folk-art-cane-carved-by-virginia-confederate-veteran-thomas-jefferson-craddock
Lot 197
Folk Art Cane Carved by Virginia Confederate Veteran Thomas Jefferson Craddock
Lot Details & Additional Photographs
Carved and stained wood, the sides reading in high relief, "THOS. JEFFERSON / OF VA WAS PRESIDENT / USA 1801 & 1809 WROTE / DECLARATION OF / INDEPENDENCE / BORN APRIL 13, 1743 / DIED JULY 4, 1826 / CANE WAS CUT FROM JEFFERSON TOOMB; interspersed in the preceding text are animal figures to include dogs, fish, a turtle, a goat, a chicken, a rabbit and a large serpent twisting upwards towards a 13-star flag.

35-1/2 in.

From the Estate of the late Jay Neal Morton, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Sixteen year-old Thomas Jefferson Craddock of Milton, Virginia enlisted in Co. "I" 5th Virginia Cavalry, C.S.A. on April 1,1863. He survived the war and his wounds to collect a Virginia soldier's pension and become a celebrated folk artist. His canes, which commemorate the life and works of President Thomas Jefferson, were fashioned from wood collected in the vicinity of Jefferson's tomb. Today they may be found in collections, both public and private.

Some light wear to high points, possibly as made; very good estate condition.