Like many of the folkloric pioneer heroes that ventured out into the Wild West, many of the stories that one reads about Seth Kinman can be taken with a grain of salt. A hunter? Absolutely. A hunter who killed 800 grizzlies in his lifetime? Maybe. And killed 50 elk in a single month? Possibly. How else would he have come to make his signature elk antler or grizzly bear chairs, which he presented to Presidents Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Rutherford B. Hayes and Vice President William A. Wheeler. According to the New York Times, Kinman held forth with Lincoln the day before he died. “Much attention was attracted to Mr Kinman, who walked in a full hunting suit of buckskin and fur, rifle on shoulder. Mr Kinman, it will be remembered, presented to Mr Lincoln some time ago a chair made of California elk-horn, and continuing his acquaintance with him, it is said, enjoyed quite a long conversation with him the very day before the murder,” the newspaper wrote on April 26, 1865. Kinman’s rifle, which lore tells killed British General Edward Pakenham at the Battle of New Orleans, approaches the block at Rock Island Auctions. It joins other top lots from around the United States in this week’s picks.
ROCK ISLAND AUCTIONS
Sale Date: November 30-December 2, 2018
Lot: Lot 111
Hunter and Pioneer Seth Kinman’s Southern Style Percussion Long Rifle
Four-foot-long swamped octagon barrel, bone blade front sight and traditional winged notch rear sight, marked “Seth Kinman Old C[otton] B[ale]” (bracketed areas illegible) on the long barrel tang, “Gave Many an Englishman the Belly ake(sic)” (lower right flat) and “From off the Cotton Bails(sic) at New Orleans” (upper flat) and “Jan. the 8 1815 Old Kentuck” on the left flat. The furniture is all iron.
Estimate: $20/40,000
ELDRED’S
Sale Date: November 29, 2018
Lot: Lot 456
Chinese Peachbloom Glaze Water Pot (Taibai Zun)
Eighteenth Century, in beehive form. Decorated with three incised medallions in the form of two conjoined qilins. Six-character Kangxi mark on base, 3 inches high.
Estimate: $5/7,000
PBA GALLERIES
Sale Date: November 29, 2018
Lot: Lot 97
The Art of Decorating Dry Goods Windows and Interiors by Frank L. Baum
A rarity for Baum collectors, second only to The Book of Hamburgs. While editing his monthly magazine The Show Window, Baum prepared and published this detailed handbook for window trimmers. It is written entirely under his own name and based chiefly on his contributions to the magazine.
Estimate: $3/5,000
SCHWENKE AUCTIONEERS
Sale Date: November 30, 2018
Lot: Lot 45
“Captain Bogardus” Glass Ball Target Catapult
Of form originally designed by Captain Adam H. Bogardus, a renowned writer and shooter in the late Nineteenth Century, used for trap and target shooting.
Estimate: $400/600
EARLYWINE AUCTIONS
Sale Date: December 1, 2018
Lot: Lot 225
Fraternal Weathervane
Circa 1880s, from the Order of the Red Men.
RAGO
Sale Date: December 1, 2018
Lot: Lot 1018
Jimmy Lee Sudduth (American, 1910–2007)
“Toto,” house paint with mud and pigment on panel. Signed, 48 by 24 inches.
Estimate: $800–$1,200
WILLIS HENRY
Sale Date: December 2, 2018
Lot: Lot 97
Eighteenth Century Bun Footed Child’s Desk
Walnut, figured maple sides, pine secondary wood, lid with inlaid compass star, 22 inches high.
Estimate: $2,5/4,000
CLARKE
Sale Date: December 2, 2018
Lot: Lot 364
Pair Of S. Kirk & Son Coin Silver Ewers
Early to mid-Nineteenth Century, with heavy repousse decoration of churches and castles with figures amidst a repousse floral background, ram’s heads to handles and gold wash to interior. Together approximately 108.82 ozt.
Estimate: $4/6,000
CARLSEN GALLERIES
Sale Date: December 2, 2018
Lot 130
“Tavern Scene,” Gerard Terborch
Signed Tirborch, oil on canvas, 28 by 30¾ inches.
Estimate: $5/10,000
