R. Ruthie Dibble
The Hands that Rocked the Cradle: Interpretations in the Life of an Object

American Furniture 2012

Full Article
Contents
  • Figure 1
    Figure 1

    Cradle, southeastern Massachusetts, 1660–1700. Red oak, white pine, and maple. H. 32", W. 33 3/4", D. 24 1/4". (Courtesy, Wadsworth Atheneum; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 2
    Figure 2

    Detail of the cradle illustrated in fig. 1. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 3
    Figure 3

    Chest, southeastern Massachusetts, 1660–1700. Red and white oak. H. 28", W. 42", D. 20". (Courtesy, Pilgrim Hall Museum; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 4
    Figure 4

    Cradle, southeastern Massachusetts, 1660–1700. Oak and white pine. Dimensions not recorded. (Courtesy, Historic New England.) 

  • Figure 5
    Figure 5

    Cradle, southeastern Massachusetts, 1660–1700. Red oak and white pine. H. 33 1/4", W. 33 5/8", D. 25 1/4". (Courtesy, Historic New England; photo, Peter Harholdt.) 

  • Figure 6
    Figure 6

    Cradle, southeastern Massachusetts, 1680–1700. Maple and white pine. H. 31 3/4", W. 36 3/8", D. 18 1/4". (Courtesy, Pilgrim Hall Museum; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 7
    Figure 7

    Cradle, North Devon, England, 1698. Lead-glazed earthenware. Dimensions not recorded. (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.) Large quantities of North Devon sgraffito ware were exported to the American colonies, but very few examples survive outside archaeological collections. 

  • Figure 8
    Figure 8

    Detail of the woman’s head incised on one end of the cradle illustrated in fig. 7. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 9
    Figure 9

    Henry Vanhorn Shop Sign, attributed to Edward Hicks, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, ca. 1805. Oil and pencil on yellow poplar. 17 1/8" x 54 5/16". (Courtesy, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Museum Purchase.)

  • Figure 10
    Figure 10

    “Our Baby’s Death, Swedish Section: M.B.”, Centennial Exhibition, Philadelphia, 1876. (Courtesy, Print and Picture Collection, Free Library of Philadelphia, Centennial Collection.)

  • Figure 11
    Figure 11

    “THIS GIDDY GLOBE/ THE MAYFLOWER,” Life Magazine 2, no. 41 (October 11, 1883): 171. 

  • Figure 12
    Figure 12

    Log Cabin in “Ye olden time,” 1876. (Courtesy, Print and Picture Collection, Free Library of Philadelphia, Centennial Collection.)

  • Figure 13
    Figure 13

    “New England Kitchen,” Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Historical Register of the Centennial Exposition, 1876. Wood engraving. (Courtesy, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.)

  • Figure 14
    Figure 14

    Log Cabin Studies, “Cat’s Cradle,” 1876. (Courtesy, Print and Picture Collection, Free Library of Philadelphia, Centennial Collection.) 

  • Figure 15
    Figure 15

    Photograph showing part of the Wallace Nutting Collection of Early American Furniture, Hartford, Connecticut, ca. 1928. (Courtesy, Wadsworth Atheneum.)

  • Figure 16
    Figure 16

    Photograph showing part of the Wallace Nutting Collection of Early American Furniture, Hartford, Connecticut, ca. 1935. (Courtesy, Wadsworth Atheneum.)

  • Figure 17
    Figure 17

    Exhibit section titled “Rare Forms of the Seventeenth Century,” Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut, 2000. (Courtesy, Wadsworth Atheneum.)