Snatch Block from the Nantucket Whaleship 'Walter Scott'
Made of ash with iron pins and iron sheave.
The Walter Scott was built in 1836 and brought over 5,000 barrels of sperm oil to Nantucket from voyages to the Pacific; she survived the storm off Australia and was sold in Edgartown in 1849.
Descended from the family of Captain Charles Grant.
Capt. Charles Grant (1814-1906), of Nantucket is credited with being the greatest of all whaling masters, who made more money for himself and the owners of the vessels he commanded than any other captain in the history of the whaling industry.
Charles Grant, like many another Nantucket lad, started his whaling career at the age of eleven. The list of vessels in which he sailed is a long one. His first ship was the “John Jay”. Then came the ships “Maria” and “Mount Vernon”. He sailed his first voyage as master in the ship “Walter Scott”, when he was thirty years old. This voyage lasted four years and netted over $100,000. During his stay ashore after this voyage he married Nancy Wyer, who accompanied him on most of his subsequent voyages. She was the first Nantucket woman to go whaling. All of their children were born on voyages.
Later Capt. Grant sailed in command of the “Japan”. All of these voyages were very successful, and Capt. Grant received “the largest lay of any man in the business”.
When he escaped the “Shenandoah” during the Civil War and brought home his cargo in safety he was accounted a lucky man indeed. Next he commanded the “Milton” and then the “Niger”. Having made a fortune he decided to retire, but consented to make one more voyage, this time in the ship “Horatio”. His profits on this voyage amounted to $40,000.
Fifty-six years of his life Capt. Grant spent at sea aboard whaleships. He record was $30,000 barrels of oil while as an officer and 22,000 barrels more as master, besides 12,000 pounds of whalebone and eighteen pounds of ambergris.
In spite of the fortunes he made, Capt. Grant died a poor man. He was called the most charitable man who ever trod the deck of a ship. He never turned down an appeal for help and was too generous for his own good. His money “slipped through his fingers”.
During his last years of his life he filled the position of Custodian of the Old Mill, and fortunate indeed were the visitors with whom he “gammed”, for he was an encyclopedia in nautical matters relating to the island history.
When Capt. Grant died at the age of ninety-two years he was the oldest whaling captain alive, as well as the most famous, and newspapers far and wide chronicled his passing and featured his marvelous career.
11 1/2" x 3"
c.1830.
$600
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Bird's Eye View of Nantucket
Aerial View of Nantucket 1881
"Birds Eye View of the Town of Nantucket" map. The map depicts accurate views of all the houses on the island in 1881. There are vignettes of four hotels along the bottom, and a view of the village of Siasconset in the upper right hand corner. Published by J.J. Stoner, Madison, Wisconsin.
Small paper loss and in original frame 21" x 29 1/2"
Full title on legend: "Bird's Eye View of the Town of Nantucket in the State of Massachusetts Looking Southwest 1881."
$11,000
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Wooden Sign: "Boat For Hire".
Found on Nantucket
c.1930
28 1/2" x 57 1/2"
$2800
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Nantucket Lady's Writing Desk
53" x 42" x 20 1/2"
Nantucket lady's writing desk made of fine mahogany and inlays. The tambour slide top section consists of eight drawers with a fine inlaid center door. The bottom section has a fold out writing desk and three drawers with a shaped skirt on tapered inlaid feet.
The desk was found with an 1899 scales receipt, purchased from Joseph Remsem. Remsen was the Sankaty Lighthouse Keeper from 1892-1919.
$12,500
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Wooden Relief Carved Plaque of the Old Swain House (1901)
James Walter Folger (1851-1918)
Carved and painted by Island artist James W. Folger (1851-1918) in 1901.
This particular piece shows Folger's skill and precision as a carver.
The Swain, built in 1672, was a farm house on Polpis road. It collapsed in 1902. 13" x 19" x 4"
$14,500
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Golden Plover Shorebird Decoy
Attributed to James Walter Folger (1851-1918).
Great form with ornithologically correct bill, undercut shoulders, raised wings with thigh and tail detail.
Appears to be original surface except for slight touch-up to thighs.
Wing tips broken and reattached. c.1880-1890.
$8800
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Carved and Painted Sperm Whale Whirligig.
Made by Lincoln Ceely (1865-1950).
Ceely was a well known Nantucket cabinet & clock maker who also painted and carved.
Around the turn of the 19th century he was one of the carvers of the Sailor-Boy whirligigs.
17" long, Nantucket, c.1940. Great original painted surface, small chip missing from tail.
$2500
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Carved and Painted Nantucket Sailor-Boy Whirligig.
Attributed to Frederick Ray (b.1826)
With carved out collar and knuckles, as well as a scallop shaped shirt. The face is painted with a mustache and goatee.
Attributed to Frederick Ray (b.1826). ray was the son of Capt. Charles Ray and father of Clinton "Mitchy" Ray. He was a cooper and also a crewman aboard the Crossrip Lightship.
Original Paint with replaced paddles.
c. 1880-1900
$3800
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"Sailor Boy" Whirligig, retaining its original painted surface.
Replaced Paddles, Unknown Maker
Nantucket, c.1920-1930
Sailor Boy Whirligigs originated on Nantucket in the late 19th century, they were originally used as weather vanes, an instrument for showing direction of the wind. Although partly functional vanes were generally decorative.
Local carpenters and craftsmen eventually made these for the tourist trade.
$1250
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1840s Chinese Export Tea Caddy
Black Lacquer and Gilt Tea Caddy on Paw Feet.
Found in the attic of multigenerational home of the Coleman Family on Nantucket.
Contains a sales reciept that reads:
"1878 Mar. 21st.
Capt Henry Coleman
Bought by James M Coffin & Son.
31 1/2 yds Union Carpet. 55 17.33
1 roll allmnd carpet 30.00.
3 Window Shades. 50¢ 1.50
$48.89
Recd pay
James M Coffin & Son."
$2500
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A Rare and Unique Painted Decanter of the Old Mill
by James Walter Folger (1851-1918)
The decanter dates to the early part of the 19th century.
Nantucket, c. 1875-1890.
9" tall.
$3250
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Pacific Club, Nantucket Mass
Watercolor on Paper
Anthony Frederick (Tony) Sarg (1880 - 1942)
Framed watercolor on paper showing a horse and carriage driven by James Wood in front of the Pacific Club on Nantucket.
Up until his death James Wood (1846-1943) would lead the Memorial day parade in a horse and carriage. Nantucket’s most decorated war veteran was born on the Island in 1846. Not only was he Nantucket’s last surviving Civil War veteran, but one of the last in New England, and was one of the few soldiers to have served in both the Army and the Navy. He is best known for shaking Abraham Lincoln’s hand after the war
Titled and signed 'Pacific Club, Nantucket Mass', Tony Sarg, c. 1930
Ex-Collection of David Wood
$1250
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The Sailor's Return
Painted Plaster Shadowbox, 19 1/2" x 24", c.1930-1940
Samuel Davis Otis (1889-1961)
Samuel Davis Otis was born in Sherwood, NY, the son of Stephen and Mary Otis. Otis was a nationally known artist and illustrator, and one of the founding members of the Silvermine Guild of Artists.
His great Grandfather was James Gorham, a Nantucket Whaler. In the summers he and his family resided in Sconset. It was on the island where he bacame interested in plaster. He made full figured molds as well as pictorial painted shadow boxes.
$28,000
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Nantucket Yacht Club
Egg Tempura on Board.
John Austin (1918-2001)
With original wooden frame by the artist.
9" x 17" sight, 17" x 26" overall.
John Austin was born in North Carolina, raised in New Jersey and lived in Connecticut before moving to Nantucket where he remained until his death.
A prolific artist, Austin studied under Reginald Marsh at the Art Students' League in New York and Edward Hopper in Truro and New York. Early on in his career he produced training manuals for the United States Army and designed floats for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parades. He transitioned into painting exclusively by the 1960's, producing a substantial body of work representing New England scenes, eventually concentrating primarily on Nantucket and Cape Cod locations.
Austin exhibited at the Lobster Pot Gallery and Reggie Levine's Main Street Gallery. He was frequently commissioned for works including house portraits for clients and commemorative ships portraits for the United States Coast Guard, which were presented to retiring officers.
Austin's work is represented in numerous private collections and homes around Nantucket and the world. His paintings have been purchased and collected by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Mrs. Paul Mellon, and Joyce and Seward Johnson, among other notable figures. Two of his paintings from the estate of Jackie Onassis, who owned a sizable collection of Austin's work, were later sold by Sotheby's, commanding prices of $29,000 and $26,450.
$1800
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Untitled
Andrew Shunney (1916-1978)
Andrew Shunney was born in Attleboro, Massachusetts and began paitning at the age of nine. He studied at The Rhode Island School of Arts and Design for four years and spent those summers at the John R. Frazier School of Painting in Provincetown. After RISD, Shunney worked for a time as an illustrative draftsman in Dallis Texas, studied at the Art Student's League in Mexico with Diego Rivera and went on to study and work in Paris for four years.
Andrew Shunney later lived in and pursued his career in Nantucket.
$3200
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Edge of Village
Acrylic on Canvas, 20" x 30" sight.
Philip Hicken (1910-1985)
Philip Burnham Hicken was an accomplished painter, educator and screenprinter and was instrumental in developing the modern silkscreen technique. He split his time between Lynn, Massachusetts and Nantucket until the early 1980's, when he moved to Nantucket year round and maintained a home and studio at 23 Pine Street.
Hicken was commisioned for a WPA mural in Fort Warren, Massachusetts in 1941. He was a painting instructor at Harvard University Graduate School of Design from 1950-1953 and at Boston University 1956-1957. He became the Chairman of the Fine Arts Department at the Art Institute of Boston in 1957.
PHilip Hicken was a member of The Boston Printmakers, The Cambridge Art Association, The Royal Society of Art and The Aritist's Association of Nantucket.
$3000
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Old Mill built in 1746 (Nantucket), 1884
Oil on Canvas, 14 1/2" x 9 1/2" sight.
Signed, James Walter Folger (1851-1918)
A scenic view of the Old Mill on Nantucket, showing miller John Francis Sylvia rigging a sail onto one of the mill's blades.
Signed both front and back and dated 1884. The inscription on the back reads: "Painted by Jas Walter Folger Nantucket Mass 'Old Mill built in 1746' 1884" The signature on the painting near the bottom of the canvas reads: "Built in 1746 Jas Walter Folger. 1884" The original tag from Folger's Studio is mostly intact on the back of the stretcher and reads "Jas. W. Folger, STUDIO, Corner Main and Union Sts., NANTUCKET, MASS."
James Walter Folger (1851-1918) was a mostly self-taught Nantucket painter and artisan. Folger is best known for ornamental wood carvings, historical paintings of Nantucket, carved animal heads, and historic dioramas. In 1869, he briefly worked as journeyman to a wood carver in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Folger was equally capable working in oils and watercolor. His Nantucket studio was located at the corner of Main and Union Streets.
The Old Milll was built in 1745-1746 by Nathan Wilbur, a Nantucket sailor who had spent time in Holland. It is one of the most identifiable landmarks on Nantucket and is an enduring and recognizable symbol of the island. Wilbur sold the run-down mill for $20 to Jared Gardner in 1828 for use as firewood. Gardner however, who was a carpenter, restored the mill to working condition. The mill was sold again in 1866 to John Francis Sylvia, a Portuguese miller of Azorean descent. Sylvia operated it until 1892. Caroline French purchased the mill at an auction for $850 in 1897 and donated it to the Nantucket Historical Association. Today, the Old Mill is the oldest functioning windmill in the country.
$9500
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Nantucket Sankaty Head Light
Oil on Canvas, 6" x 20" sight.
Wendell Macy (1854-1923)
A rare perspective of Sankaty Light by Wendell Macy, with the view as seen from the northwest, with the Polpis Road and the west side of Sesacacha Pond in the foreground.
An inscription on the back of the stretcher reads "Nantucket Sankaty Head Light"
Wendell Macy, a descendent of Nantucket's earliest settlers including Thomas Macy and Richard Swain, was a prolific painter of Nantucket Scenes. Wendell Macy was a contemporary of Eastman Johnson and W. Ferdinand Macy on Nantucket. (W. Ferdinand Macy, also descended from Thomas Macy, and also a painter active in both Nantucket and New Bedford, is occasionally confused with Wendell Macy.)
Wendell Macy was active mainly throughout the last three decades of the 19th century and is considered one of the historically important Nantucket artists. He started his career as a crayon portraitist, and progressed to oil paintings of shipwrecks, dramatic scenes of nature, and Nantucket scenery, finally evolving to large works with historical and allegorical themes. Macy also constructed ships models and did restoration work on oil paintings by other artists. He was vice-president of the Nantucket Atheneum in 1907, and president in 1908 and 1909. He died in New Bedford in 1913.
His work is highly sought after and is hanging in the Smithsonian's Corcoran Gallery of Art, the New Bedford Whaling Museum, the Nantucket Historical Association and in private collections.
$9500
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Main Street & The Starbuck Houses (The Three Bricks - Nantucket)
Oil on Board, 9 1/2" x 13 1/2" sight. c
Signed Walter Gilman Page (1862-1934)
Walter Gilman Page studied with Otto Grundmann (1844-1890) at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in the 1880s and was a pupil of Gustave Boulanger (1824-1888) and Jules Lefebvre (1836-1911) at the Académie Julien in Paris. He was a founder of the Boston Public School Art League and maintained a studio at the Fenway Studios. He exhibited at the Paris Salon from 1887 through 1889 and then after returning to Massachusetts showed primarily in the Boston area.
On Nantucket, he painted portraits of local residents, waterfront scenes, and streetscapes of town. He served as chairman of the Massachusetts State Art Commission and helped found the Maddequet Admiralty Association. Page is buried in Nantucket at the Prospect Hill Cemetary.
$3500
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Old North Church, Nantucket
Oil on Canvas, 12" x 14" sight.
Signed, Charles Gordon Harris (1891-1963)
Charles Gordon Harris studied at the Rhode Island School of Design, his teachers were Cyrus Farnum, Stacy Tolman and George A. Hays. Harris was a member of and exhibited at the Providence Art Club, The Providence Watercolor Club, and the South County Art Association. He also exhibited at the Attleboro Museum of Art, among others. A life-long Rhode Island resident, he taught and supported local artists and took painting trips throughout New England, he especially enjoyed painting on Nantucket Island and in Bermuda.
$2800
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Lily Street, Nantucket
Oil on Canvas, 20" x 24" sight.
Signed, Charles Gordon Harris (1891-1963)
Charles Gordon Harris studied at the Rhode Island School of Design, his teachers were Cyrus Farnum, Stacy Tolman and George A. Hays. Harris was a member of and exhibited at the Providence Art Club, The Providence Watercolor Club, and the South County Art Association. He also exhibited at the Attleboro Museum of Art, among others. A life-long Rhode Island resident, he taught and supported local artists and took painting trips throughout New England, he especially enjoyed painting on Nantucket Island and in Bermuda.
$2800
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75 Main Street (Nantucket)
Oil on Canvas, 18" x 22" sight.
Signed, Emily Hoffmeier (1888-1952)
From 1929 to her death in 1952, Emily Hoffmeier spent summers on Nantucket, mostly painting in her Red Anchor Studio on Washington Street. She exhibited at the Easy Street Gallery and the Kenneth Taylor Galleries. After the death of Maud Stumm in 1935, Hoffmeier took over the direction of the annual Sidewalk Art Show, which she ran for the next eighteen years. She was one of the founding members of the Artist's Association of Nantucket and served on its first executive committee.
After graduating from Mount Holyoke College she taught mathematics at West Chester High School in Pennsylvania from 1917 to 1951. In addition to studying with Frank Swift Chase, Hoffmeier also studied with Henry B. Snell and Hugh Breckenridge in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
Painting is signed front and back and still carries the original tag from being displayed for sale at the Red Anchor Studio.
$7500
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Nantucket Wharf Scene
Ruth Sutton (1898-1960)
Oil on board
6" x 4" sight
$850