Portraits of Mr. & Mrs. Reuben Trexler
oil on canvas
h. 31-1/2 w. 24-1/2 in. (each) overall: 38-1/2 x 31-1/2 in. (each)
circa 1830
Provenance:Descended through the family of the sitters to their great- great- great- granddaughter, Greenwich, CT

These portraits depict Mr. Reuben Trexler (1781-1846) and Mrs. Annie (Lesher) Trexler (1791-1848) of Longswamp Township in Berks County, Pennsylvania. Both were of distinguished Pennsylvania families--the Trexlers being awell-established family of millers who founded a settlement in Longswamp originally called 'Trexler-thal' (Trexler's Valley), and the Leshers, also of Longswamp, who were responsible for bringing the charcoal furnace industry toeastern Pennsylvania. In 1808 Reuben purchased his father-in-law's furnace located only a few squares away from the Trexler Mill, and under his direction, this furnace, later known as the 'Mary Ann Furnace' (named after the founders' wives, the Mesdames Lesher and Trexler), produced the first 'stone coal' stoves made in Pennsylvania. These were named the 'Lehigh Coal-Stove', and thousands were cast between 1820 and 1857, by which time ownership of the Mary Ann Furnace had passed (in 1837) to Reuben and Anne's first son, Horatio Trexler (1813-1900).

Condition:both with wax relinings; UV reveals a large amount of inpainting of the face of Mr. Trexler and minor restoration elsewhere; Mrs. Trexler's portrait appears well preserved, with minor restoration