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This one has been on my backlog for quite a while now. I was going through some of my old e-mails and came across this item. Anyway, here it is:

Back in 2011, as I was compulsively rummaging around on craigslist looking for another Whitney saw to add to the collection, I came across this ad for a weathervane:

 

ANTIQUE 1880’S HORSE WEATHERVANE – $3500 (INDIAN WELLS)


Date: 2011-10-17, 9:50AM PDT
Reply to: sale-usutb-2654271745@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]


 

THIS HORSE WEATHERVANE WAS ONE OF A MATCHED PAIR THAT CAME OFF AN OLD BARN OWNED BY BAXTER D. WHITNEY CO. IN WINCHENDON, MASS. THIS BARN WAS AN OLD MACHINERY COMPANY AND WAS USED FOR PATTERNS STORAGE. THE BARN WAS ESTIMATED TO BE OVER 100 YEARS OLD. THIS EXCEPTIONAL WEATHERVANE WAS PURCHASED FROM THE KENNEBUNKPORT MARITIME MUSEUM IN KENNEBUNKPORT, MASS. IN 1988.

THIS REGAL HORSE CAN BE DISPLAYED INDOORS OR OUTDOORS. WHEREVER THIS HORSE IS IT ALWAYS ATTRACTS ATTENTION. A MAGNIFICENT PIECE OF FOLK ART. IT MEASURES APPROX. 40 INCHES LONG AND 43 INCHES HIGH

SERIOUS BUYERS ONLY PLEASE. CALL (xxx)- xxx-xxxx

  • Location: INDIAN WELLS
  • it’s NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

Although I was not exactly a serious buyer, I went ahead and contacted the seller. A few days later I got an e-mail from the buyer with a bunch of photos:

The seller supplied a phone number so I called and asked how they knew this piece originated from the Whitney complex in Winchendon. They explained that the weathervane was acquired from the Kennebunkport Maritime Museum in 1988. They were even able to produce a copy of the letter from the KMM giving some level of provenance for the weathervane:

Of particular interest to me was the statement that the weathervane came off a barn used to store patterns. This is interesting since I knew that the bulk of the patterns from Whitney ended up being moved from Winchendon to Greensboro, North Carolina in the 1950’s after Newman acquired Whitney. The patterns were stored in the attic of the Newman engineering building until it was demolished in 2012. At that time they were moved to an undisclosed location in SW PA (along with untold amounts of documentation, literature and photos dating back to the early days of Whitney’s operation in Winchendon).

I poured over all of the historical photos I could find of the Whitney operation in Winchendon. I couldn’t find any with a barn or similar building with the weathervane. In fact, the only photo I could find of a barn with a horse weather vane was the one below:

I ended up not pursuing this item, but would still like to find some historical evidence that it was once on a Whitney building in Winchendon.  I’d appreciate hearing from anyone that possesses or has access to historical photos from Winchendon.

 

Thanks for looking.

-the owwm

One Response to “Which ever way the wind blows”

  1. Bill Thomas says:

    Arthur,
    without actually driving over to Winchendon to confirm, I think that might be the house that is now the Winchendon Historical society. Whether it was once owned by Whitney or not, I don’t know.

    Bill

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