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| D09-198. LOCAL HISTORY! "Joseph Cutter . . . Of the 'Ark' Jaffrey N.H." was typed on a slip of paper that is pinned to the red silk sixth size pad opposite the male subject who was the son of Joseph and Phoebe (Gage) Cutter. Please read the information I have copied from a website after a Google search: "'Joe Cutter's built himself an ark!' was the good-natured banter of the towns people in Jaffrey back in the summer of 1808, and it was worth the trip out to the foot of Mount Monadnock to see the farmhouse whose measurements were bigger than the town meeting house! Raised as a farmhouse, "The Ark" offered hospitality as an "early American Inn" for nearly one hundred years. Today, owned by the Monadnock Christian Conference Center, Inc. under the direction of Dann Bryant, the property comprises over one hundred acres at an elevation of 1180 feet above sea level. The land had been "Cutter property" ever since Joe Cutter's father, Joe Cutter Sr., ventured into Jaffrey scarcely more than a decade after the first permanent settler. He and his wife built a homestead and raised ten children between 1777 and 1793, all the while buying more and more land around the base of the mountain and clearing it for pasturage. As the largest landowner in town, he paid a fifteen-dollar tax! In 1804, Joseph Cutter Sr. divided his farm amongst his sons and moved to town for the more spirited life of a taverner. On land one hundred feet south west of the original Cutter homestead, Joe Jr. Raised his own farmhouse, commodious by the standards of any day. Actually, only twelve rooms were completed at first on the South end of the house. The North end was devoted to wood and wagon sheds. Overhead was an enormous "open chamber". It is said that the month-old nephew of Joseph Cutter was carried to the ridgepole when the sturdy frame of "The Ark" was raised - a ceremony that allegedly brought good luck to the house and good fortune to the baby. Six children were born to Joseph and Phoebe (Gage) Cutter at "The Ark". All but one grew to adulthood, but none remained to carry on the farm. In 1873, the place was put up for auction. Joel Hobart Poole, a grandnephew of Joseph Cutter Jr., bought the house and 100 acres of land for $1500. He and Mrs. Poole, gradually restored the farmhouse, which by then, had been vacant for a number of years and neglected." Another typed notation found underneath Phoebe's dag reads: "Phoebe Gage Cutter wife of Capt. Joseph Cutter of Jaffery (sic) N.H." She and her husband's sixth plates were taken on the same day by a rural daguerreotypist who used very heavy plate stock that was bent back on four sides and had clipped corners. No hallmarks were visible. It is interesting to note that both subjects were posed identically and the lighting was similar yet Mrs. Cutter stares at us from a cold toned almost blue surface while Joseph's example is much warmer. Since someone many years ago broke the old gut seals and cleaned the surfaces, in theory I could say that the woman was more harshly scoured and the gold chloride was removed. I don't think that is the reason. The operator's chemistry was most likely the cause, differing radically between the two portraits. The couple's plates are framed by unique paper mats that at first inspection appear to be identical. However, hers has a raised impression while his is deeply embossed. They are kept in two of the strangest dag cases I have ever seen. Mr. Cutter's intact box has a lovely tan silk pad inside. His wife's is apart and there is a plain red flannel fabric opposite her. Joseph their son is also resealed and his surface was cleaned previously. The condition of all three pieces is less than perfect. The information is quite fascinating. $550 for the three |
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