Domestic Furnishings - Overview
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.
"Domestic Furnishings - Overview" showing 17 items.
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Chromolithograph, Making the Scrap Book
- Description
- The impulse to clip and save images is familiar to many people, and today there is active interest in scrapbooks. In Juliana Oakley's 1865 painting, "Making the Scrap Book," a girl in a spotless white dress is trimming small engravings for inclusion in the scrapbook at her feet. The setting includes books, furniture, and other pictures that symbolize art and learning. These objects suggest middle-class cultural values and aspirations, while the activity itself indicates the importance of memory and its construction in the post-Civil War period.
- Oakley's painting was exhibited in New York and Philadelphia, where it was purchased by portrait painter G. P. A. Healy in 1865. Healy lived in Chicago, permitting Louis Kurz's Chicago Lithographing Company to reproduce the painting in full color as a chromolithograph in 1868. Chromolithography used multiple lithographic stones for commercial and artistic printing in color. Separate stones were used to print each basic color, and some highlights were added by hand. The Museum's copy of this print has labels from both the Chicago publisher and the New York City retailer indicating its national distribution.
- During the 19th century, many Americans believed in art as an agent of cultural improvement. Specific prints were cited for their civilizing influence, providing moral uplift as well as taste and refinement. Household manuals like The American Woman's Home, published in 1869 by Harriet Beecher Stowe and her sister Catharine Beecher, recommended that prints be framed and placed where they would be seen daily. They cited specific chromolithographs after American paintings as affordable and worthy of contemplation, including Juliana Oakley's "Making the Scrapbook." Looking at such prints, the Beecher sisters argued, invoked a child's powers of observation and imaginative faculties, influencing the formation of individual character and, by extension, the nation.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1868
- owner
- Healy, George Peter Alexander
- graphic artist
- Chicago Lithographing Company
- original artist
- Oakley, Juliana
- publisher
- Jenkinson, Keitz and Company
- lithographer
- Kurz, Louis
- ID Number
- 2001.0074.1
- accession number
- 2001.0074.01
- catalog number
- 2001.0074.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Sailing for Bluefish
- Description (Brief)
- This print is one of fifteen chromolithographs that were included in the 1889-1890 folio "Sport or Fishing and Shooting" published by Bradlee Whidden of Boston and edited by A.C. Gould. These prints are based on watercolors that were commissioned for the publication, and illustrated by prominent American artists. Each folio illustration was accompanied by a single leaf of descriptive text followed by an account of the depicted sporting scene. The publication was advertised as having been reviewed for accuracy by a renowned group of anglers and hunters prior to printing.
- This print was originally titled and numbered on the text page as 10. Sailing for Bluefish. Fred. S. Cozzens. It depicts three men in a sailboat. Two of the men are fishing and the third is steering the rudder. Other sailboats and a lighthouse are in background.
- The artist was Frederic Schiller Cozzens (1846-1928) who was known for maritime scenes.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1890
- publisher; copywriter
- Bradlee Whidden
- artist
- Forbes Lithograph Manufacturing Company
- maker
- Cozzens, Frederic Schiller
- ID Number
- DL*60.2719
- catalog number
- 60.2719
- accession number
- 228146
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Catching a Mascalonge
- Description (Brief)
- This print is one of fifteen chromolithographs that were included in the 1889-1890 folio "Sport or Fishing and Shooting" published by Bradlee Whidden of Boston and edited by A.C. Gould. These prints are based on watercolors that were commissioned for the publication, and illustrated by prominent American artists. Each folio illustration was accompanied by a single leaf of descriptive text followed by an account of the depicted sporting scene. The publication was advertised as having been reviewed for accuracy by a renowned group of anglers and hunters prior to printing.
- This print was originally titled and numbered on the text page as 8. Catching a Mascalonge. Frank H. Taylor. It depicts three men in a boat pulling in a fish identified as a mascalong or musky.
- The artist, Frank H. Taylor (1846-1927), was an illustrator, author, and photographer based in Philadelphia.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1890
- publisher; copywriter
- Bradlee Whidden
- lithographer
- Forbes Lithograph Manufacturing Company
- artist
- Taylor, Frank Hamilton
- ID Number
- DL*60.2724
- catalog number
- 60.2724
- accession number
- 228146
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Catching a Tarpon
- Description (Brief)
- This print is one of fifteen chromolithographs that were included in the 1889-1890 folio "Sport or Fishing and Shooting" published by Bradlee Whidden of Boston and edited by A.C. Gould. These prints are based on watercolors that were commissioned for the publication, and illustrated by prominent American artists. Each folio illustration was accompanied by a single leaf of descriptive text followed by an account of the depicted sporting scene. The publication was advertised as having been reviewed for accuracy by a renowned group of anglers and hunters prior to printing.
- This print was originally titled and numbered on the text page as 6. Catching a Tarpon. Fred S. Cozzens. It depicts a large tarpon jumping out of the water. Two men in a boat in the background are holding the line and attempting to pull the fish in. The scene was to have occurred in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida and the shoreline is depicted in the background.
- The artist was Frederic Schiller Cozzens (1846-1928) who was known for maritime scenes.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1889
- publisher; copywriter
- Bradlee Whidden
- lithographer
- Forbes Lithograph Manufacturing Company
- artist
- Cozzens, Frederic Schiller
- ID Number
- DL*60.2725
- catalog number
- 60.2725
- accession number
- 228146
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
A Moose Hunt
- Description (Brief)
- This print is one of fifteen chromolithographs that were included in the 1889-1890 folio "Sport or Fishing and Shooting" published by Bradlee Whidden of Boston and edited by A.C. Gould. These prints are based on watercolors that were commissioned for the publication, and illustrated by prominent American artists. Each folio illustration was accompanied by a single leaf of descriptive text followed by an account of the depicted sporting scene. The publication was advertised as having been reviewed for accuracy by a renowned group of anglers and hunters prior to printing.
- This print was originally titled and numbered on the text page as 2. A Moose Hunt. Henry Sandham. Depicted is a bull moose standing in the right foreground at the edge of a stream from which it has presumably been drinking. Two men in a canoe are visible in the left background; one man is paddling while the other carries a rifle.
- The artist was Henry Sandham (1842-1910), a Canadian born illustrator and artist of hunting and fishing scenes.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1889
- publisher; copywriter
- Bradlee Whidden
- lithographer
- Forbes Lithograph Manufacturing Company
- artist
- Sandham, Henry
- ID Number
- DL*60.2726
- catalog number
- 60.2726
- accession number
- 228146
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Trout Fishing
- Description (Brief)
- This print is one of fifteen chromolithographs that were included in the 1889-1890 folio "Sport or Fishing and Shooting" published by Bradlee Whidden of Boston and edited by A.C. Gould. These prints are based on watercolors that were commissioned for the publication, and illustrated by prominent American artists. Each folio illustration was accompanied by a single leaf of descriptive text followed by an account of the depicted sporting scene. The publication was advertised as having been reviewed for accuracy by a renowned group of anglers and hunters prior to printing.
- This print was originally titled and numbered on the text page as 3. Trout Fishing. Henry Sandham. Depicted is a fisherman standing in a stream fishing. The scene is set in a forest.
- The artist was Henry Sandham (1842-1910), a Canadian born illustrator and artist of hunting and fishing scenes.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1889
- publisher; copywriter
- Bradlee Whidden
- lithographer
- Forbes Lithograph Manufacturing Company
- artist
- Sandham, Henry
- ID Number
- DL*60.2727
- catalog number
- 60.2727
- accession number
- 228146
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Stalking the Wapiti
- Description (Brief)
- This print is one of fifteen chromolithographs that were included in the 1889-1890 folio "Sport or Fishing and Shooting" published by Bradlee Whidden of Boston and edited by A.C. Gould. These prints are based on watercolors that were commissioned for the publication, and illustrated by prominent American artists. Each folio illustration was accompanied by a single leaf of descriptive text followed by an account of the depicted sporting scene. The publication was advertised as having been reviewed for accuracy by a renowned group of anglers and hunters prior to printing.
- This print was originally titled and numbered on the text page as 15. Stalking the Wapiti. Henry Sandham. Depicted are four Wapiti or elk- one stag and three doe- standing on a grassy ridge, overlooking two men walking on a path below the ridge.
- The artist was Henry Sandham (1842-1910), a Canadian born illustrator and artist of hunting and fishing scenes.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1890
- publisher; copywriter
- Bradlee Whidden
- lithographer
- Forbes Lithograph Manufacturing Company
- artist
- Sandham, Henry
- ID Number
- DL*60.2729
- catalog number
- 60.2729
- accession number
- 228146
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Fly-Fishing for Black Bass
- Description (Brief)
- This print is one of fifteen chromolithographs that were included in the 1889-1890 folio "Sport or Fishing and Shooting" published by Bradlee Whidden of Boston and edited by A.C. Gould. These prints are based on watercolors that were commissioned for the publication, and illustrated by prominent American artists. Each folio illustration was accompanied by a single leaf of descriptive text followed by an account of the depicted sporting scene. The publication was advertised as having been reviewed for accuracy by a renowned group of anglers and hunters prior to printing.
- This print was originally titled and numbered on the text page as 4. Fly-fishing for Black Bass. S.F. Denton. Depicted is of a fisherman standing in a stream reeling in a fish.
- The artist was Sherman Foote Denton (1856-1937), a naturalist and noted illustrator of drawings of fish. Denton also invented a method of mounting fish that preserved their colors as in life. His work was frequently commissioned by the U.S. Fish Commision, forerunner of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1890
- publisher; copywriter
- Bradlee Whidden
- lithographer
- Forbes Lithograph Manufacturing Company
- artist
- Denton, Sherman Foote
- ID Number
- DL*60.2731
- catalog number
- 60.2731
- accession number
- 228146
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Hunting Antelope
- Description (Brief)
- This print is one of fifteen chromolithographs that were included in the 1889-1890 folio "Sport or Fishing and Shooting" published by Bradlee Whidden of Boston and edited by A.C. Gould. These prints are based on watercolors that were commissioned for the publication, and illustrated by prominent American artists. Each folio illustration was accompanied by a single leaf of descriptive text followed by an account of the depicted sporting scene. The publication was advertised as having been reviewed for accuracy by a renowned group of anglers and hunters prior to printing.
- This print was originally titled and numbered on the text page as 5. Hunting Antelope [i.e. Prong-horn] Frederic Remington. Depicted are two men on barren mesa with the game in the distance. In the foreground, one cowboy is holding a rifle and the reins of his horse while standing near standing near a second saddled and hobbled cow pony. The second hunter is kneeling in the background, shooting at the antelope in the distance.
- This print is by well known western artist, Frederick Remington (1861-1909). It is one of his first two prints to be issued in color and was published less than a decade after Remington first traveled to the American West.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1890
- publisher; copywriter
- Bradlee Whidden
- lithographer
- Remington, Frederic
- maker
- Forbes Lithograph Manufacturing Company
- ID Number
- DL*60.2732
- catalog number
- 60.2732
- accession number
- 228146
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Killing Salmon
- Description (Brief)
- This print is one of fifteen chromolithographs that were included in the 1889-1890 folio "Sport or Fishing and Shooting" published by Bradlee Whidden of Boston and edited by A.C. Gould. These prints are based on watercolors that were commissioned for the publication, and illustrated by prominent American artists. Each folio illustration was accompanied by a single leaf of descriptive text followed by an account of the depicted sporting scene. The publication was advertised as having been reviewed for accuracy by a renowned group of anglers and hunters prior to printing.
- This print was originally titled and numbered on the text page as 1. Killing Salmon. Henry Sandham. Two fishermen are depicted standing on a boulder beside a stream. They are bringing in a large salmon on a fishing line and a metal hook. A large fish lies behind them, already landed.
- The artist was Henry Sandham (1842-1910), a Canadian born illustrator and artist of hunting and fishing scenes.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1889
- publisher; copywriter
- Bradlee Whidden
- lithographer
- Forbes Lithograph Manufacturing Company
- artist
- Sandham, Henry
- ID Number
- DL*60.2733
- catalog number
- 60.2733
- accession number
- 228146
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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