Family & Social Life

Donations to the Museum have preserved irreplaceable evidence about generations of ordinary Americans. Objects from the Copp household of Stonington, Connecticut, include many items used by a single family from 1740 to 1850. Other donations have brought treasured family artifacts from jewelry to prom gowns. These gifts and many others are all part of the Museum's family and social life collections.

Children's books and Sunday school lessons, tea sets and family portraits also mark the connections between members of a family and between families and the larger society. Prints, advertisements, and artifacts offer nostalgic or idealized images of family life and society in times past. And the collections include a few modern conveniences that have had profound effects on American families and social life, such as televisions, video games, and personal computers.

Sometime around her 17th birthday, Canadian Bernice Palmer received a Kodak Brownie box camera (No. 2A Model), either for Christmas 1911 or for her birthday on 10 January 1912.
Description
Sometime around her 17th birthday, Canadian Bernice Palmer received a Kodak Brownie box camera (No. 2A Model), either for Christmas 1911 or for her birthday on 10 January 1912. In early April, she and her mother boarded the Cunard liner Carpathia in New York, for a Mediterranean cruise. Carpathia had scarcely cleared New York, when it received a distress call from the White Star liner Titanic on 14 April. It raced to the scene of the sinking and managed to rescue over 700 survivors from the icy North Atlantic. With her new camera, Bernice took pictures of the iceberg that sliced open the Titanic’s hull below the waterline and also took snapshots of some of the Titanic survivors. Lacking enough food to feed both the paying passengers and Titanic survivors, the Carpathia turned around and headed back to New York to land the survivors. Unaware of the high value of her pictures, Bernice sold publication rights to Underwood & Underwood for just $10 and a promise to develop, print, and return her pictures after use. In 1986, she donated her camera, the pictures and her remarkable story to the Smithsonian.
date made
ca 1912
user
Ellis, Bernice P.
maker
Eastman Kodak Company
ID Number
1986.0173.38
accession number
1986.0173
catalog number
1986.0173.38
This silver-plated, glass lined, half-pint thermos bottle with was made by Thermos in 1917. It has a screw-on cup lid with a folding wire handle, and a cork stopper.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
This silver-plated, glass lined, half-pint thermos bottle with was made by Thermos in 1917. It has a screw-on cup lid with a folding wire handle, and a cork stopper.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1916
maker
American Thermos Bottle Company
ID Number
2004.3009.16.02
nonaccession number
2004.3009
catalog number
2004.3009.16.02
side 1: Hawaiian Quintette. Aloha Oe (Farewell to Thee); side 2: S. M. Kaiawe with the Hawaiian Quintette. Kuu Home (Native Plantation Song) (Victor 18577).78 rpm.Currently not on view
Description
side 1: Hawaiian Quintette. Aloha Oe (Farewell to Thee); side 2: S. M. Kaiawe with the Hawaiian Quintette. Kuu Home (Native Plantation Song) (Victor 18577).
78 rpm.
Location
Currently not on view
recording date
1913
composer
Queen Lili'uokalani
recording artist
Hawaiian Quintette
lyricist
Montano, Mary J.
recording artist
Kaiawe, S. M.
manufacturer
Victor
ID Number
2000.3053.1678
catalog number
2000.3053.1678
label number
18577
nonaccession number
2000.3053
side 1: Al Jolson. Snap Your Fingers; side 2: Collins and Harlan. I Want To Be in Dixie (Victor 17075)78 rpm. Side 1 was recorded in 1911. Side 2 was recorded in 1912. This pressing was released in 1923.Currently not on view
Description
side 1: Al Jolson. Snap Your Fingers; side 2: Collins and Harlan. I Want To Be in Dixie (Victor 17075)
78 rpm. Side 1 was recorded in 1911. Side 2 was recorded in 1912. This pressing was released in 1923.
Location
Currently not on view
recording date
1912
1911
recording artist
Jolson, Al
Collins, Arthur
Harlan, Byron G.
manufacturer
Victor
ID Number
1985.0256.01
accession number
1985.0256
maker number
17075
catalog number
1985.0256.01
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1910
maker
Hine, Lewis
ID Number
1997.0258.01
catalog number
1997.0258.01
accession number
1997.0258
This sheet music is for the song “Just a Baby's Prayer at Twilight (for Her Daddy Over There).” The song was written by Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young, and the music was composed by M.K. Jerome. The sheet music was published by Waterson, Berlin and Snyder Co.
Description

This sheet music is for the song “Just a Baby's Prayer at Twilight (for Her Daddy Over There).” The song was written by Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young, and the music was composed by M.K. Jerome. The sheet music was published by Waterson, Berlin and Snyder Co. of New York, New York in 1918. The cover features an illustration of a young girl kneeling on her bed in prayer, which is signed by Barbelle.

The cover art for this sheet music was made by American artist and designer Albert Wilfred Barbelle (1887-1957). With a prolific career spanning over forty years, Barbelle created cover art for sheet music and albums.

Location
Currently not on view
publishing date
1918
lyricist
Lewis, Sam M.
Young, Joe
composer
Jerome, Maurice Kraus
publisher
Waterson, Berlin & Snyder Co.
ID Number
1983.0313.07
accession number
1983.0313
catalog number
1983.0313.07
This metal steam engine model was made by Greville Bathe in 1913. The horizontal table engine has a vertical cylinder and flywheel.
Description (Brief)
This metal steam engine model was made by Greville Bathe in 1913. The horizontal table engine has a vertical cylinder and flywheel. The donor of this item, Greville Bathe, was a machinist and engine hobbyist who would fashion his own parts to create model engines.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1913
ID Number
MC.329024
catalog number
329024
accession number
278175
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1917-03-25
ID Number
2018.0168.0012
accession number
2018.0168
catalog number
2018.0168.0012
The museum’s catalogue records indicate that this toy steam engine and boiler is a model number 7 made by Otto Bernz. This model is marked “Otto Bernz, Newark, N.J., Pat. Mar 16, 1911.” Otto Bernz (later BernzOmatic) was a well known gasoline torch manufacturer.
Description (Brief)
The museum’s catalogue records indicate that this toy steam engine and boiler is a model number 7 made by Otto Bernz. This model is marked “Otto Bernz, Newark, N.J., Pat. Mar 16, 1911.” Otto Bernz (later BernzOmatic) was a well known gasoline torch manufacturer. This patent refers to patent number 536,192 which was a patent for an automatic pressure torch. It is possible that this model uses the automatic pressure described in the patent to run the horizontal engine.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1911
ID Number
MC.328987
catalog number
328987
accession number
278175
This metal steam engine model was manufactured by Bathe around 1910. The engine is a vertical table engine with a rotary valve and flywheel.
Description (Brief)
This metal steam engine model was manufactured by Bathe around 1910. The engine is a vertical table engine with a rotary valve and flywheel. The donor of this item, Greville Bathe, was a machinist and engine hobbyist who would fashion his own parts to create model engines.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1910
ID Number
MC.329025
catalog number
329025
accession number
278175
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1917-03-25
ID Number
2018.0168.0013
accession number
2018.0168
catalog number
2018.0168.0013
This sheet music is for the music “Celebrated Hebrew Song and Dance,” arranged for piano solo by Joseph Bonime. It was published by Joseph P. Katz in New York, New York in 1916.Currently not on view
Description
This sheet music is for the music “Celebrated Hebrew Song and Dance,” arranged for piano solo by Joseph Bonime. It was published by Joseph P. Katz in New York, New York in 1916.
Location
Currently not on view
publishing date
1916
arranger
Bonime, Joseph
publisher
Katz, Joseph P.
ID Number
1986.0961.05
accession number
1986.0961
catalog number
1986.0961.05
This pedal car was made by the Kirk–Latty Manufacturing Company during the early 20th century. Early pedal cars reflected the design of their larger gasoline driven counterparts—often missing lights with starting cranks on the front.
Description
This pedal car was made by the Kirk–Latty Manufacturing Company during the early 20th century. Early pedal cars reflected the design of their larger gasoline driven counterparts—often missing lights with starting cranks on the front. This Kirk–Latty's lights seem to have been added to the car at a later date (and they look like they are a product of the 1930s). There is no crank, it seems likely the car was manufactured before in the late 1910s or early 1920s. Almost as soon as the first automobile took to the roads, American children played with car toys, read car books, and even learned how combustion engines worked. Making cars a part of kids' lives-even kids whose families didn't own cars-helped make automobile ownership appealing to future generations of car buyers. Because much of this material targeted boys, it helped shape a society in which women were far less likely to own and drive a car.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1917
Associated Name
Latty, Samuel D.
maker
Kirk-Latty Manufacturing Company
ID Number
2000.0265.01
catalog number
2000.0265.01
accession number
2000.0265
Cal Stewart. side1: Uncle Josh at a Meeting of the School House Directors; side 2: Uncle Josh Takes the Census (Columbia A2962).78 rpm.Currently not on view
Description
Cal Stewart. side1: Uncle Josh at a Meeting of the School House Directors; side 2: Uncle Josh Takes the Census (Columbia A2962).
78 rpm.
Location
Currently not on view
recording date
1919
composer; recording artist
Stewart, Cal
manufacturer
Columbia
ID Number
2000.3053.1861
catalog number
2000.3053.1861
label number
A2962
nonaccession number
2000.3053
This needle lace table runner illustrates scenes from the Bayeux Tapestry. Scenes before, during and after the Battle of Hastings, England, in 1066 between Harold and William the Conqueror are depicted along the sides and ends of this nine meter long cloth.
Description
This needle lace table runner illustrates scenes from the Bayeux Tapestry. Scenes before, during and after the Battle of Hastings, England, in 1066 between Harold and William the Conqueror are depicted along the sides and ends of this nine meter long cloth. It might have been commissioned for the banquet table in one of the numerous grand mansions built in the USA early in the 1900’s. The Melville and Ziffer lace workshop in Le Puy, France, exhibited an almost identical table runner at the 1906 Paris World Exhibition.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1900-1910
designer
Melville & Ziffer
maker
Melville & Ziffer
ID Number
1985.0162.01
accession number
1985.0162
catalog number
1985.0162.01
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1910
ca 1915
ID Number
DL.61.0566
catalog number
61.0566
accession number
234919
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1907
postmark date
1911/5/27
ID Number
1986.3048.1037
nonaccession number
1986.3048
catalog number
1986.3048.1037
This sheet music is for the song “Ireland Must Be Heaven, for My Mother Came from There” that was written and composed by Joe McCarthy, Howard Johnson and Fred Fischer. The sheet music was published by Leo Feist Inc. of New York City in 1916.
Description (Brief)
This sheet music is for the song “Ireland Must Be Heaven, for My Mother Came from There” that was written and composed by Joe McCarthy, Howard Johnson and Fred Fischer. The sheet music was published by Leo Feist Inc. of New York City in 1916. The white and peach striped cover has an inset illustration of a castle on a coast ringed by a floral arrangement. There is an inset photograph of William Gaxton on the lower left of the cover. The illustration is signed with a Rosebud, who was an artist or artists who did illustrations for Feist and Berlin during this period.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1916
composer
McCarthy, Joseph
Johnson, Howard
Fischer, Fred
publisher
Leo Feist, Inc.
ID Number
1983.0424.038
accession number
1983.0424
catalog number
1983.0424.038
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1911
ID Number
1986.3048.1008
catalog number
1986.3048.1008
nonaccession number
1986.3048
This round linen table cover contains the inscription “1915 ARDOYE - KLOOSTER DER H. KINDERSHEID VAN JESUS – WEESKINDEREN” (1915 Ardoye - Convent of the Holy Childhood of Jesus - Orphans) in the center.
Description
This round linen table cover contains the inscription “1915 ARDOYE - KLOOSTER DER H. KINDERSHEID VAN JESUS – WEESKINDEREN” (1915 Ardoye - Convent of the Holy Childhood of Jesus - Orphans) in the center. Ardoye (Ardooie) is in West Flanders, Belgium, in the area where the German army used poison gas for the first time on the western front in the second battle of Ypres in 1915.
The table cover is centered with bobbin lace. Bruges flower lace as well as tape lace and braided mesh techniques were utilized by the Belgian lace makers, who made this during World War I.
Location
Currently not on view
made during
1915-1918
part of design
1915
facilitator
Hoover, Herbert
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.E383962
catalog number
E383962
accession number
172208
This lace collar is made with fine Brussels bobbin lace motifs in Louis XVI style, connected by droschel bobbin lace ground.
Description
This lace collar is made with fine Brussels bobbin lace motifs in Louis XVI style, connected by droschel bobbin lace ground. The attached tag has a red wax seal embossed with “Commission for Relief in Belgium, Dentelle Belge” and includes an image of the Belgian Lion in the center.
The card on the back of the seal reads: "N° 13/0446 Point Bruxelles Droschel Louis XVI made by hand. Sold by the C'on for Relief in Belgium". The lace was made by Belgian lace makers during World War I.
Location
Currently not on view
made during
1914-1918
agent
Hoover, Herbert
maker
unknown
ID Number
2013.0121.20
accession number
2013.0121
catalog number
2013.0121.20
Ng Shee (1874 - ?) had this two paneled skirt as well as trousers made in Hong Kong at the time of her marriage to Mr. Lee B. Lok in China around 1900. After the marriage Ng Shee lived with her mother in law in China until she joined Mr.
Description (Brief)
Ng Shee (1874 - ?) had this two paneled skirt as well as trousers made in Hong Kong at the time of her marriage to Mr. Lee B. Lok in China around 1900. After the marriage Ng Shee lived with her mother in law in China until she joined Mr. Lee in New York City in 1906.
The pleated skirt was often worn with a rectangular apron or wei chu’u over a pair of matching trousers.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1900
maker
unknown
ID Number
1992.0620.20
accession number
1992.0620
catalog number
1992.0620.20
Mr. Lee only wore these slippers in his home or with his traditional Chinese clothes on special occasions.
Description (Brief)
Mr. Lee only wore these slippers in his home or with his traditional Chinese clothes on special occasions. The slipper sole was thick, flat, inelastic, and shorter than the upper sole to give enough spring for walking.
For much of his early life, the Chinese New Year was Lee’s only day of rest from the Quong Yuen Shing & Co. general store and a time when he might wear these slippers.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1896
maker
unknown
ID Number
1992.0620.27.a-b
catalog number
1992.0620.27.a-b
accession number
1992.0620
catalog number
1992.0620.27a-b
Mrs. Lee made this "dog head" bonnet for her only son, Peter. Chinese mothers traditionally dressed their one year old children in such bonnets to protect them from evil spirits.
Description (Brief)
Mrs. Lee made this "dog head" bonnet for her only son, Peter. Chinese mothers traditionally dressed their one year old children in such bonnets to protect them from evil spirits. According to lore, if evil forces met the child they would pass by, thinking it were an animal, and of no value. Fur lines the bonnet's "dog's ears" and the padded wool of the hat lined Peter's head.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1919
maker
Lee Ng Shee
ID Number
1992.0620.07
catalog number
1992.0620.07
accession number
1992.0620

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