The Winterthur Library

The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

Creator: Howard W. Wells

Title: Furniture Stencils

Dates: ca. 1854-1889

Call No.: Col. 553

Acc. No.: 97x95

Quantity: 2 boxes

Location: 3 I 11-12

BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

Howard W. Wells was born in Concord, Maine, on May 14, 1838, the son of Robert and Mary C. Sawtelle Wells. Early in life he moved to nearby Oakland and remained there for most of the rest of his life. Wells served as a sergeant in the 14th Maine Regiment in the Civil War, and during the course of battle, lost one of his legs. This may have prompted him to become a prosthetics maker following the cessation of hostilities. After the war he joined the Grand Army of the Republic. Wells married Almira P. Goff on September 9, 1865; unfortunately, she died the following January. His second wife was Sophronia G. Oliver. They married in May 1867 and had two children: Myra, born in 1868, and Marcia E., born in 1870. For a short time during the 1880s, Wells was involved in a furniture making business with William Wheeler, Oakland's undertaker. Howard Wells died in Sidney, Maine, on May 5, 1914, of prostate cancer. At the time he was living with his elder daughter, Myra.

SCOPE AND CONTENT

The 47 stencils in this collection bear similarities to stencils used to decorate Hitchcock chairs, but are somewhat more primitive. They are undated, but because the newspapers that accompany them, utilized as paint blotters, date from the 1850s onward, conjecture has it that the stencils were used over the course of several decades, beginning at mid‑century into the 1880s. Wells may have had them first as an apprentice or acquired someone else's stencils. Included is a stencil showing Wells’ initials, a stencil for Chas. Flagg & Son, Richmond, Me., and a stencil depicting a leaf, a city skyline, men on horseback, with the word Pittsfield appearing above the city. Other images include pinecone and needles, an eagle, a swan, diamonds, stars, leaves, flowers, various line designs, and such fruit as apples, pears, grapes, cherries, watermelons, and berries. A few illustrations are painted stenciled designs. In addition to the stencils and blotter, this collection includes the cardboard case that once housed the stencils.

ORGANIZATION

Collection is housed in folders in two boxes, and most folders contain multiple stencils. The stencils are grouped by subject. The newsprint blotters and cardboard case are located at the end of Box 2.

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PROVENANCE

Purchased from Dan Casavant, Waterville, Maine, 1997

ACCESS POINTS

Topics

Chas. Flagg & Son

Wells and Wheeler

Stencil work - Maine

Stencils and stencil cutting

Stencils (images)

Decorative painters

Furniture painting – Maine

Furniture making - Maine

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

Location: 3 I 11-12

Box: 1

Folder: 1 W. H. W. stencil, cut from business stationery of Wells and Wheeler, manufacturers of & dealers in furniture, coffins, & caskets, Oakland, Me., 188-, 4 ½” x 8 3/8”

Chas. Flagg & Son, Richmond, Me. stencil, 3” x 13 5/8”

Folder: 2 Numbers stencil, 3” x 14 ½”

Painted Star, Acorn, and flowing design (stencil layout), 4” x 5 ½”

Pine Cone Design stencil, 3 ½” x 3 5/8”

Pine Needle Design stencil, 3 3/8” x 8”

Stars, Leaves, and Flowing End Designs stencil, 4 ½” x 19”

Folder: 3 Stars, Fruits, and Sunburst Design stencil, 4 ¾” x 17 ½”

Two Stars stencil, with painted stars on the same sheet of paper, 3 ¼” x 3 ¾”

Painted Stars (stencil layout), 3” x 6 ½” - 4” x 5”

Star with Design stencil, 3” x 11 ½”

Folder: 4 Circular Center Pattern, with Diamond and Bell-shape stencil, 2 ¾” x 5 ¼”

Painted Semicircles with Leaf Design (stencil layout), 3” x 7 ¼”

Semicircles with Leaf Design stencil [for above], 2 ¾” x 9”

Leaf and Cross Design stencil, 4 ¼” x 14 ½”

Leaves Design stencil, 6 ¾” x 9 3/4”

Folder: 5 Leaf and Flower Design stencil, 6” x 13 ½”

Leaf and Flower Design stencil, 5 ½ “ x 13”

Eagle with Diamonds stencil, 6 14” x 11”

Folder: 6 Swan and Leaves stencil, 6 ½” x 14 ½”

Flower with Horizontal Design stencil, 2 14” x 4”

Flower with Long Stem stencil, 5” x 5”

Flower Design stencil, 7 ¼” x 8”

Folder: 7 Rectangle (1/8” x ¼”) stencil, 1 ½ “ x 3 ¾”

Curved Corner Line Design stencil, 5” x 5”

Horizontal Lines Design stencil, 4” x 15”

Box: 2

Folder: 1 Leaf, City, Man on Horseback, with the word Pittsfield above the city stencil, 5 ¼” x 21”

Folder: 2 Double Horizontal Line with End Designs stencil, 3 ½” x 17 3/8”

Line Design stencil: Outline of Chair Back, 5 ¼” x 18”

Apple, Pear, Grapes, Cherries, and Watermelon with Horizontal Line and Flowing End Design stencil, 5 ½” x 17 ¾”

Grape and Leaves Design stencil, 6 ¾” x 16 ½”

Folder: 3 Center Pear Design with Flowing End Designs stencil, 5” x 16 ¼”

Apples, Grapes, and Flowers stencil, 5” x 20”

Center Apple, Grape, Cherries, and Stars, with Flowing Design stencil, 5” x 20”

Center Pears, Apple, Cherries, and Grapes with Flowing Design stencil, 5” x 20”

Folder: 4 Center Apple, Pears, Grapes, Cherries, and Watermelon with Leaf End Design stencil, 5 1/8” x 20”

Center Apple, Pear, and Grapes with Flowing Design stencil, 7” x 23 ¾”

Center Apple, Cherries, Grapes and Stars with Flowing End Design stencil, 6 ½” x 22”

Apple, Cherries, and Grapes with Flowing End Design stencil, 5” x 16”

Folder: 5 Fruits stencil, mostly uncut, 5”-7” x 22”

Apple and Bellflower Design stencil, 5” x 11 1/2”

Orange, Pear, and Grape stencil, 4” x 10 ¼”

Leaf and highlight of Fruit stencil, 4 ¼” x 10 ½”

Folder: 6 Berry and Leaves Design stencil, 7” x 7”

Berry and Leaves Design stencil, 6 ½” x 8”

Berry and Leaves Design stencil, 6 ½” x 7”

Berry and Leaves Design stencil, 6 ½” x 7 ½”

Berry and Leaves Design stencil, 6 ½” x 8”

Berry and Leaves Design stencil, 6 ¼” x 7”

Berry and Leaves Design stencil, 6” x 7”

Folder: 7 Painted Gold Floral Designs (stencil layout), 11” x 15 ¾”

Folder: 8 Blotter or stencil storage unit made from New York Weekly Tribune, 7” x 21 ¼”, Oct. 28, Dec. 2, Dec. 23, 1854

Blotter or stencil storage unit made from New York Weekly Tribune,

9 ½” x 26 ½”, Nov. 19, 23, 26, 1859

Folder: 9 Cardboard Stencil Case, 10” x 26”

Eight miscellaneous scraps of paper, 1 with a pencil sketch.