Carol,

Melrose, which is part of the Natchez National Park, has a punkah that, 
I believe, is original to the house. You may want to contact them. I 
have copied the website link below.

www.nps.gov/natc/

Nan

Carol Ely wrote:
>
> 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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-- 
Nan Prince, Asst. Director of Collections
Museum Division
Mississippi Department of Archives & History
P.O. Box 571
Jackson, MS 39205-0571
Telephone: 601-576-6930
Facsimile: 601-576-6981
Email: [log in to unmask]

=========================================================
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If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).