Unpublished CDV photograph of Robert E. Lee, verso with a revenue stamp bearing an inscribed ‘White & Kelley, Lexington, Va., circa 1865. Estimate $10,000-$15,000. Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates image.
Among the private collectors whose items are on offer are Shenandoah Valley material from the Rudolph Evers estate, of Bridgewater, Va., the first half of the 40-year collection of the late Richard and Betty Robertson of Waynesboro, Va.; material descended in the Dooley family of Richmond, Va.; and property from a number of other Virginia families; property from the estate of former curator Mary Black of New York, as well as property from the estate of Nicholas de Belleville Katzenbach of Princeton, N.J.
A rare object in the auction is an important, previously unpublished autographed carte-de-visite photograph of Robert E. Lee, the verso with an inscribed “White & Kelley,” Lexington, Va., cancellation, circa 1865. The vignette full-facial depiction of Lee shows him wearing his coat and vest, but without the general’s stars and military buttons. The image descended in the Alexander family of Riverside, the family homestead in Stuarts Draft near Staunton, Va. Since Confederate soldiers were forbidden by federal law from wearing garments that indicated their former military status after the end of the Civil War, Lee lacks his stars and buttons. His civilian attire dates the image as probably one of the earliest taken immediately after the Civil War. (Estimate $10,000-$15,000).
Three other important Virginia artifacts are also included in the auction: a Wythe County, Va., paint-decorated poplar blanket chest with astragal and rectangular panels, dated 1802 (Estimate: $20,000-30,000); an outstanding Shenandoah Valley of Virginia Federal inlaid and banded mahogany chest of drawers, circa 1800, from the private collection of Dr. Charles and Elizabeth Umstott of Newport News, VA (Estimate: $15,000-$20,000); and a pair of Southside Virginia Chippendale black walnut side chairs, circa 1765-1785, in original condition (Estimate: $8,000-$12,000).
Items from the Estate of Nicholas de Belleville Katzenbach include a graphic 19th century folk art hooked rug with a rooster above two baskets with potted flowers (estimate: $1,000-$2,000), and a vibrant, nearly life-size carousel figure of a leaping donkey (estimate: $3,000-$5,000).
The complete detailed catalogue may be viewed on the www.jeffreysevans.com website.
For further details please email info@jeffreysevans.com or call 540-434-3939.
ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE
Unpublished CDV photograph of Robert E. Lee, verso with a revenue stamp bearing an inscribed ‘White & Kelley, Lexington, Va., circa 1865. Estimate $10,000-$15,000. Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates image. Important Wythe Co., Virginia paint-decorated poplar blanket chest dated 1802 in excellent original condition. Estimate: $20,000-$30,000. Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates image. Outstanding Shenandoah Valley of Virginia Federal inlaid and banded mahogany chest of drawers, yellow pine secondary wood, circa 1800. Estimate: $15,000-$20,000. Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates image. Important pair of Southside Virginia Chippendale black walnut side chairs, probably Southampton or Greensville Co., circa 1765-1785, in outstanding original condition. Estimate: $8,000-$12,000. Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates image. Graphic 19th century American folk art hooked rug, 36 x 64 inches, in as-found condition. Estimate: $1,000-$2,000. Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates image. Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates image.
