Domestic Furnishings - Overview
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.
"Domestic Furnishings - Overview" showing 76 items.
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Whitall, Tatum and Company Paperweight
- Description (Brief)
- In the 1700s, paperweights made from textured stone or bronze were part of the writer’s tool kit, which also included a quill pen and stand, inkpot, and blotter. By the mid-1800s, decorative paperweights produced by glassmakers in Europe and the United States became highly desired collectibles.
- Decorative glass paperweights reflected the 19th-century taste for intricate, over-the-top designs. Until the spread of textiles colorized with synthetic dyes, ceramics and glass were among the few objects that added brilliant color to a 19th-century Victorian interior. The popularity of these paperweights in the 1800s testifies to the sustained cultural interest in hand craftsmanship during an age of rapid industrialization.
- Whitall, Tatum & Company of Millville, New Jersey was formed in 1901 and employed first rate craftsmen who created outstanding paperweights.
- This Whitall, Tatum and Company clear glass paperweight features a three-masted white frit clipper ship. Frit work is the act of fusing powdered glass to create an image or scene, as in the paper-thin ship in this paperweight.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1900
- maker
- Whitall, Tatum and Company
- ID Number
- CE*60.104
- catalog number
- 60.104
- accession number
- 211475
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Boston and Sandwhich Glass Company Paperweight
- Description (Brief)
- In the 1700s, paperweights made from textured stone or bronze were part of the writer’s tool kit, which also included a quill pen and stand, inkpot, and blotter. By the mid-1800s, decorative paperweights produced by glassmakers in Europe and the United States became highly desired collectibles.
- Decorative glass paperweights reflected the 19th-century taste for intricate, over-the-top designs. Until the spread of textiles colorized with synthetic dyes, ceramics and glass were among the few objects that added brilliant color to a 19th-century Victorian interior. The popularity of these paperweights in the 1800s testifies to the sustained cultural interest in hand craftsmanship during an age of rapid industrialization.
- Deming Jarves found the Boston & Sandwich Glass Company in Sandwich, Massachusetts in 1825, after leaving the New England Glass Company. The wares of these two companies can be easily confused as they shared owners, employees and managers.
- This Boston and Sandwich Glass Company paperweight encases a twelve-petal red and white Poinsettia with a green and white center Rose. It was made by glassworker Nicolas Lutz.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1852-1880
- maker
- Boston & Sandwich Glass Company
- ID Number
- CE*60.109
- catalog number
- 60.109
- accession number
- 211475
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
New England Glass Company Paperweight
- Description (Brief)
- In the 1700s, paperweights made from textured stone or bronze were part of the writer’s tool kit, which also included a quill pen and stand, inkpot, and blotter. By the mid-1800s, decorative paperweights produced by glassmakers in Europe and the United States became highly desired collectibles.
- Decorative glass paperweights reflected the 19th-century taste for intricate, over-the-top designs. Until the spread of textiles colorized with synthetic dyes, ceramics and glass were among the few objects that added brilliant color to a 19th-century Victorian interior. The popularity of these paperweights in the 1800s testifies to the sustained cultural interest in hand craftsmanship during an age of rapid industrialization.
- The New England Glass Company in Cambridge, Massachusetts was founded about 1818 by Deming Jarves along with three wealthy businessmen, and probably began producing paperweights by the mid 1850s. In 1888 the business moved to Ohio, under the name Libbey Glass Company.
- This New England Glass Company faceted paperweight features a dark-blue double Clematis.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1852-1880
- maker
- New England Glass Company
- ID Number
- CE*60.110
- catalog number
- 60.110
- accession number
- 211475
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
St. Louis Paperweight
- Description (Brief)
- In the 1700s, paperweights made from textured stone or bronze were part of the writer’s tool kit, which also included a quill pen and stand, inkpot, and blotter. By the mid-1800s, decorative paperweights produced by glassmakers in Europe and the United States became highly desired collectibles.
- Decorative glass paperweights reflected the 19th-century taste for intricate, over-the-top designs. Until the spread of textiles colorized with synthetic dyes, ceramics and glass were among the few objects that added brilliant color to a 19th-century Victorian interior. The popularity of these paperweights in the 1800s testifies to the sustained cultural interest in hand craftsmanship during an age of rapid industrialization.
- Glass production at Saint Louis was authorized by Louis XV in 1767. By 1782 the firm was creating high quality glass crystal, progressing into pressed glass in the 1800s. St. Louis produced paperweights from 1845 to about 1867.
- A blue, double Clematis is suspended over a ground formed by an overlay of amber-colored glass in this faceted St. Louis paperweight.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1845-1867
- maker
- St. Louis
- ID Number
- CE*60.111
- catalog number
- 60.111
- accession number
- 211475
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
St. Louis Paperweight
- Description (Brief)
- In the 1700s, paperweights made from textured stone or bronze were part of the writer’s tool kit, which also included a quill pen and stand, inkpot, and blotter. By the mid-1800s, decorative paperweights produced by glassmakers in Europe and the United States became highly desired collectibles.
- Decorative glass paperweights reflected the 19th-century taste for intricate, over-the-top designs. Until the spread of textiles colorized with synthetic dyes, ceramics and glass were among the few objects that added brilliant color to a 19th-century Victorian interior. The popularity of these paperweights in the 1800s testifies to the sustained cultural interest in hand craftsmanship during an age of rapid industrialization.
- St. Glass production at Saint Louis was authorized by Louis XV in 1767. By 1782 the firm was creating high quality glass crystal, progressing into pressed glass in the 1800s. St. Louis produced paperweights from 1845 to about 1867.
- This rare paperweight is decorated with two strawberries and a flower on a latticinio (latticework) background.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1845-1850
- maker
- St. Louis
- ID Number
- CE*60.118
- catalog number
- 60.118
- accession number
- 211475
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
New England Glass Company Paperweight
- Description (Brief)
- In the 1700s, paperweights made from textured stone or bronze were part of the writer’s tool kit, which also included a quill pen and stand, inkpot, and blotter. By the mid-1800s, decorative paperweights produced by glassmakers in Europe and the United States became highly desired collectibles.
- Decorative glass paperweights reflected the 19th-century taste for intricate, over-the-top designs. Until the spread of textiles colorized with synthetic dyes, ceramics and glass were among the few objects that added brilliant color to a 19th-century Victorian interior. The popularity of these paperweights in the 1800s testifies to the sustained cultural interest in hand craftsmanship during an age of rapid industrialization.
- The New England Glass Company in Cambridge, Massachusetts was founded about 1818 by Deming Jarves along with three wealthy businessmen, and probably began producing paperweights by the mid 1850s. In 1888 the business moved to Ohio, under the name Libbey Glass Company.
- An upright Dahlia in blue, orange, and yellow above a white latticinio (latticework) ground decorates this New England Glass Company paperweight.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1852-1880
- maker
- New England Glass Company
- ID Number
- CE*60.119
- catalog number
- 60.119
- accession number
- 211475
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
New England Glass Company Paperweight
- Description (Brief)
- In the 1700s, paperweights made from textured stone or bronze were part of the writer’s tool kit, which also included a quill pen and stand, inkpot, and blotter. By the mid-1800s, decorative paperweights produced by glassmakers in Europe and the United States became highly desired collectibles.
- Decorative glass paperweights reflected the 19th-century taste for intricate, over-the-top designs. Until the spread of textiles colorized with synthetic dyes, ceramics and glass were among the few objects that added brilliant color to a 19th-century Victorian interior. The popularity of these paperweights in the 1800s testifies to the sustained cultural interest in hand craftsmanship during an age of rapid industrialization.
- The New England Glass Company in Cambridge, Massachusetts was founded about 1818 by Deming Jarves along with three wealthy businessmen, and probably began producing paperweights by the mid 1850s. In 1888 the business moved to Ohio, under the name Libbey Glass Company.
- This rare New England Glass Company paperweight features a triple posy on a red, white, and blue swirl over an opaque white ground.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1852-1880
- maker
- New England Glass Company
- ID Number
- CE*60.121
- catalog number
- 60.121
- accession number
- 211475
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
New England Glass Company Paperweight
- Description (Brief)
- In the 1700s, paperweights made from textured stone or bronze were part of the writer’s tool kit, which also included a quill pen and stand, inkpot, and blotter. By the mid-1800s, decorative paperweights produced by glassmakers in Europe and the United States became highly desired collectibles.
- Decorative glass paperweights reflected the 19th-century taste for intricate, over-the-top designs. Until the spread of textiles colorized with synthetic dyes, ceramics and glass were among the few objects that added brilliant color to a 19th-century Victorian interior. The popularity of these paperweights in the 1800s testifies to the sustained cultural interest in hand craftsmanship during an age of rapid industrialization.
- The New England Glass Company in Cambridge, Massachusetts was founded about 1818 by Deming Jarves along with three wealthy businessmen, and probably began producing paperweights by the mid 1850s. In 1888 the business moved to Ohio, under the name Libbey Glass Company.
- This New England Glass Company paperweight feature an three cane flower on an irregular white latticinio (latticework) basket ground, and blue canes with a running dog silhouette in white.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1852-1878
- maker
- New England Glass Company
- ID Number
- CE*60.122 [dup1]
- catalog number
- 60.122
- accession number
- 211475
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Albert Graeser Paperweight
- Description (Brief)
- In the 1700s, paperweights made from textured stone or bronze were part of the writer’s tool kit, which also included a quill pen and stand, inkpot, and blotter. By the mid-1800s, decorative paperweights produced by glassmakers in Europe and the United States became highly desired collectibles.
- Decorative glass paperweights reflected the 19th-century taste for intricate, over-the-top designs. Until the spread of textiles colorized with synthetic dyes, ceramics and glass were among the few objects that added brilliant color to a 19th-century Victorian interior. The popularity of these paperweights in the 1800s testifies to the sustained cultural interest in hand craftsmanship during an age of rapid industrialization.
- This paperweight was made by Albert A. Graeser and features an enameled decoration of three joined rings along with two sprays of roses. The back is marked “Made by Albert Graeser, Pittsburgh, Pa.”
- In 1892, Graeser patented a process for making advertising paperweights in which he sealed a image to the underside of a rectangular glass blank using an enamel-like glaze.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1890-1900
- maker
- Graeser, Albert A.
- ID Number
- CE*60.133
- catalog number
- 60.133
- accession number
- 211475
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Whitall, Tatum and Company Paperweight
- Description (Brief)
- In the 1700s, paperweights made from textured stone or bronze were part of the writer’s tool kit, which also included a quill pen and stand, inkpot, and blotter. By the mid-1800s, decorative paperweights produced by glassmakers in Europe and the United States became highly desired collectibles.
- Decorative glass paperweights reflected the 19th-century taste for intricate, over-the-top designs. Until the spread of textiles colorized with synthetic dyes, ceramics and glass were among the few objects that added brilliant color to a 19th-century Victorian interior. The popularity of these paperweights in the 1800s testifies to the sustained cultural interest in hand craftsmanship during an age of rapid industrialization.
- Whitall, Tatum & Company of Millville, New Jersey was formed in 1901 and employed first rate craftsmen who created outstanding paperweights.
- Michael Kane at Whitall, Tatum and Company likely made this frit work (fusing powdered glass to create an image) paperweight, bearing an image of an American eagle and a flag shield. The barely legible initials “F.O.E” may indicate that this was made as a souvenir for the Fraternal Order of Eagles, a men’s organization founded in 1898.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1900
- maker
- Whitall Tatum Company
- ID Number
- CE*60.140
- catalog number
- 60.140
- accession number
- 211475
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center