Sculptural Fantasy: The Important American Folk Art Collection of Stephen and Petra Levin
Sculptural Fantasy: The Important American Folk Art Collection of Stephen and Petra Levin
EXCEPTIONAL RED-PAINTED MODEL OF THE 'HOPE' HAND PUMPER FIRE ENGINE, ROBERT EICHHOLTZ (1833-1912) AND HENRY EICHHOLTZ (1830-1918), LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA, 1854
Auction Closed
October 10, 05:49 PM GMT
Estimate
30,000 - 50,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
EXCEPTIONAL RED-PAINTED MODEL OF THE 'HOPE' HAND PUMPER FIRE ENGINE, ROBERT EICHHOLTZ (1833-1912) AND HENRY EICHHOLTZ (1830-1918), LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA, 1854
model of a Philadelphia-style double decker end-stroke hand pumper with iron brakes intersecting the condenser case, a brass suction outlet is in the center of one side and on the other side, a brass discharge, folding wood platforms, on which men stood to reach the upper brakes, extend across the top of the body, brass fluting and engraved plaques decorate the top of the condenser case, topped by a rounded brass dome, a brass plaque on each side of the body one with interlocking design with 1854 and Eicholz Bros, and Hope on the other with a heart, a crowned king, woman and nude couple.
Height 23 ½ in. by Depth 37 in. by Width 15 in.
Mutual Assurance Company, Philadelphia;
Schwartz Gallery, Philadelphia;
Giampietro American Folk Art, New Haven, Connecticut.
Anthony N.B. Garvan and Carol A. Wojtowicz, Catalogue of the Green Tree Collection, (Philadelphia, PA: Mutual Assurance Co., 1977), pp. 124-4;
The Green Tree: Highlights from the Collection of the Mutual Assurance Company of Philadelphia, cat. 78. (Philadelphia, PA: Schwartz Gallery, 2007), p. 23, no. 10.
This fire engine model was made in 1854 by Robert (1833-1912) and Henry Eichholcz (1830-1918) of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, sons of the noted ponraicist Jacob Eichholcz ( 1776-1842). The elder Eichholtz painted decorations for a volunteer fire company in Lancaster of which he had been a member. This model represents a Philadelphia-style, doubledecker end-stroke hand-pumper with an octagonal condenser case. Garvan and Wojtowicz tentatively identified it as one that the Hope Engine Company of Philadelphia sold to an unknown buyer in 1854. That engine was known to have had a square condenser case, but it may have been altered to the octagonal form during extensive repairs. They also conjectured that the "Hope" was originally conceived as an artist's ideal of a fire engine. Although the model's small size suggests that it was a child's toy, they concluded that "the engraving on the plaques is too exotic for a toy and more in keeping with a men's club." Garvan and Wojtowicz also noted that the engraved ornamentation on the model was similar to that found on guns, and that the Eichholtz brothers were experienced gunsmiths.