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Historic Carved Powder Horn

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Militaria Start Price:2,500.00 USD Estimated At:6,000.00 - 8,000.00 USD
Historic Carved Powder Horn
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Historic Carved Powder Horn. Important piece of American frontier history. Carved by a talented frontier dentist named Dr. T.S. Hitchcock to commemorate famed Civil War General, George H. Thomas. Intricately carved powder horn with scenes of the General on his horse, Indian with dog, and floral and scroll motifs that wrap around to give the impression that the horn is twisted. Brass spout and wood plug carved in the shaped of a buffalo head. Carved into the rim at the plug end: “CARVED BY DR T S HITCHCOCK OSWEGO NY”. 17" overall. Circa mid-to-late 1800s. The horn on the buffalo head has been cracked and re-glued, otherwise excellent condition.

Literature: The History of Dental Surgery: Biographies of Pioneer American Dentists and their Successors, by Burton Lee Thorpe. A biography of Theron Sylvester Hitchcock appears on page 560. He is listed as an "Artistic carver in wood, bone and ivory, and collector of antiques." Page 567 has images of his carved powder horns.

George Henry Thomas (1816 - 1870)
United States Army officer and Union General during the Civil War, he was one of the principal commanders in the Western Theater. Thomas had a successful record in the Civil War, but he failed to achieve the historical acclaim of some of his contemporaries, such as Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman. He developed a reputation as a slow, deliberate general who shunned self-promotion and who turned down advancements in position when he did not think they were justified. After the war, he did not write memoirs to advance his legacy. He also had an uncomfortable personal relationship with Grant, which served him poorly as Grant advanced in rank and eventually to the presidency. He died of a stroke in San Francisco, where he was assigned to command the Military Division of the Pacific. Thomas is memorialized on the 1890 $5 Treasury Note, one of 53 people depicted on United States banknotes.

Theron Sylvester Hitchcock, M.D.S. (1830 - ?)
T.S. Hitchcock was a frontier dentist who began his studies in Syracuse, NY, moved to Montana, Salt Lake City, then Denver. After which he “had some experience in the Indian war in Kansas.” He returned to Syracuse, but ultimately went West again, going to Los Angeles, Tucson and then Omaha. Eventually he made his way to Europe. He retired from dentistry and travel, and “…of late years Dr. Hitchcock has put in his leisure time in carving on horns, of which he now possesses some twenty. These have taken years of patient work. On them he carves historical and alligorical [sic] scenes. This is slow and tedious work, though much of it he did with his dental engine. This carving has developed his hands and wrists so he can use his left hand as well as his right hand. His other carvings in bone, ivory and wood, are remarkable… Dr. Hitchcock says, “I was nearly a year at work on ‘The Judgement of Paris’ and about the same time on ‘The Buffalos and Indians.’ ”

--From “History of Dental Surgery: Biographies of Pioneer American Dentists and Their Successors,” by Burton Lee Thorpe, M.D., D.D.S., National Art Publishing Company, 1909. Pages 560-568.