SOLD 1817-18 Hand-painted Rewards of Merit with Watercolors and Incredible Hand-sewn Mends antique ink drawing and certainly with well more

and certainly with well more than a hundred years on it I have to think it has opened some letters bearing pretty sad news

I believe our Willis likely lived on a farm in Port Jefferson in Suffolk County

with a hole at the tip of the middle finger for hanging

and a minor flaw in the paper (not a tear) resulting in a faint horizontal line that runs across the middle of the vulture's body

SOLD 1817-18 Hand-painted Rewards of Merit with Watercolors and Incredible Hand-sewn Mends antique ink drawing and certainly with well moreI am COMPLETELY in love with these, and especially the top one in the first photo, with this marvelous watercolor border, fabulous urn of flowers watercolor on reverse, and the most incredible hand sewn mending I've ever seen. Just look at that! All these tiny tiny cream thread stitches that repaired two tears long long ago, telling us that this was a very very prized reward of merit indeed! It is a bit ironic that someone more recently decided a