Lot 542
  • 542

Bookplate for Jacob Schmidt Franklin County, Pennsylvania, dated 1833

Estimate
12,000 - 20,000 USD
bidding is closed

Description

  • BOOKPLATE FOR JACOB SCHMIDT
  • Watercolor and ink on paper, in Erbauliche Lieder-Gammlung (Collection of Edifying Hymns) (Germantown, Pa.: M. Billmeyer, 1830)
  • 5 5/8 by 7 1/4 in.
  • 1833
Watercolor and ink on paper, in Erbauliche Lieder-Gammlung (Collection of Edifying Hymns)(Germantown, Pennsylvania: M. Billmeyer, 1830)

Inscribed (translated from German) recto, ink: Jacob Schmidts / hymnal / in Washington/ Township, Franklin / County, Pennsylvania / 5 May / 1833.

Provenance

Kate and Joel Kopp, America Hurrah, New York, 1977

Literature

Bishop, Robert. Folk Painters of America. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1979, pl. 45
American Radiance: The Ralph Esmerian Gift to the American Folk Art Museum, p. 240, fig. 212

Condition

Some minor stain and discoloration.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

The drawing of two priests in chasubles, the normal attire of Roman Catholic clergymen (but also used historically and today by Anglicans and some Lutherans), may well come from the Roman Catholic center around Bally in Berks County near the Montgomery County border. Certainly the tulips, vines, angels, birds, and elaborate swirl at the bottom are to be found on much fraktur. A similar drawing of one clergyman in the collection of the Free Library of Philadelphia suggests that the theme had some appeal.1

1 Weiser and Heaney, Free Library, vol. 1, pl. 166.

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