THE SHAKERS

All items are subject to prior sale.
Orders may be placed by phone at (207) 490-5572 or email at dewolfeandwood@roadrunner.com
We accept checks, credit, cards and paypal. Please order by item number.

Thank you!

DeWolfe & Wood Rare Books
P.O. Box 425
Alfred, ME 04002

We are open most days from 7:00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. If you are coming to visit us, we suggest calling first to make sure we will be here.

Shaker Poplarware

Maine Poplarware starting from the top

1. Alfred half round stamped Shaker Goods Alfred, ME 3 1/2" x 2 1/2"x 1 1/2".  Minor loss to the kid trim and ribbons. $250.

2. Square box Marked Sabbathday Lake Shakes Maine. 3 3/4"square x 1 3/4" Near fine condition with light soiling to the bottom. SOLD.

3. Square Alfred box. 4 1/2" square 1 3/4". Marked and in very good condition with light wear and soiling to the kid. $375.

4. Square Sabbathday Lake box with stamp. 5"x 5" x 2 1/4". Fine condition. $375.
5. Small pink pincushion with poplar base. Unmarked. Alfred or Sabbathday Lake. Lightly worn. I would lean towards it being from Alfred. The base is 1 1/2"square. SOLD

6. Small bright red tomato cushion. 2" wide. Fine condition. Unmarked but Maine or Canterbury. SOLD.

7. Small grey pincushion in poplar base. Marked Sabbathday Lake. 1 1/2" square. good condition. $125.

Maine Poplarware

8. Left top Marked Sabbathday Lake hexagon sewing box outfitted with needlebook, emery, and cushion. Circa 1920's. Good with wear to the interior.  5 1/2" x 2". $375.

 9. Left middle large octagon sewing box marked Sabbathday Lake, c. 1920. 6" x 6" x 2 1/4". Oddly not outfitted with the usual needlebook, emery and cushion. Very good. $375.

10. Red Tomato cushion. Fairly early with a red paper bottom and no stamp.  2 1/2" x  1 3/4". Very good condition. SOLD

 11. Needle book with plain pine sides. Sabbathday Lake.  $100.

 12. right top Marked Alfred box with yellow velvet lining edge wear to the kid trim. 3"x 3" x 1 1/2". $200.

13. Square box line in light green and stamped Sabbathday Lake. 3 1/2"x 3 1/2" x 2"". $200.

14. Oblong stamped Sabbathday lake box in fine condition. 7"x 2 1/2"x 2". $300.

15. Stamped Sabbathday Lake Tray with interior edges trimmed in unusual, patterned paper. Satin lining with light fading but as fine an example as we have seen. $375.

Two Early canterbury, NH pieces attributed to Sr. Martha Wetherell or Sisters she trained. Sr, Martha Wetherell was born in Connecticut in 1855 and admitted to Enfield, Ct in 1862. She moved to Hanock in 1887 and then to Canterbury in 1893. She left the faith but returned and was admitted to Enfield, N.H. in 1905 and then to Mt. Lebanon in 1913 dying there in 1944. She was perhaps the most innovative crafter of poplarware adding colored poplar and straw to create colorful piece.

16. Open sewing box with delicate wrapped handles. 6 1/2"x 4" x 2". Near fine but the cushion is only in fair condition. circa 1900. [Inv. 42]. $600.00.

17. Covered sewing box outfitted with wax emery, needle book and pincushion. Never used as the bees wax is still wrapped in paper. Unfortunately, the rear ribbons that secure the top have split but this could be repair. 7 1/4"x 4 3/4"" x 2 3/4". The elastic that secures the top is also lacking. Poplar strips dyed red have faded. [Inv. 39] $500.

18.  Mt. Lebanon Church Family oval work stand. 8 3/4" x 5 3/4" x 2 3/4". One of the rarest Shaker polar pieces. Good condition but lacking the square cushion in the middle and the cover on the piece on the top right is detached. It has a remarkable basket on the left with a open weave bottom and the top has a fine woven straw border. The drawer is interesting as it has dyed poplar strips on the sides and bottom. This is an almost impossible piece to find. Purchased at the 1989 Willis Henry Auction lot 66. SOLD

19. Oblong workbox likely constructed at the Alfred community, Late 19th Century. 10" x 4" x 3". Good but the kid trim is lacking on the left side on the cover. No kid along the bottom edges of the box but appears to have never had it.  I believe this is Alfred because of the weave of the poplar and the paper on the bottom of the box. This example could date as far back as the 1870's. [inv. 31] $800.00.

20. Large oval poplarware carrier, c. 1870's Mt. Lebanon or Watervliet, N.Y.  20 1/4" x 14 1/4" x 12 1/4".  This has a solid wood bottom and handle. The sides are mad of woven poplarware that was later covered paper perhaps to strengthen the sides. The paper covering is worn but this is a utility basket used in the community. Ex-Howard & Flo Fertig collection and sold at the 2014 Willis Henry Shaker auction. You can see a similar example on the lap of a Shaker sister on page 79 of Dorothy Filley's book Recapturing Wisdom's Valley. $2200.00

Diamond shaped trays from the top

21. Canterbury. Lined blue and in fine condition. 7" x 4 1/4" x 1 3/4".  c.1950 [Inv. 267]. SOLD
22. Mt. Lebanon? Line in Silver gray. 7 1/4"x 4 1/2" x 1 1/2". C.1930's. SOLD
23. Canterbury. Lined in Green. C, 1940's. good but nail rusting through the kid along the bottom edge.7"x 4"x 1 3/4".  [Inv. 158] $300.
24. Canterbury. Lined in pink. The interior has minor soiling. c.1920's. 7"x 4 1/2" x 1 1/2".  [Inv. 251] $275.

Canterbury Shaker Poplarware

  25. Top left. Small Canterbury box with what is usually considered at a Alfred or Mt. Lebanon weave. C.1940's.  4 1/4"x 3"x 1 3/4".  Very good condition. [Inv. 152] $250.
26. Middle left. Canterbury box 4 1/2" x 3 1/2" x 2". Good in rose color lining. Minor rusting of the nails through the kid. Elastic replaced. [Inv. 155] $175.
27. Bottom left. Large square box with unusual striped satin lining. Near fine with minor loss to a ribbon 3 small rust spots. [Inv. 141] SOLD
28. Top right. Small box 4 1/2"x 3"x 1 3/4. C.1950's. Good condition with light wear. [Inv. 153] $175.
29. Bottom right. Large box 5 1/2"x 5 1/2" x 3". Lined in deep rose satin. c.1930's. very good condition. [Inv. 140] $300.
30. Bottom middle. Small box 4 1/2"x 3" x 1 3/4". Minor wear to the kid trim. [Inv. 154].  $150.

31. Sabbathday Lake Shaker doll with straw bonnet, and cloak 1934. Stand 12 "high. Good with wear to the ribbons and it is duty. Unusual with a label sewed to the petticoat saying it was purchased at SDL in 1934 and the doll was named Prudence after Eldress Prudence Stickney. $750.

32. Dresser tray stamped Sabbathday Lake. 9 3/4" x 5" x 1 1/2". C.1950's minor wear to the lining. This is an example of one of the cloth covered pieces produced after the community could not produce the poplar strips anymore. [Inv. 187] $200.

33. Exceptionally rare Mt. Lebanon Poplarware heart. Only a few of these survive (we know of 3). 5" x 4 1/4" x 2". Wear to the kind trim and the button at the front the box is lacking. Purchased in 1984 from Caropreso Auction Galleries lot 93. [Inv. 56]. SOLD.

Pincushions

 34. Top left. Canterbury cushion. 2 1/2" x 1 1/4". Ribbons frayed otherwise a fine example. c.1940's. $175.
35. A large, marked Sabbathday Lake cushion. Unused, c.1930s. Minor soiling the kid. 3 1/4" x 2 1/4".
36. Straw needlebook. C. 1920. Canterbury? 3"x 3". $175.
37. Second row from the left. Canterbury cushion 2 1/"x 1 1/4". Ribbons frayed otherwise a fine example. c.1940's. $175.
38. Middle. Unmarked Maine or NH cushion. Ribbon tied like a Maine piece. 2 1/2" x 1 1/2". C. 1940's. Mint. $225.
39. Tiny red cushion light wear. Maine or NH. Ribbon tied like a Maine piece. 2"x 1 1/4".  C. 1930s. $150.
40. Poplar needlebook with cushion. Mt. Lebanon c.1930s. Ribbons frayed and loss of kid trim on the back. 3"x 3". $200.  
41. Marked Sabbathday Lake pink cushion with poplar base.  2"x 2"" (cushion size). $150.
43. Poplar needlebook with cushion. Mt. Lebanon c. 1930. good condition.  3"x 2 1/2". $200.
44. Small green cushion with bees wax and emery. Maine or NH. Fine. $175.
45. Small Rose cushion with bees wax and emery. Maine or NH. Fine. SOLD
46. Poplar needlebook with cushion. Mt. Lebanon c.1930. Good condition. 3"x 2 1/2". $200. 

EPHEMERA

Hancock, Massachusetts

1. Shaker Seeds. Cucumber, Early. D. G. [Daniel Goodrich, Jr.], West Pittsfield, Mass., c. 1860. 3 7/8 x 3 1/4" $150

Harvard, Massachusetts

2. [Uncut Strip of Labels]. Double Distilled Peach Water/Double Distilled Rose Water/Pure American Cayenne. S. T. Atherton, Harvard, Mass., c. 1870. 9 3/4 x 4 7/8" $800.00

3. Peach Water. W. H. Sparrow, Harvard, Mass., c. 1860. 4 3/8 x 3 1/4". $200.00

4. Pulverized Summer Savory: For Seasoning Poultry, Meats, &c. Bogle & Lyles, Agents for the Society of Shakers. [Harvard, Mass.], ca. 1900. 7 1/2 x 2 1/8". $150.00.

Canterbury, New Hampshire

5. Lily root, white. Nymphea odorata. Shaker Village, N.H.  $30.00.

6. Lily yellow flour. Nuphae advena. Shaker Village, N.H. $30.00.

 7. Sarsaparilla root. Aralia nudicaulis. Shaker Village, N.H. $30.00.

8.  Syrup Lemon. [Canterbury, N.H.] 3 1/4 x 3/4" $25

9. Valerian, Eng. Root Pulverised. Shaker Village, N.H. $30.00.

10. Shaker Witch-Hazel. [Canterbury, N.H.] 3 3/4 x 2". $45.00.

11. Shaker Witch-Hazel. [Canterbury, N.H.] 3 1/4 x 1 3/4". $45.00.

12.  Shipping Label, Canterbury, N.H., c.  1920. 5 x 3" $30.00.

  13. Shipping Label, Canterbury, N.H., Circa 1910. 5 1/4 x 3 1/2". $30.00.

14.  Shipping Label, Canterbury, N.H., circa 1910. 5 x 2 3/4". $20.00.

New Lebanon/Mount Lebanon, New York

15. Peach Water. D.M. Prepared in the United Society of Shakers, New Lebanon, N.Y. 2 7/8”x 1 ¾”. 2 copies on salmon and olive colored paper. Ex-Edward and Faith Andrews collection, c. 1850. $60.00 for the pair.

16. Rose Water. D.M. Prepared in the United Society of Shakers, New Lebanon, N.Y. 3”x 1 7/8”. Printed on yellow paper. Ex-Edward and Faith Andrews, c. 1850. SOLD.

17. Shakers' Apple Sauce. Manufactured by Shakers, Mount Lebanon, circa 1890. Lightly dam stained. 10 x 4 5/8" $250

18. Shakers' Apple Sauce. N. F. [North Family], Mount Lebanon. 6 1/4 x 4 7/8" $175

20. 5 x 3 1/4" $150.00.

21. 3 1/8 x 3" $150.00.

22. 2 7/8 1 3/4". $30.00

24. 2" x 3/4"

$30.00.

25. 3" x 3"

$150.00.

26. 2 3/4" x 3"

$40.00.

27.  $30.00.

28. $30.00.

31. $40.00.

32. 5 3/4 x 3" $25

33. 6 3/4 x 6" $200.

35. 8 1/4 x 5 3/4" $50

Watervliet, New York

37. 12 x 4 1/4"

$200.00.

38. 13 1/2" x 4 1/2"

$300.00.

39.  $25.00.

40.  $25.00.

41.  $25.00.

42. $25.00. 

Herb wrapper, circa 1850. 5 3/4 x 4 1/2"

43. $200.00.

45.  2 x 1" (approx.)

$25.00. 

46.  2 x 1" (approx.)

 $25.00.

47.  2 x 1" (approx.)

$25.00. 

48.  2 x 1" (approx.) 

$25.00. 

49.  2 x 1" (approx.)

$25.00. 

50.  2 x 1" (approx.)

$25.00. 

51. 4 1/2 x 5 3/4"

Herb wrapper, circa 1850. $150.00. 

52. 4 1/2 x 5 3/4"

Herb wrapper Circa 1850

$150.00. 

58.  2 x 1" (approx.)

$25.00. 

59.  2 x 1" (approx.)

 $25.00.

61.  2 x 1" (approx.)

 $25.00.

The Shakers

BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, CATALOGS, & BROADSIDES

65. [The “Dorothy” Shaker Cloak supplies a long-felt want for auto, carriage, street or ocean travel, or in pastel shades for evening wear]. [N.p., n.d.]. [4] pp., illus. 14.5 cm.

Title from first line of text. Picture of the registered trademark for “The Dorothy” and description on p. [1], pictures of a person wearing the cloak (showing front, side, and back views of the cloak), pp. [2]-[3], order blank on p. [4]. Richmond 161. $100.00.

71. LEONARD, WILLIAM. A Discourse on the Order and Propriety of Divine Inspiration and Revelation, Showing the Necessity Thereof, in All Ages, To Know the Will of God. Also, a Discourse on the Second Appearing of Christ, in and through the Order of the Female. And a Discourse on the Propriety and Necessity of a United Inheritance in All Things, in Order to Support a True Christian Community. Harvard [Mass.]: Published by the United Society, 1853. 88 pp. 18.5 cm.

Cover title: On Revelation and Divine Inheritance. Richmond 861. “Contents” precedes the title page in some of the copies in wrappers. Bound copies have cover title: On Revelation and United Inheritance. According to Calvin Green’s “Biographic Memoir,” pp. 636-37, the manuscript was sent to New Lebanon for “alterations and corrections,” which he made, and then the manuscript was arranged in three parts for publication. H. S. Nourse, History of Harvard, Massachusetts, 1732–1893 (Richmond no. 2524), p. 473, states that the Discourse was one of the few items printed at the Harvard Shaker community. SOLD

72. Products of Intelligence and Diligence. Shakers Church Family. Mount Lebanon, Col. Co., N.Y. [Mt. Lebanon, N.Y.: Shakers, 1908]. Cover title. 16 pp., chiefly illus. 18 cm.

Priced catalog of Shaker-made articles including hoods, cloaks, bags, dolls, boxes, etc. “Miscellaneous articles price list”: p. 15-16. The cover is modified Art Nouveau designed by Peter Neagoe, a Romanian living in the North Family at Mt. Lebanon. Promotional silk bookmark illustrated on recto of back cover. Booklet is stapled with cover pasted over the staples. (Richmond no. 343) SOLD

73. [EVANS, JESSIE]. The Story of Shakerism. By One Who Knows. East Canterbury, N.H.: Shakers, 1941 (Concord, N.H.: Evans Printing Co.). Cover title. 15, [1] pp., illus. 18.5 cm.

A later printing, apparently the last, of this pamphlet first issues in 1920. Illustrated by two photographs: “Main Office Building Built in 1831” and “Shaker Church Built in 1792.” $75.00.

74. [BROWNSON, HANNAH]. Table Monitor. Shaker Village, [ca. 1900?] 1 sheet ([1] p.) with text in 2 columns. Printed on card stock.

Poem of eight unnumbered stanzas. It is generally attributed to Hannah Brownson of the Canterbury, N.H., community. Below the title: “Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.—Christ.” At end of text: “Shaker Home, 1830,” with “Visitor’s [sic] Dining Room, Shaker Village” printed in a break in the double-rule (thick-thin) border at foot. A manuscript note on the copy at Western Reserve Historical Society (Cleveland, O.), states that this was “Republished at Mt. Lebanon, 1903.” The Table Monitor was an outgrowth of a manuscript set of rudimentary rules for behavior and manners at table, see E. D. Andrews, People Called Shakers (no. 1767), pp. 182-85. The poem was presented to guests in an effort to prevent wasteful habits. “On being seated at the table, a printed sheet was handed to the guest which at first might be mistaken for a bill of fare, but inspection proved to be an injunction to take upon the plate only what was to be eaten.” “From this comes the expression, ‘To Shaker your plate,’ full of homely and pertinent truth,” C. E. Robinson, A Concise History of the United Society (no. 1249), p. 117. See also no. 1357. Table Monitors are often printed on heavy stock, sometimes glazed, and sometimes with two holes punched at the top. Unless otherwise noted, all versions of Table Monitor have the quote from Christ following the title as given above. (Richmond no. 119) $125.00.

75. [BROWNSON, HANNAH]. Table Monitor. Shaker Village, [ca. 1900?] 1 sheet ([1] p.) with text in 2 columns. Printed on paper.

Poem of eight unnumbered stanzas. It is generally attributed to Hannah Brownson of the Canterbury, N.H., community. Below the title: “Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.—Christ.” At end of text: “Shaker Home, 1830,” with “Visitor’s [sic] Dining Room, Shaker Village” printed in a break in the double-rule (thick-thin) border at foot. A manuscript note on the copy at Western Reserve Historical Society (Cleveland, O.), states that this was “Republished at Mt. Lebanon, 1903.” The Table Monitor was an outgrowth of a manuscript set of rudimentary rules for behavior and manners at table, see E. D. Andrews, People Called Shakers (no. 1767), pp. 182-85. The poem was presented to guests in an effort to prevent wasteful habits. “On being seated at the table, a printed sheet was handed to the guest which at first might be mistaken for a bill of fare, but inspection proved to be an injunction to take upon the plate only what was to be eaten.” “From this comes the expression, ‘To Shaker your plate,’ full of homely and pertinent truth,” C. E. Robinson, A Concise History of the United Society (no. 1249), p. 117. See also no. 1357. Table Monitors are often printed on heavy stock, sometimes glazed, and sometimes with two holes punched at the top. Unless otherwise noted, all versions of Table Monitor have the quote from Christ following the title as given above. (Richmond no. 119). $50.00.

76. ESTABROOK, FIDELLA. Consecration Prayer for the Royal, True, Blues. [Pittsfield, Mass.?, 1900?]. 1 sheet ([1] p.). 19 x 7.5 cm.

Poem of seven stanzas of four lines each. The Royal, True, Blues were a group of young Shaker sisters of the Hancock, Mass., community. Sabbathday Lake Shaker Library has two copies of the publication on silk ribbon (21 x 6 cm.). For other items intended for distribution by The Royal, True, Blues. (Richmond no. 566). $125.00.

78. SERETTE, DAVID W. Shaker Lunch. Portland, Me.: Yellow Kid Press, 1972. Cover title. 4 pp. 14 cm.

A scarce publication by this eccentric printer and member of the Sabbathday Lake, Maine, community. “100 copies printed at the Yellow Kid Press.”—Back cover. Issued in green envelope, present here. This copy signed by David Serette and given to Francis O'Brien June 4, 1972. O'Brien was the Dean of Maine booksellers and died in 1994. $75.00

The Shakers

STEREOVIEWS, PHOTOGRAPHS & POSTCARDS 

82. Shaker Sisters, Shaker Station, Conn. Published by the Dexter Photo Co., in Hartford, Conn. Unused. Pictures Eldress Mirriam Offord on the right. $125.

Canterbury, New Hampshire

87. Stereoview. Shaker Village, Canterbury, New Hampshire. Number 8. Island and Pond. H.A. Kimball, Photographer, Concord, N.H. 7 x 3 1/2" $100