Disabled artist created silhouette art

#Middlebury #Antiques #Silhouette

A recent catalog gave a description of a silhouette as “cut by mouth.” Martha Ann Honeywell (1786-1856) was a disabled artist who cut silhouettes and did needlework without using her hands. She was born without hands or forearms and was also missing two toes. She could cut and paste, thread a needle, embroider and write using her mouth, toes and the upper part of her arms.

This silhouette of a woman, cut by mouth by Martha Ann Honeywell, had an estimated value of $400 to $800 at Garth’s Auction, Inc., but did not sell. (Kovels.com)

Honeywell performed around the United States and in Europe for almost 60 years. She charged 25 cents for a silhouette which she “cut” out of black paper, pasted onto a white background, and signed in ink. Two needlework pieces, one inscribed with the Lord’s Prayer in ink, framed together with a silhouette, sold at auction for $1,560 last year. A silhouette of a woman in a bonnet signed by Honeywell was estimated at $400 to $800 in another sale, but it did not sell.

Q: I’d like some information about a Kundo 400-day anniversary clock. It’s brass and has a key wind mechanism. What is it worth?

A: Several companies made anniversary clocks in the 1950s and ’60s. They were the first clocks that didn’t have to be wound every day, but only once a year or about every 400 days. They were often given as gifts and wound each year on a couple’s wedding anniversary, a birthday or the anniversary of another significant event. Several models of Kundo clocks were made by Kieninger & Obergfell, a company in western Germany. They sell for less than $100, some as little as $15.

TIP: Check your credit card statements carefully to be sure there are not charges you don’t remember. A dollar charge may be a test by a thief checking to see if you are careful and will notice missing money.

Current Prices
Halloween, costume, witch, black fabric, laced bodice, skirt, cape and pointy hat with embroidered black cat decoration, c. 1940, adult size, skirt 40-inch waist, $95.
Perfume bottle, Passion by Elizabeth Taylor, amethyst glass, art deco style, stepped fan body with center gilt diamond, gilt corded neck, flared fan stopper, factice (store display), 12 1/2 inches, $375.
Tin, barn star, 10-point compass star, original polychrome paint, iron rod, six-point star counterweight, weathered finish, American, late 1800s, 32 x 45 inches, $3,125.
Clock, train station, cast bronze, square column support, octagonal base with four windows, Neoclassical decoration, scrolling leaves, torches, acorns, four stone faces, four original Type B-2 electric movements, Warren Telechron Co., 1926-1930s, 51 x 19 x 19 inches, $5,000.

Looking to declutter, downsize or settle an estate? Kovels’ Antiques & Collectibles Price Guide 2022 by Terry and Kim Kovel has the resources you’re looking for.
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