- LYNDON B. JOHNSON MINUTE-MAN COWHIDE
LYNDON B. JOHNSON MINUTE-MAN COWHIDE United States,1968Depicts brown cowhide branded with a Minute- Man over a card marked "A true copy of 'The Minute-Man Brand' forged with appreciation and presented to Lyndon Baines Johnson commemorating his devotion to Savings Bonds as President by his friends and colleagues of the U.S. Savings Bonds Division and it's corps of volunteers in banking, business, industry and labor presented to William H. Smith as a memento of the occasion. October 15, 1968 The White House"
- STANDARD JOHNSON CO. COIN SORTING MACHINE
STANDARD JOHNSON CO. COIN SORTING MACHINE MODEL F1 Standard Johnson Company Inc. (Brooklyn, NY) model F1 vintage coin sorting machine, maker's labels at front and side, on rolling stand. 54" H x 28" W x 9" D. In vintage condition with age-appropriate surface wear, condition as found.
- YELLOWLEGSLevi Rhodes Truex (1860-1934)
Atlantic
YELLOWLEGSLevi Rhodes Truex (1860-1934)
Atlantic City, NJ, c. 1910
10 1/2 in. long
A yellowlegs displaying glass-bead eyes and a through-splined bill by this well-known New Jersey maker. There is a partial brand showing a "B." on the belly.
Original paint with light wear and a blood drip on back left side.
Provenance: Linda E. Johnson Collection
Private Collection
- BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERDaniel Lake Leeds
BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERDaniel Lake Leeds (1852-1922)
Pleasantville, NJ, c. 1890
9 1/2 in. long
Describing a rigmate and its maker in "Classic Shorebird Decoys: A Portfolio of Paintings," William J. Mackey Jr. writes, "Jeremiah Leeds, keeper of the salt flats, left one descendant, Dan Lake Leeds, who carved bird decoys including sanderling, plover, yellowlegs, turnstones, and curlew. His own rig, numbering over fifty snipe, came to light a few years ago. It was probably the greatest single find of its kind in New Jersey decoy history. The Dan Leeds birds have a stylized exaggeration that has an artistic appeal. The black-bellied plover have heads that indicate their local name, ‘bull heads,’ the sanderling have a slimness that suggests their speed before the advancing waves. Paint patterns are bright and adequate, and the technique is unusual; Dan used thick oily paint and laid it on instead of brushing it out. This viscous coating made a durable finish, and the rig was found in mint condition. The old gentleman lavished great care on his decoys during their years of service. They stand on their own merit and have little in common with their New Jersey contemporaries."
A raised-wing beetle-head carving displaying Leed's signature wet lively paint with tight stippled mottling. This decoy has been in the collections of Lloyd Johnson and Linda E. Johnson, with the former's notes written under the tail.
Original paint with light gunning wear, minor working touch-up to white patches on front, and a replaced bill.
Provenance: Lloyd Johnson Collection
Linda E. Johnson Collection
Private Collection
Literature: Richard A. Bourne Co. Inc., "Very Rare and Important American Bird Decoys, from the Collection of the late William J. Mackey, Jr. of Belford, New Jersey," Hyannis, MA, Session V-VI, July 9-10, 1974, lot 49, rigmate illustrated.
Robert Shaw, "Bird Decoys of North America," New York, NY, 2010, p. 190, similar decoy illustrated.
- THE JOHNSON NELSON SHOURDS ROBIN SNIPEHarry
THE JOHNSON NELSON SHOURDS ROBIN SNIPEHarry V. Shourds (1861-1920)
Tuckerton, NJ, c. 1900
9 in. long
This decoy is a rigmate to the bird illustrated in "Top of the Line Hunting Collectibles" from the Alan and Elaine Collection. The underside bears an early collector's inscription.
Original paint with even gunning wear, the original bill has been reset.
Provenance: Lloyd Johnson Collection
Grant Nelson Collection
Private Collection, Florida
Literature: John M. Levinson and Somers G. Headley, "Shorebirds," Centreville, MD, 1991, p. 82, pl. 6-15, similar decoy illustrated.
James R. Doherty, "Classic New Jersey Decoys," Louisville, KY, 2011, p. 70, pl. 136, similar decoy illustrated.
Donna Tonelli, "Top of the Line Hunting Collectibles," Atglen, PA, 1998, p. 62, rigmate illustrated.
- RARE DOWITCHERNathan Rowley Horner (1882-1942)
West
RARE DOWITCHERNathan Rowley Horner (1882-1942)
West Creek, NJ, c. 1915
10 1/2 in. long
An exceedingly rare shorebird by this New Jersey master showing the clean lines and stippled paint common in his waterfowl decoys. Widely recognized as New Jersey's master carver, Horner is believed to have only made a single rig of dowitchers.
Original paint with light gunning wear, some restoration to head, and a patch of wax fill on lower right side.
Provenance: Fred Ellenberg Collection
Linda E. Johnson Collection
Private Collection
Literature: Henry A. Fleckenstein Jr., "New Jersey Decoys," Exton, PA, 1983, p. 168, pl. 403 (top bird), exact decoy illustrated.
Joe Engers, ed., "Jim Allen: A Champion for New Jersey Decoys," Decoy Magazine, May/June 2017, p. 9, rigmate illustrated.
- O'BRIEN VERITY PEEPObediah Verity (1813-1901)
Seaford,
O'BRIEN VERITY PEEPObediah Verity (1813-1901)
Seaford, Long Island, NY, c. 1870
8 in. long
An excellent Verity runner with strong provenance and stippling, which includes red-phase plumage. The underside bears the serifed "J.B." brand.
Original paint with light gunning wear. Three small areas of touch-up in front of wing and a one-inch spot of touch-up to left wing.
Provenance: Donal C. O'Brien Jr. Collection
Linda E. Johnson Collection, acquired from the above, 2005
Literature: Adele Earnest, "The Art of The Decoy: American Bird Carvings," New York, NY, 1965, pp. 48 & 53.
William J. Mackey Jr., "American Bird Decoys," New York, NY, 1965, pp. 102-103.
- RED-BREASTED MERGANSER PAIROrlando "Os"
RED-BREASTED MERGANSER PAIROrlando "Os" Bibber (1882-1970)
South Harpswell, ME, c. 1910
19 3/4 in. long
An exceptional and exceedingly rare rigmate merganser duo with turned heads and original horsehair crests. A well-documented pair, each of the elegant hollow bodies is fitted with its original chamfered bottom board. According to John Dinan, author of the Maine chapter in "The Great Book of Wildfowl Decoys," Bibber only made decoys for his own use. He goes on to write that this maritime chief engineer's "birds are the best carvings on the coast."
Original paint with even gunning wear. Each has some old glue residue and age lines around neck seams. Drake has a replaced bill. Hen has tight age lines and two drips marks on breast. Original crests.
Provenance: Frank Schmidt Collection
Michael and Julie Hall Collection, acquired from the above
Linda E. Johnson Collection, acquired from the above
Literature: Ronald S. Swanson, “The Decoy as Folk Sculpture,” Cranbrook Academy of Art Exhibition Catalog, January 1987, p. 12, fig. 13, exact carvings illustrated.
Exhibited: Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, "The Decoy as Folk Sculpture," Cranbrook Academy of Art, January 27–February 22, 1987.
- TWO (2) UNION SOLDIER CDVS, JOHNSON
TWO (2) UNION SOLDIER CDVS, JOHNSON CO., TNTwo Civil War CDVs of Union Soldiers from Johnson Co., Tennessee, 13th Cavalry. 1st item - CDV of private James Allen (1848-1883), Company D 13th Tennessee Cavalry, shown standing with his hat on a table displaying a 13th Cavalry ensignia. Reverse side marked with pencil script at top margin, "Jas Allen:.James Allen has a military marker on his grave in the Mountain View Cemetery of Mountain City, TN. 2nd item - CDV of an unidentified older bearded soldier shown seated with an elbow resting on a table, J. Fletch. Woodward Nashville, Tenn. label en verso. This soldier has an oral history belonging to Company D 13th Tennessee Cavalry. Both measure 4" H x 2 1/2" W.
Condition:
Both with overall toning, light scattered spotting.
- EARLY 20TH CENT. EAST TN FOLK ART BANJOAppalachian
EARLY 20TH CENT. EAST TN FOLK ART BANJOAppalachian fretless five string banjo with skin head, Johnson County, Tennessee. Signed in pencil to the underside of head "RFD 1 Box 30/ Volna Osborne/ Dortha Wallace/ Nov 18 1925_Tenn/RFD1 Box 30". 33 3/4"L x 10" dia. (head). Note: Volna Marion Osborne (b. Feb. 7, 1899) and Dortha Ella Wallace (b. Jan. 27, 1900) were married by 1920.
Condition:
Some looseness to strings. Tears/losses to vellum head.
- JOHN GADSBY CHAPMAN O/C, SLAIN HART
JOHN GADSBY CHAPMAN O/C, SLAIN HART OR DEERJohn Gadsby Chapman (American, 1808-1889) oil on canvas painting depicting a slain hart or deer on a rock, its eyes still open and tongue hanging out, left front leg barely touching a stream before it and foliage in the background. Image based on a stanza from "Hart-Leap Well" by William Wordsworth, first published in Lyrical Ballads, Volume II, 1800. Inscription of stanza from poem en verso. Housed in gilt carved frame. Sight - 28 3/4" H x 39 1/4" W. Framed - 37 3/4" H x 48 1/4" W. Provenance: The estate of Jean A. Yeatman and Harry C. Yeatman, formerly of Hamilton Place Plantation (near Columbia, Tennessee). Biography (courtesy The Johnson Collection): John Gadsby Chapman was born in Alexandria, Virginia. He studied with local artists George Cooke and Charles Bird King, at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and in Europe, where he copied Old Masters and learned classic drafting techniques. Upon returning to America, Chapman became a landscape painter and portraitist, working in Alexandria, Washington DC, Richmond and Philadelphia. In 1834 he moved to New York and earned success as an illustrator and history painter. Perhaps his best known work is The Baptism of Pocahontas, a mural commissioned for the Rotunda in the U.S. Capitol and widely reproduced in period prints. In the 1840s, following the death of two of his young children, he and his family moved to Rome. Chapman remained there until 1884, painting scenes for the Grand Tour trade. HIs sons, Conrad Wise Chapman and John Linton Chapman, also became painters. Note: according to John F. McGuigan Jr., co-author (along with Mary K. McGuigan) of "John Gadsby Chapman: America's First Artist Etcher, " this work was likely painted by Chapman circa 1858 in Rome. The subject of a slain deer appears in multiple works by Chapman, and was likely commissioned by the Yeatmans during a visit to his studio. One of those works is referred to in an 1898 letter from John Linton Chapman to to Granville G. Valentine of Richmond, Virginia, stating " My father finished it at the request of his old friend William Cullen [Bryant] and called it the 'Hart Leap Well' after Wadsworthís poem. How it happened is about as follows. My father was engaged several years painting four large allegorical pictures of the four seasons - three months represented in each picture - as accessories to the figure representing September in the Autumn picture he introduced the Wild Boar, the Deer, and other game. Being a hunter himself and a remarkable good shot, he hoped to be able to kill the Deer he required for the pictures, as he had already shot the Wild Boar and painted it. One morning as he was about starting to work at his easel, this beautiful specimen of the Roe Deer was sent in to him - having been killed a few hours before by one of his friends, an English sculptor - Holme Cardwell [1813ñ1895] a short distance from Rome. He at once placed the animal in the painting as he wanted it - and as it was yet warm - he set a basin of water under its mouth, from which the blood was still dripping. While at work at the study, William Cullen Bryant came in - as it was his habit to call to see my father every day. On seeing the Deer - its pose - the dripping blood - led him to exclaim 'Why Chapman, what a beautiful illustration you have of Wadsworthís poem of the Hart Leap Well, ' quoting the poem, etc. Father finished the study as a picture, calling it The Hart Leap Well. " (Case wishes to thank John F. McGuigan Jr. and Mary K. McGuigan for this information). (Higher-resolution photos are available at www.caseantiques.com)
Condition:
Craquelure on surface of canvas. Paint faded on right side. In-painting covers tear to canvas that was poorly repaired, top left.
- CARROLL CLOAR ACRYLIC ON BOARD, WEEPING
CARROLL CLOAR ACRYLIC ON BOARD, WEEPING WILLOWCarroll Cloar (American/Tennessee, 1913-1994) framed acrylic on board titled "Weeping Willow," depicting a solitary older man sitting on the porch of a white Victorian house, under a bright sky, with verdant and immaculately clipped lawn in the foreground. An expansive weeping willow encroaches on the left side of the house, creating shadows across the porch. Signed lower left "Carroll Cloar" and additionally signed, titled, and dated July 1967 en verso. Housed in the original painted wooden frame with gilt liner. Sight - 22 1/2" H x 33 1/2" W. Framed - 29" H x 39 1/2" W. Biography (Courtesy of The Johnson Collection): Arkansas-born Carroll Cloar was known for incorporating nostalgic images from his Southern childhood, often merged with dreamlike motifs, into powerful "magic realist" scenes. Cloar graduated from Southwestern College (now Rhodes College) in Memphis, Tennessee, and went on to study at the Memphis Academy of Arts under the artist George Oberteuffer. In 1936, he moved to New York to attend the Art Students League. There, Cloar's achievements earned him a McDowell fellowship which he used to travel across the American Southwest, West Coast and Mexico. Cloar served with the Army Air Corps during World War II and was deployed to Saipan and Iwo Jima. Upon his return from the war, he was awarded a Guggenheim traveling scholarship to fund an extended sojourn to Central and South America in 1946. Two years later, several of his images were featured in a Life Magazine article titled "Backwoods Boyhood," and Cloar's career went on to receive additional national acclaim. By the mid 1950s, Cloar had settled permanently in Memphis, where he produced paintings, often executed in casein tempera and acrylic paints. His works are in the collections of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Brooks Museum of Art, and Library of Congress. In 1993, Cloar's painting "Faculty and Honor Students, Lewis Schoolhouse" was one of six paintings by American artists selected to commemorate the inauguration of President Clinton. (Higher-resolution photos are available at www.caseantiques.com)
Condition:
Painting overall excellent condition. Frame with some chips to corner.