My book chapter entitled “Unlocking the Mysteries of the Wilkinson Limner” for Expressions of Innocence and Eloquence, Selections from the Jane Katcher Collection of Americana, Vol. II is scheduled to be released this October. See Katcher website for details here. Book is available for pre-order from Yale University Press here. Selections from the Katcher Collection of Americana  which I have also researched will be on view at the Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY, October 1 through December 31. Visit www.fenimoreartmuseum.org.

Bad Counterfeit versus Good Counterfeit: Lyman Parks and his “Funny Money”

Book and Paper Expo, May 7, 2011 at 11 am. Shriner’s Auditorium, Wilmington, MA

Prior to 1862 when the Federal Government started regulating paper currency, the only legal tender in this country was gold, silver and copper coins. By the 1810s coinage was so scarce banks began to commission their own bank notes in lieu of cash. Each bank adopted their own unique design for their notes as well as decided what denomination they would issue. The actual notes were printed by independent engravers whose plates sometimes went missing. Paper was not standardized either. Internal control of currency was just as loosely maintained. Although each note was individually numbered and signed by the cashier and the bank president, records of what was actually issued were not always closely monitored. All these variations provided a myriad of opportunities for the counterfeiters aka koniackers to ply their trade.

In the course of this illustrated lecture, attendees will learn how to assess if a bank note is genuine or not and hear new research about Lyman Parks, one of the most accomplished counterfeiters of the 1830s.

Image courtesy of the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, MA. In 1853, an Act of Commonwealth was passed so counterfeit bank bills would be stamped or marked counterfeit along with the name of the bank and the initials of the officer making the stamp or notation.

Piscataqua Decorative Arts Society, Portsmouth, NH

“The Case of the Missing Family Heirloom: a Copley Pastel of a Boston Bride”

In this lecture, I will retrace the journey of this dazzling beauty from the 2003 auction of the collection of San Francisco antique dealers Ted and Toine Samuel, held at Sotheby’s in New York, to a mansion home in Portsmouth NH and finally to the Boston studio of John Singleton Copley (1738-1815).

Attributed John Singleton Copley
Pastel on laid paper, mounted on canvas
Original Boston frame with gilded pewter corner motif
Dimensions including frame: 27 ½ x 22 1/4 inches
Private collection