Name/Title
Epergne, c.1890 | Wells-Shober Cottage | Campobello, New BrunswickDescription
A late 19th century century table piece called an epergne. It comes from the Wells-Shober Cottage on Campobello Island, New Brunswick. The Cottage is now part of the Roosevelt Campobello International Park. Merriam Webster Dictionary defines an epergne as: “an often ornate tiered centerpiece consisting typically of a frame of wrought metal (such as silver or gold) bearing dishes, vases, or candle holders or a combination of these.” In this example from the Wells-Shober Cottage, the epergne consists of a brass frame structure with a wonderful round open top etched glass bowl in the center and then two delicate etched glass vases on either side. The epergne was donated to the Tides Institute by a donor whose father was in the real estate business and once handled the sale of the Wells-Shober Cottage in the mid-20th century. Many of the original furnishings of the Cottage were still there at the time and he was able to bring many of them to his family’s home in Eastport including the epergne. The Wells-Shober Cottage was built in 1884 for Samuel Wells, a Boston lawyer and president of the Campobello Company that developed many of the hotels and surrounding land for summer cottages on Campobello at the same time. In 1912, the Cottage was purchased by the Shober family of Philadelphia.
From Sunrise County Architecture (2nd revised and enlarged edition) 1996, p.119
WELLS-SHOBER COTTAGE
Willard T. Sears, of Boston, designed the Wells-Shober Cottage for American lawyer Samuel Wells, once president of the Campobello Company. This building was finished in 1884, at about the same time as the building of the three Campobello hotels for which Sears drew the plans. All four buildings were Queen Anne Revival designs. With a steep hip roof, dotted with gables and dormers, this two-and-a-half story cottage was built with railings, both inside and on the facade. The roof was a bell-cast design with two chimneys. Walls of this wooden frame building are protected by clapboards, first painted brown (with white trim), but since painted all white by the Park Commission. When the living room, with fireplace, was given an addition encircling that room, the outside veranda had to be rebuilt as well. Besides dining room and kitchen, on the first floor, there are not only four second floor bathrooms but two railed verandas, while three bedrooms, each with a bath, occupy the third floor. The Park Commission remodeled the Well-:Shober Cottage for use as a guest house. This cottage is across the street (Route 774 from Lubec to Welshpool, N.B.) from the Hubbard Cottage, which is seven years younger. The Wells family sold their cottage to Mary Norris Cochrane in 1912, and her daughter Edith Shober (Mrs. Rex) inherited it in 1918. The Park Commission acquired the Wells-Shober Cottage in 1965, and it was the first cottage to be redecorated and used for Commission meetings. NHSD, JCB
Classification: Furniture
Old Accession Number: 2202