Tim,
The horn has had a few "bumps" along the way. The spout has a couple cracks, but fortunately the owner taped it tight, rather than cut off the damaged outer end. Same for the horn's base. It must have been dropped once or twice, since it has two cracked areas, both pinned in place many years ago and the cracks later propagated to break off small pieces... but fortunately the earlier added small pins retained the two small pieces. When found, the horn had the same "antique" black tape around the base, covering the cracked area, but that tape was removed to expose the basal carving underneath. Despite minor damage, the horn is complete with no surface losses, and only minimal bag wear on back near the fishmouth "V" that didn't touch any major carving. This is a great example of a developing Stark Tansel horn, very well cut, but his artistic ability to depict certain figures was not yet mastered.
Afterthought - I think this horn was still being used up until about 1900 in North Carolina, based on the tape used to stop leaks and keep the horn functional. The tape sure wasn't added to beautify the horn!
I am attaching a picture of the butt, which has an original, heavily rusted, forged staple.
Shelby Gallien
