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.

This bedcovering and two matching pillowcases were made in China in the 1920s. Rev. Alexander Cunningham, a Presbyterian minister in China at the time, sent them to the United States on the birth of his nephew, James Cunningham, in 1926.
Description
This bedcovering and two matching pillowcases were made in China in the 1920s. Rev. Alexander Cunningham, a Presbyterian minister in China at the time, sent them to the United States on the birth of his nephew, James Cunningham, in 1926. Twenty 7¾-inch square blocks of white and blue cottons are framed by a white border. The white squares have appliquéd figures depicting various childhood activities such as fishing, juggling, leaping, and ball play. The animated appliquéd figures are made of overlapping blue circles, and all wear hats.
Alexander Cunningham was born March 13, 1861, in Murrayville, Illinois. He graduated from Illinois State Normal University in 1887 and McCormick Theological Seminary in 1890. In that same year he married Mary E. Neely, and they left for China to become missionaries. Assigned to the Presbyterian North China Mission, they were active missionaries in China from 1890 to 1933, and after retirement continued to live in China until 1940. After fifty years as missionaries, they returned to California on the eve of World War II. Alexander Cunningham died in Los Angeles, California, on September 20, 1943. This appliquéd bedcovering with matching pillowcases may be the product of a mission where Rev. Alexander Cunningham served.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1926
quilter
unknown
ID Number
1986.0676.01
catalog number
1986.0676.01
accession number
1986.0676
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1875 - 1900
ID Number
1988.0541.05
accession number
1988.0541
catalog number
1988.0541.05
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1950
maker
Oneida Ltd.
ID Number
1987.0492.1C
accession number
1987.0492
catalog number
1987.0492.1C
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1950
maker
Oneida Ltd.
ID Number
1987.0492.1A
accession number
1987.0492
catalog number
1987.0492.1A
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1950
Date made
DELETE
maker
Oneida Ltd.
ID Number
1987.0492.1D
catalog number
1987.0492.1D
accession number
1987.0492
Small, three-tined fork with faceted baluster stem fitted into a bone handle, almost square in section, rounded-over at end with an inlaid brass dot on front; no bolster. No marks.
Description
Small, three-tined fork with faceted baluster stem fitted into a bone handle, almost square in section, rounded-over at end with an inlaid brass dot on front; no bolster. No marks. From a two-piece child's or youth's flatware set (knife [marked “TOKEN OF / AFFECTION”] and fork), 1986.0531.086-.087.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1850
ID Number
1986.0531.087
accession number
1986.0531
catalog number
1986.0531.087
Small, three-tined fork with slender baluster stem fitted into a short ivory handle, tapered rectangular in section, with rounded-over end. Back of stem stamped "STEEL" in incuse serif letters.
Description
Small, three-tined fork with slender baluster stem fitted into a short ivory handle, tapered rectangular in section, with rounded-over end. Back of stem stamped "STEEL" in incuse serif letters. From a two-piece child's or youth's flatware set (knife and fork), 1986.0531.094-.095.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1800 - 1850
ID Number
1986.0531.095
accession number
1986.0531
catalog number
1986.0531.095
Mary Dickson Watson, quilted and corded the pink silk crepe pillow cover to match a baby carriage cover (1989.0268.02) that she made for her granddaughter, Mary Dickson Wilson, born in 1900. The quilting in the center quatrefoil depicts two rabbits with a butterfly and flowers.
Description
Mary Dickson Watson, quilted and corded the pink silk crepe pillow cover to match a baby carriage cover (1989.0268.02) that she made for her granddaughter, Mary Dickson Wilson, born in 1900. The quilting in the center quatrefoil depicts two rabbits with a butterfly and flowers. Each corner has a square outlined by corded quilting containing a flower.
Mary Way Dickson was born about 1840. She married Alexander Watson in 1859. Their daughter, Mary Dickson Watson, was born about 1865 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She married Adam Wilson in 1897 and it was for their daughter, Mary Dickson Wilson, that the pillow and carriage cover were made. In the 1900 census, Mary Dickson Watson, was living with them in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The recipient of the silk carriage and pillow cover later married Joseph Phipps. The items remained in the family until they were donated to the Collection in 1989.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1900
maker
Watson, Mary Way Dickson
ID Number
1989.0268.03
catalog number
1989.0268.03
accession number
1989.0268
Small, blunt-blade knife fitted with a sheet steel guard and stamped banded bolster, and into a faceted wood or horn handle, tapered rectangular in section, with rounded-over end. No marks.Currently not on view
Description
Small, blunt-blade knife fitted with a sheet steel guard and stamped banded bolster, and into a faceted wood or horn handle, tapered rectangular in section, with rounded-over end. No marks.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1850 - 1900
ID Number
1986.0531.096
accession number
1986.0531
catalog number
1986.0531.096
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1872
Date made
ca 1872
patent date
1872-05-21
ID Number
1985.0259.3
accession number
1985.0259
catalog number
1985.0259.3
Mary Dickson Watson, quilted and corded the pink silk crepe baby carriage cover to match a pillow cover (1989.0268.03) that she made for her granddaughter, Mary Dickson Wilson, born in 1900. The quilting in the center quatrefoil depicts two rabbits with a butterfly and flowers.
Description
Mary Dickson Watson, quilted and corded the pink silk crepe baby carriage cover to match a pillow cover (1989.0268.03) that she made for her granddaughter, Mary Dickson Wilson, born in 1900. The quilting in the center quatrefoil depicts two rabbits with a butterfly and flowers. Surrounding the center are squares outlined by corded quilting, some containing a flower, some empty. Additionally, a narrow pink silk ribbon is used as a tie in eight places.
Mary Way Dickson was born about 1840. She married Alexander Watson in 1859. Their daughter, Mary Dickson Watson, was born about 1865 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She married Adam Wilson in 1897 and it was for their daughter, Mary Dickson Wilson, that the pillow and baby carriage cover were made. On the 1900 census, Mary Dickson Watson, was living with them in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The recipient of the silk carriage and pillow cover later married Joseph Phipps. The items remained in the family until they were donated to the Collection in 1989.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1900
maker
Watson, Mary Way Dickson
ID Number
1989.0268.02
catalog number
1989.0268.02
accession number
1989.0268
This is one of two matching appliqued pillowcases and a bedcover that were made in China in the 1920s. Rev. Alexander Cunningham, a Presbyterian minister in China at the time, sent them to the United States on the birth of his nephew, James Cunningham, in 1926.
Description
This is one of two matching appliqued pillowcases and a bedcover that were made in China in the 1920s. Rev. Alexander Cunningham, a Presbyterian minister in China at the time, sent them to the United States on the birth of his nephew, James Cunningham, in 1926. Both pillowcases are white with a single blue square at each end. On either side of each blue square is a figure of a boy with a ball, a bird, a cat, and a dog; all are made of overlapping blue circles.
Alexander Cunningham was born March 13, 1861, in Murrayville, Illinois. He graduated from Illinois State Normal University in 1887 and McCormick Theological Seminary in 1890. In that same year he married Mary E. Neely, and they left for China to become missionaries. Assigned to the Presbyterian North China Mission, they were active missionaries in China from 1890 to 1933, and after retirement continued to live in China until 1940. After fifty years as missionaries, they returned to California on the eve of World War II. Alexander Cunningham died in Los Angeles, California, on September 20, 1943. This appliquéd pillowcase with the matching bedcover may be the product of a mission where Rev. Alexander Cunningham served.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1926
quilter
unknown
ID Number
1986.0676.02
catalog number
1986.0676.02
accession number
1986.0676
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1950
maker
Oneida Ltd.
ID Number
1987.0492.1B
accession number
1987.0492
catalog number
1987.0492.1B
date made
1870 - 1877
patent date
1870-03-22
maker
Gorham Manufacturing Company
ID Number
1989.0184.08A
accession number
1989.0184
catalog number
1989.0184.08A
Small knife having a blunt blade with integral bolster fitted into a slightly flared, rectangular ivory handle chamfered at edges and rounded-over at end that is engraved lengthwise on front “GOOD GIRLS REWARD” in a scrolled banner, colored black.
Description
Small knife having a blunt blade with integral bolster fitted into a slightly flared, rectangular ivory handle chamfered at edges and rounded-over at end that is engraved lengthwise on front “GOOD GIRLS REWARD” in a scrolled banner, colored black. Mark or front side of blade stamped “THO\S(???)TRAM & SONS / [MANUF]ACTURERS / [SHE]FFIELD” in incuse serif letters. From a two-piece child's or youth's flatware set (knife and fork), 1986.0531.084-.085.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1850
ID Number
1986.0531.084
accession number
1986.0531
catalog number
1986.0531.084
This 1850 print offers a defense of slavery in America by satirically comparing it with a perceived system of “wage slavery” in England.
Description
This 1850 print offers a defense of slavery in America by satirically comparing it with a perceived system of “wage slavery” in England. In the top panel, two Northern men and two Southern men look upon a group of seemingly content slaves who are shown dancing, playing music, and smiling. The Northerners are surprised at this scene, amazed to find that popular assumptions at home about slavery were unfounded. The Southerners hope that the Northerners will return home with a new perspective on slavery, but demonstrate their readiness to fight for their rights if necessary. The lower panel shows a gathering of people outside of a cloth factory in England. On the side of the factory, a sign reads, “Sale / A Wife to be Sold.” On the left, a young farmer talks to his childhood friend, who appears as an old man. The older figure explains that life in a British factory producing cloth ages one more quickly, and that the workers die of old age at 40. To their right, a mother looks down upon her three children, lamenting “What wretched slaves, this factory life makes me & my children. Continuing right, two factory workers contemplate running away to the coal mines, where they would only work for 14 hours instead of their current 17. On the far right, two rotund men, a priest and a tax collector, approach the workers with books labeled “Tythes” and “Taxes.” In the right corner, a man thanks God that he will soon die and be free of his “factory slavery.” Below the panels is included a portrait of the bust of George Thompson, a Scottish abolitionist. An accompanying quote from Thompson reads, “I am proud to boast that Slavery does not breathe in England,” although the creators of this print would argue otherwise. It was printed by British born John Haven ( born ca 1817), who was active in New York City at 3 Broad Street 1846-1848. He then moved to 86 State Street, Boston where he was active 1848-1850. He is known for designing maps as well as for prints on Manifest Destiny and prints with political commentary.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1850
depicted
Thompson, George
maker
Haven, Joshua P.
ID Number
DL.60.3490
catalog number
60.3490
Circular plate with low-relief band of emblems for nine nursery rhymes around rim. Engraved inscription across shallow flat well for "Virginia M\c/Kenney. / from / Grandfather and Grandmother. / McKenney. / June 20\th/.. / 1900." No footring.
Description
Circular plate with low-relief band of emblems for nine nursery rhymes around rim. Engraved inscription across shallow flat well for "Virginia M\c/Kenney. / from / Grandfather and Grandmother. / McKenney. / June 20\th/.. / 1900." No footring. Well underside struck incuse with Gorham trademark (right-facing lion passant, anchor, and gothic or Old English "G", without surrounds) above "STERLING" and "A111"; "1047-14" is scratched above the trademark. No date mark. Part of bowl and plate set, DL.307672.0010-.0011.
Location
Currently not on view
date given
1900
inscribed date; donor's birthday
1900-06-20
maker
Gorham Manufacturing Company
ID Number
DL.307672.0011
catalog number
307672.0011
accession number
307672
Sentimental genre prints documented the social image of Victorian virtue through domestic scenes of courtship, family, home life, and images of the “genteel female.” Children are depicted studying nature or caring for their obedient pets as they learn their place in the greater w
Description
Sentimental genre prints documented the social image of Victorian virtue through domestic scenes of courtship, family, home life, and images of the “genteel female.” Children are depicted studying nature or caring for their obedient pets as they learn their place in the greater world. Romantic scenes picture devoted husbands with their contented, dutiful wives. In these prints, young women educated in reading, music, needlework, the arts, the language of flowers, basic math and science are subjugated to their family’s needs.
These prints became popular as lithography was introduced to 19th Century Americans. As a new art form, it was affordable for the masses and provided a means to share visual information by crossing the barriers of race, class and language. Sentimental prints encouraged the artistic endeavors of schoolgirls and promoted the ambitions of amateur artists, while serving as both moral instruction and home or business decoration. They are a pictorial record of our romanticized past.
This hand colored print is a half-length portrait of a girl, circa 1840s, holding in her arms a fat golden brown hen sporting a red comb. The graphic artist and publisher are unknown.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
n.d.
maker
unknown
ID Number
DL.60.2264
catalog number
60.2264
accession number
228146
This black and white allegorical print depicts the course of destruction through drinking. A train with its engine labeled "Distillery" is stopped at "Drunkard's Curve Station".
Description
This black and white allegorical print depicts the course of destruction through drinking. A train with its engine labeled "Distillery" is stopped at "Drunkard's Curve Station". The train is leaving a tranquil valley and heading toward doom with skeletons and snakes in the background. The print has a considerable amount of descriptive and interpretive text.
This print was created by the artist Emil F. Ackermann, who was born in Dresden, Germany in 1840 and came to the United States in 1848. Ackermann eventually went to work for the lithography firm of J.H. Bufford and Sons, which produced the lithograph in the 1860s.
It was issued by the Massachusetts Temperance Alliance and published by Reverend Steadman Wright Hanks in his book The Crystal River Turned Upon the Black Valley Railroad and Black Valley Country -- A Temperance Allegory (also known as The Black Valley: The Railroad and the Country). Hanks called the print "probably the most successful temperance lecture in the country." Stedman Wright Hanks (1811-1889) was a Congregational minister in Lowell, Massachusetts, as well as an author, artist, and fervent supporter of both the temperance and anti-slavery movements. Hanks spoke to audiences around the United States about the evils of overindulging in alcohol. In addition to his book about the Black Valley Railroad, his published works included Sailor Boys, or, Light on the Seaand Mutineers of the "Bounty and compiled a temperance song book and served as a representative in the Massachusetts General Court. He is also noted for performing the sermon commemorating John Quincy Adams death at the St. John Street Congregational Church.
This print was produced by J. Mayer and Company. Julius Mayer was a lithographer in Boston from 1857-1872. He was associated with Prang & Mayer (1857-1860), Mayer & Stetfield (1861-1862), and J. Mayer & Co. (1863-1872). His prints included scenes of Boston and Portland, Maine.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1863
copyright holder
Hanks, S. W.
artist; engraver
Ackermann, Emil
lithographer
J. Mayer and Company
ID Number
DL.60.2890
catalog number
60.2890
accession number
228146
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1850 - 1900
ID Number
DL.263901.0117
catalog number
263901.0117
accession number
263901
This hand-colored allegorical print depicts the course of destruction through drinking in a series of symbols.
Description
This hand-colored allegorical print depicts the course of destruction through drinking in a series of symbols. A train labeled "Alcohol" is stopped at "Drunkard's Curve Station." It has left a tranquil valley and is heading toward doom in a land of evil serpents (as in Eden), skeletons, a vampire bat, and what appears to be a dangerous route to destruction, with fictional station names like "Horrorland," "Maniacville", "Prisonton" and “Woeland." The train runs on grain alcohol with the piston working in a decanter. Numerous travelers who can no longer pay the fare are lying abandoned, sick or passed out along the side of the tracks, while others appear to be looking for ways to escape. Station names bear a cautionary tale of scriptural citations along the left and right borders and below the image is a considerable amount of interpretive text.
This print was created by the artist Emil F. Ackermann, who was born in Dresden, Germany in 1840 and came to the United States in 1848. Ackermann eventually went to work for the lithography firm of J.H. Bufford and Sons, which produced the lithograph in the 1860s. It was issued by the Massachusetts Temperance Alliance and published by S.W. Hanks in his book The Crystal River Turned Upon the Black Valley Railroad and Black Valley Country -- A Temperance Allegory (also known as The Black Valley: The Railroad and the Country). Hanks called the print "probably the most successful temperance lecture in the country." Stedman Wright Hanks (1811-1889) was a Congregational minister in Lowell, Massachusetts, as well as an author, artist, and fervent supporter of both the temperance and anti-slavery movements. Hanks spoke to audiences around the United States about the evils of overindulging in alcohol. In addition to his book about the Black Valley Railroad, his published works included Sailor Boys, or, Light on the Sea and Mutineers of the "Bounty and compiled a temperance song book and served as a representative in the Massachusetts General Court. He is also noted for performing the sermon commemorating John Quincy Adams deathat the St. John Street Congregational Church.
John H. Bufford (1810-1870) started his career in 1835 in New York, working for George Endicott and Nathaniel Currier. In 1840 he moved back to Boston and started his own lithography company. His sons decided to follow their father into the lithography business, and in 1858 John Bufford Jr. (1841-1893) and Frank Gale Bufford (1837-1912) partnered with their father to form the J.H. Bufford & Sons lithography firm. After John H. Bufford's death in 1870 his two sons continued to operate the family firm and changed the name to Bufford Sons.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1863
date made
ca. 1863
copyright holder
Hanks, S. W.
maker
J. H. Bufford and Sons
ID Number
DL.60.2891
catalog number
60.2891
accession number
228146
This hand colored print depicts a male from infancy to old age in decade-long spans. This was a popular and recurring theme of genteel society during the 19th Century.
Description
This hand colored print depicts a male from infancy to old age in decade-long spans. This was a popular and recurring theme of genteel society during the 19th Century. The figures are shown on ascending steps up to age 50 and then descending, with age 100 being the lowest to the right. Each image portrays a well-dressed youth or man in appropriate attire for his position in society (i.e., gentleman, soldier, elder). Verses beneath each figure associate a depicted animal with that stage of life. A small vignette of two people standing near a monument in a cemetery is in the center foreground. A flag waves at the top of the pyramid.
This print was produced by James S. Baillie, who was active in New York from 1838 to 1855. James Baillie started as a framer in 1838, and then became an artist and lithographer in 1843 or 1844. He discovered how to color lithographs while working as an independent contractor for Currier & Ives in the mid-1840s. He was a prolific lithographer and colorist for Currier & Ives, and his prints were extremely popular with a wide distribution. James Baillie spent his later years concentrating on painting instead of lithography.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1848
maker
Baillie, James S.
ID Number
DL.60.2931
catalog number
60.2931
accession number
228146
maker number
131
Colored print of a young boy dressed in a white sailor suit with a brimmed hat, facing slightly left. He stands with his back to the ocean with two sailing vessels vessels in the background.
Description (Brief)
Colored print of a young boy dressed in a white sailor suit with a brimmed hat, facing slightly left. He stands with his back to the ocean with two sailing vessels vessels in the background. Ironically, this is probably a modified copy of the December 1846 portrait by Franz Xaver Winterhalter of a young Albert Edward, Prince of Wales and later King Edward VII of the United Kingdom. The original painting does not have the ships in the background, the prince faces in the opposite direction, and their are minor facial discrepancies and stylistic differences.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1847
depicted (sitter)
Edward VII King of the United Kingdom
lithographer
Nagel, Louis
graphic artist
Prevost, Victor
original artist
Winterhalter, Franz Xaver
ID Number
DL.60.2434
catalog number
60.2434
accession number
228146
This black and white etching is the last of eight scenes designed and etched by George Cruikshank depicting the progressive degeneration of a family due to the evils of drinking. This print is an interior scene of a cell with a man huddling in a corner before a caged fire.
Description
This black and white etching is the last of eight scenes designed and etched by George Cruikshank depicting the progressive degeneration of a family due to the evils of drinking. This print is an interior scene of a cell with a man huddling in a corner before a caged fire. He is being visited by his grown children, now a thief and a woman of shame. A guard is visible through an open doorway in the background. This series is a folio edition. On the reverse of Plate I. is the title page of the series and an inscription from the artist, including the cost of one shilling or six shillings for prints block tinted for shading on finer paper. The series is contained in a portfolio.
This series of prints is by the English artist George Cruikshank (1792-1878). Cruikshank’s father, Isaac Cruikshank, was an artist who specialized in song sheets and caricatures and trained George and his brother Robert Cruikshank in these arts. George started as a caricaturist for magazines and children’s books. His most famous works included The Bottle and The Drunkard’s Children, designed and etched by Cruikshank to show the wickedness of alcohol. Cruikshank's father and brother were both alcoholics and he himself drank heavily until he took a vow of abstinence in 1847. These prints were published by David Bogue, who published most of Cruikshank’s works in the 1850s. David Bogue (1807–1856) was born in Scotland and moved to London in 1836. Bogue began working in Charles Tilt's bookshop as a publisher and bookseller in 1836 and became Tilt's partner in 1840. Bogue bought the shop in 1843. He was the principle publisher of Cruikshank’s short-lived periodicals, brief illustrated stories, and the Comic Almanack 1835-53. David Bogue published The Bottle series in 1847. Bogue suffered from heart disease and died in 1856 at the age of 48.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1847
maker
Cruikshank, George
publisher
Bogue, David
ID Number
DL.60.2917
catalog number
60.2917
accession number
228146

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