A. Bahn
Tumbler

Tumbler

Public Domain

Tumbler
Photograph © The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Paul Hester, Hester + Hardaway Photography
MakerAmerican, c. 1853–c. 1890
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Tumbler
Datec. 1853–c. 1890
Made inAustin, Texas, United States
MediumSilver
Dimensions3 9/16 × 2 15/16 in. diameter (9 × 7.5 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of William J. Hill
Object numberB.2018.42
Current Location
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Texas Room
On view

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Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
Description

Ferdinand S. Adolph Bahn (1823–c. 1901) was born in Wittringen, Prussia (now Wettringen, Germany). According to the 1900 census, he arrived in the United States in 1840, but the earliest known record of him in Texas is the 1850 census, which places him in Galveston as part of C. C. Moore’s household, employed as a silversmith. A history of 19th-century Travis County places his arrival in Austin at 1853. In 1855 Bahn’s name first appears in Austin newspapers, and within a few years he advertised as a “manufacturer and repairer of gold and silverware.” In Austin, Bahn developed a business that spanned the transition from manufacturing to retailing. As the Civil War ended and harder financial times descended upon Texas, Bahn took on a partner, B. Schumann (Bahn & Schumann, active c. 1867–1873). Their advertising focus shifted from the manufacture of silverware to the retail of eyeglasses and lenses as well as Wheeler and Wilson Sewing machines. Subsequent advertisements for Bahn ceased to mention the manufacture of wares. In 1874 Bahn advertised as a “watchmaker and jeweler,” and in 1879 he issued an advertisement that mentioned only his business as a dealer in Spencer Optical Manufacturing Company “diamond spectacles.” Bahn’s life also highlighted some of the more rough-and-tumble aspects of 19th-century Texas. In 1873 he sued to recover one of his Austin properties from armed squatters, and in 1883 his son and son-in-law exchanged gunfire on Austin’s main avenue over the matter of Bahn’s recent divorce. The end of Adolph Bahn’s career is as elusive as his arrival date. He worked at his store into the 1880s, contributing a prize for the 1882 Capitol State Fair in Austin, and came to be referred to as “Old Gentleman” Bahn. His son Gustav Adolph Bahn eventually took over the firm, but until the mid-1890s he continued to use the name A. Bahn. In the 1889–90 Austin directory, his firm is listed twice, as “BAHN[,] ADOLPH (Gus. A. Bahn)” and “BAHN[,] GUSTAV A. (Adolph Bahn),” suggesting the transition to the younger man’s control while retaining all possible benefit of the well-known older man’s reputation. Although it is unclear when exactly Adolph Bahn retired from his Austin store, he died in California as a landlord.

This simple, straight-sided tumbler was probably owned by Alexander W. Terrell, a Virginia native who practiced law in Missouri before coming to Austin in 1852. He was elected to a judgeship in 1857. Though he at first resisted secession, Terrell later joined Confederate forces. After the war, he served in both the Texas Senate and the state House of Representatives, where he consistently sought the disenfranchisement of African Americans. He also held a diplomatic post in the Grover Cleveland administration and served as a regent for the University of Texas.


Provenance[Phyllis Tucker Antiques, Houston]; purchased by William J. Hill (1934–2018), Houston, April 7, 1986; 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 Marks
Inscribed on front: A. W. Terrell.
Marked on bottom: A. BAHN / & Co / COIN [incuse]

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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