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Important Double Sided Tavern Sign, Massachusetts, Late 18th Century

Background

The original form of advertising in America, tavern and inn signs were first made and used to identify places of business. They have now become highly prized folk art objects. According to Susan P. Schoewer in Lions & Eagles & Bulls: Early American Tavern & Inn Signs, between 1750 and 1850, there were probably no fewer than 50,000 signs, as each establishment offering food and lodging was required by law to erect an identifying sign. Today, only a tiny sampling remains of this once ubiquitous art form. In her essay, “Some Suitable Signe…for the direction of Strangers: Signboards and the Enterprise of Innkeeping in Connecticut”, Margaret C, Vincent observes that ongoing research has identified only 350 or so surviving American tavern signs.

Philip D. Zimmerman, in his essay Reading the Signs: An Object History of Tavern Signs from Connecticut, 1750-1850, says signs were meant to be updated or revitalized when necessary, based on changes in tavern ownership, etc.; thus surviving signs often exhibit repainting and altered names and images that testify to the dynamic qualities of the history and creative processes associated with them. He writes, “multiple images and names transform certain signs into compelling and memorable objects that outshine single-image counterparts. Unlike an easel painting, where any subsequent work is regarded as intrusive or subsidiary, a sign painting is a palimpsest of equally legitimate artistic performances, each enacted as part of the object’s functional life”.

In Weather it Is or Whether it Isn’t, Alexander Carlisle writes that raking light held nearly parallel to a sign, often reveals the shallow relief lettering of earlier tavern owner’s names. He states that the remarkable details in these shallow reliefs are the direct product of weathering, and that long years of climatic abuse and histories of repainting have formed the raised lettering. It is likely that as the paint of the tavern sign weathered and faded, tavern owners repainted just the lettering, leaving the painted names protected from further climate abuse, versus the unprotected backgrounds. He concludes that, “ a signboard is not just one even thickness of paint, but a range of thicknesses. It makes perfect sense that the details remain raised in a weathered signboard, while the background recedes step by step as the paint films are worn away”.

Description

This example is a rare painted pine and wrought-iron tavern sign with ironwork intact. The oval plank painted on both sides with an image of yellow crescent moons and stars above the inscription D.W. Taylor and a prancing white horse with orange saddle blanket and stirrups. Underneath this paint surface, visible with raking light, is "A. Bigalow Inn”. The oval plank is framed with zinc curlicues and gilded points. It is an excellent example of the complexity of combining both wood and metalworking. This historic sign was in a private collection for 30 years. It is likely to be from the Boylston/West Boylston area of Massachusetts, which was originally part of Shrewsbury, MA. The Bigelow Tavern has been the home of the West Boylston Historical Society since 1980. It was originally built around 1780 and run by Abel Bigelow, innkeeper. The Taylor Tavern, built by David Taylor in the late 18th century is in the neighboring town of Boylston.

Dimensions: 53" in height by 56" wide. Price: On Request.

Silvermine Antiques - New Canaan, CT

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