Maine Antique Digest May 2015

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26-C Maine Antique Digest, May 2015
- AUCTION -
Tim Isaac started the new
year with a great sale on
Saturday, January 3, at
the Saint John Trade & Con-
vention Centre in Saint John,
New Brunswick, Canada. A
large crowd of approximately
500 people was in attendance.
Much of the contents of the sale
came from the Winslow house in
Woodstock, New Brunswick.
Edward Winslow is of particu-
lar interest to historians because
he was an eyewitness to many
of the major events associated
with the American Revolution,
the Loyalist migration, and the
founding of New Brunswick in
1784. A prolific and gifted let-
ter-writer, he had the foresight to
save much of his correspondence
and other documents associated
with various administrative posi-
tions that he held until his death
in 1815 at the age of 70.
The highlights of the sale were
a number of Thomas Nisbet
pieces of furniture. Thomas Nis-
bet (1777-1850) is widely con-
sidered the best Canadian cab-
inetmaker of his time and ran a
very successful business in Saint
John, New Brunswick. A labeled
Thomas Nisbet & Son chair,
made for the New Brunswick
Legislature, fetched the highest
price, but the other pieces from
his workshop did well too.
As usual the Isaacs also fea-
tured good local art and a nice
selection of pottery and other
interesting items.
For more information, please
check Tim Isaac’s website
).
Tim Isaac, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
Furniture by Thomas Nisbet Tops Auction
by Peter Smit
No buyer’s premium charged; all prices in Canadian dollars
Nisbet is widely
considered the
best Canadian
cabinetmaker
of his time.
A labeled Thomas Nisbet
chair made for the New
Brunswick Legislature,
signed four times by the
Hon. SenatorAlan Ritchie
of Newcastle, and one time
by the Hon. George Hill
of St. Stephen. The chair
is made in mahogany and
birch. In 1891 when the
Legislative Council was
dissolved, members kept
their personal chairs and
desks. It fetched $8000.
The label of Thomas Nisbet & Son underneath the seat of the chair.
From the Ritchie fam-
ily came a mahogany
desk made by Thomas
Nisbet & Son for the
New Brunswick Leg-
islature and inscribed
in pencil “Alan Joseph
Ritchie, Newcastle,
NB.” The desk made
$2800.
A late 18th-century
New Brunswick seal
from the term of
Governor Carleton
fetched $400.
This Victorian oil on canvas, New Brunswick Native Indian Village, 17"
x 29", was signed by Octavius White. It sold for $700.
Indian Town at the Foot of Main Street, Saint John, New Brunswick , a
12" x 16" gouache signed by Jack Weldon Humphrey (1901-1967), sold
for $2400.
A carved wooden folk art horse’s head had
original paint and sold for $875.
Two primitive shadow box dioramas were made and labeled by Wal-
ter W. Scribbons, 564 Havelock Street, Lancaster, New Brunswick.
The larger one on the right featured the Titanic and made $250, and
the smaller one of the Queen Mary got $875.
This one-drawer stand shows typical features of the
workshop of Thomas Nisbet. It has a paper label show-
ing that it came from the Merritt home in Saint John,
New Brunswick. It was made in tiger maple with pine as
secondary wood and sold here for $3600.