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TWO WHALEBONE CAULKING TOOLS 19th Century
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16 15. EXOTIC WOOD SEAM RUBBER
Dated 1868
Beautifully grained golden hardwood. Faceted knop, the top stamped “1868” with one number on each face. Blade stamped “RW” on two sides and reliefcarved with an anchor on a third side. Length 4.5”. 600/1,000
Provenance: Purchased from Justin Cobb, 1995. A Rhode Island Private Collection.
16. WHALEBONE FID
19th Century
Incised decorative line banding at top. Pinprick initials “BDK”. Strung with a ropework wrist cord. Length 6.75”. 500/700
Provenance: Purchased in Kennebunkport, Maine, 1993. A Rhode Island Private Collection.
17. BOXED SET OF TWENTY-EIGHT EBONY AND
IVORY DOMINOES 19th Century
Ivory faces secured with brass pins. Original dovetailed wooden box with sliding lid. Pencil inscriptions on underside of box, including names and date “July 25, 1897”. Box height 2”. Length 7”. 500/1,000
Provenance: Purchased in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 1988. A Rhode Island Private Collection.
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18. WHALE IVORY BUTTER STAMP
19th Century
Single-piece construction. Balusterform handle. Stamp impresses a piecrust border surrounding a sixpetal flowerhead studded with dots. Height 1.75”. 1,000/1,500
Provenance: Purchased in a Tennessee antique shop, 1994. A Rhode Island Private Collection. 19. TURNED WHALE IVORY
WHALING LOGBOOK WHALE STAMP 19th Century
Top of handle with pinpoint outline of a whale. Stem with “Sperm” in pinpoint lettering. Stamps an image of a compressed sperm whale with an open circle in the center for labeling the number of barrels taken. Length 1.75”. 2,000/3,000
Provenance: Purchased in New Bedford, Massachusetts, 1990. A Rhode Island Private Collection.
Note: Similar examples have come to market since 1995, one for a right whale and marked for the ship “Echo” and one marked for the “Eliza Adams”, Fairhaven, 1842. 20. WHALE IVORY PIPE TAMP
OR DOCUMENT SEAL 19th Century
Beautifully turned knop and stem. Brass end. Length 2”. 300/500
Provenance: Purchased in Kennebunkport, Maine, 1993. A Rhode Island Private Collection.
scrimshaw associated with
Whaling Master Charles Little
According to Scrimshaw and Provenance: A Third Dictionary of Scrimshaw Artists by Stuart M. Frank (Mystic, Ct.: Stuart M. Frank and Mystic Seaport Museum, 2013), p. 163-164, Charles Little was born in Westport, Massachusetts, in 1816 and was a master aboard whaling voyages sailing out of New Bedford. These three pieces are associated with him, though it is unclear whether he made them himself or he brought them home with him from one of his voyages. His wife Cynthia, probably the recipient of the pieces, accompanied him on at least one of the voyages he captained, aboard the vessel Congress from 1846 to 1848, or the Emma C. Jones from 1849 to 1853. The pieces descended to their eldest son George, and family history has relayed the provenance since then.
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21. EXCEPTIONAL INLAID AND IVORY-HANDLED ROLLING PIN
19th Century
Wooden roller with contrasting wood and mother-of-pearl inlay in a harlequin pattern. Turned whale ivory handles with contrasting banding and spacers, possibly baleen. Metal mounts. Length 16”. 3,500/5,000
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22. WOODEN CUTLERY BOX WITH WHALEBONE INLAY
Mid-19th Century
All four sides with inlaid whalebone diamonds. Inlaid whalebone plaque above handle engraved “C. Little”. Dovetail construction. Height 6.75”. Length 14.25”. 3,000/4,000
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23. WHALE IVORY PIE CRIMPER
19th Century
Wheel yoke carved as an eagle’s head terminating in two opposing hearts. Eagle’s eye serves as the metal axle for the fluted wheel. Pistol grip-style handle with chamfered edge and two medial baleen bands. Length 7”. 1,500/2,500
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25. CASED ALPHABET SET
Second Half of the 19th Century
Complete set of whalebone tiles, with six tiles for each letter and additional vowel tiles and blanks. Tiles with scrimshaw uppercase letters on one face and lowercase letters on other face. Grained hardwood case. Interior of case with engraved panels to identify compartments for each letter. Case 5.5” x 8”. Tiles .75” x .5”. 1,000/1,500
Provenance: Paul Madden Antiques, Sandwich, Massachusetts, 1991. Private Collection, Falmouth, Massachusetts. 24. OUTSTANDING AND RARE INLAID WHALE IVORY
AND WOOD SEWING STAND Mid-19th Century
Octagonal four-drawer base surmounted by two octagonal wooden platforms supported by turned whale ivory columns. Upper tier with four thread spindles and the lower tier with eight. Turned whale ivory cup at top, probably for a pincushion. Turned whale ivory components, including the cup, spindles, columns, drawer pulls and turned feet, with red and blue incised banding. Platforms and top of base with sunburst design in alternating woods. Perimeter moldings in alternating woods studded with metal pique. Base’s drawers and panels with matching abalone and ivory inlay in a flower petal and concentric circle design. Ivory trim at each corner of base. Height 11.5”. Length 9”. 9,000/12,000
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26. RARE WHALE IVORY AND BALEEN-BANDED UNICORN PIE CRIMPER
Mid-19th Century
Desirable example. Full-bodied galloping unicorn with pointy ears, inlaid baleen eyes, curled tail and two horns that serve as a crimping fork. Front legs support a fluted wheel. Fine, deep patina. Length 7”. 12,000/15,000
Provenance: Hyland Granby Antiques, Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, February 1, 2000. The Folk Art & Americana Collection of Carl and Sonia Schmitt.
Note: Similar examples appear in Scrimshaw and Scrimshanders, Whales and Whalemen by E. Norman Flayderman (New Milford, Ct.: N. Flayderman & Co., Inc., 1972), p. 182-183.
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28 27. IVORY PIE CRIMPER WITH PIERCED STAR DESIGN
Mid-19th Century
Whale or walrus ivory. Beautifully carved handle, open at the center, pierced with five-pointed stars within a circle. Swing hanging loop at one end of handle. Opposite end with a scrolled wheel support and an openwork wheel with serrated edge and central fylfot. Length 5.25”. 2,500/3,500
28. SAILOR-MADE WHALE IVORY NANTUCKET
PIE CRIMPER WITH PIERCED HEART AND OTHER DESIGNS Mid-19th Century
Shield-shaped tail with a pierced design of a column of diamonds flanked by columns of hearts and circles, and an incised border around the perimeter. Shaft constructed of twin pierced panels in a similar design of a column of hearts surrounded by circles. Architectural carving at base of shaft near wheel mount. Delicately fluted wheel. Deep patina. Length 6.5”. 2,000/2,500
Note: Crimpers with similar piercings and construction are illustrated in Scrimshaw and Scrimshanders, Whales and Whalemen by E. Norman Flayderman (New Milford, Conn.: N. Flayderman & Co., 1971), p. 178, Ingenious Contrivances, Curiously Carved by Stuart M. Frank (Boston: David R. Godine with the New Bedford Whaling Museum, 2012), p. 195, and A Mariner’s Fancy: The Whaleman’s Art of Scrimshaw by Nina Hellman and Norman Brouwer (N.Y.: South Street Seaport with Balsam Press, et al, 1992), p. 58.
29. CARVED AND PIERCED WHALEBONE PIE CRIMPER
Second Quarter of the 19th Century
Tapered handle with filigree carvings along the perimeter and a column of pierced diamonds, heart and circles down the length. On one side of handle the pierced shapes have pique borders of stippling and contrasting inlay, probably baleen. Fluted wheel, possibly whale or walrus ivory. Length 7.25”. 2,500/3,500
Provenance: The Thomas Mittler Scrimshaw Collection.
Illustrated: Through the Eyes of a Collector by Nina Hellman (2015), fig. 126.
Note: A similar example, possibly by the same hand, is illustrated in Scrimshaw and Scrimshanders, Whales and Whalemen by E. Norman Flayderman (New Milford, Ct.: N. Flayderman & Co., Inc., 1972), p. 178.
30 30. WHALEBONE AND IVORY THREAD STAND
Mid-19th Century
Three octagonal whalebone platforms are supported by a central wooden dowel and whale ivory balusters and are raised on three ivory legs. Upper tier with four thread spindles and lower tier with eight. Elegant flower-form whale ivory cup at top, probably for a pincushion, with scalloped rim and incised banding. Retains multiple spools of old thread. Height 8”. 4,000/6,000
31. CARVED WHALEBONE
KNITTING BASKET Mid-19th Century
Swing handle and crossing staves with delicate pierced designs. Tops of staves with decorative carving and pierced hearts. Mahogany base plate. Height with handle raised 7”. Diameter 7”. 8,000/12,000
Note: A basket with similar pierced design but without handle, probably by the same hand, is illustrated in Scrimshaw
and Scrimshanders, Whales and
Whalemen by E. Norman Flayderman (New Milford, Ct.: N. Flayderman & Co., Inc., 1972), p. 228.
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32, obverse and reverse
32. POLYCHROME SCRIMSHAW WHALE’S TOOTH WITH TWO COASTLINE SCENES
Mid-19th Century
Vibrantly colored scenes wrap around the circumference of the tooth. Upper scene depicts a large American three-masted ship, a port with palm trees and buildings, one of which is flying an American flag, a smaller two-masted vessel, and a port with buildings and a lighthouse. Above the three-masted ship is a scalloped arch and a flock of birds. Above the two-masted ship is an American eagle with banner, shield, olive branches and arrows. Lower scene depicts an American-flagged three-masted sailing ship, a lighthouse, a palm tree, a smaller sailing vessel and a large waterfront building flying an unidentified flag, possibly of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Length 4.75”. 4,000/6,000
Provenance: The Kobacker Scrimshaw Collection.
33, obverse, edge and reverse
33. SCRIMSHAW WHALE’S TOOTH “PREPEAR TO MEET THY GOD”
Dated 1868
Obverse depicts a couple in formal dress. The man is wearing a stovepipe hat and holding a cane, and the woman is wearing a bonnet and a long striped dress. The couple is surrounded by a dove, signifying peace, a flowering plant, signifying prosperity, and an unusual array of five sailing vessels. Reverse depicts a three-masted vessel heading out of port, flying assorted flags and pennants. On the coastline are two trees, a house, and two figures seeing off the ship, one holding a large flag. Numerous birds in flight surround ship. One edge with “PrePear to Meet Thy God” within a swag border. Other edge with a “C”, a Maltese cross and a “C” above “G 1868”. Initials and date flanked by three entwined fish, signifying the Holy Trinity, a mustard seed plant, signifying faith, and palm branches, signifying regality. Unique geometric composition, many elements deeply engraved. Length 5.25”. 2,000/3,000
Provenance: The Kobacker Scrimshaw Collection.
34. VERY FINE POLYCHROME SCRIMSHAW WHALEBONE BUSK
Mid-19th Century
A red geometric band separates two vignettes: a whaling scene and a patriotic spread-wing eagle. The whaling scene depicts a whaleship and a six-man whaleboat harpooning a surfaced whale that is spouting red. The eagle clasps a “Pluribus Unum” banner in its beak, has a red-striped American shield at its breast, and clutches flagpoles flying a red-striped American flag and a U.S. jack in its talons. Both vignettes with a quarter-sun design at each corner. Red line borders at both ends of busk. One end is lobed. Length 11.25”. 6,000/8,000
35. POLYCHROME SCRIMSHAW WHALEBONE BUSK
19th Century
Depicts two intersecting hearts, a quarter fan design, a tree, “AWS”, two phases of the moon, three stars, a hot air balloon with American flags, a lighthouse flanked by a tree and the keeper’s house, and a small branch. Some images separated by barber’s pole and crosshatch borders. Intersecting half-circle border along perimeter. Executed in shades of red and blue. Lobed and curved ends. Length 12.25”. 3,000/4,000
Provenance: The Howland Scrimshaw Collection.
36. DOUBLE-SIDED SCRIMSHAW WHALEBONE BUSK
Mid-19th Century
Intricately and elegantly rendered. Obverse depicts a coastal scene of trees, two stately buildings, a starboard view of a three-masted vessel flying pennants from each mast and a large American flag off the stern, a port view of a similar three-masted vessel, a stern view of a vessel flying a long pennant, a smaller two-masted vessel flying a long pennant, a lighthouse, and a building, possibly a tavern, with a signpost and a fence. Initialed “R.B.” above lighthouse. Reverse with eight images: a heart containing arrows and geometric and foliate designs, a ruffled circle containing a five-pointed star within a larger five-pointed star, a potted plant, a cartouche containing “RB”, intersecting hearts containing arrows and fan designs, an overlapping circle and leaf pattern, a fylfot, and a half fan design. Images are separated by assorted geometric borders and some are accented with quarter fan or foliate designs. Curved ends. Length 13.75”. 3,000/4,000
Note: This busk, particularly the designs on the reverse, bears a strong resemblance to a baleen example from a Long Island Collection, sold at Eldred’s, The Fall Marine Sale, November 21, 2019, Lot #143, and are possibly by the same hand.
