Specimen of Indian Hemp
Works on Paper
John Fanning Watson (Author)
Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mid-Atlantic, United States, North America
1820-1868
Paper; Ink
1980.0171.009 A
Object Number1980.0171.009 A |
Paper
Specimen of Indian Hemp
Works on Paper
Gift of Katherine H. Cole in memory of Wilford P. Cole.
John Fanning Watson (Author)
1779-1860
Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mid-Atlantic, United States, North America
1820-1868
1. Signature; Inside, below paragraph; "J.F. Watson" in cursive script, ink
John Fanning Watson; Native American; Indigenous peoples
Paper; Ink
3.93 (H) , 6.25 (W)
10 (H) , 15.88 (W)
This loosely twisted coil of fibers has been kept together inside a folded piece of paper bearing an inscription indicating it was brought to Philadelphia antiquarian John Fanning Watson as a relic of Native American hemp (Virga) often used for fishing nets and other purposes. According to Watson's undated record, the coil was unearthed at a depth of 18 feet while a well was being created for the prison at Arch and Broad Streets. Watson kept the fibers and this historic account with other artifacts in a wooden chest.
[Thesis] Stoehr, Lois Amorette. 2004 John Fanning Watson: Looking ahead with a backwards glance. M.A. University of Delaware Winterthur Program in Early American Culture
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[Electronic] Piggush, Yvette. 10//2009 Fancy History: John Fanning Watson's Relic Box. 04/19/2010 http://www.common-place.org/vol-10/no-01/lessons/07.shtml
• https://commonplace.online/article/fancy-history/
[Chapter] Stabile, Susan. Biography of a Box: Material Culture and Palimpsest Memory [Book] Tumblety, Joan. 2013 Memory and History: Understanding Memory as Source and Subject.
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