Embroidered Square
Period1865 - 1885
MediumPlied silk thread, cotton, perforated paper, and silk
Dimensions4 × 5.5 in. (10.2 × 14 cm)
ClassificationsNeedlework
Credit LineGift of Miss Louise Hartshorne, 1939
Object number1381
DescriptionA small embroidered panel consisting of a lightweight off-white woven cotton gauze rectangle. A central image of an elaborate floral bunch, including roses, mums, violas, and convolvulus, is worked in tapestry stitch in black, scarlet, cerise, salmon, rose, pale pink, purple, lavender, dark green, medium green, spring green, ultramarine blue, royal blue, and off white. The gauze is backed with a perforated paper panel, then lined on the reverse with a lightweight piece of off-white woven silk. All three layers are finished with a narrow off-white silk binding strip.Curatorial RemarksBy the mid nineteenth century, many schools no longer included needlework and embroidery as part of a young girl's formal education. This was due in part to the standardization of public school education as well as the efforts of early female reformers such as Catharine Beecher (1800 - 1878). Embroidery continued to be a popular hobby, and many girls who learned needlework as students in the early decades of the nineteenth century used their skills to create gifts and mementos for family and friends. This small embroidered placard, with its closely-worked and colorful floral bouquet, was likely made as a remembrance piece by any of the women in the Locustwood household. Multiple puncture holes still visible on the back of the piece indicate it was hung for display by its owner. The image itself was likely a commercially-printed graphed pattern for the maker to follow, judging from the elaborate shading and intricate design.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. For more information on this estate and the Hendrickson / Hartshorne family, see accession number 1382.
Collections
ProvenanceBy descent in the extended Hendrickson / Hartshorne family of Locustwood, Middletown village, Monmouth County, to Miss Louise Hartshorne (1866 - 1956).
