Star-patterned, pieced-wool bed cover, created by Martha Lutz Walter from her husband William Walter's Reading Railroad uniforms. Alternate black wool blocks are decorated with multicolored wool plushwork stars w/ raised, sculpted appearance. Remaining alternate wool blocks are secured with wool yarn ties. Seams of pieced blocks have green and red feather stitching. Binding stitch secures edges. Backing is blue and orange, striped, pilled cotton flannel.
Provenance
Made by donor's mother. William Walter was a station agent for the Reading Railroad in Denver, PA.
Plushwork decoration was popular in the early 20th century.
See Trish Herr's Amish Arts of Lancaster Co.1998 for other examples of plushwork and a description of this decoration on page 44. See page 45 for photos demonstrating this technique. See also pp. 90-91 for another example of a plushwork bed cover.
Dress worn at Behren's graduation from Stevens High School (formerly on the corner of Chestnut and Charlotte streets) in 1912. Cream colored lace. Donor thinks that a sash was once worn with it. Opens down back and fastens with hooks and eyes. Elbow-length sleeves. Calf/ankle length skirt. A dress or fine slip would have been worn beneath. Dress owned by donor's mother.
Keys to Shober Hotel. Set of three related large bronze keys (A, B, C), each with oval handle and heart-shaped cutout. Long hollow barrels shafts are lathe-turned, with decorative turned detail near handle. Each shaft has slight tapering, increasing in diameter from handle to opposite end. Ends have a flat rectangular "tooth" cut and shaped into similar but varying configurations.
Stevens High School Pennant. Maroon and gray felt pennant. Maroon "SHS 1919" machine-sitiched onto gray background along the length of the pennant. 4 gray tie strips attached to top and bottom on vertical edge. Top strips tied in bow.
Ribbon from the 10th reunion of the veterans of the 45th Pa. Volunteers held at State College, PA on 26 September 1919. Likely attended by Blanton C. Welsh.
Provenance
Provenance: Passed down through the family, Blanton Charles Welsh to Emilie Benson (Welsh) Wiggin to Nancy Jane (Wiggin) Townsend.
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This ribbon was in an envelope which contained item numbrs #24-#31.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Sheet brass sign, "The Slaymaker Lock Co." and "The Makers of Padlocks, Cabinet Locks, Hardware, Brass Castings, Plating, and Polishing" Marked, "TUCKER"
