Vintage Stephen Gibbs Nantucket Purse, circa 1960s

Vintage Stephen Gibbs Nantucket Purse, circa 1960s, an oval covered Nantucket basket with cane weave on oak staves, shaped wooden swing handle  attached to rim with turned whale tooth knobs, turned whale tooth peg and clasp, and having a scrimshaw carved whale tooth sperm whale by Nancy Chase atop a rosewood top plate,  stamped S. Gibbs, Maker, Nantucket, Mass on the oak bottom plate.

The basket remains in excellent color and condition.

Stephen Gibbs (1896 -1974) and his wife Loretta operated a basket shop for 20 years on Madaket Road where they made and sold lightship baskets. Prior to his basket work Stephen Gibbs was an accomplished woodworker and builder on Nantucket, giving him the knowledge to make all of the components for his baskets. After suffering a heart attack, he turned to the less physical work of making Nantucket baskets.

Although it is said that Gibbs was mainly self-taught, he was introduced to basketry as a small boy when his mother upon occasion had him bring supper to Mitchy Ray, the well known third generation Nantucket basket maker. He was one of the first generation of baskets makers in the post-lightship “purse period, following closely behind Jose Reyes, and wove baskets for 20 years from 1954 until he passed away in 1974. His baskets are among the finest woven and highest quality of that time period, using oak for his staves and taking great care and precision in his craftsmanship. He frequently placed a long ivory clasp to hold the peg on his purses (now somewhat of a trademark his baskets). He is regarded as the finest of the early makers and one of the best makers ever.

 Nancy Chase (1931 – 2016) was a life-long Nantucket resident and descendant of whaling captains, carpenters, Chases and Coffins. She practiced her craft at          her shop on Cobble Court (so named because her mother was picking up cobbles when she went into labor with Nancy) for over fifty years.

Learning to carve in wood while still a child, Chase took her first piece of ivory, a piece    of whale jawbone given to her by her grandfather, and carved it into a map of Nantucket. The piece eventually graced the top of her mother’s lightship basket purse. Her career truly began when William Coffin, owner of Coffin Pharmacy where Nancy was working as a soda jerk, asked her to carve ivory sperm whale pins to sell to tourists. Years later, her carvings caught the eye of José Reyes, maker of the famous friendship         basket purses with their scrimshaw decorations. Reyes approached Nancy to make 100 three-inch whales for the tops of his baskets. She agreed, eventually leaving her job at the Pacific National Bank to complete the order.

Deciding to turn her craft into a business, she opened Ivory Shop on Cobble Court with life-long friend Norma Minstrell. Known for the custom basket top ornaments she did for Reyes and other basket makers, her intricate carvings soon became favorites of tourists and lightship basket collectors. Some of her finest collaborations were with her sister, basket maker Susan Chase Ottison.

Tired of carving whales, Nancy was eager to try anything her clients could dream up. She carved everything from the usual maps of Nantucket and seagulls, to the exotic and whimsical. The latter included hippos that swim on the top of the basket lid while their tummies are seen underneath, a minuscule bouquet of daffodils, and a miniature tool box complete with a working set of tools. Beyond basket tops, Chase also carved everything from jewelry to figurines, cane tops to boxes. Today, Nancy is also remembered as the artist behind most of the ivory plaques and awards still given on the Island.

Measures: 6-1/2 in H x 8-1/2 in L x 6-1/4 in W