Bicycle, Livery, Carriage, and Paint Shop Trade Sign1895–190584 x 66 x 36 " (213.4 x 167.6 x 91.4 cm)Paint on laminated wood with Columbia high-wheel bicycleGift of David L. Davies1983.24.10Additional material description: paint on laminated wood with Columbia high-wheel bicycle152765787Amédée Théophile ThibaultArchitectureThe American Folk Art Museum believes this work to be in the public domain.http://nodes.emuseum.com/BU1BGBAG/apis/emuseum/network/v1/vocabularies/termMaster28734St. AlbansSt. AlbansUnited StatesVermontThree Dimensional WorkseMuseum - Collection HighlightsSt. AlbansTrade SignsportSCULPTUREHigh-wheel bicycles, with their distinctive profile, are instantly recognizable today, even though they passed out of fashion more than a century ago. It was precisely this quality that made a Columbia high-wheeler with a rider the perfect symbol for Amédée Théophile Thibault’s bicycle, livery, carriage, and paint shop, in St. Alban’s, Vermont. Trade signs of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries relied on their visual impact to easily explain the nature of the business and to attract the eye, and Thibault’s bicycle sign, mounted with iron struts on the roof of his shop, could not be missed by travelers on Route 7 or the Central Vermont passenger trains. The figure was fashioned from five boards that were laminated then carved. The slender silhouette was calculated to withstand the high winds coming off Lake Champlain, and it remained in situ until 1920, when the building was renovated.
Thibault was originally from Quebec, but he settled in St. Albans with his wife, Emma. Devout Roman Catholics, they had seven daughters, all of whom became nuns in the Holy Name Society. Thibault was a jack-of-all-trades who had worked as a brick maker in Quebec and also demonstrated a talent for woodwork, carving crosses and pews for the Temperance Society of the Parish of Notre Dame de Stanbridge. In St. Albans, he did ironwork, repaired bicycles and carriages, executed gold leaf stenciling, and painted and lettered signs and carriages.
Stacy C. Hollander, "Bicycle, Livery, Carriage, and Paint Shop Trade Sign," in American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum (New York: Harry N. Abrams in association with American Folk Art Museum, 2001), 358. Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information. To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.org http://nodes.emuseum.com/BU1BGBAG/apis/emuseum/network/v1/vocabularies/termMaster28734http://nodes.emuseum.com/BU1BGBAG/apis/emuseum/network/v1/vocabularies/termMaster28734http://nodes.emuseum.com/BU1BGBAG/apis/emuseum/network/v1/vocabularies/termMaster2873418951905 1983 24 1 Trade SignsportSCULPTUREHigh-wheel bicycles, with their distinctive profile, are instantly recognizable today, even though they passed out of fashion more than a century ago. It was precisely this quality that made a Columbia high-wheeler with a rider the perfect symbol for Amédée Théophile Thibault’s bicycle, livery, carriage, and paint shop, in St. Alban’s, Vermont. Trade signs of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries relied on their visual impact to easily explain the nature of the business and to attract the eye, and Thibault’s bicycle sign, mounted with iron struts on the roof of his shop, could not be missed by travelers on Route 7 or the Central Vermont passenger trains. The figure was fashioned from five boards that were laminated then carved. The slender silhouette was calculated to withstand the high winds coming off Lake Champlain, and it remained in situ until 1920, when the building was renovated.
Thibault was originally from Quebec, but he settled in St. Albans with his wife, Emma. Devout Roman Catholics, they had seven daughters, all of whom became nuns in the Holy Name Society. Thibault was a jack-of-all-trades who had worked as a brick maker in Quebec and also demonstrated a talent for woodwork, carving crosses and pews for the Temperance Society of the Parish of Notre Dame de Stanbridge. In St. Albans, he did ironwork, repaired bicycles and carriages, executed gold leaf stenciling, and painted and lettered signs and carriages.
Stacy C. Hollander, "Bicycle, Livery, Carriage, and Paint Shop Trade Sign," in American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum (New York: Harry N. Abrams in association with American Folk Art Museum, 2001), 358. Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information. To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.org