Ivory Folk Art

Just imagine if these dominoes could share the many stories they've heard around the table from various players over the centuries. This unique oak box with a small lock plate and ...

A most charming fine quality antique Victorian era object of vertu magnifying glass, custom made from various earlier elements. English refinement, sophistication, and Victorian ele...

Walking stick: ivory carved handle. The handle depicts a rifle, a dog head and an hunting bag. Ebony wood shaft. Silver ring. Ivory ferrule. England circa 1880. (SHIP TO EU ONLY)

American portrait miniature by Thomas Story Officer, Woman in a White Gown, Signed "T.S. Officer, Pinxt", The 1830s The American portrait miniature signed by Thomas Story Officer depicts a beautiful young woman, her red hair “Coeffure a la Chinoise”, sitting in a red chair confidently looking out towards the painter and us, the viewers.  She wears a white dress with a pin in the center of her chest.  Based on her style of dress and her hair, we believe this was painted while Officer was in Philadelphia. It is signed to the lower right "T.S. Officer, Pinxt" along at edge. The reverse has a small oval glass Dimensions: 3 inches high x 2 3/16 inches wide x 1/4 inch deep Reference: Thomas S. Officer: Miniature and Portrait Painter, Gardner Library,  Author: Merri Lou Schaumann. Born in Carlisle in 1810, this gifted artist trained in Philadelphia, traveled extensively and won awards for his paintings. In 1872, James Miller McKim wrote a series of reminiscences for the Carlisle Herald newspaper about the places and people of Carlisle in an earlier day. He wrote that “David Smith, a boot and shoemaker, had two sons… one of whom early developed a taste for art and finally devoted himself to miniature painting as a profession. He was a contemporary, and for a while, a rival of Mr. Thomas Officer, though I believe he never reached the celebrity attained by that gifted young artist. Mr. Officer, by the way, was one of the last miniature painters of any eminence produced by this country, the daguerreotype and photographer having come in to sweep away the entire profession.” Thomas Story Officer was born in Carlisle on August 15, 1810, to cabinetmaker John Officer and his second wife Margaret. He trained in Philadelphia with the well-known portrait painter Thomas Sully and began his career there in the 1830s. Officer left Philadelphia occasionally to paint portraits in Mobile, Alabama in 1837, in Richmond, Virginia in 1845, and in New York City from 1846-1849 where he became a member of the National Academy of Design. In 1842, Officer intended to travel to Mexico and needed a passport. He asked Attorney Charles B. Penrose, formerly of Carlisle, to write a letter of recommendation for him. In his letter to Fletcher Webster, Esq., Penrose wrote, “This will be handed to you by Thomas S. Officer, Esq., a friend of mine, and a native artist of Pennsylvania, who is a gentleman of great talents and respectability. Intending to visit Mexico, he wishes to procure passports at the State Department…”  Officer was issued a passport in July 1842. He was described as 30 years old, 5’ 11” with a “full and round forehead, bluish-gray eyes, an ordinary nose, medium mouth, ordinary chin, sallow complexion with an oval face and brown hair.” Officer went to Mexico and later to Australia. In 1854, he opened a studio in Sandridge, Australia, and while there he “entered several oil portraits in the 1854 Melbourne Exhibition preparatory to sending them to the 1855 Paris Exhibition.” Officer left Australia, and in 1855 he settled in San Francisco where he would spend the last years of his life. He set up a portrait painting department in James Johnson’s photographic gallery in San Francisco. In 1857, Officer received a bronze medal for his oil portraits exhibited at The First Industrial Exhibition of the Mechanics’ Institute of San Francisco, as well as awards at several other exhibits in 1858. A short piece in the San Francisco newspaper, Alta, on October 30, 1859, read, “Mr. Thomas S. Officer, the talented portrait painter, lies near to death’s door and is in pecuniary distress. Out of the many to whose pleasure he has contributed by his gay, social manners, as well as by his pleasing artistic productions, may there not be found someone who will extend a helping hand?”  Officer died on December 8, 1859. Almost an entire column in the January 18, 1860 edition of the Carlisle Herald, was devoted to a very long and informative obituary of Officer taken from the Alta, California newspaper. Officer was buried in the now defunct Lone Mountain Cemetery in San Francisco. In 2014, the Cumberland County Historical Society received a bequest of a portrait painted by Thomas Officer from the estate of historian John J. Snyder, Jr. It joined a miniature portrait already a part of the Society’s museum collection in Carlisle, not far from where Officer was born. Notes: The May 28, 1834 edition of the Carlisle Weekly Herald reported that Thomas S. Officer had "...within the last few weeks, taken the portraits of several gentlemen of this borough...Mr. O. is principally self-taught, and although young, already evinced a degree of taste, judgment, and talent..." A short biography of Officer can also be found in Early American Portrait Painters in Miniature by Theodore Bolton, published by F. F. Sherman (New York, 1921). The entire book is one line  Bio. of Officer on page 117. See Officer’s portrait...

Walking stick: Art Nouveau ivory pommel Japanese carving, depicting an owl resting on branches of cherry blossoms. Eyes in glass paste. Silver metal ...

Walking stick: carved ivory knob depicting a lion's head. Golden metal band. Bamboo wood cane. Iron ferrule. France circa 1890. (SHIPPING TO THE EU ONLY)

Gadget System stick: stick with lighter function. Ebony wood barrel, ivory knob with silver monogram in relief carved with letters N and H, metal ferrule. By unscrewing the knob a li...

Walking stick: walrus ivory carved handle, depicts Jonah and the whale. Ebony wood shaft. Sulphur glass eyes. Gold ring. Ivory ferrule. Germany circa 1860. (SHIP TO EU ONLY)

Walking stick: carved ivory knob depicting the bust of an angel with flowers. Ebony wood barrel. Ivory tip. Dieppe, France circa 1850. (SHIP TO EU ONLY)

Walking stick: carved ivory knob depicting a dog's head with an open mouth. Eyes in glass paste. Brass ring. Bamboo wood shaft. Brass ferrule. England circa 1890. (SHIP ONLY IN EU)

Walking stick: ivory carved handle. The handle depicts a caricatural face of Mephistopheles. Ebonized fruitwood shaft rustic shape. Silver ring. Metal ferrule. England circa 1870. (S...

Walking stick: carved ivory knob, Japanese handle for the European market, depicting a kneeling Japanese woman with a fan in her hand and a bouquet of flowers. band in 925/1000 silve...

Gadget-System stick: stick with the function of entomologist. Rattan cane, ivory and brass knob. Inside a brass folding lens with ivory handle and pin, also with ivory handle. France...

Walking stick: carved walrus ivory knob, depicting a figurehead with leaves. Rosewood barrel. Carved walrus ivory ferrule. Dieppe, France circa 1780. (SHIP TO EU ONLY)

Walking stick, carved ivory knob, depicting a mongoose with a snake in its mouth. Emerald and ruby eyes. 18K gold band. The barrel is sculpted and carved from a single patinated mapl...

System stick: stick with the function of scissors for pruning plants. Bamboo barrel, ivory and metal knob. A brush is inserted into the knob to clean the scissors after use. Inside t...

Walking stick: carved ivory knob depicting the head of a pug dog. Glass paste eyes. Band in 800/1000 silver, with oak leaves in relief. Bamboo wood cane. Metal ferrule. Germany circa...

Walking stick: carved ivory knob handle depicting a vase with daisies. Malacca wood shaft. Metal ferrule. France circa1915. (SHIP TO EU ONLY)

Walking stick: ivory knob. The handle depicts the head of a laughing monk. Bamboo wood cane, with silver eyelets for the through hole of the lace. Silver ring band. England circa 188...

Gadget-System stick: stick with the function of determining the vertical direction with respect to a specific point. Ebony barrel, ivory knob. Inside the knob there is a plumb line. ...