Updated November 11, 2024: I now believe that this was carved by the firm of Titcomb and Bellamy in Bellamy's workshop. John Bellamy is best known for carving eagles, but he also carved mirrors and shelves. (We offered an eagle carved in his style earlier this year.) It likely was carved in the shop he had in the 1860s in Charlestown, Massachusetts, Titcomb and Bellamy Here's the patent he filed on this design, complete with his signature at the bottom of the page: And while this would suggest that there was more than one made, I know of no others that have come to market. If you are interested in acquiring this mirror and wish to have it authenticated as a condition of sale, please contact me. Thanks to John Allen for this insight and for the image from Bellamy's patent filing. Jim Craig wrote the book on Bellamy, American Eagle: The Bold Art & Brash Life of John Haley Bellamy, and in it he has images of other figurative shelves, but nothing like this mirror. Other works by Bellamy are in the collections of the Smithsonian Museum of American Art (Washington, DC), the Mariners Museum (Newport News, VA), The American Folk Art Museum (New York, NY), the Peabody Essex Museum (Salem, MA), the Shelburne Museum (Shelburne, VT), the Folk Art Center, (Williamsburg, VA), and the Henry Ford Museum (Dearborn, MI). See, for example, this Odd Fellows shelf and mirror from the Smithsonian Museum of American Art. This extraordinary frame celebrates The Emancipation Proclamation. The scroll at the top, with the date the Emancipation Proclamation was issued (January 1, 1863), is literally breaking the chains of bondage. There is a quill pen through the scroll, and above that, a crown or wreath of laurel leaves. At the bottom, a crest and flags depicting the Union. The frame is in very good condition. The mirror shows the same effects of age that all antique mirrors show. In the photograph, we have replaced the mirror with an opaque image to eliminate the distraction of the photographic equipment. (Please contact me if you'd like a photograph showing the glass that's currently in the frame.) — Lee Wright | Founder Frame size: 22.5" W x 25.5" H Mirror size: 16" W x 13" H Shipping: $55 with signature required. Please allow two weeks for shipping.
