A couple weeks ago, I gave a talk for the Reading Antiquarian Society, which owns and manages the Parker Tavern in Reading, Mass. Thanks to my good friend Eric Workman for taking the pictures!
In preparation for the talk, I researched various textile tools in their collections and put together a presentation that would be interesting to the general public and helpful to volunteers at the historic house when they are giving tours.
The talk covered a great wheel, a flax wheel, niddy-noddies, wool cards, a hetchel and a couple of textiles as well. I was able to find information on the origins of some of the tools and some of the people involved. In addition, I was able to show them how many of the tools are used, to give volunteer docents a better idea of how to interpret the objects for visitors.
This is one of the textiles in the collection. It’s a needlepoint sampler made by Sarah Ewer Burleigh. The words read, “Surviveing friends when this you see; Mourn for your sins and not for me.” And, “In the midst of mirth, Remember death.” Through some online research, I was able to find out that despite Sarah’s dark view of the world, she grew up, married, had 6 children, and lived to the age of 78. Was it simply customs of the period that compelled her to use these sayings?
The 12-15 hours I spent preparing for this talk were well spent and very interesting to me. Attendees were engaged and asked some excellent questions. The room at the Reading senior center was well-equipped, with a TV with an HDMI port that we could connect to a computer with my presentation. I hope to be able to more presentations like this in the future!