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  UNUSUAL OVAL CHECKERBOARD FROM THE COLLECTION OF WENDELL GARRETT, APPLE AND FOREST GREEN WITH MUSTARD, CA 1870-80
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UNUSUAL OVAL CHECKERBOARD FROM THE COLLECTION OF WENDELL GARRETT, APPLE AND FOREST GREEN WITH MUSTARD, CA 1870-80:

There are countless checkerboards in the field of Americana and folk art collecting. Most are beautiful in the own right, but every once in a while one is found that clearly stands away from the crowd and seems to say "look at me". That is the case with this simple yet endearing board, with a muted apple green ground, trimmed in dark forest green, with forest green and mustard checkers. The colors are beautiful and the painted and varnished surface is great, but the obvious feature that takes it from the "really nice" category and transports it into the "I think I'd really like to live with that" category is the ovoid or elliptical shape with flattened sides. I can't recall ever having seen a board with this profile. If I have, I've certainly never seen one with such appealing color and surface, so none stand out in my memory.

This certainly would explain why Wendell Garrett, long-time scholar and Editor-at-Large for the Magazine Antiques, also decided that he had to own it. The provenance follows from Garrett's collection to that of a a major West Coast collector.

Made ca 1870-80 from a pine plank, the paint surface has a thin varnish or shellac that has dried and separated. The overall condition is excellent with expected wear. There are no repairs or in-painting. Lots of very tiny holes indicate that sharp pins were used, probably to mount fabric to the board for some sort of sewing task. The board definitely has a Pennsylvania German feel and I suspect this to be its origin.
   
Primary Color: green
Earliest Date: 1870
Latest Date: 1880
For Sale Status: Sold
Price SOLD
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