As in earlier "what is it" discussions, please look carefully at this artifact: what is it made of? who might have used it and when? what was it used for and how? how does it fit into the rubric using material culture for instructional, research or museum purposes? Prepare for informal discussion on Tuesday and/or comment below.
2/21/10
ReplyDeleteI think the item of the week is an old fashion file folder for a woman to put all her tax material in before she headed to the accountant. Sorry, I have spent much of the last week working on my taxes.
It looks like linin with silk embroidery. The edges showing look slightly shiny, so perhaps the back side is kid leather. The reinforced back would indicate that it rubbed against something such as clothing. The thin tie leads me to believe it hung from something, probably a woman’s waist. It is hard from the picture to tell the size (put a coin in the picture next time?) but I am guessing it is about 12” long. My best guess would be that it was worn over the petticoats, under the skirt and held a woman’s personal items perhaps for sewing, or a diary, or sketch pad. Because it does not have the drawstring style, it is pre reticule, so I would guess late 1700’s, early 1800’s, probably the latter from the good condition is appears to be in. This is probably from someone who was somewhat affluent both to have the time available to work on something other than items for a dowry, and who would have items worth keeping safe when out and about.
Gillian