Description:
Man's wallet or pocketbook done in polychrome wool crewel and silk embroidery on linen canvas and the embroidered name "William * Kingsly *1773," which descended in the Hyde family of Lisbon, Conn. The pocketbook came with a note: "Jan 1937 / Mrs. Conner / Miss Starr thought you might like to see it because of the date 1773. It came to me through my grandmother a Hyde of Lisbon Conn. married a Kinne of Norwich. I do not find a Kingsly in our direct line - and will not keep it now any longer. / Thank you / Grace Child / Meth. Home." Executed in a carnation design with the Irish stitch, this doublefold wallet was made to carry personal papers and currency (scarce in a barter economy) and to impress people with its color, workmanship, and connotation of wealth when presented in the marketplace. Fine needlework defined status for both ladies and gentlemen during the 18th century, and reflected well on a genteel household where women had the skill and time to execute such work.
Label Text:
Wallets or purses like this doublefold example held personal papers and currency. The outside was decorated in an all-over flame stitch pattern of repeated, abstracted carnations. Inside, its owner’s name was marked in cross stitch by a wife or other female member of his household trained in basic needlework.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+F.466 |
