The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

fran604g wrote:Thank you, Harry.

As we've nicely advanced this thread in ways I couldn't have imagined, I'm reminded of a very special table we have in our possession.

It was my great-grandfather's grandfather's. He was a teacher and publisher of Spencerian script in the mid-late 19th century along with his partners R. Platt Spencer and Victor Rice. He actually made the original master copies of the published books used in the schools and seminaries they each mentored.

This was his self-made home writing table and chair. The table now supports my Standard Model A and period ephemera. The portrait of Zachary Taylor, which hangs on the wall behind and above it, was an amazing testimony to his advanced expertise in the art. Done with a quill pen and nothing more than ink shades extracted from tobacco, as the family legend has it, and has been passed down now for 7 generations (including me to my own grandchildren). It is claimed in a letter written by one of my aged relatives to a Batavia, NY librarian/historian in 1993: "His masterpiece, as he called it, won the prize at the Crystal Palace in London which gave him the championship title." Unfortunately he had never received any acclaim that I know of here.

The attachment A.S. Pratt table, chair and Zachary Taylor portrait 1850's.jpg is no longer available

Another more famous of his portraits, this one of George Washington done using the same techniques, met with much more fame as a print created from the original, and one such print is memorialized and preserved at George Washington's Mt. Vernon: https://www.mountvernon.org/preservatio ... ct/sc-155/. It's my understanding the print was very popular, and could be found in many homes at one time. Two original portraits were done by him. Through my own research, I discovered one is currently housed at the Houghton Library at Harvard University, and I understand the other original was/is housed somewhere at the Smithsonian. I believe reproductions are still made available at Mt. Vernon.

The attachment DI_2149-2_SC-155.jpg is no longer available

Cheers,
Fran

MTPhono wrote:Fran -

I have a similar Washington portrait but is a variation. I had it dated once and apparently it is from the early to mid 1800s as is its frame. I've not been able to find out much more than what is presented in your link. I wonder which was earlier or why multiple versions.

Scott

startgroove wrote:Okay, back to the pedestals. Here is another one for you. We are not sure of the original intention for the cabinet, maybe sheet music, or music box disc storage, but it makes a great cylinder record storage cabinet, when every other drawer is removed. The front door slides all the way down to the bottom to expose several more drawers. Each drawer pulls out for easy access to all the items on the drawer. Cheers, Russie

fran604g wrote:

MTPhono wrote:Fran -

I have a similar Washington portrait but is a variation. I had it dated once and apparently it is from the early to mid 1800s as is its frame. I've not been able to find out much more than what is presented in your link. I wonder which was earlier or why multiple versions.

Scott

Hi Scott, thank you for bringing yours to my attention! If I may ask, are the markings at the bottom the same, i.e. Spencer, Rice, Pratt, etc.?

My personal opinion is that my distant relative, in stating in her letter about the exhibition he may have performed at the Crystal Place, may actually have been the Washington portrait. To me that would make more sense "on the world stage" so to speak, and would explain why more than one was produced, and why 2 different versions - using differing pen strokes - may have survived.

Pure speculation on my part, and though the reasons are lost to history, I certainly hope I live long enough to see the truth uncovered.

Best,
Fran

MTPhono wrote:Feel free to take this offline if you would like. I have found several other examples today - 4 at least. When I bought this 20+ years ago there wasn't much online that I could find. Quite a few more now.

Scott

startgroove wrote:Okay, back to the pedestals. Here is another one for you. We are not sure of the original intention for the cabinet, maybe sheet music, or music box disc storage, but it makes a great cylinder record storage cabinet, when every other drawer is removed. The front door slides all the way down to the bottom to expose several more drawers. Each drawer pulls out for easy access to all the items on the drawer. Cheers, Russie