Bidspirit auction | OHIO PORTRAIT OF MERINO SHEEP

OHIO PORTRAIT OF MERINO SHEEP - ”Group of American Merinos owned by W. Robinson, Havanna, Huron Co. OHIO, ” graphite, charcoal, and ink on paper, unsigned. Five robust sheep against an agricultural landscape, titled below. In a period frame. 18” high, 27.5” wide (sight); 26.5” high, 39” wide (overall). Wesley Robinson was born in Coshocton County in 1823, after his family moved to Ohio from Washington, PA. When he was young, the family moved again, first to Marion, Ohio, before settling in Huron County. The tenth of eleven children, Wesley received little formal schooling, but he began buying and selling land as a young man, before marrying Mary Bennett in 1846. They had at least four children and continued to increase the size of their farm, and in the early 1870s, he bought a small flock of Merino sheep from Vermont, paying as much as two thousand dollars for a single sheep. He ultimately built a very profitable flock of more than 200 sheep. Merino sheep were prized for the quality of their wool and the fact that they were wrinkled, which increased the surface area of the sheep and thereby the wool yield. Ohio in the 19th century was a powerhouse of wool production, contributing vast quantities of wool to the production of Civil War uniforms among other things, and around the time Mr. Robinson purchased his first Merinos, there were just shy of 5,000,000 sheep in the state. (Today, the sheep population of the state is around 125,000.) He was the subject of a lengthy biographical sketch in the J.H. Beers & Co. Commemorative Biographical Record of the Counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio which was published in 1894 and included the following life lesson: ”Mr. Robinson, with all his wealth, has been a victim of losing several thousand dollars by signing notes for others; and his only reason for having this mentioned in the sketch is that it may be a warning to others never to sign an accommodation paper.” Wesley Robinson died in 1898 and is buried in Norwalk, Ohio. Provenance: an Ohio collection. NOTE: We are happy to answer questions and take additional photos of lots prior to the auction (the sooner submitted the better). Any updates or new photographs will be posted to the catalog on our website. Please check there prior to placing bids to ensure that you have the most up-to-date information. SHIPPING: We offer in-house shipping on all lots in this auction. Please see the terms for more information and contact us for a packing/shipping estimate. Condition: Toning, board burn mark vertically through the middle, losses to the margins (currently covered by the mat).