Early 1800s Collectibles and Curiosities

A rare leatherbound three volume book set titled “Microcosm of London or London in Miniature” published by Rudolph Ackerman (1764 - 1834), illustrated with 104 aquatint plates after ...

An incredible pair of reverse painted late 18th / Early 19th century Nuns' mirrors, probably southern Germany or Austrian. These stunning pieces are in superb original condition, one depicting the Holy Trinity...

Antique map titled 'China, Contains 15 Subject Provinces Including the 2 Islands of Hainan, Formosa and the Tributary Kingdoms of Korea, Tonkin'. Old map depicting China, extendi...

Old print of an inhabitant of the Lowlands of Moravia. Moravia, traditional region in central Europe that served as the centre of a major medieval kingdom, known as Great Moravia, before it was incorporated into the kingdom of Bohemia in the 11th century. In the 20th century Moravia became part of the modern state of Czechoslovakia and subsequently of the Czech Republic. The region is bounded by Bohemia on the west and northwest, by Silesia on the northeast, by Slovakia on the east, and by Lower Austria on the south. This print originates from 'The Costume of the Hereditary States of the House of Austria' by William Miller. Artists and engravers: Engraved by William Ellis.

Antique print titled 'Het Eiland Onrust'. Beautiful view of the sea near Onrust Island, also known as Pulau Onrust or Pulau Kapal (ship island), Indonesia. Published by E. Maaskamp, ...

Antique map Atlantic titled 'Kaart van de Ontdekkingen gedaan in den Zuider Atlantischen Oceaan (..)'. Antique chart depicting Southern Georgia and the Sandwich Islands. Originat...

Antique map titled 'Congo, Cafrerie.' Decorative map of the southern part of Africa by Robert de Vaugondy, revised and published by Delamarche. Source unknown, to be determined. Artists and Engravers: Charles Francois Delamarche (1740-1817) founded the important and prolific Paris based Maison Delamarche map publishing firm in the late 18th century. A lawyer by trade Delamarche entered the map business with the acquisition from Jean-Baptiste Fortin of Robert de Vaugondy's map plates...

Antique map titled 'La Suede.' Decorative map of Sweden and part of Finland by Robert de Vaugondy, revised and published by Delamarche. Source unknown, to be determined. Artists and Engravers: Made by 'Charles Francois Delamarche' after an anonymous artist. Charles Francois Delamarche (1740-1817) founded the important and prolific Paris based Maison Delamarche map publishing firm in the late 18th century. A lawyer by trade Delamarche entered the map business with the acquisition from Jean-Baptiste Fortin of Robert de Vaugondy's map plates...

Antique map titled 'Kaart van de Good Success Baai in de Straat van Le Maire (..)'. Antique map of the Strait of Le Maire between Terra Fuego and Staten Island. On top, various c...

Antique county map of Derbyshire first published, circa 1800. Villages, towns, and cities illustrated include Chesterfield, Wirksworth, Derby, and ...

Antique county map of Cumberland first published c.1800. Villages, towns, and cities illustrated include Carlisle, Penrith, Copeland Forest, and Wigt...

Antique county map of Monmouthshire first published circa 1800. Villages, towns, and cities illustrated include Newport, Chepstow, Rockfield, and P...

Antique county map of Leicestershire first published c.1800. Villages, towns, and cities illustrated include Lutterworth, Ashby, Hinkley, and Marke...

Antique print titled 'Tekening, Plan en Doorsnede van eene dubbele Praauw (..)'. Antique print depicting a drawing, plan and cross-section of a proa of Amsterdam Island. Amsterda...

How high is the water, mama? Johny Cash was asking his mother, when it is was '6 feet high and rising'. In Egypt it would probably mean that taxes that year would be low. In Egypt it all depended on the behavior of the Nile and a Priest, who would monitor the so-called Nilometer. A nilometer was a structure for measuring the Nile River's clarity and water level during the annual flood season. If the water level was low, there would be less food. If it was too high, it would be destructive. There was a specific mark that indicated how high the flood should be if the fields were to get good soil. Their predictions would determine how much money...

Antique print titled 'Gezigt van Waterhoozen aan de Kust van Nieuw-Zeeland'. Antique print depicting three whirlwinds and a ship off the coast of New Zealand. Originates from 'Re...

Description: Antique map titled 'Kaart van de Noord-West kust van Amerika en de Noord-Oost kust van Asia'. Antique chart depicting America's northwest coast and Asia's northeast ...

The important and heavily revised second edition of Thomas Robert Malthus's discussion of the problems of a growing human population. First published in 1798, this is the substantia...

Antique 19th Century collection of seven dog collars, made from leather and metal. Some collars have metal studs and chains while others are smooth leather. A superb piece of history...

Pot belly leather fishing creel. A fine example of an early 19th Century leather pot bellied fishing creel with leather shoulder strap. The brass hinged...

A complete, eighteen-volume set of the collected works of John Dryden, the first Scott edition, uniformly bound in straight-grain morocco. The collected works of John Dryden, with n...

Early 19th century wooden statue of St Jerome, circa 1800. South Europe.

George III stick barometer in a finely figured mahogany case with canted corners and architectural pediment surmounted by a central ivory finial. Exposed mercury tube with bulb ciste...

Originally this impressive 19th century or earlier belt buckle set was designed as the focal point of an Ottoman ceremonial or formal belt, this piece now serves beautifully as a dec...

Early 19th Century Sycamore Butter Curler This beautiful piece has been hand carved in the Georgian style, with a double curved shape and a ribbed blad...

A large circular micromosaic panel representing the so called "Tomb of Cecilia Metella on the Appian way" near Rome. This plate shows superior quality and m...

The enamelling on this quatrefoil gold pendant is attributed to Ray & Montague: ‘hiltmakers, goldworkers and enamellers’. The obverse is mounted with a vitreous paste profile portrait cameo of Admiral Viscount Nelson within four navy blue enamel panels with the gilt inscription: ‘H·Nelson·Died·for His·Country at·Trafalgar Oct:21·1805’ all within ropework borders. The reverse is mounted with an oval polychrome enamel plaque representing a blue Royal Navy ensign flying triumphant above the flags of France and Spain superimposed with an anchor and laurel wreath against a red background within four navy blue enamel panels with the gilt inscription: Glory to the Souls of the Brave, a line from The Battle of the Baltic written in 1801 by Scottish poet Thomas Campbell (1777-1844) to commemorate Nelson’s victory at the Battle of Copenhagen. Cameo with incised signature Tassie F. 1805 English, 1805 John Ray and James Montague succeeded to the celebrated enamelling and goldsmithing firm of James Morisset (1738-1815) in 1800. Like Morisset, they specialised in presentation swords...

A white vitreous paste cameo of Emma, Lady Hamilton, attributed to William Tassie after Filipo Rega, of oval form depicting Emma facing right with her hair in a Grecian style, Englis...

We are delighted to offer for sale this lovely antique Atlas page map of Staffordshire printed in 1645 Amsterdam Staffordiensis Comitatvs Vulgo This o...

We are delighted to offer for sale this lovely antique Atlas page map of Cheshire printed in 1645 Amsterdam Staffordiensis Comitatvs Vulgo I have thre...

We are delighted to this lovely antique Atlas page map of Northamptonshire printed in 1645 Amsterdam Staffordiensis Comitatvs Vulgo I have three of th...

This fine impression of the celebrated print engraved by mezzotint engraver John Raphael Smith after a painting by Henry Danloux shows the subject on the deck of a ship in the heat of the Battle Camperdown. It is framed in an ornate giltwood frame with a paper label on the reverse showing a coat of arms flanked by the inscription ‘Admiral Lord Viscount Duncan when Victorious off Camperdown, is by permission most humbly dedicated to the Hon. Miss Jane Duncan by her most obedient Servant H.P.Danloux London. Published by H. P. Danloux No 11 Charles Street, Middlesex Hospital...

This monumental George III gold and hardstone intaglio fob seal comprises a profile portrait of the head and shoulders of Admiral Viscount Nelson, in uniform displaying...

EXTRAORDINARILY EARLY (1806) PRINTED LINEN KERCHIEF GLORIFYING GEORGE WASHINGTON, PRINT WORKS, GERMANTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA Printed in blue ink on coarse, white linen, this patriotic kerchief shows a standing portrait of George Washington, above which is a swag valance and the words “The Effect of Principle, Behold the Man”. The portrait is based on a mezzotint after Gilbert Stuart’s very famous painting of Washington in his later years, most often referred to as the Landsdowne portrait. Stuart painted three versions of it in oil on canvas, one of which was completed in 1796 for a wealthy merchant by the name of William Constable, who commissioned the work for Alexander Hamilton. The kerchief is interesting because it is both American-made and documented. This is exceptionally unusual for any printed textile of the 19th century or prior and the earlier the time period the more unlikely an object is to be identified. This kerchief and a companion piece entitled “The Love of Truth Mark the Boy” (also glorifying Washington, through the fabled story of the cherry tree), were made circa 1806 by Germantown Print Works in Germantown, Pennsylvania. To the left of Washington's image is a portion of his infamous farewell address to his troops at the end of the Revolutionary War. To the right is a short excerpt from his eulogy. Below these are three images. In the center is a square-rigged tall ship with “Commercial Union” above it, flanked by the American eagle on the left and the British lion on the right. It is reasonable to assume that the textile may have been produced in demonstration of the maker's desire, and/or that of others, to advance trade with England. Commercial printers were very influential in early America, as they possessed the means by which to disseminate information. This kerchief and its companion piece are documented in Threads of History, Americana Recorded on Cloth, 1775 - the Present, by Herbert Ridgeway Collins (1979, Smithsonian Press), p. 63, items 38 39.* The two pieces pictured are in the collection of Cornell University, but the Collins text also cites an uncut pair to be present in the collection of the Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, OH. The name "Germantown Print Works" is printed on the Western Reserve examples. Another example of the textile in question is documented in "Running for President, The Candidates and Their Images, 1789-1896" by Schlesinger, Israel, and Frendt, (1994, Simon Schuster), p. 15. I have seen three different color variations of this textile, including sepia, mulberry red, and blue. This particular example has a hand-sewn binding along the top, lower, and left edges. Mounting: The textile was mounted and framed within our own conservation department, which is led by expert staff. We take great care in the mounting and preservation of flags and have framed thousands of examples. The gilded molding has a rippled profile and dates to the period between 1825 and 1850.The background is 100% cotton twill, black in color. The glazing is U.V. protective plexiglass. Feel free to contact us for more details. Condition: There is an all-over golden oxidation of the white fabric and there is very minor staining. There are tiny tack holes in each corner and there are minor nicks around the perimeter. * Collins relates that Germantown Printworks was operated by the Hewsons. In doing so he cites one of Worthington Chauncey Ford's books on George Washington, but it isn't clear which one (there are many) and no page numbers are given. John Hewson was an Englishman who came to America and opened his printing business on the advice of Benjamin Franklin. He was one of the first “calico printers” and is the earliest documented to have advertised printed kerchiefs. His ads for bandanas appear as early as June 20th, 1774. He is suspected of having produced the very first American kerchief that pictured an American president, which is documented in Collins as item 1 on page 48. Linda Eaton, curator at Winterthur, in 2012, is currently doing in depth research on the three printers of fabrics that were operating in Germantown in early America. She discovered that the owner and/or operator of Germantown Print Works, while not currently known, was not John Hewson. This information is not yet published. She also noted that Winterthur possessed examples of the two George Washington textiles...