Charles A L Sampson Sold at Auction Prices

CARVED PINE FIGUREHEAD OF A WOMAN FROM THE AMERICAN CLIPPER SHIP "EMPRESS," CIRCA 1856. ATTRIBUTED TO CHARLES A.L. SAMPSON (1825-1881) OF BATH, MAINE.

The "Empress" was built at Annisquam, Massachusetts in 1856 by Paul Curtis for H. Harbeck & Co. of New York. According to family tradition, the figurehead was removed from the ship in the early years of the Civil War to avoid the ship's being recognized by Confederate gunboats and blockade runners. The full-length figure of carved and painted pine, height 98 inches. Height of plinth 5 inches, width 36 inches, depth 64 inches. Together with a painting of the ship showing the figurehead in place, oil on canvas, 17 1/4 x 27 1/4 inches. Signed and dated on the reverse "Charles E. Harris 1934." (2)Provenance: Descended in a New England family related to H. Harbeck & Co.; The Old Print Shop, New York, and illustrated on the cover of the Portfolio, October, 1963; Collection of J. Welles Henderson, 1965; Independence Seaport Museum, Philadelphia.