Pocketbook

  • Category:

    Textiles (Needlework)

  • Creator (Role):

    Sarah C Cook (Maker)

    Mary Remington (Owner)

  • Place of Origin:

    Warwick, Rhode Island, New England, United States, North America

  • Date:

    1811-1815

  • Materials:

    Linen; Silk; Canvas; Cardboard; Silver; Metal

  • Techniques:

    Embroidered, Woven (plain), Sewn, Canvaswork

  • Museum Object Number:

    1957.0067.009


  • Complete Details



Object Number

1957.0067.009

Object Name

Pocketbook

Category

Textiles (Needlework)

Credit Line/Donor

Museum purchase

Creator (Role)

Sarah C Cook (Maker)
1796-1882
This Queen-stitched pocketbook, formerly attributed to Mary Remington as the maker, was probably made as a gift by Mary's second cousin Sarah C. Cook, who is known to have made another in similar circumstances. Sarah was related to Mary Remington's mother, and lived for a while with the Remingtons. Sarah's mother, Abigail Allen Cook, lived in various asylums while her daughter lived with relatives or boarded at Mary Balch's school in Providence. One of the asylums, run by a Dr. Willard, was among the best available at the time, where other patients included John Hancock's nephew and Paul Rever's son-in-law.

Mary Remington (Owner)
April 13, 1792-November 14, 1820
Mary (Polly) Remington was born on April 13, 1792 to parents Henry Remington and Margaret LeValley, who both descended from early settlers of the town of Warwick in Kent County, Rhode Island. Her father was a lawyer and a judge who served on Rhode Island's Supreme Court, between 1801 and 1808. Both Mary and her mother were often not well, which is indicated in letters written to her suitor and future husband, Peleg Congdon. In 1816, Mary and Peleg married. Their marriage, which was preceded by an uncertain courtship, was not a happy one. In their first year of marriage, Peleg got work in New York building a ship. He refused to live in Warwick with Mary and her family, but at the same time did not request for Mary to come to him. Peleg eventually moves back to Warwick in 1819, for unknown reasons, but stays at a hotel instead of living with the Remington family. That same year their first son, John Remington Congdon, was born. Mary died on November 14, 1820, a few months after giving birth to their second son, Henry Remington Congdon. Peleg Congdon died in 1862 at the age of seventy-seven.

Place of Origin

Warwick, Rhode Island, New England, United States, North America

Date

1811-1815

Mark or Signature or Inscription or Label

1. Inscription; Under flap; "Mary Remington" (embroidered thread)
2. Label; Pinned on tag; "57.67.9" (graphite)
3. Label; Inside; "57.67.9" (ink)

Materials

Linen; Silk; Canvas; Cardboard; Silver; Metal

Techniques

Embroidered, Woven (plain), Sewn, Canvaswork

Construction Description

Hand-embroidered

Dimensions (inches)

4.5 (L) , 5.25 (W)

Dimensions (centimeters)

11.43 (L) , 13.335 (W)

Object Description

Text available soon.

Bibliography and Bibliographic Notes

[Book] Eaton, Linda. 2007 Quilts in a Material World: Selections from the Winterthur Collection.
Published: p. 20; information on Mary Remington's life
[Book] Swan, Susan Burrows. 1976 A Winterthur Guide to American Needlework.
Published: p. 53, pl. V