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.

Topic: Peters Prints

Midnight Race on the Mississippi

Color print of two steam ships (Dana on left and Fulton on right), running on full speed neck and neck, on a river by moonlight.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Color print of two steam ships (Dana on left and Fulton on right), running on full speed neck and neck, on a river by moonlight.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1865
maker
Kelly, Thomas
Robertson, William C.
ID Number
DL.60.3283
catalog number
60.3283

Bos Americanus, Gmel.

This hand-colored lithograph was produced for “Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America,” the Imperial folio edition, published between 1845 and 1848. The work was a field study of North American mammals.
Description (Brief)
This hand-colored lithograph was produced for “Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America,” the Imperial folio edition, published between 1845 and 1848. The work was a field study of North American mammals. It included 150 stone lithographs produced in three volumes of 50 prints per volume. The lithographs were based on watercolor drawings by John James Audubon and after 1846, son John Woodhouse Audubon, who completed the series due to the elder Audubon’s failing eyesight and declining health. Another son, Victor Gifford Audubon, assisted with the drawings backgrounds. The lithographs were printed on non-watermarked heavy white paper and coloring was applied by hand before the prints were bound. Reverend John Bachman was a naturalist of note, as well as John James Audubon’s friend and father of both daughters-in-law, so he provided the accompanying letterpress narrative. It made the production truly a family affair. The slightly later Octavo edition contained 155 prints of smaller size.
This unbound lithographic plate depicts a hand-colored image of three buffalo, a male, female, and young buffalo, in rugged terrain. A herd grazes in the background.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1845
artist; publisher
Audubon, John James
printer
Bowen, John T.
ID Number
DL.60.2755
catalog number
60.2755
accession number
228146

Reverie

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 three-quarter length colored portrait print is of a young woman standing at a railing. The girl is looking back over her right shoulder. She is wearing a large hat with feathers and dress with large billowing sleeves. To her left there is heavy drapery with a tassel.
This lithograph was done by Anthony Imbert, a lithographer and marine painter based in New York. He was active as an artist from 1825 until his death in around 1838. He was born in France and became a French naval officer. He learned to paint after he was imprisoned by the British. When he was released, he came to the United States and developed a career as a lithographer and marine painter. He pioneered many new forms of lithography including a folding lithograph by joining two stories to create a larger print. The artist Dominico Canova was born in Milan, Italy. He immigrated to New York City in 1825, where he began his work as a lithographer under Anthony Imbert. He was primarily known in Louisiana as a teacher of painting and drawing, a muralist and painter. After a few years working under Anthony Imbert he accepted a teaching position in Convent Louisiana, at the College of Jefferson. Throughout the rest of his career, he held various teaching positions at different colleges and schools throughout Louisiana. He died in New Orleans in 1868.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1830
maker
Imbert, Anthony
artist
Canova, Dominico
Roberts, J. M.
ID Number
DL.60.2491
catalog number
60.2491
accession number
228146

S.T. Suit's Pure Kentucky Bourbon

Black & white advertising print for bourbon depicting the United States Capitol Building. Eight small circles around the engraved border names specific bourbons and ryes produced by the company.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Black & white advertising print for bourbon depicting the United States Capitol Building. Eight small circles around the engraved border names specific bourbons and ryes produced by the company.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1872
maker
New York Printing Company
ID Number
DL.60.3077
catalog number
60.3077
accession number
228146

The Life & Age of Man by James Baille

This 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 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.
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
ca 1847
distributors
Sowle & Shaw
maker
Baillie, James S.
ID Number
DL.60.2935
catalog number
60.2935
accession number
228146

The Mining Business in Four Pictures

Black and white print depicting four views of life in the California mining business: "Going into it" shows two miners with prospecting gear; "Making Something" shows them discovering gold in a pan; "Making Nothing" depicts them beside a large empty hole; "Going out of it" depict
Description (Brief)
Black and white print depicting four views of life in the California mining business: "Going into it" shows two miners with prospecting gear; "Making Something" shows them discovering gold in a pan; "Making Nothing" depicts them beside a large empty hole; "Going out of it" depicts them walking toward town.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
n.d.
maker
Britton & Rey
ID Number
DL.60.3878
catalog number
60.3878

The Farmers Pet

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

Sunday Sports

Colored print of a forest scene. Two hunters at right shoot at running deer at left, but, instead, hit another hunter who is standing between them and the deer. A dog strains at a leash that is tied to a tree.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Colored print of a forest scene. Two hunters at right shoot at running deer at left, but, instead, hit another hunter who is standing between them and the deer. A dog strains at a leash that is tied to a tree.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1874
maker
Schile, Henry
ID Number
DL.60.2471
catalog number
60.2471
accession number
228146

Lucy

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 colored portrait is of a young woman standing by a window. Behind the woman is a table with a vase of flowers framed by floral drapery and on a patterned carpet. The woman is wearing a pink and white dress with flowing sleeves, a bracelet on both arms and a necklace. The scene through the window depicts a fenced in house and a sailboat on a river.
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 1840’s. A prolific lithographer and colorist for Currier & Ives; his prints were extremely popular with a wide distribution. J. Baillie spent his later years concentrating on painting instead of lithography.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1846
maker
Baillie, James S.
ID Number
DL.60.2493
catalog number
60.2493
accession number
228146

Ben Morrill

Color print of a dark brown trotting horse pulling a sulky and driver. White picket fence in background.A color print of a dark brown stallion pulling a sulky and driver on a race track. The equipment is streamlined and colorful.
Description (Brief)
Color print of a dark brown trotting horse pulling a sulky and driver. White picket fence in background.
Description
A color print of a dark brown stallion pulling a sulky and driver on a race track. The equipment is streamlined and colorful. The driver wears a maroon jacket, white shirt, purple pants, a blue cap and yellow gloves. The track is enclosed by a white picket fence.
Ben Morrill was foaled in 1868 from Winthrop Morrill and the Harrison Ames Mare in Winthrop, Maine. He was owned by T.B. Williams. His career ran from 1872-79. Ben Morrill never reached the level of the Grand Circuit horses, but he was well loved throughout New England and Canada and a particular favorite in Boston. On October 29, 1874 Ben Morrill, driven by J.J. Bowen, won two out of nine heats at Prospect Park Fairgrounds in a race for trotters that had never raced under 2:30. Ben Morrill sired seven trotters that reached the under 2:30 achievement.
Haskell and Allen’s most memorable productions were their horse prints. A Boston based publisher of lithographs, the firm seems to have issued more large folio images than small. Haskell began as a print seller with Haskell and Ripley (1868) but in 1869 he began a partnership with George Allen. In 1873 they moved to 61 Hanover St in Boston where they prospered for a few years. They went bankrupt in 1878.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1875
maker
Haskell & Allen
artist
Howe, E.R.
original artist
Leighton, Scott
ID Number
DL.60.3538
catalog number
60.3538

The Fox Fanciers

Colored print of a fox confronted by three small dogs (terriers).Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Colored print of a fox confronted by three small dogs (terriers).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1868
maker
Hart, Charles
publisher
Kelly, Thomas
ID Number
DL.60.2800
catalog number
60.2800
accession number
228146

Res. of John Agnew, Propr. Pittsburg Glassworks, Baldwin Tp., Allegheny Co. Pa.

Black and white print of a two-story house sit off from the street by an iron fence.
Description (Brief)
Black and white print of a two-story house sit off from the street by an iron fence. There is a fountain in the large front yard, a pump in a lattice enclosure on the side of the house, and a structure (the glassworks?) with a large chimney belching smoke in the backyard.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
n.d.
Associated Name
Agnew, John
maker
unknown
ID Number
DL.60.3711
catalog number
60.3711

Taylor's Victories on the Rio Grande

Black and white print; series of vingettes; at center is a small portrait of Zachary Taylor on horseback. This is surrounded by four small battle scenes: Bombardment of Matamoras, Battle of Alto Alto, Capture of Gen. Vega, and Charge of Capt. May. Iconography includes a U.S.
Description (Brief)
Black and white print; series of vingettes; at center is a small portrait of Zachary Taylor on horseback. This is surrounded by four small battle scenes: Bombardment of Matamoras, Battle of Alto Alto, Capture of Gen. Vega, and Charge of Capt. May. Iconography includes a U.S. shield and an eagle.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1846
depicted
Taylor, Zachary
maker
Sarony & Major
ID Number
DL.60.2552
catalog number
60.2552
accession number
228146

Lord Byron

Black & white print; half length portrait of a man (Lord Byron) seated, with his chin on his hand and his elbow resting on manuscripts.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Black & white print; half length portrait of a man (Lord Byron) seated, with his chin on his hand and his elbow resting on manuscripts.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1830
depicted
Byron, George Gordon
maker
Pendleton's Lithography
artist
Peale, Rembrandt
ID Number
DL.60.3157
catalog number
60.3157
accession number
228146

Ben Ali

A black and white print of a walking race horse with a jockey.Ben Ali was bred in Kentucky in 1883 by Daniel Swigert from Virgil and Ulrica, making him a descendant of Lexington.
Description
A black and white print of a walking race horse with a jockey.
Ben Ali was bred in Kentucky in 1883 by Daniel Swigert from Virgil and Ulrica, making him a descendant of Lexington. He was named after his owner James Ben Ali Haggin, who profited from the Gold Rush of 1849, and he was trained by Jim Murphy. Ben Ali won the 1886 Kentucky Derby, and his total career winnings amounted to $25,090. The Derby was the center of a major bookmaking controversy that year, as bookmakers were barred from accepting large dollar bets. When Haggin could not place a bet on his stallion, he vowed to stop racing his barn at the Derby. As a result, the quality of the field was greatly reduced because of the spread of Haggin’s boycott movement and Churchill Downs eventually faced bankruptcy. Ben Ali died in 1903 at the Rancho del Paso Stud Farm in California.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
n.d.
maker
unknown
ID Number
DL.60.3624
catalog number
60.3624

Swing-Time

Black and white comic print of two young lovers in a board and rope swing with devilish looks on their faces.This is one of over 100 in a series of comic parodies of popular songs.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Black and white comic print of two young lovers in a board and rope swing with devilish looks on their faces.This is one of over 100 in a series of comic parodies of popular songs.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1875
maker
Vance, Fred T.
Vance, Parsloe and Company
ID Number
DL.60.2842
catalog number
60.2842
accession number
228146

The Fishermans Daughter

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 full length portrait of a young woman leaning on an oar. She is wearing a blue sash with fringe, blue slippers, a chain and anchor around her waist, a net on her hair and an apron with a striped underskirt. In the background is the shoreline with a boat, trees and a house with gothic windows.
Kellogg & Bulkeley was the lithography firm formed from the partnership between Elijah Chapman Kellogg, Edmund Burke Kellogg and William Henry Bulkeley. The firm was formed in 1867, and shortly after both Elijah Chapman Kellogg and his brother Edmund Burke Chapman retired. After their retirement the only Kellogg remaining in the business was Edmund’s son Charles Kellogg. By1871 the partnership between the Kellogg family and Bulkeley had been reorganized as an incorporated stock company. The company came to an end when is merged with Case, Lockwood, & Brainard to become Connecticut Printers in 1947. Connecticut Printers remained open until 1990 when the Kellogg lithography firm finally ended after 160 years.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1860
maker
Kellogg & Bulkeley
ID Number
DL.60.2255
catalog number
60.2255
accession number
228146

Mary

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 is of a young woman standing by a window wearing a bonnet and heavy shawl over a red dress. Behind her is blue drapery with fringe, and she stands on a patterned carpet. A sailboat and a windmill can be seen through the window.
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 1840’s. A prolific lithographer and colorist for Currier & Ives; his prints were extremely popular with a wide distribution. J. Baillie spent his later years concentrating on painting instead of lithography.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1846
maker
Baillie, James S.
ID Number
DL.60.2495
catalog number
60.2495
accession number
228146

The Life & Age of Man by James S. Baillie

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

Market Scene

Colored print; market scene with a black man sitting on a bench before two women, one white and holding up a rabbit for examination, the other black and holding a basket of fruit and two fowl. In front of him is a table with fowl that he is selling.
Description (Brief)
Colored print; market scene with a black man sitting on a bench before two women, one white and holding up a rabbit for examination, the other black and holding a basket of fruit and two fowl. In front of him is a table with fowl that he is selling. Two baskets of fruit are beside him. More fowl and meat are on hooks on the wall behind him. Conversation between the white woman and the man is contained in dialogue bubbles over their heads (see inscriptions).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1848
lithographer
Baillie, James S.
artist
Bucholzer, H.
ID Number
DL.60.2295
catalog number
60.2295
accession number
228146

The Young American Sailor

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

Tigers

Colored print of two tigers on a grassy hill. One is lying on its side, the other is standing.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Colored print of two tigers on a grassy hill. One is lying on its side, the other is standing.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1840
artist
Maverick, Octavia
ID Number
DL.60.2342
catalog number
60.2342
accession number
228146

The Stag Outrun

Colored print of a stag being confronted by two dogs. A hunter takes aim from a rock in the background.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Colored print of a stag being confronted by two dogs. A hunter takes aim from a rock in the background.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
n.d.
maker
Kimmel and Forster
Bischof
ID Number
DL.60.2783
catalog number
60.2783
accession number
228146

Evangeline

Black and white comic print of a woman with a boil on her neck, sitting on a rock looking at a bull frog in a pond. This is one of over 100 in a series of comic parodies of popular songs.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Black and white comic print of a woman with a boil on her neck, sitting on a rock looking at a bull frog in a pond. This is one of over 100 in a series of comic parodies of popular songs.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1875
maker
Vance, Fred T.
Vance, Parsloe and Company
ID Number
DL.60.2835
catalog number
60.2835
accession number
228146

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