September 26, 2018 O'Connor's Americana Collection
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 9/26/2018
This historic horn is inscribed: "IONATHAN"
"CONANT 1749".
All of the decoration and lettering on this horn is contained in panels. Three whimsical animals, including what appears to be a camel and a deer, decorate this horn. An intricate one inch border decoration of stylized leaves and vines is located at the plug. This theme carries over into the body of the horn.
This horn is fitted with a flat, softwood plug. The plug is secured with five wooden pins. The spout has an inlaid pewter tip. There are two carved rings below the spout. It measures 11 - 1/2" overall.
There are four sheets of paper and eight pages of text from a small 3 - 5/8" by 6" diary written by Jonathan Conant that exist. They had been found in a New Hampshire house along with a US surcharged long land Brown Bess. Provided with the horn are color photographs of this diary. Among other things, the diary mentions the battles of Saratoga, Benington, Brunswick, White Marsh, and the 18th of June, 1778 "the enemy having left Philadelphia we left our winter quarters pursuing them as far as Monmouth at which place on the 28th we attacked them".
A Muster Roll and Pay Roll of soldiers in Capt House's Company and Col Cilley's Regiment Mustered March 17 1777 from REVOLUTIONARY ROLLS includes Jonathan Conant. An additional Muster Roll from September 1776 from the State of New Hampshire lists him as being among "being all able bodied effective men".
Walter attributed this horn to the carver Stephen Parks. Parks was a farmer in Lincoln Massachusetts. His son, Willard Parks, was listed as a member of the Lincoln Minute Man Company on the 19th of April, 1775 "when the shot was fired that was heard around the world". Willard Parks carried a horn carved by his father at Concord Bridge. An additional Stephen Parks horn, which is in the collection of the Concord Antiquarian Society, is believed to have been used at Concord Bridge.
Condition: Very Good. Nice warm patina. There are several small cracks in the horn at the plug. A 1/4" strip of pewter is missing from the inlay at the tip. Some minor chips and loss are also present on the rings below the spout.