Description:

ETHAN ALLEN'S CARTRIDGE BOX
ETHAN ALLEN (1738 - 1789) Revolutionary War patriot and politician, one of the founders of Vermont who, with Benedict Arnold, was instrumental in the capture of Fort Ticonderoga early in the Revolutionary War. Deer skin cartridge belt with wood insert whose ownership is attributed to Allen. The box, worn at the waist, measures 10" x 3" x 3" and is entirely wrapped in deerskin which is secured to the wood insert with brass brads which also hold brown leather trim. The wood insert has 24 openings for paper cartridges. The waist belt, of deerskin and leather, bears a brass buckle. The skin is torn about 2" from the cartridge box. Provenance includes the retained copy of a June 23, 1980 letter sent by collector Thomas J. Wnuck to dearer Dr. Maurice R. Connor of Brandywine Valley Antiques in Chadds Ford, Pa. asking for the history of the cartridge box. Maurice, who also was an industrialist, replies in a June 27, 1980 letter (also included) that the box had come from his personal collection, found by one of his buyers in Michigan. He further notes: "...The relics were also sought after by the Dearborn Museum, but my buyer secured them for me...". Also present is a ca. 1960s paper inventory tag describing the piece and indicating that it had been in Conner's collection since 1966: "...when it was obtained from a well known Michigan Collection. Had been much sought after by the Ford Foundation Museum...Ethan Allen was an Ancestor of June Boyd Conner [Dr. Conner's wife]..." A copy of an 1857 newspaper column indicates that Ethan Allen's grand-daughter lived in Mill Point, Michigan and possessed the general's sword, so it is entirely possible that the cartridge box came from her estate as well. Conner collected for over forty years before his death in 1985. Sold with an unrelated set of two embossed holsters attached with a broad strap at top and adjustable strap at bottom, we suspect intended to be draped about the neck of a horse, ca. 1830s.

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May 24, 2016 10:30 AM EDT
Chesapeake City, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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