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Lot Essay
Jack Tar was a mythical sailor whose likeness was used as a ship's chandler sign. This particular example relates to several figures by Samuel Robb, including a signed figure of an Indian woman in the collection of the New-York Historical Society and a signed figure of a fireman in the collection of the Home Insurance Company. These figures are illustrated by Frederick Fried, Artists in Wood (New York, 1970), p. 198, figs. 171 and 172. The three sculptures share many similarities including the expressive upturned facial carving, and the finely executed details to the clothing. The high quality of the workmanship is evident in the present figure, especially in the jaunty stance and the positioning of the arms and legs.
Samuel Anderson Robb (1851-1928) was born in Brooklyn into a family of Scottish carpenters and shipcarvers. As a teenager, he was an apprentice to Thomas V. Brooks for five years, and soon thereafter found employment in the workshop of William Demuth. Encouraged by his employer, Robb studied at the National Academy of Design, taking courses in drawing from life. He was accepted into the Free Night School program at the Cooper Union School of Art and graduated 6th in a class of 36 students. In 1876, Robb opened his workshop at 195 Canal Street, and became a highly successful carver of striking and original trade figures. He became particularly well-known for the high quality of his carving and his prodigious output. Following Thomas V. Brooks move to Chicago, Robb became the most sought-after carver in New York City, producing nearly 200 figures per year. Robb acquired large orders for circus wagon sides and circus figures from Adam Forepaugh and Barnum, Bailey and Hutchinson, and soon opened a second workshop on Centre Street. In the 1890s, as city ordinances required that all tobacconist figures be removed from sidewalks and confined to shop interiors, the trade figure business gradually slowed to a halt. Samuel Robb closed his shop in 1910 and moved to Philadelphia, where he became a coachbuilder for the Ford Motor Company. He returned to New York in 1919 and died at the age of 77 in 1928.
For figures attributed to or associated with the workshop of Samuel Robb, please see lots 26, 27, 33, 47, 51, and 60
Samuel Anderson Robb (1851-1928) was born in Brooklyn into a family of Scottish carpenters and shipcarvers. As a teenager, he was an apprentice to Thomas V. Brooks for five years, and soon thereafter found employment in the workshop of William Demuth. Encouraged by his employer, Robb studied at the National Academy of Design, taking courses in drawing from life. He was accepted into the Free Night School program at the Cooper Union School of Art and graduated 6th in a class of 36 students. In 1876, Robb opened his workshop at 195 Canal Street, and became a highly successful carver of striking and original trade figures. He became particularly well-known for the high quality of his carving and his prodigious output. Following Thomas V. Brooks move to Chicago, Robb became the most sought-after carver in New York City, producing nearly 200 figures per year. Robb acquired large orders for circus wagon sides and circus figures from Adam Forepaugh and Barnum, Bailey and Hutchinson, and soon opened a second workshop on Centre Street. In the 1890s, as city ordinances required that all tobacconist figures be removed from sidewalks and confined to shop interiors, the trade figure business gradually slowed to a halt. Samuel Robb closed his shop in 1910 and moved to Philadelphia, where he became a coachbuilder for the Ford Motor Company. He returned to New York in 1919 and died at the age of 77 in 1928.
For figures attributed to or associated with the workshop of Samuel Robb, please see lots 26, 27, 33, 47, 51, and 60