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MEIBOHM FINE ARTS, INC. is pleased to be serving the community and art enthusiasts for over a century. A reputation for personalized attention and customer service is an important part of this family business. Residential and commercial clients benefit from our knowledge of the art world, our experience in quality custom framing and from our extensive inventory. We hope we can be of service to you.

Please check back often for our future listings on eBay or put us in your "Favorite Sellers" list. We have thousands of Antique, Vintage, Mid Century & Contemporary Prints, Original Artwork, and Etchings etc, that are in our archives, and most of which have not seen the Light-of-Day in over 75+ years or more. Thank you for looking, happy bidding and good luck!!!

-From Grace Meibohm & the Staff at Meibohm Fine Arts, Inc.

QUALITY CODE: (Note: Older paintings or original artwork of any kind may be rated somewhat differently based on the codes below, due to the normal aging properties of the different mediums used (ex: normal paint cracquelure with older paintings, toning of paper, foxing on older pieces, etc...).

·	Excellent+	Museum Quality, with no damage or visible imperfections.
·	Excellent	Almost perfect given the age w/minimal imperfections,minimal blemishes.
·	VeryGood	Above average w/minor imperfections given the age, or minor blemishes.
·	Good	Average imperfections given the age, or moderate imperfections or wear.
·	Fair	Below average with more imperfections given the age, or with more wear.
·	BelowGrade	With clear imperfections and/or possibly in need of minor restoration.
·	BelowGrade-	With clear imperfections and/or possibly in need of serious restoration.

RARITY CODE:

·	Rare++	Unique, one of a kind, or an original on the open market.
·	Rare+	Very uncommon and/or very difficult to find on the open market.
·	Rare	Uncommon and/or moderately difficult to find on the open market.
·	Popular	Frequently encountered, common and easy to find on the open market.

All Measurements Are In Inches; Height Precedes Width.

Note: All items are sold "AS IS/AS DESCRIBED", to the best of our knowledge, research and ability.

Here is an Absolutely Gorgeous & Mega-Ultra-Rare Long OOP (Out-of-Print) Vintage Mid Century c1940s ‘Medium-Large Format’ Offset Halftone Lithographic Print Depicting a Dramatic Western Scene of Two Freighter/Teamster Cowboys Driving a 12-Horse Jerk-line Team/Rig (or “G-String”) That Are Pulling Three Heavy Freightwagons Chained End-to-End, with the Lead Driver/Freighter/Skinner Jerking the Lead Span Quickly Back on Course to the Main Trail Road Before Disaster Strikes, and the Nigh-Wheeler Freighter Saddled on the First Horse of the Front Wagon, and Both Snapping Their Whips Like Rifle Reports! Titled, “The Jerk Line” (AKA “Jerk Line”), after the original 1912 oil painting by the world-famous listed painter & illustrator, ‘Charles Marion Russell’ (American, 1864-1926) whose printed signature, ‘Steer Skull’ monogram/logo & date, ‘CM Russell, 1912’, appears lower-left in the image corner. We Currently Also Have a ‘Large Format’ Vintage c1940s Print Version of C.M. Russell’s “Jerk Line” Listed, So Please Have a Look!

An Interesting Brief History of the Jerk-line Freight Teams: A “G-string” (or Gee string) more commonly referred to as a “Jerk-line,” was used to guide or steer the front left horse (or mule) known as the “leader”. The animals in a Jerk-line could either be horses or mules, or they could be mixed; however, they were most often all horses or all mules, and sometimes two lead horses and the rest mules though mules were preferred for the leaders. This is in contrast to the belief that horses and mules could not work side-by-side. The Jerk-line was connected to the outside bit ring of the leader’s bridle. In this manner, the whole team would be guided to the left or the right by a steady pull or a succession of jerks. The horses or mules were used in pairs and starting from the front: The left horse “leader” (or mule) of the lead span would then be connected to the right “off-leader’s” bit by a jockey stick (as illustrated in the Russell’s painting beneath the leaders’ heads) so that the right leader would be guided in the same direction as the left leader. Behind the lead team would be the “swings”, and each pair of horses, a “span,” in a team would be numbered; In the case of a twelve horse team (as illustrated in the painting), the second span would be the “tens,” the team behind it the “eights,” and so forth back to the next-to-the last span known as the “pointers” and the last span known as the “wheelers”. The left animals in the string were the near (or neigh), and the right ones, the off. Frequently, the teamster driver or “skinner” (or muleskinner) rather than riding on the lead wagon, would, as illustrated in the painting, ride the left wheel horse (or near wheeler) which would be saddled. While the lead driver steered the team, the pointers and the wheelers steered the lead wagon. The driver controlled the team by his jerk line, along with the brake line to the wagons, a long whip (16-feet long in some cases, AKA a black snake) and voice commands. It was not necessary to strike the animal with the whip, but only to make a loud crack above its head, causing the animals to fall into line. Every team had a set of bells attached above the collar of the leaders (some teams had several on various animals in the team) as illustrated in Russell’s painting. The bells had a dual function: first, to warn an approaching team from the other direction, and second, to set up rhythm by which the driver could tell if the team was pulling efficiently. A team returning empty would have to pull off trail when the bells were heard, to let the loaded team pass. Some say they could tell exactly who was approaching by the [particular] sound their bells made.

It has been speculated that the practice in the Americas of driving on the right-hand side of a highway was derived from early freighters riding or walking beside the left wheel horse. By walking or driving on the left side, the freighter could hold the jerk line, or in the case of oxen, hold the bull whip (Bullwhackers), and operate the brake on the left side of the vehicle with his right hand. Keeping the wagons to the right-side of the road assisted in passing oncoming wagons. Thus, by the Civil War, it was the uniform practice in the United States, as opposed to our British cousins, to ride on the right-hand side of a road. Early motor cars in the United States had the steering wheel on the curb side, but were soon moved to the left side. In a sense, therefore, while barreling down the U.S.’s transcontinental I-80, one is still guiding the left wheel horse. Freighters were an important group of skilled men and their teams were required to pull the giant freight wagons which brought tons of equipment, supplies, machinery, lumber and other gear into encampments, mining camps, towns and cities prior to the coming of the railroad in the U.S. and through the eventual completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869 and for some time afterward. Some freighters were even skilled enough to drive 24-Horse teams, but as soon as motorized trucks also began hauling freight to other outlying areas, the days of the teamsters’ freight wagons and mule teams soon came to an end. (Info adapted & rewritten in parts from: wyomingtalesandtrails site, online historical information & notes, “Grand Encampment From Wyoming Tales and Trails”; pasorobles site, “The makeup of a Jerkline Team”, Story and drawing by Keith Tarwater) About the Teamsters/Bull-Whackers/Skinners expertise and their high-precision, it was stated in the book, C.M.R. Charles M. Russell, Cowboy Artist: A Biography, by Austin Russell (the artist’s nephew), that: “They boasted they could snap a horsefly off the leader's eyelashes without making him wink and they could also lay a mule’s back open with one cut.”

Publisher & Print Info: I believe through research, this was one of the Brown & Bigelow’s later versions published in either 1940 or 1947, who originally held the copyright of this scene and many other Russell paintings that they reproduced over the years. Russell had a long and lucrative business relationship with Brown & Bigelow of St. Paul, MN from 1903 on. At the time, B&B were the largest calendar-printing firm in the world and they contracted with Russell for numerous paintings from $500 to $2,000 each which they reproduced in inexpensive color prints, that made the artist nationally revered and solidified his reputation. The earliest printing copyright by Brown & Bigelow found for this image by Russell was from 1913, and they continued to publish the image afterward with later copyright renewals (eg: 1919, 1940, 1947)—with our Print most-likely being either the later published 1940 and/or 1947 version from research. The publisher’s name & info is not printed on this particular Print though it may have been at one point, as the bottom outer margin edge was somewhat crudely trimmed back, likely in preparation to be framed, but was never framed. The title & artist name, ‘The Jerk Line, By Charles M. Russell’, appears printed lower-middle in the bottom outer margin area, and the image (in comparison to our other large format version) was slightly cropped-down by the publisher to likely fit this specific print size, though not much of Russell’s full size painting image area was lost and certainly doesn’t take away from the scene at all. The Print is on a nice heavier-weight smooth ivory-colored wove paper stock. Other vintage publishers also later reproduced this image over the subsequent years, but in small versions from what I found through research.

Size & Condition: The size with wide margins is 23-5/8” x 36”, Image size is 20” x 32”. The Print is in Excellent Rare+ condition for its vintage age with absolutely no color fade!—wonderful rich color & tones. This Print has been tucked away in our archive amongst other prints & lithos since it was purchased by the Meibohm family and hasn’t seen the light of day in all this time—it’s as beautiful as the day it was printed and is as ‘Mint’ as any collector could hope to find in its original never-framed condition. This will look gorgeous all framed-up and would make the perfect addition to any C.M. Russell or Western art collection! No tears & no foxing evident! No real or significant damage at all on this gorgeous Print with the tiny & basically negligible exceptions of: Extremely minimal (maybe a dozen or so) of very slight & small crescent-creases scattered here & there in the image area which aren’t even noticeable (except very lightly from the back) and aren’t even worth mentioning; Other extremely minimal & very slight small creases scattered here & there in the outer margin areas, and a few very small dog-ear bends in a few outer margin corners—all outer margin issues are completely negligible since they can easily be trimmed off or matted & framed out; And negligible/no real toning noticeable of the paper stock from age, especially amidst the ivory color of the paper stock itself. This vintage mid-century Collotype has never been framed which is always more desirable to collectors since it has never been exposed to older non-archival materials, matburn or lightfade.

DOMESTIC PAYMENTS: are made via PayPal (Preferred) and WE REQUIRE FULL PAYMENT WITHIN 4 DAYS OF AUCTION CLOSE, otherwise an 'Unpaid Item Dispute' will be opened & filed automatically by eBay. After that time period, we reserve the right to sell the artwork to another buyer or back-bidder and you will also be blocked from any of our future auctions.

Note: UPS covers up to the 1st $100.00. Please see 'Our Shipping Policy' below

*As a result of the newer sales tax laws, we must collect sales tax on all items (including S&H) that ship to: New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut and all others on the eBay list.

INTERNATIONAL PAYMENTS (IMPORTANT!!!): Payment is via PayPal ONLY, in $USD (United States Dollars) and no other form of payment will be accepted (NO W. Union, NO International M.O.'s (NO $ Orders), NO Cashiers Checks, NO Outside PayPal Bank Transfers). The 'Buyer' is completely responsible for any 'Currency Exchange' Fees. WE REQUIRE FULL PAYMENT WITHIN 4 DAYS OF AUCTION CLOSE, otherwise an 'Unpaid Item Dispute' will be opened & filed automatically by eBay. After that time period, we reserve the right to sell the artwork to another buyer or back-bidder and you will also be blocked from any of our future auctions.

WE SHIP TO: The U.S. & WORLDWIDE (Excludes: China, Korea, South, Russian Federation, Haiti, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Somalia).

IMPORTANT NOTES: We ship all of our Antique & Vintage Items Safely & Securely Hardpacked & Secured in between Oversized Cardboard, AND/OR shipped in Heavy-Duty Tubes with Archival Paper or Glassine with Bubble-Wrap added for Protection. Our customers have greatly appreciated their well-packed & well-protected artwork as our feedback clearly shows. -We have unfortunately been on the receiving end of poorly-packed artwork and we wouldn't wish that on our worst enemies.

***To save our customers MORE $$$, ALL Shipping Rates (Domestic & Overseas) 'DO NOT' include Handling/Packing Fees and are extremely close to the 'Actual Shipping Costs' based on eBay's (estimated) Shipping Calculator that we use exclusivley on all of our auction listings.

"eBay's SHIPPING CALCULATOR": We exclusively use eBay's "SHIPPING CALCULATOR", which is built right into the auction page itself and is accessible at the top of the page via the 'See all details' or via the 'Shipping and Payments' tab next to the 'Description' tab at the top of the page. You simply type in your Zip Code or choose your Country from the Drop-Down list provided & it displays the shipping amount for you. HAWAII & ALASKA, would be shipped by either USPS Priority Mail or UPS 2nd-Day Air.

*DOMESTIC BIDDERS PLEASE READ:
-For U.S. (lower 48 States): We normally ship via USPS (United States Postal Service) or UPS-Ground as an alternate choice. We recommend UPS since they cover up to the 1st $100.00. We will provide a tracking number and will email it to you when the item(s) have shipped.

SHIPPING RATES: In the continental United States are based on the estimated size of the item (with extra spacing for Hardpack and/or Heavy-Duty Tube & Bubble-Wrap for protection) & estimated final weight.

HAWAII & ALASKA: Would be shipped via USPS Priority Mail or UPS 2-Day Air based on estimated size with extra spacing for hardpack and/or shipped in a heavy-duty tube, bubble wrap and estimated final weight.

**INTERNATIONAL BIDDERS PLEASE READ (IMPORTANT!!!):
-For CANADA & WORLDWIDE: We normally ship via USPS International (United States Postal Service), within their size restrictions. Please see USPS for further information regarding your country and its respective 'Rate Charts', complete information & 'Conditions for Mailing'. We would fill out the appropriate Customs Forms and provide the 'Winning Bidder' with the 'Customs Number' via email as soon as the item has shipped (Items can be tracked via USPS). PLEASE NOTE: Any Customs Clearance or Import Duty Fees and/or Taxes (normally collected upon delivery and/or pickup), are the 'Winning Bidder's' sole responsibility, and are not included in the item price or the shipping charges. *Please check with your country's Customs Office/House prior to bidding/buying to determine what those additional fees will be*. We normally ship within 2 business days of cleared payment, but PLEASE NOTE: Please allow extra delivery time for your item(s) to clear all Customs Houses (U.S. and Abroad-typical delivery time about 14 business days +/-). We also would need a VALID INTERNATIONAL ADDRESS to 'Ship To'.

***IMPORTANT NOTE*** Customs charges/fees & duty taxes are based on the final value amount of the item(s) that we are required by U.S. law to declare on Customs Forms before shipping the item. Under U.S. law we are unable to mark a smaller amount or to declare the item a gift, sample, or anything other than merchandise prints/paintings etc, so PLEASE DO NOT ASK. We are a respectable business & must transact our auctions honestly & by the law. We would be liable and would get in trouble if there were any complications. The value marked on the Customs form will be the final auction price for any or all prints/paintings & will not include shipping. Most items will be shipped rolled in a Heavy-Duty Tube to save on shipping costs. Some may be shipped flat/hardpacked at our discretion.

NOTES FOR ALL BIDDERS:
COMBINED SHIPPING: We offer Combined Shipping, for multiple winning auctions if the items can be put into the same package. Note: Some Combined Rates may be higher due to Combined Weight changes or Oversized (OS1) dimensions, for items such as: Framed items, multiple paintings on canvas, oversized items etc. Please wait until we email you an appropriate invoice reflecting the discount for any multiple item auction wins before you pay via PayPal, or you can email us for an invoice after auction end.

We normally ship items within 2 business days of receiving cleared payment. Please Note: Our gallery is closed Sundays & Mondays. We make every effort to pack artwork securely and carefully as per the items’ specifications.

Due to the Antique/Vintage nature of MOST of our items, at our discretion we ship items flat or in heavy-duty tubes and they are securely & safely packed with each item wrapped in packing paper or archival glassine, then secured in between oversized cardboard or rolled in a heavy duty tube, then bubble-wrap is added, as per the item's specifications. Smaller items (like postcards & small prints) will also be securely & safely packed with each item wrapped in packing paper or archival glassine, then secured in between oversized cardboard, then shipped in a bubble-lined envelope.

*UPS DOES NOT SHIP TO P.O. BOXES*

Meibohm Fine Arts, Inc. is NOT responsible for shipping service transit times, provided by USPS & UPS, which normally exclude weekends and holidays (with the exception of Saturday mail deliveries for USPS), and may vary with package origin and destination, particularly during peak periods such as; Christmas, Easter, Mother's Day etc.

Meibohm Fine Arts, Inc. is NOT responsible for Customs Clearing & Delivery Times. Delivery &/OR Pickup times for your package may vary from country to country, so please be patient.

*All items are 100% Guaranteed Authentic* and are sold "AS IS/AS DESCRIBED" to the best of our knowledge, research and ability. We are completely honest with our 'Item Descriptions' (even to a fault) and our customers have appreciated it, as our feedback clearly shows. As per eBay's new rules (09/01/2011), we offer a 14-Day Return Privilege ONLY. If you are not satisfied with the item for any reason or feel the item is significantly different than as described honestly above- Simply return the item within 14 days of 'receipt of the item' in the same condition as received, for a full refund including the initial shipping fee.

-Note: Refunds are applied in the form they were received.

Your 'Winning Bid' is a contract. Remember, that as the 'Buyer', you enter into a legally binding contract to purchase the item from the 'Seller' Meibohm Fine Arts, Inc. Please read through all of our 'Selling Policies' listed above and please be aware of what you are bidding on and feel free to ask any questions, or research the item BEFORE placing a bid.

EMAILING US: eBayers, at all costs, please use eBay's email system only (no outside email addresses) with any questions you may have. eBay's email system GUARANTEES we get your email and more importantly, that you get ours. A lot of servers in the last few years have started using newer SPAM filters, and there have been a lot of problems with GOOD emails not getting through correctly, and being returned as undeliverable. We have had numerous problems in the past communicating with our eBayers outside of eBay because of it.

COLLECTORS & DEALERS: Please DO NOT email us (inside or outside of eBay's email system) with any offers to stop an auction early. It would not be fair to the rest of the eBay Worldwide community if we did that. THE HIGHEST BIDDER -OR- HIGHEST OFFER WINS IT!!!!!

Thank you from the Staff at Meibohm Fine Arts, GOOD LUCK & HAPPY BIDDING!!!