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36-C Maine Antique Digest, December 2016
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AUCTION -
36-C
This ink silhouette of George Washington came with a small panel
with clipped signatures. The silhouette is signed “T.F. / 1807.” Below
the silhouette is a clipped piece of paper displaying the signatures
of both Washington and Edmund Randolph, along with an illegible
countersignature. The phrase “By the President” is printed below
Washington’s signature. The document from which the signatures
were clipped is unknown; however, a document seal is mounted on
the back. The Washington/Randolph grouping sold for $3600 (est.
$1500/2500).
Here is a limited-edition copy of the classic novel
The Razor’s Edge
by W. Somerset Maugham.
This copy is signed by the author and marked as No. 509 of 750. The edition is dated 1944,
the original year of publication, and is presented in its original slipcase without a dust jacket.
This example of Maugham’s story of a man in search of the meaning of life sold for $660 (est.
$200/300).
There are many variations of the John Smith map of the Chesapeake
Bay region. This example, “Nova Virginiae Tabula,” dates from 1671
or later. The map is based on the Hondius-Blaeu version of the Smith
map. There is a title cartouche, upper left, and the “notes” scroll,
upper right, is surrounded by figures of two Native Americans, a
llama, and a goat. The hand coloring is modern, and the map exhibits
a few repairs and some mat burn, but the image is complete and
bright. The map brought $1440 (est. $400/700).
This cabinet card photograph is
titled
Kiowa Squaw and Cradle
. It
is from “W.L. Sawyer’s Indian Art
Gallery / Purcell / Indian Territory
[Oklahoma].” Sawyer was one of
several entrepreneurs who set up
photographic studios in the Indian
Territory during the last quarter of the
19th century. He offered a wide range
of Native American images. This 8½" x
5¼" card shows some wear and soiling.
It sold for $192 (est. $200/400).
This engraving is by George Cruikshank (British, 1792-1878),
a caricaturist and illustrator known for political satire and for
illustrating several of his friend Charles Dickens’s works. This
interesting example of Cruikshank’s work is titled
Striking Effects
Produced by Lines and Dots – for the assistance of young Draftsmen
.
The artist’s figures are shown in a variety of scenes with cartoon-like
captions. The 10½" x 13¾" (sight size) etching was published in 1817.
It sold for $390 (est. $200/300).
This photograph is by American photographer William Christenberry (b. 1936).
The image shows a large “5¢” painted on a brick wall below a partially visible script
Coca-Cola logo. The image is signed and titled on the back of the mat
5¢ Demopolis,
Alabama, 1978
. The image measures 17
3
/
8
" x 22". This classic Christenberry
photograph brought $1920 (est. $1000/1500).
Here is an early first-edition printing of
The
Last Egyptian: A Romance of the Nile
, a novel
by L. Frank Baum (1856-1919). Baum is best
known for
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
(1900)
and the series of books about Oz that followed.
The handwritten and signed dedication in this
book explains that the author wished to see if
he could “do a novel.” It was published in 1908
without his name. Only the illustrator, Francis
P. Wightman, was recognized. This copy of
Baum’s novel sold for $2040 (est. $900/1500).
This 1928 edition of
Drums
by James
Boyd (1888-1944) is one of a limited
edition signed by the author and by the
book’s illustrator N.C. Wyeth (1882-
1945). The novel is considered one of
the finest depictions of the American
Revolution. This example sold for $480
(est. $200/300).