Dated 1776
Revolutionary War Soldier’s Pocketbook.....SOLD 

Wool needlework, stitched with the name I(J)AMES BOYSE LONDONDERRY. (NH) (17)76. Research shows that James Boyse of Londonderry enlisted to serve in the American Revolution on November 14, 1776. It is unknown if Boyse carried this pocketbook with him in battle, regardless it is a rarely found object created in that historic year that we can link definitively to a Revolutionary War soldier. During the revolution, the overwhelming majority of Londonderry residents were decidedly on the side of the patriot cause, with some of their men serving at first at Bunker Hill and to the end of the war at Yorktown.

Although I haven’t been able to determine if Boyse served under him, at the least Boyse had to know the famous General John Stark, another Londonderry resident, who led attacks that cost the British nearly 1,000 men and contributed to the surrender of the British general John Burgoyne at Saratoga.

Very good condition with minor losses to the wool, fraying, and the typical wear to the interior silk lining. Bears the label of Mrs. Dean Fales, prominent in the antiques community decades ago, who’s husband authored The Furniture of Historic Deerfield and American Painted Furniture 1660-1880. Closed about 9 inches long x 4 ½ tall; open about 8 ½ tall. From a private New England collection.