Rare and Unexpected Items from Extant Americana
- By Michael Stillman
Margaret Bourke-White's photo of Fort Peck Dam on cover of first Extant Americana catalogue.
This month we review the first catalogue from Extant Americana of New York City: Catalogue One. Naturally, the American material in this catalogue is “extant,” but it is the implication of rarity in that term that best explains the items offered. These pieces still exist, but their existence is unusual and surprising. They are usually one-of-a-kind or short run items that you would not readily expect to find, or perhaps even think still existed. But... here they are! We only have space to mention a few of the items you will find in this catalogue, but hopefully it will provide a flavor of the type of material Extant Americana has waiting.
We will start with that stark photograph you see on the cover of the catalogue. It looks like a medieval fortress, but actually it is far more peaceful. It is the dam at Fort Peck, Montana, a massive project built by the Army Corps of Engineers during the Depression. It created jobs for over 10,000 workers, while its lasting legacy is hydroelectric power, flood control, and a huge lake. The photographer was Margaret Bourke-White. Bourke-White had been the first western photographer allowed to photograph Soviet industry. In 1936, Henry Luce hired her to provide photography for his newly revamped Life Magazine, which would feature pictures. This photograph of Fort Peck Dam appeared on the cover of the first issue of the new Life Magazine. This copy of the photograph was inscribed by Bourke-White in the 1950s to John Bryson, a fellow photographer at Life at the time. Item 162. Priced at $15,000.
Republicans evidently had different beliefs a century ago. Item 140 is a 1912 letter from President William Howard Taft to a Mr. Glaser, expressing his regret at being unable to attend a “Ratification Banquet.” He is sorry he will not be able to “rejoice” with them. The celebration was over the (not quite) ratification of the 16th Amendment to the Constitution, an amendment that the Republican Taft introduced and championed. That was the amendment that made the federal income tax legal. It received the final state vote necessary for ratification the following year. $3,000.
Item 3 is a poster of one of America's uglier practices a couple of centuries ago. It announces Sale of Valuable Negroes & Land. It's from a slave sale that took place on January 11, 1858, in Germanton, North Carolina. This was an estate sale of the late Dr. William W. Stedman, and it included “14 Likely Negroes,” including “girls and boys, men and women.” It goes on to point out that, “These are a choice lot of negroes, and among which are some GOOD COOKS and NURSES.” In this case, the “likely Negroes” reference would have been used to mean suitable, not that they were most likely Negroes, but maybe not. Such a maybe not claim would have struck fear in many a white heart. $2,750.
Item 5 is a carte-de-viste of some African Americans, and some of them are less likely Negroes, but in the more common usage of that term. It is titled Learning is Wealth. Wilson, Charley, Rebecca & Rosa, Slaves from New Orleans. It depicts a black man and three slave children. The three children are evidently mixed race, very light skinned, who could readily pass for white. The card states that proceeds will “be devoted to the education of Colored People in the department of the Gulf.” This would have been published during the Civil War, as no one would have been raising funds to educate black children in New Orleans prior to Union soldiers taking over. At the time, it was not uncommon to use pictures of very light skinned blacks as such were more likely to arouse sympathy from whites. $650.
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Rare and Unexpected Items from Extant Americana
- By Michael Stillman
John Heath and George Armstrong Custer each met an untimely demise.
Speaking of New Orleans during the Civil War, item 28 is a Proclamation, issued by General Benjamin Butler shortly after Union forces seized the city in 1862. Martial law was declared, and the proclamation requires the surrender of arms, no flags other than that of the U.S. be flown, oaths of allegiance be given, and so on. Butler established a no-nonsense rule, at times harsh, leaving him an unpopular man in the South. That did not bother him. $7,500.
We usually expect to find attractive or important scenery on postcards, the Grand Canyon or the Washington Monument. This postcard instead features a picture of a hanging. The man dangling from the rope is John Heath, a one-time Deputy Sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona (Tombstone), who was not unwilling to ply the other side of the law. He moved to Bisbee, south of Tombstone, and opened a saloon. It was there he was alleged to have conspired with, most likely directed, five other men in what would be a robbery of a local store. It was expected there would be a payroll for a local mine at the store. There wasn't, but the five men stole other money they found, as well as robbing some customers. Then, something went awry, shooting started, and by the time it was over, four citizens of Bisbee lay dead. Heath did not participate in the crime. He said he was hiding behind his bar when the shooting broke out. The five were all convicted of murder and hanged for their crime. Heath was convicted of second degree murder for his involvement and sentenced to life in prison. That was not sufficient for the good folks of Bisbee. They dragged him from his cell and strung him up from a telegraph pole. Someone had a camera and caught the dangling Heath surrounded by a group of participants and spectators of the lynching. Another enterprising person turned the photograph into a postcard. Having fun, wish you were here. The lynching took place in 1884, while the postcard is dated 1885. Item 68. $2,250.
Item 39 is a photograph of General George Armstrong Custer, taken by Mora of New York in 1876. That was the year of a major life changing event for General Custer. We need say no more. This was taken at the last formal photography session for the Civil War General and Indian fighter. In his profession, you cannot afford to make even one mistake. Armstrong is dressed in his military uniform, looking as much debonair as military. $2,500.
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Rare and Unexpected Items from Extant Americana
- By Michael Stillman
The Graf Zeppelin docks to the Empire State Building – an event that never happened.
Item 8 is a photograph of the Graf Zeppelin tethered to the Empire State Building. Did this actually happen? The answer is that it was supposed to. The idea was that the dirigible would moor to the top of the world's tallest building and a gangplank would allow passengers to move from the building to the airship. That is not a plank I would have wanted to walk. It turned out no one did. The wind currents alongside the building made the mooring way too unsteady. The photograph, then, is a fake, the ship and the building cut and pasted together in an early version of photoshopping. $750.
Extant Americana may be reached at 646-504-1775 or info@extantamericana.com. Their website is www.extantamericana.com.
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