Catalog (181)

A nicely painted portrait miniature on natural organic wafer. The sitter is a gentleman dressed in a black jacket and stock, with a white shirt and vest, set against a background which shades from light blue to a darker blue hue. Housed in its original cast foliate case with a glazed rear aperture containing a circlet of hair.

The condition of the painting is excellent with no cracks, chips, paint loss, bowing, or restoration. The case is in good condition with the back of it showing wear and ...

A fine mid 19th century watercolor on organic wafer of a good looking young man. The sitter, with blue eyes and brown hair, is wearing a black coat and tie with a white shirt.

This painting is in its original A.P. Critchlow thermoplastic velvet lined case, an item which, in and of itself, is often sought after by collectors. Note that this case was produced even before a patent was granted.

Condition of the painting is excellent, with no issues whatsoever. The case condition is also excellen...

A portrait miniature of a good looking young gentleman, well painted in watercolors on organic wafer. This fine piece is enclosed in a bronze surround.

The sight size is 2 3/4" by 2 1/2", and the overall size is 3 1/4" by 2 3/4". The condition of the miniature and the surround is excellent, with no problems or restoration at all.

A large and beautifully painted portrait miniature by Aimee Thibault. Done in watercolor on organic wafer, the work shows a distinguished older gentleman of serious mien, set against a dark background, in a black tie and jacket with a white shirt and collar. The size of the miniature is due to Thibault having worked in France for a large part of her life, where such portraits were often done on a much grander scale than miniatures in the U.S. The portrait is signed Aimee Thibault along the righ...

A strongly painted portrait miniature of a gentleman, rendered in watercolor on organic wafer. The sitter is a good-looking chap with blue eyes and fulsome sideburns, attired in a black jacket and cravat, a white collar and ruffled shirt, and a gold chain. He is identified by engraving on the reverse of the case as J.A. Reed.

Aside from being a fine example of miniature portraiture, the cast foliate case, which tests as gold, is highly unusual in that it hinges from the bottom, allowing easy...

An unusual family grouping of three miniature portraits on organic wafers. All pieces, clearly done by the same hand (as yet unidentified), have a wonderful "feel" to them and are cleanly executed. The reverend in his black non-liturgical clothing, his wife in her black dress with white lace and cap, and their beautiful daughter, posed beside a tree and attired in a high-waisted gown with a blue ribbon and wearing a tortoiseshell comb in her hair, are set against a blue sky background. An old in...

A fine pair of miniature portrait paintings, on natural organic material, housed in a 1/6 plate daguerreotype case, which is embossed in a cartouche on the front and back "M.B. Brady Case Maker NY". Cases by Brady are highly desirable and avidly collected.

As to the wonderful portraits, the first is of a bewhiskered gentleman in a black jacket, vest, and stock, and a white pleated shirt. The woman is attired in a black pleated dress with lace edging, and a white lace cap. It is highly probabl...

A pair of oil on card paintings, each signed lower left, by C. Ph. Weber. The first is of a church and churchyard behind a rock wall. The second depicts fishing along the Delaware river. Typical of the artist's work is the fine use of light and color, rendering an almost impressionistic feel.

Condition of the paintings is very good, with no damage or restoration. There are some scattered minor areas of surface dirt on the fishing scene, which could easily be cleaned without harming the painti...

A very nice watercolor painting on natural wafer. The sitter is a beautiful young girl with hazel eyes and brown hair, simply dressed in a bluish gray gown with lace edging at the bodice.

The painting is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, bowing, or restoration. The original pressed brass frame with wood backing, and has some dents and a crease, which do not take away from the appearance. Sight size is 2 3/8" by 1 7/8", with the framed size being 3 3/4" by 3".

A nicely done miniature, on natural wafer, of a gentleman in a black. The reverse of the case is a beautiful example of repousse work, and has an aperture with hairwork within.

The painting is in good condition, with no chips, cracks, or inpainting. The case is in excellent condition and measures 2 1/2" by 2".

A fine American miniature portrait of a young woman with sausage curls, wearing a lace cap and fichu, with a black dress with black dots. The watercolor painting is done on natural wafer, and enclosed in a period cast bronze foliate case with a glazed aperture on the reverse.

The miniature has no chips, cracks, or bowing. The painting slipped slightly in its case when I scanned it, but this is easily adjusted. Sight size is 2 1/4" by 1 7/8", while the case size is 2 3/4" by 2 1/4".

A French portrait miniature of a woman done in watercolor on natural material. The sitter, clearly a woman of means,is dressed in au courant fashion in an elaborate white lace hat, a blue ribbon at her throat, and a white lace fichu over her blackish green dress.

On the backing of the painting is written in ink (at the time the painting was done) in French, the name of the sitter "Antoinette Francoise Garison," some other information, and that she was born on September 20, 1773 (see photo #4)...

A charming and well limned naive miniature portrait painting on organic wafer. The sitter is a nice-looking young man attired in a black coat with brass buttons and the lapels with blue embellishment. Hi has a white shirt and stock, a high collar, and a yellowish gray vest. Housed in a cast foliate case with a rear glazed aperture containing cross-braided plaits of hair.

Condition is excellent, with no cracks, bowing, paint loss, etc. The case condition is also excellent. Sight size is 2 5/16...

An extremely well painted miniature portrait of a very handsome young man. The sitter is dressed in the traditional black coat and cravat, white shirt with a high stiff collar, and a stickpin. The portrait, on natural organic wafer, is housed in a 14K or higher gold case with a glazed rear aperture showing a lock of hair. Condition of the miniature and case are excellent, with no issues at all. Sight size is 2 1/8" by 1 3/4", and the locket size is 2 1/4" by 1 7/8".

A fine example of an Abraham Parsell watercolor on organic wafer. The sitter, with brown hair and hazel eyes, is dressed in a black coat and cravat and a white shirt with gold stickpin. The background is done in the multi-color style typical of Parsell's work, as is the sketch on the reverse of the wafer.

The 2 3/8" by 2" sight size miniature is housed in a cast foliate case with a glazed lens on the reverse. The condition of the painting is fine, with no cracks, chips, restoration, or bowing....

A very nicely done naive watercolor of a gentleman, housed in its original embossed brass frame. The painting has had no restoration and has no tears or losses. sight size is 2 1/4" by 1 3/4", and the framed size is 3 3/4" by 3 1/8".

A finely painted miniature portrait, watercolor on natural wafer, of an attractive young woman. She is wearing a black dress, a white and pink fichu with a brooch, and a lace collar.Original case with a glazed aperture on the reverse. This fine example was part of the well-known sale of the Paul and Barbara Carpenter collection.

The sight size is 2 3/8" by 2".Aside from a small chip to the edge of the cover glass, the condition of the painting and case is excellent, with no issues. The white f...

A nicely painted miniature portrait, on natural organic material, of a pretty young woman in a blue dress with a white fichu. Condition of the painting is excellent, with no problems. The glass in the rear aperture of the case is cracked. Overall size is 2 3/4" by 2 1/4".

A finely done miniature portrait painting on naturalk organic material, depicting an handsome gentleman wearing a black coat, white shirt and collar, with a stickpin.

The painting is in superb condition, with no problems or restoration. It is housed in its original case of cast foliate brass with the reverse having a glazed aperture. The case and glass are also in excellent condition, though the reverse has several unimportant dents.

A well painted miniature painting, on natural organic material, by Theodore V. Peticolas. The sitter, from Cincinnati, is a handsome young man in a black coat with a white shirt and a stickpin. This painting was part of a pair belonging to the family, the other one of which was signed and dated by Peticolas. The beautiful gilt brass repousse frame is somewhat earlier, being from c1830.

The miniature is in fine condition, with no chips, cracks or bowing. There has been some slight touchup to a...

A well painted miniature portrait on natural organic material of a sea captain, identified on the reverse as "Phillip…MHK Captain". The miniature is in very good condition, with no cracks, chips, bowing, or restoration. The period lacquered frame is missing its cover glass, easy enough to replace. Sight size is 2 7/8" by 2 3/8", and the frame size is 5 1/8" by 4 3/8".

A nice miniature painting done by Christopher Greiner. The sitter is a gentleman in a black coat and tie, but Greiner emphasized the somber feel of the painting by using a background of black and dark green.

The painting has no condition flaws, and is housed in a cast foliate pendant case with hair in the glazed aperture on the back. The size is 2 1/2" by 1 3/4".

Note: Not much seems to be known about Christopher (or Christian) Greiner (died 1864), other than that he was a painter and min...

A fine American miniature painting on natural wafer of a hazel-eyed woman, dressed in a white bonnet and fichu. Original locket gilt metal case has a plait of hair in the aperture on the back of the case.

Superb condition with no problems. The locket is 2 3/8" by 2", and the sight size of this little gem is 2 1/4" by 1 7/8".

An American miniature portrait painting, on natural organic material, of an older woman, unusual in that the subject is directly facing the viewer, and her image fills practically the entirety of the painting. The sitter has brown eyes, brown hair done in sausage curls, and is wearing a white lace cap and ruffled collar.

The artist was clearly well trained, and chose an overall palette of muted somber tones to emphasize that this was not just a pretty picture of a client, but was a character...

A fine watercolor folksy miniature portrait painting. The sitter is a nice looking young gentleman dressed in a black coat, patterned white vest, white shirt with stud, and a black stock tie. Housed in its original red leather travel case.

Excellent condition, with no cracks, bowing, or other problems. The sight size is 2 5/8" by 2".

A nicely done miniature portrait, on natural organic material, of an attractive young woman. The sitter is wearing a white dress, a black necklace and earrings, and an upswept hairdo. The painting is housed in its blue velvet travel case, with a glass cover.

Condition is excellent, with no problems. The sight size is 2" by 1 1/2", and the closed case size is 3" by 2 1/2".

A beautifully executed miniature folk art watercolor on thin card portrait by J. H. Gillespie, housed in a cast foliate metal locket with an aperture on the reverse.

The condition is excellent, with no issues whatsoever. The reverse of the case is lacking the surround and glazing to the aperture.

Note: Gillespie was active on the East Coast of North America, Baltimore, New York, and Philadelphia around the 1829-1838 time period. Gillespie painted miniature portraits and silhouettes very c...

A stunning miniature portrait painting, watercolor on natural organic material, of a beautiful young girl with hazel eyes. The artist has painted the sitter with a background of clouds against a blue sky, often thought to denote that the piece was done as a mourning keepsake.

The condition of the painting is excellent, with no chips, cracks, bowing, or restoration. This little gem is housed in its original cast bronze brooch, with a mother-of-pearl backing. The sight size is 1 5/8" by 1...

A watercolor miniature portrait done by Richard Morrell Staigg. The sitter is a nice-looking blue-eyed young man in a black coat and cravat, with a light blue vest. As is usual with Staigg, the painting is superbly limned. It is housed in one half of a leather case.

The condition is excellent, with no problems whatsoever. Sight size is 3 1/2" by 3".

A miniature portrait painting by Abraham Parsell, done in his recognizable style with somewhat frizzy hair, and the sitter posed with his arm on a chair. Housed in its original cast foliate frame with a rear aperture containing a lock of hair.

The painting is 2 5/16" by 1 7/8", while the overall locket size is 2 1/2" by 2 1/8". Condition is excellent with no chips, cracks, bowing, paint loss or restoration.

Note: Abraham Parsell (1792 - after 1856), a popular American folk miniature painte...

An Abraham Parsell painting on natural organic material of a young man with his hand resting on a book. All the characteristics that make Parsell so sought after are present, from the folky treatment of the face, the frizzy hair, and the accessory point of interest, in this case the book. The sitter is Dye Brewer, of Edenton, Chowan county, NC, and this painting descended in the family to a direct relative, a Mrs. Morris of Houston, TX.

The miniature is in a beautiful, cast foliate, period lo...

This striking and well executed miniature watercolor painting, on natural organic material, depicts a blue-eyed handsome young gentleman. He is wearing a black coat and tie, white shirt with a stickpin, and is sporting a fashionable hairstyle for the times.

The sight size of the painting is 2 1/2" by 2". It is housed in its original cast brass locket which is 2 5/8" by 2 1/8", and, in the engine turned back, has a glazed aperture containing a woven plait of hair. Below this aperture is e...

A folky miniature portrait painting of a young man. With his stylish hairdo, high collar, and patterned vest, and pin, the gentleman exemplifies a dandy of the time. The blue hues in the background provide a striking contrast to the relatively monochromatic tones of the sitter.

The miniature is 2 3/8" by 1 3/4" and is housed in its original 2 1/2" by 2" brass case, which also has a lock of hair in the rear aperture. Condition is excellent, with no cracks, bowing, or paint flaking.

A very fine American portrait miniature painting, on natural organic material, of a young man attired in the latest fashion of his period, wearing a brown vest and velvet collar coat.

The miniature is 2 inches by 1 1/2 inches sight size and the deep purple velvet-lined thermoplastic case it is in is 3 inches by 2 1/2 inches. The piece is in superb condition, with no cracks, chips, bowing, or inpainting. The case, with its gilt brass liner, has only a tiny nick at one point on the edge and is ...

A fine miniature portrait painting, on natural organic material, done by John Alexander McDougall. The sitter is a distinguished gentleman dressed fashionably in a ruffled blue shirt, light blue vest, and black coat.

The miniature is in excellent condition, with no problems or restoration. The brass case is also without flaws. The photo of the back does appear to have blemishes, but these are label residues. Sight size is 3 1/4" by 2 1/2" .

MacDougall was born in New Jersey in 1810, and pri...

This is a superbly rendered watercolor on paper attributed to Henry Walton. The name of the sitter, John Andrew Jenny, is written in pencil at the top of the painting, in penmanship not unlike Walton's.

Mr. Jenny is a nice-looking young man wearing a black coat, with highlights in gum arabic. The style of the coat and the cravat place this portrait in the 1841-1844 time period. This is consistent with Walton's development as an artist, when he began to paint the faces of his subjects with mod...