Last of the Heart Quilting Clamps, 19th Century Hand-forged, SOLD INDIVIDUALLY holy woman and one well well dressed

and one well well dressed mistress of ceremonies

8" x 5" black ink on faintly lined paper

so am thinking they were likely used by someone for selecting paper to use in a dollhouse

with light wear and a bit of paint loss in a couple of spots to the painted exterior and one tiny loose bit at lower right corner

which add to its objecthood

Last of the Heart Quilting Clamps, 19th Century Hand-forged, SOLD INDIVIDUALLY holy woman and one well well dressedBefore the holidays I was up in mid coast Maine for a show and purchased a couple of old handmade saws and an antique iron heart quilting clamp from a dealer who always has interesting things, all I believe having come from one collection. I then returned a few weeks ago to find that he had put out a few more one larger one that I sold last week and then this excellent matching pair! Quilting clamps were are used on a quilting frame to hold fabric