CultureAmerican
Titles
- Tablespoon (one of a pair)
Datec. 1843–1848
Made inHouston, Texas, United States
MediumSilver
Dimensions1 3/16 × 1 3/4 × 8 5/8 in. (3 × 4.4 × 21.8 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of William J. Hill
Object numberB.2018.54.1
Current LocationBayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Texas Room
On view
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DescriptionBorn in Connecticut, John Frink Torrey (1817–1893) arrived in Texas in 1838, receiving a land grant of 320 acres the following year. In November 1838, he placed advertisements in Houston’s Texas Telegraph and Register announcing the opening of a new fancy goods store on Main Street under the name of John F. Torrey. Initial advertisements offered the sale and repair of “watches, clocks, [and] jewelry,” but by 1842 the store additionally offered “all kinds of Gold and Silver ware manufactured to order at the shortest notice.” His three brothers, David (1815–1849), Thomas (1819–1843), and James (1821–1842), all arrived in Texas by 1842; perhaps one of them brought the skills necessary for silver manufacture. In 1848 Torrey & Brother’s Houston store closed. J. A. Mendez purchased their tools and stock, and entered business in his own name. While John Torrey lived a long life in Texas, his brothers suffered different fates. Within ten years, John was the sole survivor. James was executed in the aftermath of the infamous Mier expedition, an 1842 Texan border raid against Mexico gone awry. Thomas died in 1843, after assisting in the negotiation of a peace treaty with the Comanche; and in 1849 David was killed while on a trading expedition. In addition to the fancy goods store in Houston, the Torreys operated retail stores in Austin, New Braunfels, and San Antonio, as well as an extensive chain of Indian trading posts on Texas’s western frontier. After David’s death, John seems to have shifted his focus to New Braunfels, first operating a retail establishment and then opening one of Texas’s first factories, producing sashes for windows and doors.
Provenance[Phyllis Tucker Antiques, Houston]; purchased by William J. Hill (1934–2018), Houston; given to MFAH, 2018.
Exhibition History"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: W
Marked on back of handle: TORREY & BRO / TEXAS [in rectangles]
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
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