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.

Dinner fork, one of a set of six (1986.0531.09-.14) that match a set of six dinner knives (1986.0531.03-.08)Two-tined fork with baluster stem. Tines, stem, and tang are one piece of tin-plated steel.
Description
Dinner fork, one of a set of six (1986.0531.09-.14) that match a set of six dinner knives (1986.0531.03-.08)
Two-tined fork with baluster stem. Tines, stem, and tang are one piece of tin-plated steel. Bone scales are riveted to the top and bottom of the tang with brass pins to form a tapered block handle with chamfered edges and corners and a blunt butt. Central brass pin on front is larger than the other two. Metal is discolored, scratched and has some rust spots. Much of the tin is worn off. Bone is yellowed and crazed, cracked and chipped around edges and pulling away from the tang.
Underside of baluster is stamped: “STEEL”
Blades of matching knives are stamped: “L . BOOTH/SHEFFIELD”
Maker is possibly L[uke] Booth, active in Sheffield, England in the early 19th century until his death in 1855.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1820- 1840
ID Number
1986.0531.010
accession number
1986.0531
catalog number
1986.0531.010
Bristol Low or West Country measure; quarter gill size. Conical or ovoid body with molded neck and incised line at seam; circular, everted rim with flared, molded lip; molded, slightly flared foot.
Description
Bristol Low or West Country measure; quarter gill size. Conical or ovoid body with molded neck and incised line at seam; circular, everted rim with flared, molded lip; molded, slightly flared foot. Tapered, D- or ear-shaped handle has an arched thumbrest; upper bud terminal with oval attachment just below neck; flat lower terminal attached above seam. Illegible mark on rim interior. Rim exterior stamped below spout "I F G". Three faint stamps on bottom outside, one illegible to left of a crowned harp in shield and a seated female figure (Britannia or Hibernia) in shield.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1745-1845
ID Number
DL.67.0129
catalog number
67.0129
accession number
250853
Dinner fork, one of a set of six (1986.0531.09-.14) that match a set of six dinner knives (1986.0531.03-.08)Two-tined fork with baluster stem. Tines, stem, and tang are one piece of tin-plated steel.
Description
Dinner fork, one of a set of six (1986.0531.09-.14) that match a set of six dinner knives (1986.0531.03-.08)
Two-tined fork with baluster stem. Tines, stem, and tang are one piece of tin-plated steel. Bone scales are riveted to the top and bottom of the tang with brass pins to form a tapered block handle with chamfered edges and corners and a blunt butt. Central brass pin on front is larger than the other two. Metal is discolored, scratched and has some rust spots. Much of the tin is worn off. Bone is yellowed and crazed, cracked and chipped around edges and pulling away from the tang.
Underside of baluster is stamped: “STEEL”
Blades of matching knives are stamped: “L . BOOTH/SHEFFIELD”
Maker is possibly L[uke] Booth, active in Sheffield, England in the early 19th century until his death in 1855.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1820- 1840
ID Number
1986.0531.012
accession number
1986.0531
catalog number
1986.0531.012
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1846
ca 1840 - 1846
ID Number
DL.64.0514A
catalog number
64.0514A
accession number
251849
Covered skillet on three semicircular legs with deep, tapered sides, a flat bottom and an integral, tapered, D-section handle chamfered or notched beneath its square end. Low-domed cover has a triangular, arched handle and flaring sides; painted red.
Description
Covered skillet on three semicircular legs with deep, tapered sides, a flat bottom and an integral, tapered, D-section handle chamfered or notched beneath its square end. Low-domed cover has a triangular, arched handle and flaring sides; painted red. Both pieces are hollow cast, single gate mark visible only on bottom exterior of skillet. No additional marks.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1800-1840
ID Number
DL.130315
catalog number
130315
130315
accession number
21133
Dinner fork, one of a set of six (1986.0531.09-.14) that match a set of six dinner knives (1986.0531.03-.08)Two-tined fork with baluster stem. Tines, stem, and tang are one piece of tin-plated steel.
Description
Dinner fork, one of a set of six (1986.0531.09-.14) that match a set of six dinner knives (1986.0531.03-.08)
Two-tined fork with baluster stem. Tines, stem, and tang are one piece of tin-plated steel. Bone scales are riveted to the top and bottom of the tang with brass pins to form a tapered block handle with chamfered edges and corners and a blunt butt. Central brass pin on front is larger than the other two. Metal is discolored, scratched and has some rust spots. Much of the tin is worn off. Bone is yellowed and crazed, cracked and chipped around edges and pulling away from the tang.
Front of baluster is stamped: “STEEL”
Blades of matching knives are stamped: “L . BOOTH/SHEFFIELD”
Maker is possibly L[uke] Booth, active in Sheffield, England in the early 19th century until his death in 1855.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1820- 1840
ID Number
1986.0531.011
accession number
1986.0531
catalog number
1986.0531.011
Octagonal or panel-sided, urn-shaped cream pot with spurred S-scroll handle; missing pedestal base. Conforming rim and pouring spout. Maker's mark partially visible on underside of body.
Description
Octagonal or panel-sided, urn-shaped cream pot with spurred S-scroll handle; missing pedestal base. Conforming rim and pouring spout. Maker's mark partially visible on underside of body. From a sugar bowl and creamer set, DL*311709 and DL*311714.
Maker is Leonard, Reed & Barton of Taunton, MA. Founded by Gustavus Leonard, Henry F. Reed and Charles E. Barton as successor to Taunton Britannia Manufacturing Company in 1835; became Reed & Barton in 1840. Marked panel-sided coffee- and teapots matching sugar bowl DL*311709 and creamer DL*311714 are known.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1835-1840
ID Number
DL.311714
catalog number
311714
accession number
64443
Japanned, cylindrical oval teapot with a triangular, hinged lid topped by a triple-scroll loop at front, a tapered D- or ear-shaped strap handle, and straight, tapered spout placed low on the perforated body.
Description
Japanned, cylindrical oval teapot with a triangular, hinged lid topped by a triple-scroll loop at front, a tapered D- or ear-shaped strap handle, and straight, tapered spout placed low on the perforated body. Body and spout have soft-soldered lapped seams; flat bottom with projecting, folded edge. Painted decoration features a right-leaning, red, circular flower with yellow dotted center and thinly-painted white and alizarin petals on a yellow stem with yellow curlicues and berries. A blended blue to yellow or white daisy is at top right. Yellow leaves with red veins, and green leaves with yellow veins. A yellow-dotted red ribbon borders shoulder; red brushwork covers lid. No marks.
Attributed to the Stevens Tinshop of Stevens Plains (now part of Portland), ME, circa 1800-1842.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1800 - 1842
ID Number
1978.0119.09
accession number
1978.0119
catalog number
1978.0119.09
Skillet on three triangular legs with a square lip and an integral, tapered, D-section handle with square end; rounded sides and bottom. Hollow cast with single gate mark on bottom exterior. No additional marks.Currently not on view
Description
Skillet on three triangular legs with a square lip and an integral, tapered, D-section handle with square end; rounded sides and bottom. Hollow cast with single gate mark on bottom exterior. No additional marks.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
19th century
ca 1815-1840
ID Number
1982.0090.28
accession number
1982.0090
catalog number
1982.0090.28
From its invention in the fifteenth century, the coiled steel spring became the preferred power source of European clockmakers. The spring permitted clocks to be small and portable, so most small European clocks and watches employed it.
Description
From its invention in the fifteenth century, the coiled steel spring became the preferred power source of European clockmakers. The spring permitted clocks to be small and portable, so most small European clocks and watches employed it. But the steel spring was an expensive import to America. Until the middle of the nineteenth century, and the introduction of the Bessemer process for mass-producing steel however, coiled steel springs were not produced in the United States. American clockmakers circumvented this limitation with ingenious weight-driven shelf clocks that were accurate, reliable, and compact. These they mass-produced and offered to ever-widening markets.
Joseph Ives, a Bristol clockmaker notable for his inventiveness but lack of business success, had first introduced wagon-spring clocks in the 1820s. They had conventional weight-driven brass movements, except for one feature: The strings that ordinarily would have held the weights were connected, through intermediary pulleys, to the free ends of what looked like a wagon-spring on the bottom of the case. This mechanism exerted a downward pull like the two weights.
When American clockmakers began to compete abroad with European clockmakers in the 1830s and 1840s, they were reminded of the advantages of spring-driven clocks. They vigorously explored various schemes for producing spring-driven clock movements without relying on imported steel springs. When one manufacturer in Bristol, Connecticut—Brewster and Ingraham—had considerable success with coiled springs made of brass, a local competitor, Birge and Fuller, resurrected Ives's "wagon-spring" design.
Birge and Fuller manufactured wagon-spring clocks from 1844 until 1847, when locally produced coiled-steel springs finally became available.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1845
maker
Birge & Fuller
ID Number
ME.315876
catalog number
315876
accession number
225120
Uncrested tappit hen measure with a ridged, angled tab thumb piece, engraved to left of handle "A*M" in shaded serif letters; English gill size. Flat-domed lid with disk at center and molded edge. Molded bands around rim, at shoulder and above base; flat bottom.
Description
Uncrested tappit hen measure with a ridged, angled tab thumb piece, engraved to left of handle "A*M" in shaded serif letters; English gill size. Flat-domed lid with disk at center and molded edge. Molded bands around rim, at shoulder and above base; flat bottom. Strap handle has five-knuckle hinge, stepped thumbrest, and flared terminal with cylindrical strut. Bottom inside with raised concentric circles.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1750-1840
ID Number
DL.67.0194
catalog number
67.0194
accession number
250853
Uncrested tappit hen measure with an S-curved thumb piece and flat-domed lid with raised disk wrigglework-engraved "GM / ML"; Scots pint size. One pair of incised lines around flared rim and below shoulder, four at plain base; inside of flat bottom with two concentric circles.
Description
Uncrested tappit hen measure with an S-curved thumb piece and flat-domed lid with raised disk wrigglework-engraved "GM / ML"; Scots pint size. One pair of incised lines around flared rim and below shoulder, four at plain base; inside of flat bottom with two concentric circles. S-scroll handle has faint stepped thumbrest and D-section terminal with oval strut. No other marks.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1750-1840
ID Number
DL.67.0195
catalog number
67.0195
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, Baccarat, was originally founded as the Verrerie Renaut in 1764, by request of the Bishop of Metz to the King of France, Louis XV. After the French Revolution, the company was re-named Verrerie de Baccarat. Peak production of Baccarat paperweights was between 1846 and1855.
Millefiori, “Gridel” silhouette canes (said to be named after a young boy whose cut paper silhouettes inspired Baccarat’s glass workers), and an “1848” date cane are found in this Baccarat paperweight. 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
1848
maker
Baccarat
ID Number
CE.67.231
catalog number
67.231
accession number
213138
Baluster-shaped coffeepot on flared circular base with scored and molded decoration around rim, neck, belly, and base. High-domed, incised-edge, hinged lid is topped by wood disk knop.
Description
Baluster-shaped coffeepot on flared circular base with scored and molded decoration around rim, neck, belly, and base. High-domed, incised-edge, hinged lid is topped by wood disk knop. S- and C-curve, D- or ear-shaped handle with crescent thumbrest is pinned into cylindrical sockets. Body perforated at plain, S-curve spout with split lip. Underside of inset flat bottom struck incuse with circular touch mark of "A. GRISWOLD" with spreadwing eagle, body facing right and head turned left.
Maker is Ashbil (or Ashbel) Griswold (1784-1853); working, circa 1802-1842. Trained with Thomas Danforth III as a pewterer; opened a shop in Meriden in 1808 and expanded into producing britannia wares at an early date, establishing Meriden as a major manufacturing center of pewter, britannia and plated goods. Was one of the founding partners of the Meriden Britannia Co. in 1852.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1820 - 1840
ca 1820-1840
ID Number
DL.391781
catalog number
391781
accession number
71679
Cooking pot on three, semicircular feet with a flared lip, bulbous body and forged bail handle looped around triangular lugs or ears; square rim and inner beaded lip.
Description
Cooking pot on three, semicircular feet with a flared lip, bulbous body and forged bail handle looped around triangular lugs or ears; square rim and inner beaded lip. Hollow cast with two fillets around body, the lower one is a horizontal seam; two vertical seams on upper half and single gate mark on bottom exterior. Cast-in mark on side of two concentric circles with "HOWELL WORKS" in raised serif letters placed between them and a raised "2" inside the innermost circle.
Maker is Howell Works, located in present-day Farmingdale, Monmouth County, NJ. Furnace in operation, 1822-1846; business declared bankruptcy in 1850.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1822-1846
ID Number
1982.0090.77
accession number
1982.0090
catalog number
1982.0090.77
Cast shield-shaped trivet with symmetrical openwork geometric design featuring a diamond near toe above a split-top trumpet shape with shallow S curve arms at its sides; three square legs. No railing.
Description
Cast shield-shaped trivet with symmetrical openwork geometric design featuring a diamond near toe above a split-top trumpet shape with shallow S curve arms at its sides; three square legs. No railing. No marks.
Attributed to William Barton (1762-1849) at Cairo, NY, after 1826 when he moved his foundry there from Chatham (now East Hampton), CT. Barton is remembered as a sleigh bell maker and established the bell manufacturing industry in East Hampton (which came to be known as "Belltown") in 1808; but he and his sons also produced other small bronze and brass items, including trivets.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1826 - 1846
ID Number
1978.0939.037
accession number
1978.0939
catalog number
1978.0939.37
High-shouldered, turnip-shaped pitcher on a flared and ogee-domed, circular pedestal base, engraved "H" in flecked script to right of center on front of its conical body. Incurved neck flares to a reverse-cyma rim with wide V-shaped pouring lip.
Description
High-shouldered, turnip-shaped pitcher on a flared and ogee-domed, circular pedestal base, engraved "H" in flecked script to right of center on front of its conical body. Incurved neck flares to a reverse-cyma rim with wide V-shaped pouring lip. Beading applied at rim, base of neck, top of pedestal, and bottom of foot; fine diagonal serrations around bottom edge of pedestal. Hollow S-curve handle has raised beads near upper and lower terminals. Underside of rounded bottom struck with pseudo hallmarks of a spreadwing eagle and left-facing sovereign's head in profile, both in circles, flanking the centerpunch, and with "VEAL & GLAZE" in raised serif letters in a serrated rectangle overstruck on a smaller rectangular mark above and below.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1838 - 1841
owner; user
Washington, Mary Anne Hammond
ID Number
DL.60.0995
catalog number
60.0995
accession number
71656
Skillet or frying pan on three, short, semicircular legs with an integral, tapered, D-section handle chamfered or notched beneath its square end; flared sides and flat bottom. Hollow cast with a faint single gate mark on bottom exterior. No additional marks.Currently not on view
Description
Skillet or frying pan on three, short, semicircular legs with an integral, tapered, D-section handle chamfered or notched beneath its square end; flared sides and flat bottom. Hollow cast with a faint single gate mark on bottom exterior. No additional marks.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
19th century
ca 1800-1840
ID Number
1982.0090.22
accession number
1982.0090
catalog number
1982.0090.22
Raised kylix-form sugar bowl with domed cover topped by a cast swan finial, its head down and wings outstretched.
Description
Raised kylix-form sugar bowl with domed cover topped by a cast swan finial, its head down and wings outstretched. Shallow circular bowl has two, large, cast floral circular wreath handles tied to cornucopia-shape supports extending from bulging lobed sections at opposite sides of body, and a flared pedestal of overlapping waterleaves or acanthus atop a flat circular base. Chased and repousse clusters of fruit and flowers encircle the cover while neoclassical arabesques with birds and swans separated by circular masks are around upper body. Cover is engraved in front of swan with McKim crest above the gothic or Old English letters "H M\c K". Outside of base struck with maker's mark and Baltimore Assay Office marks. Centerpunch on underside of body. From tea and coffee service, DL*382527-DL*382529.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1841
ID Number
DL.382527
catalog number
382527
accession number
161740
Faceted pedestal-foot andiron from a full-size patent model (U.S. Patent No. 3,170) of a pair of andirons with three safety bars to prevent them from tipping or falling over, made by Edwin Smylie of New York, NY, and patented on July 12, 1843.
Description
Faceted pedestal-foot andiron from a full-size patent model (U.S. Patent No. 3,170) of a pair of andirons with three safety bars to prevent them from tipping or falling over, made by Edwin Smylie of New York, NY, and patented on July 12, 1843. Features a banded-ball finial on a conical shaft, spool-and-reel base and circular, scalloped foot on three pins. Four-part upright screws together and is secured at bottom with a nut. Two-part stepped billet bar attaches with threaded pin. No marks on object, but a darkened paper tag tied below the finial with red or purple wove ribbon is printed and handwritten with the patent information for the "Andiron." Portion of a second tag is tied around billet bar.
Location
Currently not on view
patent year
1843
patent date
1843-07-12
inventor
Smylie, Edward
ID Number
DL.251423
catalog number
251423
patent number
3,170
accession number
48890
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1840
ID Number
CE.P-808Dab
catalog number
P-808Dab
accession number
225282
Banded-ball-and-multiknopped andiron with smooth baluster shaft and cylindrical base on lapped and spurred cabriole legs ending in creased snake feet on platforms; cast brass billet bar cover ends in a semicircle behind the matching log-stop.
Description
Banded-ball-and-multiknopped andiron with smooth baluster shaft and cylindrical base on lapped and spurred cabriole legs ending in creased snake feet on platforms; cast brass billet bar cover ends in a semicircle behind the matching log-stop. Two-part upright, each part cast hollow in halves and seamed vertically. Hollow-cast legs are unfinished on back. All parts held together by an internal iron rod threaded at top and peened at bottom. Adjustable, wrought-iron secondary log stop slides on billet bar. Billet bar cover stamped incuse at end behind log stop "W. H. WEBB." in serif letters. One of a pair, 1978.0939.254-.255.
Maker is William Holmes Webb (1773-1868), who worked in Warren, ME, 1805-1843.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1805 - 1843
ID Number
1978.0939.254
catalog number
1978.0939.254
accession number
1978.0939
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. Spurred, S- and C-curve handle is pinned into leafy spiral-scroll 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. Spurred, S- and C-curve handle is pinned into leafy spiral-scroll sockets. S-curve spout has angled D-shaped lip, flat face and rounded belly. Body has a finely turned, tinned interior and is perforated at spout. Underside of flat bottom struck "[J.] DANFORTH" in rectangle and "N\o. 14" in sawtooth rectangle, both in roman letters.
Maker is Josiah Danforth (1803-1872) of Middletown, CT; working, 1821-circa 1843. Mold appears identical to that used for teapot DL*59.0608 by J. D. Locke of New York, NY, 1835-1860.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1821-ca 1843
ID Number
DL.300859.0031
catalog number
300859.0031
accession number
300859
Two-handled, octagonal or panel-sided, urn-shaped sugar bowl on spool stem with conforming base and cover topped by a tiered conical finial.
Description
Two-handled, octagonal or panel-sided, urn-shaped sugar bowl on spool stem with conforming base and cover topped by a tiered conical finial. High, spurred, S-and-C or broken scroll handles have lower split-scroll terminals and U-shaped struts attached below rim to the upper terminals. Body, foot and cover have four flat sides and four serpentine corners. Rounded underside of body struck "JAMES / DIXON & SONS" in incuse serif letters with four sets of numbers above and below; centerpunch visible.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1835-ca 1841
ID Number
1989.0122.01
catalog number
1989.0122.01
accession number
1989.0122

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