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Dealer at Work |
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Written by Judy Penz Sheluk
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-Published: Antiques Journal, May 2012.
In our regular column, Hammered Down, we talk to auctioneers. This month, for a change, we talk to a dealer.
Austin T. Miller shows us the backstage work of an antiques dealer.
“I purchased this sign without any provenance from another dealer at the New Hampshire Antique Antiques Show,” Miller said. “I hired a professional researcher, Madelia Ring, to go to the town of Tamworth, N.H., and see what she could find. Provenance is so important, and in this case, it made this trade sign infinitely more interesting and salable; it becomes an entirely different object – you just don’t get trade signs with this much information.”
Miller admitted that sometimes a researcher will spend 80 to 100 hours on an object and come up empty. “I always cap the amount of research, as it can run into several thousand dollars, so naturally, when nothing can be found, it’s disappointing. But in this case, Madelia found out a lot of information, which will of course now stay with the sign.”
What the research revealed: The artist who painted this sign, Caleb William Heath, was born Aug. 19, 1835 in North Conway, N.H., the son of George W. Heath (died 1836) and Maria. Lang (1804-1888). On Dec. 9, 1857 George William Heath was married to Olive Ann Clark (born Feb. 28, 1837 in Bangor, Penobscot, Maine) in Lawrence, Mass., where the couple resided, with his occupation cited as a painter. In the 1860 census for Lawrence, Mass., his occupation is cited as a painter. In 1862, when he was enlisted to serve in the Civil War, his occupation is cited as painter. In the 1870 census, he is cited as a resident of Boston with an occupation of housepainter. At the time of his death in Lawrence, Mass. on Sept. 19, 1875, his occupation was once again cited as that of a painter.
Given that Caleb Heath was recorded as a resident of Lawrence, Mass. at the time of his marriage in 1857 and when he enlisted as a soldier in the Civil War in 1862, and in 1870 he was residing in Boston, it seems relatively certain that he painted the sign prior to the Civil War.
Because the sign lacks any reference to
Pictorial blacksmith trade sign for John Chick, Caleb William Heath (1835-1875), Tamworth, N.H., c. 1857. Oil paint on softwood panel, 24 x 32 in., original brass ring hangers. Signed side A: "C.W. HEATH LAWRENCE MASS." Signed side B: "W. HEATH painter LAWRENCE MASS." Price on request.
the name of the business or a blacksmith, it is highly improbable that it would have been commissioned for a blacksmith’s premises in Lawrence, Mass., where more than 10 blacksmiths were aggressively competing for patronage during this period. Instead, the attributes of this sign suggest it was designed to be displayed in a more rural setting where imagery on signs had to be easily understood by those passing by, literate or otherwise. It is interesting to note that Caleb Heath, a New Hampshire native, has included a distant view of the familiar White Mountains into the background of his sign.
Investigation into the family of Caleb’s wife has established that the sign was undoubtedly made for a blacksmith working in Tamworth, N.H. rather than one in Lawrence, Mass. It appears that Caleb’s father-in-law, John Clark (1794-1873), probably made the arrangements for his young son-in-law to make this sign for the village blacksmith at this time, John Chick. These two families were close and related through marriage. John Clark’s eldest son, William, born in 1824, was married to Chick’s youngest daughter Ruth. As John was a carpenter by trade, it seems possible that either John or his son Albion, born in 1827 and also a carpenter, constructed the sign and then arranged for Caleb to paint it.
(Cont. from Column 2) The Tamworth, N.H. blacksmith John Chick was born in 1799 in Limington, Maine, the same place of birth as the mother of Caleb Heath. He married Lucy Ann Bryant on Sept. 9, 1822. She was born in Tamworth, N.H. and died there on April 16, 1846 at the age of 46 years. John Chick’s name appears in census records for Tamworth, N.H. from 1830 to 1850. He died on Sept. 11, 1858.
Dealer at Work: Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4
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