Red fancy painted child's size rocking chair. Foliate painted design with bright green leaves, peaches, and white flowers. Thick black lines and thin gold lines on edges and in depressions of turnings.
All-cotton quilt with appliqued Tulip pattern; has 35 center blocks, 12" square, 18 of which have appliqued tulips. All done on white cotton ground. Appliqued blocks are straight set with solid white blocks as alternates. Quilt is machine pieced, hand appliqued and hand quilted. White solid border is 14 3/4" wide at sides and bottom, 7" wide at top, with mitered corners.
Tulip pattern done in solids and prints of green, blue, yellow and red.
Moderate amount of quilting follows applique and piecing designs. Floral or snowflake in plain blocks and border. Pieced by Edna Spangler Keefer (3/30/1912 - 6/6/1997). Quilting was done by a sheltered workshop and is not of high quality with some uneven stitches. Pencil lines still visible.
White cotton solid binding. Batting is mid-weight cotton. Backing is pieced white cotton.
Provenance
Provenance: Top made by donor's mother, Edna Spangler Keefer, and quilting done by a sheltered workshop. Edna was raised in York Springs area although the quilt was made while Edna and husband Dale were living in Sharon, Mercer Co. Inherited by donor.
Family Album pattern quilt is a personalized commercial pattern made of all cottons. Top has 20 12-inch appliqued blocks of solid colors and prints on white ground. Appliqued blocks are set straight with 2.5" blue sashing and 8.5" white mitered borders all four sides. Machine pieced, with hand applique and hand quilting.
Six center blocks are personalized to portray Keefer family history. Two central blocks have maker and husband's names, "DALE" and "EDNA". Center blocks above have house and standing couple. House does represent actual house, according to donor. Lower center blocks are a cradle with daughter Betsy's name and birthdate, and the other block has the church with 1938 marriage date. Donor does not believe her parents were married in a church. Remaining 14 blocks provide a frame for the central six. All 20 blocks portray very Dutchy floral and bird motifs. Vivid colors are blue, red, yellow, green and black.
Batting is mid-weight cotton. Backing is a white cotton. Binding of white cotton on bias is 3/8" wide. Hand quilting has good even stitches and follows the applique designs while sashing has a chain pattern. Borders have parallel lines in which pencil marks are still visible.
Top four inches of quilt were folded back and stitched to create a sleeve for hanging. Stitches now removed.
Provenance
Made by donor's mother, Edna Spangler Keefer (3/30/1912 - 6/6/1997), while living in Sharon, Mercer Co. Inherited by donor who was their only child.
Paint and herringbone, chain, buttonhole, stem, and running stitches on commercial cotton fabric, with commercial synthetic fringe. Machine-pieced top in Diamond in a Square type pattern on white background. Sashing to make diamond and square forms are pieced with blue and white cotton. Blue pieces are outlined in blue running stitch on their short sides. Points of square and diamond are white fabric, with blue running stitch in square form.
Painted floral wreath in center diamond, with an embroidered bow in blue buttonhole. Wreath includes five roses in pink and red; greenery; blue, pink, yellow, purple, and orange flowers; and red berried sprigs.
Triangular areas, outside of diamond, each contain 4 painted flowers. One blue flower in each outside corner, with orange center. Three flowers along diamond edge. One five-lobed yellow flower, with orange center. One large pink and red rose, with greenery. One purple five-lobed flower, with orange center. Floral vine and leaf outer border. Five-lobed pink flowers worked in blanket stitch, with stem stitch highlights. Vine worked in green herringbone stitch. Leaves in green blanket stitch, with chain and stem highlights. Machine-applied commercial synthetic twisted fringe on four sides.
Back is machine-pieced white cotton. Shows evidence of embroidered green leaves, blue running stitch and ribbon, and pink highlights.
Original inventory number--630.
Provenance
Collected by George Lyster in Lancaster Co. Intended as a gift, entire collection remains on loan.
Thimble of Mexican sterling silver (925) in classic shape but unusual construction. Sides have a vertical seam and top is capped with a domed and dimpled top. This horizontal joint is then wrapped with a band of silver.
Heavy applied decoration: upper 3/5 of sides have three flowering plants growing out of S-scrolls below and C-scrolls arranged in the lower 2/5. The scrolled decoration is applied like quilled paper. This raised decoration stands out against a black painted body.
Struck along inside of rim is "MEXICO" and "IGU---" over "92-". Other marks unclear. (See Notes) A "2" is struck on outside of body creating a circular depression.
Provenance
Collected by Lillian Hollings Kiker, born to Scottish Americans who lived in New Jersey. Born (1912) and lived in New Jersey, last of Egg Harbor, she was active with quilting, sewing, knitting & crocheting. Collection inherited by donor when her mother passed away.
Dark overall with what appears to be black paint. All salient surfaces are worn and there are paint losses. Distortion of body and multiple places where maker has struck lettering or designs.
Object ID
G.05.15.37
Notes
See another example of this ring found on internet in this file. Iguala is a town near the renowned silvermaking town of Taxco (near the west coast of Mexico) where William Spratling, in the 1930s, famously reinstituted the silver industry and craftsmanship that had died centuries before.
Place of Origin
Iguala de la Independencia, Guerrero, Mexico
Credit
Gift of Susan Garofola in memory of Lillian Kiker (mother), Heritage Center Collection
Thimble of "Alpaca Silver" (see Notes). Similar to G.05.15.38, the sides have a vertical seam and are capped by a domed top with a waffle pattern produced by a machine. Upper half of sides have vertical rows of hand-punched dimples. Plain bottom half. Bottom edge has a raised, applied band with 10 hand-set pieces of vari-colored abalone. Solder points quite visible.
Struck inside rim is "-LPACA". Most likely made in Mexico
Provenance
Collected by Lillian Hollings Kiker, born to Scottish Americans who lived in New Jersey. Born (1912) and lived in New Jersey, last of Egg Harbor, she was active with quilting, sewing, knitting & crocheting. Collection inherited by donor when her mother passed away.
Dents/distortion at sides as well as significant tarnish.
Object ID
G.05.15.39
Notes
Nickel silver, German silver, Argentan, new silver, nickel brass, albata, alpacca, or electrum is a copper alloy with nickel and often zinc. The usual formulation is 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc. Nickel silver is named for its silvery appearance, but it contains no elemental silver unless plated. The name "German silver" refers to its development by 19th-century German metalworkers in imitation of the Chinese alloy known as paktong (cupronickel). All modern, commercially important nickel silvers (such as those standardized under ASTM B122) contain significant amounts of zinc, and are sometimes considered a subset of brass.
Place of Origin
Mexico
Credit
Gift of Susan Garofola in memory of Lillian Kiker (mother), Heritage Center Collection
Christian Shenk in Hawaiian shirt with man dressed as a pirate. Note on back of photograph: " Note - Chris has to surrender the boat 'to the pirate'. Aboard the 'Sea Cloud', Acapulco - 1961".
A. S. T. A. photographs
Provenance
GIft of Tom Shenk, from the estate of Christian Shenk
Chris Shenk, second from right. On back of photo: "In 1966, One of my biggest honors was to be seated at the Governor's Table in their capital at Lima, Peru. Note as president of the Pennsylvania Chapter of A. S. T. A., I presented a gift from Mayor of Philadelphia."
A. S. T. A. photographs
Provenance
GIft of Tom Shenk, from the estate of Christian Shenk
Christian Shenk, left, and Bob Shenk on the Lelantina. Note on back of photo for the Lancaster Sunday News, October 16, 1961: "Lancaster Travel Agents at Cannes Convention - Cannes, October 11, A short break in a busy round of conferences gives Lancaster travel agents Christian H. Shenk and Robert C. Shenk an opportunity to try their hadn at luxury yachtsmanship. They are pictured aboard the 72 foot, ocean going schooner "Lelantina" preparing for a short cruise on the Cote d'Azure. The vessel is under charter to TWA for the period of the 31st Annual World Travel Congress of A. S. T. A. the American Society of Travel Agents, October 7 through 15, at wich they are delegates. An almost 4,000 mile flight from their home in Lancaster brought them to the famed French Riviera to join more tha 2,300 A. S. T. A. members from all parts of the United States who are meeting daily in Cannes to confer on every aspect of world tourism. Mr. Christian Shenk and Mr. Robert Shenk are both with Ridgeway Tours in Lancaster." TWA Photo.
A. S. T. A. photographs
Provenance
GIft of Tom Shenk, from the estate of Christian Shenk
Lima, Peru, March 23, 1966, Chris Shenk, Past president of Pennsylvania Chapter A. S. T. A.; mextends greeting in behalf of the A. S. T. A. delegation to the Honorable Mayor of Lima, Senor Luis Bedoya Reyes by presenting a token of goodwill from the Hon. Mayor of Philadelphia, James Tate, from the City of Brotherly Love, "Philadelphia Discovered".
A. S. T. A. photographs
Provenance
GIft of Tom Shenk, from the estate of Christian Shenk
Christian Shenk, right, shaking hands with Perry Heath, travel agent for the DuPont Corporation, at Lufthansa trip at Philadelphia International Airport.
A. S. T. A. photographs
Provenance
GIft of Tom Shenk, from the estate of Christian Shenk