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  AMERICAN BARBER POLE, AN UNUSUALLY HEFTY EXAMPLE WITH GREAT POLYCHROME COLOR, CA 1880
Dimensions (inches): 51.5" tall x 8" diameter, custom mounting brackets extend it from the wall 3"
Description:
This turned wooden barber pole is unusually broad and bold among its counterparts of the late 19th century. With a solid, eight-inch diameter, it is capped at either end with squashed-ball-and-ring finials and survives with a desirable, polychrome-painted surface, in a saturated shade of scarlet red and attractive navy blue. The colors are applied in broad bars in the typical spiral fashion, but the design terminates at one end terminating in horizontal red, white, and blue stripes.

This is an in-service paint, meaning that it is not a first surface, but barber poles rarely survived without having been repainted. Second and/or later surfaces are perfectly acceptable in this type of utilitarian folk art, so long as the paint is early and displaying pleasant patina. The surface on this example probably dates to around 1910.

Condition: Some cracks, minor chips, and paint loss. In-service paint with expected wear. Mounting: The brackets for wall mounting are custom-made (modern).
   
Primary Color: red, white, blue
Earliest Date: 1870
Latest Date: 1890
For Sale Status: Sold
Price SOLD
E-mail: info@jeffbridgman.com
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