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In the late 1800s and early 1900s, hunting and fishing expeditions in this country were often undertaken by upper-class gentlemen who had the means to document the outing, either by stereograph, photograph, or painting. These images today are highly sought after, and fall generally within the category of sporting art or hunting-fishing antiques. At the Boston Antiques Show (www.bostonantiquesweekend.com) in April, two good examples caught our eye: One was the “Majestic Club Camp 1922” photo in the booth of Doug and Diane McElwain of Sport & Spool Antiques (dmcelwain@nc.rr.com). “Whenever we have camp photos, they go extremely quickly,” says Doug. The photo was priced at $125. We also loved the 1898 “Camp Millsfield” painting that was displayed in the Cherry Gallery booth (www.cherrygallery.com). Jeff Cherry mentioned that the painting was done on birch bark by well-known artist H.W. Herrick; it was priced at $3,600.
For wonderful examples of hunting and fishing-related collections, look through The Sporting Life: A Passion for Hunting and Fishing (Clarkson Potter, 1992). Collectors and dealers in this category mark their calendars for the annual Adirondack Mountains Antiques Show, which features a great range of camp antiques; this year’s show will be held Sept. 19-21, in Indian Lake, New York (for information: indianlakeea@frontiernet.net). |