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The Shipcarvers' Art: Figureheads & Cigar-Store Indians in 19th-C America 1st Ed

About the Item

The Shipcarvers' Art: Figureheads and Cigar-Store Indians in Nineteenth-Century America by Ralph Sessions. Published by Princeton University Press, 2005. 1st Ed hardcover with dust jacket. Among the most popular and ubiquitous sculptures in nineteenth-century America were the ship's figurehead and the cigar-store Indian. The vast majority of these engaging human figures were created by shipcarvers-highly skilled artists celebrated for their masterful figureheads but who collectively made tens of thousands of shop figures as well, from fanciful representations of American Indians to firemen, baseball players, and fashionable women. Shaped by nineteenth-century Anglo-American values, this artwork reflects the tenor of the times, including racial and gender stereotyping, America's emerging popular culture, and the birth of modern advertising techniques. The Shipcarvers' Art is the first book to assess the artistry and history of these two closely related genres in a single volume. Richly illustrated and elegantly written, it reveals the intertwining of art, commerce, and shipcarving in nineteenth-century America. Ralph Sessions not only highlights the work of shipcarvers throughout the eastern United States and Canada but also presents new information on carving workshops in New York City, America's key shipbuilding center from around 1820 until after the Civil War. Just as they were vanishing from the bows of ships and city streets around the turn of the twentieth century, figureheads and shop figures began to experience renewed interest as museum pieces and collector's items. Representing a milestone in scholarship on the subject, The Shipcarvers' Art magnificently brings them alive once more for art lovers of the twenty-first century. NPT Books a division of N.P. Trent Antiques has a large collection of used and out of print books on art, architecture, decoration and antiques with a focus on 1st editions, signed and limited editions. We offer free shipping to any domestic address.
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 12.25 in (31.12 cm)Width: 9 in (22.86 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    2005
  • Condition:
    new and unread.
  • Seller Location:
    valatie, NY
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: NP1738K1stDibs: LU2605143558362

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