New Hampshire Auctions & Appraisals – Exciting Summer Auction
Friday July 28th Starting at 10 am
Previews on July 22nd & 27th from 12noon-4pm & by Appointment
Featuring the important estate of Robert Dunlap of Bedford NH
www.nhauctionsandappraisals.com
41B Main Street, Goffstown, NH 03045

GOFFSTOWN, N.H. — The Robert Dunlap House has long been regarded as one of the most significant homesteads in Bedford, N.H. Built in the early 1830s with a much earlier frame, possibly from Major John Dunlap’s house, which stood nearby, the home was occupied by several generations of Dunlap joiners. As an ancestral home, the Robert Dunlap House became a repository of significant family heirlooms, having artifacts from the renowned cabinetmaker Major John Dunlap (1746-1792), his son and joiner Robert (1779-1865) and Robert’s sons John (1804-1888) and Edwin (1826-1900).

As it survives today, the Dunlap House embodies the Greek Revival style, as designed by Robert Dunlap. His craftsmanship is evident by the marvelous fireplace mantel he carved for the upper master bedroom and the large chest he crafted and displayed prominently in the first-floor library. The house was enlarged in the late Nineteenth Century by Robert’s son, Edwin Dunlap, possibly with the help of Edwin’s architect brother, John Dunlap.

Unfortunately, time has not been kind to the house. Over the years and especially recently, the unoccupied house has been subject to several break-ins by both curiosity seekers and resident animals, including two adult turkey vultures. The damage has been extensive. However, with the permission of the estate, the partners of New Hampshire Auctions and Appraisals were able to salvage a number of important artifacts.

Following the guidance from the estate, a number of items were donated to the New Hampshire Historical Society in Concord. All the significant letters, accounts, notebooks and textbooks as referenced in The Dunlaps & Their Furniture, published by the Currier Gallery of Art, are now in its care. Important furniture such as John Dunlap II cherry tripod stand, card table and rocker and Robert Dunlap’s powder horn are now being conserved at the society.

Many other items from the estate, including the chest attributed to Robert Dunlap and an impressive Renaissance Revival sideboard purchased by Edwin Dunlap, have been rescued by New Hampshire Auctions and Appraisals.

The team found hidden in the attic a portrait of Major John in his uniform along with his wife Martha Gilmore Dunlap. Adjacent to the house is a two-story barn, which was cluttered with broken items, old wood projects, trash several layers deep. But persistence sometimes pays off. The firm found old tools, some initialed by John Dunlap and some by younger son and cabinetmaker Whitefield Dunlap. At the bottom of one of the layers in the barn was found an original folk art portrait of Major John Dunlap. These items and more will be up for auction on July 28.

The July sale will include antique furniture, historical items, household accessories, decorative items and cabinetmakers tools from the Dunlap estate. The auction will also feature Oriental rugs, a selection of Asian porcelain, silver, more than 25 advertising signs, including Williamsburg signs, a selection of tiger maple furniture, a collection of antique fishing lures, baseball memorabilia, Robert Rigger sports photography and fullback Jim Brown’s action drawings published by Sports Illustrated.

New Hampshire Auctions and Appraisals is at 41B Main Street. For more information, www.nhauctionsandappraisals.com or 603-731-9876.

Collection of Robert Rigger Football Photographs and Drawings of Fullback Jim Brown
The auction will feature items from the Bedford, New Hampshire estate of Robert Dunlap of the NH Dunlap cabinetmakers and will include antique furniture, historical items, household accessories, Collection of Vintage Fishing Lures and Equipment, decorative items, and cabinetmakers tools. The auction will also feature Oriental rugs, a selection of Asian porcelain, silver, over 25 advertising signs including Williamsburg signs, a selection of midcentury furniture and accessories, firearms, baseball memorabilia, fishing lure collection and Robert Rigger/Jim Brown football items.
Edwin Dunlap Hunt Sideboard
Important Portrait of Major John and Martha Dunlap
The Dunlap Ancestral Home
Civil War Lots
Folk Art Painting of John Dunlap
Dunlap Secretary by Craftsman David LeFort
Large Collection of Trade and Tavern Signs Including Williamsburg Artist Phil Moore
Robert Dunlap Chest
Shaker Chairs
Firearms
Robert Dunlap Bed
Collection of Dunlap Tools
Bidding done on liveauctioneers invaluable AuctionZip
Along with Absentee and Phone Bids
NH Auctions and Appraisals
www.nhauctionsandappraisals.com
NH Auctioneer License #4041
4IB Main Street, Goffstown, NH 03045 Ken Labnon 603-680-1676 | Mike Reopel 603-731-9876 | Gary Yeaton 603-491-2635