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WHISK BROOM AND TIN DUST PAN, Broom with finely turned maple handle, in original red stained varnish finish, with looped string cord for hanging, 16" l, 6 1/2" w; Tin Shaker dust pan with flared sides, and attached handle with ring and leather cord for hanging, 9 1/2" h, 8" w.

Note: Dr. McCue called the broom "a hearth brush", (Journal Entry #209).

Provenance: Sabbathday Lake, Maine, Shakers, 1952, $2.50.

Exhibited: Cary Memorial Library, Lexington, MA, 1965.

Sold at Willis Henry Auctions September 8, 2012.

Estimate: $500-700

Price Realized: $819


RARE SHAKER DESK, Pine, maple and chestnut, original green painted finish, signed in white chalk in script on back of lift up lid by Alfred Merrick Collier (1823-1884), made for Elder Grove Blanchard, 1861, Harvard Shaker Community (two Shaker communities comprised Harvard, the Bishopric seat, and Shirley), a quote from Collier's journal for July 4, 1861 "...I went over to the South Family and got my desk I made for Elder Grove.", 48" h, 31" w, 25 1/4" d.

Provenance: Edna Greenwood; Purchased by Dr. McCue at her estate auction at Time Stone Farm, September 30, 1973, Guy Sawyer - Auctioneer.

Illustrated: The Complete Book of Shaker Furniture, Rieman, T. and Burks, J., 1993, p. 198

Shaker Furniture Makers, Grant, Jerry V. and Allen, Douglas R., 1989, p. 122.

Exhibited: The Katonah Gallery, Katonah, New York, November 20, 1983 - January 8, 1984.

Sold at Willis Henry Auctions September 8, 2012.

Estimate: $20,000-30,000

Price Realized: $37,440


FIVE HANGERS, Birch, original red stained varnish finish, three with original green braided string loops, all with small rectangular yellow paper labels with black printed initials "AR", "EJ" and "Amy Reed", graceful graduated curving form, all hangers are stamped with the initials "AR" and "EJ", 12 1/2" l, 1/2" thick.

Exhibited: Cary Memorial Library, Lexington, MA, 1965.

Sold at Willis Henry Auctions September 8, 2012.

Estimate: $400-600

Price Realized: $3,159


OVAL CARRIER, Maple, pine bottom, hickory handle, original yellow painted finish, finely shaped fixed handle with five symmetrically placed copper tacks on front and back, four elegantly shaped fingers, each secured with four small symmetrically placed copper tacks, lightly penciled "M" on the bottom in script, 4" h to top of rim, 9" h to top of handle, 11" l, 8" d.

Provenance: Canterbury Shakers.

George and Gladys Jordan

Purchased at the George and Gladys Jordan "The Shaker Collection" Auction, Concord, NH, September 27, 1968. Frank D. Greene, Jr. Auctioneer. Lot 183 "Oval Sewing Basket with Fingers, handled and in yellow stain, (C)." [Canterbury].

Sold at Willis Henry Auctions September 8, 2012.

Estimate: $20,000-30,000

Price Realized: $63,180


INFIRMARY CUPBOARD, Pine, original salmon red painted finish, original yellow stained finish interior, cupboard with inset panel door top over cupboard with inset panel door bottom, original turned hardwood pulls, mitered and canted foot, 86 3/4" h, 34" w, 15" d.

Note: This elegant cupboard in original finish was one of the first pieces of Shaker purchased by Dr. McCue from the Andrews Barn in 1946 when he travelled to Richmond, Mass. with Edna Greenwood.

"It came from the Nurse Shop, Church Family, New Lebanon, N.Y." (Dr. McCue's Journal Entry #1).

Provenance: Purchased in 1946 from Dr. Edward D. and Faith Andrews for $125.

Illustrated: "Gather Up the Fragments"; The Andrews Shaker Collection, DePillis, Mario S. and Goodwillie, Christian, p. 155.

Exhibited: "The Furnishings of Shaker Dwellings and Shops", The Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield, MA, October 10-30, 1932, (small blue label on the back of the piece).

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, 1964

Sold at Willis Henry Auctions September 8, 2012.

Estimate: $20,000-30,000

Price Realized: $111,150


TRIPLE HANGER, Pine, original natural finish, c. 1850, Shaker reinforced hole for peg at top with Shaker inserted arched steel and wire, three cross bars shaped as clothes hangers, 24" h, 14" w.

Note: Dr. McCue referred to the hanger "as a shoulder board", Journal Entry #171.

Provenance: Purchased in 1951 from A. Hamilton for $2.50.

Sold at Willis Henry Auctions September 8, 2012.

Estimate: $700-900

Price Realized: $5,031


WOOD BOX, Pine, original yellow painted finish, breadboarded lid, open box, interior with fully extended corner blocks through the base and becoming the turned legs (9" h), dovetailed case, 30 3/4" h, 25 3/4" w (case), 17 3/4" d.

Notes: Dr. McCue's Journal Entry #240: "...Sister Mildred (Barker) first saw this box in the Second Family at Alfred,... It was taken along and moved to Sabbathday Lake in 1931, and was in the care of Eldress Harriett Coolbroth who had been Eldress at Alfred (1864-1953)."

This exceptional yellow wood box was used between the beds in the large master bedroom. Dr. McCue built a hidden compartment (not built in of course) in the bottom of the case with a lift lid for hiding valuable papers, etc. It was covered over with extra pillows and coverlets. It has since been removed but is available to the successful bidder.

Provenance: Purchased at Sabbathday Lake in 1954 for $30.

Sold at Willis Henry Auctions September 8, 2012.

Estimate: $15,000-20,000

Price Realized: $78,390


SISTER'S SEWING DESK, Maple, birch and pine, original red stained/painted finish, front of the desk has six drawers across top (three sets of two over two) above the work surface, this is above a pull-out sewing slide with white porcelain pulls, above three small drawers on left and three larger drawers on the right, all on turned and tapered legs, Sabbathday Lake, ME, c. 1840-1850, 27 1/2" h to work surface, 39 1/4" overall h, 30" with case.

Note: A flower is painted on the sliding work board "by a hired man about 1905." Dr. McCue's Journal Entry #230. This was one of Dr. McCue's favorite desks, and the painting of the flower he found unique and intriguing. A classic sewing desk in color.

Provenance: Eldress Jennie Mathers (1877-1946), Sabbathday Lake, Maine

Sister Eleanor Philbrick (Trustee)

Dr. J.J.G. McCue purchased from Sister Philbrick in 1953 for $160

Exhibited: "Furniture of the Shaker Sect", Smithsonian Institution, U.S. National Museum, Washington, D.C.,1965.

Sold at Willis Henry Auctions September 8, 2012.

Estimate: $30,000-40,000

Price Realized: $42,120


RARE SHAKER PAIL, Pine, original yellow paint, boldly initialed in black paint on the side "J.J.B.", the interior is painted gray, heavy wire swing handle with finely turned cherry handle, large black diamond-shaped bail plates, each secured with a pair of handmade screws, stamped in light ink in four places on the bottom "J.J. Briggs" (Sister Julia J. Briggs), and also written in pencil "A.f.f", 9" h (to rim), 15" h (to handle), 12" dia.

Note: Dr. McCue's Journal Entry #113, "Sisters Ethel Peacock and Mildred Barker say the bail and its socket are characteristic of Enfield, and that the Pail was used for general pailing purposes."

One of the finest Shaker coopered pails in original color we have ever sold. It was always near the fireplace in the McCue's living room next to Alfred Collier's Harvard desk (Lot 5).

Provenance: Purchased at Sabbathday Lake in 1950 for $3.50.

Sold at Willis Henry Auctions September 8, 2012.

Estimate: $2,000-4,000

Price Realized: $17,550


SEWING TABLE, Cherry, pine secondary wood, early varnish finish, two-board top with drop leaf in the rear with single leaf support with leather strap inserted pull, two graduated drawers in the case, finely detailed thumbnail molded lip on three sides and dovetailed front and back, two brass pulls on each drawer, all on four square chamfered tapering legs, Hancock, MA, c. 1840, 26 1/2" h, 36" w (top), 26 1/4" w (case), 17" d, 13 1/2" d (case), 8 1/2" drop leaf.

Note: Used against a side wall in the McCue's dining room with Dr. Miriam McCue's metronome on top [Miriam (Pat) played violin with the Concord Orchestra, traveling with them and performing in Prague, Vienna and other European cities].

Provenance: West Pittsfield Shakers, Gift of Miss Hall [Sister Frances, ((blue/white label inside top drawer].

Gilbert M. Brewer, Appletree Point, Burlington, VT

Richard Withington Auction, January 11, 1969

Dr. J.J.G. McCue purchased at auction for $1,550

Sold at Willis Henry Auctions September 8, 2012.

Estimate: $8,000-12,000

Price Realized: $25,740


BLANKET CHEST, Pine, butternut, basswood, original bittersweet orange/red stained finish, pine lift lid, edged on three sides with 2 1/2" butternut boards, breadboard ends carved so that top fits tight to sides of case, original cast iron hinges, sliding brass-hinged till box in basswood (slides full length of chest and is removable), finely dovetailed and symmetrically nailed construction, 5 1/4" h, 17 5/16, l, 9 1/2" d, two graduated drawers with beveled lip on three sides, dovetailed, original turned fruitwood pulls, all above square canted feet, drawers and case have inset diamond escutcheon plates in walnut, case sides are double vertically panelled, each panel lined with extremely finely cut thumbnail molding, a design feature that lends an elegant lightness to a substantial chest, 39 1/2" h, 41 1/2" w (case), 19 1/2" d (at top).

Note: In Dr. McCue's journal he describes seeing an exact duplicate of this chest in an outbuilding at Hancock. "...It seems pretty certain that these chests are from the Second Family at Hancock. Mr. Upton, of Albany, had bought the one I saw."

Stylistically it has many hallmarks of Mt. Lebanon, New York. A classic Shaker chest in exceptional color.

Provenance: Dr. McCue purchased this chest in 1949 from A. Hamilton for $55 (Journal Entry #55).

Sold at Willis Henry Auctions September 8, 2012.

Estimate: $15,000-20,000

Price Realized: $32,760


TRESTLE TABLE, Cherry, pine, wrought iron braces, original dark stained finish, Harvard, MA, c. 1820-1840, "Its small size would suggest that it was used as a dining table for the four members of Harvard Bishopric Ministry.", p. 60, Shaker Design, June Sprigg, 1986, Whitney Museum of American Art, 28 1/2" h, 62 1/4" l, 34" w.

Note: This is the first Shaker piece of furniture Dr. McCue ever saw. He was eventually able to buy it from Edna Greenwood for $350 in 1949. She had used it at Time Stone Farm as her writing table for many years. She wrote in his journal that instead of it being given to the Smithsonian, that she would sell it to him "as a cornerstone of his super Shaker collection now in the making. His motto: Buy the Best - To hell with the rest."

Provenance: Frank Lawton

Edna Hilburn Little Greenwood

Purchased from Edna Greenwood in 1949 for $350 (Dr. McCue's Journal Entry #81).

Illustrated: Shaker Design, June Sprigg, 1986, p. 60.

Exhibited: The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, May 29 - August 31, 1986.

The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., October 4, 1986 - January 4, 1987

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, 1964

Sold at Willis Henry Auctions September 8, 2012.

Estimate: $70,000-90,000

Price Realized: $198,900


RARE LARGE OVAL BOX, Pine and maple, chrome yellow finish, six fingers, appears to have had paper labels on both sides at one time, probably New Lebanon, NY, c. 1820-1840, 6 3/4" h, 14 5/8" l, 10 5/8" w.

Note: We believe this box is Dr. McCue's Journal Entry #19.  Purchased from Dr. Edward D. and Faith Andrews in 1947 for $5.00.

Sold at Willis Henry Auctions September 8, 2012.

Estimate: $10,000-15,000

Price Realized: $47,970


SISTER'S CUPBOARD OVER DRAWERS, Pine, original light cinnamon red stain, two small (12" sq) inset panel doors at top with black cast iron door closures and small white porcelain pulls, doors double pinned on the diagonal, through mortised, top is glue blocked all the way around (26 small glue blocks), over six full drawers, finely dovetailed and with original white porcelain pulls (two per drawer), drawers are lipped on three sides and glue blocked underneath with 15 small glue blocks, on squared, canted foot, acquired from the Hancock Trustees Office, 61 1/2" h, 41 5/8" w (at top molding), 40" w (case), 18" d.

Note: This cupboard over drawers was in the upstairs guest bedroom of the McCue's home, which was kept somewhat dark with the blinds closed. When we took it outside to load in our truck, we saw that the color was absolutely beautiful, and that the porcelain pulls made it even more stunning.

Sold at Willis Henry Auctions September 8, 2012.

Estimate: $20,000-30,000

Price Realized: $122,850


SPOOL RACK WITH 30 SPOOLS AND SILK THREADS, Cherry wood, original dark varnish stain, delicately turned handle with circular disk base, with 16 tall carved maple, slender pegs for holding spools, 3 1/2" h, 4" dia; spools in multiple sizes and colored woods including cherry, maple and other fruitwoods, and many with Sister's initials ("E.R.S." and "S.C.U.") on paper labels and in pencil ranging in size from 6/16" to 1" h.

Note:

According to Dr. McCue's journal, "the initialed spools "E.R.S." belonged to Eldress Eliza Rebecca Smith (1831-1899)...brought up at East Canterbury, N.H. ...sister of Elder Benjamin Smith of that society..."

This small elegant Sister's spool holder was treasured by all the Sisters who made use of it. The tiny spools are bursting with color in their finishes and their threads.

Provenance: Purchased from Sister Mildred Barker at Sabbathday Lake in 1955 for $15 (Dr. McCue's Journal Entry #250).

Exhibited: Cary Memorial Library, Lexington, MA, 1965.

Sold at Willis Henry Auctions September 8, 2012.

Estimate: $6,000-8,000

Price Realized: $29,250


HANCOCK SHAKER BLANKET CHEST, Pine and butternut, unique grain painted finish, light ochre yellow faux-wood finish on the upper chest portion and also the sides, and a red stained finish to the drawer fronts, beveled lift lid, three drawers tall with split top drawers, all with original turned fruitwood pulls, cut and slightly arched canted feet, c. 1840, 43 1/2" h, 37" w, 17" d.

Note: Attributed to Grove Wright (1789-1861).

Provenance: Purchased from A. Hamilton, Sheffield, MA, in 1949 for $65 (Dr. McCue's Journal Entry #85).

Illustrated: The Complete Book of Shaker Furniture, Rieman, T. and Burks, J., p. 177.

Sold at Willis Henry Auctions September 8, 2012.

Estimate: $6,000-8,000

Price Realized: $21,060


TRUSTEES DESK, Butternut, cherry and white wood, original varnish finish, double door cupboard top opening to two adjustable shelves, numbered on small paper labels, 1, 2 & 3 (numbering continues to the central cubbyholes and to the two adjustable drawers on the bottom section), over a fall front, hinged writing surface, with 17 symmetrically aligned shelves and cubbyholes for papers and writing materials flanked by a dovetailed drawer on either side, all over two inset paneled doors, 78" h, 48" w, 11 3/4" d.

Note: According to a postcard Dr. McCue received in December of 1955 from Sister Frances Hall, "The Bookcase Desk was used by Elder Walter Shepard at the North Family at New Lebanon, N.Y...."

Provenance: Purchased at Hancock from Sister Frances Hall in 1955 (Dr. McCue's Journal Entry #255).

Sold at Willis Henry Auctions September 8, 2012.

Estimate: $5,000-7,000

Price Realized: $30,420


STORAGE CHEST, Pine, original red painted finish, single board top with applied molding, cast iron strap hinges held with handmade screws, interior pine till with dovetailed drawer under with original small turned maple pull, (top front edge is lipped), Dr. Andrews said "it is from the Church Family, Hancock...", 21 1/2" h, 43" w, 19" d.

Note: A very pure chest. Displaying the essence of Shaker.

Provenance: Purchased from Dr. Edward D. and Faith Andrews in 1946 for $25 (one of the first pieces of Shaker that Dr. McCue ever purchased.

Sold at Willis Henry Auctions September 8, 2012.

Estimate: $4,000-7,000

Price Realized: $58,500


CUPBOARD OVER DRAWERS, Pine, original red/purple painted finish, two door cupboard top with raised panel doors over seven dovetailed and lipped drawers, "Purchased from Andrews who says 'original purplish paint: A very early example of this type of chest, from the Church family in Hancock, (c. 1800, possibly earlier). Cupboard often used for storing Sister's bonnets. Cupboard came from the Sister's Shop'...just west of the Church Dwelling at Hancock.", three vertical pine back boards with tongue and groove joinery, nailed, 7' 4" h, 37" w, 19" d.

Note: This early case resembles in form Fig. 103 (p. 106) in the Encyclopedia of Shaker Furniture with raised panel doors and seven drawers below. It was one of the major pieces in the Smithsonian Exhibit "Furniture of the Shaker Sect". Left side has been painted in a light coat of pink colored paint. Some of the bottom drawers show lip damage.

Provenance Sister's Shop - Hancock Shakers

Edward Deming and Faith Andrews

Purchased from Dr. Edward D. and Faith Andrews in 1946 for $40 (Dr. McCue's Journal Entry #11).

Exhibited: "Furniture of the Shaker Sect", Smithsonian Institution, U.S. National Museum, Washington, D.C., 1965

Sold at Willis Henry Auctions September 8, 2012.

Estimate: $7,000-10,000

Price Realized: $21,060


WORK TABLE, Birch and pine, original dark sienna red painted finish, 25 1/2" h,  rectangular top with rounded corners, single-board top (37" l x 28" w, 7/8" thick), two pine bottom boards (1 1/2" x 26") are fixed to the top of either side of the skirt with handmade screws to keep the top from warping, the skirt is mortised into each leg and double wooden pinned, Alfred, ME, c. 1830.

Note: This is a wonderful example of the Shaker style in Maine in its deep red color and its well turned "exuberant" legs with high-heeled tulip feet.

Provenance:Purchased from Sabbathday Lake in 1950 for $60 (Dr. McCue's Journal Entry #115).

Note added 1992: "This was sold to me out of the dairy house, or possibly the laundry house by Sr. Mildred Barker..."

Sold at Willis Henry Auctions September 8, 2012.

Estimate: $6000-9,000

Price Realized: $21,645


CUPBOARD OVER DRAWERS, Pine, original red stained varnish finish, tall cupboard top with inset panel door, above four graduated drawers, on a canted and cut foot, plank sides, original cast iron pulls, 6' 8 1/2" h, 27" w, 18" d.

Note: A card found in the cupboard written by Dr. McCue attributes the chest to the Shaker cabinetmaker "Amos Stewart of New Lebanon in about 1873...The back feet were trimmed by the Shakers before it was sold to him by the Hancock Shakers about 1955-60. He replaced them. Very likely this piece is signed somewhere by A. Stewart, (1802-1884)."

Illustrated: The Encyclopedia of Shaker Furniture, Rieman, T. and Burks, J., p. 120, Fig. 124

Sold at Willis Henry Auctions September 8, 2012.

Estimate: $7000-10,000

Price Realized: $36,270


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