Description:
Pen drawing in brown ink of a foliate spray, inscribed in pencil "Riverdale", which is part of the documentation in the Chinese export black lacquer sewing table owned by Eliza Brown Clarkson (1824-1907) who married James A. Clarkson (c.1816-1849) of Gloucester, Mass, in 1845. James Clarkson worked as a captain for ships registered as passenger and mail lines; Eliza accompanied him on 1849 voyage of the ship "Marathon," which included visits to Java and Manilla. Personal artifacts and souvenirs of the trip fill the table: ambrotype portrait of Eliza Clarkson, calling cards (one printed "Mrs. J. A. Clarkson"), pith paper painting, souvenirs and grasses from Napoleon's tomb on St. Helena, and drawings Eliza made during the voyage, including images of "Java Canoe," "Church and dwelling house at Manilla and Manilla Cathedral," "Napoleon's Tomb," and "Tammy Younger's Old Witch House." She also made several profile sketches of herself and others; on one sketch of herself she included the intriguing statement, "Conquer difficuties," which probably refers to the death of her husband on the trip. According to Eliza's obituary, James "was stricken with a fatal illness and died in mid-ocean October 29, 1849" on the return voyage. Traditionally, corpses were committed to the sea, which most of the sailors wanted, but Eliza wanted her husband's body to be buried in Gloucester. With the help of one of the sailors, the ship went to St. Helena where she stayed with the American consulate while lead casket was made; James Clarkson was buried in Gloucester in 1850. Eliza lived in the Riverdale section of Gloucester for the rest of her life.
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https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2005.9.9 |
