spider legs with chamfering that aligns with the corners of the shaft, creating a long elegant line. Petite spade feet. Original reddish surface. Height 27.5”. Width 20”. Depth 19.75”. 500/1,000
7215. “MAKE DO” ARMCHAIR
19th Century
Originally made from a ladderback chair. White slipcover. Back height 45”. Seat height 15”. 300/500
7212
7213
7214
19th Century
Miniature portrait of Eliza Fowler of Northbridge, Massachusetts, 1832. Unsigned. Watercolor and pencil on paper, 5.75” x 4.25”. Framed 7.25” x 5.75”. 3,000/5,000
19th Century
View of a red brick colonial home with attic dormers and an arched window. Unsigned. Watercolor on paper, 10.75” x 14.5” sight. Framed 15” x 18.5”. 500/1,000
7216. AMERICAN SCHOOL
7217. AMERICAN SCHOOL
7216
7217
Edwin Plummer, born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, was an author, lecturer and businessman. His obituary described him as “a painter of no mean ability, which talent he employed for his own gratification and that of his personal friends”. His portraits are delicately detailed and have an elegant sensibility.
7218. EDWIN PLUMMER Massachusetts, 1802-1880
Miniature profile portrait of Miss Stevens, from the area of Andover, Massachusetts. Unsigned. Inscribed in pencil verso “Stevens, lace, purple; watercolor & pencil on paper”. Watercolor on paper, 4.75” x 3.25” sight. Framed 6.25” x 4.75”. 15,000/25,000
Provenance: Family descent. Doll & Richards, Boston. Skinner, Inc., Massachusetts, June 6, 2004, Lot #21.
Reference: American Folk Portraits: Paintings & Drawings from the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, p. 162-163.
7218
7219. AMERICAN SCHOOL
19th Century
Two theorem paintings of baskets of fruit. One with old handwritten label affixed verso inscribed “Mrs. Ellen Stearns Bowles Work[?]”. Watercolors and ink on velvet, 12” x 13.5” sight and 11” x 13.5” sight. Framed 14.5” x 16”. 500/1,000
7220. CHINESE EXPORT BLUE AND WHITE PORCELAIN MEIPING VASE
19th Century
Decoration of floral urns surrounded by butterflies, flower blossoms and intricate borders. Gilt highlights, particularly at shoulder. Electrified and mounted as a table lamp on a carved wooden base. Total height 22”. 300/500
7221. PAIR OF CHINESE EXPORT FAMILLE VERTE PORCELAIN MEIPING VASES
19th Century
Decoration of scattered butterflies, flower blossoms and leaves surround wreaths. Gilt highlights. Mounted as table lamps and affixed to wooden bases painted to coordinate. Total heights 22”. 300/500
7222. PAIR OF CHINESE EXPORT ROSE MEDALLION PORCELAIN MONUMENTAL CANDLESTICKS
19th Century
Traditional decoration of figural vignettes. Mounted as table lamps and affixed to carved wooden bases. Total heights 26”. 300/500
7223. CHINESE FAMILLE ROSE PORCELAIN VASE
20th Century
Phoenix and lotus decoration with an unusual stippled lappet design at shoulder. Mounted as a table lamp and affixed to a carved wooden base. Carved serpentine finial. Total height 26.25”. 150/250
New England, Circa 1790-1800 Serpentine top. Cupid’s-bow shaped apron. Linenfold tapered legs. Height 27.5”. Length 16” plus two 9” drop leaves.
Width 35”. 300/500
7226. CHIPPENDALE MAPLE AND BIRCH CANDLESTAND
New Hampshire, Late 18th Century Octagonal top with ogee edge. Turned pedestal raised on cabriole legs ending in pad feet. Height 26”. Top 13.5” x 13.75”. 800/1,200
7227.
SMALL QUEEN ANNE MAPLE DINING TABLE
New England, Circa 1760
Circular overhanging top on a valanced apron. Cabriole legs with sharp-edged knees and pad feet with thick platforms. Old finish. Old splits repaired with dutchmen. Height 27.25”. Length 12” plus two 11.5” drop leaves.
Width 35.5”. 2,000/3,000
7224
7225
7226
7227
7228. FIVE PRESSED CLEAR GLASS LAMPS
19th Century
Several with Loop pattern fonts. Two electrified for use as table lamps. Heights to collars from 10” to 11.5”. 400/800
7229. EIGHT CLEAR GLASS LAMPS WITH BLOWN FONTS
19th Century
Seven with etched decoration, including a pair with drape and tassel design. Molded bases. Three electrified for use as table lamps and three with original burners. Heights to collars from 8.5” to 12”. 500/1,000
Provenance:
One from the Frank E. Jedlicka Collection (retains collection sticker).
7230. BENTWOOD CANE-SEAT DOLL’S HIGH CHAIR WITH STEIFF BEAR
20th Century
Chair with food tray and foot rest. Mohair bear with Steiff button in right ear. Chair back height 24.5”. Bear height 19”. 300/500
7231. COLLECTION OF STONE FRUIT IN A MARBLE COMPOTE
19th and 20th Century
Approx. 16 pieces of fruit, including apples, peaches, pears and figs. Contemporary compote with screw-off base. Compote height 6.5”. 200/300
7232. 18TH CENTURY-STYLE TAVERN TABLE
America, 20th Century
Made up of old parts. Single drawer in apron. Turned legs joined with straight stretchers. Height 23.5”. Top 27.5” x 16.5”. 300/500
7233. TWO COVERLETS
19th Century
1) Indigo-dyed Linsey-Woosley quilted coverlet with floral medallion design. Gold-colored backing. Approx. 89” x 89”.
2) Overshot coverlet with blue and white geometric medallion design. Two pieces sewn together. Approx. 70” x 90”. 150/250
7234. OVERSHOT TEXTILE
19th Century Green, teal, tan, cream and orange floral design. Approx. 100” x 104”. 150/250
7235. TWO COVERLETS
1) 19th Century overshot with red and blue design of roses, pinwheels and manor houses. Approx. 84” x 100”.
2) Mid-20th Century Goodwin Guild in a red and white grid design. Retains “Woven by the Goodwin Guild” label. Approx. 88” x 112”. 300/500
The Goodwin Guild specialized in reproducing antique coverlet patterns, operating from the early 1950s to the 1990s in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. The Goodwin family, however, began operating mills in the 19th Century in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee.
7236. PRINTED BUST PORTRAIT OF “GEN.L HAMILTON”
Believed to be Alexander Hamilton. Some coloring. Framed 5” x 4”. 100/200
7237. CONTEMPORARY REDWARE “MARTHA” PLATTER 20th Century Length 16”. 200/300
7238. CONTEMPORARY REDWARE “HAMILTON” PLATTER 20th Century Diameter 12”. 200/300
7236
7237
7238
GLOSSARY, IMPORTANT NOTICES AND ADVICE TO BIDDERS
Authorship of Paintings and Works of Art
A LEMUEL D. ELDRED
Massachusetts, 1848-1921
In our opinion, this is a work by the artist.
B. ATTRIBUTED TO LEMUEL D. ELDRED
Massachusetts, 1848-1921
In our opinion, probably a work by the artist based on the style of the piece, however, the work lacks a signature, marking or adequate provenance to fully ascribe it.
C MANNER OF LEMUEL D. ELDRED
Massachusetts, 1848-1921
In our opinion, a work made in the style of the artist listed, most likely by a follower or student.
D SCHOOL OF LEMUEL D. ELDRED
Late 19th Century
In our opinion, a work executed at the time and in the style of the artist listed.
E. AFTER LEMUEL D. ELDRED
20th Century
In our opinion, a work made in the style of the artist listed, but not by the artist. Often used to describe a direct reproduction of an original work of art.
Ascribing Date of Origin
If a date and location are included in a heading, it is our opinion the piece is essentially of the period and was made in the area indicated. The inclusion of the world “style” in the heading indicates the piece was made at a later date as an intentional reproduction of the earlier style.
Dimensions
Unless otherwise specified, dimensions are formatted Height x Width. Dimensions are approximate as they are often rounded to the nearest quarter inch. Furniture and other objects are measured to the tallest and widest points. Paintings are measured by the dimensions of the stretcher or supports. A “sight” measurement is the visible size of an artwork if the piece is obscured by its frame or matting.
Condition Reports
It is the bidder’s responsibility to obtain a condition report. Condition reports can be viewed at www.eldreds.com or by contacting us. Condition reports will be provided to the best of our ability, and the reports are statements of opinion only. Prospective buyers should satisfy themselves by personal inspection as to the condition of each lot. The absence of a condition report does not imply an object is free of defects or restoration. If provided, a condition report may only detail flaws or restorations, and may not take into account wear, fading or other issues consistent with an object’s age. All property is sold subject to Item 1 of our Conditions of Sale, which provides all property is sold as-is. Jewelry has been analyzed and evaluated in accordance with standards using state of the art methods and precision equipment. Unless otherwise stated, all colored stones listed have probably been subjected to various treatments to improve their appearance. Treatments are considered usual and customary practices when properly disclosed and when done without intent to defraud.
Advice to Bidders
1. Carefully read the Conditions of Sale on the following page.
2. Pre-sale estimates are provided for your convenience. They are not meant to be taken as a guide to the value of an item, but rather its expected selling price. Estimates are prepared well in advance of a sale and are subject to revision.
3. If you are unfamiliar with auction procedure or terminology, please ask for assistance from our staff.
4. You may bid in person for this auction. Online, phone and absentee bidding are also available.
5. If you wish to leave an Absentee Bid or request a Telephone Bid, please review the Absentee/Telephone Bid Procedure and submit a completed bid form.
6. Online bidding is available at www.eldreds.com. Prospective bidders must register and be approved prior to placing bids or bidding live online.
6. Eldred’s reserves the right to refuse to issue, or to revoke, bidding credentials, or to reject any bid, if deemed necessary and proper in its sole discretion, for the conduct of the auction process, and to insure fairness to consignors and other bidders.
Terms and Payment
A buyer’s premium will be added to the hammer price of all purchases. The buyer’s premium is 26 percent of the final bid price up to and including $500,000, and 10 percent of the final bid price over $500,000.
Bidders holding a resale number must provide a copy of their certificate or otherwise will be required to pay Massachusetts or other applicable state and local taxes.
We require prompt payment. We accept checks, cash, money orders, electronic transfers and domestic credit cards. Credit cards may only be used for up to $5,000 of the invoice total, and we will not accept credit card payment for any jewelry lot. We reserve the right to hold merchandise until payment has cleared.
Shipping Information
We require prompt removal of your purchases
If you plan to pick up your purchases, please call ahead and we’ll make every effort to have your items ready.
For those needing purchases shipped, we will provide you a list of shipping agents if we are unable to provide shipping services.
Bidding Increments
$0-$99: $10 I $100-$499: $25 I $500-$999: $50
$1,000-$2,999: $100 I $3,000-$4,999: $250
$5,000-$9,999: $500 I $10,000-$29,999: $1,000
$30,000-$49,999: $2,500 I $50,000-$99,999: $5,000
$100,000 and above: $10,000
Above $300,000 at the auctioneer’s discretion
1. CORRECTNESS OF DESCRIPTION: Robert C. Eldred Co., Inc.
(hereinafter referred to as Eldred’s) has exercised reasonable care to catalog and describe correctly the property to be sold, but neither Eldred’s nor its consignors warrant the correctness of description, attribution, authenticity, or condition of said property. No statements shall be deemed such a warranty or representation or an assumption of liability with respect thereto, but are to be construed as opinions only. Bidders are encouraged to personally examine all property to be sold prior to the beginning of the auction.
2. Unless otherwise announced by the auctioneer at the time of sale, all bids are per lot as numbered.
3. Eldred’s reserves the right to withdraw any property before the sale.
4. DETERMINATION OF HIGHEST BIDDER: The highest bidder accepted by the auctioneer shall be the buyer. In the event of any dispute between bidders, the auctioneer may determine who is the successful bidder or the auctioneer may re-offer the article in dispute and his decision shall be final.
5. REJECTION OF BIDS: The auctioneer reserves the right to reject any nominal raise or any bid or raise which, in his opinion, is not commensurate with the value of the article being offered. At his discretion, he may also reject any nominal raise or any bid that he may determine as having a detrimental effect on the item in question or the sale as a whole. Eldred’s may refuse to issue bidding privileges to any person not in good credit standing with Eldred’s, or to any person who is deemed by Eldred’s in its sole discretion, to be disruptive of or harmful to established auction practices, either before or after the acceptance of bids or the fall of the hammer.
6. TITLE: Except as herein otherwise provided, title will pass to the highest bidder as determined by the auctioneer, and the property is thereafter at the purchaser’s sole risk and responsibility.
7. PAYMENT: On title passing to the highest bidder acknowledged by the auctioneer, and subject to all the conditions set forth herein, such bidder will thereupon pay the full purchase price. Payment in full is due at the time of sale. Any bills not paid in full within 25 days of the date of the sale will accrue interest at a rate of 1.5% per month. In addition, the purchaser may be subject to one or more of the following actions: a) Any and all legal remedies available to Eldred’s and its consignors by law including without limitation the right to hold the purchaser liable for the total purchase price; b) Immediate cancellation of the sale, with Eldred’s retaining as liquidated damages all payments made by the purchaser; c) Resale of the property at public auction, wherein the original purchaser shall be liable for any deficiency, costs, and Eldred’s commission on both sales. At Eldred’s option, payment will not be deemed to have been made in full until Eldred’s has collected funds represented by checks, or in the case of bank or cashier’s checks, their authenticity has been confirmed. A buyer’s premium will be added to the hammer price to be paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price.
8. ABSENTEE BIDS: Subject to these Conditions of Sale and to such terms and conditions as it may prescribe, but at no charge to the customer, Eldred’s will undertake to execute all absentee bids submitted to it by a customer who has established credit with said company. Requests for such bidding must be given in writing with such clearness as to leave no room for misunderstanding as to the amount to be bid and must state the catalog number and the name or title of the article to be bid on. All bids are kept in strict confidence. In the event of identical bids, the earliest received by Eldred’s will take precedence. Eldred’s shall not be held responsible for errors or failure to execute bids. A deposit of 10% of the total amount bid is required. TELEPHONE BIDS: While the sale is in progress, bidding by telephone may be allowed by the auctioneer at his discretion. A deposit of 10% of the anticipated top bid is required. Eldred’s shall not be held responsible for any failure to properly
CONDITIONS OF SALE
execute such a bid whether it be due to equipment failure, loss of connection, or failure to hear or understand the bidder’s directions. Any advice or opinions provided by Eldred’s or its employees are given strictly as a courtesy and are not a warrant of condition, attribution, authenticity, or description of said property. All bidding by telephone is solely at the risk of the bidder.
ONLINE BIDS: Eldred’s shall not be held responsible for any failure to properly execute bids placed online. All online bidding is solely at the risk of the bidder.
9. CONDITION: If for any cause whatsoever any article sold cannot be delivered, or cannot be delivered in as good condition as the same may have been at the time of sale, due to a failure or damage on the company’s part, the sale will be cancelled, and any amount that may have been paid on account of the sale will be returned to the purchaser. EXCEPTION: Eldred’s will not be held responsible for damage to picture frames or lampshades.
10. SALES TAX: All purchases are subject to the Massachusetts sales tax (currently 6.25%) unless the purchaser: A) possesses a Massachusetts sales tax exemption or resale number and registers that number with the company or B) is an out-of-state vendor who meets all the requirements of Massachusetts Department of Revenue GLC 64H 1(5) and Directive 89-10 and registers with the company prior to each purchase. Dealers, museums, etc. can apply for a Massachusetts number prior to the auction by contacting the Massachusetts Department of Corporations and Taxation, 100 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA 02204.
Those shipping purchases out of state directly from Eldred's by a bona fide shipping agent may be exempt from sales tax depending on whether we have met that state’s nexus requirements, per the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in South Dakota v. Wayfair. Please contact us to find out if your purchase would be subject to applicable sales taxes.
11. RESERVES: Unless otherwise advertised, all items may be subject to reserve, an agreed upon price between the auctioneer and the consignor, below which the article will not be sold.
12. COLLECTION OF PURCHASES: Pick up or shipping arrangements of all purchases must be made within seven (7) days of the close of the auction. All items must be removed from Eldred’s facilities within fourteen (14) days of the end of the auction. All items remaining after fourteen days may be subject to a $5/per item/ perday storage fee. No items will be released unless storage fees are paid in full. Items remaining more than thirty (30) days from the close of the auction may be sold for the buyer’s account minus auction and storage fees.
13. SHIPPING: Shipping is not included in the purchase price, and the buyer is responsible for arranging shipment. Eldred's is happy to coordinate and recommend shipping agents. Eldred’s will not be responsible for damage or loss once the item has been received by the shipper. In the case of fragile articles, shipping will be undertaken at the sole discretion of the shipper.
14. These Conditions of Sale cannot be altered except in writing by Eldred’s or by public announcement by the auctioneer at the time of the sale.
15. Bidding on any article(s) indicates acceptance of the terms set forth above.
16. These Conditions of Sale and any suits arising thereunder shall be construed and governed by the laws of Massachusetts.
BIDDER PRE-REGISTRATION
Thank you for your interest in bidding in our auction. If you have not been a successful bidder with Eldred’s in the past, please help us establish your bidding credentials by completing this form and selecting one of the options that follow.
Name:
Company:
Address:
Phone:
Alternate Phone:
Email:
Resale #:
All bidders holding a valid Massachusetts or out-of-state resale number must provide their certificate or a copy thereof when registering. Failure to do so will subject the bidder to paying sales tax on purchases.
Please select one of the following options:
1. DEPOSIT
Submit a deposit representing 10% of the total order, either by mailing a check to the address below or providing a credit card number. We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover with domestic billing addresses in amounts up to $5,000.00.
2. LETTER OF CREDIT FROM YOUR BANK Letter must be on bank letterhead.
3. AUCTION HOUSE REFERENCE
Complete the information requested below. Advance notice is required for this option as it is often difficult to reach the appropriate contact. You may have to authorize release of information. Please be aware Christie’s and Sotheby’s will not divulge any credit information.
Auction House: Contact:
Auction House: Contact:
Auction House: Contact:
SIGNATURE (required):
Auction House Phone:
Account #:
Auction House Phone:
Account #:
Auction House Phone:
Account #:
Date:
Bids will not be accepted without your signature on this form. By signing you agree to place the above bids in the auction listed, subject to the Terms and Conditions of Sale put forth by The Robert C. Eldred Co., Inc.
1. Clearly print the lot number, the item description and the highest amount you are willing to pay. Please follow our standard bidding increments.
2. Carefully review your bid form for accuracy of lot numbers, phone numbers, shipping information, etc. Although we attempt to confirm descriptions against lot number, bids are posted by lot number.
3. Please submit your bids in a timely manner, to avoid the chance of posting error. We request all bids be received by 3 p.m. the day before the auction. In the event of identical Absentee bids, the earliest received takes precedence.
4. A 10% deposit is required. If you are successful, the amount of your deposit will be applied toward your invoice. If you are not successful, the full amount will be returned promptly to you.
5. A buyer’s premium will be added to the hammer price of each lot, to be paid as part of the purchase price. The buyer’s premium is 26% of the final bid price up to and including $500,000, and 10% of the final bid price over $500,000.
ABSENTEE/TELEPHONE BID FORM
6. At the conclusion of the sale you will be notified if you were the successful bidder. All invoices must be paid in full within ten (10) days of the close of the auction. We accept checks, cash, money orders, wire transfers and major credit cards for payment. Credit cards can only be used for up to $5,000 of the invoice total and the card must have a U.S. billing address. We reserve the right to hold goods until payment has cleared.
7. All purchases are subject to state and local sales tax unless you possess a Massachusetts or out-of-state sales tax exemption or resale number and register that number with us.
Are you a new bidder with Eldred’s? No:
If so, please also complete our Buyer Pre-Registration form.
NAME:
ADDRESS:
ALTERNATE PHONE:
PHONE: EMAIL:
Signature (required):
By signing you agree to place the above bids in the auction listed, subject to the Terms and Conditions of Sale put forth by The Robert C. Eldred Co., Inc. All bids are kept in strict confidence.
Date:
SHIPPING
Do you have a tax resale #? Yes:
The Robert C. Eldred Co., Inc. offers this service as a convenience to its clients and will not be held responsible for errors or failure to execute bids. No: Yes:
Will pick up: Ship to address above:
Or ship to:
All property must be removed from our facility within 28 days of the close of the auction or be subject to a $5 per item/per day storage fee.
26% buyer’s premium will be added to the hammer price. See Item 5 above.
Have you examined the items listed above?
No: Yes:
Exceptional Cotton Hersey Firkin, height of only 2.5”, part of The Peter and Judi Hersey Collection of Hingham, Massachusetts History
Josiah Gooding Tall-Case Clock with Rocking Ship Movement, Bristol, Rhode Island, 1810-1815, part of The Collection of Arun and Barbara Singh
Facing page
Prior/Hamblin School portrait, part of The Collection of Arun and Barbara Singh
A mericana Week
Extremely Rare A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952) Life-size Marbled Godwit, left, and a Hudsonian Curlew, below. Both purchased directly from Crowell circa 1930 by the consignor's family.
Autumn on the Lake, Mount Chocorua, N.H. by J.J. Enneking (1841-1916). Signed and dated 1898.
Civil War “US Colored Troops” Medal commissioned by Gen. Benjamin Butler to honor Black troops under his command for gallantry at the Battle of Newmarket Heights in 1864.
James Audubon Elephant Folio "Great American Hen & Young", plate VI from Birds of America
John Haley Bellamy Carved Mahogany Box Commemorating the U.S. Centennial, featuring patriotic motifs and signed and dated 1876.
A
"Canton Harbor" by Ralph E. Cahoon, Jr. (1910-1982).
L.D. Eldred (1848-1921) View of Net Menders.
19th Century Native American Tomahawk with Brass Inlay, from a Wisconsin Collection.
Bob Ross (1942-1995) Snow Scene with Barn, painted during a Season 16 episode of the PBS television series "Joy of Painting"
Frederick View
C.H. Gifford (1839-1904) Sunset Coastal Scene.
Frederick John Mulhaupt (1871-1938) View from the North Shore Arts Association, Gloucester, Massachusetts.
Late 19th Century Copper Weather Vane, the eagle with impressive spread wings. From an Upstate New York Collection.
Anne Packard (1933- ) Expansive view of East End Beach, Provincetown, Massachusetts.
Milton Clark Avery (1885-1965) "Two Fisherman 1938".
