Whalebone fan in leather case, before 1862

fan

CLOTHING & ACCESSORIES - ACCESSORY
before 1862
leather; bone; paint; cloth; sequins
overall: 9-1/2 x 1-1/8 x 3/4 in.

Fan; Whalebone fan in leather case, before 1862; from the collection of George Elliott (1810-1862); folding hand fan, made of carved whalebone; painted on folds of fan are flowers, with elaborate floral design in silver sequins along the top; each slat is carved with vine-like designs, with more elaborate carvings on either end slat; at the pivoting point where all slats meet is a small handle; tied around the handle is a silk ribbon and a small tag; handwritten on the tag is "Believe this fan/ was made of whale-/ bone and given to great-grandma/ by gr. grandpa"; printed around hole on tag "DENNISON MFG. CO. USA"; fan came in a brown leather case; case is in two parts, with one fitting over the other; imprinted on one side of the smaller piece is "75 X"; imprinted on one side of the larger piece is an image of the state seal of Massachusetts; printed as part of this image is "ENSE PETIT PLACIDAN SUB LIBERTATE QUIETEM", which translates from Latin to be "By the sword it seeks peace [but only] under liberty"; in corner of seal, the trademark symbol for a company with the initials "JJW" has been placed in the upper lefthand corner; back of larger piece is imprinted with the same symbol for "JJW", with "TRADE MARK" printed above it. Maker of fan is unknown. The attached tag was made by Dennison Mfg; Co.of Framingham, known as ‘Tagtown’.

2007.12.2