Images(2)

Hand Fan

PeriodCirca 1850

Place MadePossibly England

MediumPaper, ivory

Dimensions10 in. (25.4 cm)

ClassificationsCostume, Women's

Credit LineGift of Miss Louise Hartshorne, 1938

Object number1136

DescriptionA hand fan, consisting of tapered ivory sticks, with two slightly larger stick guards at left and right. The fan paper is a wide width and ends just above the stick pivot point. The tops of the paper are scalloped. The fan includes two different scenes, one depicting an evening card game, the second a lively dance, with both groups of people dressed in vaguely 18th century costumes. Additional papers are glued to the outsides of the guards and include banding above and below a pair of crossed torches. The fan retains its original cord loop.
Curatorial RemarksThis smaller-sized fan dates to the middle of the 19th century, its smaller size indicating its construction date. The fan is reversible, both sides revealing a brightly colored scene. Interpretations of eighteenth century dance scenes, picnic scenes, and pastoral scenes were highly popular for these decorative accessories.NotesMiss Louise Hartshorne (1866 - 1956), the donor, made her home from 1876 to 1929 at Locustwood, a grand house built between 1830 and 1832 in Middletown village, Monmouth County, by her grandfather Charles J. Hendrickson. Locustwood became a residence for single women from the extended Hendrickson / Hartshorne family, including Mary Matilda Hendrickson (1835 - 1893), Ella Hendrickson (1846 - 1929), their first cousin Julia Wikoff (1838 - 1917) and niece Louise. When the house was broken up and sold in 1929, its contents were distributed among several heirs, including Miss Louise. She and her sister, Susannah Hartshorne Bennett, donated many inherited items from Locustwood to the Association including this fan.

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