The Fairfield County newspaper business just isn’t as lively as it once was. In the early 1830s, when PT Barnum was in the editor’s seat of the Herald of Freedom in Bethel, Conn., just one town over from us here in Newtown, Conn., the 22-year-old defended himself against at least three libel suits. One from a butcher in Danbury, who Barnum claimed was a spy in the caucus of the Democratic Party. Another was brought by his uncle and guardian Alanson Taylor, who was editor of a rival paper in Danbury, Conn., called the Connecticut Repository. Barnum accused his uncle of favoring the union of Church and State and for publishing his own critical letters under other names as letters to the editor. The last libel suit, brought by Seth Seelye of Bethel, got Barnum thrown in jail for two months after the editor accused Seelye of “taking usury on an orphan boy” and for being a “canting hypocrite.” Barnum was released from jail on December 5, 1832 to an absolute parade. According to A.H. Saxon’s P.T. Barnum: The Legend and The Man, Barnum found himself in the company of a large support party. The gathering commenced with music by the town squire, a speech was given by Theophilus Fisk, the editor of the New Haven Examiner, and a choir sang “Strike the Cymbal.” They all proceeded to a well-fed banquet at a nearby hotel, where more speeches and toasts were given, before Barnum (and the band) was whisked away, at the boom of a cannon, in a 6-horse coach to his home three miles away in a procession of 40 horsemen and 60 carriages. An autographed letter dated August 8, 1832, from PT Barnum to attorney Charles Hawley, which asks the attorney’s help with a libel suit, approaches the block at Swann Auction Galleries. We were unable to verify that the case in question was Seelye’s libel suit, though the dates do match up nicely. It joins other lots from around the world in this week’s picks.
SWANN
Sale Date: November 8, 2018
Lot 101
Phineas T Barnum Letter To Attorney Charles Hawley In Libel Suit
Autograph Letter Signed, “Phineas T Barnum,” to attorney Charles Hawley, engaging him in his defense against a libel suit, and, in a postscript additionally Signed, “P.T.B.”: “The court will be held at the court house in Danbury.” 1 page, tall 4to; seal tear at center with loss to portion of two letters of text, faint scattered staining, address panel and docketing on verso. Danbury, 8 August 1832.
Estimate: $400/600
APPLEBROOK AUCTIONS
Sale Date: November 8, 2018
Lot 79
Antique Japanese Falconry Woodblock Print
19-3/8 by 10 inches.
Estimate: $400-600
AUCTION TEAM BREKER
Sale Date: November 9-10, 2018
Lot 247
Musical Automaton Cigar Dispenser by Simo
Circa 1960s, green marble and metal adorned with winged musician and satyr masks, with two-air Reuge cylinder movement (“Love Story” and “Edelweiss”) that causes six compartments to open, reveal their contents and then slowly close, 10 ½ inches high.
Estimate: $300/400
JEFFREY S EVANS
Sale Date: November 8-10, 2018
Lot 1418
Pressed Lacy “J.&C. Ritchie” Windowpane
Colorless, central reserve depicting a side-wheel steamboat below the lettering and a draped tassel, surrounded by neoclassical-style urns and flowers with a thistle centered below. Wheeling Flint Glass Works, Wheeling, (W)VA, John and Craig Ritchie, proprietors. 1833-1836. 7 by 5 inches.
Estimate: $5/8,000
THOMASTON PLACE
Sale Date: November 8-11, 2018
Lot 1009
Native American Carved Trunk
Northwest Coast style, probably Klamath, keepsake box in iron bound cedar with shallow relief carvings of Thunderbird deities, circa 1890, retaining the original hinges and large domed rivets. Interior fitted with a covered till, 13¾ by 20 by 14 inches.
Estimate: $1/1,500
SLOTIN FOLK ART
Sale Date: November 10-11, 2018
Lot 186
Jesse Howard, “Yes Preacher” Double-Sided Sign
1969, signed and dated. Paint on found metal barrel lid with steel post. Excellent condition. 24 inches diameter.
Estimate: $3/4,000
BERTOIA AUCTIONS
Sale Date: November 9-11, 2018
Lot 1416
Large Polar Bear Growler With Santa
A well-dressed Santa Claus, red long coat with fur trim, blue trousers, rabbit fur beard and feather tree in hand, sitting atop a polar bear with wheels, brown glass eyes and brass bell hanging from his red collar, 17 inches high.
Estimate: $3/4,000
JMW AUCTION SERVICES
Sale Date: November 10, 2018
Lot 311
Henry Boogaard (Attr.) Carved Circus Wagon Large Dragon Head
Circa 1900, retains much of the original paint and finish, 44 inches high.
Estimate: $4/6,000
HERITAGE
Sale Date: November 8, 2018
Lot 68178
Norman Rockwell (American, 1894-1978) “Girl with Black Eye (The Shiner),”
The Saturday Evening Post cover study, 1953, oil on photographic paper laid on panel, 10¾ by 9¾ inches.
Estimate: $200/300,000
