Rare painted zinc and copper miniature deer weathervane, attributed to J. Howard & Company West Bridgewater, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, 1852-1867

Repair to left antler

Frank Gaglio, Wurtsboro, New York
Kate and Joel Kopp, America Hurrah, New York
David A. Schorsch, New York, 1992

American Radiance: The Ralph Esmerian Gift to the American Folk Art Museum, p. 272, fig. 308

Left antler repaired; otherwise the deer appear to be in 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.
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This stately little deer was probably made by J. Howard & Company of West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, a relatively short-lived workshop that created some of the most distinctive weathervanes ever produced in this country. The attribution is based on stylistic comparisons with larger deer weathervanes from Jonathan Howard's shop, as well as with his celebrated horses, which share some similar features.¹A price list issued by the company between 1856 and 1867 included two sizes of deer weathervanes, although this piece would seem to be too small to have ever been mounted on a building. In addition, its body is cast entirely in zinc, which is unusual for Howard weathervanes. Larger examples combine zinc castings for the front part of the animal's body with hollow copper mid and rear sections and sheet-copper tails. This deer may have been used as a model of some sort.

Howard's small workshop was making weathervanes in West Bridgewater by about 1852.² In 1855, when the company was known as J. & C. Howard, it employed three workers and had a stock of weathervanes valued at $4,000.³ The following year, the name of the firm changed to J. Howard & Company. The shop continued to operate for another decade, until it became H.L. Washburn & Company, in 1867. Apparently Horatio Washburn was not any more successful than Howard had been, for he was no longer listing himself as a weathervane maker by 1869; instead, he was manufacturing eyelet machines. His partners were Jonathan and Horatio Howard, the latter probably being one of Jonathan's cousins. As with many small-town entrepreneurs of his day, Jonathan was also a farmer. Later in life, he operated a vinegar and pickle business.⁴ So while he is justly famous today for his elegant weathervane designs, his varied occupations present a more typical nineteenth-century scenario of a talented craftsman and farmer who by circumstance was concerned primarily with earning a living and supporting his family. -R.S.

¹ For examples of the larger deer, see Bishop and Coblentz, Gallery, p. 55, fig. 86, and Miller, Art of the Weathervane, p.135.
² "Weathervanes," n.d., Old Bridgewater Historical Society files, West Bridgewater, Mass.
³ Kaye, "J. Howard," p. 10-A.
⁴ "Weathervanes," and ibid., pp. 10-12-A.