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Embroidered Pocketbook
Embroidered Pocketbook
Embroidered Pocketbook

Embroidered Pocketbook

Maker
Period1774
MediumWool, wool tape, linen, canvas, cardboard, and silk
Dimensions3.75 × 7.63 × 0.75 in. (9.5 × 19.4 × 1.9 cm)
ClassificationsNeedlework
Credit LineGift of Miss Annie E. Thorne, 1933
Object number301
DescriptionA rectangular pocketbook with a shaped foldover flap, constructed of canvas embroidered with wool yarns in bold shades of hot pink, cerise, pale pink, dark forest green, olive green, khaki, teal blue, burgundy, dark grape, lilac, lemon yellow, pale yellow, pale orange, and off white, worked entirely in Irish stitch. A single piece of sturdy cardboard serves as a supportive liner and forms the front and back panels as well as the foldover flap. The interior of the pocketbook is lined with glazed hot pink linen. Pink linen wedge-shaped gussets are sewn to either side of the pockebook. A separate sleeve, consisting of a pink linen envelope with a central cardboard-lined central divider, is sewn into the pockebook and held in place by cross-stitched seams worked in dark green silk thread along the gusset panels. The pocketbook's edges are bound with hot pink woven wool tape. Additional tape forms a "Y" shaped closure ribbon on the foldover flap, with an additional 12 1/2 inch length of tape wrapping around the body of the pocketbook. The inscription "Mary Polhemus 1774" is worked in cross stitch along the outside edge of the front panel. The initials "A P," worked in black silk cross stitch, can be seen on the inside of the front panel.
Curatorial RemarksBoldly-colored embroidered pocketbooks were popular fashion accessories throughout the second quarter of the eighteenth century into the early years of the nineteenth century. Although made to some extent in England, pocketbooks experienced their greatest popularity in America. Created as either personal accessories or as gifts for family members or friends, these objects were constructed by older girls and women using the needlework skills they learned as children. Period writings used "pocketbook," "case," "purse," or "wallet" to describe these items. Often, such cases included the name of the maker, the recipient, or both, many times with the date of completion. Pocket books were used by both men and women to carry currency, personal papers, correspondence, and other important materials. NotesThe embroidered pocketbook was worked by Mary Van Mater Polhemus of Monmouth County. She was born on 7 March 1733, a daughter of Cyrenius Van Mater (1709 - 1787) and Abigail Lefferts (1708 - 1785). On 16 November 1758, Mary married John Polhemus (1733 - 1820). They became the parents of four daughters and three sons. Mary Polhemus died on 27 September 1809. She was interred in the Polhemus family burying ground in Colts Neck. The pocketbook descended in her family to her great-great granddaughter Miss Annie E. Thorne (1852 - 1932) of Matawan, the donor. The initials "A. P." apparently stand for Abigail Polhemus (1762 - 1801), a daughter of the maker. Donor Annie E. Thorne was also a talented needleworker, and in 1889 won First Premium at the Monmouth County Fair for an "embroidered lounge cozy," as detailed in The Monmouth Enquirer. Thorne's gift of the pockebook was mentioned in an article in the Freehold Transcript on Friday, 3 March 1933, which listed numerous acquired by the Association. Among the descriptions was "one embroidered case, dated 1774, made by Mary Polhemus."
Collections
ProvenanceMary Van Mater Polhemus (1733 - 1809); to her daughter Margaret Polhemus Schenck (1766 - 1857); to her daughter Eleanor Schenck Holmes (1799 - 1877); to her daughter Margaret Schenck Holmes Thorne (1823 - 1855); to her daughter Annie E. Thorne (1852 - 1932).