This is my favorite find of the week and, in fact, one of my favorite things ever--and one I'll be very glad to frame up and keep in my own collection forever. It is a Mount Lebanon Shaker uncut sheet of labels, letterpress printed on thin, best blue paper, c. mid 19th century. I love antique Shaker labels in general, but for me this is in a class of its own, feeling like pure found/accidental poetry, and with a spelling error to boot. With "Between" starting off the list--the absolute right, perfectly ambiguous word floating there alone, then coming around again to describe shirting fabric that is neither fine nor common; between. And then the "Crude" in Crude Tartar feels as if another level/strata in the fine to between to common (to crude) spectrum, aptly placed at the bottom. All in just the best all capitals, and with a slight variation to the left justification that breathes even more life into it. Almost feels like a 19th century Jenny Holzer.
I know this came from the collection of major Shaker collectors Faith and Edward Andrews. I purchased it from DeWolfe and Wood in Alfred, Maine, who handle a lot of Shaker material.
6 7/16" x 5", very good condition, clean and crisp, with tiny tiny tiny tear to upper right corner.
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