105 / 241
Maine Antique Digest, December 2016 25-B
-
AUCTION -
25-B
belt belonging to Munroe, and the lot sold
for $2242.50. The 11th Regiment of the
Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was
formed in 1861 and saw its first combat
action at the Peninsular Campaign in
1862. The 11th also participated in the
engagements of the First and Second
Battles of Bull Run, Fredericksburg,
Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg.
As of this writing, I haven’t yet finished
examining a lengthy partially bound
travel journal. But what appeared on the
first page made it worth $402.50 to me.
The author, one Samuel Gilbert, dated
his first entry “Nov. 27th, 1850,” and
wrote in part, “Sailed from Boston on the
Steamship Cambria Captain Leitch. We
had about 30 passengers in the first cabin
and perhaps as many again in the second.
Among these latter were the fugitive
slaves, Crafts [
sic
] & his wife whose
singular escape from bondage excited so
much interest some two years since….”
William and Ellen Craft were probably
the most famous fugitive slaves of their
time. The light-skinned Ellen posed as a
white male planter, and William as her
servant. The Crafts are known to have
traveled to England aboard the
Cambria
at that time, and I’m hoping that as I
dig into the journal, I’ll unearth more
interesting historical nuggets.
For more information, visit (www.
hapmoore.com) or call (207) 363-6373.
Civil War sword and sash belt carried
by Captain William V. Munroe,
$2242.50. Hap Moore photo.
This Federal card table with
bellflower inlays on the legs
and diamond-pattern string
inlays on the top edges with
wide ovolo corners at first
inexplicably was passed at
$100. Then it was offered
again and sold for a still-
can’t-miss price of $143.75.
Maine pine corner cupboard
with a single nine-light door
above, flat panel doors below,
and a wide cornice molding on
top, with wavy, bubbled glass
that appears original, $575.
This fine Queen Anne chest-on-
frame in honey-colored maple,
with the original brasses and
replaced backboards, has some
light tiger grain on the frame and
base but not enough to make a
big difference in the price, which
was $575.
About 12 British ships have borne the name H.M.S.
Thetis
, named
after a sea nymph of Greek mythology. The
Thetis
in this 20" x 30"
woven woollie, sailing past a lighthouse and a fort flying the Union
Jack, appears to be the 24-gun warship that was built in Amsterdam,
then was captured from the Dutch Navy in 1796 and later scuttled
off the coast of the Guianas, South America. The framed woollie sold
for $690.
This one-drawer blanket chest in light gray putty-colored paint, with the
original cotter-pin hinges, a molded top till inside, and wooden knobs on a
bootjack base, closed at $920.
By Massachusetts artist
David Holleman (b. 1927), this
contemporary sculpture composed
of a mosaic of clay tiles formed into
images of Mary and the crucified
Jesus Christ made $345. Holleman
turned to ceramics following a
stint in the U.S. Army occupation
forces after World War II. He was
most notable for producing images
representative of the Jewish and
Christian faiths.