This well-balanced medallion quilt is important for the fabrics used. Cut segments from four different roller-printed cottons produced in the 1830s and 1840s were utilized to create the overall design. The center panel, 57-inches x 57-inches, is appliqued with four large floral wreaths, small baskets and sprays of flowers. It is framed by two 7½-inch floral stripe borders and a 14-inch white border appliqued with small baskets, sprays of flowers, and four eagles, one in each corner. Outline quilting accentuates each of the appliqued motifs on this mid-19th century quilt.
Pit-bottom teakettle with bellied gooseneck spout and cast-in arched ears above its high, rounded shoulder for the mushroom-shaped strap bail handle, concave in section; no feet. Removable, pivoting, double-stepped lid swings on bearing next to back ear. Both pieces are hollow cast: body has a pronounced horizontal seam that extends to top of spout and a single gate mark and raised "8" on bottom exterior; cover bordered by "B & S. 272 PEARL ST.N.Y." and "PATENTED DEC.18.1866", both cast in raised serif letters.
"B & S." appears to stand for Benham & Stoutenborough, a housewares merchant and manufacturer at 272 Pearl Street, run by Darius Benham and Xenophon Stoutenborough. William Hailes of Albany, NY, received U.S. Patent No. 60,508 for his "mode of attaching covers to kettles, boilers, stoves, etc." on December 18, 1866.
Circular stand with tall bracket handle segmented along its bow and fixed at bottom to a conical ring on four, ribbed, conical feet with round bottoms. Small hanging hook for tongs is attached at one side of handle and scroll bracket supports inside at bottom ends. Underside of frame struck incuse "TAUNTON. / SILVER PLATE CO." in serif letters, "BARBOUR BROS. / SILVER / QUADRUPLE." in sans serif letters inside a circle, and "116"; "BARBOUR BROS." mark is overstruck with a sawtooth or zig-zag line. From pickle caster, 1979.0800.01-.04.
Equal-arm beam balance with a circular pivot center hook, piercework pointer, and flat, slightly swelled and tapered arms terminating in smaller circular pivots with hanging holes. Both arms struck on both sides with "J.M.DOW" at left and "N.YORK" at right, all in raised roman letters in rectangles. Beam only; no stand, hooks or pans.
Gooseneck andiron with polyhedron finial and faceted rectangular shaft flared at shoulders on square, arched legs with tab feet. "(R. R.?) WILDER" is stamped incuse in serif letters sideways on both facets near top. Upright is tenoned through the legs. Billet bar tenoned through plinth of upright. One of a pair, 1982.0090.92A-B.
This set of eight stemmed cups accompanied the cocktail shaker also seen in the exhibit. They feature the same hammered effect and are made of silver. The cups are noticeably worn, perhaps from extensive use during Prohibition, a time when alcohol was outlawed in the name of social reform. Although making, selling, and transporting alcohol were illegal consuming it was not, and people devised many ways to continue this pastime.
Part of upright from a figural andiron featuring the head and torso of a woman wearing a square-necked, tight bodice; her hair is pulled back and her hands are clasped at her waist. Upright broken where billet bar was attached; one plain, arched and rounded cabriole leg remains. No marks. One of a pair, 1982.0090.82A-B.
Engraved "Lily" pattern child's spoon having an ovoid bowl and upturned, flared and rounded handle bright cut on front with a right-curving raceme of lily-of-the-valley above three leaves, quatrefoil-in-circle motif and pendant line of paired leaves. Engraved "Charlie." in script lengthwise on terminal back. Back of handle struck "TOWLE.MF'G.CO" and "6oz." in incuse serif letters. From a three-piece child's or youth's flatware set (knife, fork, spoon), 1979.0003.01-.03.
Baroque-style andiron with a brass, banded-ball-and-vase upright on cylindrical plinth atop a scrollwork apron with S-curved legs ending in flat, rectangular, stepped platform feet. Two-part upright, both parts hollow cast and vertically seamed. Diamond-faceted billet bar flattens at front and extends forward past the legs to end in an upturned scroll. All parts held together by an internal iron rod threaded at top and peened at bottom. Secondary rear leg is tenoned through billet bar. No marks. One of a pair, 1978.0989.243-.244.
The pieces that are used to make the 71 “LeMoyne Star” blocks on this quilt create a useful record. They represent an assortment of fabrics used for ordinary mid-19th century clothes. Brown, tan, grey, and rust-colored fabrics, most twill-woven cotton/wool, were used to piece the blocks. These alternate with 6 ½-inch squares of brown and grey striped cotton/wool fabric. The quilt is lined with a plain-weave, cotton warp/wool weft fabric. Brown carded wool serves as the filling. The quilting pattern consists of parallel diagonal lines 1 ½-inch apart, quilted at 3-4 stitches per inch.
The machine- and hand-woven textile examples might not otherwise have been preserved if not used to craft this quilt.
Bank in the form of a standing pig, cast in two halves from head to tail and held together by a flathead screw through the sides of its belly; coin slot at rump. Contains 15 coins (10 copper pennies from 1909, 1916, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1940 and 1942; four 1943 white metal pennies; and one 1941 nickel). No marks.
Bell-shaped creamer on a reverse cyma-profile base with boss bottom featuring a flat-chased, symmetrical design of two umbrella-shaped flowers and serrated leaves springing from a larger tripartite leaf. Angular handle, rectangular in section, has a triple-stacked, upturned, tassel-like thumbrest. Tall, curved, inset spout with U-shaped lip. Bottom underside struck incuse "ROCKFORD / SILVER PLATE CO." in sans serif letters encircling balanced scales with "QUADRUPLE" above and "700" below; "REM" engraved above and "y(?)" scratched faintly in gutter at left. From a three-piece coffee or tea service, 1982.0114.01-.03; coffeepot is a different pattern than the sugar bowl and creamer.
Maker is Rockford Silver Plate Co. of Rockford, IL, 1882-1956. Successor to Racine Silver Plate Co. of Racine, WI, 1873-1882; became Sheets-Rockford in 1925.
Ladle with raised circular bowl attached with two rivets to a slender, cylindrical, downturned handle flattened into a reverse-tapered end with circular hanger; both rivets hammered flat on front and back. Back of handle struck "PITKIN" in raised roman letters in a rectangle.
Figural andiron featuring the head and torso of a woman wearing a square-necked, tight bodice; her hair is pulled back and her hands are clasped at her waist. Plain, arched and rounded cabriole legs have a circular depression at top center and a small point below. Cast billet bar with bump for log stop is fused into back of cast upright. No marks. One of a pair, 1982.0090.82A-B.