Don Olson, Fine American Antiques and Folk Art

Early New Hampshire
Birth Records
MOSES CONNOR Jr.
(active 1800 to 1832)
Watercolor and ink on paper, celebrating Adeline W. Harriman and Daniel F. Wyman, born 1815 and 1826, respectively.

Confidently attributed to Moses Connor based on similar distinctive signed birth records including one in the New Hampshire Historical Society in Concord. Other examples of his work are in Old Sturbridge Village and the New York State Museum. Born in Wolfeboro, Moses Connor was a teacher there beginning in 1808 and decorator of documents such as birth certificates.

Typical of other Moses Connor distinctive birth records, he illustrated two birds in profile in ovals that center the birth information within elaborate borders. Note on the Harriman record how the letters ‘AN’ are superscripted as he ran out of room, often seen in early lettering on documents and signs, apparently this practice was readily accepted in that period. Daniel F. Wyman, became a successful lumber dealer in Henniker and a member of the New Hampshire legislature (more extensive bio available). Adaline W Harriman also lived in Henniker. It is likely that Daniel and Adaline were related, as Daniel’s grandmother was Lydia Harriman, so perhaps these birth records were kept together because of the relationship.

Framed together in probably the 19th century, frame sizes about 10 inches x 8. Condition is excellent, colors remain strong with unobtrusive staining. Provenance includes Roger Bacon; from a long time private New England collection. .

*AVAILABLE*
Two Remarkable Carved Presentation Pie Crimpers
New England, ca. early 19th century.

Likely Maine, the larger originally found in an attic in Arundel, Maine. Hardwood (perhaps birch) and pine in rich, natural patina. Carved in shape, and decoratively with pinwheels and geometrics, the larger also with vining, the smaller with hearts and initialed “HBP”. Both have carved wheels shrunken well out of round and joined to the handle with non-iron pins, perhaps pewter to prevent rusting. Likely made to be gifted at special events.

The larger an impressive 12 ¼ inches OAL, the smaller 6 7/8. From a fine long time New England antique and folk art collection. These are special! Utilitarian objects elevated to art by skill and imagination.

MORE PHOTOS AT MY WEBSITE: donolsonantiques.com

*AVAILABLE*
Folk Art Portrait of a Young Boy. Prior-Hamblen School
New England, probably Boston, ca. 1840-1850.

Oil on board. Attributed to E.W. (Eli) Blake, a physician at a Boston hospital, who is believed to be the "Double Swag Artist" and/or the “Pointed Finger Artist”.

The very pleasing gray-blue eyed little boy wears a GREEN buttoned shirt with white collar and holds a riding crop (a prop commonly held by boys in pre-photography portraits) as they were eager to someday soon join their dads on horseback. His face is framed by simple yet effective double-swag curtains. The very dry soft surface appears untouched, with just a minor-spot loss of paint on his neck.

The mahogany veneered frame is probably original, frame size about 18 inches x 14 3/8. Fresh from a superb long time New England collection.
-Hamblen

-AVAILABLE-
Nautical Sextant and
Folk Art Painted Case
Identified Maker and Owner

Ca. 3rd quarter, 19th century.
A sextant is used to determine latitude and longitude while at sea by measuring the angle between the horizon and a celestial body such as the sun, the moon, or a star.

The wooden case gives us much information. It bears inside the label of DUREN and COSTIGAN, New York City, the makers of the sextant. The case was painted for (or by) Walter Norton Avery (1821-1900) who was the owner of the ship (a schooner) and probably its captain as well. Avery, a resident of New Haven, CT, owned at least two ships: the “Ella H. Barnes” and the “Belle”. It is likely that one of these ships is that illustrated.

The sextant is in superb condition, yet what really elevates it is the folk art painted case. Very dry, patinated surface showing the ship and/or captain’s name above an illustration of his ship.

Case max dimensions about 14 5/8 inches long x 13 wide. Wood loss just below and to the left of the ‘W’ in Walter, and the bottom edge of the lower front. A remarkable survivor given its shipboard use. Provenance includes Stephen-Douglas; private NH collection.

Large Redware Mug With Brilliant Glaze
Northeast, likely Western New York, ca. 1840-1860.

Redware with very colorful mottled orange and sage-green glaze. The glaze with spotted impurities that were not intended as decoration yet add decorative interest.

Large size at about 5 ¾ inches tall. Excellent condition; no restoration. Provenance includes Sam Herrup; private Northeast collection. Early and color!

Carved Ash Burl
Shallow Serving Bowl or Dish
Probably New York State, ca. 1820-1840.
Carved in the oval from one piece of ash burl.

Exceedingly rare form, if not a unique survivor. Elaborate carved rim that curls outward and downward. The dish is supported by a sturdy foot with carved edges that show smooth wear from frequent use. Although appearing lightweight it is actually very robust.

Superb condition retaining the original richly-colored amber-shellac surface on the top; unvarnished and dry underneath. About 9 inches long x 6 ¾ wide x 1 ¾ tall.

Provenance: label underneath of Alberta Aradine, Churchville, NY (a western Rochester suburb); Adrian Morris Antiques, East Aurora, NY.; private Southern collection.

REMARKABLE FOLK ART. HISTORICALLY IMPORTANT.
Jackson Morton (1794-1874)
Soldier, U.S. Senator, & Secessionist
Ca. 1815.

General of volunteer militia
Antebellum U. S. Senator (Florida)
Active in the development of the Confederacy
Congressman of the Confederate States during the Civil War.
Met with Lincoln to try and prevent War.

Stunningly stylized, a sensational example of American folk portraiture.

MORE INFO AND PHOTOS AT MY WEBSITE: donolsonantiques.com

Choice Diminutive Antique Gameboard.
Sublime Surface
Probably New England, ca. 1840.
An early gameboard.
*more photos at donolsonantiques.com

Original paint with remarkable surface on hand-planed pine. Warm, mellow, almost glowing squares of mustard and red, wrapped within a deep dark border. Initialed M. A. L. Picture frame molding held with cut (square) nails. Original hanging ring. Tight, crisp, clean. The best gameboard I have handled in some time. Feels good in hand.
Sweet and unusually small size of just about 12 ¼ inches square x 1 1/8 thick. From a private midwestern collection.

Historic Folk Art Painting
PORTSMOUTH, NH
The Franklin House & Stage House
ca. 1840-1860.
Watercolor on paper.

Originally built by Langley Boardman, a wealthy cabinetmaker (his impressive home still stands today). In the early 19th century he built two apartment houses on the north side of Congress Street that became the Portsmouth Hotel and Stage House, where passengers boarded stagecoaches bound for Portland, Concord, and Boston. Later owners upgraded or replaced the buildings with the Franklin House and Franklin Hall, and the property became known as the Franklin Block. Inside the arched second floor window of Franklin Hall was a "spring floor" designed to absorb the bouncing of many dancers. The Freemasons met upstairs.

The signs posted on the right read: WILLIS BARNABEE and GENERAL STAGE OFFICE. Willis Barnabee (1789-1862) was a stagecoach driver who became an innkeeper, perhaps of the Franklin House on the left. It is likely Willis himself pictured driving the stage coach. Willis’ wife Mary was cook, and his adolescent son Henry was odd-jobs man and at times bartender, later a singer and actor. The Franklin House was destroyed by fire in 1879. Photographs of the hotel are in the collection of the nearby Strawbery Banke Museum, before and after the fire.

Fine period gilt frame (and mat). Frame size about 19 inches x 16 ½. A rarity in 19th century folk art to show a busy street corner in a thriving early New England town. Colors remain strong and vibrant. Minor toning as shown and no restoration.

Having been in a fine private collection, this painting is being OFFERED FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE 1960’S..

Pictorially Paint Decorated
Folk Art Box
Likely New England
ca. 1820-1840.
Untouched patinated original paint on pine.

The lid with a woman in flowing dress, suggesting wind-blown, paddling or poling a small, unusual boat, with even more unusual pole, on a river below falls and a grand house on a hill. Is she fleeing the house, or just out for a recreational punt?

The sides with mustard-yellow paint with scalloped border with a beautiful flowering rose bush on the back, berries on the ends, and a simple leaf on the front. Fitted interior of open compartments, perhaps for jewelry. Very appealing soft dry surface.

Fine condition with expected dings, early loss of left edge corner. Also, this is subtle: having been 20 years in a very dry desert home, the lid has shrunk slightly such that it doesn’t fully close (with normal humidity it may). Nice and clean inside with original lock and hinges.

About 14 ½ inches wide x 8 ¼ deep x 6 3/8 tall. Provenance: The Tom and Carolyn Porter Collection, Garths, 2004 (said to be one of Carolyn’s favorite pieces); private Western collection.

Portraits Miniatures Attributed to the
RED BOOK ARTIST
Probably Massachusetts or New York, ca. 1830

From a private collection where they have been since the 1960’s.

Details on my website donolsonantiques.com

Brilliant Folk Art Hooked Rug
Civil War period. ca. 1860-1870.

Probably Northeast. Wools and cottons.
Clearly the maker loved flowers. Fortunately for us she also had the vision and the skill to transform that love into art. Not formulaic like so many, but unique, from her own imagination.
She used fragments of repurposed materials, likely scraps from worn-out clothing or discarded by weaving mills. The result is a folk art triumph with timeless elegance that also fits a simple modern aesthetic, making it a perfect fit for both historic or contemporary homes.

I can’t adequately describe what she created better than your own eyes can see, so I will not try. Professionally mounted and ready to hang.

About 53 inches tall x 32 wide. This authentic antique folk art thriller will transform your room , as it did mine, with boldness, color, and a soft texture.

The ROGER BACON
Hanging Wall Box
New England, ca. 1800

Pictured on the cover of the legendary dealer Roger Bacon’s auction catalogue, Skinner, 1982. With complex bone-dry deeply patinated original red paint on pine.

Roger Bacon (Brentwood, NH) a prominent dealer in primitive rural country objects, heralded untouched surfaces, enthusiastically echoing John Kirk’s “buy it ratty and leave it alone”. This humble wall box is a survivor, with a lifetime of blemishes, and an old nailed-on section of pine added to the lower back to cover an ancient, ragged hole. Bacon valued repairs as having aesthetic merit. A double-box, with nailed joinery, it cants markedly backward from the base to the top.

About 13 ½ inches tall x 7 deep at the base x 3 ¼ deep at the top x 11 ¼ wide.

From a fine private Northeast collection. A SIGNATURE PIECE for an early collection.

Whimsical Carved Painted Hogscraper Candlesticks
Rarities that I have never seen.
American, 19th century. Original polychrome paint on pine/poplar.

These are not functioning candlesticks, rather delightful “just for nice” faux hogscrapers and candles, carved from wood. The example with gold and red base is ca. 1840, beautifully developed with dry patinated paint. The one with black-painted base is likely a bit later (ca. 1860), made to emulate the first, with a bit less patination and slightly less developed. Superb well cared-for structural condition, with paint wear on the column of the earlier candlestick. Each about 6 ¾ inches tall.

Provenance: Private Northeast collection purchased from Richard (Smitty) Axtell.

TWO-LIGHT TABLE-TOP ADJUSTABLE LIGHTING STAND
New England, ca. 1700-1740.

Classic form in untouched complex dry original
historic surface.

Just 28 inches tall, so although it could be well positioned on the floor, the small size was designed to provide lighting from a tabletop, desk, or chest.
Owing to its early date, the chipped carved base is made from oak. Oak was not used often after the early 18th century as it was in demand for ship building. The column and candle arm, probably from maple, have hand-cut screw threads to raise and lower the lights, the threads still turning easily.
The lights (candle cups) are made from copper or brass, the patina now very dark with some verdigris. The candle arms have very dark patination and marks from years of scraping off built-up wax. Terrific 3-century condition with inconsequential checks to the candle arm. An authentic pre-Revolution lighting time capsule. Private NH collection. Provenance includes decades ago ROGER BACON.
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Singular Monumental
Paint Decorated Canister.
Likely Ohio, possibly New England, ca. 1820.

While this form and paint decoration are common in small wooden canisters just a few inches tall, this tour de force rises above all, commanding attention with a presence that captivates from across the room.

Original dry brown and yellow vinegar paint on poplar or maple. By a master woodworker two centuries ago. Imagine the skill and experience required to turn a vessel of this size on a primitive lathe long before electricity.

The scale, and condition are remarkable, without the often found cracks to the lid or sidewalls (just an inconsequential shrinkage separation underneath and an in-the-making lathe gouge under the original paint).

Almost 14 inches tall to the top of the integral finial handle.

Provenance includes: Private Northeast collection; The Important American Folk Art Collection of Burton and Helaine Fendelman, Sotheby’s, 1993. Pictured in American Country, Mary Emmerling, 1980.

RARE Set of Four
Candle Sconces
Found in an Early Maine Meetinghouse
Maine, ca. early 19th century.

Tinned sheet iron in original worn dry oyster-white paint. Rare not only in number, yet also design. Triangle back-plates each holding three S-curve arms supporting crimped drip-pans and cylindrical candle-cups. The drip pans/candle cups slip on and off the candle arms. The backplate edges are all rolled. The paint reflects two centuries of usage, one darkened from probably nearness to the hearth. Significant scale, witdh of about 16 inches at the outside of the bottom drip pans, rising to about 13 inches from bottom to top. The sconces include 12 old wax candles.

Finding one sconce of this form would be rare, to find an original matched set of four, always together, is remarkable. Provenance: private historic New England collection
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Simply Elegant Country Table.
Sensational Red Paint
New England, ca. 1820.

More photos at donolsonantiques.com

Soft totally dry dark red original paint on pine with complex, patinated surface. The form is quiet, elegant, simple, yet with a design sophistication such that it could not be improved upon. Tapered legs with two dovetailed drawers in the apron with a most atypical round top having just the perfect overhang. Even the figure (now subtly raised) of the pine was positioned to flow directly front to back.

The table is beautifully preserved, with the paint having just minor expected edge wear. Underneath is a very dark patina except where protected by the drawers, just as it should be. Seems to be completely untouched; I find no repairs or alterations.

Top is about 23 2/4 inches diameter. Stands tall and straight, height about 27 ¼. A country table that is art, made during a period when most buyers had a keen eye for design of furniture, not just function.

Folk Art Portrait of the Clipper Ship SOVEREIGN
New England, probably Massachusetts, ca. 1852.
Watercolor on paper.

Sovereign of the Seas, a clipper ship built in 1852, was a sailing vessel notable for setting the world record for the fastest sailing ship, with a speed of 22 knots.

Built by Donald McKay of East Boston, Massachusetts, Sovereign of the Seas was the first ship to travel more than 400 nautical miles in 24 hours. She made a record passage from Honolulu, Hawaii, to New York City in 82 days. She then broke the record to Liverpool, England, making the passage in 13 days 13+1⁄2 hours. In 1853 she was chartered by James Baines of the Black Ball Line, Liverpool for the Australia trade.

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Exuberant Folk Art Painting
with Vibrant Color
America, ca. 1840-1860.
Oil on canvas.

Important provenance available upon request.

Discover a captivating still life that bridges time and imagination. Painted during the period of American Fancy, this painting is a window into a realm where art bursts forth in vivid hues and playful patterns, igniting the senses.

I see luscious fruits floating in warm tropical waters (note the bubbles). At the heart of this artistic journey stands a then scarce symbol of luxury and hospitality: the pineapple. In a departure from conventional still life compositions, this painting embraces innovation, placing its fruity subjects floating on the water, rather than confining them to traditional urns or baskets.

The intrigue deepens as your gaze follows the bird's flight, guiding you toward enigmatic "twigs" that take on a whimsical twist. These twigs, reminiscent of Tim Burton's surreal aesthetic, appear to be zoomorphic renditions of baby alligators, their tiny legs blending seamlessly with the branches. Presented in a terrific period ripple frame.

Relined with new stretcher. Scattered in-painting. Frame size about 27 ½ inches x 21 ¼. Signed lower right by previously unknown artist “C.F. Miller”.

Purchased on Sept. 15, 1979 from Sotheby Parke-Bernet, NYC, lot 30.

JOHN BREWSTER, JR.
Sarah Brown Portrait Miniature
"Rare Brewster miniature in watercolor on paper"

New England, ca. 1820.
Attributed to John Brewster Jr. (1766-1854) a deaf-mute artist raised in a highly cultured family with seven brothers and sisters. He worked as an itinerant portrait painter along the New England coast. As a result of his extraordinary concentration, exemplary artistic skills, and especially his ability to “see” (given that he could not communicate verbally with his subjects), he was able to capture unique portraits that revealed the sitters’ nuanced personalities.

A note attached to the back reads: “This picture of Grandmother Babcock painted by an artist who came to the house. Perhaps when she was about twelve years old. Sarah A. BROWN Babcock. B 1807 M1830 D1856”.

Sarah wears a high-waisted blue dress. A tortoise shell comb lifts her hair while tendrils frame her pleasant, slightly turned face. There is a distinctive, rarely equaled quality to Brewster portraits: ethereal, direct, uncomplicated, almost a window into the soul of the sitter.

Gilded frame, likely original, about 5 7/8 inches x 5 1/8. Superb condition with slight, even, warm toning. Provenance: Private Northeast collection.

Reference: THE WORLD OF JOHN BREWSTER JR, Fennimore Art Museum; A DEAF ARTIST IN EARLY AMERICA, THE WORLDS OF JOHN BREWSTER JR., Harlan Lane.

(AVAILABLE)
Portrait Miniature
of a Young Woman.
by JANE ANTHONY (JA) Davis

New England, likely Rhode Island, yet also possibly south-central New Hampshire, northeastern Massachusetts, or eastern Connecticut, ca. 1830-1840. Watercolor and pencil on paper.

Confidently attributed to Jane Anthony Davis. Paintings by "Jane Anthony Davis" were assigned to "JA Davis" until relatively recent discovery of her full identity........Attired in the fashionable full puffy sleeves of the 1830's, this blue-eyed woman has her hair held by a tortoiseshell comb, and wears long earrings and necklace. The lack of proper linear perspective of her tiny hand amplifies the desirable, sought after folky nature of this likeness. Portraits by itinerant artists in this period, pre-photography, were prized as they were often the only visual record of the sitter, and also showed their station and accomplishment. Presented in a terrific grungy-surface early frame which may be original.

Frame size about 5 1/4 inches x 4 1/2, retaining original brass hanging hoop. Reference: See "Three New England Watercolor Painters" pp 42-55 for a number of other portraits by Davis. Provenance includes David Wheatcroft, private Northeast collection;