Oil on canvas (lined), unsigned, the woman depicted seated beside a table laden with books and a vase of flowers, a paisley shaw draped across her chair, presented in a later gilt frame.

Accompanying the lot is an 1856 printing of The Holy Bible by the American Bible Society in New York, in gilt lettering on the cover it reads "M. J. Palmer / From Her Father / H. J. H. Meyers."

Frame dimensions 43 x 35 1/2 in.

According to the will of Henry H. J. Myers of Ellisburgh, Jefferson County, New York, on October 5, 1857, he directs "his executors to purchase a large family Bible, worth ten dollars, to be given to his daughter, Margaret J. Palmer."

Margaret Jane Palmer was married to Hunloke Woodruff Palmer and died in 1895.

Restoration and retouch visible under UV light; area of retouch to sitter's hand visible in natural light; some shelf wear to Bible.