I surely would not much have enjoyed living in the 1830s, but I'm invariably smitten with the naive watercolors and ink drawings and cut paper love tokens of that decade, especially. This one, which appears to have been given to an Edmund Hawley of Norfolk (CT I believe) from an Alanson Bunnel on Dec. 2, 1831, is lovely example, combining cut paper hearts and diamonds (made by folding the paper) and ink-drawn flowers and flourishes. I've turned up one Edmund Hawley of Norfolk in a record that shows him to have lived for just two years (1820-22), which makes me wonder if this was made as a momento mori--and indeed there is a feeling about it that suggests hearts fluttering up to heaven. I can't be sure, but quite a tender feeling thing whatever the case, and I love that Hawley is written in the possessive, and if this were Edmund's heart itself.
7 7/8" x 7 9/16". Very good condition for being nearly 200 years old, with no tears to the paper. Some scattered stains and light toning, including some glue/rubber cement on the back side top corners that shows through a bit, but I don't think detracts at all. I photographed it against black foam core that I found it mounted to with clear; it is now safely loose from that, but I'll send them together.
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