Historic Arms & Militaria

100 Pages·2015·6.75 MB·English

Historic
Arms &
Militaria

Sale 2856M October 30, 2015 Marlborough
Historic
Arms &
Militaria
Specialist
Joel Bohy
Department Director
508.970.3125
Auction Information
Auction 2856M Preview Absentee Bidding

Friday, October 30 Wednesday, October 28 T: 508.970.3208
4PM 12 to 5PM F: 508.970.3100

274 Cedar Hill Street Thursday, October 29
Marlborough, MA 12 to 7PM General Inquiries

508.970.3000
Friday, October 30
12 to 3:30PM
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View all lots online at www.skinnerinc.com
cover: 147; frontispiece: 114; interior back cover: 126; back cover: 176
American & European Works of Art
Auction 2704B
02/07/2014 4:00 PM EST
Lot 632 Of 689 - Alexander Calder (American, 1898-1976) Red Circus Horse Report Problems
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Table of Contents
1 Auction & Specialist Information
2 Web Site & Online Bidding
4 Event Announcement
5 Provenance
7 Lots 1–326
80 Federal Firearms License Conditions
88 Map & Driving Directions
89 Conditions of Sale
91 Absentee Bid Form
92 Company Directors & Specialty Departments
93 Administrative Staff & Client Services
95 Subscription Form
Please Note: All lots sold subject to our Conditions of Sale.
Please refer to page 89 of this catalog for the full terms and conditions governing your purchase.
Copyright © Skinner, Inc. 2015 Proudly printed by
All rights reserved
MA/Lic. #2304
5 Almeida Avenue, East Providence, R.I., USA
401- 438 -1200 [email protected]
Join us for a gallery walk
Thursday, October 29th, 2015
5:30PM Reception, 6PM Gallery Walk
274 Cedar Hill Street, Marlborough, MA
RSVP 508.970.3240 or [email protected] Reservations are limited
Held in conjunction with a preview of Skinner’s October 30th and 31st auctions of Historic Arms & Militaria
and Clocks, Watches & Scientific Instruments
Selected Provenance
The Collection of Denis Edward Reen
Denis Reen’s good friend, Mike Burkey, once said, “If you can’t remember whether you ever met Denis Reen, then you
didn’t meet him. Because if you had met him, you would remember him.” Denis Edward Reen was truly a personality to be
remembered. He was a combat Marine, wounded in Vietnam, a historian and collector of military objects—mainly Civil War—a
craftsman in a number of fields, a teacher, and above all a loving family man.

Denis’s collection was built up over many years, but the majority was acquired in his early years of collecting, when Civil War
objects were relatively inexpensive, and not subject to the alterations that mar some now. In most cases, he kept records on
where the pieces came from, who the original soldier owner was (if it was known), and what his story was. Many of his friends
enjoyed his retelling of those histories, so there is, in a sense, an oral history record as well. His major interest was the enlisted
man, north and south, and the objects that made his daily life what it was, whether a uniform coat, a pair of shoes, a shelter half,
or a humble tin cup. He meticulously sought out items that could be documented to individual soldiers or which were identical to
pieces that could be so identified. By doing so, as he said, he linked “manuscript” and “manufact” to create a full story.

Denis Reen preserved these pieces to learn from and to honor those who fought in our great Civil War. He extended their life
another fifty years and passed them on to the next generation. The objects presented at Skinner are the best of Denis Reen’s
collection; those pieces with a known history or which are so rare as to be seldom seen in either private or museum collections.
Many other pieces—more anonymous but with known parallels in other collections—are being disbursed through militaria shows
and other venues, but the items offered here are the crème de la crème of his remarkable fifty year collection. We, his family,
friends, and comrades will miss Denis and those good times, and we hope that by offering his collection to other enthusiasts, the
objects will continue to teach those who come in contact with them, just as Denis taught those with whom he came in contact.

—Leslie D. Jensen
And Property from:
The Danvers Historical Society
The Jay Gaynor Collection
The Denis E. Reen Collection
The Valley Forge Historical Society
Fort Ticonderoga
Various Private Collections
Artillery & Related
Objects
1
1 4 7
Iron Swivel Howitzer, c. late 18th century, Cast Iron Cannon, probably Spain, late 18th Cast Iron Cannon, probably Spain, late 18th
iron tube (pitted), no markings visible, bore dia. century, (pitted surface), lg. 43 1/2, bore dia. century, lg. 49, bore dia. 3 1/2 in.
3 1/2, overall lg. 25 in. 4 in.
$800-1,200 Provenance: Sold to benefit the acquisition
Provenance: Sold to benefit the acquisition fund of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum.
fund of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum. $1,000-1,500
2 $700-900
Cast Iron Carronade, Europe, late 18th/early
19th century, lg. 55, bore dia. 3 1/2 in. 8
5 Cast Iron Napoleonic Cannon, France, early
Provenance: Sold to benefit the acquisition Cast Iron Carronade, England, late 18th 19th century, (bore plugged with wood), lg.
fund of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum. century, lg. 50, bore dia. 4 1/2 in. 95, bore dia. 4 in.
$1,000-1,500
Provenance: Sold to benefit the acquisition Provenance: Sold to benefit the acquisition
fund of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum. fund of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum.
3 $1,000-1,500 $800-1,000
Cast Iron Carronade, England, late 18th/early
19th century, lg. 56, bore dia. 5 3/8 in.
6 9
Provenance: Sold to benefit the acquisition Cast Iron Carronade, Europe, early 19th Cast Iron Cannon, possibly northern Europe,
fund of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum. century, (button missing), lg. 46, bore dia. 3 in. 19th century, lg. 71 1/2, bore dia. 5 in.
$700-900
Provenance: Sold to benefit the acquisition Provenance: Sold to benefit the acquisition
fund of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum. fund of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum.
$800-1,000 $1,000-1,500
6 Additional information and photos at www.skinnerinc.com
16
10 13 16
Cast Iron Napoleonic Cannon, France, Cast Iron Napoleonic Cannon, France, c. Bronze Howitzer, Turkey, early 19th century,
c. early 19th century, the long barrel with early 19th century, lg. 87, bore dia. 3 1/2 in. with Arabic inscription behind the dolphins, lg.
reinforcing rings (surface corroded), lg. 115, 40, bore dia. 4 1/2 in.
bore dia. 4 in. Provenance: Sold to benefit the acquisition
$1,500-2,000 fund of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum. Provenance: Sold to benefit the acquisition
$1,000-1,500 fund of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum.
$2,000-3,000
11
Cast Iron Napoleonic Cannon, France, 14
c. early 19th century, the long barrel with Cast Iron Mortar, probably Spain, early 19th 17
reinforcing rings and modified trunnions, lg. century, lg. 14 1/2, bore dia. 3 1/2 in. Cast Iron Model 1836 Mountain Howitzer,
115, bore dia. 4 1/2 in. America, mid-19th century, (missing button),
Provenance: Sold to benefit the acquisition
lg. 55, bore dia. 4 1/2 in.
Provenance: Sold to benefit the acquisition fund of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum.
fund of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum. $800-1,000 Provenance: Sold to benefit the acquisition
$1,500-2,000 fund of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum.
$1,000-1,500
15
12 Cast Iron Carronade, probably Holland, early
Cast Iron Napoleonic Cannon, France, c. 19th century, with relief cast crown above “3”
early 19th century, lg. 87, bore dia. 3 1/2 in. forward of the breech, lg. 44 1/2, bore dia. 3
in.
Provenance: Sold to benefit the acquisition
fund of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum. Provenance: Sold to benefit the acquisition
$1,000-1,500 fund of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum.
$1,000-1,500
Online bidding at www.skinnerinc.com 7
19
18 19 20
Group of Artillery Implements, c. early to Cyrus Alger Eprouvette, Boston, Cast Iron Howitzer, America, mid-19th
mid-19th century, a ladle and worm with Massachusetts, mid-19th century, ht. 15, bore century, lg. 69 1/2, bore dia. 5 1/2 in.
a hand-sewn linen bag, two sponges and dia. 5 5/8 in.
rammers, two worms, and two linstocks. Provenance: Sold to benefit the acquisition
Provenance: Sold to benefit the acquisition fund of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum.
Provenance: The collection of the Valley Forge fund of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum. $3,000-5,000
Historical Society. $700-900
$500-700
8 Additional information and photos at www.skinnerinc.com