(ART) (FOLK ART) Calligraphic presentation note created by

Sale 1961 - Lot 77

Price Realized: $ 489

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 600 - $ 900

(ART.) (FOLK ART.) Calligraphic presentation note, created by a prisoner to accompany a gift. The lettering blocked in red, 8 1/2x6 inches; browned overall, scattered stains, some minor paper loss from oxidation; with an inked note at the top, "W. S. Penitentiary April 15th 1843." Pennsylvania, 1843

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Note reads, "To the Honourable Mr. Judge Lewes. A Tooth Picker for my Lord to pick his teeth withal. Thy servant Washington made for my Lord the Judge in my cell with an old knife and hasp."
Eastern State Penitentiary was the brainchild of the Quakers who got funding to build a facility for 250 prisoners in 1821. All inmates were held in solitary, allowing them the opportunity to reflect on their sins. Charles Dickens saw this prison during his American visit in 1841 and wrote in his American Notes that he thought it was a cruel place.