Cast-iron bracket or tool holder Southeastern Pennsylvania, 1780-1830

Together wtih a Forged Bracket or Tool Holder, 1780-1820.  2 pieces.

The first:
Dr. and Mrs. Henry P. Deyerle, Harrisonburg, Virginia
Sotheby’s New York, "The Collection of Dr. and Mrs. Henry P. Deyerle," May 26-27, 1995, lot 644

The second:
Found in vicinity of Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Joe Kindig Ill, York, Pennsylvania, 1971

American Radiance: The Ralph Esmerian Gift to the American Folk Art Museum, p. 170, figs. 134A-B

Overall very good condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Several of these fish-shaped brackets are known to have survived, all with Pennsylvania histories and associations with the early Germanic communities there.¹ The fish is a common image in a number of American folk traditions, perhaps because of its importance as a food source or its prominence in early folktales or biblical references. A number of animal motifs were regularly incorporated into the pattern and design of iron hardware-such as hinges, brackets, and escutcheon plates-made by Pennsylvania's early blacksmiths, and they may have held specific personal or symbolic meanings for their makers or owners.

A close comparison of these two examples reveals that they were not created by the same maker and that no common pattern or template was used as a basis for their shape. Their methods of fabrication also differ significantly. One is forged completely by hand, its beaten sheet iron varying in thickness and surface quality. The quality of the edge suggests it was sawn with a chisel and filed to form its basic shape. The eye, gills, and crescent-shaped scales of the fish were scratched or chisel-stamped into the surface. Its tapered, bracket-form spikes were also forged, then attached with round, riveted iron brads through the body of the fish. The brads and rivets were flattened and beaten on their ends to secure the elements together.

The other example combines cast and wrought techniques. The iron sheet from which the fish-shaped element was formed is of uniform thickness and surface quality, and its rear surface shows clear evidence of sand-cast pitting. Its edge is rounded and even, and it was probably cast in its finished form. The mouth, eye, gills, and scales are also molded, further indicating the use of casting. The bracket spikes attached to its back surface were forged and brazed to the front element.

By oral tradition, these brackets were used to hold an ax and were part of the equipage of the great Conestoga wagons that facilitated westward expansion into the agrarian hinterlands of the state. The positioning of their bracket spikes, one placed slightly higher than the other, would have accommodated a shaped ax head securely once the bracket spikes were hammered into the side rail or architectural wall of a wooden wagon; the long handle of such a tool would fall through and be held firmly behind the fish-shaped plate. -J.L.L.

¹ In addition to these two examples, a wrought example is in a Pennsylvania private collection, and another is in the collection of the Landis Valley Farm Museum in Lancaster, Pa.; see Vernon S. Gunnion, and Carroll J. Hopf, eds., The Blacksmith Artisan within the Early Community (Harrisburg, Pa.: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1976), p. 51. The forged example was found in the Lancaster area.