Early 19th Century Folk Art

A wonderful American folk art pen and watercolor self portrait of John Taylor, Albany, NY, circa 1805-6. Taylor has drawn himself as a fashionable, industrious young man seated at hi...

19th Century Welsh Folk art Column Form Really quite extraordinary piece of Welsh folk art, "The Marquess of Angleseys Column" dating mid to late 19th Century. Constructed from carv...

This beautifully aged iron nutcracker dates to around 1800 and most likely originates from Germany. It is a wonderful example of early utilitarian craf...

Gesso, wood and silver leaf reliquary with window and door. Cool.

A lovely dugout Swedish bowl, with rests of old red paint. Dated 1821.

19th century fruitwood mortar and pestle. Remnants of oxblood red and silver blue banded paint. Original pestle included. Origin: Eastern, United States Period: First half of the 19...

19th century maple swift with expandable arms to help yarn workers wind yarn. Arms expand to 30".

Monumental early 19th century clock on a polychrome panel with clock-hands in golden metal, fixed on a tin sheet. The hands are attached to the back of the panel with a clock system,...

Ancient Asian grain scoop bowl A tactile and lovely looking piece the bowl has a handle, it is made from a single piece of wood, it has flat bottom, a s...

Chinese carved rock crystal figure of Buddha, Qing Dynasty, seated in meditation, incised crescent moon mark to lower edge at front, Measures: 5" H...

19th Century North African cooking pot, Brutalist log basket. Stud and Riveted Cooking Pot from North Africa, the vessel is made in hand forged ...

Pawnee/Sioux man figure pipe, with three-piece hand-carved spooled Catlinite stem; over 36". Important museum/ investment quality. Period: First half of the 19th century Origin: Pa...

19th century fruitwood mortar and pestle. Lathe work, remnants of paint or dark stain. Original pestle included. Period: First half of the 19th century Origin: Eastern, US Size: 5" ...

Wooden gingerbread mold (man with feathers in hat and umbrella), signed.

This delicately detailed set of four allegorical porcelain plaques portrays family scenes within the theme of the four seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Spring can be ide...

Native center opening creel made of split willow. We assume sold to a fisherman, he painted. Measures: 9" x 13" x 8" H. Period: 19th century Origin: Northeast Size: 9" x 13" x 8" ...

Silver tested but not stamped.

Tribal African Currency.

Feast your eyes on our Bone Inlaid Pattern Wall Art in Blue Resin. This isn't just art; it's a mesmerizing blend of tradition and contemporary design. Imagine multiple Celtic dragons...

Feast your eyes on our Bone Inlaid Pattern Wall Art in Blue Resin. This isn't just art; it's a mesmerizing blend of tradition and contemporary design. Imagine multiple Celtic dragons...

A spectacular and fine, dovetailed poplar, rosewood grain painted and ebonized document box. The gold stenciling is of a very fine quality. Retains the original fire gilded steel bai...

EXTRAORDINARILY EARLY (1806) PRINTED LINEN KERCHIEF GLORIFYING GEORGE WASHINGTON, PRINT WORKS, GERMANTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA Printed in blue ink on coarse, white linen, this patriotic kerchief shows a standing portrait of George Washington, above which is a swag valance and the words “The Effect of Principle, Behold the Man”. The portrait is based on a mezzotint after Gilbert Stuart’s very famous painting of Washington in his later years, most often referred to as the Landsdowne portrait. Stuart painted three versions of it in oil on canvas, one of which was completed in 1796 for a wealthy merchant by the name of William Constable, who commissioned the work for Alexander Hamilton. The kerchief is interesting because it is both American-made and documented. This is exceptionally unusual for any printed textile of the 19th century or prior and the earlier the time period the more unlikely an object is to be identified. This kerchief and a companion piece entitled “The Love of Truth Mark the Boy” (also glorifying Washington, through the fabled story of the cherry tree), were made circa 1806 by Germantown Print Works in Germantown, Pennsylvania. To the left of Washington's image is a portion of his infamous farewell address to his troops at the end of the Revolutionary War. To the right is a short excerpt from his eulogy. Below these are three images. In the center is a square-rigged tall ship with “Commercial Union” above it, flanked by the American eagle on the left and the British lion on the right. It is reasonable to assume that the textile may have been produced in demonstration of the maker's desire, and/or that of others, to advance trade with England. Commercial printers were very influential in early America, as they possessed the means by which to disseminate information. This kerchief and its companion piece are documented in Threads of History, Americana Recorded on Cloth, 1775 - the Present, by Herbert Ridgeway Collins (1979, Smithsonian Press), p. 63, items 38 & 39.* The two pieces pictured are in the collection of Cornell University, but the Collins text also cites an uncut pair to be present in the collection of the Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, OH. The name "Germantown Print Works" is printed on the Western Reserve examples. Another example of the textile in question is documented in "Running for President, The Candidates and Their Images, 1789-1896" by Schlesinger, Israel, and Frendt, (1994, Simon & Schuster), p. 15. I have seen three different color variations of this textile, including sepia, mulberry red, and blue. This particular example has a hand-sewn binding along the top, lower, and left edges. Mounting: The textile was mounted and framed within our own conservation department, which is led by expert staff. We take great care in the mounting and preservation of flags and have framed thousands of examples. The gilded molding has a rippled profile and dates to the period between 1825 and 1850.The background is 100% cotton twill, black in color. The glazing is U.V. protective plexiglass. Feel free to contact us for more details. Condition: There is an all-over golden oxidation of the white fabric and there is very minor staining. There are tiny tack holes in each corner and there are minor nicks around the perimeter. * Collins relates that Germantown Printworks was operated by the Hewsons. In doing so he cites one of Worthington Chauncey Ford's books on George Washington, but it isn't clear which one (there are many) and no page numbers are given. John Hewson was an Englishman who came to America and opened his printing business on the advice of Benjamin Franklin. He was one of the first “calico printers” and is the earliest documented to have advertised printed kerchiefs. His ads for bandanas appear as early as June 20th, 1774. He is suspected of having produced the very first American kerchief that pictured an American president, which is documented in Collins as item 1 on page 48. Linda Eaton, curator at Winterthur, in 2012, is currently doing in depth research on the three printers of fabrics that were operating in Germantown in early America. She discovered that the owner and/or operator of Germantown Print Works, while not currently known, was not John Hewson. This information is not yet published. She also noted that Winterthur possessed examples of the two George Washington textiles...