Description:
Bag or case made from polychrome, cut pile woolen fabric on a linen or woolen open weave ground done in a floral and spray pattern in three shades of green, and red, purple, cream, tan, and brown. These fabrics were similar to what would be used for carpeting on domestic floors, and as such, items made from this material were extremely durable. The bag has a single top flap that would fold over and secure with a brass lock (external part missing). The flap further secures with one brass hook on either side of the inside flap, connecting to corresponding metal or thread eyes. The top opening and flap are edged with a cut and voided pile woven in a spriral pattern; the bag is lined in a bleached, twill weave cotton. The bag has one large central compartment with a large side pocket on one side (made from the same lining material) and has an interfacing or stiffener of a metal rod or boning. The bag's handle has been reattached more recently. There is an inscription written in ink on the lining, possibly "M.S. Folsom / Springfield/ Mass." This suggests the owner of the bag was Mary S. Mudge Folsom (1819-1900), the second wife of the Rev. Albert A. Folson (1809-1848) of Springfield. Historic Deerfield owns another carpet bag in its collection, HD 2000.6.2, made by the A.S. Carleton Manufacturing Firm of Clinton, Massachusetts, using Bigelow's Brussels Carpets (an uncut woolen piled fabric used for floor coverings such as rugs and carpets). Popular in the third quarter of the 19th century, carpet bags were a durable, affordable accesssory for both men and women. This example was probably designed to be used by a woman, and its link to a Springfield resident documents this kind of accessory's usage in the Connecticut River Valley.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2012.42 |
