Unique Joseph Wood Hollow-Cut Silhouette Early 1800s

Antiques : Primitives : Antiques : Silhouettes

 

Joseph Wood and John Wesley Jarvis cut silhouettes as young men when they formed a partnership in 1803. This is an important year for silhouettes, as many artists started their ventures that year. Whether an artist was accomplished or not made no difference, as everyone looked for an easy, quick profit. Silhouette-cutting became very popular from 1803-1810 or so. Small, cheaply produced items are not highly regarded and were often thrown away, given away, forgotten, or destroyed. Survival rate of fragile silhouettes is very low, especially if they were never framed.

There is no account of how many silhouettes Joseph Wood cut, but the number was likely quite large. He, likely, did not sign many of his silhouettes. That would explain why his works do not appear on the market. However, I did note a single cutting about 7-8 years ago that was embossed with his name, “WOOD.” It was offered on eBay but because of its high price tag, there was no taker. That silhouette has not appeared since and may have likely found a buyer.

The current example is only the second one I have ever seen. This silhouette is signed “Wood” below the bust in ink. Beneath it is a penciled name of “Mrs. Sally Worster.” Because she seems to be in her very early twenties, she was likely born sometime during the American Revolution. The hollow-cut is early 1800s and generously embellished with ink. The hollow-cut measures 2 1/8 inches tall. There are several old closed repairs on verso. Someone must have really treasured this silhouette, as a small piece of paper loss to the left of the sitter’s head had been carefully “backed” by cutting and using a triangular section of paper. As a result, the color of the paper matches perfectly and is very presentable. The missing ink on the repair has also been filled-in by the repairer.

The frame is much later, a 1/6th plate ambrotype frame. It is split. Interestingly, the cover has an American flag with 35 stars. This flag was only used from 1863-1865, the height of the Civil War, when West Virginia became the 35th state.

Because of its not-so-fine state of preservation, I am pricing this very rare silhouette at a give-away price.

No money? No biggie! See my easy layaway plan.

Item ID: MP-4766