For Sale

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RUTH HENSHAW BASCOM (1772-1848)

Thomas Cushing Burr, age ten
Ashby, Massachusetts, February 13, 1834

RUTH HENSHAW BASCOM (1772-1848)

Thomas Cushing Burr, age ten
Ashby, Massachusetts, February 13, 1834
Pastel and pencil on cut paper, mounted on blue-streaked paper; 16 ½ x 12 ½ inches, in a period painted frame.

Bascom noted this portrait in her diary: “On February 13, 1834, a day of 20-degree temperature, ‘…Thos. Cushing Burr came early to be sketched…’” It descended to the sitter’s great-grandson, Richard M. Bronson (1919–2003) of Tacoma, Washington, and was published in Lois S. Avigad, “Ruth Henshaw Bascom: A Youthful Viewpoint,” The Clarion, Fall 1987, p. 36.

ENOCH A. TITUS (1821-1918)

Fancy Parrots Pennington, New Jersey, circa

ENOCH A. TITUS (1821-1918)

Fancy Parrots
Pennington, New Jersey, circa 1835
Watercolor and ink on paper, 9 ½ x 7 ½ inches
In the original painted frame.

This is one of two watercolor drawings of Fancy Parrots by Enoch A. Titus executed when he was about fourteen years old, likely done as a school exercise. Its mate, identically titled and framed, is inscribed “By Enoch A. Titus March 10^th 1835,” and illustrated in Sumpter T. Priddy, American Fancy, Exuberance in the Arts 1790-1840 (Milwaukee, 2004), fig. 9, p. xxv.

Enoch A. Titus was the son of Joab Titus (1779-1866) and Mary Polly Christopher (1784-1862). Enoch is recorded in the 1850 as living in Hopewell, New Jersey as a farmer.

Hanging pipe box with carved shell front

QUEEN ANNE PIPE BOX WITH SHELL-CARVED DRAWER

Connecticut, circa 1760

QUEEN ANNE PIPE BOX WITH SHELL-CARVED DRAWER

Connecticut, circa 1760
Maple and white pine, mellow old finish; 17 ½ x 5 x 4 ¼ inches.

This exceptional pipe box is distinguished by its deeply carved concave fan and white pine drawer interior with tapered dovetails, a rare feature of coastal New London County joinery. We acquired it from Peter Tillou’s personal collection in 1997 and sold it to Grant Griswold and reacquired it from his collection.

Pair of Queen Anne Balloon-seat Side Chair

Norwich or East Hartford, Connecticut, circa 1740-1770

Pair of Queen Anne Balloon-seat Side Chair

Norwich or East Hartford, Connecticut, circa 1740-1770
Cherry, original slip seat frames covered brown cowhide, height 41 inches, seat width 17 ½ inches, seat height 17 inches. Roman numerals “IV” and “V” incised on inside of seat rail

This pair of chairs appear to match the well-known armchair with Pitkin and Lyman family provenance illustrated in John T. Kirk, Connecticut Furniture, Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries (Hartford, 1967), pl. 188; John T. Kirk, American Chairs: Queen Anne and Chippendale (New York, 1972), pl. 188; Minor Myers, Jr. and Edgar deN. Mayhew, New London County Furniture 1640-1840 (New London, CT, 1974), pl. 29, and advertisement for John S. Walton, The Magazine Antiques, August 1976, p. 204 and March 1984, p. 490.

A nearly identical side chair at Winterthur is discussed in Nancy E. Richards and Nancy Goyne Evans, New England Furniture at Winterthur, Queen Anne and Chippendale Periods (Winterthur, 1997), pp. 39-40: “The precise eastern Connecticut origin of straight-backed (canted), spurred splat compass-bottom chairs with champhered rear legs and three turned outside stretchers is yet to be resolved. A strong tradition of furniture making existed in Norwich, the cultural and commercial center of New London County and vicinity. Features of this chair that link it to Norwich seating furniture include the champhered rear legs, three stretcher brace, and angular sweep of the front feet. Gov. John Pitkin (1694-1769), who owned an armchair of this pattern, was a resident of East Hartford, although he had strong political connections and support from New London County, and his deputy governor was a county resident. Several side chairs also have firm East Hartford histories. Because maritime and overland commerce between Norwich and East Hartford was well established and subtle variations within the pattern indicate more than one shop was responsible for production, it is possible that chairs of this description were made in both Norwich and East Hartford”

A small number of other side chairs of this distinct form are known.

Provenance:
Israel Sack, Inc., New York; Collection and Samuel D. McCullough (1930-2025) and Patricia McCullough, Bloomington, MN.

Published:
American Antiques from Israel Sack Collection, Volume IV (Alexandria, VA, 1974, p. 920.
Jason T. Busch, “Americana in Minnesota,” Antiques & Fine Art, Autumn/Winter 2005, p. 177.

RALPH D. CURTIS (1808-1885)

Boy holding a book
Probably New York State, circa 1830

RALPH D. CURTIS (1808-1885)

Boy holding a book
Probably New York State, circa 1830
Oil on poplar panel, 22 x 17 ½ inches.

This newly discovered portrait is among Ralph D. Curtis’s finest. Born in Pompey, New York, the itinerant artist later painted and farmed in Michigan, eventually owning three farms in Saginaw County.

“A Wild Chase” Painted Gameboard

American, circa 1880-1900

“A Wild Chase” Painted Gameboard

American, circa 1880-1900
Oil on poplar, 17 ¼ x 22 ½ inches.
Titled left center: “A WILD CHASE.”

This is one of the most complex and visually striking American painted gameboards. Completely hand-painted, it features numbered pictorial squares set between green diamonds on a red background. The illustrations include an Inn, Prison, Farmhouse, Cobbler, Doctor, Wood Chopper, Hunter, Blacksmith, as well as an Owl, Bear, and Mule. Best of kind.

Shaker Watch Hutch

Attributed to Grove Blanchard (1797-1880)
Harvard, Massachusetts, circa 1850

Shaker Watch Hutch

Attributed to Grove Blanchard (1797-1880)
Harvard, Massachusetts, circa 1850
Walnut, white pine backboard, original glass, original hardware, old finish, 7 x 4 x 1 ½ inches.

Antique label on back identifies the maker and records its purchase at Harvard from Sister Josephine Jilson (1850-1925) prior to 1919.

Marbled Godwit Decoy with Upturned Bill

New Jersey, probably Cape May area, circa 1880

Marbled Godwit Decoy with Upturned Bill

New Jersey, probably Cape May area, circa 1880
Softwood, glass eyes, hardwood bill, original paint
Height 7 inches, width 17 inches, depth 2 ¾ inches

The marbled godwit is identified by its distinctive elongated and slightly upturned bill. Marbled godwits are rarities among shorebird decoys. Related examples are illustrated in Adele Earnest, The Art of The Decoy (New York, 1965), p. 57, fig. 37, and William J. Mackey, Jr., American Bird Decoys (New York, 1967), p. 46, pl. 25.

Provenance:
Collection of Ronald Saarinen Swanson (1938–2022), Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; David A. Schorsch, New York, 1998; Private collection.

Exhibited:
“American Decoys: A Folk Art Tradition II,” David A. Schorsch, New York, 1998.

Published:
David A. Schorsch and Eileen M. Smiles, American Decoys: A Folk Art Tradition II (New York and Woodbury, CT, 1998), pp. 86–87, no. 44.

Portrait of William Hurd Eddy (1807-1871)

Eddyville, New York, circa 1845

Sold

Portrait of William Hurd Eddy (1807-1871)

Eddyville, New York, circa 1845

CHARLOTTE HOFF

Barn in Cross Sectional View

CHARLOTTE HOFF

Barn in Cross Sectional View
Probably Snyder County, Pennsylvania, 1846
Ink and watercolor on paper, 6 ½ x 7 ½ inches, in a period painted frame. Signed and dated lower center: “Charlotte Hoff 1846.”

Executed with a timeless and strikingly modern aesthetic, this is one of a small group of Pennsylvania watercolors by the same artist, possibly the Charlotte Hoff (1829–1907) born in Snyder County, Pennsylvania, married Charles Sprenkle (1825–1900) in 1849, and produced nine children between 1857 and 1871.

Published:
David A. Schorsch and Eileen M. Smiles, American Folk Art: Toward Abstraction (Woodbury, CT, 2025), no. 6.

Horace Bundy portrait of a girl in blue dress

Verso of Horace Bundy portrait of a girl in a blue dress

HORACE BUNDY (1814-1883)

Young Girl in a Blue Dress
Claremont, (New Hampshire or Vermont), 1857

HORACE BUNDY (1814-1883)

Young Girl in a Blue Dress
Claremont, (New Hampshire or Vermont), 1857
Oil on canvas, 30 x 25 inches, with original gilt frame
Signed verso: “H. Bundy / Claremont Nov 1857.

This is a classic example of a Bundy Portrait of a child, depicted half-length within an oval. She is a particularly attractive young girl in a blue dress seated on a red upholstered oval-back side chair, nicely detailed, the subject wears a woven hair bracelet and holds a flower.

For biographical information on this artists see Lauren B. Hewes, “Horace Bundy Itinerant Portraitist, The Magazine Antiques, October 1994, pp. 486-494. Works by Bundy are represented in the collections of the National Gallery, American Folk Art Museum, Fruitlands Museum, Heritage Museum and Gardens, Hood Museum of Art, Montclair Art Museum, Old Sturbridge Village, Shelburne Museum, The Newark Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Smith College Museum of Art, and others.

Shaker Deaconesses Desk

Enfield, Connecticut, circa 1840

Shaker Deaconesses Desk

Enfield, Connecticut, circa 1840
Figured maple, white pine, original brass hinges, iron lock,
and bone escutcheon.
Height 32 inches, width 25 1⁄4 inches, depth 17 1⁄4 inches.

A masterpiece of Shaker design and craftsmanship, this is one of the finest known examples of its kind. Streamlined and elegant, it exhibits superb craftsmanship and boasts the ultimate provenance, from the collection of Edward Deming and Faith Andrews, who exhibited it at Hancock Shaker
Village in 1935, and in a great private collection since 1986, from whom we purchased it.

Provenance:
Collection of Edward D. Andrews (1894–1964) and Faith Andrews (1896–1990), Pittsfield, Massachusetts, by 1935; Private collection; “Shaker Auction,” Willis Henry Auctions, Inc., on site in Mt. Lebanon, New York, August 3, 1986, lot 157, catalog cover; Private collection.

Exhibited:
Hancock Shaker Village, Pittsfield, Massachusetts, 1935.

Published:
Edward Deming Andrews and Faith Andrews, Religion in Wood: A Book of Shaker Furniture (Bloomington and London, 1966), p. 41.
Robert F. W. Meader, Illustrated Guide to Shaker Furniture (New York, 1972), p. 38, fig. 84.
Timothy D. Rieman and Jean M. Burks, The Complete Book of Shaker Furniture (New York, 1993), p. 187, fig. 124.
Lesley Herzberg, A Promising Venture: Shaker Photographs from the WPA (Clinton, New York, 2012), p. 185, no. 156, (V-94).

ATTRIBUTED TO ABRAHAM ELDRED (c.1794-1854)

Cutwork Picture
Philadelphia, circa 1835

ATTRIBUTED TO ABRAHAM ELDRED (c.1794-1854)

Cutwork Picture
Philadelphia, circa 1835
Layered cut paper, 9 ½ x 14 inches, in period cherry block-corner frame

A recent discovery, this painstakingly intricate cutwork belongs to the celebrated group of closely related examples made for members of prominent Philadelphia families attributed to Abraham Eldred while he was an inmate at Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia during the 1830s. This example displays a vocabulary of signature motifs and exquisite, razer-cut white paper over multi-colored paper backings. Other examples by this artist are in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, American Folk Art Museum, and Winterthur. Abraham Eldred was born in Long Island, New York, trained as a weaver, and from 1828 to his death in 1854, served numerous prison sentences in Philadelphia and later Baltimore for larceny and forgery. This entry draws on Deborah M. Child, “Tributes in Paper from the City of Brotherly Love,” Americana Insights 2023 (Philadelphia, 2023), pp. 96–125.

Provenance:
Collection of Albion P. Fenderson (1914–2010), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Modesto, California

Shaker Sewing Desk

Enfield, New Hampshire, circa 1860

Shaker Sewing Desk

Enfield, New Hampshire, circa 1860
Birch and white pine, hardwood knobs, fine old finish
Height 38 ¼ inches, width 32 ¼ inches, depth 24 inches, writing height 26 ⅜ inches

A form unique to the Shakers, the sewing desk ranks among the classics of Shaker furniture design, with no direct cognate found in American furniture made in “the outside world.” Each and every sewing desk expresses regionally specific variations that identify its community of origin. This example is fully refined, with all the signature elements of design, materials, and construction indicative of sewing desks made at Enfield, New Hampshire, which include inset-paneled construction, fine dovetailed joinery, asymmetric drawer arrangement, and elegantly tapering turned legs of a specific shape, and the particular tone of the fine old finish. A virtually identical Enfield sewing desk in later oak graining over the original finish is illustrated and discussed in Timothy D. Rieman and Jean M. Burks, The Complete Book of Shaker Furniture (New York, 1993), p. 252, no. 109, and Timothy D. Rieman and Jean M. Burks, The Encyclopedia of Shaker Furniture (Atglen, PA, 2003), p. 439, fig. 683.

The Shakers, an American religious sect renowned for their craftsmanship and minimalist aesthetic, have profoundly influenced modern design. Their principles of simplicity, functionality, and beauty are embodied in their creations, which emphasize practicality and clean lines. This philosophy has inspired contemporary designers to incorporate similar values.

Fire Screen with Framed Theorem Still Life

New England, circa 1830

Fire Screen with Framed Theorem Still Life

New England, circa 1830
Birch post, cherry legs, ash spin support, original tinned-iron guide rings, cherry frame, original red-stained finish, watercolor on velvet.
Height 44 ½ inches, frame 12 x 14 inches.

Unique in our experience, this charming fire screen combines the traditions of American folk painting and rural cabinetmaking. With characteristic Yankee ingenuity, the maker, likely a father, created a practical piece of furniture that doubles as a display for his child’s prize watercolor theorem painting.

Provenance:
Stephen Score, Essex, Massachusetts; Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Austin Fine, Baltimore, Maryland; “Americana from the Collection of M. Austin and Jill R. Fine,” Sotheby’s, New York, January 30, 1987, lot 862; David A. Schorsch, Greenwich, Connecticut, 1987; Private collection; David A. Schorsch and Eileen M. Smiles, Woodbury, Connecticut, 2015; Private collection.

Published:
Advertisement for David A. Schorsch, The Magazine Antiques, April 1987, p. 774.