Eben Tibbetts papers

Collection

Identifier: Col-0042

Dates

Creation: 1865-1889

Creator

Tibbetts, Eben M. (Eben Mower), 1834-1902 (Person)

Biographical / Historical

Eben[ezer] M. Tibbetts (also spelled Tebbetts) was a furniture manufacturer and dealer in Dexter, ME, ca. 1865-1888. He operated a shop as partner with John Pennington in Pennington & Tibbetts up to about 1873. From about 1873 on, he worked under his own name. Tibbetts also worked as an undertaker and apparently also as local agent for the Eastern Express Company. In 1885-1886 Tibbetts was one of Dexter's selectmen.

Biographical / Historical

Billheads from Pennington & Tibbetts read "manufacturers of and dealers in furniture of all descriptions, looking glasses, spring beds, mattresses, ready-made coffins&c." (1868), and "manufacturers of and dealers in furniture, feathers, looking glasses, carpetings, spring beds, mattresses, ready-made coffins, caskets&c." (1872). E. M. Tibbetts' billheads have "manufacturer and dealer in furniture, feathers, looking glasses, oil cloths, spring beds, mattresses, ready-made coffins, caskets, children's carriages&c." (1874), and an 1878 billhead adds "agent for National Wire Mattress." From 1889 to 1886, Tibbetts' billheads read "manufacturer of and dealer in furniture, caskets, robes.".

Full Extent

2.3 cubic ft. (7 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Metadata Rights Declarations

License: This record is made available under an Universal 1.0 Public Domain Dedication Creative Commons license.

Additional Description

Other Finding Aid

Collection finding aid available at repository includes index of firm names and locations.

Summary

Consists almost exclusively of receipts and bills for items purchased by Tibbetts or Pennington & Tibbetts. A few stray pieces of correspondence are also included as is an indenture leasing a barn to Pennington & Tibbetts in 1869; the Report of the Trustees of the Town Library, 1886; other manuscripts relating to town business, 1885-1886; a printed booklet of "Instructions for Using the Oliver No. 9 Typewriter" n.d.; a small number of telegrams; and attendance rosters for the Methodist Sunday School, 1877-1881.

Summary

The collection documents in detail the breadth of furnishing types and styles available in central Maine during the third quarter of the nineteenth century. A wide selection of items came to Dexter from suppliers all over New England, and also from New York City. With freight receipts in the collection, a detailed picture of trade patterns, commerce, and outside influences on style and taste emerges. Receipts for Tibbetts' undertaking business reveal patterns in mourning practice, and establish a variant of the known cabinetmaker-undertaker pattern: the furniture dealer-undertaker.