- The Barbara Johnson Collection of Scrimshaw and Whaling Artifacts.
The Barbara Johnson Collection of Scrimshaw and Whaling Artifacts.
Ephemera.
Rafael Osona, ( 1993), Nantucket
4to. 70, (2) pp. b/w ills.
Price: $25
Barbara Johnson was a legendary collector in several areas, whaling being one of them. Between her epochal 1981 Sotheby’s sale and the 1996 followup at Swann, Rafael Osona, Nantucket’s premiere auctioneer, had a go at some of Barbara’s scrim and whalecraft. There are 461 lots described in this catalog, many illustrated with photographs. Very good condition in illustrated wrappers. Much scarcer than catalogs of either of her two big auctions, and a useful supplement.