Sea captain maritime journals from the 1700s and 1800s sail to Blackwell Feb. 10

Watercolor of a leopard from a collection of drawings and writings by the British Royal Navy officer Charles Randle, estimated at $5,000-$10,000 at Blackwell Auctions.

CLEARWATER, Fla. – A cache of eight maritime journals penned by 18th- and 19th-century British and American sea captains will appear at Blackwell Auctions on Saturday, February 10. The handwritten and illustrated journals, all professionally rebound and restored, come from a local private collection. The catalog is now available for bidding at LiveAuctioneers.

The most visual of the eight journals is a collection of drawings and writings by the British Royal Navy officer Charles Randle (1755-1838). Commissioned in 1793, he served aboard the HMS Majestic as fourth lieutenant during the Battle of the Nile in 1798 — one of the pages in the volume is a poem and map he made about the battle — and later was promoted to captain of the ship. The pages, a mix of maps, sketches, and writings, including poems and devotionals, cover a long career at sea from 1776 to 1830. Particularly striking are signed and dated watercolors of the animals, fish, and plants of the countries Randle visited — including particularly fine images of a leopard and a water buffalo. It has an estimate of $5,000-$10,000.

The remaining seven journals carry estimates of $500-$1,000 each. They include a ship journal by the U.S. Captain Thomas Perry, written in two parts of around 100 pages. During the first leg of his voyage, he commands the Forest King from New York to Marseilles, France in 1861. In the second — after returning from Europe via steamer — he commands the Ellen Bernard from Philadelphia to Key West, Florida. His entry regarding the locals in Licata, Sicily is particularly unkind: “The poor people are great beggars — and the women are the worst looking I ever saw anywhere I think and the most filthy appearing and sluttish in their dress.”

The diary of an officer aboard the USS Enterprise, one of the last transitional ships in the American navy powered by both steam and sail, chronicles a peacetime tour of Europe and Africa in 1888. The ship hosted a reception for the German kaiser and the Russian czar in July. The writer comments: “Preparing for the reception for the German Emperor … the Czar of Russia arrived in his beautiful yacht at 2pm and anchored a short distance from us.”

Nicely illustrated is a 1886-88 two-volume journal kept by Lieutenant (later Vice-Admiral) Mortimer L’Estronge Silver of the HMS Canada. Bound in sailcloth, it contains dozens of hand-drawn and colored maps and illustrations and some lively content – including a reference to a meeting with the future English king George V.

Also on offer with estimates of $500-$1,000 are the 140 handwritten entries written between October 1883 and March 1884 aboard a ship traveling between the English port cities of Liverpool and Portland in Dorset, and a manuscript documenting life on a New Jersey schooner taking railroad iron to repair track in the shattered Southern United States in 1866.

Watercolor of a leopard from a collection of drawings and writings by the British Royal Navy officer Charles Randle, estimated at $5,000-$10,000 at Blackwell Auctions.

Watercolor of a leopard from a collection of drawings and writings by the British Royal Navy officer Charles Randle, estimated at $5,000-$10,000 at Blackwell Auctions.

Captain Thomas Perry’s ship journal documenting journeys from New York to Marseilles, France and from Philadelphia to Key West, Florida, estimated at $500-$1,000 at Blackwell Auctions.

Captain Thomas Perry’s ship journal documenting journeys from New York to Marseilles, France and from Philadelphia to Key West, Florida, estimated at $500-$1,000 at Blackwell Auctions.

Illustrated 1886-88 two-volume journal kept by Lieutenant Mortimer L'Estronge Silver of the HMS Canada, estimated at $500-$1,000 at Blackwell Auctions.

Illustrated 1886-88 two-volume journal kept by Lieutenant Mortimer L'Estronge Silver of the HMS Canada, estimated at $500-$1,000 at Blackwell Auctions.

Diary of an officer aboard the USS Enterprise, one of the last transitional ships in the U.S. Navy, estimated at $500-$1,000 at Blackwell Auctions.

Diary of an officer aboard the USS Enterprise, one of the last transitional ships in the U.S. Navy, estimated at $500-$1,000 at Blackwell Auctions.

Roland Arkell

Roland Arkell

Roland Arkell is editor of Auction Central News and deputy editor at Antiques Trade Gazette. He has been writing about all aspects of the art and antiques market for more than 25 years.

Polaroid test photo for Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ album dances to the forefront at Blackwell Dec. 9

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CLEARWATER, Fla. — Five unique Polaroid test shots and the Hasselblad camera from Dick Zimmerman’s photo shoot for Michael Jackson’s Thriller LP are the star lots at Blackwell Auctions on Saturday, December 9. The catalog is now available for bidding at LiveAuctioneers.

“The auction would have been outstanding even without the celebrity items, but then the unexpected treasures started arriving just before the consignment cutoff. That suddenly took the auction lineup to the next level,” said Edwin Bailey of Blackwell Auctions.

The Michael Jackson items will all be auctioned individually, and the Polaroid images come with a Dick Zimmerman LOA and photographer’s release conveying ownership of the test photo’s copyright to the winning bidder (note that no personality rights are conveyed). The top lot is the shot that would become the design for the final cover, estimated at $10,000-$20,000.

Zimmerman’s Hasselblad 500ELX camera, which he used during the 1982 Thriller photo shoot, comes with an LOA from Zimmerman and is estimated at $10,000-$20,000 also.

The Green Berets by Robin Moore, himself a retired member of the elite force, served as a powerful metaphor for the American military during the Vietnam Era. A galley proof of the unpublished book was sent by Moore to John Wayne (1907-1979), who was immediately moved to purchase the film rights. Wayne’s granddaughter Anita Swift has consigned this piece of Duke history with an estimate of $4,000-$8,000.

Peter Max (b. 1937-) appears in the sale with a 2011 mixed media on paper titled 9/11 Tenth Anniversary. Max’s respectful depiction of the New York City skyline includes the Twin Towers and, in the foreground, the Pentagon. Measuring 22½ by 30in, it is signed and personally inscribed on the verso, and is estimated at $3,000-$6,000.

A selection of George Nakashima New chairs has been apportioned into three consecutive auction lots. Two lots (Lot 5, Lot 6) include a pair of dining armchairs estimated at $4,000-$8,000, while a third lot contains four dining side chairs together estimated at $6,000-$12,000. All are signed Nakashima and dated Sept. 27, 1986 beneath the seat.
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Michael Jackson ‘Thriller’ cover Polaroid test shot, estimated at $10,000-$20,000 at Blackwell Auctions.
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Dick Zimmerman’s Hasselblad 500 ELX camera, which he used for the Michael Jackson ‘Thriller’ photo shoot, estimated at $10,000-$20,000 at Blackwell Auctions.
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John Wayne’s personally owned uncorrected proof of the 1965 book ‘The Green Berets’ by Robin Moore, estimated at $4,000-$8,000 at Blackwell Auctions.
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Peter Max, ‘9/11 Tenth Anniversary,’ estimated at $3,000-$6,000 at Blackwell Auctions.
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Four George Nakashima dining side chairs, estimated at $6,000-$12,000 at Blackwell Auctions.
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Moorcroft Claremont sterling overlay coffee set, estimated at $5,000-$10,000 at Blackwell Auctions.
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Teddy Roosevelt’s silver watch, Sitting Bull portrait lead Blackwell’s March 18 auction

Caroline Weldon (Swiss/American, 1844-1921), oil-on-canvas portrait of Lakota Sioux leader Sitting Bull (1831-1890), painted from life in 1890. Artist-signed and dated LR, identified at LL corner as ‘Sitting Bull.’ Size: 27 x 22in (sight), 35½ x 30½ in (framed). Provenance: Railroad engineer William Lafayette Darling, thence by descent to consignor. Estimate $40,000-$80,000
Theodore Roosevelt’s American Waltham pocket watch in a coin-silver case. Gifted to him in 1898 by his sister Corinne Roosevelt Robinson and engraved inside cover: ‘THEODORE ROOSEVELT’ and ‘From D.R. and C.R.R.’ Watch is referenced in detail in a thank-you letter published in Corinne Roosevelt Robinson’s 1924 book ‘My Brother Theodore Roosevelt.’ Estimate $100,000-$200,000

CLEARWATER, Fla. – America’s rich cultural history is laced with heroes and scalawags, blue-blooded entrepreneurs and immigrant achievers who rose from the humblest beginnings. All who contributed to the colorful tapestry of our 246-year-old nation – whether saintly or scurrilous – are part of our nation’s story, which serves as the backdrop for Blackwell Auctions’ March 18 event titled “The American Sale.” Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

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Personal items from legendary sharpshooter Annie Oakley to be auctioned March 18

1926 check handwritten and hand-signed by Annie Oakley Butler, her married name

CLEARWATER, Fla. – On March 18, 2023, Blackwell Auctions will offer several items personally owned by Annie Oakley, including an engraved carriage clock gifted to her for her birthday during her European tour in 1901. Several other items will also be offered, including 16 books that were owned – and, in some cases, signed – by Oakley, including a book inscribed to her husband by the author, bandleader John Philip Sousa. The collection also boasts a personal check, signed by Oakley shortly before her death, made out to her niece.

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