Skip to main content
Collection of Morgan B. Brainard. Gift of Mrs. Morgan B. Brainard, 1961.63.42  Photograph by Wi…
Sign of the Pine Tree
Collection of Morgan B. Brainard. Gift of Mrs. Morgan B. Brainard, 1961.63.42 Photograph by Williamstown Art Conservation Center © 2009 The Connecticut Historical Society.

Sign of the Pine Tree

Original Owner (American, born 1709)
Date1768
MediumPaint on pine board, iron hardware
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (height x width including hardware): 49 3/8 x 23in. (125.4 x 58.4cm)
Other (height x width of sign only): 42 x 23in. (106.7 x 58.4cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineCollection of Morgan B. Brainard. Gift of Mrs. Morgan B. Brainard
DescriptionImages: on both sides: a round disc, centered in pediment, over stylized pine tree, centered on board; no underlying layers.
Construction: Single board, fielded on both sides, set vertically into grooves of the joined frame. Horizontal rails have integral pediment and skirt (e.g., vertical extensions, which are hand-sawn to create decorative profiles). The frame construction is conceptually flawed. The vertical stiles are tenoned through the top and bottom rails, thus reversing the nearly universal practice of horizontal rails tenoned into stiles (see fig. 16). Consequently, the entire weight of panel, stiles, and bottom rail rests on the wooden pins that secure the vertical tenons into the rails. Straps from the hanging hardware reinforced the top joint, but the lower joints required reinforcement at a later date.
Surface: This sign displays only one layer of paint on each side. Its original color scheme featured yellow suns, bright green trees, yellow suns, and white lettering set off by a barn-red background. Laboratory examination revealed that the pigment used for the trees was a copper-based verdigris, which has oxidized to black or brown, leaving traces of green only in tiny surface fissures. The absence of any repainting suggests that this sign was probably in use for only a short period.

Object number1961.63.42
NotesHistorical Note: Original location. Read's tavern may have been located at what was still known as the "Read homestead" as late as 1868, on the road east of Newent center. Period references suggest that Read's tavern was less important than the one operated by Benjamin Burnham, located on more heavily traveled Norwich road.
On View
On view
Gift of Thaddeus Mather, 1849.13.0  Photograph by Gavin Ashworth.  © 2005 The Connecticut Histo…
Stoughton Shop Tradition
about 1680
Gift of Mrs. Charles S. Bissell, in memory of Mrs. Charles Sumner Fuller, 1974.98.2  © 2006 The…
Eliphalet Chapin
1770-1790
Bequest of George Dudley Seymour, 1945.1.1159  © 2006 The Connecticut Historical Society.
Aaron Chapin
1791-1800
Armchair
Reverend Thomas Robbins
1805-1820
Chair with original slip seat.
George Belden family
1770-1800
Gift of Frederick K. and Margaret R. Barbour, 1959.8.2  © 2006 The Connecticut Historical Socie…
Eliphalet Chapin
1775
Gift of Frederick K. and Margaret R. Barbour, 1960.7.4   Photograph by David Stansbury  © 2005 …
Eliphalet Chapin
1771-1790
The Connecticut Historical Society Museum collections, 1846.24.0  © 2008 The Connecticut Histor…
Unknown
1680-1710
Chest with Drawers
Unknown
1680-1710
Gift of Mabel Leigh Grant, 1959.92.1  © 2006 The Connecticut Historical Society.
Eliphalet Chapin
about 1783
Armchair
Roger Sherman
about 1790