A group of 4 hand carved bone sewing implements circa 1890-1900. All have drilled holes, lined borders and carved designs and the pieces include the 1-3/8 x 1-1/4" sewing clamp (small crack, carved end plug (replaced?)), the 2-5/8" needle case, the 1-1/8" tall thimble case (thin crack, glued wider crack, no lid) and the 7/8" tall thread case with hole in the top. All are unsigned and they are probably Asian...

Two French button lots:

(A) Theatre arts people, Is this Canio or Pierrot? Late 1800s antique French Victorian brass metal picture button marked in back: Paris - Depose - A P & Cie in superb condition! 1 7/16". In the button collecting world known as Canio of Pagliacci. A little softening at the nose where it should be, this 100 years later! 10 grams
(B) French Depose 1 3/8" hand painted porcelain paisley with DEPOSE mark above the self shank: images 4, 5 & 6...

A Victorian Aesthetic brass dress hem lifter circa 1880. This unusual Victorian design object was made to hold up the hem of a lady's dress. It sounds a little risque, but sometimes you preferred those long skirts not to be near water or mud, as is only sensible. In the Aesthetic design popular at the time (and swans certainly were popular), this solid brass clothing accessory clamps the bottom of the lady's dress with the tongs, which are locked in place by the sliding shield-shaped housing...

A striking French button featuring a transfer print on enameled porcelain of a swallow. Brass back and surround. The condition is excellent with no problems, and the diameter is 1 1/4".

PLEASE NOTE: We collected buttons for many years, but have decided to sell our collection. The buttons shown on our site represent but a small sample on what we have, so please do not hesitate to ask if you are looking for a particular type.

A fine example of polychrome painting on enamel with cut steels, depicting a woman on a berry picking outing. The front of her dress is picked out with gold flecks, which do not photograph well. This button belongs to the genre which arose due to the interests of the increasingly wealthy French middle class in the places and ways people enjoyed their leisure. Note the buildings in the background, indicating that the activity is taking place outside the bustle of the city...

A large gin bari button depicting flowers against a green background, the whole with a silver surround and backing. Uncommon hexagonal shape. Excellent condition with no issues, and any apparent imperfections are due to reflections in the photo. The diameter is 1 1/4".

NOTES:
1...

A charming button with a beautiful border of champlevé work with a turquoise enamel on brass.

The condition is excellent with no problems and a few errant black dots of paint. The diameter is 1 1/4".

PLEASE NOTE: We collected buttons for many years, but have decided to sell our collection. The buttons shown on our site represent but a small sample on what we have, so please do not hesitate to ask if you are looking for a particular type...

A round facetted example of what can best be described as flying saucer shape, as seen from the side. No condition issues, and with a diameter of 3/8" and a thickness of 5/16".

NOTES: 1. Tingues are constructed with a layer of clear colorless glass with a very thin colored glass (typically red) sheet overlay on top. This piece is cemented to a glass base with a thin sheet of reflective gold foil or leaf between them. The button is faceted to improve reflection.

2...

A round facetted example of what can best be described as flying saucer shape, as seen from the side. Uncommon transparent red base. No condition issues. In spite of the appearance in the main photo, the edges of the gold foil are sharp and not blurred. The last photo shows this. This fine example has a diameter of 1/2" and a thickness of 1/4".

NOTES: 1. Tingues are constructed with a layer of clear colorless glass with a very thin colored glass (typically red) sheet overlay on top...

A huge stamped silver button with a scarab enameled in green, green shaded with brown, and blue. This is surrounded by pastes set in holes drilled through the silver. Of unusual size and form, the button is shown on color plate 26 of Stefan Schiff's book "Buttons: Art in Miniature".

Excellent condition with no issues. The diameter is 1 11/16".

A fine example of polychrome painting on enamel with cut steels, depicting a couple fishing. This genre arose due to the interests of the increasingly wealthy French middle class in the places and ways people enjoyed their leisure. No condition problems, and the cut steels are brighter in person than the photo shows. 1 3/8" diameter.

PLEASE NOTE: We collected buttons for many years, but have decided to sell our collection...

A fine example of French polychrome painting on enamel with cut steels, depicting the cherubic infant Cupid holding a bird...

A very fine example of an rare tingue, being of yellow color and cylindrical form. No condition issues. In spite of the appearance in the main photo, the edges of the gold foil are sharp and not blurred. The last photo shows this. This fine example has a diameter of 1/4" and a length of 3/8".

NOTES: 1. Tingues are constructed with a layer of clear colorless glass with a very thin colored glass (typically red) sheet overlay on top. This piece is cemented to a glass base with a thin sheet of ...

Pretty porcelain button from Royal Copenhagen, hand painted with a rose flower and bud, the back with the factory’s under-glaze blue mark from 1870 – 1890 and 10, probably for the design / pattern. Diameter "1 ½ / 1.7 cm. Condition: fine

A fine enameled button showing a young girl with an elaborate hat and a pink dress with a rose-adorned white jabot. The portrait is surrounded with ruby and white pastes set into openwork brass.

The condition is excellent, with no issues, and the diameter is 1 1/4".

PLEASE NOTE: We collected buttons for many years, but have decided to sell our collection. The buttons shown on our site represent but a small sample on what we have, so please do not hesitate to ask if you are looking for a p...

A very uncommon and fine example of a tinque button with a blue base. No condition issues. In spite of the appearance in the photos, the edges of the gold foil are sharp and not blurred. This wonderful example has a goodly diameter for a tingue at 7/16" and a depth of 5/16".

NOTES: 1. Tingues are constructed with a layer of clear colorless glass with a very thin colored glass (typically red) sheet overlay on top. This piece is cemented to a glass base with a thin sheet of reflective gold foi...

An ornately carved early 19th century ivory needlecase. This 3" case measures 7/16" wide, and it unscrews to give access to the sewing needles. The carving is particularly fine and this sewing collectable is in excellent condition with no chips, staining, losses, repairs or damage other than a couple of minor age cracks (see pictures). This item is in very good condition with no chips, losses, damage or repairs other than the age cracks. All items are thoroughly and conservatively graded and a...

Sterling silver thimble molded with Christmas bells and holly. Made in the 1890s by Webster Co, Mass.Webster Co started in 1894 and was later to become part of Reed & Barton. Marked inside with the Webster logotype, Sterling and 9 for the size. This model is reproduced in the standard work on American silver thimbles. Condition: fine.

This is a very collectible American coin silver souvenir spoon comprised of a flared handle, the top having a detailed bust of Christopher Columbus, the rim framed by the words 1492 Columbus 1892 and WORLDS FAIR written down the shaft of the handle, circa 1892, maker's mark on the back of the spoon A1 Coin Silver Co.; Measurements- 4 5/8 inches long; Condition-Excellent

A vintage 19th century Mauchline ware wooden souvenir string or thread holder depicting a view of Carlingford, Ireland with a photo transfer. This 2-1/2" tall box is 3-1/4" across the base and it has a bone (probably) eye through which the string can be drawn. This souvenir is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, losses, damage or repairs. All items are thoroughly and conservatively graded and all condition issues are noted; all items are vintage or antique and may have slight sig...

Unique Burmese/Lanna Thai excavated gray terra cotta pipe bowl from Chiang Mai, in the shape of an elephant’s head. Clay pipes are fairly ubiquitous archeological artifacts found throughout much of the “Golden Triangle” and have been dated as far back as 12thCE Pagan, Burma. I can find no references of them being produced by any of the well documented Thai kiln sites, so in a way these are quite enigmatic in that they seem to be everywhere but no one knows where they are fr...

A true antique Victorian hand carved waxed meerschaum clay pipe in the form of a cuffed hand holding a bowl. This 4-5/8" smoking accessory features the original pressed amber mouthpiece, the silver plated brass ferrule and the ornately carved cuffed hand and bowl. This example has the warm brown colour found on waxed examples. As an option, quality tobacconists and pipesellers offered a custom waxed finish, a labour intensive preservative and enhancement feature. This one has the typical lig...

Very Rare 19th century figural bronze cigar cutter with a woman picking apples carved in high relief on one side and a tree on the opposing side. Measures 7 inches long.

An unusual accessory for your cow horn living room suite - this is a late 19th century 8-1/4" pipe or cigar rest and ashtray made of genuine cowhorn. This item features a cowhorn base held with a nut and bolt, and a brass rest for a pipe or cigar. Dating to the 1880s, this unusual smoking collectible is in very good original condition with no cracks, corrosion, losses, damage or repairs other than a crack from use and drying in the "bowl", some minor downward bending to the (formerly curved) r...

Offered are two, VERY RARELY FOUND, 1880's, Black Americana die cuts printed in Germany and sold by the Bim Brothers, London.

This offering features two lovely die cuts- one, a well-to-do Victorian era husband and wife out for a stroll, and the second, a colorfully dressed musical trio playing banjo, concertina (small accordion) and tambourine. The musical trio remains connected- adding to its value- and uncut, number 7568.

The products for which these die cuts were meant to endorse ...

Offered is a highly-collectible and seldom-found, circa 1850's, Staffordshire, England, earthenware, pictorial ABC plate featuring a Southern US slavery theme: slaves picking cotton.

Entitled "Gathering Cotton", the plate depicts eight slaves, including two children, picking cotton and placing it in woven straw baskets.

Plates such as this, particularly those with the alphabet embossed around the rim, were produced for use by children as subtle educational tools. England was well ahe...

De-accessioned from the inventory of the ill-fated Middle Passage Museum (see museum history below), this very unusual and atypical, 19th century, estate document is offered for sale, the purpose of which was to itemize and execute a division of property from the estate of the deceased, southern plantation owner. This document was purchased in the 1960s by one of the founders of the Middle Passage Museum from a descendant of this Sumter County, Georgia, plantation owner.

This is single page, ...

This extremely rare cross stitch sampler of a young black boy with hands placed on his hips is dated to at least circa 1890, although it is quite likely an earlier example of 19th century needlework making it highly scarce and sought after.

Completed in silk thread on early, thick, pressed paper canvas, the diminutive, 1 5/8 x 2 3/4 inch piece of needlework remains stitched onto the original, 1 ¾ x 8 inch long, deep red satin banding. Standing on deep red ground, the black boy wears pale gr...

Offered is a rarely found, Ca 1890s, tintype mourning brooch featuring a young and attractive, African American woman.

Housed in an ornate, brass frame complete with backside pin to allow attachment to one's clothing, the mourning pin measures 1 3/16th inch in diameter.

The image is quite clean and crisp with a very tiny imperfection noted on the image just above the woman's head at the frame edge.

Offered is a colorful, 1883, lithographed, Lime Kiln Club, Black Americana, Cigar Label by Mensing & Stecher of Rochester, New York (company noted in the lower left corner). The lithographed 8" x 6" label would have been placed on the inside cover of the traditional wooden cigar box of that era. This highly detailed label features a caricature image of a very boisterous group of African Americans at a lodge meeting. The moderator is trying to get order while some of the members talk and fight am...

Rare Early Card game from 1890 of "The New Game of Snip Snap Snorum" Complete with Instructions, Box lid is missing top side flap but otherwise in very good condition for the age.

Fantastic item here. from The The Tinplate Decorating Company... this is from 1893. The bottom section of the box contains two concentric circles, the outer of which contains ten round counters, each marked with the name of the boys: Sambo, Hank, Pete, Huck, Gabe, Pomp, Lige, Snow, Caesar, and Mose. The inner circle has two slots which connect the circles and the printed names of the boys within. Tin Measures circa 3.7" in Diameter

Offered are two, VERY RARE, 1880's, romantically-themed advertisements printed in Germany and sold by the Bim Brothers, London. The two advertisements both feature well-dressed African American gentlemen attempting to woo and capture the exclusive attentions of pretty young African-American ladies, one via a banjo serenade and the other via an offer of lovely flowers.

The products which these advertisements were meant to endorse is unknown. The advertisements feature a high-shine, glossy f...

Produced as a souvenir piece for the 1884 New Orleans Exposition, this diminutive, antique, metal match holder measures just 2.5 inches high!

Marked "Pat Applied For" on its base, this darling match holder features two small black boys playing around a rather large cotton bale (the bale is labeled "COTTON").

Well-executed detail! A lovely piece seldom found in today's collectible market!

Offered is an extraordinarily rare, 1844, Warren County, Georgia, ARREST WARRANT for a SLAVE girl named Ally who is accused of drowning two young (Caucasian) girls in Sweetwater Creek, Georgia. The girls aged 7 and 10, were daughters of Thomas Roney, who filed the charge. The slave girl, Ally, is owned by Nancy Mayhamry (?SP), but was in the possession of Thomas Roney at the time of the drownings.

The single page, 16" x 25" document was folded in half by its author, and the charge is written o...

Offered is an extraordinarily rare, 1842, Warren County, Georgia, Apprehension Order for a SLAVE boy named Henry who is accused of committing a violent assault and battery with intent to kill.

The single page, 16" x 25" document was folded in half by its author, and the charge is written out on one side of the folded page and then completed on the back of the same side of the page (see photos). The folded page was then flipped over, folded into fourths, and the title of the charge was writ...