Deerfield Blue Embroidery

Deerfield, Massachusetts, was settled in 1669. During the eighteenth century, blue and white crewel embroidery was popular. In about 1896 a group of interested women rediscovered the blue and white crewel embroidery and organized the Deerfield Society of Blue and White Needlework. Its members made copies of early American embroidery using the old methods and […]

American Quilts

Patchwork or pieced quilts are different from appliquéd quilts. The top of a patchwork quilt is made of many different pieces of material stitched together to make one big piece. The top of an appliquéd quilt is a large piece of cloth to which many small pieces of material have been sewn. To assemble both […]

Berlin Work

In the early nineteenth century, printers in Berlin, Germany, published hand-colored needlework patterns that were printed on a background that looked like today’s graph paper. When the patterns reached England, they became known as Berlin work. The patterns called for many shades of brilliantly colored wool. The yarn was thick, so the needlework went quickly. […]

Novelty Clocks

The idea of putting a clock into a case shaped like a person seems to have been an 1870 inspiration. Cases were made to resemble both men and women. The clock was placed in the stomach of the figure. Some of them had animated features with eyes designed to roll back and forth with each […]

Wag-On-The-Wall Clock

The wag-on-the-wall clock was popular in Europe during the mid-1800s. These clocks were sold with a dial movement, weight, and pendulum, but they did not include a case. The wag-on-the-wall clock had a hood at the top to protect the works from dirt. Thrifty people often bought the wag-on-the-wall clock and then cased it at […]

Electric Clocks

Battery-powered electric clocks became available in quantity in the United States during the 1870s. Alarm clocks, figural clocks, mantel clocks, and many other types were made to accommodate the new type of works. It was not until a reliable power supply was available in most homes, around 1930, that the electric clock was made to […]

Tall Case Or Grandfather Clock

From 1680 to about 1840, the floor clock known as a grandfather clock was popular in America. It was originally called a tall case clock, and much of the literature will list it only under that name. The name grandfather was used as early as 1835, but it became popular about 1875 because of the […]

Banjo Clocks

The banjo clock, first made by Simon Willard in 1802, is the best known of the hundreds of clock styles that were made to hang on a wall. The name comes from the shape of the clock. Many other makers followed Willard’s idea, and hundreds of banjo clocks were produced by New England makers. But […]

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola, a soft drink introduced at an Atlanta soda fountain in 1886, is one of the world’s best-known brand names. For more than a century, the company has been promoting the popular soft drink—and creating thousands of ads on bottles, trays, calendars, signs, toys, lamps, and other memorabilia that can be found in shops and […]

Heinz

The H. J. Heinz Company traces its history back to 1869. Its first product was horseradish, but within a few years Heinz was selling ketchup, celery sauce, pickles, sauerkraut, and vinegar. The condiments were sold in tin cans, glass jars, and tin or stoneware crocks. The term 57 Varieties was chosen for its advertising effect, […]