A Birth Record Watercolor Fraktur Identified to Abigail Turner (1807-1876), Possibly by E. Firth

New Jersey, Circa 1807

the birth information inscribed within a red circle and with painted decoration including sailing ships at port and a fish.
7 3/4 x 9 3/4 inches.

Genealogical records confirm that Abigail Turner was born on September 12, 1807, in Deptford, Gloucester County, New Jersey to John Carpenter and Elizabeth Turner. Abigail first wed Paul Sears on December 27, 1828, in Gloucester County, but Paul died just six months later. Later, on February 26, 1833, Abigail married John Down, a member of the Bethel Methodist Episcopal Church, but he, too, met an untimely death on Christmas Day of 1846. Abigail and her third husband, the Reverend Joseph Atwood, were married by 1850. Abigail died in Mercer County, New Jersey, on March 29, 1876, leaving behind at least six children and stepchildren.

E. Firth, likely Elizabeth, was a fraktur artist active in Salem County, New Jersey in the early 1800s. According to records from Saint John's Episcopal Church in Salem County, an Elizabeth Firth was buried there on November 1, 1840.

Provenance:

By descent within the family to David McGrail;

bequeathed to his grandson, Paul McGrail.

Framed: 12 3/8 x 15 inches.

In overall good and stable condition, with light, even toning to sheet. Four corners adhered to hinged mat. Stabilized tears along lower edges and to corners, with pinhole to upper right corner. Unevenness and few losses to edges. Fraktur accompanied by carte de visite of Abigail Turner and her third husband, the Reverend Joseph Atwood, credited to Bullock and Co., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Frame is not original.

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Ben Fisher

Managing Director, Furniture and Decorative Arts

[email protected]312.447.3270

Mr. Fisher rejoined the firm in 2019 after working as a specialist in the American Furniture and Folk Art department at Sotheby’s New York. His areas of expertise include 18th, 19th, and 20th century American, Continental, and English furniture, decorative and folk art. Before coming to Hindman in 2013, Mr. Fisher worked in European Furniture and Decorative Arts in Philadelphia. He began his career working for a prints dealer focusing on works from the 16th through the 20th centuries.

Leah Vogelpohl

AVP, Specialist, American Furniture, Folk, and Decorative Arts

[email protected]513.666.4960

Ms. Vogelpohl joined the firm in 2013 as a cataloger in the American and European Furniture and Decorative Arts department. She became a department specialist in 2017, focusing on American decorative arts and silver. She received a BA from the College of Charleston and an MLITT in Art History from the University of Glasgow.

American Furniture, Folk & Decorative Arts

A Birth Record Watercolor Fraktur Identified to Abigail Turner (1807-1876), Possibly by E. Firth

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