Sign for Tarbox's Inn and Village Hotel
MakerMade by
William Rice
(American, 1777 - 1847)
Original OwnerOriginally owned by
Thomas Tarbox
(American, 1776 - 1824)
Original OwnerOriginally owned by
Ephraim Ely Jr.
(American, 1785 - 1848)
Original OwnerOriginally owned by
Isaac G. Allen
(American)
Date1807
MediumPaint on pine board and frame, sand, smalt, gold leaf, iron hardware
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (height x width including hardware): 56 1/2 x 29 1/4in. (143.5 x 74.3cm)
Other (height x width of sign only): 50 1/2 x 25in. (128.3 x 63.5cm)
Other (height x width of sign only): 50 1/2 x 25in. (128.3 x 63.5cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineCollection of Morgan B. Brainard. Gift of Mrs. Morgan B. Brainard
DescriptionImages: On both sides, top rail, a five-pointed star with square and compass. On side one, main board, U.S. seal. On side two, main board, text over eagle with Connecticut state seal.
Text: On both sides, top rail, "1824" over "1807"; on bottom rail, "E. Ely." over "T TARBOX". On side two, main board, "VILLAGE HOTEL".
Construction: Single board, grain oriented vertically, cut into shield-shape and suspended by iron hinges from upper rail; single, flat, shaped, horizontal rails and turned posts. Each rail is tenoned through the posts and doubled pinned. The rails extend up and down and are cut at top and bottom to create scrolled pediment and scalloped skirt profiles.
Surface: The original painting scheme had an off-white background, with names and dates painted in black. Tarbox's name appears in roman capitals; Ely's in an elegant script. The green foliage of the eagle's olive branch was executed in copper green paint, which has now partially oxidized and darkened. Both sets of names and dates were painted over with white paint, evidently at the same time the eagle was completely covered with a new ground layer of red-brown paint, now darkened to almost black. This second ground layer incorporates white sand as a texturing agent. The Village Hotel name banners are set within scribed lines and the lettering is gilded.
Text: On both sides, top rail, "1824" over "1807"; on bottom rail, "E. Ely." over "T TARBOX". On side two, main board, "VILLAGE HOTEL".
Construction: Single board, grain oriented vertically, cut into shield-shape and suspended by iron hinges from upper rail; single, flat, shaped, horizontal rails and turned posts. Each rail is tenoned through the posts and doubled pinned. The rails extend up and down and are cut at top and bottom to create scrolled pediment and scalloped skirt profiles.
Surface: The original painting scheme had an off-white background, with names and dates painted in black. Tarbox's name appears in roman capitals; Ely's in an elegant script. The green foliage of the eagle's olive branch was executed in copper green paint, which has now partially oxidized and darkened. Both sets of names and dates were painted over with white paint, evidently at the same time the eagle was completely covered with a new ground layer of red-brown paint, now darkened to almost black. This second ground layer incorporates white sand as a texturing agent. The Village Hotel name banners are set within scribed lines and the lettering is gilded.
Object number1961.63.21
NotesHistorical Note: Original location. In 1801 Tarbox bought a half-share of a small, half acre lot in Scantic, a settlement in the northeastern section of East Windsor. Over the next five years, he and his partner, John Felshaw, increased the value of the lot by building several structures on it, including a swelling house, which Felshaw operated as a tavern from 1802-1806. At the time of Tarbox's death in 1824, the property had grown to two and one-half acres, with a large, gable-end dwelling house, a blacksmith shop, a horse shed, and a barn. It was located on the west side of Scantic road, just south of the Meeting House lot. A small building remains on the site, commemorated as "Tarbox's Tavern"; this is not the substantial dwelling, erected in 1816, that is depicted in the estate papers, but it may be the blacksmith shop that stood on the property when Tarbox acquired it in 1801.
Ely's tavern evidently occupied a different site, as yet unidentified, as Clarissa Tarbox continued to occupy the family homestead.On View
On viewCollections
Captain Aaron Bissell Sr.
