the handiwork of John Skillin, the 18th-century woodcarver of 

 Boston, upon whose death on January 24, 1800, the Chronicle 

 commented that "he was for many years the most eminent cf his 

 profession," John Skillin and his brother Simeon worked in 

 Boston from about 1777 and produced most of the figureheads 

 that issued from that port during that period, as well as a number 

 of other notable ornamental wooden figures. 



According to Mrs. H. Ropes Cabot of the Bostonian Society, 

 the figure of "The Little Admiral" (fig. 37) had been carved for 

 William Williams, who brought it with him to Boston from 

 Marblehead in 1770 when he established his shop. The figure 

 was installed in front of the Crown Coffee House, and Williams's 

 shop was thereafter designated by this symbol. The trade sign 

 survived through the years of the Revolutionary War. When 

 the original building of the Coffee House was burned, the carving 

 was saved and installed on the new building erected in its place. 

 In an account of Boston landmarks. Porter ^^ related the figure 

 to the Admiral Vernon Tavern at the eastern corner of Merchants 

 Row. He was proved to have been in error, however, since the 

 trade sign of that public-house was a portrait bust of Admiral 

 Vernon and the place was known as the Vernon Head Tavern for 

 half a century, even after the end of the Revolution. 



When Samuel Thaxter purchased the business from Williams's 

 estate he acquired the figure as well, and he moved it to each new 

 location for his shop. The figure of "The Little Admiral" con- 

 tinued to designate the firm even after Thaxter's death, until the 

 firm finally went out of existence at the beginning of the 20th 

 century. When the old store was torn down in 1901, the figure was 

 preserved, presumably by the last owner's family. In 1916 it was 

 acquired for the Bostonian Society by several of its members, and 

 the figure has been preserved in the Society's Council Chamber 

 since that time. 



The other interesting trade sign utilized by Samuel Thaxter is 

 a carved figure of Father Time that is credited to John Skillin 

 (see fig. 38). The figure is believed to have been commissioned 

 by Thaxter during the last decade of the 18th century and installed 

 by him in the interior of his shop. It is an important example 

 of the American woodcarver's art, and is equivalent to the best 

 work of the Skillin brothers. 



^^" Report of the Committee on the Rooms," Proceedings of the Bostonian Society 

 (1917), no. 1, p. 16. 



78 



