Nine lots of scrimshaw collected by the late Nantucket resident Thomas H. Gosnell sparked spirited bidding at Northeast Auction’s annual Marine, China Trade, Sporting and Historical Americana auction this past weekend, August 21′2.
The cache of carving, which grossed $592,478 including premium, included a sperm whale’s tooth engraved by Fred Myrick with a portrait of the ship Susan of Nantucket. It sold for $200,600 against a $100/150,000 estimate. Another tooth, engraved by Caleb Albro with a portrait of the ship John Coggeshall of Newport, R.I., made $106,200.
Both went by phone to Hyannis Port, Mass., dealer Hyland Granby, who late in the day added James Bard’s portrait of Cornelius Vanderbilt’s steam yacht, the North Star, to its tab for $118,000.
Auctioneer Ron Bourgeault put the tally for his two-day sale at roughly $3 million. A complete review of the auction will appear in a future issue.