Artistic Carving Co. Eagle, ca. 1950
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GUEST:
I bought this in an auction about seven years ago. It was just advertised as a wood carved eagle, which my wife and I collect. At the morning of the auction, the auctioneer says, "Oh, we've gotten late word "that we think this eagle can be attributed-- "may be attributed-- to a fella, and his name was John Haley Bellamy." While I'm sitting there, that name means nothing to me, but I'm thinking, "Oh, God, he's trying to get more bidder interest." And so it ended up being two different bidders, myself and a telephone bid. I ended up winning the bid. I have no idea to this day whether it actually is an eagle that can be attributed to this person or not. I don't know, so that's why I came and brought it to the ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
APPRAISER:
Great. While, John Haley Bellamy is really one of America's great folk art eagle carvers.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Born in 1836, grow up in the Portsmouth, New Hampshire, area. One of John Haley Bellamy's first jobs was for the United States Navy. And he worked in Portsmouth, which is still, to this day, a United States naval yard, and they were building ships back then. And Bellamy's job was to decorate those ships-- carving figureheads, decorative panels, almost all in the eagle motif. He started to evolve as a carver, started to develop these stylized images of eagles, and there are many recorded pieces. He then went on to open a shop in Kittery, Maine. Now, Kittery's right over the bridge from Portsmouth. He had a shop making eagles, primarily plaques, such as yours.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
So they were flat in back. It was all carved out of white pine. That was the carver's choice back then, and he did them in graduated sizes. Firehouses, hotels... And, he did them almost as tourist items.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Many of his eagles have, above the main body, a banner. Many of them said, "Don't Give Up the Ship." Because he was so popular, and he sold a lot of eagles, someone came along and opened a company to copy his eagles. This is what this is.
GUEST:
Ah, okay.
APPRAISER:
This was made between 1935 and 1965.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
By the Artistic Carving Company of Boston, Massachusetts.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
They had a catalogue. They produced probably 15, 20 different styles of eagles.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Mostly plaques like this.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
When you look at this eagle, you see a lack of elegance on this beak. It's very squared off. Tongue is very thick. Where Bellamy's tongues were paper-thin.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Almost like a serpent. The eye is very similar to what Bellamy did, but that's what they were trying to replicate. So these are done in the style of John Haley Bellamy.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And they have made their way into the antique world, and there are people that have actually started to collect them.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
So, you said you paid how much for this?
GUEST:
I paid $1,700.
APPRAISER:
Okay. A carving like this, which is a very small, it would have been their smallest one, my guess this would have been five dollars back in the '30s or '40s.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Today, in this condition, probably around $200 retail value.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Some of the larger ones they did, four feet, six feet, might bring $5,000-$6,000. But understand, if they were really Bellamy, they would be $100,000.
GUEST:
Sure, right. I'm glad to know. There was a chance it could have been something, but you know what, I bought it because I liked it, and that's the main thing.
Appraisal Details
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