Upholstered wingback commode chair has four turned Sheraton legs. Has replacement of original soiled handsewn homespun linen (remnants in this file), now an orange fabric with potted and vining flower design. Solid pinewood seat under cushion has center hole with fitted removable wooden disc.
This chair was from the Pownall home at Gap, where it was used by Dickinson Gorsuch, Maryland slaveholder, during his recovery from wounds sustained during the Christiana Riot of Sept. 11, 1851. His father and two others were killed during the skirmish at the home of freedman William Parker, and Dickinson was transported to the Pownall home for recovery. William Parker later published his story in the "Atlantic Monthly" in 1866, making it highly publicized.
This incident "is an important example of the struggle over the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act and the escalating tension between the North and the South. This act gave slave owners broad powers to recapture runaway slaves". (ExplorePAhistory.com)
Polaroid photos of chair before re-upholstery, in file.
Likely Lancaster or Chester Co.
Provenance
Provenance: Chair owned by the Pownall family & given in 1973 to the Lancaster County Historical Society by Mrs. Levi Pownall of Lancashire Hall (569-7279).
It was initially loaned to the Heritage Center (# L.77.9 and # 161.64.80) but soon donated to HCLC. Board minutes of Dec. 8, 1975 include Richard F. Smith's Museum Committee report noting a donation of a "Sheraton armed wing chair commode, used by the Pownall home in nursing Dickinson Gorsuch following Christiana Riot in 1851." Later unsigned note (Bruce Shoemaker?) states John Aungst of LCHS was consulted & chair was removed 11/9/84 from list on LCHS loan form, settling an apparent question of ownership.
Glazed soft paste porcelain Gaudy Dutch teapot (A) with lid (B). Handpainted "Butterfly" pattern decoration on pale blue body of pearlware. Squat ovoid body sits on a low footring; body swells most in lower half. Collar extends outward below an oblong mouth fitted with conforming domed lid with oblong knob finial . Spout has minimal molding as does arching applied handle.
Provenance
Collected by Harpo and Susan Marx during visits back East from CA. Donated to Heritage Center.
Overall strong staining, especially at lower spout and base section and interior. Strong hairline cracks throughout base and bottom, with resulting staining. Scratchon butterfly wing. Chip on underside of spout tip. Long split/crack on handle back, perhaps from firing. Coloring is very uneven at multiple places, sometimes creating a mottled effect. Wear and soil under foot ring.
Object ID
G.98.51.03a-b
Place of Origin
England
Credit
Given in memory of Harpo by Susan Marx, Heritage Center Collection
Glazed soft paste porcelain Gaudy Welsh sugar bowl (A) with lid (B). Handpainted inverted tulips of red and yellow are interspersed with 3 large, dominating deep blue scalloped motifs decorated with copper lustre painted floral decoration. Squat pot-bellied body sits on a low squarish pedestal with scalloped edging. Two molded angular applied handles. Top has round mouth with flared collar extends outward. Domed lid has squarish molded knob finial. Darkened remnant of paper sticker with blurred writing, perhaps "-caster/ --ea set/ --1825."
Provenance
Collected by Harpo and Susan Marx during visits back East from CA. Donated to Heritage Center.
Chinese export bowl of high fired porcelain, polychrome decoration under glaze. Thin walled in nearly hemispherical form sitting on a 3/4" raised foot. Gold-painted rim with red edging. Two goldfish inside bottom. Continuous landscape on exterior is the same repeating Roman or Greek scene of a seated half-robed seated man with dog facing three nude women and seated baby. All set against distant mountains and one tree in foreground.
Saltcellar of Stiegel-type clear glass, blown into a 3-piece mold. Body is an inverted pear form on a pedestal base. Upper body decorated with 25 slightly slanted vertical ribs. Bottom is slightly concave with pontil mark at center.
Provenance
Donor bought cellar for $70.00 at Horst Auction on 10-19-96, from the collection of Edward Miller.
Cup (A) and saucer (B), glazed soft-paste porcelain, Strawberry pattern. Handleless cup has straight flaring sides & rests on a small foot Paint decoration on white ground has 2 strawberries & a large green leaf on each side with smaller leaves, purple roses and brown squiggles. Interior has double stripe with berries and flowers. Rim painted rust.
Saucer (B)
Provenance
Collected by Harpo and Susan Marx during visits back East from CA. Donated to Heritage Center.
Small free-blown wine or dram glass, Stiegel type. Conical form. Low profile knop on stem. Round pedestal base with concentric ring created by folded foot. Pontil mark on bottom.
Provenance
Purchased by donor Hampton C. Randolph, Sr., for $65 at the sale of the Henry E. Balmer estate, Lancaster, PA on April 20, 1996, then donated to the Heritage Center of Lancaster County.
Clear, free-blown leaded glass mug, near barrel shape. Stiegel-type glass has bubbles and other imperfections throughout. Applied threading at rim; ribbed loop handle; engraved design on side is a bird with floral and foliate designs. Pontil mark on bottom has been smoothed around edges with grinding wheel.
Similar to #5, plate 35 in "American Glass" by George and Helen McKearin.
Provenance
Descent within the Nichols family of Lancaster Co. Family history states mug was always kept in a decorated dower chest, dated 1808.
Clear mold-blown Stiegel-type glass mug in cylindrical form. Bottom quarter has 14 fluted ribs that carry through to the bottom and converge on the pontil mark. Rim edged with gold. Side has multicolored fruit and floral paint decoration with a central orange oval cartouche outlined in gold with gold cursive lettering: "Remember me." Applied handle.
Provenance
Descent to Sarah Muench from family, likely her Aunt Alice Potter Fordney, an antiques dealer.
British quart-size pewter tankard, part of the Warwick Congregation's (now known as the Brickerville United Lutheran Church) communion service.
Straight-sided body with raised band below center; molded base. Hinged domed lid with erect thumbpiece and C-scroll handle. Applied to front of tankard is a cast decorated portrait medallion with the profiles of a man and a woman facing each other with a crown above their heads. Encircling the pair are the words: "LONG LIVE PRINCE AND PRINCESS OF ORANGE". The medallion commemorates the Prince of Orange (William III) and his wife Mary Stuart, daughter of Charles I of England. The couple ruled England as joint sovereigns 1689-1702.
Provenance
The entire communion service remained in use over the years until the congregation decided in 1997 to find a safe place for this valuable communion set. Purchased by the Heritage Center of Lancaster County.
Diameter of bottom is listed. Diameter of top is 4".
Condition
Good
Condition Date
2014-08-28
Condition Notes
Overall abrasions and staining. Cracked where handle is attached at top. Inside pitting. Some cracks on inside of lid's rim. Large dent above medallion.
Object ID
P.97.08.4
Place of Origin
England
Credit
Acquired through the generosity of the James Hale Steinman Foundation and Friends of the Heritage Center Museum, Heritage Center Collection
Pewter basin, part of the Warwick Congregation's (now known as the Brickerville United Lutheran Church) communion service.
High, rounded sides flare out to a flattened rim with rolled edge. Booge appears to be unhammered. Barns struck his large circular mark with an eagle on the inside of bottom. The left portion of the eagle as well as the letters "BAR" on the bottom are discernible, as well as the "HE" above the eagle.
Probably made in Middletown or Wallingford, Connecticut.
Provenance
The entire communion service remained in use over the years until the congregation decided in 1997 to find a safe place for this valuable communion set. Purchased by the Heritage Center of Lancaster County.
Pewter plate, part of the Warwick Congregation's (now known as the Brickerville United Lutheran Church) communion service.
Flat bottom, rounded booge and wide, flat rim with single reeded edge.
Underside struck with two oval marks: one has "Townsend and Compton" and the other reads "LONDON." Following are four small square marks in a row. The last one has the initials "T&C".
Provenance
The entire communion service remained in use over the years until the congregation decided in 1997 to find a safe place for this valuable communion set. Purchased by the Heritage Center of Lancaster County.
Wrought iron trivet is a heart shape with three legs with small turned feet. Top end of legs pierce heart and are flattened on top like rivets to secure them. Top surface of heart is punch-decorated with dots
Provenance
Card in file has note by donor stating "made by C.B. Zimmerman, R.D.1, East Earl." However, "Made by" is later crossed out, resulting in questionable origns. A Christian B. Zimmerman (1908-1981), a farmer in East Earl and belonging to the Old Order Weaverland Mennonite Church is buried in the Weaverland Menn. Cemetery.
