A Google search pineapple "folklore" turned up several web sites with similar tales.
the one below states the same 2 stories.
Maybe those folks know where the ideas came from?
Barbara Hass, retired librarian
-----Original Message-----
From: Heidi Campbell-Shoaf <
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To:
[log in to unmask]Sent: Thu, 19 Jan 2006 11:19:49 -0500
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] pineapple question
This is a question for all you museum educators and curators out there. My Education Coordinator is presenting a session at our local historic sites consortium symposium about museum/historic house myths and will be explaining but mostly debunking the popular myths heard around the country, e.g. closets were taxed, firescreens kept people's wax makeup from melting, the second leading cause of death among women was catching on fire, etc.
She has come across one that is intriguing and wants to include it in her talk. There are apparently several versions of the "pineapple story" floating around. One, a pineapple was placed on a visitor's plate at mealtime if they had overstayed their welcome thereby giving them a signal that it was time to leave. Another version states that "pineapples" carved on the posts (I assume the mean the finials) of four-poster beds were removed if the visitor has overstayed their welcome. I think this last one refers to the crosshatched elliptical decoration sometimes seen on rococo-style furniture.
Has anyone heard these or versions of these? Do you have any suggestions on where it might have originated? We all know about the pineapple being a symbol of welcome and hospitality, when was this connection created?
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