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Sale 86
The Manuscripts, Collectibles & Space Auction
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Photo |
Description |
Realized |
Lot 695 |
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Collection of Eight Charming 19th Century Embroidered Samplers. Impressive Americana collection of eight hand-embroidered samplers, all from the 1800s. Samplers allowed young women to practice their craft but have become highly collected for their social history and window to the past. Offered here are eight samplers ranging in dates from 1801 to 1880 and measuring from 19 x 13 in. for the largest to 9 x 8 in. for the smallest. Given their 200+ years in age, some of the pieces exhibit minor tears, deterioration and some punctures but overall in remarkable unrestored condition. Seven of the samplers are "ABCs" with one boasting an exquisite tatted lace collar; the eighth is a widow's poignant tribute to her fallen husband. All samplers are framed in wood, most of them decades old. A wonderful opportunity for collectors of Americana.
Estimated Value $600 - 800.
View details and enlarged photos
| Realized
$384 |
Lot 696 |
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Gold Rush Letters, 1849 and 1850. Two letters written from San Francisco by J.R. Cutter to his father Cyrus in West Cambridge (Mass.), dated Dec. 23, 1849 and Sept. 30, 1850, 5¼ pp. With news of this city which "far exceeded my expectations," the people ("about 35,000 people from all parts of the world"), the mud ("little less than knee deep nearly all the time"), and many detailed observations. He writes that there are close to 40 gambling establishments which operate every day, "Sunday not excepted", and describes the deleterious effects these "hells-upon-earth" have on the men, except for a few "mostly from N England of good staunch morals." He notes, "I have seen more gold & silver on a gambling table than a man could lift…." About mining, he has found that "where there was 1 [man] who had more than paid his expenses there were 10 who had not." He was doing carpentry work to get by. He is convinced that "there is no way that a man could make a fortune easier than to go on to some of the government land either in this vicinity or up the river and commence farmng…." He would advise anyone who asks not to come but knows they won't listen. Close of 1849 letter not present. In the 1850 letter, he tells his father he is enclosing a draft on Adams & Co., "2 bags of gold one containing 33 ozs….the other containing 28 ozs," and that the prices of provisions are high. "Henry & I intend wintering at the Chinese diggins between the Stanislaus & Tuolumne rivers." Seal tears affect a few words of text, else fine.
Estimated Value $400 - 600.
View details and enlarged photo
| Realized
$1,560 |
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