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: 1840s

Saucepan

Raised bulbous circular bowl with reeded, everted rim and conical socket with baluster-turned wood handle mounted to a heart-shaped plate.
Description
Raised bulbous circular bowl with reeded, everted rim and conical socket with baluster-turned wood handle mounted to a heart-shaped plate. Underside of slightly concave bottom is struck five times around the centerpoint "C•A•B" in raised serif letters in a rectangle, all partial.
Maker is Charles A. Burnett (1769-1849), who worked in Fredericksburg, VA from 1788-93; Alexandria, VA from 1793-96; and Georgetown, DC from 1796-circa 1840.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1785-1845
maker
Burnett, Charles A.
ID Number
DL.383473
catalog number
383473
accession number
162866

knife, dinner; cutlery, set, part of

Dinner knife, one of a set of six (1986.0531.03-.08) that match a set of six dinner forks (1986.0531.09-.14).Straight tinned steel blade with rounded tip. Blade, bolster, and tang are one piece.
Description
Dinner knife, one of a set of six (1986.0531.03-.08) that match a set of six dinner forks (1986.0531.09-.14).
Straight tinned steel blade with rounded tip. Blade, bolster, and tang are one piece. 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 one side 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.
Blade is stamped: “L . BOOTH/SHEFFIELD”; partially worn off.
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
1986.0531.003
accession number
1986.0531
catalog number
1986.0531.003

Andrew Kump; coverlet; Jacquard, tied-Beiderwand; 1848; Pennsylvania

Andrew Kump’s workshop produced this Jacquard, blue & white, tied-Beiderwand coverlet. It features fringe on 3 sides. The border is composed of floral chains, which appear to be roses.
Description
Andrew Kump’s workshop produced this Jacquard, blue & white, tied-Beiderwand coverlet. It features fringe on 3 sides. The border is composed of floral chains, which appear to be roses. The centerfield pattern is made up of “Double Lily” and “Double Lily” medallions and there are woven cornerblocks that read, "Andrew Kump, Damask Coverlet Manufacturer, Hanover, York County Pa. 1848." The coverlet measures 96x88 inches and has a center seam indicating it was woven on a handloom with a Jacquard attachment. The refinement of the design of this coverlet when compared with our other Kump coverlet (T8955), which was woven in 1836 reflect the rapid advancement of the patterning technology and the shifting tastes in style.
Kump worked in Hanover, York County, Pennsylvania, but advertised in Northern Maryland as well as Pennsylvania. Kump employed another weaver named Valentine Cook (1820-1869). The only evidence that Kump was a coverlet weaver comes from the 1835-1836 York County tax lists. The 1850 Federal Census listed Kump as a retail store owner with Cook living in the household. In the 1860 Federal Census, Cook is absent and Kump is listed as a confectioner. More evidence is needed to prove without a doubt that Kump owned the license for the weaving equipment that Cook was using, but the absence of signed Cook coverlets seems to suggest that Kump was having his own branded coverlets woven on-site at his store. In 1855, when Cook moved to Adams County, Pennsylvania, William Gernand, a Maryland coverlet weaver, advertised that he had recently purchased Kump’s equipment and inventory. It is therefore likely, that at least after 1850, Cook was weaving coverlets sold by Kump at his store.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1848
weaver
Kump, Andrew
ID Number
TE.T8956
catalog number
T08956.000
accession number
164228

Waffle Iron

Rectangular waffle iron, plier form; both plates feature a grid of squares with raised, six-petaled rosettes.
Description
Rectangular waffle iron, plier form; both plates feature a grid of squares with raised, six-petaled rosettes. Two, long, tapered handles, rectangular in section, one ending in a loop with shaped locking ring that fits over the ball-and-acorn terminal on the other handle to secure closed. Both handles with arrow-shaped pads double-riveted to plates. No marks.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1790-1840
ID Number
DL.388212
catalog number
388212
accession number
182022

Covered Dish

Large, squat, circular dish with two open-scroll hinged handles at incurved neck above bulging sides on a domed base ending in a flat edge. Flattened-dome cover with ribbed acorn knop rests inside the curved collar.
Description
Large, squat, circular dish with two open-scroll hinged handles at incurved neck above bulging sides on a domed base ending in a flat edge. Flattened-dome cover with ribbed acorn knop rests inside the curved collar. Bottom underside of body is struck with five marks within two incised concentric circles: an azure (horizontally barred) pointed shield with three crowns at center of inside circle and, in the outer band, a sovereign's head facing forward in rectangle at top, two horizontal rectangles containing the conjoined script letters "NAS" at sides, and "L4" at bottom.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1841
ID Number
DL.311704
catalog number
311704
accession number
64443

Sugar Bowl

Circular, japanned bowl with a wire-rimmed, flared body having two folded seams that is soft-soldered to a plain-edged, rounded, single-piece foot, and a plain-edged, rounded cover topped by a small, triple-scroll loop.
Description
Circular, japanned bowl with a wire-rimmed, flared body having two folded seams that is soft-soldered to a plain-edged, rounded, single-piece foot, and a plain-edged, rounded cover topped by a small, triple-scroll loop. Painted decoration features a ring of four red circles separated by green chevron strokes and pairs of yellow dots on the cover, and a similar band around the rim of four pairs of red circles, each half-covered with alizarin, separated by opposing green chevron strokes, some with yellow overstrokes. Yellow rick-rack or ribbon borders around edge of cover and foot. No marks.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1790 - 1840
ID Number
DL.257491.0086
catalog number
257491.0086
accession number
257491

Trunk

Yellow-painted, flat-top box with scrolled hasp lock on front, circular wire ring handle on top, and two hinges at back.
Description
Yellow-painted, flat-top box with scrolled hasp lock on front, circular wire ring handle on top, and two hinges at back. A variety of red flowers with translucent white overstrokes, red strawberries and cherries with alizarin accents, and green leaves, some with black veins and all on green stems, fill the box front; box sides are plain. A faint green leafy design and penciling are visible on the lid top; a red and green, line-rope-and-leaf band is on the lid front and sides, some elements possibly stenciled. One-piece lid has a wire-rolled rim. Three-piece box has a top edge folded with wire bead below and a flat bottom. No marks.
Flat-top, painted tinware trunks are considered to be unique to the Stevens Tinshop of Stevens Plains (now Westbrook), ME, circa 1800-1842.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1800 - 1842
ID Number
1978.0119.10
accession number
1978.0119
catalog number
1978.0119.10

Susan Fussell Alexander, double-cloth coverlet; Tennessee, ca. 1840

Geometric, double-cloth coverlet in blue wool & natural cotton. Said to have been made by Susan Fussell Alexander; Columbia, Murray County, Tennessee, in about 1840. No fringes.Currently not on view
Description
Geometric, double-cloth coverlet in blue wool & natural cotton. Said to have been made by Susan Fussell Alexander; Columbia, Murray County, Tennessee, in about 1840. No fringes.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
about 1840 ?
maker
Alexander, Susan Fussell
Fussel, Margaret
Alexander, Susan Fussell
ID Number
TE.T12178
catalog number
T12178.000
accession number
233295

Box

Green-painted, flat-top box with a tapered and scrolled hasp lock on front and two hinges at back; no handle.
Description
Green-painted, flat-top box with a tapered and scrolled hasp lock on front and two hinges at back; no handle. Lid top has a symmetrical floral design of three white flowers with burnt umber and green overstrokes amidst lobed green leaves and clusters of white buds on green leaflets; all leaves have black veining, the main vein highlighted yellow. Yellow penciling around top and all sides except back; yellow leaflet on the hasp. One-piece lid has a wire-rolled rim. Three-piece box has a top edge folded with a wire bead below and a flat bottom. Golden-brown japanned interior. No marks.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1800 - 1840
ID Number
1978.0119.24
accession number
1978.0119
catalog number
1978.0119.24

Half Noggin Measure

Haystack measure; half noggin size. Conical or ovoid body with applied, molded neck, mid, and base bands; circular, everted rim with flared, molded lip.
Description
Haystack measure; half noggin size. Conical or ovoid body with applied, molded neck, mid, and base bands; circular, everted rim with flared, molded lip. Tapered, D- or ear-shaped handle has an arched thumbrest; upper scrolled terminal with stepped oval attachment below neck; flat lower terminal attached at midband. Front of body stamped "1HALF NOGGIN" in incuse serif letters. Circular touchmark of Joseph Austen & Son on bottom outside.
Maker is Joseph Austen & Son, Cork, Ireland; ca 1823-1846 (previous working dates, ca 1828-1833).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1828-1833
ca 1823-1846
ID Number
DL.67.0130
catalog number
67.0130
accession number
250853

Fireplace Patent Model

Patent model (U.S. Patent No. 1,578) of a fireplace, complete with surround and overmantel, that is fitted with curved and straight plates inside the chimney to prevent outside air flow into the fireplace; made by Homer Roberts of Delhi, NY, and patented on April 30, 1840.
Description
Patent model (U.S. Patent No. 1,578) of a fireplace, complete with surround and overmantel, that is fitted with curved and straight plates inside the chimney to prevent outside air flow into the fireplace; made by Homer Roberts of Delhi, NY, and patented on April 30, 1840. Nailed construction. Parts broken off and missing. Painted across mantel frieze "H. ROBERTS". Maker's name and location inscribed on outside back of chimney. Old, torn and taped tag stored separately is printed and handwritten with patent information and object numbers.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1840-04-30
patent date
1840-04-30
inventor
Roberts, Homer
ID Number
DL.251499
catalog number
251499
patent number
1,578
accession number
48890

Candlestick

This candlestick was owned in the Copp family home in Stonington, Connecticut during the 18th and 19th century.
Description
This candlestick was owned in the Copp family home in Stonington, Connecticut during the 18th and 19th century. The oval candlestick has an oval, single-reeded, removable nozzle with rolled edge and flared candle cup or socket atop a plain, single-seamed stem with single bead at top and molded band at bottom above the oval, trumpet-shaped, molded base with grooved border.
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
1820-1840
ID Number
DL.006814.01
accession number
28810
catalog number
6814.01

Saucer

Circular saucer or small plate with molded rim machine-engraved on face with a rope or hatchmark border next to stepped outer edge. Shallow, stepped well; no foot ring. Touchmark "PUTNAM" in raised serif letters in a serrated rectangle on underside of well.James H.
Description
Circular saucer or small plate with molded rim machine-engraved on face with a rope or hatchmark border next to stepped outer edge. Shallow, stepped well; no foot ring. Touchmark "PUTNAM" in raised serif letters in a serrated rectangle on underside of well.
James H. Putnam of Malden, MA, working 1830-1855.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1800 - 1849
ID Number
1986.0027.42
catalog number
1986.0027.42
accession number
1986.0027

Porringer

Bellied-bowl porringer with angled rim and bossed bottom; cast crown handle with triangular bracket is pierced with 11 voids and struck once on top with "TD&SB" touchmark for Thomas Danforth Boardman and Sherman Boardman across a keyhole-shape shield below a five-pearl (ducal) co
Description
Bellied-bowl porringer with angled rim and bossed bottom; cast crown handle with triangular bracket is pierced with 11 voids and struck once on top with "TD&SB" touchmark for Thomas Danforth Boardman and Sherman Boardman across a keyhole-shape shield below a five-pearl (ducal) coronet with matte ground. Diamond or lozenge linen mark with sink hole from tinker's dam used to burn handle on to bowl. Fine turning marks around upper half of bowl exterior; wide turning marks on underside of boss.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1810 - ca 1840
ID Number
DL.388321
catalog number
388321
accession number
182022

Geometric Double-cloth Coverlet, ca. 1846

This double-woven wool coverlet has borders on three sides. The lower edge has a double border, while the two sides, have triple borders. In both cases the borders feature a variation of the "Pine Tree" motif.
Description
This double-woven wool coverlet has borders on three sides. The lower edge has a double border, while the two sides, have triple borders. In both cases the borders feature a variation of the "Pine Tree" motif. The lower edge has a cut self fringe, while the sides have an uncut self fringe. The center of the coverlet features a pattern similar to the "Irish Chain" pattern found in quilting. It is believed this coverlet was made in Pennsylvania in the mid-1840s. Coverlets such as this were highly valued possessions. They would have been mentioned in household inventories, and acquired for a young woman's dowry or hope chest.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1846
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T10097
catalog number
T10097.000
accession number
060464

Sevres porcelain cup and saucer

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1839
1840
ID Number
CE.P-766Bab
catalog number
P-766Bab
accession number
225282

Sèvres porcelain pitcher

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1846
ID Number
CE.P-377
catalog number
P-377
accession number
225282

Trunk

Small, japanned, coffer- or platform-top box with scrolled hasp lock on front, circular wire handle on lid, and two hinges at back.
Description
Small, japanned, coffer- or platform-top box with scrolled hasp lock on front, circular wire handle on lid, and two hinges at back. Lid has a white band on its front and sides overpainted with red circles separated by a zig-zag of green brushstrokes; yellow, symmetrical, wheat-like motifs extend from handle. Box front has a crossed pair of red-to-yellow daisies with yellow-dotted centers on green leafy stems. Box sides and back of lid and box are plain. One-piece lid has a wire-rolled rim. Three-piece box has a top edge folded with a wire bead below and sides that fold under the flat bottom. Tinned interior. No marks.
Attributed to the Stevens Tinshop of Stevens Plains (now Westbrook), ME, circa 1800-1842.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1800 - 1840
ID Number
1978.0119.23
accession number
1978.0119
catalog number
1978.0119.23

Oven Patent Model

Patent model (U.S. Patent No. 2,235) of a horizontal cylindrical, elevated or stepped-back oven for attaching to a cooking or heating stove; made by Samuel B. Spaulding of Brandon, VT, and patented on August 28, 1841. Painted black; folded seams.
Description
Patent model (U.S. Patent No. 2,235) of a horizontal cylindrical, elevated or stepped-back oven for attaching to a cooking or heating stove; made by Samuel B. Spaulding of Brandon, VT, and patented on August 28, 1841. Painted black; folded seams. Features two flues: one surrounding the oven is fed by two circular openings in its underside and has a sliding damper at one end; and the other, for when the oven is not in use, wraps around the front half of the oven and has a pivoting damper at its front center. No marks on object, but paper tags tied on with red wove ribbon and stored separately are printed and handwritten with patent information and object numbers.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1841-08-28
patent date
1841-08-28
inventor
Spaulding, Samuel B.
ID Number
DL.251512
accession number
48890
patent number
2,235
catalog number
251512

Trunk

Black-painted, dome-top box with scrolled hasp lock on front, circular wire ring handle on top, and two hinges at back. Box front and sides have a red band containing yellow-dotted alizarin ovals with yellow streamers above green swags and yellow tassels.
Description
Black-painted, dome-top box with scrolled hasp lock on front, circular wire ring handle on top, and two hinges at back. Box front and sides have a red band containing yellow-dotted alizarin ovals with yellow streamers above green swags and yellow tassels. Lid top has yellow graduated brushstrokes on four sides of the handle; a yellow ribbon and thick band border its edges. Three-piece lid has a wire-rolled rim. Three-piece box has a top edge folded with wire bead below and a flat bottom. Scratched on bottom underside in cursive script "C,C, Spencer / No. 5".
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1790 - 1840
ID Number
1978.0119.22
accession number
1978.0119
catalog number
1978.0119.22

Jerome Brothers Ogee Clock

The depression of 1837 hit Connecticut wooden clock manufacturers so hard that they feared the entire industry might collapse. On a trip to Virginia to collect old bills, Chauncey Jerome—a successful clock producer from Bristol, Connecticut—had a new idea.
Description
The depression of 1837 hit Connecticut wooden clock manufacturers so hard that they feared the entire industry might collapse. On a trip to Virginia to collect old bills, Chauncey Jerome—a successful clock producer from Bristol, Connecticut—had a new idea. A simple one-day clock made of brass, he thought, could be produced far more cheaply and in much greater quantities than the standard wooden clock. When he returned home, he described the idea to his brother Noble, a talented clockmaker who quickly made a prototype and received a U.S. patent on it in 1839.
A typical factory might produce several thousand wooden clocks per year, but the Jeromes—and their principal imitators and rivals—were soon mass-producing brass clocks in the hundreds of thousands. For these brass clocks, Chauncey Jerome adopted a simple case introduced by several other New England clockmakers. The case became famous as the "Ogee," named for its characteristic S-shaped moldings.
Unlike wooden clocks, brass movements were unaffected by humidity and could be transported by ship. The entire world, clockmakers quickly recognized, was a potential market. The reception Chauncey Jerome's clocks received in England, home of some of the world's finest clockmakers, illustrates the impact of his innovation. When the first clocks arrived in 1842, valued at an improbable $1.50 each, English customs inspectors assumed that Jerome had set the figure far below cost to avoid paying the proper duties. To teach Jerome a lesson, the inspectors bought the whole shipment at the declared price. When a similar cargo at the same valuation arrived a few days later, they did the same. Only with the third shipment did they recognize that they were unwittingly becoming distributors for Yankee clock manufacturers. Jerome was content with the prices British customs agents had been paying him and would have happily supplied them indefinitely. From then on Jerome's clocks entered the English market unimpeded.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1840
date made
ca 1840-1845
maker
Jerome, Chauncey
ID Number
ME.318998
catalog number
318998
accession number
236076

Sèvres porcelain sugar bowl (part of a service)

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1840
ID Number
CE.P-808Cab
catalog number
P-808Cab
accession number
225282

Sevres porcelain cup

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1836-1845
ID Number
CE.P-1062B
catalog number
P-1062B
accession number
225282

Cornelius Solar Lamp Patent Model

Robert Cornelius submitted this patent model in his patent application that received patent number 3,028 on April 6, 1843. The novel innovation in Cornelius’s lamp was its ability to burn lard and other concrete fat with a minimal amount of heat.
Description
Robert Cornelius submitted this patent model in his patent application that received patent number 3,028 on April 6, 1843. The novel innovation in Cornelius’s lamp was its ability to burn lard and other concrete fat with a minimal amount of heat. This allowed lamps to use cheap lard for fuel instead of the costly whale oil that had dominated the lamp industry prior. The lamp used a deflector that heated a tube leading to the fuel, providing no more metal to heat the lard than was absolutely required. Cornelius’s lamp outsold those fueled by expensive whale oil, making his company the largest lighting company in America. Cornelius also attempted to perfect the daguerreotype photographic process, taking the first-ever self-portrait in 1839.
patent date
1843-04-06
inventor
Cornelius, Robert
ID Number
DL.331356
catalog number
331356
patent number
3,028
accession number
88881

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