$6,463
Carved, Painted, and Gilded Pine American Eagle and Flag, America, c. 1876, the stylized figure with outstretched wings bearing the waving American flag, with incised wings and tail feathers, original red, white, and blue paint, and gilding, (losses, repair, wear), ht. 17, wd. 30 3/4 in. Note: A note affixed to the reverse reads "This Eagle was on the Pilot House of the 1st steamboat on Lake Sunapee, N.H. named 'The Maida Woodsum." Purchased for 25 cents from the Estate sale of the Woodsum Steamboat Co. Sunapee N.H. by E.N.N. The boat was named for Mrs. Woodsum." Literature: A similar eagle made by the same hand is illustrated in the book STARS AND STRIPES: Patriotic Motifs in American Folk Art by Deborah Harding, Rizzoli International Publications, New York, 2002, on the cover and pp. 206-7. In a paragraph describing the eagle it is mentioned that "Historian Philip Isaacson describes a similar piece mounted above the door of Lincoln's presidential paddle steamer, River Queen ... "
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2003-02-23