CultureAmerican
Datec. 1821–1851
Made inKnoxville, Tennessee, United States
MediumSilver
Dimensions5/8 × 1 1/16 × 5 5/8 in. (1.5 × 2.7 × 14.2 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of William J. Hill
Object numberB.2018.12.1
Not on view
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DescriptionBorn near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Samuel Bell (1798–1882) began his employment in metalworking there at age fourteen, crafting swords for the War of 1812. In 1821 he moved south to Knoxville, Tennessee, and began a long career as a silversmith and retailer. Bell served as mayor of Knoxville for two terms (1840–41, 1844–45) before debt issues forced him to sell his business and move his family to Texas in 1851. Of his thirteen children, all born in Tennessee, five are known to have taken up their father’s trade in San Antonio. In San Antonio, the Bell firm was initially established by Bell’s sons James G. and David, becoming J. G. & D. Bell; in 1860 the partnership’s name changed to Bell & Brothers. This shift made younger sons Powhattan and James M. Bell partners with David and removed James G. Bell’s name from the firm. James G. Bell left San Antonio in 1854 on a cattle drive to California, where he joined Edward C. Bell, likely an older brother, who worked as a jeweler in Mariposa, California. The Bells produced and retailed a wide variety of wares in San Antonio. An 1855 advertisement listed the firm as “manufacturers of all articles in their line. Dentists Plates prepared and Jewelry repaired...Saddles, Bridles, and Walking Canes mounted with gold and silver in the best style.” On the same page, a separate advertisement listed articles newly arrived for retail, including pens, spectacles, French clocks with glass shades, and assorted jewelry and fancy goods. Through all of the Bells’ iterations, advertisements offered essentially these same wares and services. The best-known silver forms produced by the Bell family include knives, cups, and flatware. In the 1890s the firm failed and was sold out of the Bell family. Renamed the Bell Jewelry Company in 1895, this final phase of the Bell family’s business legacy remained in operation until 1961.
ProvenanceWilliam J. Hill (1934–2018), Houston; given to MFAH, 2018.
Exhibition History"Made in Texas: Art, Life and Culture: 1845–1900," Beeville Art Museum, Texas, September 20, 2014–January 10, 2015.
"A Texas Legacy: Selections from the William J. Hill Collection," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, October 2, 2016–January 2, 2017.
"Texas Silver, William J. Hill," Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, March 1–June 1, 2017.
Inscriptions, Signatures and MarksInscribed on handle: LSH
Marked on back of handle: *S. BELL. [in rectangle]*
Length of mark: 1/2 in.
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
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