A story about a Portsmouth, New Hampshire artist, John S. Blunt (1798-1835)
by Martin Willis
I came from a town right outside of a small New Hampshire historical harbor city, Portsmouth. It was first settled in 1630 and has wonderful early brick architecture and early wooden homes and structures. It is a treasure trove of regional antiques of all sorts. There are many renowned pieces originating from Portsmouth, including exceptional furniture in the Colonial & Federal era. My father was lucky enough to buy a historical waterfront home that was built in 1672. When he bought the property, it was loaded full of period antiques, which he sold at auction for the owners for a whopping $40,000 in the early 1970s. That was a very big auction then. To compare the scale of it, my father bought the real estate for $30,000.