Domestic Furnishings

Tiffany Floor Lamp

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.

Place: Connecticut

Coffeepot

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

The Two Dogs

Colored print of two dogs lying in the grass. Barrel in right background. Basket with two bottles and apples in left background.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Colored print of two dogs lying in the grass. Barrel in right background. Basket with two bottles and apples in left background.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1833-1842
maker
D.W. Kellogg and Company
ID Number
DL.60.2357
catalog number
60.2357
accession number
228146

Master Butter Knife

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1928
owner; user
Murray, Anne Wood
maker
International Silver Company
ID Number
1983.0566.30
accession number
1983.0566
catalog number
1983.0566.30

Luncheon Knife

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1881 - 1898
patent date
1881-05-03
maker
Simpson, Hall, Miller, and Co.
ID Number
DL.68.0464B
catalog number
68.0464B
accession number
274913

knife

Dessert knife. Straight steel blade with rounded tip and “yankee” style bolster. Blade and bolster are one piece of steel with tang, inserted into tapered bone handle with rounded sides and butt. Tang is held in place with steel pin through side.
Description
Dessert knife. Straight steel blade with rounded tip and “yankee” style bolster. Blade and bolster are one piece of steel with tang, inserted into tapered bone handle with rounded sides and butt. Tang is held in place with steel pin through side. Metal is discolored, rusted, bone is yellowed, crazed, and has long crack down one side.
Blade is engraved: “DERBY SILVER CO” over an anchor.
Maker is Derby Silver Company, active 1873-1933 in Connecticut.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1880 - 1900
maker
Derby Silver Co.
Landers, Frary & Clark
ID Number
1986.0531.077
accession number
1986.0531
catalog number
1986.0531.077

knife, dinner

Dinner knife. Straight steel blade with rounded tip and “yankee” style bolster. Blade and bolster are one piece of steel fitted into a tapered celluloid handle with straight sides and rounded butt. Blade is pitted with minor discoloration.
Description
Dinner knife. Straight steel blade with rounded tip and “yankee” style bolster. Blade and bolster are one piece of steel fitted into a tapered celluloid handle with straight sides and rounded butt. Blade is pitted with minor discoloration. Celluloid is yellowed and discolored.
Blade is etched: “LANDERS FRARY & CLARK/AETNA WORKS”
Maker is Landers, Frary & Clark, New Britain, Connecticut (c. 1862). In 1890, L. F. & C. took on the Trademark “Universal”, in 1965, General Electric acquired the company.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1880- 1897
maker
Landers, Frary & Clark
ID Number
1986.0531.069
accession number
1986.0531
catalog number
1986.0531.069

pouch

Light brown flannel carrying pouch with individual pockets for each knife with set of six dinner knives (1986.531.162-.167). Fabric is discolored, darkened from use and age.Tag sewn onto inside flap is machine embroidered: “1847-Seventy Year Plate-1917 / 1847 ROGERS BROS.
Description
Light brown flannel carrying pouch with individual pockets for each knife with set of six dinner knives (1986.531.162-.167). Fabric is discolored, darkened from use and age.
Tag sewn onto inside flap is machine embroidered: “1847-Seventy Year Plate-1917 / 1847 ROGERS BROS. / SILVERWARE”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1847
ID Number
1986.0531.247
accession number
1986.0531
catalog number
1986.0531.247

Lady of the Lake

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 (Brief)
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 is a hand colored print; outdoor scene of a hunter standing in foliage on shore with dog. A maiden stands in a gondola-like vessel on a lake. The figures are dressed in elaborate, romantic costumes. This print is an illustration for the poem by Sir Walter Scott. An excerpt from the poem "Lady of the Lake" is beneath the title of the print.
The print was produced by the lithographic firm of Kelloggs & Comstock, which was the 1848-1850 partnership of Elijah and Edmund Kellogg with John Chenevard Comstock.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1848-1849
distributor
Needham, D.
maker
Kelloggs & Comstock
ID Number
DL.60.2229
catalog number
60.2229
accession number
228146

Oyster Fork

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made; year pattern introduced
1886
maker
Meriden Britannia Company
ID Number
1977.0918.20
accession number
1977.0918
catalog number
1977.0918.20

Magnet, Nail, and Piece of Iron

This is a magnet, nail, and piece of iron or steel that belonged to the Copp family of Stonington, Connecticut during the 19th century.
Description
This is a magnet, nail, and piece of iron or steel that belonged to the Copp family of Stonington, Connecticut during the 19th century. The pieces may have been used for work or to illustrate the principles of magnetism in an educational lesson.
The Copp Collection contains a variety of household objects that the Copp family of Connecticut used from around 1700 until the mid-1800s. Part of the Puritan Great Migration from England to Boston, the family eventually made their home in New London County, Connecticut, where their textiles, clothes, utensils, ceramics, books, bibles, and letters provide a vivid picture of daily life. More of the collection from the Division of Home and Community Life can be viewed by searching accession number 28810.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1750
user
Copp Family
ID Number
DL.006846.02
accession number
28810
catalog number
6846.02

fork; cutlery, set, part of

Fork, part of a picnic set with matching knife (1986.0531.062A). Short three-tined fork with flat baluster stem. Tines, stem, and tang are one piece of steel fitted with pewter bolster into a wooden handle with rounded sides and blunt butt.
Description
Fork, part of a picnic set with matching knife (1986.0531.062A). Short three-tined fork with flat baluster stem. Tines, stem, and tang are one piece of steel fitted with pewter bolster into a wooden handle with rounded sides and blunt butt. Handle is comprised of two pieces of wood riveted to tang with brass pins. When placed facing one another, knife and fork fit together. Metal is scratched and stained overall, minor rust, nicks in bolster. Wood is separating towards butt. No mark.
Blade of matching knife is etched: “UNIVERSAL/L.F.&C.”
Maker is Landers, Frary & Clark, New Britain, Connecticut (c. 1862). In 1890, L. F. & C. took on the Trademark “Universal”, in 1965, General Electric acquired the company. The company began using the abbreviation “L.F.& C.” in 1898, this mark is dated 1912.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1912
maker
Landers, Frary & Clark
ID Number
1986.0531.062B
accession number
1986.0531
catalog number
1986.0531.062B

Jewel Box or Casket

Japonesque rectangular box with pyramidal cover and fixed, tall arched handle on four ball feet.
Description
Japonesque rectangular box with pyramidal cover and fixed, tall arched handle on four ball feet. Box and cover have satin- or matte-finish grounds with bright cut floral sprigs divided by polished diagonal bands containing wrigglework geometric motifs; angled, low-relief, die-rolled bands of birds amidst flowering branches and plant-filled urns trim rim and base of box, while a shield-like palmate finial with 3 ball tips tops cover. Double-wire handle with triple semicircular fan finial. Underside of box bottom struck with an incuse circular mark containing a pointed shield with balanced scales bordered by "x MERIDEN x / B. COMPANY." in sans serif letters and "8".
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1873 - 1877
maker
Meriden Britannia Company
ID Number
1984.0424.09
accession number
1984.0424
catalog number
1984.0424.09

Abby

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 full length hand colored portrait print depicts a young woman with brown hair standing indoors beside a table. Her feathered bonnet and a parasol rest on the table. She wears a blue dress with a ruffled red garment that may be an overdress or a small decorative wrap called a mantelet.
This print was produced by the lithographic firm of Kelloggs & Comstock. In 1848, John Chenevard Comstock developed a partnership with E.B. and E.C. Kellogg. In 1850, Edmund Burke Kellogg left the firm, leaving his brother Elijah Chapman Kellogg and J.C. Comstock to run the lithography firm as Kellogg and Comstock. The short-lived partnership disbanded in 1851. It was not until 1855 that Edmund Burke Kellogg rejoined his brother E.C. Kellogg and continued the success of the family’s lithography firm.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1850
distributor
Needham, D.
maker
Kelloggs & Comstock
ID Number
DL.60.2504
catalog number
60.2504
accession number
228146

Plate

Small, single-reeded circular dish with flat well having a faint, partially visible incised line around perimeter; no foot ring. Partial sawtooth circle with eagle touch mark of Samuel Danforth stamped twice on underside.
Description
Small, single-reeded circular dish with flat well having a faint, partially visible incised line around perimeter; no foot ring. Partial sawtooth circle with eagle touch mark of Samuel Danforth stamped twice on underside. One of two plates, DL*391774-DL*391775.
Maker is Samuel Danforth of Hartford, CT; working 1795-1816.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1795-1816
ID Number
DL.391775
catalog number
391775
accession number
71679

Flowers No 1

Colored print of an informal floral arrangement on a stone slab outdoors. A portion of a stone structure appears on the right. A bird (parrot?) perches on a branch in the upper left corner, with a nest containing four eggs below.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Colored print of an informal floral arrangement on a stone slab outdoors. A portion of a stone structure appears on the right. A bird (parrot?) perches on a branch in the upper left corner, with a nest containing four eggs below.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1850
distributor
Ensign, Thayer and Company
maker
Kelloggs & Comstock
ID Number
DL.60.2654
catalog number
60.2654
accession number
228146

Cigarette Case

Three-sided, pivoting holder pinned or riveted at center of its sides in a plain rectangular frame with rounded ends; holder has engine-turned bands on front and back with an empty reserve at center front.
Description
Three-sided, pivoting holder pinned or riveted at center of its sides in a plain rectangular frame with rounded ends; holder has engine-turned bands on front and back with an empty reserve at center front. Outside top of holder is struck "NAPIER" and "STERLING" above scratched numbers and letters.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
early to mid 20th century
ID Number
DL.60.2049
catalog number
60.2049
accession number
200122

Table Knife

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1910
ID Number
DL.380485C
catalog number
380485C
accession number
153231

sideboard

date made
1891
ID Number
DL.315340.0025
catalog number
315340.0025
accession number
315340

Dessert Knife

Dessert knife. Straight silver-plated steel blade with rounded tip and “yankee” style bolster. Blade, bolster, and tang are one piece of steel fitted into a tapered handle with rounded sides and butt. Tang is held in place with steel pin through side of handle.
Description
Dessert knife. Straight silver-plated steel blade with rounded tip and “yankee” style bolster. Blade, bolster, and tang are one piece of steel fitted into a tapered handle with rounded sides and butt. Tang is held in place with steel pin through side of handle. Heavily scratched and stained, plate is worn. Ivory is yellowed and crazed. Blade stamped: “MERIDEN CUTLERY / COMPANY”.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1855 - 1925
ID Number
1986.0531.118
accession number
1986.0531
catalog number
1986.531.118

1800 - 1825 Blue Resist Block-printed Quilt

This early 19th-century quilt was found in Connecticut. The faded areas of the block-printed, blue resist top suggest the probable use of recycled fabrics.
Description
This early 19th-century quilt was found in Connecticut. The faded areas of the block-printed, blue resist top suggest the probable use of recycled fabrics. The fabric may have been from worn or out-of-fashion curtains, or other bed furnishings of an earlier period.
In order to obtain the pattern on the cotton fabric used for the top, a dye-resistant substance was applied to specific areas. The fabric was then dipped in an indigo dye. The resist was then removed, leaving the background without dye. The quilt is lined with a plain white fabric, and quilted in a diamond grid pattern.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1800-1825
maker
unknown
ID Number
1991.0288.02
accession number
1991.0288
catalog number
1991.0288.02

Demitasse Spoon

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made; year pattern introduced
1911 or later
patent date
1911-10-17
parent company
Meriden Britannia Company
International Silver Company
ID Number
DL.66.0583B
catalog number
66.0583B
accession number
265238

Cake Basket

Bail-handled, boat-shaped oval basket on flared oval pedestal base with overall grapevine decoration, including applied cast clusters of fruit and leaves at rim, four flat-chased and repousse clusters inside bowl, a cast continuous vine around foot, and two intertwined vines form
Description
Bail-handled, boat-shaped oval basket on flared oval pedestal base with overall grapevine decoration, including applied cast clusters of fruit and leaves at rim, four flat-chased and repousse clusters inside bowl, a cast continuous vine around foot, and two intertwined vines forming the U-shaped handle. Struck incuse on bowl underside with semicircular mark of "ROGERS.SMITH & C\o. (arched) / HARTFORD.CONN." in serif letters containing "1864" (overstruck by a line) inside.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1856 - 1862
ID Number
DL.60.1151
catalog number
60.1151
accession number
113420

Model D-12 Electric Toaster

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1912- 1913
maker
General Electric Company
ID Number
1992.0338.31
accession number
1992.0338
catalog number
1992.0338.31

Good Night

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 colored print is a three-quarter length portrait of a girl holding a chamberstick with a lit candle. She is wearing a simple dress with lace collar and cuffs. Drapery and a glass vase containing cut flowers can be seen in the background.
This print was produced by the lithographic firm of Kelloggs & Comstock. In 1848, John Chenevard Comstock developed a partnership with E.B. and E.C. Kellogg. In 1850, Edmund Burke Kellogg left the firm, leaving his brother Elijah Chapman Kellogg and J.C. Comstock to run the lithography firm as Kellogg and Comstock. The short-lived partnership disbanded in 1851. It was not until 1855 that Edmund Burke Kellogg rejoined his brother E.C. Kellogg and continued the success of the family’s Lithography firm.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1850
distributor
Ensign, Thayer and Company
maker
Kelloggs & Comstock
ID Number
DL.60.2258
catalog number
60.2258
accession number
228146

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