19th Century Carnival or Circus Strongman Mallet, circa 1880

ABOUT Contact us for more shipping options: S16 Home San Francisco. A 19th century English dental surgeon copper floor lamp. This lamp would have originally been a gas light and used outside the front door of the dental surgery of Mr. Bennett Edwards. It's complete with original wrought iron stand, two red etched...

ABOUT An original 19th century Mexican folk retablo. Oil paint on tin. Subject unknown. CREATOR Unknown. DATE OF MANUFACTURE c.1880. MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES Oil Paint on Tin. CONDITION Good. Wear consistent with age and use. DIMENSIONS H 14 in. W 10 in. HISTORY Retablos, better known as 'laminas' in Mexico, are small oil paintings on tin, wood and sometimes copper which were used in home altars to venerate the almost infinite number of Catholic saints. The literal translation for 'retablo' is 'behind the altar.' This unique genre of art, deeply rooted in European history, was brought to Mexico with the arrival of the Spanish and then ultimately adopted by New World mestizo natives to become what is known today as the Mexican folk retablo. The retablo was an art form that flourished in post conquest Mexico and then ultimately, with the introduction of inexpensive mediums such as tin, reached its pinnacle of popularity in the last quarter of the 19th century. With some exceptions, mostly untrained artists from the provinces worked to produce and reproduce these sacred images; some subjects painted more prolifically than others. A typical "retablero" may have reproduced the same image hundreds, if not thousands of times in his or her career. These oil paintings were sold to devout believers who displayed them in home altars to honor their patron saints. There are virtually hundreds of saints, each invoked to remedy a different situation. "San Ysidro Labrador," the patron saint of farmers, is venerated for good weather...

ABOUT This is an original pair of leather wrapped and painted brass field binoculars marked on the eyepiece with "LeMair Fabt Paris". The black metal focus wheel works well and th...

About This is an original pair of brass and embossed binoculars by Sportier Paris. Good working order with clear binocular viewing. This piece has retained its original finish. ...

ABOUT This is an original pair of leather wrapped French navy binoculars with a working compass on the end. "Jumelle Marine Paris" (Sailor Twin) is ...

Antique 24 pounds "Family Scale" with original decals and dates listed on the front: "Mar.14 '99-Mar.28 '03". All metal. Scale works.

Pair of American 19th century circus wagon or traveling carousel three-dimensional wood carved faces. From an early American traveling circus. Many layers...

Very early American circus or carnival Sideshow Banner, circa 1890-1900. Fantastic paint detail. Great example of American folk art banner painting. The Great American African Camel...

These most unusual oil cloth balls were from a Folk Art collection and are being sold as a collection of six. The smallest ball measures 4 inches in diameter and the largest ball mea...

A wonderful whimsical circa 1950s French Childs Carnival and/or Circus prop chair. Carved parts, feet, hands and head with big blue eyes and top it off a ...

A pair of leather clown shoes of unusual proportions, early 20th century in age. By repute from the clown known as Popeio, who worked with the R...

Recently acquired from a museum, we present this scarce, one of a kind, antique European early dobby platform flat style children's carousel duck (or bir...