Anonymous Works

Outdoor Cats

2012-01-28T07:42:00.000-08:00

Available here.

Alabama Interracial

2012-01-27T16:29:00.000-08:00

Circa 1940's vintage photo of an interracial couple in Alabama. Rare to find, especially considering it was found in the Deep South.

Available at Anonymous Works.

Erotic Whimsey

2012-01-26T09:14:00.000-08:00

Circa 1920's -1930's erotic whimsey of a man in a coffin, with a surprise of course!

Available at Anonymous Works.

Man...Boy...Dog...Cat...Toy...

2012-01-25T19:19:00.000-08:00

Vintage stereoscopic card used for an optometrist's vision test.

Available here.

Remember to "LIKE" Us on Facebook!

2012-01-24T11:30:00.000-08:00

If you haven't "Liked" Anonymous Works on Facebook, you're missing a bunch of quirky, unusual and sometimes valuable discoveries that aren't shown here on the blog. So make sure to like us and tell your friends!

Like us on our Facebook page here!

Thanks.

19th Century Folk Art Pruning Pole with Head of a Man

2012-01-24T08:41:00.000-08:00

Sold for $1,100.00 (w/o premium) at Pook & Pook.

The Swastika Notebook

2012-01-22T07:26:00.000-08:00

Strange. I have no idea, but it's available here.

Lincoln Penny

2012-01-21T07:41:00.000-08:00

Amateur carved Lincoln penny, (three feet wide!), used as a trade sign for a hair salon in the early 1970's.

Available here.

Chinese Root Monster Bites Man!

2012-01-20T17:01:00.000-08:00

I like this first photo a lot because it seems like this Chinese root monster sculpture is ready to bite the guy. At the least it will probably scare pets and small children.

Sold at Copake for $575.00 (w/o premium).

Elmer

2012-01-19T11:42:00.000-08:00

Circa 1930's-1940's folk art carved head of a man. Labeled with the name "Elmer" on the bottom.

Available at Anonymous Works.

Circles

2012-01-18T16:40:00.000-08:00

Circa 1940 wool and cotton braided rug, American.

Available at Sotheby's.

Woman in the Red Dress

2012-01-18T11:37:00.000-08:00

Available here.

Folk Art Painting of Baby in a Rocker with Cherries

2012-01-17T10:51:00.000-08:00

Sold for $115,000.00 at Keno Auctions. Pre-sale estimate of $15,000-25,000.

Heart in Hand

2012-01-17T07:43:00.000-08:00

19th century Odd Fellows Heart in Hand staff finial. 10 1/2" h.

Sold for $3,600 (w/o premium) at Pook & Pook.

Death Row Photos

2012-01-16T08:31:00.000-08:00

Amazing photo album put together by a Connecticut correctional officer of 22 men on death row.

Here's the full seller description:
Exceptionally rare and historically important, Presentation Photo Album containing the final, pre-execution photo portraits of the 22 Men executed by the State of Connecticut between December 18, 1894 and March 29, 1912 at the Connecticut State Prison, Wethersfield. This simply amazing, one-of-a-kind Photo Album was put together by a correctional officer by the name of (amazingly enough) James E. Officer and was presented to another correctional officer by the Name of "M. J. Redding".

We were honestly unaware of the fact that apparently it was the policy of the Connecticut State Prison at Wethersfield to dress the men on Death Row in a suit and take a final portrait before they were hanged for their crime. Somehow, Officer Officer obtained the original photographs taken of each of the 22 men hanged by the State of Connecticut between December 18, 1894 and March 29, 1912 and mounted those portraits in the Album offered here along with neatly handwritten text identifying the condemned man by name, his place and date of birth, the date he was convicted, his crime, the place and date of his crime, the date he was sentenced to death, the dates of an reprieves, and (finally) the date and manner of his execution.

The Album itself measures approx. 7 1/4" x 5 5/8" and is a generic, Photograph Album of the mid 19th century. Each Photograph of the condemned prisoner measures 3 1/8" by 3 7/8" and are essentially identical in form and format. In each photograph the condemned man is dressed in a suit and tie (in a number of the photos it appears that the condemned are dressed in the very same suit and tie) and most of the images depict a man with a stunned, frightened, horrified and/or vacant countenance. The looks on the faces of these men alone are a study in the horrors of capitol punishment and the shock and horror of those faced with the reality of their own death. We have never seen anything like the images contained in this Album and we feel that the images contained here are among the most graphic, though at the same time incredibly subtle, statements in support of the abolishment of the barbaric practice of capitol punishment - enough said.

The first page of the Album features a presentation inscription that reads "Officer James E. Officer / to / Officer M. J. Redding. / 9, April, '47". The next 21 leaves of the Album feature a single Portrait Photograph of an executed man with the details of his life and crime as stated above. The 22nd page contains a portrait of convicted murderer Andrea Tanganelli but without any manuscript information. The next few pages of the Album have cut out corners identical to those it insert the Photos found on the previous pages but these pages are blank and it is our best guess that Officer Officer had planned to continue this morbid collection, perhaps including those 32 men executed between 1912 and 1947 (when he dated this Presentation Album) but for some (perhaps thankful) reason was prevented from doing so. The actual story of the assembly of this Album will likely never be known but the simply amazing content represents a unique and likely never again available insight into the faces and souls of a group of men on death row at the turn of the 20th century - a group populated mostly by immigrants who somehow found themselves facing death in a country far from their home.

We have included images of each and every page of this Album and will not go into the details of the crimes and trials of those depicted in its pages. Nearly all of the 22 men executed by the State of Connecticut and pictured in this Album where hung and the stories of their crimes can be found on the "World Wide Hanging" pages of the True Crime Library website.

Available here.

Original Painting of Kansas City's First Electric Park

2012-01-14T08:14:00.000-08:00

Original oil painting by George Fuller Green of Kansas City's Heim's Park, the first electric park, at Heim Brewing Co. Dated 1949.

Available here.

19th Century Folk Art Carved Pipe with a Man's Head

2012-01-13T12:27:00.000-08:00

A great 1890 folk art carved pipe. Accompanied with an old note: "This pipe carved out of a block of wood by Frank G. Thorpe in 1890. Son of Sarah W. Thorpe. Sister of Mary M. Jordan, born 1829."

Available at Anonymous Works.

Professor A.W. Gimbi, the Pennsylvania Peach Stone Carver

2012-01-12T07:52:00.000-08:00

600 peach stone carvings of shoes, brushes, letters, numbers, sewing tools, books, baskets, fishing hooks and other utilitarian items carved by a Professor A.W. Gimbi.

Available at Marion Harris.

Tintype of a Man Holding a Tintype

2012-01-11T08:46:00.000-08:00

Available here.

Children's Art

2012-01-08T07:59:00.000-08:00

A set of watercolor paintings from a portfolio of children's art found in an estate in Philadelphia.

Available here.

19th Century Folk Art Doll Made from a Bedpost

2012-01-07T11:57:00.000-08:00

Carved wooden figure of a woman with leather arms and torso and a cloth head scarf. According to an accompanying note, it was made for Mrs. Walter Miller in Linesville, Pennsylvania by her father, from a bedpost, when she was three years old.

Original estimate of $300-600, this just sold for $10,000.00 (w/o premium)! At Garth's.

19th Century Folk Art Carved Figure of a Woman

2012-01-07T11:54:00.000-08:00

I love the abstract leg coming out the front. An accompanying note says that this figure was found in Au Gres by an American Indian. Sold at Garth's for $950.00 (w/o premium).

Early Lodge-decorated Sewer Pipe

2012-01-07T08:29:00.000-08:00

Sold for $750.00 (w/o premium) at Garth's.

Folk Art Whirlygig of a Black Man

2012-01-06T16:46:00.000-08:00

Available here.

Rockin' the Levis

2012-01-06T11:23:00.000-08:00

Your parents were cooler than you think. Well, maybe not YOUR parents...but someone's parents.

Available here.