Maine Antique Digest March 2015

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Maine Antique Digest, March 2015 7-C
- AUCTION -
Confederate Kentucky broadside issued by Lt. James B. Clay
(son of Henry Clay), Lexington, Kentucky, dated October 9,
1862, asking southern sympathizers to defend their homes from
Yankee invasion as Clay sought to “raise one or more regiments
of infantry,” dated the day after General Braxton Bragg was
routed at the Battle of Perryville and Confederate forces were
expelled from the state, 12" x 9" plus frame, age spots and some
holes, $8400. Written in period ink at the top is “From David
Griffith, Co. C 5 Regt.” Griffith was a member of the 5th Ken-
tucky Infantry, and this poster was likely a souvenir.
the maker, “F. Labarre/ Richmond, VA.”
Offered in a book-motif presentation
case, it is one of only a few known to
exist. It came from the collection of the
late Philip D. Sang of Chicago. Much
of Sang’s collection had already been
dispersed, but the disk remained. “His
daughter kept a hold of it and set it aside,”
said Horstman. “It was one of his prized
pieces.”
One stimulating item in the auction was
notable not only for its rarity but also for
the story behind its discovery. Covering
a number of important works of religion
and science, the first English version of
Galileo’s Mathematical Collections and
Translations was translated by Thomas
Salusbury and printed in London by
William Leybourn in 1661. Examples
are scarce, and this copy sold well for
$20,400. The book initially had come to
Cowan’s during a monthly appraisal day.
The consignor is said to have found it in
the garbage somewhere in the Cincinnati
area.
Another page-turner was a selection of
handwritten and illustrated manuscripts
related to Ira Weaver, a fruit tree grower
in western and central New York, active
from at least the 1820s to the 1840s. The
lot consisted of three items. One note-
book had 14 watercolor diagrams, each
opposite a page of inked text about the
drawing. A second notebook contained
28 signed documents from landown-
ers attesting to the success of Weaver’s
grafts, circa 1827 to 1849. The third item
was An Epitome of Mr. Forsyth’s Trea-
tise on the Culture and Management
of Fruit-Trees, printed in Philadelphia
in 1803. Together, the material sold for
$17,400.
“The combination of notes and illustra-
tions makes it such a unique piece,” said
Horstman. “We had some individuals and
some more manuscript-minded special-
ists bidding on this. It’s just an interesting
thing because of the combination of his
notes and his great drawings.”
Among cased photographs offered, top
money went for a quarter-plate daguerre-
otype of California pioneer Nathaniel
Miller (1815-1896). The studio portrait
showed Miller wearing a fringed buck-
skin jacket with a large knife tucked in
his belt and a percussion rifle slung over
his shoulder. It sold for $15,600, while a
second image from the same sitting real-
ized $7800. The catalog noted, “Miller’s
obituary in the Dec. 24, 1896, edition
of the New York Times states that the
New York native went to California in
1849, where he ‘assisted in forming the
first vigilance committee at San Fran-
cisco, erected the first building on Bat-
tery Street,’ and ‘amassed considerable
wealth.’ He returned to his hometown of
Brookhaven on Long Island and served
as Town Supervisor during the Civil War,
after which Brookhaven was the only
town in the county to be free of debt.”
Also drawing strong interest was a circa
1887 French photo album of the building
of the Panama Canal. Titled (in French)
Mr. G.A. Burt. Superintendent General of
Panama Railroad. Views & Works in the
Isthmus of Panama, it had 100 albumen
photographs, many with penciled titles
in French. George A. Burt (d. 1909) was
an American engineer hired by a French
canal company to build and operate the
railroad used to construct the canal. The
album sold for $11,400.
“There were some wonderful shots
of the building of the canal and the sur-
rounding area,” said Horstman. “I think
they’re scarce anyway,” she said of
the photos, “and you’ve got a hundred
together in one lot.”
Unusual political items included a
bandbox pertaining to the William Henry
Harrison 1840 presidential campaign.
Having a block-printed scene of a log
cabin, cider barrel, U.S. flag, and Har-
rison greeting a peg-leg uniformed vet-
eran of the Indian Wars and with the lid
marked for a Baltimore maker, the band-
box realized $5700.
For more information, phone Cowan’s
at (513) 871-1670 or visit .
com).
War-date ALS (autograph letter signed) by Thomas J. “Stone-
wall” Jackson (1824-1863) as a Confederate brigadier general,
two pages to Colonel Kenton Harper, written from “Head
Quarters 1st Brigade/ Camp near Centreville/ Aug. 29th,
1861,” pertaining to muskets taken by citizens at Harpers
Ferry when the arsenal was burned by Union troops, de-acidi-
fied and conserved, dark ink, minor toning, $15,990.
ALS (autograph letter signed) by Confederate
General Robert E. Lee (1807-1870), one and a
half pages, to Major John A. Harman, written
from Lexington, Virginia, on October 31, 1865,
asking for help in finding his horse, Lucy Long.
With expected folds and bright ink it sold for
$9840.
Confederate archive (partially shown) of 132 items
(not including relics), mostly war-date material cov-
ering the life and duties of attorney Daniel N. Speer
during his service as quartermaster of the 60th Geor-
gia Infantry. Included are three prewar documents
regarding the purchase of slaves in antebellum Geor-
gia. The lot brought $10,200.
Manuscript archive (partially shown) of Union surgeon Henry
Janes (1832-1915), serving at Camp Letterman, 20 items dating
from August to December 1863, $14,400.
Civil War pipe of Lt. John J. Ferris, 19th Massachusetts Vol-
unteers, wounded at Gettysburg, killed at Spotsylvania Court
House, burl/root, carved with crossed cannons and shield, Fer-
ris’s name, “19th Mass. Vols.,” and numerous battles
(Fair Oaks, Antietam, Glendale, Peach
Orchard, Savage Station, Nelson’s
Farm, Malvern Hill, Forlorn
Hope, Fredericksburg, Bull Run,
Edwards Ferry, Ball’s Bluff, York-
town, West Point, and Flint Hill).
In nearly perfect condition, never
smoked, 3 1/8" high x 3½" long, it
sold for $3000. The catalog noted,
“… it is one of the most visually
impressive and historically sig-
nificant examples that we have
encountered.”
A bandbox from the William
Henry Harrison 1840 presi-
dential campaign, 11" x 16"
x 12 3/8", the lid marked for
a Baltimore manufacturer
and having significant wear,
colors good on the box, some
chipping, a few holes, $5700.
☞