Bama Planter

I'm thinking that someone in the 1850's saw a print -  such as those by Currier or Kellogg  - and tried their hand at painting a copy. It's primitive and the corners need fixed but you can see the grain painting on the frame. A theme such as fishing is always a winner.  It measures 30" by 22" so it's large enough to make a good showing. 

 This young lady is presented in an oil on canvas, 25 x 30, in a heavy gold frame. I call her Lady with a Blue Scarf.  I purchased her from a New York auction house last week.   I think the absence of jewelry, except for the pin on the necklace, sets her apart from most portraits of this time. Plus, the blue scarf seems to be an important accessory to her plain black dress.   There are no identifying marks on the back ( not unusual),  and there are no tears in the canvas.  The painting has been varnished, and the varnish has cracked over time, giving her a mystical, almost out of focus appearance. 

  This is an oil on canvas of little Charles Munro.   Yes, little boys wore outfits that looked like dresses then.   The back of the painting has August 1843 and Age 4 years.  Do you think the bird is supposed to be a chicken?   Hands were quickly painting but do look like those of a child.  You can see the brown ink identification at the bottom. Blue eyes and rosy cheeks on a round face. There are about 20 little boys on the 1850 census who have his name and age.

Joseph H. Cunningham, my great, great, and one more great grandfather, was born in Wilkes County, North Carolina to Lt. John Cunningham and wife Keziah Chandler Cunningham of Lunenburg County, Virginia. John and Keziah moved to Charlotte County, Virginia for about six years, then dropped down to North Carolina for twenty more, before making a final move to the hills of Tennessee.  How do you know that?  you ask.  Because I read his application for a Revolutionary War pension.  In it, he mentions his "family bible" with names and dates.   I wish I had that.  Joseph is their youngest son.   He came to Alabama as a single man in his 20's and married his first wife in 1819,  Elizabeth Welch.  They had six children.  After her death in 1832, he married Lucretia Griffith Wilson in 1836 and had ten more children.  Among the ten children were three boys.  I descend from the second boy, Benjamin. Joseph died on his planta...

Behold ye the image of Mercy Hurd.                                                   Born about the year 1600 in England. Depicted later in life. Wearing an extravagant round ruffled collar.                                  Back of Portrait. Unsigned. Round presentation in a large gilt molded plaster over a round wooden frame ( 20" x 20" ) . The wife of Thomas Bingham, William Hunt, and Edmund Rice.  Died in Middlesex County, Massachusetts in 1693. Most of the genealogies mention the first husband. Some researchers disagree on the other husbands. ( see one of the replies to this post)  She has been wrapped up and hidden away for a very long time. As far as I know, she was forgotten in a New England attic.  This is the first time to my know...

I bought this dough bowl from an estate in Connecticut.  Someone a long time ago kept it together by mending the wood splits with wire.   It has a 20" diameter and stands 5" high.  The catalog described it as "18th Century Colonial Maple Turned Dough Bowl."   I placed it on a standing dough box in the front room of my log house.  Most of the items in the sale were expensive porcelain, china, and  fine art. This was the only primitive. Mine was the only bid.  I made sure this was not one of the fakes that are being sold on the popular auction sites. Those also have "repairs" made of tin and wire. Nobody would nail a piece of sharp tin to the inside of a dough bowl back then...your fingers would be cut every time you made biscuits. 

Being on Auctionzip has allowed me to view live sales all over the country.  The framed canvas above was up for bids in an auction house in New Orleans.  The catalog description said,  " Portrait of an elderly man...on canvas...presented in a period oval gilt and gesso frame.  15 3/4 in. by 13 in.   "  Since I am more familiar with people who lived before 1860 than those who are active today,  I recognized the face as that of the great Kentucky Senator Henry Clay.  I bid the minimum and won. There was a time I would email people and volunteer information about things they had for sale but didn't know much about. Those days are over.   I guess I'm not the road-show type anymore.