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.

Cast, spade-shaped trivet with long hanging handle; design features a fylfot in circle at center with compasses and square at toe and the roman letters "D S" flanked by sprigs of leaves and curved hearts across bottom. Three D-section legs. Groove around perimeter; no railing.
Description
Cast, spade-shaped trivet with long hanging handle; design features a fylfot in circle at center with compasses and square at toe and the roman letters "D S" flanked by sprigs of leaves and curved hearts across bottom. Three D-section legs. Groove around perimeter; no railing. No other marks.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1830 - 1850
ID Number
1978.0939.038
accession number
1978.0939
catalog number
1978.0939.038
Straight steel blade with rounded tip. Blade and rectangular bolster are one piece of steel with tang fitted into a tapered ivory handle with straight sides and rounded butt. Metal has minor discoloration, some residues on blade. Ivory is yellowed.
Description
Straight steel blade with rounded tip. Blade and rectangular bolster are one piece of steel with tang fitted into a tapered ivory handle with straight sides and rounded butt. Metal has minor discoloration, some residues on blade. Ivory is yellowed. Blade stamped: “PRATT ROPES WEBB&Co / AMERICAN CUTLERY”. With matching fork, 1986.0531.114.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1846 - 1855
ID Number
1986.0531.113
accession number
1986.0531
catalog number
1986.531.113
Colored print of a view of Boston with Boston Common in the foreground and the bay in the background. Houses, churches, warehouses and industrial buildings are depicted. The bay is filled with sailing ships.
Description (Brief)
Colored print of a view of Boston with Boston Common in the foreground and the bay in the background. Houses, churches, warehouses and industrial buildings are depicted. The bay is filled with sailing ships.
Date made
1850
maker
Bachmann, John
Sarony & Major
ID Number
DL.60.3745
catalog number
60.3745
Black and white print of a small town in hilly wooded area.
Description (Brief)
Black and white print of a small town in hilly wooded area.
Date made
1853
associated date
1853
maker
Britton & Rey
artist
Goddard, George Henry
ID Number
DL.60.3817
catalog number
60.3817
Color print of two steamboats (the "Diana" and the "Baltic") travelling at full speed with smoke pouring from their double stacks. Other steamboats are in the background and a flatboat with several men is in the right foreground.
Description (Brief)
Color print of two steamboats (the "Diana" and the "Baltic") travelling at full speed with smoke pouring from their double stacks. Other steamboats are in the background and a flatboat with several men is in the right foreground.
Date made
1859
maker
Fuller, George F.
Weingartner, Adam
ID Number
DL.60.3292
catalog number
60.3292
Color print of a whaling scene. Two whale boats, each with four oarsman, a steersman, and a spearman, chase a whale in the foreground. Other chases take place in the background. Three whaling vessels in full sail are in the distance.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Color print of a whaling scene. Two whale boats, each with four oarsman, a steersman, and a spearman, chase a whale in the foreground. Other chases take place in the background. Three whaling vessels in full sail are in the distance.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1859
publisher; copyright holder
Charles Taber & Co.
maker
Endicott and Company
original artist
Beest, Albert Van
Gifford, Robert Swain
Russell, Benjamin
ID Number
DL.60.3248
catalog number
60.3248
Black and white print of a frigate (Mississippi) almost totally swamped by high seas on her passage from Simoda, Japan to the Sandwich Islands on the 7th of October 1854.
Description (Brief)
Black and white print of a frigate (Mississippi) almost totally swamped by high seas on her passage from Simoda, Japan to the Sandwich Islands on the 7th of October 1854.
Date made
1854
maker
Brown, Eliphalet Jr.
Britton & Rey
original artist
Heine, W
ID Number
DL.60.3287
catalog number
60.3287
Color print of the steamship "New Jersey" in flames. Passengers are jumping off the ship and many are already in the water. The names of all on board are listed below the image in groupings: the dead {31}, the missing {30}, the saved {46}.
Description (Brief)
Color print of the steamship "New Jersey" in flames. Passengers are jumping off the ship and many are already in the water. The names of all on board are listed below the image in groupings: the dead {31}, the missing {30}, the saved {46}.
Date made
1856
maker
Pharazyn, A.
ID Number
DL.60.3301
catalog number
60.3301
Dessert knife. Straight steel blade with rounded tip and squared bolster. Blade, bolster, and tang are one piece of steel fitted into a wooden tapered block handle with straight sides and a rounded butt. Tang is held in place with a brass pin.
Description
Dessert knife. Straight steel blade with rounded tip and squared bolster. Blade, bolster, and tang are one piece of steel fitted into a wooden tapered block handle with straight sides and a rounded butt. Tang is held in place with a brass pin. Metal has scratches and minor discoloration. Wood has small crack on underside near bolster. Brass is corroded.
Blade is stamped: “SOUTH RIVER CUTLERY Co/CONWAY MASS”
Maker is the South River Cutlery Company, in business 1851-1858 in Conway, Massachusetts.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1851- 1858
ID Number
1986.0531.104
accession number
1986.0531
catalog number
1986.531.104
Multiknopped and faceted andiron on spurred, inward-scrolling legs, each ending in a pair of cup feet; cast brass billet bar cover on stepped front of bar. Two-part upright, each part cast hollow in halves and seamed vertically.
Description
Multiknopped and faceted andiron on spurred, inward-scrolling legs, each ending in a pair of cup feet; cast brass billet bar cover on stepped front of bar. Two-part upright, each part cast hollow in halves and seamed vertically. All parts held together by an internal iron rod threaded at top and peened at bottom. No marks. One of a pair, CE/DL*63.1025A-B.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1825-1850
ID Number
DL.63.1025B
catalog number
63.1025B
accession number
246530
This is a blue and white, plain weave double coverlet executed in geometric block weave pattern. The pattern is most commonly known as “Whig Rose.” There is a "Pine Tree" border along three sides created from a fractional reduction and lengthening of the main pattern.
Description
This is a blue and white, plain weave double coverlet executed in geometric block weave pattern. The pattern is most commonly known as “Whig Rose.” There is a "Pine Tree" border along three sides created from a fractional reduction and lengthening of the main pattern. The weaver used natural colored linen with olive green and indigo (blue) colored wool. The coverlet measures 82 inches by 79 inches. The coverlet is constructed of two panels each 34.5 inches wide. The weaver would have woven both panels as one length, cut that length in half, and sewn the panels together to create the finished width. There is a five inch long woven fringe with a half inch heading applied to the sides of coverlet, and there is a five inch self-fringe along the lower edge. The coverlet was initially purchased in Huntington Valley, Pennsylvania and it is likely that it was woven in Pennsylvania sometime during the first half of the nineteenth century.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1790-1815
late 18th century
early 19th century
1800-1850
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T18271
catalog number
T18271.000
accession number
1977.0107
This overshot, indigo and white coverlet (now separated into two panels) is woven in the "Catalpa Flower" pattern. Overshot patterning is based on a float weave structure, where a supplementary weft yarn is added to create the pattern.
Description
This overshot, indigo and white coverlet (now separated into two panels) is woven in the "Catalpa Flower" pattern. Overshot patterning is based on a float weave structure, where a supplementary weft yarn is added to create the pattern. The yarn floats or shoots over the top of the plain weave ground cloth creating the pattern. The pattern is a reversible negative, meaning that the color combination is reversed on the opposite side. Overshot coverlets can be woven on simple four-shaft looms. They are usually associated with domestic production and many of them are attributed to female weavers. Professional male weavers also wove floatwork coverlets. Many overshot patterns have names; however, these names changed and varied due to time and location. According to the donor, this coverlet descended through the Van Meter family of New York and was likely woven in the first half of the nineteenth century by a female ancestor. The two coverlet panels would have been joined with a center seam. These panels were repurposed during the early 20th century Colonial Revival decorating period and used as portieres in the Van Meter home. Each of the two panels measures 75 inches by 35.25 inches.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
19th century
date made
1800-1850
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T14960A
catalog number
T14960.00S
T14960.A-S
accession number
286274
catalog number
T14960-B/S
Circular salt with a molded rim, gilt-washed hemispherical bowl, and four cast legs with quadruple-padded knees and triple-padded feet. Underside of rounded bottom struck "TIFFANY, YOUNG & ELLIS" and "J.C.M.", both in incuse serif letters placed above and below centerpoint.
Description
Circular salt with a molded rim, gilt-washed hemispherical bowl, and four cast legs with quadruple-padded knees and triple-padded feet. Underside of rounded bottom struck "TIFFANY, YOUNG & ELLIS" and "J.C.M.", both in incuse serif letters placed above and below centerpoint. One of two salts, DL*300503A-B.
Made by the John C. Moore Co. for Tiffany, Young & Ellis, both of New York, NY, 1848-1852.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1848-1852
ID Number
DL.300503B
catalog number
300503B
accession number
61510
Small, handleless, tapered cylindrical cup or beaker with two bands of five grooves near top and bottom; ounce size. High foot ring. Stamped incuse on bottom exterior "5". No other marks.Currently not on view
Description
Small, handleless, tapered cylindrical cup or beaker with two bands of five grooves near top and bottom; ounce size. High foot ring. Stamped incuse on bottom exterior "5". No other marks.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1750-1850
ca 1850-1900
ID Number
DL.67.0092
catalog number
67.0092
accession number
250853
In the 1700s, paperweights made from textured stone or bronze were part of the writer’s tool kit, which also included a quill pen and stand, inkpot, and blotter.
Description (Brief)
In the 1700s, paperweights made from textured stone or bronze were part of the writer’s tool kit, which also included a quill pen and stand, inkpot, and blotter. By the mid-1800s, decorative paperweights produced by glassmakers in Europe and the United States became highly desired collectibles.
Decorative glass paperweights reflected the 19th-century taste for intricate, over-the-top designs. Until the spread of textiles colorized with synthetic dyes, ceramics and glass were among the few objects that added brilliant color to a 19th-century Victorian interior. The popularity of these paperweights in the 1800s testifies to the sustained cultural interest in hand craftsmanship during an age of rapid industrialization.
The French firm, Verrerie de Clichy, began operation after merging with another local glassworks in 1837. The height of paperweight production at the firm was 1846 to 1857.
This Clichy paperweight features concentric rings of millefiori and a “C” signature cane. Millefiore paperweights, first manufactured in Venice, consist of sections from rods of colored glass encased in a clear, colorless sphere. By the mid-nineteenth century, glass factories elsewhere in Europe were emulating the millefiore style.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1845-1850
maker
Clichy
ID Number
CE.66.74
catalog number
66.74
collector/donor number
174
accession number
268356
Lidless baluster measure with plain galleried rim and flared base; gallon size. Two pairs of incised lines around body. S-scroll handle with ridged thumbrest and triple-grooved rectangular lower terminal; cylindrical strut with diamond- or lozenge-shaped attachment.
Description
Lidless baluster measure with plain galleried rim and flared base; gallon size. Two pairs of incised lines around body. S-scroll handle with ridged thumbrest and triple-grooved rectangular lower terminal; cylindrical strut with diamond- or lozenge-shaped attachment. Rim exterior stamped to left of handle "W C" in incuse serif letters, and to right of handle with partial mark of "(M?):I" in raised serif letters in a serrated surround.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1750-1850
ID Number
DL.67.0077
catalog number
67.0077
accession number
250853
Thistle measure; half gill size. Band around rim; plain base. Spurred D- or ear-shaped handle with short, flat lower terminal; cylindrical struts. Front of body stamped "1/2 GILL" in incuse serif letters.
Description
Thistle measure; half gill size. Band around rim; plain base. Spurred D- or ear-shaped handle with short, flat lower terminal; cylindrical struts. Front of body stamped "1/2 GILL" in incuse serif letters. Rim exterior stamped with verification mark for Glasgow to right of quality mark and right of handle. From a set of five thistle measures, DL*67.0213-.0218.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1800
ca 1800-1850
ID Number
DL.67.0216
catalog number
67.0216
accession number
250853
Plain, compressed globular teapot with equal-height, incurved neck and pedestal base and creased, tapered shoulder and underbelly. Wide-rimmed, bell-domed, hinged lid is topped by button knop. Black-japanned, spurred, S- and C-curve handle is pinned into leafy spiral sockets.
Description
Plain, compressed globular teapot with equal-height, incurved neck and pedestal base and creased, tapered shoulder and underbelly. Wide-rimmed, bell-domed, hinged lid is topped by button knop. Black-japanned, spurred, S- and C-curve handle is pinned into leafy spiral sockets. S-scroll spout with D-shaped lip, slight crease on face and rounded belly. Plain body has a finely turned, tinned interior and is perforated at spout. Underside of flat bottom is struck "[J.] D.LOCKE / [N]EW YORK" in rectangle and "N\o. 15" with "1854", all in roman letters.
Maker is J. D. Locke of New York, NY; working 1835-1860. Mold appears identical to that used for teapot DL*300859.0031 by Josiah Danforth of Middletown, CT, 1821-circa 1843.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1854
ID Number
DL.59.0608
catalog number
59.0608
accession number
219034
This blue and white double-woven coverlet features a "Snowball Tree" central field motif, with wavy line borders on three sides. It was woven with cotton and wool yarns, and has a fringe on all four sides.
Description
This blue and white double-woven coverlet features a "Snowball Tree" central field motif, with wavy line borders on three sides. It was woven with cotton and wool yarns, and has a fringe on all four sides. The lower edge has a self-fringe, while the sides have tape fringes that travel to the top edge and run along that edge for twenty-two inches. This coverlet was woven in two sections that were sewn together on each side. According to the donor, the yarn was spun and the coverlet was woven in the home of her great-grandmother (no name given.) The coverlet dates from the first half of the 19th century. Double-woven coverlets are reversible, with the dark color dominant on one side, and the light color dominante on the other. Such coverlets are complicated to weave and require two separate sets of warp and filling yarns.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1800-1850
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.H12765
catalog number
H012765.000
accession number
053657
53657
Dessert knife with matching dessert fork (see 1986.0531.002). Upturned steel blade with rounded tip. Blade and bolster are one piece of steel fitted into a tapered ivory block handle with a rounded butt. Overall scratches and discoloration.
Description
Dessert knife with matching dessert fork (see 1986.0531.002). Upturned steel blade with rounded tip. Blade and bolster are one piece of steel fitted into a tapered ivory block handle with a rounded butt. Overall scratches and discoloration. Ivory is yellowed, has long crack down front.
Blade is stamped: “IBBOTSON&HORNER/EXTRA CAST STEEL”
Maker is Ibbotson & Horner, a New York-based manufacturer active ca 1850.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1840- 1850
ID Number
1986.0531.001
accession number
1986.0531
catalog number
1986.0531.001
Double-dome lidded ale jug with an openwork thumb piece, engraved on front of body "J&CB" in foliate script letters. Plain, inverted-bulbous or -bellied body has a slightly flared neck with molded rim and flared foot; faint line visible at seam.
Description
Double-dome lidded ale jug with an openwork thumb piece, engraved on front of body "J&CB" in foliate script letters. Plain, inverted-bulbous or -bellied body has a slightly flared neck with molded rim and flared foot; faint line visible at seam. Compound-scroll handle with five-knuckle hinge, stepped thumbrest and short terminal; upper terminal attached below rim. Plain, inset, curved spout; no strainer. Pot touch of "[GER]ARDIN (arched) / & / WATSON (curved)", all in raised serif letters, on bottom inside.
Maker is Gerardin and Watson of London, England, c. 1805-1854.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
early 19th c.
c. 1805-1854
ID Number
DL.67.0154
catalog number
67.0154
accession number
250853
Dessert knife. Straight silver-plated blade with rounded tip and “yankee” style bolster. Blade and bolster are one piece of steel with tang, inserted into hard black rubber handle with rounded sides and butt.
Description
Dessert knife. Straight silver-plated blade with rounded tip and “yankee” style bolster. Blade and bolster are one piece of steel with tang, inserted into hard black rubber handle with rounded sides and butt. Heavily scratched overall, silver is worn off near cutting edge, tarnished.
Blade is stamped: “HARD RUBBER/CUTLERY Co”
Could not locate any information on this company, but it may have been based out of New York. Hard plastic was patented in 1844 and was first used for knife handles circa 1856.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1856
ID Number
1986.0531.075
accession number
1986.0531
catalog number
1986.0531.075
This blue and white, Summer-and-Winter weave coverlet was woven from a warp of 2-ply, S-twist, Z-spun cotton, a ground weft of single ply Z-spun cotton, and a supplementary pattern weft of 2-ply, S-twist, Z-spun wool.
Description
This blue and white, Summer-and-Winter weave coverlet was woven from a warp of 2-ply, S-twist, Z-spun cotton, a ground weft of single ply Z-spun cotton, and a supplementary pattern weft of 2-ply, S-twist, Z-spun wool. The coverlet is constructed of two 35.5 inch widths that were woven as one length, cut, and seamed together to create the finished width. The pattern is a square variation of the “Whig Rose” pattern. There is fringe is along three sides. It appears the fringe was two inches long when new but has worn away over time. There are badly worn spots along the top and bottom edges and the center seam. The side fringe is detached and ragged in a few places. The condition of the coverlet overall is fair. According to the donors, this coverlet was woven in the first half of the nineteenth century in Cambridge, New York. The coverlet measures 92 inches by 66.5 inches.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1800-1850
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T16959
catalog number
T16959.000
accession number
309644
Small, spiral-ribbed, rectangular case with side-hinged lid. Notched, serrated bottom edge for striking matches. Gold-washed interior.
Description
Small, spiral-ribbed, rectangular case with side-hinged lid. Notched, serrated bottom edge for striking matches. Gold-washed interior. Collar is struck incuse on one side with "STERLING" in sans serif letters to left of trademark "C" in a right-facing arrowhead; opposite side is lightly scratched with a series of numbers.
Maker is probably Carter, Hawkins & Sloan (1876-1902) or Carter, Howe & Co. (1902-1915) of Newark, NJ. Firm began as Pennington, Carter & Doaremus, c. 1841 and underwent multiple partnership and name changes, ending with Carter, Gough & Co. (1915-1922) at the time of its closure; the later companies used the same marks. Manufacturing jewelers; produced fine jewelry for the retail trade.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1850
1900 - 1920
ID Number
DL.60.2142
catalog number
60.2142
accession number
200122

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