Domestic Furnishings

Washboards, armchairs, lamps, and pots and pans may not seem to be museum pieces. But they are invaluable evidence of how most people lived day to day, last week or three centuries ago. The Museum's collections of domestic furnishings comprise more than 40,000 artifacts from American households. Large and small, they include four houses, roughly 800 pieces of furniture, fireplace equipment, spinning wheels, ceramics and glass, family portraits, and much more.

The Arthur and Edna Greenwood Collection contains more than 2,000 objects from New England households from colonial times to mid-1800s. From kitchens of the past, the collections hold some 3,300 artifacts, ranging from refrigerators to spatulas. The lighting devices alone number roughly 3,000 lamps, candleholders, and lanterns.

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1925 - 1940
maker
Stieff Company
ID Number
2002.0021.01
accession number
2002.0021
catalog number
2002.0021.01
Molded glass ball, thick plied blue cord inserted and knotted into opening on top for hanger, two metal bent wire hooks attached to cord.
Description
Molded glass ball, thick plied blue cord inserted and knotted into opening on top for hanger, two metal bent wire hooks attached to cord. Likely manufactured to be used as a glass target ball for practice shooting, and then at some point the cord and hooks were added so that it could be used as a Christmas tree ornament, as with DL*298065.0280, a similar (marked) ornament. See also DL*298065.0419. No mark.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1870-1920
ID Number
DL.298065.0418
catalog number
298065.0418
accession number
298065
Small, cylindrical, black-japanned shaker with a friction-fit, low-domed, perforated cover and triangle-bent strap handle.
Description
Small, cylindrical, black-japanned shaker with a friction-fit, low-domed, perforated cover and triangle-bent strap handle. Painted decoration includes an undulating or way red line accented by yellow dots around the cover and a thin yellow line above a wide yellow or white band around the base featuring a repeating pattern of three red cherries on a single stem attached to a seven-lobed green leaf; black veins and details. No marks.
One of a pair, 1990.0339.03-.04; .03 has more and larger holes, while .04 has fewer and smaller holes. Used as salt and pepper shakers.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1930
date purchased
ca 1930
ID Number
1990.0339.04
catalog number
1990.0339.04
accession number
1990.0339
This Foreign Service form was used by Nathaniel Holt in 1995 to obtain a Visa. Holt's doctor, Chae Bi Ho, completed the form, noting that all possible health conditions were negative.Form FS-398 (Rev.
Description (Brief)
This Foreign Service form was used by Nathaniel Holt in 1995 to obtain a Visa. Holt's doctor, Chae Bi Ho, completed the form, noting that all possible health conditions were negative.
Description
Form FS-398 (Rev. May 1953), Foreign Service United States of America, Medical Examination of Visa Applicants, printed in black on vertical, rectangular cream-colored paper and filled out for Chae B Ho by Dr. George H. Rue, M.D., signed and dated August 14, 1955. Box checked to indicate "No defect, disease, or disability"; chest X-ray report, blood serological report, and urinalysis report all negative. No watermarks.
Location
Currently not on view
date completed
1955-08-14
maker
U.S. Government Printing Office
ID Number
2003.0261.05
accession number
2003.0261
catalog number
2003.0261.05
Single-burner gas stove and heater consisting of a cylindrical, perforated outer shell or casing containing a conical incandescent member; brass supply valve with threaded connector at back. Rubber hose wrapped around base. Cast, removable grill top has "PAT. / APP'D.
Description
Single-burner gas stove and heater consisting of a cylindrical, perforated outer shell or casing containing a conical incandescent member; brass supply valve with threaded connector at back. Rubber hose wrapped around base. Cast, removable grill top has "PAT. / APP'D. / FOR" and "VULCAN (arched) / 345" in raised sans serif letters inside ovals on opposite sides of the open-scroll border. Cast shell-and-scroll base with four feet has "W. H. CRANE (arched) / CO. / N. Y." in raised sans serif letters on one side.
John M. Brock of New York, NY, assignor to William H. Crane Company, also of New York, NY, filed his application for the design of this gas stove on September 16, 1907, and received U.S. Patent No. 978,127 for it on December 6, 1910. W. H. Crane manufactured gas appliances under the "Vulcan" brand name.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1907-1910
ID Number
DL.60.0212A
catalog number
60.0212A
accession number
226327
Oblong, boat-shaped tray with piercework border and applied beaded rim on four ball feet.
Description
Oblong, boat-shaped tray with piercework border and applied beaded rim on four ball feet. Four incuse marks on underside are struck one at each side and end, all facing inward, "MOORE & LEDING" over "STERLING", "925/1000", calligraphy letters "H" and "L" separated by a raised four-leaf clover, and "854"; "718X" is scratched below quality mark.
Maker is Howard Sterling Company of Providence, RI; in business, 1891-1902. Successor firm to H. Howard & Co., 1878-1884, and Howard & Son, 1884-1891. Both produced only electroplated wares until 1886, when Howard & Son began making sterling silverware. The electroplate division was sold in 1891 and the firm renamed itself Howard Sterling Company.
Retailed by Moore & Leding, jewelers and silversmiths, of Washington, DC; in business, 1881-1899. Firm also designed souvenir spoons made for them by Gorham.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1891 - 1899
date sold
1891 - 1899
ID Number
DL.383716
catalog number
383716
accession number
166645
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880
ID Number
1989.0184.05
catalog number
1989.0184.05
accession number
1989.0184
Two-part mold for a wavy end or dog nose type rattail spoon; registration rabbets on both sides of handle. Finished pewter spoon is glued into the female half or reverse side of the mold; it is of three spoons cast from this mold, DL*350026A-C. No marks.Currently not on view
Description
Two-part mold for a wavy end or dog nose type rattail spoon; registration rabbets on both sides of handle. Finished pewter spoon is glued into the female half or reverse side of the mold; it is of three spoons cast from this mold, DL*350026A-C. No marks.
Location
Currently not on view
date spoons DL*350026A-C cast
ca 1931
date mold made
ca 1720
maker
Shoemaker, F. D.
ID Number
DL.350026A
catalog number
350026A
accession number
114833
Single-cup coffee maker, black plastic, intended to sit on top of a coffee mug or cup. Funnel, inverted cone shape at top, exterior is smooth, interior has ridges radiating from center hole.
Description
Single-cup coffee maker, black plastic, intended to sit on top of a coffee mug or cup. Funnel, inverted cone shape at top, exterior is smooth, interior has ridges radiating from center hole. Small tab handle at top edge, embossed on top: "COFFEE-CONE®" in serif font, "by David Douglas" in cursive. Bottom is embossed in sans serif: "PATENT/PENDING". Bottom of cone flares into flattened circular foot on bottom, pierced.
Patents:
US D203854 S, February 22, 1966, David Douglas, for "Coffee maker" (filied June 4, 1964)
US 3334574 A, August 8, 1967, David Douglas, for "Cup mounted coffee cones" (filed June 4, 1964)
Maker is Douglas Plymouth Corporation, Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1964-1967
ID Number
1990.0503.10
catalog number
1990.0503.10
accession number
1990.0503
Wavy-end or dog nose rattail spoon with round oval bowl and straight handle with D-section shaft. No marks. One of three spoons cast from the same circa 1700 mold, DL*350026A-C.
Description
Wavy-end or dog nose rattail spoon with round oval bowl and straight handle with D-section shaft. No marks. One of three spoons cast from the same circa 1700 mold, DL*350026A-C.
date made
ca 1931
ID Number
DL.350026B
catalog number
350026B
accession number
114833
Hinged asparagus tongs in the shape of an asparagus spear, with two finger rings attached to one side and one ring to the other.
Description
Hinged asparagus tongs in the shape of an asparagus spear, with two finger rings attached to one side and one ring to the other. Hinge exterior on single ring side is struck with two marks, an incuse square containing a diamond-with-balanced-scales logo for Christofle above "CHRISTOFLE" in an incuse decorative font in a rectangle; double ring side is stamped incuse "BREVETÉ / S. G. D. G." in sans serif letters. Interior of each half is scratched at top on opposite corners "XII".
Maker is Christofle of Paris, France. "BREVETÉ / S. G. D. G." or "Breveté Sans Garantie Du Gouvernement" is a type of French patent that frees the government from liability.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
20th century
ID Number
DL.63.0942
catalog number
63.0942
accession number
247785
Single-burner gas stove and heater featuring a removable, openwork, domed crown with scroll finial; a vertical, cylindrical shell or casing with a piercework band between two raised beads; and an open-scrollwork base on three, cabriole, strapwork-decorated legs with snake feet; t
Description
Single-burner gas stove and heater featuring a removable, openwork, domed crown with scroll finial; a vertical, cylindrical shell or casing with a piercework band between two raised beads; and an open-scrollwork base on three, cabriole, strapwork-decorated legs with snake feet; the threaded connector for the supply valve extends out above the back foot. Hole for lighting the pilot light is to left of valve and has a screwed-on, scrolled-edge plaque with "N\o" and "88" in raised letters at its sides.
One of three gas stoves with history of use in Washington, D.C., DL*60.0212A-C. Crowns on DL*60.212 A and B are identical.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1900
ID Number
DL.60.0212B
catalog number
60.0212B
accession number
226327
Small, aqua-green tray with ogee bracket sides, realistically painted with two strawberries and three leaves still on their stems across well; gilt rim. Stamped as a single piece with flat rim, tapered sides, and flat bottom.
Description
Small, aqua-green tray with ogee bracket sides, realistically painted with two strawberries and three leaves still on their stems across well; gilt rim. Stamped as a single piece with flat rim, tapered sides, and flat bottom. No marks.
The donor recalled purchasing this tray around 1950 in Washington, D.C., either at Garfinckel's, a local, upscale department store, or at Little Caledonia, a small home furnishings and fabrics store in Georgetown.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1950
date purchased
ca 1950
ID Number
1990.0503.15
catalog number
1990.0503.15
accession number
1990.0503
Small, handleless seamed cylindrical cup with straight tapered sides and applied flared rim and flat bottom. Engraved on exterior "E" in foliate script. Bottom underside engraved "5". No maker's marks.Currently not on view
Description
Small, handleless seamed cylindrical cup with straight tapered sides and applied flared rim and flat bottom. Engraved on exterior "E" in foliate script. Bottom underside engraved "5". No maker's marks.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1790
ID Number
DL.63.0905
catalog number
63.0905
accession number
241136
Fiddle ladle with horizontal oval bowl and rounded downturned handle with midrib on back and "GMK" engraved in foliate script on front; pointed shoulders. Swage-formed rounded-square drop on back of bowl.
Description
Fiddle ladle with horizontal oval bowl and rounded downturned handle with midrib on back and "GMK" engraved in foliate script on front; pointed shoulders. Swage-formed rounded-square drop on back of bowl. Struck once on back of handle "C.A.BURNETT" in raised serif letters in a rectangle.
Maker is Charles A. Burnett (1769-1849); worked in Fredericksburg, VA, 1788-1793; Alexandria, VA , 1793-1796; and Georgetown, DC, 1796-circa 1840.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1810-1820
ID Number
DL.391821
catalog number
391821
Ticket number 1774 for Washington City Canal Lottery No. 1, signed by Notley Young; no date. Letterpress-printed in black with patterned borders and text on a rectangular piece of laid paper; no watermark.Currently not on view
Description
Ticket number 1774 for Washington City Canal Lottery No. 1, signed by Notley Young; no date. Letterpress-printed in black with patterned borders and text on a rectangular piece of laid paper; no watermark.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1796
ID Number
DL.220760.016
accession number
220760
catalog number
220760.016
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1868-11-17
ID Number
DL.67.0069
catalog number
67.0069
accession number
250458
Hemispherical pot or kettle on three, conical feet with a wire bail handle looped through arched tabs atop its rolled rim; interior lip; pivoting scraper or stirrer mounted inside. Hollow cast with a single, narrow gate mark on bottom exterior.
Description
Hemispherical pot or kettle on three, conical feet with a wire bail handle looped through arched tabs atop its rolled rim; interior lip; pivoting scraper or stirrer mounted inside. Hollow cast with a single, narrow gate mark on bottom exterior. No additional marks.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
late 19th century
ID Number
DL.289434
catalog number
289434
accession number
59128
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880
ID Number
1989.0184.07
catalog number
1989.0184.07
accession number
1989.0184
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880
ID Number
DL.300420.0001
catalog number
300420.0001
accession number
300420
Handleless seamed cylindrical cup with straight tapered sides and applied molded rim and foot ring; flat bottom set in. Engraved on exterior "PME" in conjoined foliate script.
Description
Handleless seamed cylindrical cup with straight tapered sides and applied molded rim and foot ring; flat bottom set in. Engraved on exterior "PME" in conjoined foliate script. Bottom underside struck once "C•A•BURNETT" in raised serif letters in a rectangle flanked by a right-facing, standing spreadwing eagle in a clipped-corner surround (the one at left right-side up; the one at right upside-down).
Maker is Charles A. Burnett (1769-1849), who worked in Fredericksburg, VA from 1788-93; Alexandria, VA from 1793-96; and Georgetown, DC from 1796-circa 1840.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1815
ID Number
DL.59.0600
catalog number
59.0600
accession number
219034
Black-japanned chamberstick with large loop handle and cylindrical candle cup or socket mounted at center of a deep circular bowl with wire-rolled rim and foot ring.
Description
Black-japanned chamberstick with large loop handle and cylindrical candle cup or socket mounted at center of a deep circular bowl with wire-rolled rim and foot ring. Painted decoration inside bowl includes a wide yellow or white band above a thin yellow line that features a repeating pattern of three red cherries on a single stem attached to a seven-lobed green leaf; a yellow band overpainted with an undulating or wavy black line borders the low-domed well. No marks. One of a pair, 1990.0503.01-.02.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1930
date purchased
ca 1930
ID Number
1990.0503.02
catalog number
1990.0503.02
accession number
1990.0503
T-shaped element made from a short square bar tenoned through a larger rectangular crosspiece and peened at top.
Description
T-shaped element made from a short square bar tenoned through a larger rectangular crosspiece and peened at top. Opposite end of the square bar is punched with a circular hole, while the crosspiece has two rectangular slots or through mortises running front to back at one end and two offset rectangular pockets or blind mortises at top and bottom of the other end. Yellow chalk marks across one side of crosspiece.
Maker is Keyser Brothers Iron Works, 4041 Ridge Ave. in Germantown, Philadelphia, PA, 1928-1971. Run by James Moore Bryant Keyser (1902-1977) and master blacksmith Howard Keyser III (1904-1980). Specialized in residential and ecclesiastical ornamental wrought ironwork, including the High Altar Gates in the National Cathedral, Washington, D.C. The forge was housed in an 1850s stone industrial complex that was dismantled in 1971 (documented by HABS/HAER).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1928-1971
ID Number
DL.72.0024A
catalog number
72.0024A
accession number
299610
Rectangular, black-japanned bread basket or tray with flared sides, wire-rolled rim and flat bottom.
Description
Rectangular, black-japanned bread basket or tray with flared sides, wire-rolled rim and flat bottom. Painted decoration on interior includes a wide yellow or white band above a thin yellow line that features a repeating pattern of three red cherries on a single stem attached to a seven-lobed green leaf; a yellow band overpainted with an undulating or wavy black line borders the well. Made in three pieces: bowl in two parts with separate bottom. No marks.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1930
date purchased
ca 1930
ID Number
1990.0503.03
catalog number
1990.0503.03
accession number
1990.0503

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.