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.

Date: 1920s

Dish Pan

Large, circular, wire-rimmed pan with straight tapered sides, flat bottom and two oval wire handles hinged on folded clips riveted below rim on opposite sides. Sides made of five pieces with folded vertical seams; bottom edge folded up. No marks.Currently not on view
Description
Large, circular, wire-rimmed pan with straight tapered sides, flat bottom and two oval wire handles hinged on folded clips riveted below rim on opposite sides. Sides made of five pieces with folded vertical seams; bottom edge folded up. No marks.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1900
ID Number
DL.280280.0002
catalog number
280280.0002
accession number
280280

Flagon

Flattened circular, lidded and spout flagon with tall neck and double-domed, flared pedestal base; one side of body is inset with a circular armorial device consisting of a curved shield with lion rampant and an open or barred helmet facing left with foliate mantling surmounted b
Description
Flattened circular, lidded and spout flagon with tall neck and double-domed, flared pedestal base; one side of body is inset with a circular armorial device consisting of a curved shield with lion rampant and an open or barred helmet facing left with foliate mantling surmounted by a ducal coronet (three strawberry leaves). Angular strap handle with banded ball thumb piece. Flat-top domed lid with flat rim clipped to a point at front. Two marks struck on top of handle, a rounded shield containing a crossed key and arrow with the letters "I M P", and an incuse key.
Mark possibly that of August Weygang, Jr. (1859-1946) of Öhringen, Germany, who continued his family's pewtermaking business, 1885-1946.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880-1920
ID Number
DL.317628
catalog number
317628
accession number
67916

Tea Infuser

Small, perforated, octagonal or eight panel-sided teapot-shaped infuser with a right-angled, C-curve handle, bellied spout with split lip, and flared, hinged lid with a short, oval link chain ending in a circular ring attached to its pointed top.
Description
Small, perforated, octagonal or eight panel-sided teapot-shaped infuser with a right-angled, C-curve handle, bellied spout with split lip, and flared, hinged lid with a short, oval link chain ending in a circular ring attached to its pointed top. Lid collar struck on exterior "STERLING" in sans serif letters and with trademark superimposed "W" and "Co" pierced horizontally by a right-facing feathered arrow.
Maker is Webster Co. of North Attleboro, MA; 1894-present. George K. Webster started the business in 1869 as G.K. Webster and Co., but it was renamed Webster Company following his death in 1894. Since 1950, it has been a subsidiary of Reed & Barton. The firm specializes in holloware, novelty and vanity items.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1929
ID Number
1991.0825.11
catalog number
1991.0825.11
accession number
1991.0825

Jam Bowl with Spoon

Circular, clear, colorless pressed glass bowl with a silver, low-domed, flared cover and matching ladle-like spoon, both decorated with strawberry vines and flowers in translucent polychrome enamels.
Description
Circular, clear, colorless pressed glass bowl with a silver, low-domed, flared cover and matching ladle-like spoon, both decorated with strawberry vines and flowers in translucent polychrome enamels. Cover has a circular strawberry flower handle or knop and a utensil cut out for the spoon, which has a raised circular bowl and teardrop-shaped, pierced handle containing a ripe and unripe strawberry. Both pieces are struck incuse "M.P.W." and "STERLING". Bowl has a plain rim, fluted sides, and radiating star on the underside of its flat bottom; its smooth interior has a raised sans serif "H" inside a diamond or lozenge at center of well.
Maker is Mary Peyton Winlock (1867-died after 1930) of Boston (Cambridge), MA; active, 1888-1927 (Master Crafstman, Society of Arts and Crafts). Glass manufacturer not known.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1888-1927
ID Number
1988.0281.01
accession number
1988.0281
catalog number
1988.0281.01

Bell

Handheld bell with an inverted baluster handle on spool base topped by an acorn finial and a plain body with triple-stepped flared lip. Flattened ball-shaped clapper hangs from three S hooks, one large and two small.
Description
Handheld bell with an inverted baluster handle on spool base topped by an acorn finial and a plain body with triple-stepped flared lip. Flattened ball-shaped clapper hangs from three S hooks, one large and two small. Inside of body is struck once near lip "JOHN / BURT" in raised slanted serif letters in a rounded-corner rectangle, possibly overstruck at right.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1880-1920
ID Number
DL.383481
catalog number
383481
accession number
162866

Scoop

Small, closed-top scoop with a plain-edged, S- or ogee-curved opening and a vertical, D- or ear-shaped, tapered strap handle soft soldered to the low-domed, circular back. Cylindrical body has a soft-soldered lapped seam at top center; back is folded over body and soft-soldered.
Description
Small, closed-top scoop with a plain-edged, S- or ogee-curved opening and a vertical, D- or ear-shaped, tapered strap handle soft soldered to the low-domed, circular back. Cylindrical body has a soft-soldered lapped seam at top center; back is folded over body and soft-soldered. No marks.
The dimunitive size of this scoop suggests it was probably used with tea, spices, or sugar.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1875 - 1925
ID Number
DL.238049.0093
catalog number
238049.093
238049.0093
accession number
238049

Pudding Dish

Two-handled, bellied pot with everted rim, flat midband and short circular foot ring with inset flat bottom; stepped, low-domed cover is topped by wood mushroom knop. Two lug handles with turned wood grips. No marks.Currently not on view
Description
Two-handled, bellied pot with everted rim, flat midband and short circular foot ring with inset flat bottom; stepped, low-domed cover is topped by wood mushroom knop. Two lug handles with turned wood grips. No marks.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1900-1925
ID Number
DL.388315
catalog number
388315
accession number
182022

Milk Can

Three-gallon milk can with reinforced side handle, neck and body.
Description
Three-gallon milk can with reinforced side handle, neck and body. Made in four pieces: a wire-rimmed, soft-soldered lapped-seam neck; tall, conical, folded-seam breast; cylindrical, folded-seam body; and flat bottom, all joined by soft-soldered folded seams with soft-soldered lapped-seam bands added at neck and at top and base of body, plus a seamless band around bottom. High arched, tapered strap side handle and bands on body have wire-reinforced, rolled-over edges. No marks. No cover.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1905
ID Number
DL.251349.0180
catalog number
251349.0180
accession number
251349

knife

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1880-1920
previous owner
Pell, Alfred Duane
ID Number
DL.60.0353
catalog number
60.0353
accession number
225282

Towel

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1920
ID Number
DL.63.0987
catalog number
63.0987
accession number
246875

Tea Canister

Oblong hexagonal canister or caddy with overall, metallic red and gold patterns of dots inside circles on the flat cover top and shoulder, and of crosses inside clipped-corner squares on the cover sides.
Description
Oblong hexagonal canister or caddy with overall, metallic red and gold patterns of dots inside circles on the flat cover top and shoulder, and of crosses inside clipped-corner squares on the cover sides. Friction-fit cover, container and collar have soft-soldered lapped seams; cover top, shoulder and flat bottom have folded edges. No marks.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1880 - 1920
ID Number
DL.257491.0024
catalog number
257491.0024
accession number
257491

Grocer's Bin

Grocer's bin with a rounded, semicylindrical top on a rectangular base, and a flat, angled, hinged lid with a scrolled clasp at top center and two hinges along bottom; no handles. Exterior top, front, sides and bottom are painted a flat red-brown; back left plain.
Description
Grocer's bin with a rounded, semicylindrical top on a rectangular base, and a flat, angled, hinged lid with a scrolled clasp at top center and two hinges along bottom; no handles. Exterior top, front, sides and bottom are painted a flat red-brown; back left plain. Container is made in four large pieces, the top and base joined by horizontal folded seams and the back and front with folded edges. Arched opening has wire-rolled rims, while the lid has a folded edge and flange. No marks.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
late 19th or early 20th century
ID Number
DL.263901.0143
catalog number
263901.0143
accession number
263901

Souvenir Pin Tray

Small, rectangular tray with two bracket handles featuring a framed and glazed, hand-colored or tinted photograph of a woman in colonial dress seated tending a fire at a hearth in a period interior with large spinning wheel or walking wheel to left and extended comb-back Windsor
Description
Small, rectangular tray with two bracket handles featuring a framed and glazed, hand-colored or tinted photograph of a woman in colonial dress seated tending a fire at a hearth in a period interior with large spinning wheel or walking wheel to left and extended comb-back Windsor rocking chair to right. Nailed, molded frame. Blue-gray backing paper is printed with maker and product information in triangle at bottom right.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1920
ca 1910 - 1920
ID Number
1991.0825.16
catalog number
1991.0825.16
accession number
1991.0825
catalog number
1991.825.16

"Double Centilitre" Measure

Handleless, lidless cylindrical metric measure with heavy molded rim and base. Stamped on front of body "DOUBLE CENTILITR[E]" in incuse serif letters and along top of rim with 14 raised serif letters. Flat bottom struck once with an obtuse isoceles triangle containing "R.G.".
Description
Handleless, lidless cylindrical metric measure with heavy molded rim and base. Stamped on front of body "DOUBLE CENTILITR[E]" in incuse serif letters and along top of rim with 14 raised serif letters. Flat bottom struck once with an obtuse isoceles triangle containing "R.G.". One of an assembled set of seven metric measures, DL*67.0303-.0309.
Maker identified on catalog card as "R.G. (Giovanna)" of Paris, France, 1885-1924.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1885-1924
ID Number
DL.67.0309
catalog number
67.0309
accession number
250853

Lard Pail

Cylindrical pail with wire bail handle and handleless, friction-fit, flat cover. Pail made in two parts, the body has one folded vertical seam and the flat bottom has a folded edge. Cover stamped as one piece.
Description
Cylindrical pail with wire bail handle and handleless, friction-fit, flat cover. Pail made in two parts, the body has one folded vertical seam and the flat bottom has a folded edge. Cover stamped as one piece. Bail handle fits into circular terminals riveted beneath the raised bead on the pail. No marks.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1880 - 1920
ID Number
DL.238049.0074
catalog number
238049.0074
accession number
238049

Berlin Saucepan and Cover

Bulging, circular body with plain rim, flat bottom and open-ended, tapered tubular handle fitted over and double-riveted through an integrally cast extension; white enameled interior.
Description
Bulging, circular body with plain rim, flat bottom and open-ended, tapered tubular handle fitted over and double-riveted through an integrally cast extension; white enameled interior. Hollow cast with seam around middle and single gate mark at center of bottom underside; cast-in marks "MARIETTA PA / M [H & E C\o]" and "8 QTS" in incuse sans serif letters at perimeter on underside and "EJ(?)" in raised letters to left of handle. Low-domed cover has an arched strap handle and two beads or fillets; soft-soldered construction.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1900
ID Number
DL.64.0938
catalog number
64.0938
accession number
253789

Archimedes Style Mixer

Archimedes style beater or whip. Fan-style mixing end, three blades, bent metal wire, which twists to form shaft and forms loop at top for hanging.
Description
Archimedes style beater or whip. Fan-style mixing end, three blades, bent metal wire, which twists to form shaft and forms loop at top for hanging. Turned knob, wooden, unpainted with metal cap at bottom, wraps around twisted wire shaft, when moved up or down, creates mixing action by spinning whip. Metal cap with screw threads to attach at top to accompanying glass jar, clear glass. Jar is cylindrical, straight sides, with molded screw threads at top to attach cap. Front of jar is embossed: "Borden's"; bottom of jar is embossed: "2108-5/PAT. MAR. 30TH 1915./U.S.A./1133413" with another mark: backwards "C" overlapping upside down "V". Bottom also has white sticker attached with "418" handwritten on it. Side of jar is embossed with measurements in ounces and pints.
This beater was a promotional product manufactured by Borden, Inc., a manufacturer of milk, pasta, and snack foods founded in 1857 and based out of Columbus, Ohio. The company was active until the 1990s.
Related Patent: US 1133413 A, March 30, 1915, Turnet (or Turney) H. Stough, Jeannette, Pennsylvania, for "Kitchen utensil".
Maker is Borden, Inc.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1915-1925
maker
Borden Company
ID Number
DL.322793.18
accession number
322793
catalog number
76-FT-01.1051
collector/donor number
418

Box

Repousse chased, rectangular box with friction-fit, hinged lid featuring classical female allegories of the four seasons (left to right, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring) in individual scrolled reserves bordered by a floral vine.
Description
Repousse chased, rectangular box with friction-fit, hinged lid featuring classical female allegories of the four seasons (left to right, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring) in individual scrolled reserves bordered by a floral vine. Bands of foliate scrolls with flowers form lid and box sides. Gold washed interior. Underside of plain, flat bottom is struck incuse "F\LL/I. COPPINI", "800" next to a partial caduceus, and "MADE IN ITALY", all in sans serif letters.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1900 - 1920
ID Number
DL.60.1741
catalog number
60.1741
accession number
200122

Kettle

Rectangular kettle with a flat, inset cover topped by a flattened knop and a mushroom-shaped, flat-strap handle with tubular grip and heart-shaped terminals riveted to the sloped shoulder. Cast, S curve spout with split lip is soft-soldered to the folded vertical seam.
Description
Rectangular kettle with a flat, inset cover topped by a flattened knop and a mushroom-shaped, flat-strap handle with tubular grip and heart-shaped terminals riveted to the sloped shoulder. Cast, S curve spout with split lip is soft-soldered to the folded vertical seam. Body has one large hole at spout; its shoulder and flat bottom are attached with folded edges. No marks.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
late 19th or early 20th century
ID Number
DL.388252
catalog number
388252
accession number
182022

National Carbon Co. "Eveready" Radio Receiver With Speaker

Radios, like this Eveready model 2, provided many families of the 1920s with a new form of home entertainment. Amateurs began making home radios to transmit and receive messages early in the 1900s. But using these radios called for engineering skills and a license.
Description
Radios, like this Eveready model 2, provided many families of the 1920s with a new form of home entertainment. Amateurs began making home radios to transmit and receive messages early in the 1900s. But using these radios called for engineering skills and a license. Early receivers, called "crystal detectors," while relatively easy to make, required some technical skill and were low in power.
In 1916, David Sarnoff proposed that American Marconi Company sell broadcast transmitting equipment and "radio music boxes" that could receive the broadcast signals. After World War I, Sarnoff and his idea became part of the new Radio Corporation of America (RCA). A 1920 prototype radio designed by Alfred Goldsmith featured a few simple controls and needed no technical training to operate. RCA and other companies established AM (Amplitude Modulation) stations and began selling receivers. Stereo broadcasts were unknown, so radios needed only one speaker.
Listeners were entranced by this new medium that delivered both local news and nationwide "network" programming. Since radios could operate on batteries, reception spread beyond cities. Unelectrified rural areas began tuning in, making farm life seem less isolated. Families began to gather around their radios in the evenings to hear music, sports, comedy, drama—and the commercials that paid for "free" programming. The voices of political leaders and entertainment celebrities reached millions of Americans.
Elaborately styled cabinets, usually of wood, disguised technical components and allowed the radio to blend more easily with other home furnishings. This Eveready model is unusual. The cabinet is metal instead of wood, and can accept optional legs that permit the radio to be converted to a floor-standing model. Radio quickly became popular with Americans, so much so that statistics indicate only two electrical items sold well throughout the Great Depression: light bulbs and radios.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1928
early developer of radio receivers
Goldsmith, Alfred
maker
National Carbon Company
ID Number
2002.0149.01
catalog number
2002.0149.01
accession number
2002.0149

fork

Carving fork, with matching knife (1986.531.238A). Two-tined with wide flat stem inserted into white metal bolster cap. Tang is fitted into wooden handle: teardrop-shaped, faceted, with widened shoulders near bolster, painted gray with turquoise butt. Metal is scratched.
Description
Carving fork, with matching knife (1986.531.238A). Two-tined with wide flat stem inserted into white metal bolster cap. Tang is fitted into wooden handle: teardrop-shaped, faceted, with widened shoulders near bolster, painted gray with turquoise butt. Metal is scratched. Handle paint is chipped and cracked.
Stem is etched: “STAINLESS STEEL/MADE IN U.S.A.”; diamond around company name (this mark was registered in 1922)
Maker is A&J Manufacturing Company of Binghamton, New York, (founded 1909) which was purchased by Ekco Housewares Company of Chicago, Illinois in 1929, at which time products featured both company's trademarks.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1922- 1929
ID Number
1986.0531.238B
accession number
1986.0531
catalog number
1986.0531.238B

Cigarette Case

Smooth, unornamented, convex, rounded rectangular case with spring-loaded, hinged lid featuring a polychrome enamel of a mustachioed man in foxhunting attire or pinks riding a chestnut gelding facing left inset on front.
Description
Smooth, unornamented, convex, rounded rectangular case with spring-loaded, hinged lid featuring a polychrome enamel of a mustachioed man in foxhunting attire or pinks riding a chestnut gelding facing left inset on front. Push-tab catch with two additional tabs at opposite ends of lid and back. Gold washed interior has two white elastic band retainers. Inside lid and back are struck "G.A.S." in sans serif letters and with a right-facing dog head between "3" and "A" in a coffin-shaped surround; inside back also stamped "800" incuse and with a combined crescent moon and imperial crown in surround (Reichsmark).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1888 - 1921
ID Number
DL.60.2007
catalog number
60.2007
accession number
200122

Soup Ladle

"Tuxedo" pattern soup ladle with circular, rolled-rim bowl attached to a straight, hollow, scroll-bordered wavy handle.
Description
"Tuxedo" pattern soup ladle with circular, rolled-rim bowl attached to a straight, hollow, scroll-bordered wavy handle. Symmetrical design on front and back features a small fan and 7-lobed pendant shell at top and an 8- or 10-petaled flower between opposed anthemions and C scrolls above a ridged band around center, from which a long, tapered leafy ornament descends; ends with an almost circular ribbed shell attached to back of bowl. No marks.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890 - 1920
ID Number
DL.60.1067
catalog number
60.1067
accession number
115031

Cigarette Case

Rounded square case engraved overall with flowers amidst ample, plumed scrolls, a large oval tag monogrammed "M.A.G." in shaded block letters is applied at center of the spring-loaded, hinged lid; plain, concave back. Oval push-button catch.
Description
Rounded square case engraved overall with flowers amidst ample, plumed scrolls, a large oval tag monogrammed "M.A.G." in shaded block letters is applied at center of the spring-loaded, hinged lid; plain, concave back. Oval push-button catch. Gold washed interior has two matte-silver spring retainers. Retainer inside back is struck incuse on reverse "10", "STERLING" in sans serif letters and a superimposed "BB" trademark and "1370"; retainer inside lid also struck "10" on obverse.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
early 20th century
ca 1910 - 1920
ID Number
DL.60.2003
catalog number
60.2003
accession number
200122

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