Ruggles Whiting Portrait
In the last edition of Tidings I remarked upon the fun that can be had in researching the more obscure items acquired by an Historical Society in the course of 120 years. There is much that can be learned from our more significant items as well. The portrait shown above is that of an early Dover resident, Ruggles Whiting. It was donated to the Society by a Mrs. Frank Willey in 1961. While unsigned, the portrait was attributed to the celebrated American portrait artist, Gilbert Stuart (1755-1827). Ruggles Whiting was born in Dover on December 29, 1779 to Aaron Whiting
“The Hat Maketh the Person”
“The hat maketh the person”; although Shakespeare did not say that, he could well have. Indeed, in addition to recreating an old schoolhouse atmosphere, there has also been work on new exhibits showcasing the evolution of certain items over three centuries. These include watches, maps, compasses, some weapons and especially, hats. We have a brown fantail hat of a type favored by the local farmers who rushed to Lexington in 1775, a fine Civil War forage cap identical to that worn by Dover veteran Edwin Gay, a World War I campaign hat and a suitably crumpled World War II pilot’s
The Tavern Corner Mural
Many a visitor to the Sawin Museum has admired the engaging mural painted by Diane Gilson in early 2016. Since this allegorical view of Dover and its setting is replete with details meaningful to the artist who grew up across the street from the Museum as well as the curators, Pam Kunkemueller and I, we feel that it might be beneficial to provide some information on these details so that future art historians or Dover history enthusiasts will not have to wrack their brains in order to grasp and explain the “inner meanings” of the scene represented. First of all,
A Year in Review 2017
Much has happened at the Sawin Museum over the past year, both inside and out. The original slate roof has been repaired and the alarm system updated. The lower level badly needed a face lift. With new flooring and other alterations, the space was transformed into a series of displays highlighting domestic items, early school life and the crafts of past citizens of Dover. The collections have been enriched by pieces from several houses in Dover, including some vital, but rather large and heavy kitchen fixtures. One was a traditional ice box that required the efforts of a
Our Town Scale
The former Town Scale, measuring approximately 7.5 feet by 6.6 feet by 2.3 feet, is one of the largest items in our collection. Our scale was made by the firm of Howard and Davis of 34 Water Street, Boston as one of 330 sets ordered by the Legislature (one for each town, city, and county in existence at the time). There is some question as to the number that were actually delivered as a number of communities reportedly shared a set to minimize expense. As early as 1800 state statutes mandated “it shall be the duty of the treasurer of
The Williams Tavern Chair
The Society is excited to announce the recent acquisition of a Chippendale style wing back chair with an interesting history. The chair comes to us through the generous donation of Marcia Close of McClean, Virginia. Mrs. Close is the daughter of Willard F. Smith whose parents, Allen and Edeler (Chickering) Smith lived in the house on Centre Street that is now occupied by the Charles River School. On the evening of January 21, 1908 the Smiths and others removed this chair from the fire that was consuming the Williams Tavern which lay across the street and just east of the
The A.C. Rice Clock
Much of the fun that is to be found in local historical societies lies in the odd collection of artifacts that accumulate over the course of a century or more. The more obviously significant items tend to be well documented, but the more obscure items are a veritable treasure trove for the curious researcher. This rather large wall clock has hung on the wall in the basement of the Sawin Museum since the early 1960’s. The dial bears the name A. C. Rice and the date 1857. All that was known of its history is that it was given to
The Powerful Propaganda and Chilling Foresight of a Poster in the Sawin Museum Collection
Remembering recent contributions of mine in Dover Tidings some readers may well say, “Enough WWI, let’s move on”. Indeed, I am moving on with one last article commenting on a remarkable piece of artwork. The Sawin Museum is fortunate to own a series of WWI posters exhorting Americans in the most graphic manner to hate the enemy and purchase war bonds. Some of these were the work of Joseph (signed “Ioseph”) Pennell (1857-1926), in his time one of the most talented and famous etchers who documented the conflict with a series of lithographs created in Britain, France and the USA.
A Rare and Interesting View: Papers from a Civil War Field Desk
The Winter months of 2020 were busy at the Sawin Museum, preparing for the annual Spring re-opening. We pulled everything out of the Civil War display case, a full floor-to-ceiling cabinet with three shelves, and I painted the interior cobalt blue. I was working with Stuart Swiny, the Curator, and with his knowledge of history and considerable gift (and patience) for teaching, we began cleaning and re-displaying the artifacts. We have a cavalry bridle with a strong bit, and a photograph of an excellent sculpture by Amelia Peabody of the last surviving officer of the USS Monitor, the Union ironclad
Eudora Shumway’s Trunk
The Upper Level of the Sawin Museum has long been home to an office for the Dover Historical Society, and it seemed like a good idea to downsize the administrative area into a corner and reclaim display space. While sliding heavy boxes of papers across the room I repeatedly bumped into a medium-sized leather trunk and it needed to be stored away. The trunk was filled with office ephemera; nothing more exciting than a couple of desk accessories from the 1980s, an answering machine manual and old software installation discs. The empty trunk is beautiful. The wallpaper lining is in
