********NOW OPERATING FROM OUR NEW HEADQUARTERS ********
Now fully operational from the beautiful Pacific North West, we encourage all to keep a close eye as we unpack posted offerings and continue what will be an ongoing effort of unpacking the collection while taking stock with an eye toward thinning out our accumulation of treasures. After years of seeking out and acquiring all manner of quality antique Americana from simple but seldom surviving items of special interest to historically important treasures, Janet and I look forward to offering the fruits of our years of seeking out such to new and appreciative homes.
Visitors will also enjoy our museum site at www.MaineLegacy.com
An original 5 1/8 X 10 1/8 inch, January 1861, L. M. Hoffman & Co. auction bid card complete with bidders penciled in notations on the back. The commodities auction will offer 371 hogsheads of PRIME NEW ORLEANS SUGAR and 50 Barrels of Molasses . A family busies founded in 1795 with the commission auction house of Hoffman & Seton doing business at No. 67 Wall Street. Hoffman continued business with various partners until 1822 / 23 when L. M. Hoffman joined the house with the addition of & Co. to the firm name. The old firm continued to grow under various partner combinations always including a Hoffman until 1834 when the firm became L. M. Hoffman & Co. The auction house continued under that name under the watchful eye of L. M. Hoffman until his death in 1861. (see: The Old Merchants of New York City: By Walter Barrett ) While early commodity auction catalogues appear rarely as they were sometimes preserved in firm records, bid cards utilized by bidders to manage and launch their bids very rarely survived as they were cast away at the closing. This just pre Civil War auction of New Orleans Sugar represented one of the last before secession and one of the final auctions under the direction of L. M. Hoffman before his death in 1861. A rare piece of late antebellum Americana from one of the country’s earliest and most successful commission auction houses. Entirely original with good evidence of age and originality the back bottom of the card shows some separation of the pasteboard and some tattering of one layer. Buy with confidence! We are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales!Just send us a courtesy e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques! :
Printed on one side only, by D. Hooton, Merchants Hall, Boston, this original old medical cure broadside was published in the 1830s and measures approximately 12 X 8 ½ inches extoling the virtues of Thomas Hollis’s OINTMENT FOR THE ITCH. With directions for use and pledging the virtues of the concoction against all manner of humours and eruptions of the skin to include ring worm and scald head, this broadside is printed on rag paper and remains in excellent condition save an obviously period water stain. (Easily removed but we would leave the piece as found and as is.) No tears folds or separations and a nice size for display. . As with all direct sales, we are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with refund of the purchase price upon return as purchased! Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!
The product of a cleanout as we go through our 50 year accumulation in an attempt at gaining some drawer space, this vintage tinned iron spoon will be especially appreciated by the Civil War era mess gear or personal item collector. Unlike the usual personal size spoons, machine fashioned from thinner die struck sheet iron, this example was hand crafted in one piece from heavier iron stock with die struck bowl and hand wrought handle. All hot dipped in molten tin, this example remains in pleasing condition with good evidence of age, hand construction and period use with an appealing natural age patina. please note: ALL ITEMS ARE CURRENT & AVAILABLE UNLESS MARKED SOLD!! Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques !!
This outstanding vintage carved meerschaum tobacco pipe offers that eye appealing rich honey color that comes only with time, handling and lots of pleasant period smoking. It’s intricate detail, quality of carving and immaculate condition, is set off by its natural amber stem and will best be described by our illustrations. In addition to it’s fine condition with no breaks, chips or cracks this beautiful equine motif antique tobacco pipe remains in it’s original hinged, fitted case. Left as found, the case remains in excellent condition and will show as fine with a light application of proper leather dressing (we would leave it as is). Buy with confidence! We are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales!Just send us a courtesy e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!
Described in period catalogue listings as Portable gold scales, field use beam scales comprising of a central metal support and two metal dishes attached by three metal chain each to a metal beam this beautiful set of c. 1830s gold scales still retains its original suspension cord for hand holding as was used in the field. The iron balance beam is marked AVERY in two places and measures approximately 10 ½ inches in length and remains untouched and as found with a touch of fine surface rust with a rich chocolate patina over all. Suspended from the beam by brass chain are two 5 3/16 inch diameter brass pans. Unpolished with attractive natural age patina, each bears the all-important W. & T. Avery / late T. Beach PATENTED marking. Dating : Founded in 1731 by James Ford the company passed to Thomas Beach and Joseph Balden, husband of Mary Avery. In the early part of the nineteenth century the business was passed to the Avery family who expanded the firm from a small local business to worldwide sale. The firm name became synonymous with quality and their portable patent balance scales were used in gold fields around the world. When Thomas Beach died in the early to mid-1830s the firm used the name W & T Avery / late T. Beach in transition. The partnership on W & T Avery was dissolved in 1865. All original and as found this wonderful set of early field use, portable gold scales should not be confused with the general use and much smaller boxed pocket scales on the period. This set will make a nice addition to any quality period display.
A bit out of our usual period but we couldn’t resist this scarce all original and untouched Camillus mess combination knife and spoon. Dating in the WWI era, we have left this superb example uncleaned and as found for the collector who will appreciate the originality of an example that remains tight at the joints with good snap and a blade that has never seen use or a whetstone. With only natural age as testimony to its WWI era origin this old standby will clean to near as new in the proper hands (shudder) but we would leave it as is. Well known to collectors, the Camillus Cutlery Company was one of the oldest knife manufacturers in the U. S. with roots dated to its founding in Camillus New York in 1876. With its CAMILLUS CUTLERY Co. / CAMILLUS N, Y. / U. S. A. found on many working and defense knives the now defunct manufacturer is among the most widely collected of the type. A workhorse in its day, nice uncleaned and unused out of the box examples of this knife and spoon mess combination are seldom found today. Buy with confidence! We are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales!Just send us a courtesy e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!
With a history of having been recovered from the Boston, Mass., Charlestown Prison, at the time of its closing in 1955, this prison guard baton retains its original, solid but stiff with age, leather lanyard bearing the name of Boston equipment supplier Henry K. Barnes & Co. Well known as a supplier of police and fire equipment as early as the mid 1890s, the company reaching its zenith during the roaring 20s. Turned from white oak, the baton measures approximately 24 inches and was plainly constructed, as a no frills enforcement utility. Surely a formidable weapon in the hands of a 1920s prison guard. First opened in 1805 the Charlestown Prison had a long and infamous history stretching through the tumultuous mob activity of the 1920s on into the 50s housing an impressive roster of local Boston area notables in this period, until it was closed in 1955. The last execution (1947) in Massachusetts occurred within the walls Charlestown Prison which also housed such well knowns as Sacco & Vanzetti with one Malcom Little holding fourth there from 1946 until he was paroled in 1952 and, under the name of Malcom X, quickly became the public face of the Nation of Islam. We will include our letter preserving the history of having emanated from the Charlestown Prison closure. Buy with confidence! We are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales!Just send us a courtesy e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!
With period pocket wear under a rich natural chocolate age patina this attractive 1836 dated R. & W. Robinson trade token was issued with the figure of an American Institute Excellence Medal on its face with the following on the obverse: Awarded to R. & W. ROBINSON For the Best MILITARY, NAVAL, Sporting & Flat Buttons 1836 Catalogued as a Hard Times token in the Smithsonian national collection, the name of the Attleborough, Mass. button manufacturer is synonymous with period military uniform buttons, federal as well as state. please note: ALL ITEMS ARE CURRENT & AVAILABLE UNLESS MARKED SOLD!! Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques !!
This offering will fall in the who cares? category (especially at 50 bucks a pop!) for all but the antique writing instrument collector or the mid-19th century personal item enthusiast who appreciates the rarity of the many every day personal items, common in their day but seldom surviving. This rare example remains as newand in out of the box condition while offering good evidence of age and period originality. Guaranteed to please this rarely surviving writing instrument was fashioned from raw, unfinished, red cedar with the clearly period attachment of its vulcanized rubber eraser. Our photo illustrations will offer the best description short of holding the pencil in your hand. I suppose the origin of the common pencil, fitted with a rubber eraser has not been the subject of crushing interest but for those who care, it all began in 1839 when Charles Goodyear developed a method of curing raw rubber called vulcanization. Aside from making his name common to today’s Civil War era rubber goods collectors, (see: India-Rubber & Gutta-Percha In The Civil War Era by Mike Woshner ) the application of Goodyear’s process gave the now durable product wide application potential with the rubber eraser becoming just one of innumerable uses for Goodyear’s vulcanized rubber. The idea of permanently mounting a rubber eraser on the end of a common wood and graphite pencil first occurred just prior to the Civil War when in 1858 Hymen Lipman of Philadelphia received the first patent for attaching an eraser to the end of a pencil. In 1862, Lipman sold his patent for $100,000 ! Buy with confidence! We are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales!Just send us a courtesy e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!
This unused 19th century paper box label is uncut measuring 7 ½ inches X 15 inches was printed for cutting to produce box end labels for the The Patent Expansion Lamp Shade with White’s Improvements, Mfg. By Woodsum & Co., Boston, Mass. The labels picture the lamp shade installed on an oil lamp and collapsed. A neat item for the antique lighting enthusiast. Buy with confidence! We are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales!Just send us a courtesy e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!
Printed on one side only, by D. Hooton, Merchants Hall, Boston, this original old medical cure broadside was published in the 1830s and measures approximately 12 X 8 ½ inches extoling the virtues of Dr. Ward's Vegetable Asthmatic Pills prepared and distributed by Thomas Hollis, 30 Union Street, Boston Established in 1826, druggist and chemist Thomas Hollis did business at this address through the mid 19th century. Advertising for sale Dr. Ward's Vegetable Asthmatic Pills, the piece promotes benefits for coughs, colds, whooping cough, etc. with directions for use. Printed on rag paper the broadside remains in excellent condition save an obviously period water stain. (Easily removed but we would leave the piece as found and as is.) No tears folds or separations and a nice size for display. As with all direct sales, we are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with refund of the purchase price upon return as purchased! Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!
Another product of last winter’s clean out, we have had this wonderful old period coffee pot for years but it is time to make some room. Well documented in style and construction by Civil War site diggers and the existence of such in the Steamboat Berterand (sunk on the Missouri River in 1865) excavation collection, this example stands approximately 8 inches from base to mouth, offers period construction characteristics and good evidence of period originality and age by virtue of an attractive natural patina on outer surfaces that comes to tinned sheet iron only after decades. Of particular note with all this is that when we remove the lid and inspect the interior, we find that it remains nearly as new! With no dents, rust, or other condition issues yet with convincing evidence of age, this wonderfully preserved period pot appears never to have been used! An outstanding addition to any period collection. Buy with confidence! We are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales!Just send us a courtesy e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!
Fashioned from a stout tree branch, steamed and bent to form a classic cane grip, the significances of the natural shaft has unfortunately been lost in time baring some additional research. Fortunate for the collector / historian though is a silver band classically engraved Col. Jos. A. Gerk St. Louis. Born in 1876 of German immigrants, the native Missourian recorded No in response to the 1930 US Census inquiry, Attended School? yet he owned a Radio Set and could record his occupation as Chief of Police St Louis, Missouri. Our research found that Gerk worked his way up through the ranks to serve as Chief of Police from April 9, 1925 to October 1, 1934. An outstanding piece of Americana from The Gateway To The West in a time when the Chief of Police would have had some stories to tell. Buy with confidence! We are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales!Just send us a courtesy e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!
This neat looking Civil War vintage stoneware master ink is approximately 2.25 inches in diameter and stands about 5.5 inches high. It remains in excellent condition with no cracks or damage and retains all of its’ original glaze. This master ink is nicely maker marked GEORGE SKEY – WILNECOTE – TAMWORTH. George Skey established his stoneware works in Tamworth in 1860 and quickly became a world leader in the manufacture of all manner of stoneware containers. His stoneware beer bottles will offer Civil War collectors the most prevalent example of his product. Of special interest is the period label SUPERIOR BLACK INK PREPARED BY E. S. CURTIS, BOSTON. The Society of Inkwell Collectors advises that E. S. Curtis appears in historical directories for the years 1847-1848 and made powdered ink only. Its customers were given instructions for mixing and filling stoneware and glass containers. E. S. Curtis also supplied labels to be applied to their customers' bottles. Don't forget to give our search feature a try for special wants. A simple key word in lower case works best. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!
Found in among our accumulated cultch this neat old bar set is clearly out of our usual time period but full of character such that we couldn’t resist it. All in nice condition yet with good age, while the figures depict an earlier time, we’d guess this hand carved from native white pine bar set dates to the 1920s or 30s. The tallest figure stands approximately 7 ¼ inches. Aside from the above, our photo illustrations will speak best for this wonderful folk art carved and painted bar set. Buy with confidence! We are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales!Just send us a courtesy e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!
Well documented by Civil War site digger historians and period print advertisement, it seems that these little die stamped tin containers saw common use once the original content was used up. Seldom seen in any kind of condition save partial excavated examples, these little boxes made handy containers for stamps, thread, salt or anything that would fit. Listed in Civil War vintage Boston directories, Redding & Co. marketed their RUSSIAN SALVE (composed of bee wax, perfumed oil and glycerin) as a pain extractor that reduces the most angry-looking swellings and inflammations, heals sores, wounds, burns, scalds, etc. as if by magic. [ 1864 Harpers Weekly ] This original example with its military motif REDDING & Co. lid remains in excellent condition and will make a nice addition to any Civil War personal or medical cure groping. Don't forget to give our search feature a try for special wants. A simple key word in lower case works best. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques !!
Remaining in nice condition save a small scuff in the emulsion (above the tree line on the right) were calling this 1/2 plate tintype post-Civil War simply because the ambulance wagon is unmarked and seems to be in civilian surroundings. Though the scene may be Civil War vintage, it seems more likely that the wagon is a, period common, post war repurposing via army surplus. A second wagon visible behind the first appears to be of the same design though of lighter color. An interesting outdoor view who’s history and circumstance has unfortunately been lost in time. Buy with confidence! We are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales!Just send us a courtesy e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!
Found in a period paper ephemera lot, these approximately 2 5/8 X 3 3/8 inch Sheffield Superior Patent Cutlery and 2 13/16 inch SAMUEL BAILEY & Co. - SHEFFIELD Superior - POCKET KNIVES labels are entirely original and remain in fine, unused condition. A rare find from one of the several British cutlers who made the name Sheffield synonymous with quality in early and mid-19th century America, these labels will be of special interest to knife collectors and will display well applied to a proper period pasteboard box or simply laid out or framed just as they are. A bit of an enigma as a cutler Samuel Bailey (1791-1870) is best known as a controversial British philosophical writer. Born to Joseph Bailey and Mary [Eadon] Bailey, upon finishing his education Samuel entered the family firm, Eadon, Bailey & Co. As a member of his uncle and father’s cutlery business Samuel Bailey was one of the first Sheffield merchant cutlers to visited America in order to establish business connections in this country. It was after the firm of Eadon, Bailey & Co. was dissolved in 1813 that the cutlery firm of Samuel Bailey & Co. came into being, marketing Superior Patent Cutlery such as pocket knives, razors, scissors &c. Little known today, Samuel Bailey & Co. existed only between sometime after 1813 and the later 1820’s when Samuel Bailey cashed in his accumulated fortune as a cutlery merchant and founded the Sheffield Banking Company in 1831. After his failed effort to gain a place in parliament in 1835 Bailey turned to a reclusive life and is primarily remembered today as an author of books on political and ethical subjects valued by a select few. He was never married and died in 1870 leaving his property to the town. As with all direct sales, we are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with refund of the purchase price upon return as purchased! Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!
A nice all original Patent June 4, 1861 / Nov. 5, 1864 desk pen stand and inkwell. The spun brass base measures approximately 5 inches in diameter and is fitted with a pen stand of cast iron. A glass ink reservoir is set in with a patent dated hinged pewter top. All in nice original condition with natural age, uncleaned and with evidence of period use while remaining in nice original condition. A neat piece for the Civil War personal item and antique writing instrument collector. Buy with confidence! We are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales!Just send us a courtesy e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques !
A bit late for our usual fare but representative of our affinity for surviving utilitarian items of gone bye everyday life, this neat old worker’s dinner bucket remains untouched, as found and apparently unused. Not a big deal unless you appreciate such things, this old time dinner pail is complete and original even to its tin cup on the lid. It stands just under 10 inches base to the top of its cup and is about 7 inches in diameter. Retaining an original bright shiny tinned finish on internal surfaces, the outer portions offer that desirable natural age patina that comes to tin with decades of natural exposure. Now an attractive Americana collectable these sturdy dinner pails were used by , miners, factory workers, dock hands, and other laborers from the mid-19th century to hold hard-boiled eggs, vegetables, meat, pie, and other hardy fare until 1904 when the advent of the thermos vacuumed bottle brought about a change in design of the common lunch-box still popular today. A nice old piece of Americana on the fringe of our usual time period but scarce in this condition and worthy of appreciation. . As with all direct sales, we are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with refund of the purchase price upon return as purchased! Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!
Our Price: $ 145.00
Items 341 through 360 shown
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