Humphrey Gray Secretaire Bookcase, Australian Colonial Cedar, 1835

The Humphrey Gray Secretaire Bookcase, rare and important…
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The Humphrey Gray Secretaire Bookcase, rare and important Australian Colonial Cedar, Tasmanian origin, circa 1835, 232 cm high, 124 cm wide, 58 cm deep. provenance: Orginally made for wealthy free settler Humphrey Gray (1784-1868) who emergrated to Van Diemens Land 1826 and settled in Northern Tasmania (Avoca). Humphrey married Catherine Mahoney (1779-1847) and the bookcase was then passed to their daughter Lysbeth and thence by family descent to George Hamilton Dougharty, Francis Dougharty, Elizabeth Gray, George Hamilton Dougharty and Nancy Hummeston. Purchased by current vendor from Sotheby's Australia 'Important Australian Colonial Furniture and Works of Art, Heronswood House, Moss Vale, New South Wales' 14th October 1989, lot number 49 for $112,000.

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  • Provenance - A term used to describe the provable history of an antique or work of art, and thus an additional aid to verifying its authenticity. Provenance can have an inflating effect on the price of an item, particularly if the provenance relates to the early settlement of Australia, a famous person, or royalty. Less significant are previous sales of the item through an auction house or dealer.
  • Circa - A Latin term meaning 'about', often used in the antique trade to give an approximate date for the piece, usually considered to be five years on either side of the circa year. Thus, circa 1900 means the piece was made about 1900, probably between 1895 and 1905. The expression is sometimes abbreviated to c.1900.

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