Carol,
    Several of the antebellum homes in Natchez, MS, have these. I  
can't recall the specific ones, and my book is at home, but if you do  
a google search on Natchez homes you can probably find the info.

Heather McClenahan, museum assistant/web master
Los Alamos Historical Society
http://www.losalamoshistory.org
[log in to unmask]
PO Box 43
1921 Juniper St.
Los Alamos, NM 87544
505-662-6272 (office)
505-470-2912 (cell)

Quoting Carol Ely <[log in to unmask]>:

> We're embarking on a re-restoration of the interior of our 1790s
> historic house, and we are eager to recreate the "punkah" or "punka"
> that we believe (based on a description in a letter) to have been in the
> dining room in the 1810s. A punkah is a structure of wood and sometimes
> cloth that was suspended from the ceiling and used to keep flies off the
> food during a meal, described here as  a set of "small flags" pulled by
> a cord operated by an enslaved boy. But, we don't know what it looked
> like and can't find a visual reference. The ones that we have seen
> pictured are in the form of a single giant paddle, not the small flags
> we had here. The word suggests an origin in India.
>
>
> So, is anyone familiar with this? Anyone have one, original or
> reconstructed? Ideas where to look?
>
>
>
> Carol Ely
>
> Executive Director
>
> Historic Locust Grove
>
> Louisville
>
>
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