Americana online 3585T | April 1–12, 2021 | www.skinnerinc.com
Watercolor and Gilt “ParrottRice” Family Record, Weymouth, Massachusetts, c. 1830 Fine Windsor Carved Fan-back Armchair, New England, late 18th century Molded Sheet Copper and Cast Zinc Horse and Sulky Weathervane, late 19th century Blue-painted Pine Chest over Three Drawers, New England, 18th century
this page: Red-painted Pipe Box with Heart Hanger, early 19th century
Diminutive Pine Corner Cupboard, New England, 18th century
Large Oval Burl Bowl with Pierced Handles, late 18th/early 19th century
back cover: 19th Century Chinese School Reverse-painted China Trade View
Americana online This April’s major Americana online auction will feature nearly 900 lots gathered in Marlborough from New England estates, discerning private collectors and families, and venerable institutions such as Historic Deerfield (proceeds to benefit the Historic Deerfield Museum Collections Fund). Two lifelong collections from Connecticut built over decades give the sale a decidedly rural and 18th century streak—the Judi & Cy Stellmach Americana Collection, and Property from the Collection of Donald Ballou Reid. From other consignors come Windsor chairs, a painted Dunlap family high chest, burl bowls and woodenware, and paintings of rural landscapes and settings, including works by Frank Shapleigh. There are more formal urban and “high country” objects as well: a Massachusetts Chippendale block-front chest with carved hairy paw feet, a newly discovered Vermont half-sideboard by early 19th century cabinetmaker Rufus Norton, a tall clock by scarce maker Samuel Rogers of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, and an engraved silver tablespoon by Paul Revere. There is also a small component of Chinese export porcelain, some good American needleworks, and an eye-catching collection of early 19th century slip- and mocha-decorated wares. Come explore!
April 1–12, 2021 please contact the department for condition reports & preview appointments, visit our website to register & bid
Stephen Fletcher Chris Barber Christopher Fox americana@skinnerinc.com 508.970.3200
MA LIC. 2304
Property from the Collection of Donald Ballou Reid, Butternut Farm, Glastonbury, Connecticut Painted Pine Swordfish Weathervane, early 20th century
Large Glazed Redware Jar, New England, 19th century
Rare Pierced Tin Lantern, early 19th century
Printed “Perpetual Almanack” in a Carved and Shaped Black-painted Frame, possibly Maine, early 19th century
Cherry and Pine Tall Chest of Drawers, Connecticut, c. 1800
Needlework Sampler “Sally Talcott,” c. 1796
Compass-inlaid Box, America, early 19th century
Small Red-painted Pine Cupboard, New England, late 18th century
The Judi & Cy Stellmach Americana Collection We are pleased to offer this interesting and colorful collection of 18th century household items and early painted furniture—from unusual early lighting and treen to early glass and textiles—treasures abound!
Small Black-painted and Paint-decorated Mirror, 18th century Gilt-brass Equinoctial Compass Sundial, Europe, 18th century Paint-decorated Wall Box, America, 19th century Tin-glazed Earthenware “Trade and Navigation” Punch Bowl, England, c. 1760 Red-painted Pine Chest over Drawers, New England, early 18th century Blue-painted Cupboard, 18th century Small Brass Wall Sconce, Europe, 18th century Wrought Iron Rushlight Candleholder, late 18th century
Selections from a Collection of Slip-and Mocha-decorated Wares Watercolor Birth Fraktur for Sussanna Elisabeth Shaffer, Francis Portzline, Union County, Pennsylvania, c. 1834 Watercolor Fraktur of Mary Ann Ellen Butts, John Van Minian, Baltimore County, Maryland, c. 1830 Carved and Painted Hummingbird and Nuthatch Figures by Jess Blackstone (New Hampshire, 1909-1988)
Fraktur Colorful and playful, and often biographical, religious, or historical, American fraktur—drawn in ink and painted in watercolor by artisans in the late 18th and early 19th century—have long been popular among collectors. They are most often associated with (and collected in) the Middle Atlantic states, having been popularized in that region by Pennsylvania Germans in the mid18th century. The art form and its practitioners spread to Virginia, Ohio, and even Canada over the following several decades. One of the two examples shown here is from Baltimore County, Maryland. Fraktur are so-named because of the use of a particular kind of medieval German calligraphy and resultant typefaces, all also referred to as fraktur (meaning broken or fractured script). Like a lot of folk art, fraktur often have associations with individual accomplishments, awards, events, births, marriages, and deaths—a way for a family to memorialize an important time or occurrence. In practice, fraktur artists (some of whom are known not by name but through the style and specific characteristics of their work) used flowers, vines, figures, birds, and abstractions, as well as lines of fastidious calligraphy, to acknowledge and celebrate those social rites.
Painted Canvas “Day-School for Young Ladies” Sign, 19th century Painted Wood Double-sided Ice Cream Store Sign, early 20th century Paint-decorated “Hoop-la” Ring Toss Game, late 19th/early 20th century Molded Sheet Copper and Sheet Iron Horse and Rider Weathervane, 19th century
Red-painted Maple Chest-onchest, attributed to Samuel Dunlap, New Hampshire, c. 1780-1800 Portrait of a Child with a Basket of Cherries, possibly Southern United States, early 19th century Green- and Black-painted Spice or Storage Box, probably New England, early 19th century Two from a Set of Five Greenpainted Bow-back Windsor Chairs, attributed to Abraham Shove, Bristol County, Massachusetts, c. 1800-10
Late 19th Century American School Portrait of a Country House and Barn Large Scrimshaw-decorated Whalebone, lg. 28 1/2 in. Two Eagle-decorated Leeds Feather-edge Plates, early 19th century Birch Desk and Bookcase, New Hampshire, late 18th century
Revere Silver Paul Revere Jr. (1734-1818) was one of early Boston’s most prolific silversmiths and engravers. He was a skilled and versatile craftsman producing during his career over 5,000 items in about ninety different forms varying from thimbles and buttons to elaborate tea sets, flatware, and even surgeon’s instruments. As an engraver he produced bookplates, plates for printing currency, and illustrations. His best known engraving, The Bloody Massacre, depicts the Boston Massacre of March 5, 1770. His shop’s finely crafted pieces have been highly sought after and prized for generations. Silver from his shop seldom appears at auction and much of his work is preserved in museum collections. This tablespoon, engraved with a boar’s head crest on a bright-cut handle, is one of a handful of surviving Revere spoons that have been associated with the Spooner family. The back of the handle is boldly stamped “REVERE.”
Rare Chippendale Carved Mahogany Block-front Slant-lid Desk, Boston, c. 1760-80 Chippendale Mahogany Reverse Serpentine Chest of Drawers, Massachusetts, c. 1780 Paul Revere Jr. Silver Tablespoon, Boston, Massachusetts, c. 1785, with possible association with the Spooner family George Washington Inaugural Button, America, c. 1789 Robert Salmon (Massachusetts, 1775-1844), Maritime Scene, signed, oil on panel, 5 3/4 x 8 1/4 in., from the estate of Samuel Batchelder (1784-1879), one of a pendant pair
Federal Mahogany and Maple Inlaid Bowfront Chest of Drawers, probably Portsmouth, New Hampshire, c. 1805-10
Fine Mahogany Carved Tilt-top Candlestand, probably Salem, Massachusetts, late 18th century
Cherry and Maple Inlaid Half Sideboard, attributed to Rufus Norton, Windsor, Vermont, c. 1810-15
Maple Tall Case Clock, Samuel Rogers, Bridgewater, Massachusetts, c. 1810
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