A rare and intimate look into the domestic and professional life of one of New England’s most prominent families. These items bridge the gap between the utilitarian needs of a colonial household and the refined possessions of the Bartlett family descendants.

This lot comprises: a carved wood shoe last, a collection of shoe buckles and harness buttons, six pocket watch keys, and a group of cast and forged ironware, including a tea kettle, a two-prong fork, a lockplate and powder horn, and a horse bit, all identified to the Bartlett Family. Concord, New Hampshire, 18th/19th century. Largest approx. 9 3/4 x 1 3/4 x 2 1/4 inches (shoe last).

Of note within the collection is a carved wood shoe last  stamped with the monogram CB to the heel. This mark suggests possible use for Charles Josiah Bartlett (1806-1888), a merchant and farmer in Haverhill, New Hampshire. Charles was the grandson of Founding Father Josiah Bartlett (1729-1795), a delegate to the Continental Congress, a governor of New Hampshire, and a signatory to both the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation.

The presence of the shoe last pays tribute to the Bartlett family history in the trade; Josiah’s father, Stephen (1691–1773), was a shoemaker in Amesbury, Massachusetts. During this era, lasts were typically hand-carved from maple or beech. Notably, this specimen represents the period of "straight-lasted" footwear, designed to be interchangeable between the left and right feet before sided lasts became standardized in the early 19th century.

The collection also includes six pocket watch keys specifically identified to the Bartlett family. These keys are preserved within an embossed paper cover inscribed "Ella Bartlett / Kingston, N.H" and affixed with two one-cent stamps dating to the 1870s.

Ella Aroline Bartlett (1846-1906), the great-granddaughter of Josiah Bartlett through his son Levi, is recorded in the 1866 IRS Tax Assessment lists as the owner of a "Gold Watch." While it is uncertain if these specific keys operated that watch, they represent a pivotal era in timekeeping. Key-wound watches were the standard until the mid-19th century, when the stem-wound mechanism—invented by Adrien Philippe in 1842—began to render traditional keys obsolete.

[Colonial America]