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Date: | Fri, 30 Dec 2005 10:24:44 -0500 |
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This message was sent to us from Robin Campbell, the curator at Peebles
Island where the towels are stored.
"Mystery solved - Mary and I both feel pretty sure they are towels. They
are quite lovely. They run selvage to selvage 22" wide and at each end of
the 50" length is a 2" wide hemstitched edge. Most of the field is plain
with a very large calla lily pattern - looks almost art nouveau to me -
that meanders. If you fold the fabric in thirds so that it measures about
7" wide by 50" long the monogram (for William & Lucy?) is clearly in the
center of the panel. (Which is how it would be seen if it hung on a towel
rack). They really are a very fine linen - certainly nice enough quality
to be dinner napkins. I can see why Brielle thought they were napkins.
There is another set with them that clearly are napkins - also with the
WLJ monogram. They have the monogram in one corner and the pattern is
clearly designed to fit a sq piece of cloth."
The tri-fold nature of the cloth along with the fact that they are only
hemstitched at the top and bottom, as opposed to all the way around like a
napkin, indicate that they are, more likely than not, towels. A huge
thanks for the sleuthing and for the chuckles.
FYI - William II and Lucy Jay, the great-grandson and wife of John Jay
were married in the 1860s so the supposition was that they were from their
bridal trousseau. However, the calla lily pattern would indicate that
they were a bit later, perhaps the 1890s, which would be appropriate for
William and Lucy's dates.
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